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Benet Academy
The school logo is a four-quarter shield (red and white), with a spread-winged bird in the center. Across the bird's body is a white sash bearing the word "Benet" in red letters.
Address
Map
2200 Maple Avenue

Lisle
,
Illinois
60532

USA
Coordinates41°47′02″N 88°05′41″W / 41.784°N 88.0946°W / 41.784; -88.0946
Information
TypePrivate, Parochial, Coeducational
MottoOra et labora[3]
(Pray and work)
DenominationRoman Catholic
Established1887
AuthorityBenedictines
OversightDiocese of Joliet
CEEB code142-635
PresidentFr. Jude Randall, OSB[1]
PrincipalStephen Marth[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,333[5] (2009)
Campus typesuburban
Color(s)  red
  white
Athletics conferenceEast Suburban Catholic Conference
Team nameRedwings
AccreditationNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools[4]
TuitionUS$8,200[2]
Websitehttp://www.benet.org/
A paved driveway flanked by bare trees approaches a red brick building.

Benet Academy (often shortened to Benet; Template:Pron-en or BEN-et), is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Benedictine high school in Lisle, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. Founded in 1887, the school was initially established in Chicago as the all-boys St. Procopius College and Academy by Benedictine monks, who also operated the St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage. The orphanage moved in 1898 to Lisle, approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of Chicago; St. Procopius also moved there in 1901. In 1926 Benedictine nuns constructed the all-girls Sacred Heart Academy near the orphanage and school in Lisle. The orphanage closed in 1956 to make room for St. Procopius Academy, which then separated from the college in 1957. Due to rising costs and waning enrollment, Sacred Heart merged with St. Procopius Academy in 1967 to establish Benet Academy on the St. Procopius campus. Since then, numerous building projects have been undertaken to expand Benet's athletics, music, and science programs.

Admission is competitive and relies primarily on test scores. All students complete a college-preparatory curriculum and may earn college credit through programs including Advanced Placement. The school's academic program has been featured in reports by the Chicago Sun-Times and US News and World Report. As of 2009, Benet's average ACT test score regularly exceeds statewide and national averages, and more than 99 percent of students went on to college after graduation.

Benet's mascot is the Redwing. The athletic program fields 23 teams, several of which have placed fourth or higher in their state tournaments. The boys basketball team has broken two state records, including a 102 home-game winning streak. Other activities include the annual Christmas Drive, a two-week fundraiser aimed at helping the marginalized in the local community. Students may join around 30 clubs or organizations, including the Math Team or Science Olympiad team, which both have won awards in their state tournaments. Benet's performing arts program has staged annual musicals since 1997, and the Benet bands have been invited before to perform in state events.

History and facilities

Chicago

St. Procopius Parish was founded in the summer of 1875 near the intersection of 18th and Allport Streets in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood,[6] then in the heart of the city's Slav community.[7] The need for a parish became clear as the Pilsen population grew after the Great Chicago Fire.[6] It was named after Saint Procopius of Sázava, who had founded a monastery in Bohemia during the eleventh century and later became the first saint from the former Czechoslovakia.[8]

An elderly man with a long beard, a hat, and a crucifix hanging from his neck is sitting on an ornate chair.
Reverend John Nepomucene Jaeger, pastor of St. Procopius Parish

Reverend John Nepomucene Jaeger of the Order of St. Benedict was the pastor of the parish.[7] Jaeger, the first Bohemian abbot in the United States, was urged to found a Bohemian monastic community for the exclusive purpose of teaching at Bohemian parochial schools in both English and their native language.[9] This was especially important to Bohemian Catholic parents, who wished to pass on their faith and language onto their children.[10] Chicago at that time had the largest Czech population of any city in the world outside of Prague and Vienna. Roughly 50,000 Czech immigrants were served by the three Czech parishes of Chicago, which included 16,000 to 20,000 parishioners at St. Procopius. St. Procopius Abbey was founded as a priory in 1885, and the Benedictine order took control of the parish in January 1886.[7] At the request of two monks made in late August 1893,[11] Pope Leo XIII raised the priory to the status of an abbey in 1894.[10]

The monks founded St. Procopius College and Academy in 1887[7] as an all-boys school that taught students of only Czech and Slovak descent.[12] The students were trained to become priests fluent in Bohemian, German, and English, making them more prepared to preach to diverse congregations.[13] Classes began on March 2, and for the next four months Rev. Procopius Neuzil taught a remedial class to two high school students in two small rooms at 704 Allport Street. The first full year of classes began in the fall of 1887. The school hired three additional teachers, who taught a total of 43 students by spring of 1888. Neuzil was later replaced as rector by Rev. Ildephonse Wittman, also a Benedictine, in 1894. The college was incorporated and chartered by the State of Illinois in 1890. Only a two-year high school program was offered at the time; the college offered its first four-year high school program in 1904.[7]

Move to Lisle

An unfinished building
Construction of St. Procopius College on July 23, 1900.

In 1899, the monks opened St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage[14] in the Rott farmhouse near the intersection of Maple and College Avenues in Lisle,[15] approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of Chicago.[16] On March 14, 1899, twelve Bohemian children were moved from Chicago to St. Joseph's, and the orphanage began its work under the supervision of the Sisters of St. Benedict,[17] which had been established in Chicago in 1885 with the help of Mother Mary Nepomucena Jaeger, the sister of Abbot Jaeger, along with other sisters from St. Mary's Convent in Pittsburgh.[11]

The college and academy continued to grow in Chicago; in 1896 the Abbey bought the 104-acre (42 ha) Morris Neff farm in Lisle to gain more space and a "better atmosphere".[7] The St. Procopius monks decided on March 12, 1900, to build a new college[18] at the southwest corner of Maple and College Avenues.[12] Abbot Jaeger was present at the groundbreaking on April 19, 1900. The college was dedicated on July 1, 1901, by Bishop Peter Muldoon of the Diocese of Chicago.[7] School operations were moved in May of that year, and classes began in September with a six-member faculty hired to teach 11 students.[7][18]

High school classes began in 1904,[18] with both "classical" (college preparatory) and "commercial" programs. The commercial program was dropped in 1915 (for reasons now unclear), and some of those courses were merged into the classical program. Tuition for five months cost $80 until 1909, when it was increased to $100 per semester.[7] As of 1921, the school enrolled only men of Bohemian or Slovak ancestry.[19]

Income and enrollment at the college and academy fell during the Great Depression. The 1917–1918 enrollment total of 205 college and high school students had fallen to 140 by the 1930–1931 school year.[7] The school later sought accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, but was denied because the college and academy could only be accredited as separate institutions. Lack of sufficient enrollment and funds prevented that separation. In 1932, both the abbey and school lost most of their cash deposits in the failure of the Kaspar American Bank in Chicago. Academic programs and student activities were not greatly affected, partly because the faculty was mainly clergymen, who were not highly paid. Still unaccredited, the school succeed in having its teachers certified by the state in September 1934.[7]

Students, faculty, and clergymen sustained themselves through the food produced on the 365-acre (148 ha) Abbey Farm, which existed until the 1970s.[20] Approximately 1,500 chickens provided eggs, while Brown Swiss cattle provided the milk; the meat came from the farm's supply of bulls, hogs, and heifers.[21] Bee hives produced honey and wax, while a cannery produced more than 12,000 US gallons (45,000 L) of food and vegetable products.[22] Neither World War I nor the Great Depression greatly affected daily life at St. Procopius; the farm's output helped ensure that there were no food shortages.[23]

World War II led to another fall in college enrollment, causing the student body to consist of mostly high school students and seminarians. Once the war ended, new students enrolled, and the school built a temporary building in 1947 to accommodate them. Students from Illinois also began to replace out-of-state students, the percentage of day or commuting students rose, and the school employed more lay teachers.[7] By 1947, the high school enrolled an average of 30 students.[24] Rising affluence and birth rates meant that enrollment at St. Procopius grew even more during the 1950s and 1960s.[11]

Orphanage moves

A building is surrounded by a parking lot, open fields, and trees.
The Benet Academy campus in 1984

A new administration building was constructed for St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage in 1910 on the grounds of what is now Benet Academy. It is currently referred to as St. Joseph Hall and as of 2010 houses the administrative offices. A separate dormitory was built in 1912, but it has been converted into classrooms and is now known as Benet Hall. A power house was built in 1921, and a gymnasium in 1938.[17] A small cemetery on the northwest side of the school contains 23 headstones. Orphans as young as three are buried there, in addition to a workman and even adults who had been raised in St. Joseph and requested that they be buried there after their death.[25][26]

The facility housed approximately 400 orphans in 1936.[27] By 1948 the orphanage comprised the Lisle Manual Training School for Boys and the Lisle Industrial School for Girls, both of which were managed by the Sisters of St. Benedict[24] and run by the Archdiocese of Chicago.[11] In the 1950s, Petru Hall was built as an annex on the east side of the dormitory building.[28] The orphanage ultimately closed in 1956 to make room for St. Procopius Academy, which separated from the college and began its own operations in 1957.[7][17] The separation was a crucial step in the college's accreditation, finally awarded on March 28, 1958.[7] St. Procopius College eventually became Illinois Benedictine College in 1971, and Benedictine University in 1996.[12]

Merger and beyond

An unfinished building with a water tower in the background
Sacred Heart Academy in 1913. Construction, which began in 1912, is here one-fourth complete.

Sacred Heart Academy, an all-girls school, was founded in 1926 by the Sisters of St. Benedict,[29] who had come to Lisle in 1910 to build the monastery in which Sacred Heart would be located.[9] By 1947 the school enrolled an average of 75 women.[24] In the 1960s St. Procopius Academy faced dwindling enrollment and funding. The Benedictines threatened to close the boys' school, but Abbot Daniel W. Kucera, a St. Procopius alumnus from the Class of 1941, dissuaded them. Under Abbot Kucera's leadership,[30] Sacred Heart merged with St. Procopius Academy on the St. Procopius campus to form Benet Academy in 1967.[31] The name Benet comes from the anglicized form of Benedict.[8]

In 1975, St. Thomas Hall was erected[17] to house a library and physical sciences facilities.[32] Due to increasing enrollment and a growing athletic program,[33] Benet began to raise money in 1993 for a $5 million building project,[34] which included a new 183-foot (56 m), 1,800-seat gymnasium.[35] The project also included a new boiler system and the reroofing of the cafeteria and the existing gymnasium, which was preserved. New parking areas were planned, and St. Mary's Hall was to be demolished.[34]

Benet Academy lies on the northwest corner of Maple and Yackley Avenues in Lisle, Illinois. Athletic fields and parking lots surround the building, which is comprised of many halls. At the west end is the Large Gym, and next to the Large Gym to the east lies the Small Gym. South of the Small Gym lies St. Martin Hall, and east of the Small Gym lies St. Jude Hall. Southeast of St. Jude Hall lies St. Joseph Hall, and east of St. Jude Hall lies St. Thomas Hall. East of St. Joseph Hall lies Benet Hall, and east of Benet Hall lies St. Daniel Hall. St. Daniel Hall is at the east end of the building.
Map of the Benet Academy campus. The classroom-filled halls in the middle are flanked by the gymnasiums and St. Daniel Hall, the performing arts center, at opposite ends of the school.

The Lisle Village Board delayed construction in April of that year, when 35 residents of the adjoining Oak Hill South subdivision expressed opposition. The residents were concerned about the new building's effect on local property values, traffic, and aesthetics;[27][35] they were also upset that Benet had not notified the local community of the pending construction project. Benet responded by saying their plans complied with village building codes and that "the school was there prior to the homes being constructed;"[35] both the Oak Hill South and the larger Oak Hill subdivisions lie on what used to be Benedictine land.[36] The Village Board ultimately approved the plan on April 19 and designated the entire 42-acre (17 ha) campus as a planned-unit development, requiring Board approval for all future changes.[27] Construction of the new gymnasium was completed in May 1994,[33] and the school saw an increase in applications for admission in the years that followed.[37]

The new athletic facilities included two-story locker rooms that contained 900 physical education lockers and 380 team lockers. The new gymnasium also featured zoned lighting areas, which allowed for easy use during various events, such as assemblies, performances, sporting events, and graduation ceremonies.[33]

In June 2000, Benet also began construction of a new 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) performing arts center at the east end of the school.[37] The need for more space became obvious as the school's music groups used small, crowded rehearsal rooms on the building's top floor. Drama students also had to perform in the former chapel or across the street at Sacred Heart Monastery.[28]

The outdoor theatre is shown to the right, with a circular "stage" surrounded by grassy hills and cement stairs. The stairs lead up to the indoor auditorium building, which is shown to the left.
St. Daniel Hall features a circular outdoor theater adjacent to an indoor auditorium.

The building is named St. Daniel Hall, after Abbot Daniel Kucera and Saint Daniel.[30] Petru Hall, which was used for the annual school auction after the orphans left,[38] was demolished to make way for the new building.[28] As the school's president noted, the performing arts center's placement on campus is symbolic of a well-rounded education: "The theater is at the extreme east of the school, the gymnasium is at the extreme west. In between is where the academic part is."[37] Constructed of brick and pre-cast concrete, the facility features a 369-seat auditorium, an outdoor theater complex, a rehearsal room for bands and choirs, a set-construction area, and storage areas.[37] The design includes arched doorways to match the entrances to other buildings on campus. In addition to plays and concerts, St. Daniel Hall is also used for assemblies, lectures by guest speakers, and masses that had previously been held in the gymnasium.[28]

The new auditorium also replaced the 190-seat assembly hall located on the third floor of St. Joseph Hall.[38] The room was originally a chapel for the St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage and was subsequently converted into a study hall room and an assembly hall,[28] dubbed Assembly Hall.[39] After St. Daniel Hall was built, the room was converted back into a chapel, named Chapel of St. Therese, The Little Flower.[39]

In May 2007, the school broke ground on a new $16 million science and student activity center. The 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) building adds extra corridors to ease hall traffic and a larger cafeteria. The basement provides storage space and sometimes serves as a testing area for Advanced Placement exams. The building also houses four combination classrooms and laboratories for biology and earth science classes, three chemistry classrooms, and two chemistry labs.[40]

Admissions

As of 2010, admission is competitive[41] and relies primarily on test scores.[42] Applicants are required to take the High School Placement Test, written by Scholastic Testing Service, in January of their eighth grade (aged 13 to 14) year.[41] Seventh grade (aged 12 to 13) transcripts and a student essay are also used as factors in admission.[43] Though Benet pledges to accept the top 40 percent of applicants each year,[44] between 2004 and 2009, 70 percent of all applicants were accepted.[45] In the 2003–2004 school year, 600 students applied for admission, 387 were accepted, and 338 enrolled.[46]

Because of Benet's emphasis on preserving the family,[47] siblings of current or former Benet students take priority over those from families who are new to the school.[44] In 1993 the average admitted eighth grader scored in the 87th percentile on the placement test. Applicants who did not have siblings already enrolled in the school were admitted only if they were above the 75th percentile; applicants with siblings at Benet could be admitted with scores above the 50th percentile on a case-by-case basis, but only after consultation with the parents and administration.[48]

Academics

Three young men listen as an elderly monk gives a lecture in front of a chalkboard, a desk with a chair, and a crucifix.
A Benedictine monk is here teaching a Latin class circa 1984.

Benet Academy is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the National Catholic Educational Association.[14] As of the 2009–2010 school year, in order to graduate students must complete 22 Carnegie units of a college preparatory curriculum that includes 4 units of English, 2 units of foreign language, 3 units of math, 1 unit of world history, 1 unit of US history, 3 units of lab science, 2.5 units of religion, 1.5 units of physical education, and 5 units of electives.[5] The foreign language offerings include Spanish, French, German, and Latin courses.[49] One of the most popular courses is "America Since 1945",[47] a senior elective that covers the history of the US since World War II.[49] The school offers neither vocational nor remedial courses.[47]

Students can also earn college credit through participation in 11 Advanced Placement courses, the Program for Advanced College Credit (PACC) through St. Mary's University of Minnesota, and the Benedictine University Future Scholars Program.[5][41] PACC allows students to earn college credit in AP English Literature and Composition, AP Calculus, America Since 1945, AP US Government and Politics, and AP Biology. The Future Scholars Program offers college-level work in Multivariable Calculus and Finite Mathematics.[49]

Benet was ranked by the Chicago Sun-Times in 2003 as one of the top ten high schools in the Chicago area, based on graduate enrollment rates at four-year colleges and Advanced Placement, SAT, and ACT scores from 38 high schools over a four-year period.[50] In 1999, Benet was also one of two high schools in DuPage County, and 100 high schools nationwide,[51] featured by US News and World Report in an article entitled "Outstanding American High Schools". In conjunction with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, the study identified schools "where students progress steadily toward high academic standards and where every student matters."[52] Benet's faculty has credited the school's academic success to Rev. Ronald Rigovsky, who served as principal for 23 years and as president from 1987 to 1992. During his tenure, Rigovsky developed the school into "one of the highest scoring and most scholastically respected high schools in the Chicago area," according to the Chicago Tribune.[53][54]

Demographics

In the 2009–2010 school year, 1,333 students were enrolled.[5] Most students come from Catholic families with parents who have at least one college degree and are professionals such as doctors or lawyers.[48] In 2003–2004, 97 percent of students were Roman Catholic, and two percent received financial aid totaling $3,000 overall for the $6,000 tuition. The average class size was 27 students.[46] Students in the class of 2013 came from 65 different grade schools and junior high schools and live in 34 municipalities located in DuPage, Cook, Kane, Will, and Kendall counties,[55] although most students come from the Villages of Lisle and Downers Grove and the City of Naperville.[50]

When they were juniors (aged 16 to 17), all 327 students in Benet's graduating class of 2009 took the ACT, which is a standardized test used for college admissions. They achieved an average composite score of 28.1 on a 36-point scale, a score which falls in the 92nd percentile on that exam.[56] This marked the sixth straight year Benet's composite score topped 28, compared to the statewide average of 20.8 and the national average of 21.1. Over 35 percent of the class had a score of 30 or higher, placing them in the 96th percentile and above.[57] The class of 2008 had an average composite score of 28.3, a record for the school.[58] In 1993, Benet's average ACT score exceeded those of 195 public high schools in DuPage, Cook, Kane, Will, McHenry, and Lake counties, second only to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy,[48] a selective public school which itself has been given "Honorable Mention" by U.S. News & World Report.[59] As part of the National Merit Scholarship Program, the class of 2008 had 9 National Merit Semi-Finalists, 34 National Merit Commended Scholars, and 5 National Merit Hispanic Scholars. That same year, there were 137 students named Illinois State Scholars, an honor awarded to approximately the top ten percent of seniors in the state and based on test scores, class rank, or both.[60]

More than 99 percent of Benet students go to college; less than 1 percent serve in the military after graduation.[48] In an article related to the University of Illinois clout scandal, in which applicants were sometimes given special consideration for admission into the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) despite having sub-par qualifications, the Chicago Tribune, who investigated the scandal, reported that a majority of students who were admitted into UIUC with the help of political clout came from elite, affluent high schools such as Benet in places where families were politically connected with elected officials and university trustees.[61] An email between admissions officers revealed that a female Benet student was admitted to the university's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences despite the fact that she had ranked lower than 27 of her classmates who were put on a waitlist or denied admission altogether.[62] From 2005 to 2009, thirteen applicants from Benet allegedly had political clout, and eight of them were admitted to UIUC.[63]

Benet employs 76 teachers,[2] 26 of whom are alumni of the school.[55] The average faculty tenure is 17.6 years,[2] and at least 25 current or former faculty members have served for 25 years or more.[64] Tim White, an English teacher, completed his fiftieth consecutive year of teaching at Benet during the 2008–2009 school year and was featured in an ABC 7 News segment entitled "Someone You Should Know".[65]

Activities

Sports

Benet is a member of the East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC), a part of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).[66] The school sponsors teams, named the Benet Academy Redwings, for both men and women in basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and bass fishing. Men alone compete in baseball, football, and ice hockey, while only women compete in cheerleading and softball.[67]

The following teams have placed in the top four in their respective state tournaments, sponsored by the IHSA:[68]

  • Basketball (boys): Third place (1978–79)
  • Cross Country (boys): Third place (1991–92)
  • Cross Country (girls): Fourth place (1996–97); Third place (2006–07)
  • Football: Second place (1984–85)
  • Soccer (boys): First place (2000–01, 01–02)
  • Tennis (girls): Fourth place (1980–81)
  • Volleyball (girls): Second place (2008–09)

The development of Benet's athletics program dates back to the mid-1910s under the direction of St. Procopius coach Rev. Benedict Bauer. He oversaw the creation of campus playing fields and established a football program after professing his vows on July 6, 1914.[69] Bauer coached the high school football team during its first game, which was played against Downers Grove High School on Thanksgiving Day of 1917. Despite Downers Grove's top ranking in its league, the St. Procopius team rigorously practiced for two weeks and ultimately won 6–3.[70] In the 1920s Bauer served as Athletic Director while also coaching basketball, baseball, and football.[69]

Benet's boys basketball team has set various state records, including a 102-home game winning streak from November 26, 1975, to January 24, 1987. The streak ended when Benet lost to Naperville North High School 46–47.[71] During that streak, from January 21, 1977, to February 24, 1984, the team compiled a 96 game in-conference winning streak[72] in the Western Suburban Catholic Conference.[71] The team's twelve consecutive seasons with at least 20 wins from 1975–87 is tied for the ninth longest streak in state history.[72] These streaks were earned when the Redwings used the older athletic facilities, now called the Alumni Gym; the basketball team now honors the gym's historical significance by playing one home game there every year. This tradition began in the late 1990s and was temporarily halted during renovations in the 2006–07 season, but resumed in 2009–10.[71]

Christmas Drive

Benet's annual Christmas Drive is a charity event aimed at helping the local community and takes place in December during the two weeks prior to Christmas vacation.[73] Every student organization is encouraged to raise money for this activity, which is jointly coordinated by three student organizations—Student Government, National Honor Society, and the Outreach Society. The fundraiser is a school-wide effort, and the unwritten goal each year is to raise more money than in previous years.[74]

Most of the collected money is raised through student activities; the rest comes from donated gifts. During the Christmas Drive in 2005, Benet raised over $45,000, $33,000 of which was raised from student activities.[74] Donations have allowed the Outreach Society to provide food baskets and Christmas gifts to dozens of local families in Naperville and Lisle townships.[74] The National Honor Society provides blankets, winter clothing, and toys to local families as well.[75] Any remaining funds are used for other needs throughout the year, such as Outreach Society's Appalachia service trip in the spring.[74]

Performing arts

Several rows of high schoolers holding musical instruments walk along a residential street.
The Benet Academy marching band participates in the Naperville Last Fling parade.

Benet's theater department has staged annual musicals since the spring of 1997, beginning with Bye Bye Birdie, Guys and Dolls, and Hello, Dolly! In 2000, the department chose to begin depicting works that were "not quite so fluffy and light".[76] Since that time, the school has performed works including Children of Eden,[76] West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof,[77] The Pirates of Penzance,[78] and Into the Woods.[79] In 2006, the group celebrated its tenth anniversary of performing musicals with a production of The Music Man.[80]

Benet's band program was practically nonexistent in the late 1950s, but the arrival of Andy Marchese, a new instructor, brought improvements such as new uniforms, regularly-scheduled concerts, and marching band trophies. Participation in the marching band also grew in the mid-1960s when the school became coeducational, since there were more musicians willing to play the instruments the male students saw as feminine.[81] Out of 1,275 students enrolled at Benet during the 1999–2000 school year, 130 were choir students, and 115 were band students.[37] The instrumental groups include three concert bands, three jazz bands, a marching band, and a pep band.[82] In 1998, the pep band was chosen from a pool of 58 to become one of eight schools that played at the state basketball tournament.[83] In 2002, the school's symphonic band was one of three high school bands invited to play at the Illinois Music Educators Association All-State Conference in Peoria.[84] The vocal offerings include five choirs, one of which is a student-led mass choir used in school liturgies.[85]

Clubs and organizations

Ten adolescents and one adult pose for a picture, standing and smiling. Some of the students are holding sheets of paper.
Members of the Benet Law Club hold up their award certificates following a mock trial.

Benet Academy sponsors around 30 extracurricular clubs and organizations. These include groups affiliated with national organizations, such as the National Honor Society and Model United Nations, and a Campus Ministry geared towards fostering the students' Catholic faith. Service organizations like Outreach coexist with clubs focused on a specific subject area, like Medical Club and foreign language clubs.[86] Student Government, in addition to coordinating the Christmas Drive, handles other student activities such as prom,[87] film festivals, and male beauty contests.[88]

In the state math competition, which is sponsored by the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Benet's Math Team won third place in its division in 2004,[89] first place in 2005,[90] and fourth place in 2006.[89] Benet's Science Olympiad team won second place in its division during the state tournaments in both 2008[91] and 2010.[92] In February 2010, the Law Club participated in its first mock trial,[93] which was sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association.[94]

Notable alumni

References

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  8. ^ a b "History of St. Procopius Abbey". St. Procopius Abbey. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
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  10. ^ a b Herbermann, Charles George; Pace, Edward Aloysius; Pallen, Condé Bénoist; Shahan, Thomas Joseph; Wynne, John Joseph (1913). The Catholic encyclopedia: an international work of reference on the constitution, doctrine, discipline, and history of the Catholic church, Volume 2. The Catholic Encyclopedia. pp. 621–625. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
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  12. ^ a b c "History of Benedictine University". Center for Mission and Identity. Benedictine University. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
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  15. ^ "The Orphanage". Benedictine University. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  16. ^ "Lisle Sacred Heart". 2006. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  17. ^ a b c d "History of Benet Academy". Benet Academy. Retrieved November 6, 2009.
  18. ^ a b c "Construction of the First College Building". Benedictine University. Retrieved November 5, 2009.
  19. ^ Illinois Catholic Historical Society (1921). Illinois Catholic historical review, Volume 4. Illinois Catholic Historical Society. pp. 343–347. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
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  21. ^ "The St. Procopius Abbey Farm". Benedictine University. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  22. ^ "The St. Procopius Abbey Farm". Benedictine University. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  23. ^ "Armistice Day, November 11, 1919". Benedictine University. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  24. ^ a b c Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Illinois (1947). Illinois: a descriptive and historical guide. US History Publishers. p. 544. ISBN 1603540121. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
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