Benilde-St. Margaret's

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For other schools of a similar name, see St Margaret's School (disambiguation).
Benilde-St. Margaret's
Benildelogo.png
Duty ∙ Truth ∙ Knowledge
Location
St. Louis Park, Minnesota, (Hennepin County)
United States
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Information
Type Private, Day, College-prep
Religious affiliation(s) Catholic
Patron saint(s) Saint Bénilde Romançon
Saint Margaret of Scotland
Established 1907 (St. Margaret)
1956 (Benilde)
Opened 1974 (current school)
President Dr. Kevin Gyolai
Principal Dr. Sue Skinner
Faculty 95
Grades 7–12
Gender Coeducational
Enrollment 1,184 (2013)
 • Grade 7 134
 • Grade 8 151
 • Grade 9 219
 • Grade 10 237
 • Grade 11 229
 • Grade 12 214
Average class size 21.6
Student to teacher ratio 11.4:1
Color(s) Red and White         
Athletics 26 varsity sports
Athletics conference Metro West Conference
Mascot Red Knight
Nickname Red Knights
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
Average ACT scores 25.2
Athletic Director Jerry Pettinger
Website www.bsmschool.org

Benilde-St. Margaret's is a Catholic, co-educational private prep school for grades 7–12 located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, that draws its over one thousand students from throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

History

It is named after Saint Bénilde Romançon and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Benilde-St. Margaret's was originally a secondary school formed by a merger in 1974 between St. Margaret's Academy, a Catholic secondary school for girls in Minneapolis, and Benilde High School, a Catholic secondary school for boys in St. Louis Park. Its present building was originally that of Benilde High School.

St. Margaret's Academy

St. Margaret's was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1907 as St. Margaret’s Academy.[2] The campus for this all-girls school was located near the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis and included two mansions and a carriage house that had been built in the 1880s. By 1959 the old school had become inadequate in size – for every 100 girls accepted, about 200 were turned away. The Sisters of St. Joseph, who had anticipated such a problem, had purchased twenty-eight acres, and by 1960 a new school was built on Upton Avenue, near the Eloise Butler Wildflower Gardens and Wirth Park.

Benilde High School

The Brothers of the Christian Schools (informally known as the Christian Brothers), under the direction of Brother Mark Sullivan, built a boys' school in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park in 1956 because De La Salle (the first all-boys Catholic high school in the west metro) was full.

Merger

Both schools operated independently until the 1970s, at which time enrollment began to decline and costs began to escalate. In 1974, the St. Margaret’s facility was sold to the Minneapolis school system, and the merged Benilde-St. Margaret's School opened its door at the former Benilde High School site. One hundred ninety students graduated in its first class.

The school has undergone two major additions since the merger; a new gym in 1986, along with a new chapel, theatre, arts center, and classroom wing in 2001.

Academics

BSM Statistics
  BSM Average MN Average National Average
ACT 26 21.1
SAT Critical Reading 585 496
SAT Math 612 514
SAT Writing 579 488

Junior High School

In 1989, a junior high was added, and one hundred seventh- and eighth-graders were enrolled in the first year. Students receive laptops in order to do their work over the school year. As a "school within a school," the junior high exists to help seventh and eighth grade students develop their potential and make a successful transition from elementary to high school. The junior faculty and staff foster decision-making and responsibility in a nurturing atmosphere, and they provide a variety of spiritual, academic, and extracurricular opportunities for student involvement. The Junior High is in the same building as the high school.

Activities

The school competes in the Metro West Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. The school's newspaper is the Knight Errant. The Knight Errant has won several awards and the website, bsmknighterrant.org,[3] in 2009 received one of seven National Pace Maker Awards for progressive journalism. Speech is also quite popular, with 100 students participating in the season of 2009-2010.

Team State Championships
Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Soccer, Boys 5 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2011
Soccer, Girls 2 2012, 2013
Cross Country, Boys 4 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 (Catholic State HS Champs)
Winter Alpine Skiing, Boys 1 2004
Alpine Skiing, Girls 1 2000
Hockey, Girls 2 2002, 2004
Dance Team, Girls 8 1985, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015
Hockey, Boys 3 1999, 2001, 2012
Basketball, Girls 2 2006, 2010
Basketball, Boys 4 1963 & 1964 (Catholic State HS Champs), 2008
Spring Golf, Boys 2 1963 (Catholic State HS Champs), 2003
Lacrosse, Boys 3 2007, 2010, 2011
Total 37
Individual State Championships
Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Swimming & Diving, Girls 10 1978, 1978, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2002, 2003, 2003, 2004, 2004
Tennis, Girls 1 2005
Cross Country, Boys 2 1999, 2000
Winter Wrestling 18 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1967, 2010, 2013
Spring Golf, Boys 1 2003
Track & Field, Boys 7 2000, 2000, 2001, 2001, 2010, 2011, 2011
Total 39

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ Institution Summary, AdvancED, Retrieved 2012-07-08
  2. ↑ Benilde-St. Margaret's School Homepage, History of Benilde-St.Margaret's
  3. ↑ http://www.bsmknighterrant.org
  4. ↑ Faces In The Crowd, Sports Illustrated, March 1, 1965, Accessed October 2, 2011.

External links

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