Aquinas High School is a Roman Catholic high school located in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Video Aquinas High School (Wisconsin)
History
The high school was dedicated on September 2, 1928 in honor of Thomas Aquinas by Bishop Alexander Joseph McGavick of the Diocese of La Crosse. The first graduating class of 1929 consisted of four girls. The high school was originally staffed by diocesan clergy and the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
Diocesan Bishop John Joseph Paul, an Aquinas alumnus of the class of 1935, set aside some rooms at Aquinas High School for the Aquinas Middle School in 1992. In 1997, the Bishop Burke Hall addition to Aquinas High School was dedicated in honor of Bishop Raymond Leo Burke, now the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Vatican City and a former religion teacher at Aquinas High School. In 2008, Aquinas High School was named a national Blue Ribbon School.
Aquinas High School is part of the La Crosse Aquinas Catholic Schools.
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School crest
The Aquinas High School crest, designed in 1942, symbolizes the depth of intent of Catholic education. It first appeared in the yearbook, the Trumpet, and on the 1943 class rings.
The cross, which holds the central and most prominent position on the crest, identifies Aquinas High School as Catholic and reflects the importance of the faith and redemption of which it is a symbol.
??, the first two letters (chi and rho) of the Greek word for Christ, signify that the life of a Christian should not be egocentric or world-centric but Christocentric, centered around Christ.
The fleur-de-lis, the symbol of sanctity and virtue, symbolizes God, man's final end, and the Blessed Virgin, model of virtue. The lamp of learning and the books are symbols of knowledge and learning. The laurel over the books symbolizes reward and the lilies of the valley on the other side of the aureole symbolize humility.
Sports
The school took the Division III state championship in boys' basketball in 2008 and again in 2011 and the Division II state title in boys' basketball in 2003. In 2007 it won the Division III state championship in boys' spring baseball, Division III state championship in cross country, and the Division 5 state championship in football. The girls' soccer team was Division III state runner-up in 2005. In 2015 the Blugolds were State Champions beating Lake Country Lutheran in a shootout. They made their second straight WIAA State tournament appearance in 2016 finishing as runner up to The Prairie School. In 2017 the girls soccer team made a 3rd straight WIAA State soccer appearance in 2017 after winning the MVC title with an undefeated record for the 2nd year in a row. The girls' tennis team was runner up in 2000 and the boys' was runner up in 2002. In 2000, the boys' alpine ski team won the state championship. In 2016, the Aquinas girls volleyball team won the MVC title, losing only one set (36-1), cementing themselves as the second best team in the history of Aquinas and the best in the MVC. The team went on to win a regional title, sectional title and was the schools first volleyball team to make the Wisconsin State Volleyball Tournament as part of the WIAA. The best volleyball team in Aquinas' storied athletic history (and arguably one of the best teams in the country in 1984) was the 1984 Blugold contingent led by Coach Barb Stanke. The team did not lose one single set during the '84 campaign, amassing an overall record of 84 - 0 and easily winning the CWCC and WISAA State titles. In 2018 the girls basketball team won their first WIAA division 4 state championship.
Affiliation
- Aquinas Catholic Schools (formerly Coulee Catholic Schools)
- National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA)
- Greater La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce
- Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC)
- Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA)
- Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA)
- Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference (CWCC)
- North Central Accrediting Association
Principals
- Father Hilary Leuther, 1928-1936
- Father Joseph Kundinger, 1936-1940, 1946-1951
- Father John Prizl, 1940-1946
- Father Alfred Hebert, 1951-1952
- Father Robert Hansen, 1952-1960
- Father Richard Rossiter, 1960-1964
- Father James O'Connell, 1964-1972
- Father Robert Altmann, 1972-1990
- James Vail, 1990-1997
- Jeffrey Brengman, 1997-2001
- Father John McHugh, 2001-2002
- Joan Leonard, 2002-2004
- Philip Hahn, 2004-2006
- Patrick Burkhart, 2006-2007
- Ted Knutson, 2007-2016
- Denise Ring, 2016-present
Notable faculty
- Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, former religion teacher at Aquinas High School
- Raymond Leo Burke, teacher of religion at Aquinas High School prior to becoming bishop, archbishop, and cardinal.
- George Albert Hammes, teacher at Aquinas High School prior to becoming bishop
Notable alumni
See also
- La Crosse Central High School
- La Crosse Logan High School
- Onalaska High School
- Holmen High School
- West Salem High School
- Luther High School
References
- Aquinas High School 2003 Alumni Directory 75th Anniversary 1928-2003
External links
- Aquinas High School La Crosse
- Diocese of La Crosse
- Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration La Crosse
- Dan Simmons. "The Archivist: Aquinas alum collects 80 years of school's history in one office," La Crosse Tribune, September 21, 2006.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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