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Chaminade High School

Overview

Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

for young men. Located in Mineola

Mineola, New York

Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, the school was founded in 1930 by the Society of Mary

Society of Mary (Marianists)

The Society of Mary, a Roman Catholic Marian Society, is a congregation of brothers and priests called The Marianists or Marianist Brothers and Priests. The Society was founded by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade, a priest who survived the anti-clerical persecution during the French Revolution. ...

(Marianists), an international Roman Catholic teaching order of priests and religious Brothers. The school is named for Father William Joseph Chaminade

William Joseph Chaminade

William Joseph Chaminade or Guillaume-Joseph Chaminade, now called by his liturgical title of Blessed Chaminade , was a French Roman Catholic priest who survived persecution during the French Revolution. He founded the Society of Mary, also called the Marianists, in 1817...

, S.M. (1761–1850), who founded the Marianist order in 1817, and who was beatified by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

in 2000. The school continues to be operated by the Marianists and is independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York state, USA. Founded in 1957, this diocese was created from territory that once belonged to the Diocese of Brooklyn...

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Encyclopedia

Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school

High school

for young men. Located in Mineola

Mineola, New York

Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....

, New York

New York

, the school was founded in 1930 by the Society of Mary

Society of Mary (Marianists)

(Marianists), an international Roman Catholic teaching order of priests and religious Brothers. The school is named for Father William Joseph Chaminade

William Joseph Chaminade

, S.M. (1761–1850), who founded the Marianist order in 1817, and who was beatified by Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

in 2000. The school continues to be operated by the Marianists and is independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

. The school has a student body of slightly over 1,700 who come from Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties), and neighboring New York City. The administration and faculty consist of both Marianists and lay men and women.

Students follow a classic liberal arts curriculum, including four years each of English, Foreign Language (either Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, or Mandarin Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

which was introduced in 2011), Mathematics, Religion, Science (Earth Science or Oceanography, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), and Social Studies, as well as one year each of Art, Music Appreciation, and Health. In senior year, students take an additional (advanced) year of either Art or Music Appreciation. For highly achieving students, there is the opportunity to enroll in a full year of collegiate study during their senior year, which is conducted on-site at Chaminade by professors from Long Island University. Chaminade is known for its rigorous academic program, and average SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

scores are consistently well above the national average. Historically, 100% of Chaminade graduates are accepted into college, and each year over 99% of them chose to attend college. In 2011, all 433 graduates were accepted into college; the class of 2011 was awarded 1,164 scholarships, of which 1,159 were academic, and 258 students were awarded more than one scholarship.

Chaminade has an extensive selection of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, with over 90% of the student body participating in at least one activity. Additionally, more than 50% of the student body participates on at least one interscholastic athletic team. The school's athletic teams are nicknamed the Flyers, honoring the fact that at the time of Chaminade's founding, Mineola and the surrounding communities of Long Island were part of what was then a "cradle of aviation

Cradle of Aviation Museum

The Cradle of Aviation Museum is an aerospace museum located in East Garden City, New York on Long Island to commemorate Long Island's part in the history of aviation. It is located on land once part of Mitchel Air Force Base which, together with nearby Roosevelt Field and other airfields on the...

", with such pioneering aviators as Charles Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...

, Wiley Post

Wiley Post

Wiley Hardeman Post was a famed American aviator, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's...

, and Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

making world-record flights from nearby Roosevelt Field. In line with Chaminade's chosen nickname the school newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

is, appropriately, called Tarmac, a term for airport pavement

Tarmac

Tarmac is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901...

Religious identity

All students take four years of Religion, beginning with biblical and Salvation history (Freshman and Sophomore years), followed by Christian morality and ethics (Junior year), and Christian existentialism (Senior year). The entire student body gathers for Mass each month; additionally, the Gold Star Mass is celebrated every Fall to honor those Chaminade alumni who gave their lives in protection of the United States as members of the military services. Students have the opportunity for confession (the Sacrament of Reconciliation) every Tuesday and Thursday, while Eucharistic adoration is offered every Monday to students and faculty. A short prayer service is also offered every day, before each lunch period.

Athletics

The following are the varsity sports offered at Chaminade:

Fall Season: Football; Crew; Cross-Country; and Soccer

Winter Season: Basketball; Bowling; Ice Hockey; Indoor Track & Field; Riflery; Swimming and Diving; and Wrestling

Spring Season: Baseball; Crew; Golf; Lacrosse; Outdoor Track & Field; Tennis; and Volleyball

Over the years Chaminade has established top programs in many of the above sports, as noted below:

The crew team ranks as one of the top scholastic teams in the nation. In the fall seasons of 2003 and 2006, the crew team, which had been undefeated during both seasons, captured 1st place among high schools in the Youth 8+ event in the Head of the Charles Regatta

Head of the Charles Regatta

The Head of the Charles Regatta, also known as HOCR or HOTC, is a rowing race held on the penultimate complete weekend of October each year on the Charles River, which separates Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The race is named the "Head" of the Charles because it is a head race...

.

In 2000, 2006 and 2008, the cross country team was the NSCHSAA League and CHSAA Intersectional champions; while in 2002, 2006, 2007, and 2010, the soccer team was the New York State Catholic High Schools Champion.

Until a second place finish to Fordham Prep (Bronx, NY) in the 2007 CHSAA swimming finals, the swim team remained undefeated in the CHSAA for six consecutive years.

The lacrosse team won four consecutive CHSAA Varsity Lacrosse championships from 2005 through 2008, and on several occasions, has been nationally ranked by STX as one of the top 20 high school lacrosse programs in the nation.

Finances

In 1986, Father Philip Eichner, S.M. ('53), then the president of Chaminade, conceived of the idea of a permanent endowment fund to lower the cost of tuition at the school. The interest income generated from the principal would decrease the cost of the school's tuition. Together with Brother Gary Eck, S.M., the Director of Development at the time, Father Eichner envisioned the time when the school's tuition could be capped, if not eventually lowered. The fund is now known as the Torch Fund, and the Torch Fund's principal balance has grown dramatically over the years. For the 2011-2012 school year, interest from the Torch Fund covers $1,275 (14%) of the total tuition cost for each student, leaving the parent responsibility at $7,955.

Other

Chaminade has become nationally known for its success in forensics (public speaking). The Robert C. Wright Speech and Debate Team (named in honor of alumnus and former Chairman of NBC Universal Robert C. Wright) regularly competes with the best high school speaking and debating teams, both in the New York City Metropolitan area and nationally, and has produced national champions in several events.

Chaminade has developed extensive musical and theatrical performance groups over the years. The school has three concert bands (based on level of experience and performance), a string orchestra, a pep band (for sporting events), a jazz band, a bagpipe corps, junior and senior Glee Clubs, and a vocal chamber ensemble. The school produces two plays each year, a dramatic production in the Fall and a musical production in the Spring, utilizing young women from nearby schools for the female roles.

Student publications at Chaminade, including the school newspaper (Tarmac), the yearbook (Crimson and Gold), and the literary magazine (Skylight), consistently place among the top publications in scholastic press association competitions.

Chaminade is one of the only high schools in America (and the only public facility on Long Island) to own and operate a theater pipe organ. The Chaminade organ, housed in the school's 1,200 seat Darby Auditorium, is a Robert Morton console with ranks by Wurlitzer

Wurlitzer

The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....

, Robert Morton, Austin, and Barton. It is composed of 3 manuals

Manual (music)

A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...

and 15 ranks.

In the summer of 2006, the female secretary to the President brought a lawsuit against Chaminade High School for gender discrimination, after she was fired for having a relationship with a male faculty member who was still married. The suit also alleged that cameras were placed in the locker room.

Chaminade achieved a major addition to its facilities upon completion of the new Activities and Athletic Center (AAC) in 2007. This $25 million facility was completely paid for through donations specifically dedicated to the project, and not through any draws against the school's endowment fund. The AAC main arena holds 1,500 for basketball games, and 2,500 for Masses and non-athletic events. The facility also incorporates a 1/10 mile indoor track suspended over the main arena, a premier wrestling room, and a 200 person auditorium. Reflecting the school's Marianist tradition, the AAC lobby displays a full scale replica of the Pieta, while a crucifix adorns the main arena. On September 19, 2007 then retiring Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace visited Chaminade to speak to the student body and faculty as part of the facility's dedication. General Pace was the first guest speaker at the AAC. Guido Farinaro, a 1967 Chaminade alumnus, was the first Marine to die under Pace's command, while both were serving in the Vietnam War.

Chaminade competes annually in the New York State Envirothon

Envirothon

Envirothon is an annual environmentally themed academic competition held by the United States and Canada on a regional, state, and national level. It is sponsored by Canon, conservation districts, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Association of Conservation Districts...

. The school has won the regional competition for all five years that it has been participating, and has achieved a 3rd place ranking twice, at the state level.

Notable alumni

Since its founding, Chaminade has produced over 20,000 graduates. Chaminade alumni live worldwide. Notable alumni, living and deceased, include: