St. John's High School (Massachusetts)

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St. John's High School is a private Catholic boys' high school located in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester. The school was founded by and is currently sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers.

[edit] History

The Xaverian Brothers' association with Worcester dates back to September 1894, when a pioneer community of four Xaverians arrived to formally open Saint John's Parish Grammar School for Boys. In 1898 a three-year high school curriculum was introduced. A fourth, or senior year, was added in 1906, when Holy Cross College dropped that institution's college prep or high school senior course to concentrate solely on college level work.

In December 1953, John Cardinal Wright, who was then Bishop of Worcester, transferred the high school property under the new title of Saint John's Preparatory School of Worcester to the Xaverian Brothers. This event coincided with the centennial celebration of the Brothers' arrival in America in 1854. The school population in 1954 consisted of eleven Brothers and 354 students. The brothers purchased a large acre estate in neighboring Shrewsbury. This acquisition was the first step in the expansion of Saint John's to a regional high school serving all of Worcester County. In 1959, one hundred twenty-five acres at the foot of Main Street hill were purchased, and Pioneer Field came into being. In 1962, all classes had transferred to the Shrewsbury location. A gym and cafeteria were added in 1963 and 1964.

From an enrollment of slightly over 410 and a staff consisting of four Brothers, Saint John's has emerged during the last ten decades as a regional, private, catholic, college-preparatory school with a student body of over 1,000. As of January 2008, there are no longer any Xaverian Brothers on the faculty (due to the part Brother Plunkett had a serious illness), which is now comprised solely of lay men and women.

[edit] Campus

St. John's campus is located on the former Dunmorlan estate on Main Street in Shrewsbury. The campus of one hundred twenty five acres contains several academic buildings, athletic fields, a chapel, and the Xaverian Brother's Residence. The principle academic building is Brother Conal Hall. Brother Conal Hall holds all Mathematics, English, Religion, and some Science. The Ryken Center, constructed in 1999 at a cost of 5.2 million dollars, has all of the Science Classes except for one lab which is in Conal Hall. In the Ryken Center is the Black Box Theater, which is for the theater art class. Flavian Hall houses the foreign language department and some World History classes. The Coaches Pavilion is the school's gymnasium, which was renovated in 2005. In 2006, the Salem Student Commons was constructed which serves as a cafeteria. Remillard Hall serves as a meeting, assembly, and lecture hall.

[edit] Academics

St. John's is a four-year college preparatory school. Students are tracked into several levels, Advanced Placement, Honors, College Prep I, and College Prep II. Along with traditional courses, students are required to take courses in Religious Studies including an Introduction to Religious Studies, Introduction to Biblical Literature, and Christian Morality and Justice. Seniors are offered electives such as Bioethics, World Religions, Creating a Christian Lifestyle, or Community Service. St. John's offers twenty Advanced Placement courses and each year students take approximately 700 AP exams. St. John's graduates consistently matriculate to Ivy League Universities and other top-ranked colleges. St. John's has also recently been honored as the top Math, Science, and Technology AP high school in the state of Massachusetts.

[edit] Athletics

St. John's enjoys a storied athletic tradition. The Pioneers hold a number of State titles and Football Super Bowl victories. The Saint John's Football program has won three consecutive Super Bowl's from 2004-2006. The highlight to the athletic season is the Annual Thanksgiving Football Game between Saint John's and rival St. Peter Marian. The game is held at Fitton Field in Worcester at The College of the Holy Cross. Saint John's Ski Team won the 2007 State Championship, the first time a St. John's team has ever won this title. Its Baseball and Basketball teams are among the top teams in Central Massachusetts and its Golf team has won three consecutive State Titles from 2005-2007. Additionally the Pioneers have enjoyed success in both Track& Field and Cross Country. St. John's has won seven consecutive Indoor Track District Titles and two consecutive Cross Country titles, along with a second place finish at the Division 1 State Meet in the fall (autumn) of 2006. The Pioneers also hold several state and New England titles in individual weight classes in wrestling under former coach Ladd Lavallee. In 2007 St. John's won the Division 1 Soccer state championship for the first time since 2002. Hockey is a Saint John's tradition as the Pioneers have played in State tournaments for the past 20 years. St. John's last won a state championship in hockey in 2004. St. John's lost the Division 1 State Championship to Central Catholic High for the 2007-2008 season.

[edit] St. John's Top Athletic Rivals

The most storied athletic rivalry exists as St. John's nearly 100 year rivalry with local high school St. Peter Marian. In recent years rivals include Algonquin Regional High School in Lacrosse, Wachusett Regional and Holy Name Central Catholic in Basketball, and Leominster in Football. Catholic High Schools such as St. John's Prep and Xavarian Brothers High School make up St. John's best rivalries across all varsity sports.

[edit] Rivalry With Shrewsbury High School

St. John's most notable rival is Shrewsbury High School, who are known as the Colonials. Each year the two school's play each other in almost every sport.

[edit] Extra-Curricilar Activities

St. John's boasts a broad array of extra-curricular activities. Activities range from the very successful and academic programs such as Model United Nations, Speech and Debate, Mock Trial, Academic Decathalon, and Math Team. There are also more diverse activities such as the Cycling Club, Strategy Game Club, and the Chess Club. St. John's also has a variety of Intramural sports teams. Two publications exist from year to year: the "Red and White" newspaper and "The ICON" literary magazine. St. John's Drama Club sponsors a number of performances a year, usually about five, which include two traditional plays, a Spring Spectacular review show, an improv show, and a student-directed play in the spring. Campus Ministry also sponsors a number of community-building, religious, and service programs. Recently, the Campus Ministry has begun a program called "Global Encounter." Similar to a college Alternative Spring Break this program sends students on national and international service trips during spring vacation to places such as New Orleans, Louisiana, and Ecuador. Overall, St. John's boasts well over 50 different clubs and activities.

[edit] Alumni

• Peter Blute (1974) - Former member of the United States Congress
• Joseph Early (1951) - Former member of the United States Congress
• Daniel Grabauskas (1981) - General Manager MBTA
• Tim Murray - Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
• Michael Ritchie - Artistic Director Los Angeles Center Theatre Group
• John F. Smith, Jr. - Former CEO/Chairman General Motors
• Tim Lahey- baseball player for the Chicago Cubs
• Ron Darling- former professional baseball player and MLB All Star

[edit] External links

• School website