Saint Lawrence Academy, SL, a college-preparatory Roman Catholic high school in Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, was founded in 1975. It stresses its small size, which translates to close interaction among students, administration, faculty, and counselors. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San José; in California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. It comprises Santa Clara County, and is led by a bishop. Its patron saints are Saint Joseph and Saint Clare of...

.

Academics

As a college preparatory school, St. Lawrence Academy's graduation requirements include coursework in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, social studies

Social studies

Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...

, science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

, foreign language, fine art

Fine art

Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....

s, religious studies

Religious studies

Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...

, computers and physical education

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

. SL also offers Advanced Placement and various honors courses. Students at SL have taken the AP exam in subjects such as English Literature, English Language, French Language and Culture, Spanish Language and Culture, U.S. History, Calculus AB and BC, Physics, Macro and Micro Economics, and Psychology. Three languages are currently offered for study: Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, and Sign language

Sign language

A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...

. However, it is unfortunate to note that the French language program will be discontinued starting the school year of 2011-2012.

Performing arts

SL also possesses a very notable performing arts program. For over a decade, the school has had an annual musical; hugely popular with the students and community, the annual musical features at least a third of the student body each year as actors and assisting behind the scenes as Tech Crew. Great numbers of the remainder of the student body also attend, with free tickets sent in recent years to prospective freshmen in order to give them a taste of SL. The performing arts program contains a "no-cut" policy, enabling all interested students to participate. Pictures and mp3 recordings of previous years' plays can be found at http://www.surace.com/lawrence

Athletics

With approximately 70% of St. Lawrence students participating in athletics, success of the teams are varied. The Celtics field 14 teams in 11 sports. Sports include 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...

, 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...

, 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...

, 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...

, 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...

 and 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...

.

SL cross country competes in the Private Schools Athletic League (PSAL). Celtics cross country began in 1998. Since then, it has earned 10 individual qualifications to the Division 5 CIF State Cross Country Championships . Celtics runners have competed in State Championship races in 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, and most recently during the 2010 season. Three former athletes finished runner-up in the Division 5 Central Coast Section (CCS): Omar Ahmad, 2nd place, 2001 and 02; Amina Ahmad, 2nd place, 2004 (3rd place in 2003); and Carlos Chavez, 2nd place, 2007. Omar Ahmad competed in cross country and track & field for Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...

 and graduated from SCU in 2007.

In 2010, the cross country team went undefeated during the regular league season and were co-league champions of the PSAL, representing the best overall team effort on the largest team in school history (33 athletes). The 2010 team broke numerous school records, including overall team size, going undefeated during the regular league season, earning a perfect score in a league meet (JV league finals with a score of 15), two first place race finishers in two league meet races in the same meet (varsity and JV boys individual champions) and many more. One very important school record was established by the girls—having five girls stay together all season to finish with the first ever girls team in school history. The fall 2011 edition of SL cross country brings in a lot of momentum. Losing only two seniors to graduation, the 2011 cross country team promises to have even more potential success. Already with 30 athletes signed up, including 12 girls, the team could surpass last year as the biggest and most successful, especially considering incoming freshmen athletes have yet to join.

SL track & field competes as a supplemental member of the West Bay Athletic League (WBAL). Celtics track & field began also in 1998. Since then, it has earned a total of 11 CCS trials qualifications. Celtics athletes have competed in the CCS trials in 2001, 03, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, and most recently qualified two athletes at the end of the 2011 season. The 2011 track & field team had a roster of 58 athletes and 4 student managers, which represented 25% of the student body of SL. For one sport to contain a quarter of a school's enrollment is uncommon. The track team enjoyed great success and broke several school records. Athletes in the track & field/cross country programs are currently involved in off-season personal training at different levels of commitment. It has been noted by several coaches familiar with SL, once the athletes discover summer training, SL has the potential to be competitive at a much higher level.

The biggest story in athletics at St. Lawrence is in track & field. SL has the distinct honor to have had as a former student/athlete, the 11th best pole vaulter in CCS history and current member of the Cornell University Big Red track & field team, Josh Cusick. During his time at St. Lawrence, Josh earned All-American status twice: in the decathlon at the 2007 USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in Walnut, CA and in the pentathlon at the 2008 National Scholastic Indoor Championships in New York City. During his junior year, Josh finished 6th in the state of California at the State Championships in the pole vault. During his senior year he jumped a school record of 16-00.75 and became the 11th best all-time pole vaulter in the CCS. Josh finished his high school career with a total of 16 school records (400m, 800m, 1000m, 60m/65m/110m/300m/400m hurdles, long jump, high jump, discus, pole vault, 4x400m relay, javelin, pentathlon, and decathlon). In February and May 2011, as a sophomore at Cornell, Josh became the Ivy League's reigning men's heptathlon runner-up and men's decathlon runner-up at the indoor and outdoor Heptagonal Championships, respectively.

St. Lawrence's baseball team has also been invited perennially to the CIF-CCS championships. The soccer team from the 1995-96 school year made the CCS playoffs for the first time in school history. More summary and history of St. Lawrence athletics in progress.

New staff

After over 20 years of being vice principal, Mrs. Anne Eubanks retired as Vice Principal and Dean of Students, being replaced by Mrs. Laurraine Ventura. To add, Mrs. Cheryl Weeks retired as Counselor for lower class-men and was replaced by Mrs. Larragoiti, who serves as the counselor for freshmen and juniors. She is also an adjunct lecturer at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.

Mr. Michael DeCarlo also left, after being offered a position at Saint Francis High School. His position of teaching Algebra 2 was taken over by Mrs. Julie Tsutsui and a new mathematics instructor, Mrs. Anne Meuller, now teaches Geometry exclusively.

Ms. Jennifer Claudio, after 8 years as a teacher in Biology and Physiology, resigned and was replaced by Mrs. Donner-Greer.

Many of the former staff, including Ms. Claudio and Mr. Decarlo, are now dearly missed by students who wished to have them stay for another year.