Saint Charles Preparatory School


Saint Charles Preparatory School is a four-year Catholic college preparatory school in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It was founded in 1923 by the fourth Bishop of Columbus, James J. Hartley, as a Roman Catholic college seminary and high school. Today, it is an all-male high school serving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.
The school's patron is Saint Charles Borromeo, and its motto, inscribed above the front door, is Euntes Ergo Docete Omnes Gentes, a quote from the Gospel of Matthew in the Latin Vulgate: "Going out, therefore, teach all nations." The original nickname of Saint Charles students is "Carolians", derived from the Latin word "Carolus," which means "Charles." In 1947, the students also began to refer to themselves as "Cardinals." The Saint Charles sports mascot is Charlie the Cardinal.

Campuses and founding

The school consists of two campuses. The oldest campus is Main Campus, which contains the school, gymnasium, natatorium, and theater. The newest campus is West Campus, which contains the athletic facility, track, and robotics and mentoring center.
The school was founded in 1923 by Bishop James J. Hartley. The first classes were held at Sacred Heart School, an all-girls Catholic school, while the main school building was being built.

Main Campus

In 1925, construction of the main school building was completed and classes were held there. In 1931, the gymnasium and the Our Lady Lourdes Grotto were completed. Major renovations were made to the gym in 1951 to more than double the capacity. A Gaelic-style chapel was added on to the east side of the school in 1937. Bishop Hartley dedicated the chapel to Mother of Mercy. A Milwaukee art company beautified the chapel with artwork in 1952. A natatorium was built next to the multipurpose room in 1990. In 1999, the Jack Ryan Training and Fitness Facility was built adjoining to the gym.
Construction on the US$5.5 million Robert C. Walter Student Commons and the Student Services and Fine Arts Center, the largest addition to Saint Charles in its history, began in June 2005. The approximately addition, which replaced the courtyard behind the school, was ready for graduation at the end of the following school year; however, it was not available for full use until the 2006-2007 school year. The addition houses the Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area, which serves as a new cafeteria and provides ample seating space for school and community functions. The Walter Student Commons is named in memory of Robert C. Walter, father of 1963 graduate Robert D. "Bob" Walter, honorary chairman and lead contributor to the current capital campaign being conducted to finance the new addition. Bob Walter and his '63 classmate, architect Robert Corna of Cleveland, initiated the concept for the Commons nearly two years ago. Corna was the architect on the project, and based his designs off of a similar plan for Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, also an all-male school. On the columns supporting the roof are glass panes, which bear the names of all of the alumni of the school, written with laser. Behind the Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area is the Student Services & Fine Arts Center. The ground floor anchors the north end of the atrium, and houses a new kitchen, sponsored by Donatos Pizza, and restrooms. The second floor houses offices for the guidance and counseling programs, campus ministry, and the school nurse. On the third floor is an extensive art room and gallery, with a kiln and mud rooms; and a music and choir room, with instrument storage and practice rooms; as well as offices for the respective instructors. The second and third floor connect to the original building at its rear stairwell, and to the Robert C. Walter Student Commons Area by a staircase.
On November 1, 2018, Saint Charles announced the beginning of funding to its latest addition to main campus. The addition, once funded $20 million, will take the place of the current gymnasium and multi-purpose room and add additional classrooms, laboratories, and a new gymnasium. It is also planned that a hallway will connect the new addition to the main building. This new expansion will be on the current baseball field, and it is expected that Saint Charles will purchase a portion of a nearby park for use to build a new baseball diamond.

West Campus

For the first time in its 89-year history, the school expanded its current Broad Street campus footprint. The centerpiece of this project is the newly purchased property which formerly housed the Dealers Lumber Company and came up for sale in the summer of 2010. St. Charles moved quickly to acquire the 6.2 acre site and closed on the purchase in December. The Robert D. Walter West Campus includes the Savko Athletic Complex, comprising a six-lane running track, the artificial-turf Dominic and Kathleen Cavello Field and parking; a 13,000-square-foot training and fitness facility ; and the Horvath Parking Lot. A pedestrian bridge that spans Alum Creek helps connect it with the main campus at 2010 E. Broad St. The full project, paid for through fundraisers, private donations and in-kind gifts, cost about $5.1 million.
In 2018, Saint Charles unveiled the new Robotics and Mentoring Center. The new center costs $2 million and is 14,000-square-feet. Along with being able to support the Robotics Team and My Brother's Keeper mentoring programs, the new building has a recreational area for indoor sports, including an indoor basketball court and a state-of-the-art golf simulator. The new Mentoring Center is connected to West Campus via a sidewalk along Long Street.

Academics

St. Charles graduation requirements include: 4 years of religion class, English, foreign language, mathematics, and science; 3 years of social studies; and 1 year of fine arts, health, physical education. Some of the AP classes that are offered to juniors and seniors are AP Latin, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, English, Calculus, US and World History. For the 2019-2020 year, Saint Charles will add Computer Science Principles and Government.
Saint Charles requires students to take at least two years of Latin, a practice retained from the school's past, when four years of Latin were mandatory.
Many students graduating from Saint Charles attend some of the premier college institutions in the country, including the University of Notre Dame, Harvard, Dartmouth College, Boston College, Cornell University, Yale University, The University of Pennsylvania, Kenyon College, Denison University, University of Massachusetts, and Washington University in St. Louis. There is also a small number of graduates every few years who discern the vocation to the Catholic priesthood, usually enrolling at the Pontifical College Josephinum.
In 2005, the State of Ohio implemented the new Ohio Graduation Test and Saint Charles Preparatory was one of three schools in Central Ohio to have every sophomore pass every section. St. Charles kept this 100% passage rate until its cancellation in 2015. This allowed Saint Charles to gain the title of "Undefeated OGT State Champions."
Saint Charles has a history of a large number of students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Since the Class of 1993, Saint Charles has had over 3000 graduates, with over 10% becoming Commended Scholars, 215 of which became National Merit Semifinalists.

Theatre

Since St. Charles is an all-male school, the theatre department has had to use different methods to incorporate the female roles of plays and musicals. Both prep school and seminary students performed the first plays at St. Charles in 1929 under the direction of Monsignor Joseph A. Cousins. Female roles were played by male students dressing up as women until 1971. It was then that Mrs. Teresa McLean became the first woman to perform in a St. Charles play. The next year, female students from St. Joseph Academy and Bishop Watterson High School played female parts in a production. Ever since then, female roles for plays have been filled by open auditions from women at other Central Ohio schools. The current theater director is Mr. R.Douglas Montgomery.

Notable Persons

YearsPrincipal / Rector
1925–1942Msgr. Joseph A. Weigand
1942–1945Msgr. Edward J. Leinheuser
1945–1957Msgr. Paul J. Glenn
1957–1969Msgr. Paul J. O'Dea
1958–1969Msgr. George T. Woltz
1969–1971Msgr. Ralph J. Huntzinger
1971–1976Rev. Charles A. Jackson
1976–1985Rev. Daniel W. Pallay
1985 – 2012Dominic J. Cavello
2012–PresentJames R. Lower

Alma Mater, Patronal Hymn, and Fight Song

Alma mater

Hail, Alma Mater dear.

Loyal Carolians here.

Thy fame spread far and near

O'er hill and dale;

Our voices raise to thee,

Singing their praise to thee

And happy days with thee,

Saint Charles, hail!
When student days are o'er

And classes meet no more,

When life has called the score:

Prosper or fail;

Still in the twilight gray,

As ages pass away,

Lift we our hearts to say;

Saint Charles, hail!

Patronal Hymn

O Saint Charles, our holy Father,

Mighty patron of us all!

In thine honor, lo! we gather,

Let thy kindly blessing fall.

Pray for us who name thee patron,

Hear thy sons who on thee call.
O Saint Charles, true guide to heaven,

Unto death our patron be.

When the clouds grow dark at even'

And God's way we fail to see,

Lift the weak, inspire the weary,

Bring us home to Christ with thee.

Fight Song: Saint Charles Men of Pride

Men of pride and great tradition.
Saint Charles Prep are we,
Ever strong our team takes us on,
Onward to victory.
When we fight our spirit lead us,
Victory prevails.
We fight to win, we don't give in oh Saint Charles men of pride.

Athletics

Saint Charles is a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and Ohio Water Polo. The following lists may be incomplete.

Central Catholic League Championships

The Borromean Lecture Series is an annual occurrence at Saint Charles, usually during the autumn semester, and is sponsored by Robert Dilenschneider, CEO of The Dilenschneider Group. It is named after the Borromeo family of which Saint Charles was a part of. The speakers are the elite in their field and are listed below:
School YearSpeakerOccupationType
2001-2002Michael NovakU.S. Ambassador to the United NationsPolitical/Misc.
2002-2003Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J.Internationally-known author and lecturerReligious
2004-2005Joel KleinChancellor of the New York City Department of EducationAcademic
2005-2006Russell Hittinger, Ph.D.Warren Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa College of LawAcademic/Religious
2006-2007Archbishop Celestino MiglioreApostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United NationsReligious/Political
2007-2008Father John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.President of the University of Notre DameAcademic/Religious
2008-2009Carl A. AndersonSupreme Knight of the Knights of ColumbusReligious
2009-2010Father Robert F. O'Toole, S.J., S.S.D.President of the Gregorian University FoundationAcademic/Religious
2010-2011Father Jeffery von Arx, S.J.President of the Fairfield University FoundationAcademic/Religious
2011-2012William McGurnVice President of News CorporationNews
2012-2013John H. GarveyPresident of the Catholic University of AmericaAcademic/Religious
2013-2014Allan E. GoodmanPresident of the Institute of International EducationAcademic
2014-2015Father Michael J. Garanzini, S.J.President of Loyola University ChicagoAcademic/Religious
2015-2016Steve ForbesChairman and Editor-in-chief of ForbesNews
2016-2017Susan EisenhowerPresident of the Eisenhower GroupPolitical/Misc.
2017-2018Kenneth L. WoodwardResponsible for Newsweek's Religion sectionNews/Religious
2018-2019Gerard BakerEditor-at-large of The Wall Street JournalNews
2019-2020Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D.President of Seton Hall UniversityAcademic/Religious