Marist High School is a private Catholic preparatory high school located in the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, operated by the Marist Brothers on behalf of the Archdiocese of Chicago.[3] Founded in 1963 as an all-male institution, the school became co-ed in 2002 and today educates over 1,700 young students each year.[4]
History
In the early 1960s, the Christian Brothers of Ireland were asked by Cardinal Albert Gregory Meyer to operate an all-male high school on the far southwest side of Chicago, on land surrounded by St. Casimir Lithuanian Cemetery at the corner of 115th Street and Pulaski Road. With three area schools already under their purview (Leo Catholic High School, Brother Rice High School, and St. Laurence High School) the Christian Brothers declined, and shortly thereafter the Marist Brothers were asked to operate the school instead.[5] Marist opened on September 9, 1963, with 323 young men enrolled in the charter class.[6]
In the mid-1990s, the Marist community decided to begin a transition from the school's original mascot and nickname, Redskins, to a less controversial one. RedHawks was chosen as the new mascot and nickname before the start the 1997–98 school year. This also caused several minor changes in student life, for example renaming the yearbook from Plainsman to The Lantern.
The school remained an all-male institution until the 2002–03 school year, when girls were admitted for the first time.[6]
Starting in 2003, the school launched a multi-year fundraising campaign to advance needed upgrades to the school's physical structure, as well as to provide for the school's financial foundation, technology upgrades, and to continue financial assistance to students.
Academics
Like many Catholic high schools, students are required to take four years of coursework in religious studies. In their fourth year, students may opt out of traditional coursework and fulfill their graduation requirement through work in community service or in peer leadership. In community service, students are assigned to travel off campus to work at a hospital, a work community for adults with developmental disabilities, a grammar school, or other such environment. Peer leadership offers seniors the opportunity to work within a classroom aiding teachers and other students.[7]
Marist also sponsors boxing and ice hockey, though these teams do not compete in state series sponsored by the IHSA.
Marist competes in the East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC). Marist also competes in the largest school classes of the state series sponsored by the IHSA. Known more for academics than athletics, Marist has won the following IHSA sponsored state championship series:[8]
Baseball: 1977–78
Softball: 2011–12, 2014–15
Volleyball (boys): 2001–02, 2009–10, 2018–19
Volleyball (girls): 2017–18, 2018–19
Wrestling: 1982–83, 1986–87
The varsity wrestling team won twenty-seven consecutive varsity conference titles dating from the 1980–81 season through the 2006–07 season.[9] The school claims this to be an American high school record.
While not sanctioned by the IHSA, Marist won the Kennedy Cup, the oldest hockey prize in Illinois high school hockey, as a part of their Chicago Catholic Hockey League Championships in 1991,1994 and 1995.[10]
Since its foundation Marist has enjoyed a natural rivalry with neighboring school Brother Rice. Games between the two schools are often referred to as the "Battle of Pulaski”. When Marist became a coeducational school, the local all-girls high school in the neighborhood Mother McAuley became a natural rival. The rivalry between Mother McAuley and Marist have heated up with the use of social media.
Activities
The Marist band is somewhat unusual in that it is not only an extracurricular activity, but also an Honors academic class. The band functions as a marching band generally in the autumn (performing pregame, halftime, and postgame shows at home football games), and as a concert band for the remainder of the year (highlighted by Christmas and Spring Concerts). The general exceptions are their annual performances in the Chicago Columbus Day Parade, the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Chicago St. Patrick's Day parades.
The band is generally not a competition band, but has been successful enough to perform on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and to be the featured marching band to open the new Comiskey Park in 1991.[11]
The Marist band has won numerous honors and awards, and has traveled across the country to perform in parades and shows such as the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Peach Bowl, the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade and many other events.[11][12] The Marist marching band were grand national field show champions out of 10 bands at the 2011 Chick-fil-A bowl competition, with a score of 93 and a gold rating.
^ abGreve, Courtney (26 March 2006), "Turning in his baton: Original Marist music man ready to retire", Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, IL, USA), pp. B1, B8, Although the emphasis was never on competition ... the groups found consistent success under Manna's direction. The marching band, for example, was selected to perform when Jay Leno taped his show in Chicago, when the new White Sox ballpark opened, and at nearly every major college football game, including the Rose Bowl.
^Gomez, Luis (September 21, 2012). "Interview: Michael Pena's adjusting to the view from up there". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 13 January 2017. I grew up reading the newspapers, mostly the sports section. I was a wrestler and would check to see if I was ranked. I went to Marist (High School) originally and went downstate a couple times.
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