Villanova Preparatory School
| Villanova Preparatory School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Roman Catholic, Augustinian, Private secondary |
| Established | 1924 |
| Oversight | Order of St. Augustine |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | 325 |
| Mascot | Wildcats |
| Newspaper | The New View |
| Yearbook | The Villanovan |
| Website | [1] |
Villanova Preparatory School is an Augustinian Catholic co-ed boarding school located in the small town of Ojai, California, USA. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, it was founded by Augustinian friars in 1924 and is the only co-ed Augustinian boarding school in the country. In 2007 enrollment was 323 with some 42 faculty members. Some one-third of students are boarders, and represent 10 different countries.
The curriculum includes four units of religion: Old Testament, New Testament, Morality and Social Justice, and Christian Vocations. Math, English, Religion and Science courses are required for all four years in order to graduate. Three languages are offered: Spanish, Japanese and Latin. Virgil is studied in the Latin Advanced Placement course. The school also offers Advanced Placement courses in other subjects, such as Calculus, English Composition, English Literature, and US History. Many students have also taken AP exams in subjects not taught at the AP level at school (such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics B/C, and Comparative Politics).
Graduates of Villanova have also been accepted into highly prestigious universities such as Yale, Stanford, Northwestern, Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, and Caltech, or highly selective liberal art colleges (e.g. Amherst, Scripps College, Kalamazoo College).
The faculty consists mostly of laypersons, with only one member of the clergy on the teaching staff. While the school is highly regarded for its English program, other areas, especially the Mathematics and Sciences have undergone high faculty turnover.
The Boarding Program
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A majority of the boarding students come from South Korea, Taiwan, and Mainland China, with a smaller number of students coming from Vietnam, Mexico, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, United States and other countries. Boarders pay a tuition three times that of day students, with English as Second Language students incurring an additional fee. Though once notorious for its substandard meals, the Villanova dormatory's food quality has improved in recent years. The residential life staff actively works to promote the positive values of the school.
Non-Boarders
The day students at Villanova make up about 70% of the population. Roughly 50% are from the Ojai Valley, while the rest of the students come from surrounding cities such as Carpenteria, Ventura, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Oxnard, Somis, and Fillmore.
Patron Saint
The school is named in honour of St. Thomas of Villanova, a sixteenth century Spanish Augustinian. Thomas was born at Fuenllana in the diocese of Toledo, Spain, in 1488 and was brought up in Villaneuva de los Infantes, a nearby town; hence his name, Thomas of Villanova. In the year 1544, King Charles V of Spain appointed Thomas as Archbishop of Valencia. Thomas succeeded in the spiritual renewal of his diocese, and gained the title 'Father of the Poor'. He gave two-thirds of the income of his diocese to care for the poor in various ways. Each day up to 500 poor people came to his door to be fed and to receive money. Other English speaking Augustinian Colleges named for this saint are St. Thomas of Villanova College in Ontario, Canada, and Villanova College, located in Brisbane, Australia. He is also the patron saint to the popular Catholic college, Villanova University located in Villanova, PA,USA.
The Augustinian Order in North America
The North American foundation of the order happened in 1796 when Irish friars arrived in Philadelphia. Michael Hurley was the first American to join the Order the following year. Friars established schools, Universities and other works throughout the Americas, also including Villanova University in Villanova, PA located just outside of Philadelphia (USA) and Merrimack College (USA). Malvern Preparatory School was founded in 1842 alongside Villanova University, and by 1909 two Augustinian houses and a school had been established in Chicago, 1922 in San Diego, by 1925 this school; and Los Angeles; 1926 a school in Oklahoma; in 1947 a college in Massachusetts; in 1953 a school in Pennsylvania; 1959 a school in New Jersey and in 1962 a school in Illinois.
Athletics
Last year, the girls' tennis team was the runner-up in the Division 4 CIF final. This year they have faced the dilemma of filling up the spot of one of their singles players, but are consistently improving. This level of improvement can be attributed to standout players such as singles/doubles sophomore players Katrina Pierson and Kelsey Jonker; junior singles' player Lexi White; the doubles' team of seniors Alexandra Gibbs and Ariana Lujan; and the doubles team of Sophia Miles and Niamh Daly.
The 2007 boys' varsity football team will be led by senior fullback/linebacker Cian Lenehan, senior jet-back/cornerback Mike Hellmuth, and senior quarterback Jarrod Arbuckle. All three are four-year varsity players. The only such players on the team. 2007 marks the teams 2nd year as a Frontier League member, and its fourth year return to 11-man football.
Villanova discontinued its football program in 1974, but it was brought back as an 8-man program in 2001. In 2004 the program went to 11-man as an Independant (non-league) Division XIII team. After two very successful independent seasons Villanova joined the Frontier League as a Division XI team, competing against schools in some cases three times its size.
The 2007 boys' junior varsity football team will be led by sophomore quarterback Rory Lenehan, sophomore receiver Sammy Davis and Martin Kim, and sophomore running backs Chris Cox and Daniel Kim. All four are returning starters and can expect to see some additional playing time as varsity back-ups.
The boys' varsity basketball team is looking forward to a strong season with new Head Coach Matt Murphy. He has a strong team behind him, with 6'6" center Todd Robien, senior sharp shooter Alex Chen, sophomore Wyatt Oroke, and junior Breanden Beaghler.
The baseball team is hoping for a fresh start with a new coach.
All of the Villanova athletic teams recently joined Frontier League. They are looking forward to strong seasons playing against teams such as Malibu, Fillmore, Santa Clara, and Bishop Diego.
Famous staff members
- Parry Shen, actor who starred in the 2002 movie Better Luck Tomorrow, worked several years at Villanova as a dorm parent for the boys' dorm.
- Mr.Grisin, teacher who is commonly known by all the students especially juniors who started the famous quote "It's Mr Grisin".
References
External links
- Villanova Preparatory School
- Order of St Augustine, International Homepage
- Augnet International Cooperative Web Site for Schools in the Tradition of St. Augustine