Newman Catholic High School is a private

Private school

Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

, Roman Catholic high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Mason City, Iowa

Mason City, Iowa

Mason City is the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties....

. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. It includes all the Iowa counties north of Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, and Clinton counties. ...

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Background

Originally, Newman Catholic was built as Central Catholic High School to serve several parishes in the North Iowa area. Newman Catholic High School was established in 1960 with guidance of Rev. William Powers. Newman is one of two high schools in Mason City, the other being the public Mason City High School.

Newman Catholic High School is connected to Newman Catholic Middle School, Newman Catholic Elementary School and Newman Catholic Daycare. This one building is a part of a campus with a gravel track, football field, baseball diamond and softball diamond. Newman lacks any academic or service clubs. It hosts only one musical per annum, and has two arts clubs (a chamber choir and jazz band) as opposed to the abundance of athletic extra-curricular activities.

History of Principals

1960-1967 Fr. Norman White

1967-1970 Fr. Donald Hawes

1970-1978 Fr. John McClean

1978-1981 Fr. Ken Gehling

1981-1991 Fr. Wayne Ressler

1991-1991 Fr. Kopacek

SR. Walter Marie

Mr. Don Greenlee

Mrs. Vicki Steil

1999 -2007 Mr. Mike Kavars

2007- Mr. Tony Adams

Athletics

Newman has a wide variety of athletic programs for students to participate in. These programs include football, volleyball, cross country, football cheerleading, girls’ basketball, boys’ basketball wrestling, dance team, basketball cheerleading, girls’ track, boys’ track, girls’ golf, boys’ golf, baseball, and softball, all which compete as the Knights. Participation in sports such as tennis, swimming, hockey and soccer, which Newman does not offer, is available through cooperation with the Mason City Public High School. Newman is a participant in the North Iowa Conference.

The football team was 12-2 in 2009 only to lose the state championship to Southern Cal Lake City 28-27.

The boys golf team has won 5 State Championships and has been a consistent participant in the 1A state tournament.

The girls’ basketball team reached a new level in the 2008-2009 season in becoming the first girls’ basketball team in school history to make it to the state tournament.

The wrestling program is also quite strong, regularly sending wrestlers to the state tournament in Des Moines.

The baseball team has won conference championships each year consecutively for the last 30 years, first in the Iowa Star Conference, then continuing the streak in the North Iowa Conference. The baseball team has also made an appearance at the state tournament in 8 of the last 10 years (as of 2010), winning its third State Championship in 2009 with its 11-1 win over Lenox, finishing off a dominating 37-1 season. They are led by coach Tony Adams

Service Program

Newman Catholic requires its students to complete 50 hours of service before graduation. This program is based on a four year student, requiring 12.5 hours of service a year (6.25 hours a semester) to reach the mandatory 50 hours. The purpose of this program is to “Promote a spirit of Christian service among the students and challenges them to use their gifts, talents, and time for the service of others," (Veselis). There are many opportunities for students to complete their hours through school or church sponsored events, such as God’s Portion Day or parish festivals. Students cannot be paid for their service and the work they do must be outside their normal household chores. This program is widely supported because of the opportunity it gives students “to put their faith into action by selflessly involving themselves in a variety of the service projects which benefit the school, the Church, and community,” (Veselis).