Benet Academy

Benet Academy, commonly referred to as "Benet" (pronounced BenET not BenAE), is a fully accredited private co-educational college-preparatory Catholic Benedictine high school based in Lisle, Illinois with roughly 1,300 students. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. The four year, college preparatory, co-educational high school draws students from DuPage, Kane, Will, and Cook counties. Benet is known regionally for its well above-average SAT and ACT test scores, focused students, proactive teachers, and involved student body.^[1] Benet was originally two separate Benedictine schools: St. Procopius Academy for young men and Sacred Heart Academy for young women. In 1967 the two high schools merged to form a unified co-ed Benedictine school christened "Benet Academy". The old campus of St. Procopius Academy has served as the home of Benet Academy since the merger. The former Sacred Heart Academy presently serves as a base of operations for the sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery.^[2] Admission to Benet Academy for prospective freshmen students begins with a required Entrance Exam offered every January at Benet. Students who are sisters and brothers of current or graduated Benet students or alumni are accepted first if they test at 60%. Catholic students from first time Benet families are then accepted on the basis of their performance on the entrance exam. Non-legacy students usually need to test at least above 80% in order to be offered admission. However, this changes from year to year depending on how many students apply.^[3] Most students take more than one of the many Advanced Placement classes and tests offered at the school. Students who take certain classes are also eligible to receive P.A.C.C. college credit for classes they take during high school. Students are also offered the chance to take actual college courses in math and languages at Benedictine University across the street. The class of 2006 had an average ACT score of 28.0, compared to the national average score of 20.9. The class of 2006 also had 15 National Merit finalists, 36 National Merit Commended Scholars, 3 National Hispanic Scholars, and 131 Illinois State Scholars. They received over $14 million in scholarships. An annual Christmas Charity Drive is held during the two weeks prior to Christmas Break. The current record, as of the 2007–2008 school year, was $51,000+ (previously $50,404.91 in 2006–2007) raised for needy families. Benet is more infamously known among the local banking community for its annual "Penny Wars", a charitable contest that takes place during the Christmas Drive and pits class against class in a bid to win a Slop Day. Historically, the Senior Class wins the "Penny Wars", though there has been one notable exception to this rule, the Class of 2005, which unexpectedly usurped the title from the seniors their freshman year. Benet Academy hosts many sports (Cross Country, Track, Soccer, Football, Volleyball, Baseball, etc.) and clubs (Art, Recycling, Newspaper, etc.). In recent years, organizations that are not sponsored by Benet such as the Redwing Ski and Snowboard Association, the Redwing Hockey Club, the Redwing Lacrosse Club, and Gadfly, the student underground periodical that is traditionally filled with humorous satire and political rants, have taken root at Benet with much success. Most sports are traditionally divided into categories of Fall, Winter, and Spring. Athletic teams compete in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Other organizations that are popular amongst students include Student Government, Outreach, National Honor Society, Drama Troupe, Law Club, Model United Nations, language clubs, and music activities. Benet's student council Student Government (or "SG") holds elections for President and Vice-President in late spring. Eight Class Representatives (four girls, four boys) for each grade are elected the weeks following that election. SG is organized in various committees (Special Events, D.A.N.C.E., Publicity, etc.) staffed by volunteers and co-chaired by various Class Reps. Freshmen class elections are held early the following year. SG is in charge of most social events at Benet Academy, including dances, soc-hops, Froshfest, Variety Show, etc. It also runs the Christmas Drive with the help of Outreach and NHS. Benet's music department is well-known in the western suburbs for its talented students. For instrumental music there is a concert band, a symphonic band, jazz bands, and a marching band, along with other small ensembles. Benet's choirs include Freshman Choir, Sophomore Choir, Concert Choir, student-run Mass Choir, and madrigals. The music department often performs locally, nationally, and internationally at a variety of venues. Most recently^{[when? — see ]} and impressively, the Benet Academy Concert Choir performed Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The choir also sang Mass at other churches and cathedrals in Rome including St. John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, and St. Paul outside the Walls. The Madrigal Choir and Symphonic Band performed at the Pantheon. The music department puts on an annual musical that is locally famous for being extremely well-done. The directors usually choose a show that is not well-known or frequently done in high schools. Recent shows include Wonderful Town, Crazy for You, The Pirates of Penzance, Fiddler on the Roof, and West Side Story. The Benet dress code has been through some changes lately^{[when? — see ]} due to controversy regarding its professionalism; in particular, its "sassy plaid miniskirts" as termed by the Chicago Sun-Times. Due to a groundswell of criticism from both alumni and the local community, the Academy tightened its dress policy and adopted a standard uniform policy beginning in the 2003–2004 school year. The policy now includes culottes, which may not be hemmed, and standard-issue pants. This was not, however, the first time uniform policies had been changed; in the early 1980s the Benet dress code tightened for men (uniform men's shirts were mandated for the first time, after a series of what the administration considered "abuses" of the men's dress code) while the women's dress code expanded to allow slacks. Casual Fridays (also known as "slop" days) were mostly eliminated at that time, however, because of complaints from lower-income parents that their daughters felt pressured to compete with girls from higher-income homes who could afford designer clothes.

Timeline

• 1887: St. Procopius College Academy was founded in Chicago
• 1900: Land is purchased to house St. Procopius College Academy and a new Abbey. St. Procopius College's cornerstone is laid in this year. The subsequent year St. Procopius College Academy moves to its new facilities.
• 1910: The St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage builds what will later become St. Joseph Hall. The orphanage uses the hall to house its wards and also to educate those wards in its grammar school.
• 1912: Benet Hall built. It originally serves as a dorm and then boarding facility for the orphanage. Later it is converted into classrooms.
• 1938: The Old Gym is built for St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage. It will occasionally serve as a funeral hall for recently deceased wards, a fact that serves as more than a little fodder for modern Benet Academy urban legends. In modern times, the "Old Gym" serves as the main gym for Physical Education classes, a meeting hall for small assemblies, and as a dance hall (in particular for Soc-Hops).
• 1956: St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage closes operations and subsequently becomes the new home of St. Procopius Academy. St. Procopius College is separated from St. Procopius Academy and the two schools occupy spaces opposite one another on Maple and College. St. Procopius College will eventually go on to be renamed Illinois Benedictine College (or "I.B.C." for short) and, in the 1990s, Benedictine University ("B.U."). St. Mary's and Petru halls are built and house upperclassmen.
• 1963: St. Martin's Hall is built. Originally an indoor track, the basement of St. Martin's Hall is used in modern times primarily by the Foreign Language Department. The first floor is used by the English Department. The second floor is used by the Math Department.
• 1967: St. Procopius Academy and Sacred Heart Academy merge to create the new, unified Benet Academy on the campus of St. Procopius Academy.
• 1975: St. Thomas Hall is built. In modern times, it houses the Science Department and the library.
• 1994: The "New Gym" is built. It is used as an auxiliary gym for Physical Education classes. Features air conditioning and many modern amenities. It serves as an assembly hall for school-wide gatherings, such as masses, the Christmas Drive Assembly, and the rare student funeral. Also used in the springtime to hold Benet's AP Tests. Occasionally houses dances but in recent times usually in a back-up capacity.
• 2000: St. Daniel Hall opens. Built on the grounds of Petru Hall, it is the fifth hall of Benet Academy and serves as the base of operations for the school's Music and Theater Departments.
• 2000–2002: The old chapel, which had been converted to a school theater/assembly hall, is renovated and remade into the Chapel of Saint Thérèse - The "Little Flower."
• 2007: Fr. Paschal dies after being with Benet for more than 50 years.^[4]

Athletic milestones

Benet Academy has many notable athletic milestones in its history, in a number of sports.

• 1979–1983: Coach Bill Geist led the Benet boys basketball team to three state quarterfinal appearances, including a third-place finish in the 1978-79 campaign. Geist was also the coach of the teams that won 102 straight home games during a nine-year stretch - to this day, still a state record.
• 1984: Benet's boys football team appeared in their only football state final in the school's history in 1984. The team finished 7-2 in the regular season and rattled off three straight wins in the playoffs before falling to Morris in the state final. Coach Tim Cederblad, who coached the state final team, was the team's coach for twelve years, compiling 99 wins with the school.
• 1991: Benet's boys cross country team earns a 3rd place finish in the state meet, the team's highest in its history.
• 1994: Benet's boys track team succeeds in capturing a state championship in the Class AA 4x800m relay with a time of 7:48.98. This is the only state championship achieved in any event by either the boys' or girls' track teams.
• 1998: Benet's girls basketball team advances to the state quarterfinal round of the IHSA basketball tournament for the first time in its history. While defeated by Marshall High School 63-37 in the quarterfinal round, the team finishes with the best record in their history at 29-5.
• 2000: Benet's boys soccer team earns the school's first state championship in any sport, defeating conference rival St. Viator 3-1 in the Class A state championship. The team would finish undefeated with 22 wins and 4 draws.
• 2001: Benet's boys soccer team follows up the 2000 championship with an unlikely 2001 repeat, defeating Peoria Notre Dame High School 2-1 in extra time. In contrast to the undefeated campaign of 2000, the 2001 squad finished the season with 18 wins over 7 defeats, with 1 draw, but rode a wave of momentum to the State Title by winning their last 11 matches.
• 2006: The boys volleyball team wins 32 straight matches (29 regular season and three postseason) in their inaugural season before falling to eventual state runner-up Naperville North High School in the IHSA sectional final.
• 2006: Benet's boys soccer team finishes the season with 21 wins over 2 losses, with 2 draws. The team was ranked 9th in the nation^[5] at one point in the season, won the Best of the West tournament (beating Naperville Central High School 2-1 (5-4) in penalty kicks) and ended its season in a heartbreaking loss to St. Charles North in penalty kicks, 1-0 (9-8). Benet captured their first Class AA sectional title one match prior in a 3-0 victory against Naperville North High School.
• 2006: Benet's girls cross-country team places third in the state final race - the highest finish for the team in its history.

"The Streak"

Benet's boys basketball team holds two state records for winning streaks - a 102-game home winning streak that lasted from November 26, 1975 to January 24, 1987 and a 96-game conference winning streak that lasted from January 21, 1977 to February 24, 1984. As a result of this record, Bill Geist's teams compiled 12 straight 20-win seasons between 1976 and 1987, good for eighth best all-time in the Illinois High School Association.

Famous alumni

• Dave Bickler (class of 1971) — rock singer: former lead of Survivor, Grammy winner for "Eye of the Tiger" (lead vocals); rock star role in Bud Light award-winning ad campaign Real Men of Genius^[6]
• Joan Biskupic (class of 1974) — USA Today Supreme Court correspondent, PBS Washington Week guest, and author: Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice.
• Diablo Cody (class of 1996) — stripper, author, screenwriter^[7][8]
• Patrick Collins (class of 1982) — former Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois: lead prosecutor in Operation Safe Road licenses-for-bribes investigation, which led to the conviction of 75 people^[9] including Illinois Governor George Ryan.^[10]
• Robert Conrad (class of 1976) — Clemson hall of fame basketball star and Rhodes Scholar candidate who lead the United States Department of Justice's Campaign Finance Task Force (2000–01), which examined, under oath, the President and Vice President of the United States
• Mark DeCarlo (class of 1980) — actor
• Tom Doody (class of 1963) — lead singer of The Cryan Shames
• Dan Duszynski (class of 2002) — guitarist and lead singer for rock band This Is Me Smiling
• Cameron Esposito (class of 2000) — comedienne: host of The Spectacular Show and member of Chicago's The Edge Comedy Show^[11]
• Meagen Fay (class of 1975) — actress and former Second City comedian
• Nancy Johnson (class of 1992) — Olympic Gold Medalist at the 2000 games in Women's 10 metre air rifle
• Mark Kirasich (class of 1978) — Deputy Director of NASA's Project Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, the new lunar vehicle for human spaceflight
• John Lynch, Sr. (class of 1960) — radio station owner and American football player: founder and CEO of Broadcast Company of the Americas, owner of the The Mighty 1090, home of the San Diego Padres; former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker. Also father of John Lynch of the Denver Broncos.
• Dave Lytle (class of 1968) — former Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agent whose real life service inspired Mark Harmon's character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, on the CBS show NCIS
• James McManus (class of 1969) — author of the novel Positively Fifth Street and famous poker player
• Ben Murphy (class of 1960) — actor: Thaddeus Jones from 1970s TV show Alias Smith and Jones
• Mark Obmascik (class of 1979) — Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the Denver Post: lead writer in the paper's coverage of the Columbine High School massacre, which won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting
• Peter Petre, Sr. (class of 1969) — author: Executive Editor at Large of Fortune magazine; co-author of Norman Schwarzkop's It Doesn't Take a Hero; commissioned to write Alan Greenspan's memoirs.
• Jim Ryan (class of 1964) — former Illinois attorney general and gubernatorial candidate.
• Greta Salpeter (class of 2006) — pianist/vocalist of The Hush Sound
• Matt Schuessler (class of 2002) — bassist for rock band This Is Me Smiling
• Dan LeFevour (class of 2005) — quarterback for Central Michigan University

See also

• Benedictine University — formerly part of the same institution

References

External links

• Benet Academy's official website
• Benet Academy and St. Procopious Academy's alumni website
• The Gadfly - Benet's independent newspaper
• Remembering Lisle - A website about the history of Lisle, with some information about Benet (scroll down)
• Benet Academy's Law Club