| Bellarmine College Preparatory | |
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(For the greater glory of God)
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| Address | |
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| 960 West Hedding Street San Jose, California, (Santa Clara County), 95126  United States |
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| Coordinates | 37°20′32″N 121°55′07″W / 37.342172°N 121.918542°WCoordinates: 37°20′32″N 121°55′07″W / 37.342172°N 121.918542°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Private, All-Male |
| Religious Affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic, Jesuit |
| Patron saint(s) | Robert Bellarmine |
| Established | 1851 |
| Founder | Fr. John Nobili, S.J.[1] |
| CEEB Code | 053080 |
| President | Fr. Paul Sheridan, S.J.[1] |
| Principal | Chris Meyercord[1] |
| Asst. Principal | Sonia Torna; Kristina Luscher; Matt Oelkers[1] |
| Chancellor | Fr. Jerry Wade, S.J. |
| Faculty | 145 lay, 20 Jesuits |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,580[2] (2008-2009) |
| Average class size | 25.5[2] |
| Student:teacher ratio | 12.3:1[2] |
| Campus size | 25 acres (100,000 m2)[2] |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Blue and White |
| Athletics | 34 teams in 13 sports[3] |
| Athletics conference | West Catholic Athletic League, Peninsula Athletic League (in lacrosse), and the Skyhawk Conference (in rugby)[4] |
| Mascot | Bellarmine Bell |
| Nickname | Bells |
| Rival | Saint Francis High School |
| Accreditation(s) | Western Association of Schools and Colleges [5] |
| Average SAT scores | 1,820 (2007)[6] |
| Publication | Written Echo (literary/art magazine) |
| Newspaper | The Cardinal |
| Yearbook | The Carillon |
| Endowment | US$57.6 million[7] |
| Tuition | US$13,800 (2008-2009)[2] |
| Admissions Director | Bill Colucci |
| Athletic Director | Terry Ward; Mike West |
| Website | www.bcp.org |
Bellarmine College Preparatory is an all-male, private secondary school located in San Jose, California, USA. Founded in 1851, it is the oldest secondary school in California.
It is a Catholic school under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of San Jose and sponsored by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It is home to successful baseball, soccer, swimming, water polo, cross country, forensic, quiz bowl, speech and debate, and FIRST Robotics teams and has high graduation and college attendance rates.
Contents |
History
Bellarmine has its origin in 1851 when Father John Nobili, S.J. founded Santa Clara College for elementary, secondary and college age students. This structure continued until 1903 when the elementary grades were discontinued.
In 1912 Santa Clara College became Santa Clara University and the high school division became Santa Clara Prep. For five years Santa Clara and the College of the Pacific—as it was known then—deliberated over the sale of the Emory and Elm property behind the historic College Park train station (immortalized in Jack Kerouac and Jack London's works) [2]. Finally in November 1925 the decision was made to purchase the campus for $77,500 and the high school moved from the Santa Clara campus to its new location. The change also saw a change in school colors from the red and white of Santa Clara to blue and white, to honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus. In 1926 the school opened its doors with only 200 registered students, and the name was changed to Bellarmine at the prompting of Archbishop of San Francisco Edward Joseph Hanna. He suggested, while visiting the school in its early days, that the school honor Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, a Jesuit of the sixteenth century, who had recently been canonized a saint and declared a Doctor of the Church. The Jesuits accepted his suggestion and the name Bellarmine became synonymous with the school at Emory and Elm Streets.
For almost 20 years the number of students remained at 200 until the school needed to increase its student population and improve its campus buildings. Fr. Gerald Sugrue, S.J. was given this task and began the process which would lead the school into the post-war era. The old College of the Pacific buildings were replaced by new classroom buildings, the Schott Academic Center, a library, St. Robert's Jesuit Residence Hall, Vincent O'Donnell Residence Hall, Samuel A. Liccardo Center, Wayne Valley Memorial Gymnasium, James A. Carney Science Center, the Leontyne Chapel and Matthewson Hall. Bellarmine was a boarding school until the 1984-1985 academic year, when the O'Donnell dormitory was converted to classroom and administrative functions. From an enrollment of 200 Bellarmine has grown to more than 1,500 students from all parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2001, Bellarmine celebrated 150 years of educating young men in the Jesuit tradition. The latest addition to Bellarmine's campus is the Emory Fitness Center.
Graduate at Graduation
The Graduate at Graduation, which is known to most as the "Grad at Grad," is a statement that outlines the goals of a Bellarmine education. It emphasizes academic growth as well as spiritual and leadership growth.[3] It includes six overall attributes of the perfect graduate:
- Open to Growth
- Intellectually Competent
- Religious
- Loving
- Committed to Doing Justice
- Pursuing Leadership Growth
Many teachers include variations of the statement in their course summaries, which are given to students at the beginning of the school year. The teacher will often use the six overall attributes to list various course outcomes. For example, under the attribute of "Open to Growth," Mr. Scott C. Benson writes that a student of his Literature of the Counterculture class will "become aware of alternatives to current cultural, political, and literary models."
Student body
Most of Bellarmine's 1,577 students come from the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties, with some students commuting for hours each day to attend the school in the South Bay. Although the racial composition of classes varies year to year, the student population in the 2000s has usually been approximately 55% Caucasian, 30% Asian, 8% Hispanic, 4% African American, 2% Middle Eastern, and 1% Native American/Pacific Islander/Alaskan Native. In terms of religious affiliation, 75% of the students are Christian (60% Catholic, 14% Protestant). Approximately one in five students receive partial or full scholarships. Additionally, one in five students have a father or brother who attended Bellarmine.
Academics
Graduation requirements require coursework in English, mathematics, social studies, science, foreign language, fine arts, physical education, and theology with additional courses in computer science available. With its emphasis on college preparation, Bellarmine also provides an honors and Advanced Placement program, preparing students to take more than 24 AP tests, with 87% of test scores qualifying for college credit, as of 2007.[4] In 2007, 95.2% of the graduates chose to attend four-year institutions throughout the United States and abroad, both public and private, including the University of California system, the Big Ten, the Big East, the Ivy League, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and the United States military academies.[5]
Athletics
The Bellarmine Bells field 34 teams in 13 sports over three seasons in the West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL), one of the most intense athletic leagues in California. Sports include football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, water polo, swimming, lacrosse, tennis, cross country, golf, wrestling, track and field, roller hockey, and as of 2007, Bellarmine formed its first ice hockey team, which has been recognized by the San Jose Sharks. As of the 2009-10 school year, Bellarmine welcomed rugby to its athletic resume. The new rugby team competes during the spring season in the Skyhawk Conference. Athletic facilities on campus include an outdoor swimming pool, a new all-weather track, new soccer field, baseball diamond, new football field, a gymnasium and a weight-lifting room. Since 1981, Bellarmine has won more than 115 Central Coast Section (CCS) Division 1 team titles, more than any other school in the section. Recently Bellarmine's 2002 varsity soccer team was said to be one of the top five high school boy's soccer teams in the past decade after a 25-0-0 season.
Swimming, Cross-Country, baseball, soccer, volleyball and water polo are six of Bellarmine's most notable sports. Under the direction of Coach Larry Rogers, the swim team has won every CCS championship since 1985 and the water polo team has won 14 of the last 15 CCS championships. The swim team title streak caught the eye of The San Francisco Chronicle’s Mitch Stevens who wrote, "That put [Bellarmine Coach Larry] Rogers...and the Bells...above such storied high school programs as Poway of San Diego wrestling, Mission Viejo swimming and yes, even De La Salle football." Bellarmine's volleyball team has won eight of the twelve CCS volleyball championships awarded since 1997. Former volleyball coach Patrick Adams is the most successful volleyball coach in CCS history with 305 victories.
Spirituality and service
Central to Bellarmine's mission is its Campus Ministry and Christian Service Program. Campus Ministry, in the tradition of Jesuit spirituality, offers the Freshmen Retreat, one day Sophomore Breakaways, three day Junior Search, and the four day Senior Kairos, the capstone of the Bellarmine retreat experience. The Freshmen Retreat used to include an overnight stay in a classroom on campus, but that was dropped in 2004. Other retreats also include weekend Mother/Son and Father/Son retreats, the Silent Retreat, and the 4th Day Retreat. Campus Ministry also provides personal counseling, assists in student sponsored monthly liturgies, guides the Student Campus Ministry Team, leads Christian Life Communities, sets up daily Mass and morning prayer, and fosters spirituality among Bellarmine's staff and faculty.
Campus Ministry's partner, The Christian Service Program (CSP) provides each student opportunities to engage directly with groups that are often marginalized including youth, the physically and mentally disabled, and the socio-economically disadvantaged. Students are required to complete 75 hours of service before graduation, including an extensive senior service project. CSP also oversees service learning in the school curriculum, administers service projects for alumni and faculty and staff, and guides the student run CSP Corps. Emphasizing direct experience and compassionate human interactions, Bellarmine sponsors Immersion trips to Guaymas, Tijuana, Uruguay, downtown San Jose, rural Salinas, and El Salvador in order to directly experience the lives of the poor. Trips have also been added to Los Angeles and Guatemala, and in 2010 will also include Appalachia and India.
Co-curricular program
Bellarmine's co-curricular program offers nearly 90 different student groups and clubs emphasizing the arts, athletics, hobbies, diversity, leadership, service, scholastics and student government. Bellarmine also features an intramural athletic program that features touch football, dodgeball, basketball and softball.
Speech and Debate
This program is one of the more popular and successful programs at Bellarmine with over 170 participants and it regularly captures both state and national championships via the National Forensic League. In 1994, Bellarmine won the team speech and debate National Championship in Kansas City, MO. In both 2003 and 2004, the Speech and Debate program were back to back California State Champions. In 2005, the team took second in the state and received an honorary award as one of the top two teams in the nation. In 2006, its policy debate team captured the National Championship. Over the last four years, (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) Bellarmine's Speech and Debate program has been the California State Champions.[6][7][8][9] Bellarmine also competes against local schools in the Coast Forensic League.[10]In 2009, Bellarmine reached the final round of the prestigious Tournament of Champions cementing its place as the top performing nationally competitive policy debate teams in the country.[11]
Robotics
Another international championship winning program is the FIRST Robotics Team 254, the Cheesy Poofs. The team has won the Chairman's Award (the highest award in FIRST), second place at the world championships twice, and the Silicon Valley Regional for ten of the regional's eleven years (1999-2006 and 2008-2009), among other achievements.[12]
Journalism
Bellarmine also has a student run newspaper, The Cardinal, and nationally recognized yearbook, The Carillon. The articles of The Cardinal are written by student journalists from a neutral standpoint, where the objective is to inform. There is also a student group at Bellarmine known as the Writers Guild, who publishes a biyearly publication called the Written Echo which contains poetry, short stories, and art.
Radio
As of 2008, Bellarmine has its own radio station, running daily from 3pm to 5pm. It hosts a variety of programs including 15-minute newscasts, College Football Thursdays (seasonal), and a twice-a-week sports show, as well as the 7th period jam with Eric Thorne, the Entertainment Weekly and the Joey Sarmiento Show. It runs on an AM transmitter, broadcasting within a 1-mile radius of the school and on I-tunes/NiceCast and www.youcastr.com as belltalk radio. It attends school events with live sports broadcasts.
Fine arts
In addition to course electives in painting, photography, ceramics, art history, sculpture, drawing and graphic design, Bellarmine also supports various student groups including a cappella and improvisational humor groups. Music electives include symphonic band, lab band, jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble, wind ensemble, music appreciation, and choir. Student concerts are held often to showcase these groups effort along with that of outside student bands. Over 100 students also participate in the Theater Arts program which produces a fall drama, a winter musical, and spring comedy. Students also get a chance to display their film talents in the Bellarmine Film Festival which occurs between the months of April and May.
Freshman Experience Program
Established during the 2006-07 school year, Bellarmine's Freshman Experience program is composed of the Big Brother program and the yearly Freshman Retreat, both of which had existed separately long before they were combined under the "Freshman Experience" name. The Big Brother program is made up of upperclassmen who are selected to act as guides and advisers (hence the name "Big Brother") to the incoming freshman class each year. Though there are many activities in which Big Brothers partake with their freshmen, the Freshman Retreat is the most prominent. Each year (usually in October), a day-long retreat is scheduled solely for freshmen and their big brothers that allows freshmen to be introduced to the retreat experience while learning about Bellarmine's emphasis on "brotherhood." Each year, a select group of Big Brothers is chosen to make up the Freshman Retreat Cadre, which works directly with faculty members to plan and schedule the retreat. In addition, a small group of big brothers are chosen each year to act as Big Brother Commissioners. The commissioners work directly with the director of the Freshman Experience program to plan and schedule various activities throughout the school year.
Quiz Bowl
Bellarmine fields a Knowledge Masters Open and Quiz Bowl team. In the Fall 2008 competition, the team placed second in California and third in the world.[8] The team won the 2008 Northern California NAQT championship [9] and the 2009 Quiz Kids tournament [10].
Publications
- Connections - A magazine published for the alumni, friends of the school, and parents of current students, replacing the parent magazine called "The Bell News"
- The Family Newsletter - produced by the Bellarmine Mothers' Guild, offers news of interest to the current students and their families
- The Cardinal - The Official Student Newspaper, produced by students
- The Carillon - The Yearbook, produced by students
- The Written Echo - A semestral collection of various prose and poetry works from students. Plans have been made to publish a joint edition with sister school Presentation High School.
Notable alumni
- Joe Albanese: MLB (1958) [13]
- Sunkrish Bala '02: Actor, played Eric on ABC's Notes from the Underbelly
- Justin Baughman: MLB (1998-2000) [14]
- Jim Beall '70: California's 24th District State Assemblyman (2006-)[11]
- Wayne Belardi: MLB (1950-1956) [15]
- Paul Bernal '80: Santa Clara County Superior Court judge [11]
- Michael Berns '81: supervising producer and writer for Las Vegas (2004-2005)[12]
- Craig Bragg: NFL (2005-), attended UCLA, drafted by Green Bay Packers
- Walter Briggs '66: US Navy forrester in charge of all Navy land in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona, honoree of the Walter R. Briggs Old Growth Forest[13]
- Copeland Bryan: NFL (2006-), attended University of Arizona, currently plays for the Detroit Lions
- Pat Burrell: MLB (2000-) [16]
- Ron Caragher: Head football coach of University of San Diego (2007-); assistant coach at UCLA (1994-2002) and at University of Kentucky (2003-2006)
- Ming W. Chin: Associate Justice, Supreme Court of California [17]
- Bill Connors: MLB (1966-1968) [18]
- Raymond Davilla '65: Santa Clara County Superior Court judge [11]
- Conn Findlay '48: Holds four Olympic medals, three in Rowing (1956 Gold, 1960 Bronze, 1964 Gold) and one in Sailing (1976 Bronze)
- Kevin Frandsen: MLB player, currently for the San Francisco Giants (2006-) [19]
- Bob Gallagher: MLB (1972-1975) [20]
- Ed Giovanola '87: MLB (1995-1999) [21]
- John Glaspy '71: professor at UCLA School of Medicine, Estelle Sanders Endowed Chair in Cancer Research[14]
- Greg Gohr: MLB (1993-1996) [22]
- Kelly Grovier: Poet and literary critic
- Thomas Hastings '56: Santa Clara County Superior Court judge [11]
- Matt Hatzke: MLS player (2008-), signed by San Jose Earthquakes
- Nick Hatzke: MLS player (2007-), drafted by Houston Dynamo
- Nick Holt: Defensive coordinator of the Washington Huskies, former head coach of the Idaho Vandals
- Gregg Hurwitz '91: Author
- Amaechi Igwe: MLS player (2007-), drafted by the New England Revolution, attended Bellarmine from 2002-2004
- Randy Kirk '84: NFL (1987-1999)
- Peter Kirwan '77: Santa Clara County Superior Court judge (2006-)[11]
- Sam Liccardo '87: San Jose City Councilmember (2007-)
- Tom McEnery: Former mayor of San Jose [23]
- Kevin McMahon '90: Olympian (1987-1990) [24]
- Stephen Mirrione '87: Academy Award-winning film editor for his work on Traffic
- Pablo Morales: Olympic gold and silver medalist (1979-1983)
- Hugh F. Mullin III '60: Santa Clara County Superior Court judge (1986-2006)
- Marv Owen: MLB (1931-1940) [25]
- Billy Owens: MLB '89: Oakland A's Director of Player Personnel (2004-)
- Dan Pastorini: NFL (1971-1981, 1983), played in 1975 Pro Bowl
- Marc Poche '52: Santa Clara County Superior Court judge [11]
- Stephen Schott: Former owner of the Oakland Athletics [26]
- Jim Small: MLB (1955-1958) [27]
- Marv Teixeira '52: Mayor of Carson City, Nevada (1989-1996, 2004-Present)[14]
- John Vasconcellos, California State Senator
- Jim Wilhelm: MLB (1978-1979) [28]
Miscellaneous
Technology on campus is supported by companies such as IBM, Extreme Networks, Network Appliance and Cisco Systems.
Jack Kerouac would pass by the school everyday when he worked in the trainyards and even referenced the school in a prose piece he wrote entitled "October in the Railroad Earth" as part of the longer book, Lonesome Traveler.
Bellarmine is the fourth oldest Jesuit institution in the United States and the second oldest Jesuit institution west of the Mississippi River (after St. Louis University High, founded 1818). Bellarmine is the oldest high school in California. [29]
Actress Linda Park (famous for her role as Hoshi Sato on Star Trek: Enterprise) acted regularly in Bellarmine theater productions while she went to one of Bellarmine's sister schools, Notre Dame.
External links
- Bellarmine College Preparatory website
- Bellarmine Online Store
- California Province Society of Jesus
- Official Bellarmine YouTube Channel
- Past Issues of The Cardinal, Bellarmine's official student newspaper
References
- ^ a b c d "School administration". About Us. Bellarmine College Preparatory. http://www.bcp.org/about_us/administration.aspx. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ a b c d e "Welcome". Admissions. Bellarmine College Preparatory. http://www.bcp.org/admissions/index.aspx. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
- ^ "Program". Athletics. Bellarmine College Preparatory. http://www.bcp.org/athletics/program.aspx. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ "Conference Affiliation". Athletics. Bellarmine College Preparatory. http://www.bcp.org/athletics/conference.aspx. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". http://www.acswasc.org/directory_search.cfm. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
- ^ "Achievements". Academics. Bellarmine College Preparatory. http://www.bcp.org/academics/achievements.aspx. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ Martinez, Jennifer (2007-11-30). "Donations to same-sex schools show gender gap". San Jose Mercury News. http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7598067?nclick_check=1. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ Fall 2008 KMO Results
- ^ 2008 Quiz Bowl Results
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c d e f Connections: 26–29, Winter 2007, http://webs.bcp.org/sites/connections/winter_2007/pdf/connections_winter_2007.pdf.PDF
- ^ Connections: 30–33, Winter 2004, http://webs.bcp.org/sites/connections/winter_2004/pdf/connections_winter_2004.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks
- ^ Connections: 26–29, Fall 2005, http://webs.bcp.org/sites/connections/fall_2005/pdf/connections_fall_2005.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks
- ^ a b Connections: 28–30, Spring 2005, http://webs.bcp.org/sites/connections/spring_2005/pdf/connections_spring_2005.pdf#pagemode=bookmarks
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