Fontbonne Academy
Encyclopedia
Fontbonne Academy is a private Roman Catholic college preparatory High School for girls, located in Milton, Massachusetts
, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
. It was started in 1954 by the Sisters of St. Joseph
. The school was fully accredited in 1959 by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. Accreditation has been consistently renewed for ten-year periods.
(music).
We come seeking living waters
Of wisdom and of grace.
We are searching for deep draughts of knowledge,
Ideals to embrace.
Come let us sing.
We have found the good fountain,
Rich and clear are her streams,
Enhancing us with her beauty,
Giving life to our dreams.
Through our veins flows the truth she is teaching,
Truth that we now may give.
No land is too far for our reaching.
In us Fontbonne shall live.
Come let us sing,
For our hearts are filled with laughter,
On our lips there is song.
We are women of courage,
By this fountain made strong.
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts...
. It was started in 1954 by the Sisters of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph
The title Sisters of St. Joseph applies to several Roman Catholic religious congregations of women. The largest and oldest of these was founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France...
. The school was fully accredited in 1959 by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. Accreditation has been consistently renewed for ten-year periods.
Enrollment
Enrollment has multiplied from 97 students in 1954 to just under 400 in 2011. The student body is drawn from more than 45 cities and towns throughout the Boston area, MetroWest, and the South Shore. The school has a seven acre campus with the original building that has been updated over the years to include science, technology and language labs. The building had a facelift in 2010 and installed many energy-saving improvements throughout. Fontbonne Academy boasts a 100% college acceptance rate. The Class of 2011 averaged $130,000 per student in grants and scholarships to four-year colleges.History
Founded in 1954, the academy takes its name from Mother St. John Fontbonne, who re-established the congregation in France after its suppression during the French Revolution. Under her leadership, the first Sisters came to the United States. In Boston, the congregation taught in archdioscesan parochial schools, and also founded and conducted its own ministries, of which Fontbonne is one. As a sponsored ministry, Fontbonne Academy furthers the Sisters' charism — a direct outgrowth of the order's experience in revolutionary France — of reconciliation, unity and non-violence in the school's academic programs, spirituality, and co-curricular activities.Academics
- 100% of graduates go to 4-year colleges.
- Seven AP courses: Art, Biology, Calculus, English, French, Spanish, and U.S. History.
- Many Honors courses in all disciplines.
- Foreign languages: French, Latin and Spanish. (3 credits of one language are required for graduation).
- Students complete one hundred hours (25 hours per year) of service outside of school to fulfill graduation requirements.
- Standardized tests used to evaluate applicants: HSPT (High School Placement Test).
- Seniors complete a Social Justice Project each year which is a capstone project, spanning every academic discipline, where they advocate for a social injustice and present to the student body in the annual Social Justice Fair.
Athletic program
- Basketball
- Cheerleading
- Cross country and track
- Ice hockey
- Indoor track and field
- Golf
- Lacrosse
- Skiing
- Soccer
- Softball
- Spring track and field
- Step team
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Intramural sports: Flag Football
Activities
- Association for Diversity in Action
- Ambassadors
- Cooking Club
- Dance Club
- Good Fountain Players Drama Club
- Jazz Choir
- Liturgical Dance
- Model UN
- Fountain Friends
- French Honor Society
- National Honor Society
- National Spanish Honor Society
- Peer Education
- Peer Ministry
- Select Chorus
- Service Club (Campus Ministry)
- Student Council
- Stylus Literary Magazine
- Wellspring
- Yearbook
Alma mater
The school song was written by the late Therese Higgins, CSJ (lyrics) and Berj ZamkochianBerj Zamkochian
Berj Zamkochian was an Armenian-American organist. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and eventually joined the faculty. In 1957, at the age of 27, he was appointed organist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra...
(music).
We come seeking living waters
Of wisdom and of grace.
We are searching for deep draughts of knowledge,
Ideals to embrace.
Come let us sing.
We have found the good fountain,
Rich and clear are her streams,
Enhancing us with her beauty,
Giving life to our dreams.
Through our veins flows the truth she is teaching,
Truth that we now may give.
No land is too far for our reaching.
In us Fontbonne shall live.
Come let us sing,
For our hearts are filled with laughter,
On our lips there is song.
We are women of courage,
By this fountain made strong.
Memberships
- Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic AssociationMassachusetts Interscholastic Athletic AssociationThe Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association , comprising 365 high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is an organization that sponsors activities in more than thirty sports. The MIAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations , which writes the rules...
- New England Association of Schools and CollegesNew England Association of Schools and CollegesThe New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. is the U.S. regional accreditation association providing educational accreditation for all levels of education, from pre-kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the six-state New England region. It also provides accreditation for some...
- Association of Independant Schools of New England (AISNE)
Notable alumni
- Tara OBrien – Broadway actress (Class of 1986)
- Lois Roach – directed the Boston premiere of Crowns with the Lyric Stage Company of Boston. (Class of 1979)
- Dolly DiPesa – Managing partner of DiPesa & Company, CPAs, (Class of 1971)
- Jen Mergel - Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Class of 1994)
- Patty Toland - Partner/co-Founder Filament Group (Class 1983)