Roncalli High School

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Roncalli High School
Address
3300 Prague Road Indianapolis, Indiana, (Marion County), 46227  United States
Coordinates	39°41′25″N 86°06′29″W / 39.6902°N 86.108°W / 39.6902; -86.108Coordinates: 39°41′25″N 86°06′29″W / 39.6902°N 86.108°W / 39.6902; -86.108
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Motto	The Life Prep School
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1969
Oversight	Archdiocese of Indianapolis
President	Joseph D. Hollowell
Principal	Chuck Weisenbach
Vice principal	Shellie Hartford, James Kedra
Chaplain	Fr. Jim Wilmoth
Chief custodian	Frank
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,143  (2008)
Classes	Level I, II, III, or IV (AP)
Average class size	22
Color(s)	Red, White, and Blue
Fight song	Rebel Victory March
Athletics conference	Independent
Mascot	SuperRebel
Team name	Rebels
Rivals	Cathedral High School, Franklin Central High School, Bishop Chatard High School
Accreditation(s)	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
Newspaper	'Rebel Review'
Yearbook	"Rebel Reville"
Tuition	One Student: $7,275 Two Students: $12,190 Three or more students: $14,300
Feeder schools	St. Jude Grade School, St. Mark Grade School, Our Lady of Greenwood, St. Roch Grade School, Holy Name Grade School, St. Rose Grade School, St. Barnabas Grade School, Nativity Grade School
Website	http://www.roncalli.org

Roncalli High School is a Catholic high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is located on the south side of Indianapolis and run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Roncalli is named for Pope John XXIII, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli.

The school was established in 1969 as a result of the consolidation of two schools, Kennedy Memorial High School (opened as Sacred Heart High School in 1914 whose name was changed to Kennedy in 1966) and Chartrand High School (opened in 1962). Roncalli is the only high school in the state of Indiana to be named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence on three separate occasions - 1993, 1998, and 2003.^[2]

Academics

Roncalli's academic rating is among the best in Indiana. It is the only high school in the state of Indiana to have won the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence on three separate occasions ('93, '98, '03). Roncalli offers four different levels of courses. Levels I, II, III and IV (AP). Level I—Some remediation is present within the curriculum Level II—College preparatory curriculum Level III—Honors curriculum Level IV—Advanced Placement curriculum The grade point scale is based on a 4.0 and the average GPA is around 3.5.^{[citation needed]}

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses

Advanced Placement courses available within the curriculum include AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Government, AP Geography, AP Environmental Science, AP French, AP Spanish, AP German, AP Psychology, AP United States History, AP Language and Composition, AP Literature and Composition, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Music Theory and AP Studio Art.

Extracurricular Activities

Art Club

Archery Club

Astronomy Club

Board Game Club

Boxing Club

Car Club

Chess Club

Dance Team

Drama Club

D’Scribes Club

Equestrian Club

Ethnic Eating Club

Euchre Club

Fishing Club

Four Paws Club

Guitar Club

History Club

Jazz Band

National Honor Society

Photography Club

Pro-Life Group

Rebel Gourmet Grillers (cooking club)

Rebel Stitchers

Roncalli Rangers

Recycling Club

Scrapbookers Club

Service Learning

Ski Club

Soldiers for Christ

Southside Rebel Rugby Club

Student Council

Swing Dance Club

Ultimate Frisbee Club

Video Gaming Club

Video Productions/Media Club

World Language Clubs

Athletics

Both the men's basketball and cross country teams have had success. In 2006, the men's cross country team set a new school record^{[citation needed]} with the lowest average 5K top five team total. The football team earned 8 state championships since 1985, and had back to back state championships in 1993 and 1994^{[citation needed]}, as well as in 2002, 2003, and 2004^{[citation needed]}.

There are many rivalries^{[citation needed]} with schools around the state, including Cathedral High School, Chatard High School, and Franklin Central High School. This past year, the Girls golf team finished 4th at the state tournament.^[3] The Boys Cross Country team finished^{[citation needed]} 5th in semi-state competition, and the Girl's team had a state finalist^{[citation needed]}. During the 2007 IHSAA State Tournament, the boys soccer team won their second consecutive Sectional^{[citation needed]} over Lutheran and went on to win their first ever Regional Title over New Palestine. 2007 was a record breaking season of 19-5-0. The boys tennis team had won four straight^{[citation needed]} sectional championships until 2007. The wrestling team has earned two consecutive trips to the Team State Finals after winning Sectional Championships and Team Regional Championships in 2009 and 2010. The girls' gymnastics team placed second in the Team State Championships in 2009 and 2010. Roncalli's Alyssa Servie was the State Balance Beam and State All-Around Champion in 2010.

Football

In 1969, when Roncalli High School opened its doors, Roncalli Football was born. Out of the winning traditions of Sacred Heart, Chartrand and Kennedy - the off-spring was destined for greatness.

In its first year the Rebels were coached by John Meredith who came to Roncalli from Kennedy High School where he was the Spartans head coach. The Rebels posted a 3 and 7 record facing a very stiff City schedule.

In the second year Bob Tully was named head coach. Bob served in this position for 4 seasons posting a 21 and 19 record. During the 1972 season Roncalli was the City Runner-Up and named a mythical State Champion in Class A by a poll conducted by the IHSAA and the Indianapolis Star. This poll was conducted prior to the beginning of the Class system in Indiana football.

1974 brought Butch Branson to the helm of the Roncalli football program. Butch took the Rebels to their first playoff appearance in 1976 losing in a hard fought battle to eventual State Champion Jasper.

Ed Tinder, 7-year assistant, took over the leadership role of the Rebels in 1977 and posted a three year record of 16 wins and 14 losses. The Tinder-led Rebels knocked off many top rated teams in the state and began the state recognition of the Roncalli High School football program. In 1980 Bill Kuntz was named head coach of the Rebels and the football program was headed for prominence. The ‘83 Rebels under Kuntz’s leadership went on to become the State Runners-Up in Class 3A. This was to be their first of, to this date, 5 State Finals appearances. In 1985 Kuntz took the Rebels to the top spot in Class 3A becoming State Champions by defeating Wawasee 33 to 3.

Bill Sylvester, Kuntz’s Assistant and former standout quarterback at Chatard and Butler University, was named to the head coaching position in 1987. Sylvester, in his 3-year stint, posted 29 wins vs. 9 losses. Sylvester took the ‘88 Rebels to the State Championship defeating Tipton 14 to 13, and took the ‘89 Rebels back to the Dome, becoming State Runners-Up in a 20-14 loss to Hammond Bishop Noll. Sylvester left the Rebels to join the Butler University Football staff.

With Sylvester’s departure former Roncalli Assistant and Lawrence Central Assistant Bruce Scifres was named head coach. In his 4th year Coach Scifres took the Rebels to an even higher plateau becoming the first undefeated State Champion in the school’s history with a 14-12 victory over previously undefeated Northwood.

The following year, Scifres led the Rebels to the 1994 State Championship with a 35-14 win over Tipton. This became the first back-to-back State Championships for Roncalli in any sport.

The 1999 season brought another state championship to Scifres and the Rebels as they finished a perfect 15-0 season. Highlights of the season were victories over nationally “Top 10” ranked Cincinnati Moeller and the 24-14 state title win over Norwell. Also during the 1999 season, Coach Scifres became the first coach from the state of Indiana to win 100 games in his first 10 years as a head coach. In 2002, Bruce led the Rebels to the school’s first ever 4A State Championship. His .820 playoff winning percentage is best in the school’s history, surpassing Bob Tully.

Ultimate

Although unaffiliated with the school itself, the Indianapolis AlleyCats use Roncalli High School's football field is their home field. The AlleyCats are a professional ultimate team and are a part of the newly American Ultimate Disc League. Their first home game will be on April 21, 2012 against the Bluegrass Revolution.^[4]

References

External links

• Roncalli High School homepage