Holy Names Academy is a Catholic private all-girls college-preparatory high school, founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and located on the east slope of Seattle's Capitol Hill at 21st Avenue East between E. Aloha and E. Roy Streets. It is the oldest continually operating school in Washington state. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, the school is governed by an independent Board of Trustees, and is under the trusteeship of the Sisters of the Holy Names; a number of religious sisters are on the board or the faculty/staff. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education four separate times, and has been multiple times ranked among "America's Most Challenging High Schools" in an annual survey by The Washington Post. Holy Names Academy emphasizes academics, community service, ethics, and leadership. The school sends many of its students to selective universities every year.
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By the Numbers
Of the Holy Names Academy graduating Class of 2017, 100% were admitted to 208 different colleges and universities, from which the graduates chose to attend 86, located in 31 states and four foreign countries. By the time they graduated, 87.6% of the Class of 2017 had earned offers of college academic scholarships collectively valued at $33.76 million.
For 2017-18, Holy Names Academy enrolled 692 students. The student-teacher ratio is 14:1, and the average class size 22. Tuition is $16,260 for the 2017-18 school year. Nearly a third of the students (32.4%) receive financial aid in 2017-18. Of the current enrollment, 35.7% are students of color. 31.8% are of a faith other than Roman Catholic.
Maps Holy Names Academy
Mission
The school is guided in all matters by its Mission and Philosophy Statement:
"Holy Names Academy, the oldest continually operating school in the State of Washington, was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary on November 9, 1880. This Catholic secondary school serves young women of diverse ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds. The unique character of a Holy Names education is achieved in various complementary ways.
"We teach, model, and promote Gospel values. This heritage is transmitted to students through school policies, academic programs, and co-curricular activities that encourage personal growth and respect for others. The Academy seeks to prepare young women for lives of leadership and loving service through excellent academic offerings and meaningful student life programs. The academic curriculum challenges students to develop their scholastic capabilities and individual talents through a four-year program of college-preparatory courses. An extensive student-leadership program offers multiple avenues for participation.
"Holy Names Academy seeks to prepare educated women for a life that proclaims the love of God for the human person. Instructed in an atmosphere that fosters the formation of a conscious ethical stance, young women who graduate from the Academy will discover the power that is theirs to direct their lives in peace, justice, and mercy--a manner befitting those whose faith inspires others. We pledge ourselves to preserve the lasting values of our tradition while we design the Academy of the future."
History
When it was founded in 1880 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, the school was located in two buildings at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Seneca Street in downtown Seattle. In 1884, the school moved to 7th Avenue and S. Jackson Street in the International District. Construction of the present building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood began in 1906 and was completed in 1908. The architect of the neo-classical-style, domed building was Albert Breitung; its design has been carefully preserved over the years with few exterior changes. The adjacent Jeanne Marie McAteer Lee Gymnasium was built in 1990 on what was previously tennis courts. In spring 2017, the school opened the Mary Herche Pavilion, a 3-story project that connects the two buildings and features a student commons area, a fitness center for all students and faculty, an expanded cafeteria with outdoor seating, and other improvements.
Holy Names Academy originally incorporated a boarding school and grade school; a normal school was added in 1908. The normal school closed in 1930, the grade school in 1963, and the boarding school in 1967.
Academics: Advanced Placement
All students enrolled in an AP class are required to take the corresponding AP exam. In May 2017, 988 AP exams in 16 subjects were proctored to 460 candidates at Holy Names Academy, including 88.9% of all students enrolled in Grades 10, 11, and 12. Of students tested in 2017, 86% earned a grade of 3 or higher on one or more AP exams (which are graded on a scale of 1 to 5). In 2017, the College Board awarded 206 AP Scholar designations to 188 Holy Names Academy students, including 15 National AP Scholars and 74 AP Scholars with Distinction. Among the Class of 2017, 91% earned a score of 3 or above on one or more exams during their years at HNA, and 67% received an AP Scholar designation.
Other academic information
The graduation requirements from Holy Names Academy include four years of English, three years of Mathematics, two years each of International Language, Laboratory Science, and Social Studies, at least one year of a Fine Arts subject, one and a half years of Physical Education, and three years of elective subjects chosen from among all the various departments. The curriculum also requires four years of Religion, covering the topics of world cultures, scripture literature, morality/service, and contemporary problems.
Student life and school spirit
Over 40% of students hold leadership positions during their years at HNA, including service on the Associated Student Body, Campus Ministry & Community, or Sport & Spirit. Leadership positions also include service as Class Officers and Representatives, Club Officers, Athletic Team Captains, Peer Mentors, and Student Ambassadors. There are more than 40 student clubs, ranging from the Robotics Team, History Bowl, and Mock Trial to the Harry Potter Club. The Multicultural Student Union provides venues for the 35.7% of enrollment who are students of color, including the Black Student Union and Asian/Pacific Islander Focus Group. A National Honor Society chapter is active. HNA often pairs with O'Dea High School, an all-boys Catholic school located in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood, for social events including dances such as Homecoming and Winter Ball; the Academy hosts its own Junior and Senior proms, as well as its own homecoming.
Students at Holy Names Academy demonstrate school spirit by wearing their school colors to athletic games, as well as their class colors. These class colors are worn especially on Class Spirit days. The 9th-grade students are always green, and the rising sophomore class adopts the color of the previous year's seniors, which they keep until their own graduation. Each color corresponds to a name. The names are as follows:
Green: (voted on by the 9th grade at the beginning of the year)
Yellow: Cadets
Blue: Pipers (formerly orange)
Red: Skippers
Athletics
Holy Names Academy fields highly competitive interscholastic teams in 13 sports; nearly 95% of current students participate in at least one during their years at the Academy. For the entire 2016-2017 school season, HNA teams collectively won the Seattle Metro League's All Sports Trophy for a record 10th consecutive year and for the 12th time in the last 16 years.
Fall sports: Crew, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Volleyball
Winter sports: Basketball, Crew (conditioning), Gymnastics
Spring sports: Crew, Golf, Lacrosse, Softball, Tennis, Track, Ultimate Frisbee
Teams in 10 of the 13 HNA sports compete in the 3A-level Seattle Metropolitan League (or Metro League); crew, lacrosse, and Ultimate Frisbee are non-league, club sports. Several sports are offered on a non-cut basis: crew, cross country, and swimming in the fall; crew conditioning in the winter; track & field in the spring. The newest of the sports to the school is Ultimate Frisbee; it was offered for the first time as an interscholastic sport in spring 2012.
From 1996 to the end of the 2016-2017 school year, Holy Names Academy sports teams have won:
o 15 State Team championships through the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track)
o 29 Sea-King District 2 championships (Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Volleyball)
o 66 Metro League championships (Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Volleyball)
o 12 Metro League All-Sports Trophies, awarded annually to the Metro League school with the highest average finish in league contests for all 10 Metro League sports that year
o 23 Washington State Team Academic championships
Crew: Holy Names Academy is one of only three high schools in the Pacific Northwest states to offer crew (rowing) as a full-fledged, interscholastic sport. Since 1982, the crew program has qualified boats to compete 17 times at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, and 16 times at the USRowing Youth Invitational National Championships----where the Holy Names Academy Lightweight 4+ boat won the national gold medal in 2017.
Theatre and music
Every year Holy Names Academy students produce and perform theater productions in school's auditorim. The fall production is usually a dramatic or comic play; in the spring, a musical is produced. The New Works Festival, a winter effort, consists of one-act plays and short films all written, directed, acted, and produced by students.
Music ensembles include a concert choir and advanced concert choir, vocal ensemble, jazz band, rock band, chamber ensemble, "Eclectic Strings" ensemble, and a full orchestra; all give at least two concerts per year, travel to competitions, and perform at school events. The school provides students with advanced music recording and production studios, with editing software.
Robotics
The Holy Names robotics team, 5588 Reign Robotics, started in the year 2015, and are a part of the Pacific Northwest District. In their first year, they were awarded all three rookie awards, the Highest Rookie Seed, the Rookie All Star Award, and the Rookie Inspiration Award. They advanced to the PNW championship, where they ended up ranked 62/64 and additionally received the Rookie Inspiration Award.
Their second season, Reign Robotics won the Entrepreneurship Award at both of their events. They advanced to the PNW championship, where they ranked 40/64.
Their third season, team 5588 was an event finalist, giving them the third highest number of points for that competition. They also won the Excellence in Engineering Award, as well as the Entrepreneurship Award. Reign advanced to the PNW district championships, where they won the Team Spirit award. At PNW championships, they ranked 25/64. In their district, they were ranked 35/155, sending them to the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston. In Houston, they played in the Hopper Division where they ended ranked 19/67. There, they were selected to be on the sixth alliance with teams 4488, 5431, and 281 where they played in the quarterfinals. Reign Robotics also won the Team Spirit award for the Hopper/Turing awards division.
Awards and recognition
During the 1984-85, 1990-91, 1995-96 and 2001-02 school years, Holy Names Academy was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.
In 2016, the Puget Sound Business Journal honored Holy Names Academy as a "Best Company in Washington" 2016 WaBest Workplaces with 50 to 99 employees, and in 2014 as one of "Washington's Best Workplaces." In 2012, the same publication awarded Holy Names Academy the first-place gold medal in the medium-size businesses category of its annual competition. Also in 2012, Seattle Business Magazine named Holy Names Academy the "Best Non-Profit Company to Work for" in Washington state. In 2008, Washington CEO Magazine chose Holy Names Academy as one of the best 100 companies to work for in Washington state.
Notable alumnae
- Barbara "Bonnie" Beers, first woman firefighter, City of Seattle Fire Department (Class of 1972)
- Mary C. Boys SNJM, theologian, scholar, Dean of Academic Affairs at Union Theological Seminary (New York City) (1965)
- Dorene Centioli-McTigue, Co-Founder, Pagliacci Pizza, celebrated Seattle restaurant chain (1961)
- Meagan Flynn, Supreme Court Justice, State of Oregon (1985)
- Lynn Kessler, Washington State legislator and House Majority Leader (1958)
- Catherine LaCugna, feminist Catholic theologian (1970)
- Kathleen McGinn, economist and professor at Harvard Business School (1976)
- Doreen Foster Marchione, former CEO of Hopelink; former Mayor of Redmond, Washington; former President, Washington State Association of Community Action Agencies (1956)
- Lindsay Meyer, Olympic rowing athlete (2007)
- Venetria Patton, Head of School of Interdisciplinary Studies, and Professor of English and African-American Studies, Purdue University; author, Women in Chains: The Legacy of Slavery in Black Women's Fiction (1986)
- Kathleen Ross SNJM, founding President, Heritage University (1959)
- Angela Rye, political commentator and activist (1998)
- Natalie Weiner, sports writer, Bleacher Report (2009)
- Katherine Zappone, Irish legislator and government minister (1972)
References
External links
- Holy Names Academy
- Holy Names Academy Facebook Page
- Holy Names Academy Alumnae Facebook Page
- Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
Source of article : Wikipedia
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