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Mater Dei High School (Breese, Illinois)
Encyclopedia
Mater Dei High School is a Catholic
, co-educational high school
in Breese, Illinois
in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville
. It was founded in 1954 through the merger of St. Dominic’s High School in Breese
and St. Mary's High School in Carlyle, Illinois
.
The academic program is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
, and holds a Certificate of Recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education
.
Recent developments at Mater Dei include the construction of a new east wing, expanding facilities by adding a new band room, weight room, and gym.
, St. Dominics, St. Mary-Carlyle, St. Augustians, St. Celcilas, St. Marys-Trenton, St. Anthonys, and St. Damian. The school also has many students with other religious and non religious beliefs.
, bowling
, cross country
, golf
, soccer, and track & field
for both boys and girls. The school sponsors teams in baseball
and football
for boys, while girls also compete in cheerleading
, softball
, and volleyball
. The school is an independent school which does not participate in a conference or league, but is a member of the Illinois High School Association
(IHSA) which sponsors and governs statewide competition in many sports. For most of its history, Mater Dei competed in the Class A, or smaller school classification. In recent years, the use of a multiplier on private schools has raised the school to the larger class (AA). They now compete in class 3A of the newly implemented four-class system.
The following teams have won their respective state tournaments sponsored by the IHSA:
Catholic school
Catholic schools are maintained parochial schools or education ministries of the Catholic Church. the Church operates the world's largest non-governmental school system...
, 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....
in Breese, Illinois
Breese, Illinois
Breese is a large town in Clinton County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,221 which the majority are of German ancestry.-History:...
in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville
Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern Illinois region of the United States. It comprises the southern counties of the state of Illinois and is administered from the City of Belleville. The prelate is a...
. It was founded in 1954 through the merger of St. Dominic’s High School in Breese
Breese, Illinois
Breese is a large town in Clinton County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,221 which the majority are of German ancestry.-History:...
and St. Mary's High School in Carlyle, Illinois
Carlyle, Illinois
Carlyle is a city in Clinton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,406 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clinton County.Carlyle is located approximately 50 miles east of St...
.
The academic program is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools , also known as the North Central Association, is a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states, that is engaged in educational accreditation...
, and holds a Certificate of Recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education
Illinois State Board of Education
The Illinois State Board of Education administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the...
.
Recent developments at Mater Dei include the construction of a new east wing, expanding facilities by adding a new band room, weight room, and gym.
Parishes represented
St. Boniface, St. Mary-Centralia, St. Bernard, St. Mary-Edwardsville, St. Rose, St. Felicitas, St. Stephen-Caseyville, St. Francis, St. Teresa-Marydale, St. George, St. Josephs, St. PaulSt. Paul Catholic Church (Highland, Illinois)
St. Paul Church is a Roman Catholic parish with an elementary school in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois located in Highland, Illinois. The Kirchenfest, a church picinic held each year, is one of the largest church festivals in Southern Illinois....
, St. Dominics, St. Mary-Carlyle, St. Augustians, St. Celcilas, St. Marys-Trenton, St. Anthonys, and St. Damian. The school also has many students with other religious and non religious beliefs.
Student activities
The school offers over 23 clubs covering areas from academic and performing arts to ministry and leadership. Clubs include: Chess club, Book club, Science Club, Model UN, ProLife Group, Saint Vincent DePaul Society, Student Council, Student Ambassadors, Peer Advisers, Liturgical Planning Core, Liturgical Music Group, Spring Musical, Fall play, and many more. The high school also has a student newspaper (Lance) and an award-winning student designed yearbook (Knight).Athletics
The school sponsors teams in basketballBasketball
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...
, bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, 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...
, 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....
, soccer, and track & field
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...
for both boys and girls. The school sponsors teams in 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...
and football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
for boys, while girls also compete in 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...
, 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...
, and 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...
. The school is an independent school which does not participate in a conference or league, but is a member of the Illinois High School Association
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
(IHSA) which sponsors and governs statewide competition in many sports. For most of its history, Mater Dei competed in the Class A, or smaller school classification. In recent years, the use of a multiplier on private schools has raised the school to the larger class (AA). They now compete in class 3A of the newly implemented four-class system.
The following teams have won their respective state tournaments sponsored by the IHSA:
- Cross Country (girls): 2003-04
- Golf (boys): 1993-94
- Volleyball (girls): 1987-88, 1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96, 2001-02, 2010-11
Notable Athletic Events
Every September, the school and neighboring Central Community High School play a football event named the Milk Bowl. The event gives both schools the most profit out of all athletic games, activitis, etc. and is evenly shared between both. The game's location alternates each year from both's schools football fields. The current champion of the event is the Mater Dei Knights.Christmas Tournament
Mater Dei High School has hosted an annual Christmas Basketball Tournament beginning on December 26 every year since 1960. Recently, the tournament has been broadcast online.Notable alumni
- Josh TholeJosh TholeJoshua Michael "Josh" Thole is an American professional baseball player. He currently plays catcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.-Early years:Thole grew up in Breese, Illinois, and attended Mater Dei High school....
, professional baseball player. Josh Thole currently plays for the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. - Jay VossJay VossJay C. Voss is a professional baseball player who plays in the Detroit Tigers organization. He was selected in the eighth round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. He attended Mater Dei High School and Kaskaskia College....
, professional baseball player, a minor leagueMinor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
pitcherPitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
in the Detroit TigersDetroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
system.