Notre Dame High School, Niles, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Notre Dame High School for Boys is a male-only Roman Catholic
secondary school founded in Niles, Illinois
in 1955 by the Congregation of Holy Cross
. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
.
Because Notre Dame
is a common name for schools, this school is often confused with Peoria Notre Dame High School
and Quincy Notre Dame High School
, both of which are located in Illinois. Despite the similarity in name, this school is not affiliated with the Notre Dame High School for Girls
found in Chicago.
The timing of the new school corresponded to the closing of the Congregation's school (Columbia Prep School) in Portland
, Oregon
. About half of the faculty came east from Portland to start the new school in Illinois. They also brought with them the old school's athletic uniforms, which necessitated the new school's colors to be the same as the Oregon school's (green and white). Even the old school's fight song was brought along, with appropriate new wording changes made by an early music teacher.
The name of the school itself was one to draw a connection between the Congregation's most noted local center of higher learning, the University of Notre Dame
, and the Chicago area, which had given its support to the University and the congregation over many years. An excerpt from the Congregation's Province Review in 1954 noted:
In the summer of 2006, the Congregation announced that it would be ending its formal association with the school, effective at the end of the 2006-07 school year. Since then, a board of both religious and lay people have acted to run the school and maintain a relationship with the Archdiocese.
The following Advanced Placement courses are offered: English Literature, Art History
, Art Studio, Spanish Language
, Calculus (BC)
, Government, US History, Statistics
, and European History
.
AP Latin Virgil and AP Latin Language
are offered on a rotating biennial basis. AP Biology
, AP Chemistry
, and AP Physics (B)
are offered on a longer term rotation, where at least two of these courses are available at any given time.
: baseball
, basketball
, bowling
, cross country
, football
, golf
, soccer, swimming
& diving
, tennis
, track and field
, volleyball
, and wrestling
, bass fishing
. All of these teams (except for bowling and swimming) compete in the East Suburban Catholic Conference
.
The school also sponsors teams in ice hockey
and lacrosse
. Lacrosse competes in the Chicago Metro Conference, and plays in a state tournament governed by the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association. The hockey team plays in the Chicago Suburban Catholic League.
The following teams placed in the top four at IHSA sponsored state tournaments:
The Hockey team won three state tournaments in 1976,1992, and 2010 through the AHAI State Tournament, the governing body of hockey in Illinois. These are the only non IHSA State Championships Notre Dame has.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
secondary school founded in Niles, Illinois
Niles, Illinois
Niles is a village in Maine and Niles Townships, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The 2010 population from the U.S. Census Bureau is 29,803.The current mayor of Niles is Robert M. Callero.-History:Niles was first settled in 1827....
in 1955 by the Congregation of Holy Cross
Congregation of Holy Cross
The Congregation of Holy Cross or Congregatio a Sancta Cruce is a Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by Blessed Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC, in Le Mans, France....
. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an Archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, a geographic area of 1,411 square miles. The Archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries...
.
Because Notre Dame
Notre Dame (disambiguation)
* Notre Dame is a French title for the Blessed Virgin Mary.* The most famous church with this name is Notre Dame de Paris.* In the United States, it often refers to the University of Notre Dame and their football team....
is a common name for schools, this school is often confused with Peoria Notre Dame High School
Peoria Notre Dame High School
Peoria Notre Dame High School is a Catholic parochial high school in Peoria, Illinois. It is the largest parochial school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria with approximately 815 students and has a college preparatory curriculum. According to the school, more than 99% of students graduating...
and Quincy Notre Dame High School
Quincy Notre Dame High School
Quincy Notre Dame High School is a Roman Catholic co-educational high school in Quincy, Illinois in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, serving students in grades 9-12.- History :...
, both of which are located in Illinois. Despite the similarity in name, this school is not affiliated with the Notre Dame High School for Girls
Notre Dame High School for Girls
Notre Dame High School for Girls is a private, Roman Catholic, all-girls college prep high school in Chicago, Illinois. Notre Dame High School for Girls was founded in 1938 by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and in 2009, was incorporated by the Archdiocese of Chicago, making it part of the St....
found in Chicago.
History
Notre Dame High School was one of the first Catholic high schools to open in the suburban Chicago area. It was opened at the request of the then Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, Samuel Stritch, with the supervision of the Congregation of Holy Cross.The timing of the new school corresponded to the closing of the Congregation's school (Columbia Prep School) in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. About half of the faculty came east from Portland to start the new school in Illinois. They also brought with them the old school's athletic uniforms, which necessitated the new school's colors to be the same as the Oregon school's (green and white). Even the old school's fight song was brought along, with appropriate new wording changes made by an early music teacher.
The name of the school itself was one to draw a connection between the Congregation's most noted local center of higher learning, the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, and the Chicago area, which had given its support to the University and the congregation over many years. An excerpt from the Congregation's Province Review in 1954 noted:
For years the University (of Notre Dame) and the Community have been helped by a large group of loyal friends in the Chicago area. It is fitting that the first major high school work undertaken by our Province should be in Chicago. Many elements entered into the decision to accept this school, but one of the most sincere was the desire to express the Community’s gratitude to the Catholics of Chicago for their past support and friendship.
In the summer of 2006, the Congregation announced that it would be ending its formal association with the school, effective at the end of the 2006-07 school year. Since then, a board of both religious and lay people have acted to run the school and maintain a relationship with the Archdiocese.
Academics
The school offers four programs designed for students of differing levels of skill, with a focus on college preparation - Hesburgh Scholar Program, College Prep Program, St. Andre Bessette Program, Burke Scholar Program.The following Advanced Placement courses are offered: English Literature, Art History
AP Art History
AP Art History is a course offered in high school through the Advanced Placement Program that gives college level material at the high school level. This class is operated by College Board...
, Art Studio, Spanish Language
AP Spanish Language
Advanced Placement Spanish Language is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program.-The course:...
, Calculus (BC)
AP Calculus
Advanced Placement Calculus is used to indicate one of two distinct Advanced Placement courses and examinations offered by the College Board, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC....
, Government, US History, Statistics
AP Statistics
Advanced Placement Statistics is a college-level high school statistics course offered in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program...
, and European History
AP European History
Advanced Placement European History is a course and examination offered by the College Board through the Advanced Placement Program...
.
AP Latin Virgil and AP Latin Language
AP Latin
AP Latin can refer to either of the following Advanced Placement exams:* AP Latin Literature* AP Latin: Vergil...
are offered on a rotating biennial basis. AP Biology
AP Biology
In the United States, Advanced Placement Biology , is a course and examination offered by the College Board to high school students as an opportunity to earn placement credit for a college-level biology course....
, AP Chemistry
AP Chemistry
Advanced Placement Chemistry is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and earn college-level credit.-The course:AP Chemistry is a course...
, and AP Physics (B)
AP Physics
AP Physics defines three categories of high school physics courses: A, B, and C. Category A refers to general introductory physics courses that are not mathematically rigorous...
are offered on a longer term rotation, where at least two of these courses are available at any given time.
Athletics
Notre Dame High School sponsors teams in 14 sports that are governed by the Illinois High School AssociationIllinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
: baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, soccer, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
& diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, and wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
, bass fishing
Bass fishing
Bass fishing is the activity of angling for the North American gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish in North America, including largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , Spotted bass or Kentucky bass , Guadalupe bass Bass fishing is...
. All of these teams (except for bowling and swimming) compete in the East Suburban Catholic Conference
East Suburban Catholic Conference
The East Suburban Catholic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 13 Catholic high schools in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois . The conference became independent in 1974....
.
The school also sponsors teams in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. Lacrosse competes in the Chicago Metro Conference, and plays in a state tournament governed by the Illinois High School Lacrosse Association. The hockey team plays in the Chicago Suburban Catholic League.
The following teams placed in the top four at IHSA sponsored state tournaments:
- Baseball •• State Champions (2003—04)
- Football •• 2nd place (1989—90)
The Hockey team won three state tournaments in 1976,1992, and 2010 through the AHAI State Tournament, the governing body of hockey in Illinois. These are the only non IHSA State Championships Notre Dame has.
Notable alumni
- Ted AnsaniTed AnsaniTed Ansani the bassist/vocalist for the seminal 1990s power pop group Material Issue. The Chicago-based band released four major label albums while touring extensively before its collapse, with frontman Jim Ellison's suicide....
was the bass player of the 90's pop band Material IssueMaterial IssueMaterial Issue was a 1980-1990s power pop trio from Chicago. The band's trademark was pop songs with themes of love and heartbreak, where a number of song titles using girls' first names.-History:...
. - Steve Bartman (class of 1995) is a well–known fan of the Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
who was involved in a notable incident in the 2003 National League Championship Series2003 National League Championship Series-Game 1:Tuesday, October 7, 2003 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IllinoisThe Marlins took Game 1 of the series, coming back from an early 4–0 deficit. They scored five runs in the third on three home runs from Juan Encarnacion, rookie Miguel Cabrera, and Ivan "Pudge" Rodríguez. In the sixth inning,...
. - Jim LesJim Les-External links:**...
(class of 1981) is a former NBA guard who is currently the head mens basketball coach at UC Davis and was the former head coach at Bradley UniversityBradley UniversityBradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350.... - Greg Luzinski (class of 1968) is a former Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player, 4 time All-Star, and member of the 1980 World Series1980 World Series-Game 1:Tuesday, October 14, 1980 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaThe Royals jumped on Philly rookie starter Bob Walk early with a pair of two run bombs—one by Amos Otis in the second and another by Willie Aikens in the third...
champion Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League... - Michael McCaskeyMichael McCaskeyMichael McCaskey was the Chairman of the Chicago Bears in the National Football League.-Biography:McCaskey, son of current Bears principal owner Virginia Halas McCaskey, is the oldest grandchild of George Halas and became president of the Bears in 1983 after Halas' death. McCaskey held that post...
is the chairman of the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. - John McDonoughJohn McDonough (sports executive)John McDonough is a sports executive who is perhaps best known for his two decades with the Chicago Cubs. In 2007, he left the presidency of the Cubs to become president of the Chicago Blackhawks and guided the team to the 2010 Stanley Cup title, its first since 1961. On June 1, 2011, McDonough...
(class of 1971) is the former president of the Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and current president of the Chicago BlackhawksChicago BlackhawksThe Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10... - Jim McNeelyJim McNeelyJim McNeely is a Grammy award winning jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.Jim was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois, and moved to New York City in 1975. In 1978 he joined the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band...
(class of 1967) is a Grammy-winning jazz composer, arranger and pianist currently with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. - James PankowJames PankowJames Carter "Jimmy" Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument arranger best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago.-Early life:...
(class of 1965) is a trombonistTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, composerComposerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and member of the band ChicagoChicago (band)Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had... - Danny PudiDanny PudiDanny Pudi is an American actor, best known for his role as Abed Nadir on the NBC comedy series Community.-Early years:Pudi, who is of Indian and Polish descent, was born and raised in Chicago and grew up speaking Polish...
(class of 1997) is a professional actor on the NBC show CommunityCommunity (TV series)Community is an American television comedy series created by Dan Harmon that airs on NBC. The series is about a group of students at a community college in the fictional locale of Greendale, Colorado. The series heavily uses meta-humor and pop culture references, often parodying film and television...
.