St. Augustine High School (San Diego)

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St. Augustine High School
SaintsHS San Diego.jpg
St. Augustine High School, taken from the corner of 32nd Street and Nutmeg Street
Address
St. Augustine High School (San Diego)
3266 Nutmeg Street

,
92104

United States
Coordinates 32°44′3″N117°7′25″W / 32.73417°N 117.12361°W / 32.73417; -117.12361
Information
Type Private, Day, College-prep
MottoUnitas ∙ Veritas ∙ Caritas
(Unity ∙ Truth ∙ Love)
Religious affiliation(s) Catholic;
Order of Saint Augustine
Patron saint(s)St. Augustine
Established1922
Sister school The Academy of Our Lady of Peace
PresidentEdwin Hearn
PrincipalJames Horne
ChaplainRev. Maxime Villeneuve, O.S.A.
Faculty75
Teaching staff59.3 (on an FTE basis) [1]
Grades 912
Gender Boys
Enrollment726 [1]  (2019–20)
Average class size185
Student to teacher ratio12.2 [1]
Campus size7.2 acres (29,000 m2)
Color(s) Royal Purple and Vegas Gold   
Athletics15 sports
Athletics conference CIF San Diego Section
MascotHalo Joe
Team nameSaints
Rival Cathedral Catholic
Accreditation Western Association of Schools and Colleges [2]
Publication"Saints Scene" (Community Newsletter)
NewspaperThe Augustinian
School feesRegistration Fee: $260
Tuition Deposit: $200
Senior Fee: $307
Junior Fee: $302
Sophomore Fee: $272
Freshman Fee: $315
Graduation Fee: $200 [3]
Tuition$26,470 (2023–2024) [3]
Affiliation Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
Website sahs.org

St. Augustine High School is a private Catholic high school for young men under the direction of the Order of Saint Augustine, located in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego, California, and founded in 1922. It is located in the Diocese of San Diego and is a member of the Augustinian Secondary Education Association.

Contents

Named after Saint Augustine of Hippo, an early Christian theologian, St. Augustine teaches young men within the framework of the Catholic faith and in the Augustinian tradition. This culturally diverse school serves the communities of San Diego County and Tijuana, Mexico. The school also publicly states, "We open our doors to all boys we believe will benefit from our academic program."

History

Early history - 1920s to the 1950s

Creation

In 1922, John Cantwell, Bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles and San Diego, asked the Order of Saint Augustine to satisfy the need for a new boys' school in the southern part of the 80,000-square-mile (210,000 km2) diocese. The Order of Saint Augustine opened St. Augustine High School in the St. Vincent's parish meeting hall on September 18, 1922, with 19 students. The school moved to its current Nutmeg Street location in 1923. Many of the school's religious staff were trained at Villanova University and Merrimack College, which are both run by the Order of Saint Augustine.

Student affairs and expansion

Due to a need to accommodate a greater number of students, the school expanded multiple times in its early history, beginning with the construction of Sullivan Hall in 1947, adding 350 additional spots for additional students. In the 1950s, the school constructed a new set of classrooms and added additional improvements to the monastery. In 1957, a new gymnasium, Dougherty Gym, was built. Despite these expansions, by the late 1950s, the school was suffering from overcrowding.

In 1956, the school became the first private school admitted to the San Diego City League of Athletics.

Middle period - 1960s to the 1970s

During the 1960s and 1970s, the school committed to smaller class sizes, new curricular innovations, and honors programs. In September 1978, PSA Flight 182 crashed and exploded several blocks (Nile and Dwight Streets) from the campus. The school shut down and became a triage and command and control center for those authorities who responded to the emergency posed by the crash, culminating in the utilization of the gymnasium as a makeshift morgue. The following year an arsonist burned down the school's library, which has since moved to Villanova Hall.

Into the modern era - 1980s to the present day

New buildings completed in 2007 SAHSpatio2011.jpg
New buildings completed in 2007

In the 1980s and 1990s, the school moved towards computerization and renovations occurred around the campus. The biggest change during this era was the creation of an on-campus parking lot and the closure of a portion of Bancroft Street, which previously divided the campus into two separate sections. In 1997, the school celebrated its 75th anniversary. The school continued to grow in the new millennium and embarked on a three-phase building campaign in which most of the school was demolished and rebuilt to meet modern standards of building codes and architectural tastes.

Phase One of the renovations included the demolition of most of the classroom buildings, to be replaced by two new buildings, Mendel Hall and Villanova Hall. On June 2, 2006, together with the San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, the Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego Salvatore Cordileone, the school's President John Keller O.S.A., ASB President Alexander Guittard, and various members of the Augustinian and general school community, the school broke ground for Phase One. Work for Phase One was completed in fall 2007. The second phase consisted of the new Saint Augustine Commons, a multipurpose gymnasium, and meeting space. Work began in late 2015 and was completed in 2017. Phase Three focused on a renovation of the old gymnasium, Dougherty Gym. Construction began on July 17, 2017, and concluded on September 12, 2018. The gym was mainly repurposed as a theater, The Raymond Center for The Performing Arts. The renovations also included a new weight room and a band room.

Tuition

Tuition at St. Augustine for the 2023–24 year is $26,470. [4] However, students can apply for tuition assistance, whether in the form of a grant, a scholarship, or by working for the school at Marty's Kitchen, the school's lunch counter. The top ten scorers on the entrance exam receive a $10,000 scholarship each year, for a total amount of $40,000 over all four years.

Student profiles

Demographics

The student body consists of many different national origins.

Most students live near and within typical driving distance of the school. The bulk of students live in San Diego and surrounding areas including La Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Point Loma, Downtown, and Beach areas. However, some students have longer commutes from areas in the North (such as Carlsbad, Del Mar, Valley Center, Escondido, and Oceanside), the East (such as Poway and Lakeside), and the South (such as Chula Vista, Eastlake and Bonita.) In addition, several students commute daily from Tijuana. Most students are Catholic; however, the school accommodates people of other faiths, including non-Christian ones and some degree of non-faith in personal belief.

Academics

Curriculum

Saints offers courses in the following subjects:

Scheduling

A new block schedule was introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic. The school day starts at 7:45 am and ends at 2:00 pm. On Mondays, students have all six blocks, each being 50 minutes long. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students have Blocks 1, 3, and 5, each class being 1 hour and 25 minutes long. On Wednesdays and Fridays, students have Blocks 2, 4, and 6, each class being 1 hour and 25 minutes long. Each morning, except for Mondays, from 7:45 to 8:45, there is a non-class period. On Tuesdays and Fridays, all teachers have office hours, allowing students to ask questions or receive help with assignments. Office hours are not mandatory. Every Wednesday morning, the entire school comes together for mass, and on Thursday morning, all students must go to their homeroom, which they are assigned at the beginning of the school year. Both mass and homeroom are mandatory.

Intercession

During January, students at Saint Augustine High School take a hiatus from their regular schedule to take a specialized class or internship. All freshmen and transfer students are required to take a mandatory speech class as their first intercession, but afterward, they may pick from a multitude of classes to take that month. Such classes include:

There are also travel programs available, with notable locations being New York City, Rome, and San Lucas Toliman, among others.

As seniors, students may take an internship in place of their standard intercession course. Such internship opportunities include:

However, a student may have an internship wherever they want, so long as they are available to intern there.

Retreats

Students experience several (including three mandatory) retreats at Saint Augustine. These retreats are:

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Teams

The school supports numerous sports teams that are accredited by the CIF (SDS Division) such as:

In these sports, Saints has 25 total CIF San Diego Division III Championship teams.

In the past few years, several club sports have been organized by the student body. These sports are either non-traditional sports or the sport club has not been credited by CIF.

Intramurals

The student body actively participates in Intramural sports. Teams are organized by homeroom and generally, teams of one grade play the same grade and gradually move to play other grades. The final games of Intramurals are popular with the students and the school extends the lunch period to accommodate the finals.

Visual and performing arts

In areas other than sports, the school supports numerous art disciplines including the dramatic, musical, and fine arts. Students' artwork is prominently displayed throughout the campus. Student bands are popular and play at most rallies.

Theatre arts

The school is known for the successful theatrical productions put on by the students, and is recognized as a chapter of the International Thespian Society .

The Drama Club's recent productions include Trap, The Lightning Thief, The Drowsy Chaperone, Clue, and Something Rotten.

Music programs

The instrumental music program has grown to include over 100 students and includes the 32nd Street Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Pep Band, Winter Drumline, Pit Orchestra Jazz Combo, and Jazz Guitar Ensemble. They also offer courses in Guitar, American Popular Music and AP Music Theory.

Publications

The school is also active in journalism with two school-wide publications. The Augustinian is a student-run newspaper that is published 6 times per year. The Saints Scene is the community newsletter run by faculty and alumni.

Club and Special Groups

Like any high school, Saints has a wide variety of student clubs and associations. Some of the more popular clubs include:

Saints also has multiple culture-based clubs, such as:

Leadership Clubs

St. Augustine High School has three main leadership organizations, including:

ASB

The Associated Student Body (abbreviated as ASB) is in charge of running student events. This includes rallies, dances, and the PIT Student Section. The ASB is also in charge of managing the student-run social media account and biweekly student news YouTube channel.

Loyal Sons

The Loyal Sons are a community-based leadership organization. They are in charge of manning alumni events, leading 8th Grade tours, and attending the funerals of alumni. Becoming a Loyal Son necessitates holding an above-average GPA, possessing a knowledge of the school's history and St. Augustine himself, and having completed at least two semesters at Saints.

Campus Ministry

The Campus Ministry organization is best known for its crew of Big Brothers, which are in charge of student retreats.

Rivalries

St. Augustine is one of four Catholic high schools in the San Diego area, leading to a natural state of heightened competition between St. Augustine and the other Catholic schools in the region: the former University of San Diego High School, now known as Cathedral Catholic High School, and the former Marian Catholic High School, now known as Mater Dei Catholic High School. (The fourth, the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, is an all-girls school and has long been considered as a sister school to Saints).

The most prevalent rivalry is between Saints and USDHS/Cathedral, which has spanned many years. Since the early 1970s, a yearly 'Charity Bowl' (now called the 'Holy Bowl'), first hosted at Jack Murphy Stadium (Qualcomm Stadium) sponsored by local businessman Jack Kumpel (aka "Allen Kent") and featuring Bob Hope, occasionally at Balboa Stadium, and now at Southwestern College Stadium, has been the highlight of the rivalry. The two schools' football teams have met every season since the foundation of University High, except for 2007, when the game was canceled as part of a county-wide cancellation of all high school sports during the October wildfires and was not rescheduled.

Notable alumni

NameGrad ClassCategoryBest Known For
Roger Hedgecock PoliticsFormer Mayor of San Diego and current conservative talk radio host
Ralph Inzunza PoliticsFormer San Diego City Councilman
Brynton Lemar AthleticsAmerican-born Jamaican basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Jelani McCoy 1995AthleticsFormer National Basketball Association player
David Popkins 2008AthleticsFormer St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer, current Minnesota Twins hitting coach
Fred Jones (linebacker, born 1977) Athletics NFL player [5]
Darrell Russell (football player) 1994AthleticsLate National Football League player
Bob Spence AthleticsFormer Major League Baseball player
Monte Jackson 1971AthleticsFormer Major League Football player
Terry Jackson (cornerback) 1973AthleticsFormer NFL player
Brian Barden AthleticsFormer Major League Baseball player and Nippon Professional League player for Hiroshima Toyo Carp
John D'Acquisto AthleticsFormer Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres
Servando Carrasco 2006AthleticsFormer professional soccer player for Orlando City SC
John Wathan AthleticsFormer Major League Baseball player
Trey Kell AthleticsBasketball player
John Castellanos ActorActor, best known for his role on the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless
Gregory Nava FilmOscar-nominated film director, known for El Norte , Selena , and Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Brian Rikuda ArtsMusic entrepreneur and winner of Black Entertainment Television's Ultimate Hustler
Victor Buono ActorActor, nominated for an Academy Award for his work in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Tony Bill ActorActor, producer, and director of the 1973 movie The Sting , for which he shared the Academy Award for Best Picture
Jorge R. Gutierrez ArtsMexican writer, director, creator, painter, and producer known for El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera , The Book of Life , and Maya and the Three
Thomas J. Whelan (judge) LawSenior United States District Court for the Southern District of California judge

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "ST AUGUSTINE HIGH SCHOOL". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  2. WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "St. Augustine High School Financial Policies" (PDF).
  4. "2017-18 School Year Agreement - Catholic High School San Diego". St Augustine Web Site. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  5. "FRED JONES". profootballarchives.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

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