Albertus Magnus High School is a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

, co-educational high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 located in Bardonia, New York

Bardonia, New York

Bardonia is a hamlet , in the Town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Nanuet; east of Spring Valley; south of New City and west of West Nyack...

, named after the German philosopher and theologian

Albertus Magnus

Albertus Magnus, O.P. , also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop, who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl...

 of the same name. It is the only Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 high school in Rockland County, New York

Rockland County, New York

Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...

.

The school describes itself as a "Catholic, co-educational community of faith in which our future leaders strive for academic excellence." Albertus Magnus High School is administered by the Dominican

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

 Congregation of Our Lady of the Rosary Sparkill, New York

Sparkill, New York

Sparkill, formerly known as Tappan Sloat, is an affluent, suburban hamlet in the Town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of Palisades; east of Tappan; south of Piermont and west of the Hudson River...

, which was founded on May 6, 1876 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 by Mother Catherine Mary Antoninus Thorpe. Albertus Mangnus High School is one of the many schools and missions in New York State, Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, and Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 staffed by the Sparkhill Dominicans in their 130 year history.

Albertus Magnus encourages students to become involved which is characterized by the phrase, "Don't be an eight to two-er". Over half of the student body participates in the many Extracurricular activities available at the school.

History

At the request of Cardinal Spellman in the early 1950s, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill founded Albertus Magnus High School. In July 1957 the property was purchased and thus began the journey of Albertus Magnus, the first Catholic secondary school in Rockland County. By September 1960, the new school and convent were ready for occupancy. Since the first graduating class in 1961, 7,189 students have had the privilege of receiving a quality education in a school dedicated to Catholic doctrine and Gospel values.

Albertus Magnus High School's rigorous college preparatory program develops the character of over 450 young men and women each year by offering an academically excellent program with dynamic and varied extra-curricular activities. A major emphasis of the curriculum is teaching Catholic doctrine, responsibility to the community, and spiritual growth. The strength of the Albertus Magnus community is based upon the steadfast commitment of students, alumni, parents, and faculty to the mission of the high school.

The school is accredited by the Board of Regents of the State of New York and received re-accreditation by the Middle States Association, Commission on Secondary Schools in April 2005. The Middle States Validation Team stated the following:
• Albertus Magnus High School has many positive attributes that are the hallmark of a good school. The school provides a comprehensive academic program that meets the varied needs of the students.
• The staff is well-educated, hard working, enthusiastic, dedicated and caring.
• Albertus Magnus emphatically demonstrates a commitment to an environment where all members of its school community share respect, fairness and understanding.
• The Administrators are faithful to the Mission and are leading the school in the right direction for the future. Their visibility and presence are significant around the school.
• Relationships between Administration, teachers and students are excellent.
• The Validation Team applauds "Albertus Magnus High School for doing an excellent job with young men and women entrusted to their care. We applaud you for your commitment to the values and beliefs of the school."

Albertus Magnus has an official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/albertusmagnushs as well as an official Facebook page for alumni: http://www.facebook.com/AlbertusMagnusAlumni.

Activities

Among the sports and other activities offered by the school include soccer, volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, winter & spring track

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, and lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

. The school's mascot is the Falcon.

Other extracurricular activities include cheerleading

Cheerleading

Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

, mock trial

Mock trial

A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...

, honor societies

Honor society

In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...

, art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, choir

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

, computer

Computer programming

Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...

, drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

, Veritas honors chorus, Phenomenon acapella glee club, literary magazine

Literary magazine

A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...

, Albert, International Club, Albertus Ambassadors, Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry may refer to:*Religious organizations on college campuses College religious organizations*The collegiate student ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ is also called The Campus Ministry...

, Midnight Run, Eucharistic ministers, pro-life

Pro-life

Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...

, peer counseling, Student Council

Student council

Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...

, Reality Check, Ski

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

/Snowboard

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

 Club, Anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 literary club, Photography

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 Club, Chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

 Club, and the school's newspaper

Student newspaper

A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....

, Magnus Monitor.

In April 2005, the school was evaluated by the Board of Regents

Board of Regents

In the United States, a board often governs public institutions of higher education, which include both state universities and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual colleges and universities, or both. In general they operate as...

 of the State of New York. The Middle States Validation Team cited the school for its academics, the dedication of its staff and its strong rapport with the students, and the health of its student environment.