Nazareth academy
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| Nazareth Academy | |
| Image:Nazareth1.jpg | |
| Motto | Scholarship, Service, Spirit, Unity |
| Established | 1900 |
| Type | Private |
| President | Mr. Dennis Moran |
| Principal | Ms. Deborah Vondrasek |
| Location | LaGrange Park, Illinois, USA |
| Colors | Columbia Blue, White, Navy Blue |
| Nickname | Roadrunners |
| Mascot | Rocky Roadrunner |
| Website | Nazareth Academy Online |
Founded in 1900 by the Sisters of St. Joseph, Nazareth Academy is a Catholic college preparatory high school located in LaGrange Park, Illinois.
Contents |
[edit] The Sisters of Saint Joseph
The Sisters of Saint Joseph are a group of nuns that trace their history back to 17th century France. After the French Revolution (around the 19th century), in which some Sisters were actually guillotined, they began to move west. A group arrived in New Orleans in 1836 and then traveled north to St. Louis and Kansas. Soon after, they once again relocated to Chicago, Illinois.
[edit] The History of Nazareth Academy
After relocating to Chicago, the Sisters of St. Joseph were encouraged to settle in LaGrange Park and open a school. In 1900, they founded Nazareth Academy in a house located at 120 N. Spring. There were 14 students, all girls, ranging from the ages of 5 to 14. Some students boarded at the school while others were only day students. On July 14, 1901, construction was begun on a new four-story building that would house the growing school. In 1903, the first two students of Nazareth graduated and enrollment was now up to 48 girls. At the same time, a boy’s only school was opened across the street from Nazareth. Despite the lack of funds, Nazareth continued to grow. In 1926, the Sisters declared that Nazareth would now only be admitting high school students. In 1936, Nazareth’s curriculum was approved by the North Central Association and was also accredited. In 1950 there were 500 students and in an effort to house all the students, a new building was constructed and by 1958, there were 1,319 students. In 1963, the boarding school was forced to close in an effort to make room for more classrooms to accommodate the growing number of students. Soon after, in 1974, enrollment had decreased so greatly that the Sisters were forced to sell their building to the town and once again relocated to its current residence on Ogden Avenue. In 1977, only 498 students were enrolled at Nazareth, causing the Sisters to change from an all-girls high school to a co-educational high school. Since then, many buildings and facilities have been added to the campus, including a gym and a football and soccer field. Today admissions tend to fall around 775 students.
[edit] Academics
As a college preparatory high school, Nazareth offers 3 types of classes: college preparatory, honors, and advanced placement. Advanced placement testing for college credit is available in 13 areas. Nazareth was one of the first high schools to require its students to take physics before biology. Below is a chart of graduation requirements for Nazareth students:
| Subjects | Credits | |
| Religion | 3 | 4 years |
| English | 4 | |
| Foreign Language | 2 | In the same language |
| Science | 3 | |
| Math | 3 | Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 |
| Social Studies | 3 | Including US History with constitution |
| Fine Arts | 1 | |
| Physical Education | 1 | 2 semesters |
| Electives | 1 |
Because of its college preparatory status, Nazareth also uses an adjusted grading scale instead of the 90-100 scale traditionally used. (see table below)
| Percent | Letter Grade | GPA points (regular classes) | GPA points (Honors/AP classes) |
| 93-100 | A | 4 | 5 |
| 85-92 | B | 3 | 4 |
| 77-84 | C | 2 | 3 |
| 70-75 | D | 1 | 2 |
| 0-69 | F | 0 | 0 |
[edit] Athletics
Nazareth Academy athletes compete in the East Suburban Catholic Conference in all sports. This puts them against schools that are much larger than them such as Carmel High School and Joliet Catholic High School. Students are offered 24 different sports, including club sports. The most recent addition to the athletic department was a girl’s lacrosse team in the spring of 2007.
| Sport | Season |
| Boy’s Basketball | Winter |
| Girl’s Basketball | Winter |
| Baseball | Spring |
| Softball | Spring |
| Football | Fall |
| Cheerleading | Fall |
| Pom & Dance | Fall |
| Boy’s Swimming | Winter |
| Girl’s Swimming | Fall |
| Boy’s Cross Country | Fall |
| Girl’s Cross Country | Fall |
| Boy’s Track | Spring |
| Girl’s Track | Spring |
| Hockey | Winter |
| Boy’s Soccer | Fall |
| Girl’s Soccer | Spring |
| Boy’s Golf | Fall |
| Girl’s Golf | Fall |
| Boy’s Tennis | Spring |
| Girl’s Tennis | Fall |
| Boy’s Volleyball | Spring |
| Girl’s Volleyball | Fall |
| Girl’s Lacrosse | Spring |
[edit] Extracurricular Activities
Nazareth also offers students many extracurricular activities outside of sports. There are various clubs and publications students can become a part of during the activity period after school. Clubs often go on trips and some offer students awards for special achievements. Below you will find a table of the activities available to students and the moderator that should be contacted with questions:
| Club | Moderator |
| Adopt-a-Grandparent | Rosemary Caragher |
| Chess Club | Kevin Milos |
| Drama | Kim White |
| F.I.S.H | Rosemary Caragher |
| French Club | Nora DeMay |
| Freshman Board | Roberta Johnson |
| German Club | Lori Wasielewski |
| History Club | Steve Krause |
| Hodgkins Tutoring | Rosemary Caragher |
| Junior Board | Jeanne Paliatka |
| Math Club | Lorraine Weber |
| National Honor Society | Sue Martin |
| Newspaper | Sandy Giancarlo |
| Peacebuilders Outreach | Rosemary Caragher |
| Roadrunner Club | Carlene Kaps |
| Science Club | Sheila Emmett |
| Senior Board | Kathy Gurney |
| Service Team | Rosemary Caragher |
| Sophomore Board | Kim White |
| Spanish Club | Linda Smith |
| Speech Team | Michaelene Barry |
| Yearbook | Kathy Biga |
| Youth Initiative | Cathy Kokontis |
[edit] Campus Ministry
Service is an important part of Nazareth Academy’s motto and students can begin to participate in service opportunities through Campus Ministry. Service opportunities include:
Peacebuilder’s Outreach: Peacebuilder’s Outreach is a program that offers students the opportunity to go to communities in need and help with projects to improve the quality of life. Past projects include cleaning up a forest preserve and building homes for needy families.
Adopt-a-Grandparent: Adopt-a-Grandparent is a program that works with the senior community present on the Nazareth campus. Students visit with the seniors and will sometimes host fashion shows before dances for students to show off their evening wear for the community.
Hodgkins Tutoring: Hodgkins Tutoring is a program that was started 15 years ago that pairs Nazareth students with a student from Hodgkins school. The Nazareth students help the Hodgkins students with their homework and reading comprehension since most are struggling to learn English.
F.I.S.H: Friends in Service and Hospitality (F.I.S.H) is one of the newer additions to campus ministry. F.I.S.H takes place at the Hanson Center, which is a community for adults with disabilities. Students group with these adults to decorate wreaths, backpacks, and other items that are then passed on to others in need.
Liturgy Planning: Throughout the school year, there are nine liturgies that take place in the Nazareth chapel. The liturgy planning group works hard to plan the readings, reactions, and songs present in the liturgies.
Retreat Planning: Each year, students take place in a retreat. Freshman and sophomores have a day of retreat on campus, juniors take a 2 day retreat at another location, and seniors are offered the opportunity to go on Kairos, which is a 3 day retreat off campus. The retreat planning group works to organize these events and plan what the students will do while they are on retreat.
