St. Patrick High School
Address
Map
5900 West Belmont Avenue

Chicago
,
Illinois
60634

United States
Coordinates41°56′21″N 87°46′29″W / 41.939166°N 87.77472°W / 41.939166; -87.77472
Information
TypePrivate
MottoLatin:
Religio Mores Cultura
English:
Religion • Morals • Culture
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
(Christian Brothers)
Established1861; 163 years ago (1861)
OversightArchdiocese of Chicago
PresidentDaniel A. Santucci
PrincipalJohn Harrington
Vice-presidentBob Ryan ’86
(VP for Finance & Facilities)
Jeff Ardito ’87
(VP for Institutional Advancement)
Faculty53
Grades9-12
GenderBoys
Enrollment~465 (2021-2022)
Average class size25
Campusurban
Campus typeclosed campus
Color(s) Green  and  Gold 
Slogan”Taking you where you want to go”; ”Tradition starts here”; "Faith, Tradition, Brotherhood"
Fight songGrand Old School
Athletics conferenceESCC
MascotShamrocks
NicknameShamrocks
RivalsNotre Dame College Prep
NewspaperGreen and Gold
TuitionUS$13,000[1]
Academic AffiliationsNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools[2]
Websitewww.stpatrick.org

St. Patrick High School is an all-boys college preparatory Catholic high school located in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois. Opened in 1861, it is among the oldest continuously open high schools in the Chicago area.[3]

History

The original St. Patrick Academy on the far right.

The original school, St. Patrick Academy, was opened by the Christian Brothers near Adams Street and Des Plaines. In 1953, the school moved to its current site, on Belmont and Austin avenues. The student population was bigger than anticipated, which required almost immediate addition to the new structure; a construction project completed for the 1956—57 school year.

In 1991, one floor of the school was redeveloped as a computer center. After a long term fundraising effort, further addition and remodeling took place with the addition of an atrium, theater, music facilities, media center, and a second smaller gymnasium.[3]

Academics

St. Patrick offers three levels of education to its students: the Phoenix Program for students who need additional academic support, the College Prep Program, and the Honors Program.

Student life

Non-Athletic Activities

The school also has an academic team, a chess team, band, FIRST Robotics Competition, and dance. The chess team finished second in the IHSA state chess tournament in 1977 and tied for third in 2008. The chess team has had multiple state tournament appearances, and has developed a friendly rivalry with St. Ignatius College Prep.[4]

The cheerleading squad is composed of girls from nearby all-girls schools who choose to try out.[5]

Theatre Department

The school's Theatre Department stages one play in the fall, one student play in the winter, one musical in the spring, and one miscellaneous play in the summer as part of its Community Theater Initiative. The school’s theatre, the Stahl Family Theatre, is partnered with the Chicago Kids Theatre Company for it being one of the most technologically advanced theaters in the Chicago area.

Athletics

St. Patrick's athletic teams are named the Shamrocks. The school participates in the East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC) for most of their sports, which include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The school also sponsors teams in bowling, swimming & diving, and water polo which are not sponsored by the ESCC. All of these sports have state tournaments sponsored by the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).[6]

The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments:[4]

Basketball

In 1932 St. Patrick (at the time called St. Patrick Academy) won the National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament. The tournament was hosted by Loyola University, and it invited high schools from across the country, including top teams in New York, Texas, and Indiana, all of which were considered powerhouse states for basketball at the high school level. St. Patrick was originally not invited to play in the tournament, but was called in last minute as a substitute when an originally schedule team could not make the tournament.

The national champion Shamrocks defeated the now closed St. Mel (Chicago) Knights 22-20. A young Ray Meyer, famous DePaul University men’s basketball coach, lead the Shamrocks with 12 points.[7]

In 1949 St. Patrick captured the Chicago City Championship crown, which had the Chicago Public League champion against the Chicago Catholic League champion.

St. Patrick defeated Leo High School 47-35 securing them their first Chicago Catholic League title. St. Patrick had to play Tilden High School, the Chicago Public League champion, for the City Championship. At Chicago Stadium the Shamrocks upset Tilden 54-53. The Shamrocks trailed throughout the majority of the game, but were able to take the lead in the final minute, and completed the historic upset.[8]

Water Polo

The 90’s and early 2000’s treated the Shamrocks well in terms of water polo. The team won multiple competitions, with dominate winning seasons. The Shamrocks had multiple state finals appearances, and one state title. The water polo team won the ISA (Illinois Swimming Association) state title in 1997, going 28–0. This was not an IHSA sponsored title, as water polo only became an IHSA sponsored sport in 2001.[9]

Notable alumni and attendees

Notable faculty

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-03-21.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from districts/school_district_listings/? the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009. ((cite web)): Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ a b History of St. Patrick HS Archived October 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b "IHSA record page for St. Patrick HS". Ihsa.org. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  5. ^ St. Patrick Cheerleading Archived September 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ List of athletic teams Archived May 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Pruter, Robert. "Catholic High School Basketball Tournaments in Illinois". IHSA.org. Illinois High School Association.
  8. ^ Bell, Taylor. "What a season for St. Pat's". Chicago Sun Times – via PressReader.
  9. ^ "Boys Water Polo Records Menu". October 25, 2017.
  10. ^ 1964 Michigan Football Roster Archived 2016-01-16 at the Wayback Machine at fanbase.com, accessed 2 September 2011
  11. ^ "50 Years of the Space Age Ι Motorola Satellite for Iridium". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  12. ^ http://www.linkedin.com/pub/raymond-j-leopold/8/a80/6b2[self-published source]
  13. ^ Goldstein, Richard (March 18, 2006). "Ray Meyer, Former DePaul Coach, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  14. ^ John G. Mulroe - 10th District Archived 2011-08-18 at the Wayback Machine at ilsenatedems.org, accessed 2 September 2011
  15. ^ Band members inducted into Hall of Fame (p. 14-15)[dead link]
  16. ^ "Dan Santucci stats and bio @nfl.com". Nfl.com. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
  17. ^ "American Superstar interview with Jacob Zachar". Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2011.

External links

Private schools in the Chicago metropolitan area
East Suburban Catholic Conference
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
Boys' schools in Illinois
Categories