Christ School (North Carolina)

Christ School
St. Joseph Chapel
Address
500 Christ School Road Arden, North Carolina 28704 United States
Coordinates	35°27′53″N82°29′15″W / 35.4648376°N 82.4876201°W / 35.4648376; -82.4876201
Information
Denomination	Episcopal
Founded	1900(124 years ago) (1900)
Founder	Father Thomas Wetmore Susan Allen Wetmore
CEEB code	340095
Head of School	Dr. Sean K. Jenkins
Staff	102
Grades	8–12
Gender	Male
Number of students	294
Campus size	500 acres (200 ha)
Color(s)	Green and gold
Athletics	NCISAA
Sports	Baseball Basketball Cross country Football Golf Lacrosse Soccer Swimming Tennis Track and field
Team name	Greenies
Publication	The Galax
Website	www.christschool.org

Christ School is a private college preparatory boarding and day school for boys in Arden, North Carolina, a suburb of Asheville, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. While affiliated with the Episcopal Church, it is open to students of all faiths and backgrounds.

History

Postcard of Christ School, c. 1909-10

Christ School was founded in 1900 by Thomas and Susan Wetmore.

The 500 acres (200 hectares) campus is home to approximately 300 boys grades 8-12. Students come from 19 different states and 7 different countries.

Christ School is affiliated with the Episcopal Church but receives no funding or direction from it. The community gathers for chapel services three times per week. St Joseph's Chapel is the longest continuously operating Episcopal church in western North Carolina.^{[ citation needed ]}

Academics

Students at work in the Physics Lab at Christ School

There are 24 Honors classes and 20 Advanced Placement class offered. More than 70% of the faculty live on campus.^{[ citation needed ]}

In addition to on-campus learning, there are an average of five international trips each school year. ^[1]

Art

Christ School students have won Gold Keys ^[2] at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, part of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers as well as Scholastic Art Awards National American Visions Medal. ^[3]

Traditions

Christ School varsity football

Christ School has traditions that date back to the earliest days of the school. Those range from seniors wearing green blazers to traditions around "Yard A" and more.

Christ School has a historic rivalry with Asheville School. "The Game" is the oldest prep school football rivalry in both North and South Carolina, dating back to 1911. The Fayssoux-Arbogast Trophy was created in 1971 and was named after Richard Fayssoux, football coach at Christ School from 1920 to 1966 and B.H. Arbogast, Asheville School coach from 1930-1967. Each year the football teams compete for the Fayssoux-Arbogast Trophy, which then remains with the winning school until the next year's game. As of the fall of 2023, the Greenies have won 12 consecutive games against the Asheville School Blues and 20 of the past 24 meetings. The Blues lead the series 50-43-4.

Athletics and extracurricular activities

All Christ School students are required to participate in sports during each of the three seasons. There are ten varsity sports that students can participate in at school: three in the fall (football, soccer, and cross country), two in the winter (basketball and swimming), and five in the spring (track and field, tennis, golf, lacrosse, and baseball.) The outdoor program, theater, an aviation program (named for Robert K. Morgan '36, the pilot of the Memphis Belle), and a number of other programs are offered year-round as sports as well. The Robert Morgan '36 aviation program is one of only three high school aviation programs in the country.

There are 28 student-led clubs. Students produce a literary magazine called The Struan and a yearbook called The Angelus. The school also produces a biannual magazine called The Galax.

Basketball

The Christ School basketball program has won eight NCISAA State Championships (In North Carolina, public and private schools compete in different state associations). The last state title was in 2024, the second of two consecutive titles. It is the only boys program in the history of Western North Carolina to win five straight state titles in basketball.^{[ citation needed ]} Since 2005, the Greenies have sent more than 23 graduates to Division I programs. The Christ School basketball team plays its home games in the Mebane Fieldhouse. Christ School has had 2 McDonald All-Americans and Plumlee brothers Miles (Class 2008) and Mason (Class 2009) were drafted in the first round by the NBA. Mason won a gold medal in the FIBA World Championships in 2014. Each of the three Plumlee brothers attended Duke, and each left with a National Championship.^{[ citation needed ]}

Football

The football team reached the NCISAA Division II semi-final round for the 3rd straight year in 2014. The Greenies were state championship runners-up in 2015 and 2016. Since 2005, Christ School has had more than 10 players go on to play college football. The football team won the NCISAA Division II State Championship in 2020.

Golf

The golf program has won NCISAA 3A State Championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014.^{[ citation needed ]}

Lacrosse

Christ School began a competitive lacrosse program in 2002.^{[ citation needed ]} Since that time, the program has won ten conference championships and appeared in fourteen consecutive NCISAA playoffs, including State Championship wins in 2017, 2018, and 2019. There have been more than 23 all state selections and four high school All American selections.^{[ citation needed ]}

Outdoor Program

Christ School students kayaking through the Blue Ridge Mountains

The Outdoor Program offers mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing, hiking, fly fishing, adventure racing, and skiing.

Ski and snowboard

Beginning in 2009, Christ School formed a Snow Team that practices at Cataloochee and competes regularly in the Cataloochee Interscholastic School Race League. In the 2012 Racing Season, two Snowboard team members, and two Ski team members attended the 2012 Nastar National Championships. The team members placed with two bronze, one silver, and one gold medal finishes.^{[ citation needed ]}

Theater

Christ School Theater presents Shakespeare in Hollywood

Theater productions include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Fantasticks, the operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Little Shop of Horrors, and Shakespeare in Hollywood. The plays have done well in regional play competitions, such as the Independent School Theater Festival.^{[ citation needed ]}

Notable alumni

• John Shorter Stevens, politician and lawyer ^[4]
• Charles Wright, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and Poet Laureate of the United States ^[5]
• Robert K. Morgan, pilot of the Memphis Belle

Athletes

• Corban Collins, professional basketball player ^[6]
• John Fulkerson, professional basketball player and former Tennessee Volunteer
• Rob Gray, professional basketball player
• Chavis Holmes, professional basketball player ^[7]
• Travis Holmes, professional basketball player ^[8]
• Lakeem Jackson, professional basketball player ^[9]
• Mason Plumlee, NBA player
• Miles Plumlee, NBA player
• Marshall Plumlee, NBA player
• Champ Stuart, baseball player ^[10]
• Aydan White, college football cornerback for the NC State Wolfpack

References

1. "Christ School: Student Trips". www.christschool.org. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
2. "Christ School: Visual Arts". Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
3. "WNC Scholastic Art Awards - Asheville Art Museum". Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
4. John "Jack" Shorter Stevens. grocefuneralhome.com. Retrieved Jul 28, 2020.
5. Charles Wright '57 | Game Changers. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
6. Corban Collins - Men's Basketball - University of Alabama. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
7. Chavis Holmes - VMIKeydets.com. VMI Athletics. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
8. Travis Holmes - VMIKeydets.com. VMI Athletics. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
9. Lakeem Jackson, Christ School, Small Forward - 247Sports. 247Sports. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
10. "MLB: New York Mets select Jervis 'Champ' Stuart". tribune242.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015.

External links

• The Association of Boarding Schools' profile
• Boarding School Review