St. Paul's School (Louisiana)

St. Paul's School is a private all-boys Lasallian high school, located in Covington, Louisiana just to the north of New Orleans, United States. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, the school is run by the Christian Brothers and is one of the 1,000 Lasallian schools in more than 80 countries. It is part of 300 years of history originating from the founding of the Christian Brother Schools by Saint Jean Baptiste de La Salle. In 2015, the United States Department of Education recognized St. Paul's as a Blue Ribbon School.

St. Paul's School
Address
917 South Jahncke Avenue

Covington
,
Louisiana
70433

United States
Coordinates30°28′4.26″N 90°6′19.19″W
Information
TypePrivate
MottoRise Up, O Men of God
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s)Saint Paul
Established1911 (1911)
Sister schoolSt. Scholastica Academy
OversightRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans
School code190-590
PresidentBrother Raymond Bulliard
DeanKen Sears
PrincipalTrevor Watkins
Grades8–12
GenderAll-Boys
Enrollment885
Hours in school day8:00-3:15
Color(s)Royal Blue and Gold   
Slogan"The Strength of The Wolf is The Pack."
Athletics conferenceLHSAA 5A
NicknameWolves
Team nameThe Wolves
AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools [1]
NewspaperThe Paper Wolf
YearbookThe Conifer
Tuition$8,700
AlumniSaint Paul’s School Alumni Association
Websitewww.stpauls.com

History

In 1904, a group of residents of the Covington area banded together to fund the building of a new public school. After acquiring a tract of land and building a one-story, 2 bedroom building, the school, called Dixon Academy, opened in 1907. The school failed to attract enough students to remain viable.

In 1911, the school property was sold to the Benedictines of nearby Saint Joseph Abbey. The school was renamed St. Paul's, and reopened in September, 1911, with only 48 students. By the end of the first session, enrollment numbered 70 boarders and 30 day students.

Meanwhile, nineteen French Christian Brothers had emigrated to Louisiana from France and Mexico, having been exiled for political reasons and purchased the school from the Benedictines.[2]

Although St. Paul's originally taught students only at high school level, it grew to encompass middle and elementary levels; this continued into the 1950s. However, by the 1960s there were enough other schools in the area to allow St. Paul's to begin to eliminate the younger grades, with the intention of focusing on a college preparatory curriculum. By the late 1970s, the school had a six-year program, 7th-12th grades. The 1981-82 year was the final session with a 7th grade class, and the school continues a five-year program to this day.

The original Dixon Academy building (known as Dixon Hall on campus) had long been supplanted by other buildings, but remained standing and used for storage. In November 1981, during Thanksgiving break, the building burned to the ground; a forensic investigation determined old electrical wiring to be the cause. Using bricks from the original structure, a patio/garden area was created on the site, and dubbed "Founders' Circle".

The last of the original 19 brothers, Bro. Charles Crouzet, remained living on campus, although retired from teaching, until his death in 1985. A statue of Jesus was erected in Founders' Circle and dedicated to Bro. Charles in honor of his faithful devotion to the school and God.

As a boarding school, St. Paul's was able to accommodate students from a wide geographic area; over the years, students from Central and South America, France, Greece, Russia, Korea, and Japan attended. However, due to a general decline in boarders, the increasing expense of housing residents, and the prospect of overhauling a dormitory which was in disrepair, St. Paul's converted to an all day-student program beginning with the 2003-2004 school year.

In 2011, St. Paul's celebrated its centennial birthday.

The Lasalle Hall dormitory was originally built as a two-wing building in 1964, with a third central wing added in 1970. In 2010-2011, the center wing (which had deteriorated beyond repair) was removed, and the remaining space underwent a full renovation and conversion into classroom space as the new Math and Science building. In the central courtyard, a set of pillars was added with plaques for each of the Lasallian Core Principles. The first day of classes in the renovated space was January 9, 2012.

During the 2014-2015 school year, St. Paul's started construction on a new gym for the Gene Bennet Sports Complex. The new gym was completed and dedicated in September 2015. The new gym is the primary home for basketball and physical education programs, while wrestling and powerlifting is housed in a renovated Gene Bennett Sports Complex.

During summer 2018 to fall 2018, Benilde Hall was renovated. St Paul's removed the second floor library and the ground floor was made into a student commons area.

Activities and Clubs
  • Bowling Club
  • Computer Club
  • Drama (Marian Players)
  • Dumbledore's Army
  • Environmental Science Club
  • Guerrilla Wolves Video Club[3]
  • Habitat Club
  • HOSA
  • Key Club
  • Lasallian Youth Leaders
  • Level Retreat
  • Marching Band (Marching Wolves)
  • Mu Alpha Theta
  • National Junior Honor Society
  • National Honor Society
  • Quiz Bowl
  • School Newspaper (The Paper Wolf)[4]
  • Spanish Club
  • Sea Perch
  • Shell Eco Car[5]
  • The Society of St. Gregory the Great
  • Student Council
  • Student Hosts[6]
  • Ultimate Frisbee Club
  • Yearbook (The Conifer)
  • Young Lawyers Club

Athletics

Below is a list of the sports programs the school offers.

  • Baseball - State Champs in 2019
  • Basketball
  • Bowling
  • Cross Country - The team won 6 state championships: 4 consecutively in 98',99',00',01, and two more in 2013[7] and 2016.[8] In 2011 the team placed 3rd in the LHSAA State Championships and in 2012 were the state runners-up. Eric Coston '17 set the Louisiana high school 3 mile record time at 14:25.7[9]
  • Football - District Champs 1990, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
  • Golf
  • In-Line Hockey
  • Lacrosse - State Champion 2017.
  • Powerlifting - The team won the 2012 LHSAA State Championship.
  • Soccer The team beat Jesuit-New Orleans in the 2011 State Championship.[10] The team ended as runner up to Jesuit in the 2012 State Championship. In 2014, the team beat out Grace King 3-0 to win the championship. During the 2015 season, the soccer team was rated #1 in Louisiana and #1 in the country. They again won the State Championship in 2015 to make it a 3-peat. Then, in 2016, the soccer team defeated Catholic High in Baton Rouge, LA to make it a 4-peat.
  • Swimming
  • Tennis - 1991 state title (First state title in school history)
  • Track and Field - The team won their first 7-5A District Championship in 2012.
  • Ultimate Frisbee - 3rd in CHS State Championships.
  • Wrestling
  • Quidditch

Buildings
  • Administration Building
  • Advancement Office
  • Alumni Memorial Theater
  • Art Building
  • Band Building
  • Benilde Hall: a three-story building.
  • Briggs Assembly Center: used for campus ministry, graduation performances, fund raisers, school functions.
  • Brother's Residence
  • Cafeteria
  • Chapel
  • The Gene Bennett Sports Complex: basketball court, wrestling room, weight room, locker room, trainer's office, football coach's office
  • Horack Pavilion
  • Hunter Stadium
  • La Salle Hall: originally used as a dormitory building, but after major renovations in 2011, the building now features over 30,000 square feet of academic space.
  • Main School Building: a two-story building housing the Records/Attendance Offices.
  • Maintenance Building
  • New Gym - finished in fall 2015-2016 school year.
  • Wolf Dome

Notable alumni

References
  1. SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  2. "A Lasallian School" St. Paul's Academic Regulations, StPauls.com. Accessed January 3, 2008.
  3. http://guerillawolves.com
  4. http://thepaperwolf.com
  5. https://thepaperwolf.com/2012/09/28/eco-car-club-revs-into-gear/
  6. https://thepaperwolf.com/2013/09/17/student-hosts-ready-to-serve/
  7. writer, JIM DERRY | Staff. "St. Paul's cross country coach Terryl Chatham retires after 19 years". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  8. report, Advocate staff. "St. Paul's School wins Louisiana cross country championship". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  9. Advocate, ANDREW CANULETTE Special to The. "St. Paul's star runner Eric Coston signs with LSU". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  10. http://photos.nola.com/nolaphotos/2011/02/division_i_boys_soccer_state_c_26.html
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