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* [[Raul Castro]] - President of Cuba (attended but did not graduate){{Fact|date=April 2008}}
* [[Raul Castro]] - President of Cuba (attended but did not graduate){{Fact|date=April 2008}}
* [[Gaston Cantens]] - '79, former Florida State [[Florida House of Representatives|Representative]] <ref name="IJAD"/>
* [[Gaston Cantens]] - '79, former Florida State [[Florida House of Representatives|Representative]] <ref name="IJAD"/>

* [[Alonso R. del Portillo]] - '78, former Assistant District Director to [[Ileana Ros-Lehtinen]]; former president of the [[Dade County|Miami-Dade County]] [[Young Republicans]].<ref name="IJAD"/>
* [[Manny Diaz]] - '73, [[Mayor of Miami]]<ref name="IJAD"/>
* [[Manny Diaz]] - '73, [[Mayor of Miami]]<ref name="IJAD"/>
* [[Joe Garcia]] - '82, former Executive Director of the [[Cuban American National Foundation]]; former chairman of [[Florida Public Service Commission]]; Chairman of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in Miami-Dade County.<ref name="IJAD"/>
* [[Joe Garcia]] - '82, former Executive Director of the [[Cuban American National Foundation]]; former chairman of [[Florida Public Service Commission]]; Chairman of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] in Miami-Dade County.<ref name="IJAD"/>

Revision as of 02:50, 2 April 2008

File:Belenlogo.png

Established 1854
School type Private
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic(Jesuit)
President and Principal Rev. Marcelino Garcia, S.J.
Location Miami, Florida,USA
Student Body approximately 1,500 students (All male)
Grades 6-12
School Mascot Wolverine
School Website http://www.belenjesuit.org
Students to Teacher ratio 30:1
*as of 2007


Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a Roman Catholic high school in Miami, Florida. It was established in Cuba by the Jesuits in 1854, but moved to the United States after the communist government of Fidel Castro, himself an alumnus, took power [1]. Its current principal is Fr. Marcelino Garcia, S.J.[2] Independently operated by the Jesuit order, it is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.

Belen is one of the four all-male schools in greater Miami-Dade, along with Mesivta School Of Greater Miami, Yeshiva Toras Chaim, and Christopher Columbus High School. It has been named three times in a row as one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the United States by the Catholic High School Honor Roll.[3] Belen received special recognition in the academic excellence and Catholic identity categories, and was also designated as having a "highly selective" admissions policy. Each student must take an admissions test and once admitted must maintain an excellent academic standing.[3]

Belen Jesuit annually provides over $1.9 million in need-based grants to students; the money is raised by the annual Tombola fair, and private donations.[citation needed] The school prides itself in its various community services projects, including its annual trip to the Dominican Republic[4], and its other service projects across the greater Miami area.

In late 2006 Belen and Ocean Bank created the Agape Scholarship specifically to promote diversity at the school who's population is mostly Hispanic. $1.2 million shall be committed in the following ten years for this new scholarship program. In addition to covering the student's tuition, books, and other expenses, the school has created a new scholarship committee with the goal of insuring the success of the students.[5]

Timeline

Colegio de Belén (1854-1925)
File:1925 - belen.jpg
Colegio de Belén "The Palace of Education" (1925-1961)
  • March 2, 1854 - Her Majesty Isabella II of Spain issues a royal charter founding the "Colegio de Belén" in Havana, Cuba. Belen School begins its educational work in the building formerly occupied by the convent and convalescent hospital of Our Lady of Belen, hence the name of the school.
  • 1925 - Sixty acres of plantations and several buildings in Havana Cuba are donated to Belen School. The complex is later known as "The Palace of Education." As of 2008, the complex still stands, known today as the Instituto Tecnico Militar (Military Technical Institute).
  • September 18, 1961 - Belen Jesuit School is established in the United States. The fourth floor of the Gesu Elementary School in downtown Miami becomes the first site of Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. Today this building no longer exists and in its place stands the parking lot of the Gesu Church.[6] The faculty, like many other priests and religious, had been expelled from Cuba by the government of Fidel Castro.[citation needed] The school's property was ultimately taken over by the government.
  • October 22, 1962 - Belen Jesuit Preparatory School acquires its own building and moves to a new site on the corner of S.W. 8th Street and 7th Avenue in Miami.
  • 1973-1981 - "Operation Coke"[citation needed] Students are asked to make personal sacrifices and contribute money that would normally be spent on snacks and beverages for new school facilities.
  • October 17, 1980 - Ground-breaking ceremony is held for a new building on a 30 acre-site located in west Dade County, opens the following year; Enrollment is 598 students
  • November 1996 - Belen Jesuit receives accreditation the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.[citation needed]
  • 1992 - 2002 This decade marked a period of great expansion for the school. The library is renovated, multiple computer labs have been built as well as an athletic center and the number of classrooms has increased.
  • 2004 - Belen celebrates its sesquicentennial. Belen inaugurates the Ignatian Center for the Arts which includes X new classrooms, a choir and orchestra practice room, a stagecraft workshop, an amphitheater, the Olga & Carlos Saladrigas Art Gallery, and the Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Theater with a 662 patron capacity.
  • 2005 -2006 - Belen wins its first ever District Championship in football, sending three players to the Ivy League and one to Northwestern.[citation needed]
  • 2006 -2007 - The 2006-07 school year was met with great success both in academics and athletics. The Catholic School Honor Roll names Belen Jesuit as one of the top 50 Catholic high school in the U.S. again this year. Belen Jesuit was recognized in two categories, Academic Excellence and Civic Education. Belen Jesuit was also the only Florida school on the Honor Roll noted to have a highly selective admission policy. The swimming team, cross country team and track & field team all won state titles in their respective divisions.[citation needed]
  • February 3, 2007 - The Inaugural Sports Hall of Fame Class is inducted at the Roberto C. Goizueta Athletic Center. Its members include Luis Botifoll '25, Ernesto Smith '36, Alfredo Porta Bolaños '47, Julio J. Bordas '48, Felix P. Perez-Majul '55, Eduardo Sowers '56, Rene Walker '69, Julio Campa '71, Jorge M. Cabrera '72, Eric Alvarez '85, Hector Ortiz '86, Michael J. Covert '91, Edward Acosta '99, 1995 Cross Country Team, Coach Otilio "Cappy" Campuzano, and Athletic Director Coach Carlos Barquin.
  • 2007 - 2008 - The schools main building is named after entrepreneur Miguel B. Fernandez. This celebration was initiated by a pledge from the Fernandez Family for $2.5 million, the largest single private donation received by the school in its 46 year history in Miami.[citation needed] The Catholic School Honor Roll names Belen Jesuit as one of the top 50 Catholic high school in the U.S. for a third consecutive year. Belen Jesuit was recognized as a category leader for its strength in two areas: Academic Excellence and Catholic Identity.[citation needed] Belen Jesuit was once again one of three schools considered highly selective in its admission policy.[citation needed] Construction begins on the new administrative building. Bronze statue of Jesus built.

Athletics

Belen fields teams in all major sports including baseball, football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, golf, swimming, water polo, tennis, wrestling, crew, and yoga for boys.

File:Wolverineathletics.jpg
Unofficial Wolverines Athletics Logo

Frankie Ruiz helped replace long-time Cross Country coach Carlos Barquin. Ruiz, a full time marathon runner, has helped the Belen Wolverines triumph and maintain their tough position to always qualify for the state championship.[citation needed]

Legendary Miami Dade Coach Richard Stuart has successfully led the football program for over 20 years; Belen won its first district title in 2006, with a win over Monsignor Pace. Belen will have seven football players playing Ivy League football in the Fall of 2008-2009 (two at Princeton; one at Yale; one at Columbia; and three at Dartmouth. Fact|date=December 2007}}

The crew team has had recent success, with two boats, the Varsity 8+ and Freshmen 8+, representing Belen at nationals in 2007. In the last four years the team has seen itself reach the regional finals twice.[citation needed] Locally, the team has shown much success in past years, defeating every South Florida crew.[citation needed] Coach Dawn Scott-Viyella is returning to the team in 2008, having coached in 2005.

Belen recently renewed athletic competition with its longtime rival, Columbus. The schools resumed their basketball rivalry in 2003 after not playing for over 20 years. Belen won the 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008 games.[citation needed] The two schools have recently begun to compete against each other in football and soccer.

The 2006-2007 school year was met with great success by the swimming team, cross country team and the track & field team at Belen Jesuit. All three teams won state titles in their respective divisions.[citation needed] Belen also won the district championship in water polo and baseball. The baseball team reached the state semi-finals. The Miami Herald awarded Belen Jesuit with the 4A-1A award for athletic excellence.[citation needed]

In 2007, Belen became the first swimming team from Miami-Dade to win back-to-back State Championships since the 1960s. Helping complete the cycle was a slew of solid swimmers -- including Araque, who sped past Panama City Rutherford's Kevin Faulhaber to take the 100 Breaststroke championship with a time of 58.91 to Faulhaber's 59.04. Belen's 200 Medley Relay team also took the state title, with the relays in the 200 Freestyle and 400 Freestyle narrowly being edged by Leon. Carlos Omana took third in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 Backstroke, while Victor Lopez Cantera took third in the 100 Fly and fourth in the 100 Backstroke. Morejon took fifth in the 50 Free.

The Wolverine Cross Country team also won a back to back state championship.[citation needed]

Arts

The humanities and arts are held at a high esteem at Belen. As of 2004, a new building was added to the campus solely for the arts, named The Ignatian Center for the Arts. The Center consists of a theater, art gallery, music rehearsal hall, a film lab, various classrooms and an administrative office. The humanities department at Belen Jesuit Preparatory school is currently overseen by Leopoldo Nuñez whom is also the director Center for the Arts.[7]

Theater

The Ophelia & Juan Js. Roca Theatre features a 662 person occupancy, an orchestra pit, catwalk, a stage area and male and female dressing rooms. Prior to the construction of the theater, Belen productions were staged in the school auditorium which has since been re-named in honor of Guillermo F. Kohly.

Production Credits:

"Death of a Salesman", October 2003, Directed by Richard Signore
"A Flea in her Ear", March 2004, Directed by Leo J. Williams
"Fuenteovejuna", April 2004, Directed by Marcos Cassanova
"Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead", October 2004, Directed by Richard Signore
"A Time of Your Life", March 2005, Directed by Leo J. Williams
"Dialogos de las Carmelitas", April 2005, Directed by Marcos Cassanova
"Dracula", October 2005, Directed by Richard Signore
"Crossroads of Faith", February 2006, Directed by Leo J. Williams
"Los Intereses Creados", April 2006, Directed by Marcos Cassanova
"The Fantasticks", November 2006, Directed by Richard Signore
"The Boys Next Door", March 2007, Directed by Leo J. Williams
"Middle School Showcase", April 2007, Directed by Eliana Parenti
"The Servant of Two Masters", November 2007, Directed by Leo J. Williams
"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", March 2008, Directed by Francisco Padura

Library

The Ramon Guiteras Memorial Library, located on the campus of Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, is one of the top school libraries in Miami-Dade County.[citation needed] It serves the student body and faculty of Belen, as well as the community at large. The library currently has over 35,000 volumes, 15,000 ebooks, and subscriptions to some electronic databases, including ProQuest Direct with over 2,000 periodicals online and Questia. The library staff includes one librarian, three library assistants and one library disciplinarian.[8] Library hours are 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. The library is equipped with 24 computers with fast access to the Internet. The library also houses La Colección Cubana (The Cuban Collection), a special collection of Cuban books; Currently consisting of over 5,000 volumes, with books about Cuba and/or written by Cubans and Cuban-Americans. La Colección Cubana is open to the public.[8]

Accreditation

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The School is also affiliated with the National Catholic Educational Association and is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education Association and the Jesuit High School College Counselor Association.

Noteworthy alumni and former students

Many of Belen's alumni are academics, bureaucrats, professionals, or otherwise considered influential or prominent members of society. Some notable examples include:

Academics

Business leaders

Entertainers and athletes

Journalists

Lawyers

Public officials and public servants

Sources

  1. ^ Ada Evening News February 24, 1961
  2. ^ Belen Jesuit Preparatory School - President Principal's Office
  3. ^ a b Catholic High School Honor Roll
  4. ^ Belen Youth Missions - Venu
  5. ^ Ocean Bank Community: Leaders “Open The Door” To A New Day In Private Education
  6. ^ Belen Jesuit Preparatory School - History
  7. ^ Belen Jesuit Preparatory School - Humanities
  8. ^ a b Belen Jesuit Preparatory School - Library
  9. ^ MIT School of Architecture + Planning
  10. ^ http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~jidoming/images/jid_cvshort.pdf
  11. ^ University of Illinois Clinical Staff
  12. ^ College of Education Rene Monteagudo
  13. ^ http://www.ndu.edu/nwc/facstaff/bios.htm#Mora
  14. ^ Executive Profile - Al Cabrera
  15. ^ White House Fellows to Meet with Key Officials
  16. ^ Press Release: Univision Names Cesar Conde Vice President, Operating Manager, Galavisión
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m The International Jesuit Alumni Directory Belen (Forum Press Inc., 1994)
  18. ^ Marco Fernandez on IMDB
  19. ^ What Perez Sez About
  20. ^ a b c d e American Bar Association
  21. ^ Holland & Knight - Extended Biography for Baez, Braulio
  22. ^ Miami-Dade County - County Attorney's Office
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