St. John's School
Encyclopedia
St. John's School is a coeducation
al independent school
in the Upper Kirby
district of Houston
, Texas
, United States
, presenting a 13-year sequence of university preparatory training. A non-profit institution, it was founded in 1946 with the intention of providing the community with a school of exacting standards in the development of individual, spiritual, ethical, intellectual, social, and physical growth. While the means to achieve that purpose may change, it remains the basic mission of the school. The school is a member of the Houston Area Independent Schools
and has no religious affiliation. The school has been coeducational since its founding in 1946. On March 23, 2007, the St. John's School students and faculty celebrated the 60th anniversary of the school's founding.
St. John's receives no state or federal funding. Tuition for the 2008–2009 school year is $18,179 for Upper School students, $17,660 for Middle School students, and $15,175 for Lower School students. Many students receive partial to full need-based scholarships, as the school has a need-blind admissions policy.
The Brown (South) Campus hosts the Lower (K-5) and Georges Middle (6-8) Schools as well as the Virginia Stuller Tatham (VST) Fine Arts Center and the Smith Athletic Center. The Cullen (North) Campus, separated from the South Campus by Westheimer Road
, houses the Upper (9-12) School. The Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools each maintain their own libraries. Upper and Middle School students share the Upper School cafeteria, and the Lower School has its own. Two tunnels run underneath Westheimer Road that connect the North and South Campuses. The school also maintains two athletic fields across West Alabama Street for field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, and a baseball field adjacent to St. Luke's Methodist Church. In addition, the school's main field, Skip Lee Field, is located on the South Campus to the east of the Middle School and to the south of the Lower School.
St. John's School is located in the Upper Kirby district bordering on River Oaks
, an extremely affluent residential neighborhood. While the school draws many students from the Houston neighborhoods of River Oaks, Tanglewood, and Memorial
and the cities of West University Place
and Bellaire
, the school's student body hails from nearly every zip code in Houston and surrounding areas.
The school is adjacent to St. John the Divine Church and Lamar High School
, a public secondary school operated by Houston Independent School District
.
immigrant who arrived in Houston in 1859, bought a 640 acres (259 ha) farm at an auction for $2.50 United States dollar
s per acre. On his property Westheimer established a school for local children, including some of his relatives from Germany. The path to the school became "Westheimer's Road," now called Westheimer Road.
's dreams of creating a "school of exacting standards" in Houston became a reality at the end of World War II. In January 1946, Alan Lake Chidsey, former Headmaster of both the Pawling School (today the Trinity-Pawling School) and the Arizona Desert School and the post-war Assistant Dean of Students at University of Chicago, was asked to fly to Texas to speak at a gathering of interested members of the Houston community.
Frontrunners of the idea, Mr. and Mrs. W. St. John Garwood, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Merrick Phelps, Mr. R. E. Smith, Mr. J. O. Winston, Jr. and the Reverend Thomas Sumners of the Church of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church were among those present at the meeting. At Mr. Chidsey’s persuasion, Mrs. William S. Farish immediately committed to her involvement with the school, and many others followed.
A proposal was drafted that entailed combining forces with the St. John the Divine nursery school to create the school. St. John's first 344 students filed into St. John the Divine's chapel on Opening Day, September 27, 1946. The entire campus, located on what used to be Westheimer's farm, was six acres (2.4 ha).
Today, SJS covers 28 acres (11.3 ha) of land and boasts 1,225 students supported by over 200 faculty and staff. Although the school's size has grown, the number of students per classroom remains small. In the words of former Chairman of the Board, Jim Elkins III, the school seeks to "build an inclusive community ethnically, culturally, and socio-economically." Today, the school has no affiliation with the church, although it does provide non-denominational Judeo-Christian
Chapel
services at the church. In recent years, the Chapel program has branched out to offer more multicultural services, hosting speakers from a diverse range of faiths and non-religious backgrounds, such as environmentalists, athletes, and faculty or student alumni.
filmed the loosely autobiographical Rushmore at St. John's, neighboring Lamar High School, and crosstown rival The Kinkaid School
. Like protagonist Max Fischer, Mr. Anderson staged numerous action epic plays in the now-demolished Hoodwink auditorium of his alma mater, with titles like The Five Maseratis and The Battle of the Alamo. Anderson co-wrote the movie with Owen Wilson
, who attended St. John's competitor and fellow member of the Southwest Preparatory Conference, St. Mark's School of Texas
in Dallas.
In 2005, Sandra Day O'Connor
, then a current Supreme Court Justice, visited St. John's School. Other notable visitors to St. John's over the years have included former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Italian mezzo-soprano
Cecilia Bartoli
, whose first U.S. performance was at St. John's in 1993.
Also in 2005, St. John's Lower School students had the opportunity to connect to the International Space Station in orbit and ask the astronauts questions.
In 2006, Houston's WB News featured St. John's and physics teacher Erol Turk in a story about ACTIVboards, a new technology being used in classrooms.
In November 2007, the Wall Street Journal featured St. John's in a chart accompanying an article entitled "How to Get Into Harvard." http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-COLLEGE0711-sort.html The chart reported that 9% of SJS graduates in 2007 went to one of eight highly selective colleges. St. John's and fellow SPC member St. Mark's School of Texas were the only Texas schools to make the list.
In addition to Wes Anderson, notable St. John's alumni include Latina magazine founder Christy Haubegger
, author Katherine Pannill Center, two-time Jeopardy champion, Ranjan Ramchandani, New York musician Patrick Lukens, Rice independent filmmaker Gabi Chennisi, and columnist Molly Ivins
.
On March 9, 2011, City of Houston mayor Annise Parker
spoke at Wednesday Chapel services.
has a controversial history. The original mascot, The Crusaders, lasted only three years due to its religious connotations. The Rebels was selected as a replacement in 1949, with Confederate symbol Johnny Reb as the mascot.
In 1990, the Upper School students voted to discontinue the mascot and nickname, under the leadership of their African-American Head Prefect (student body president). A year later all symbols of the Confederacy
were disassociated from the school, although the nickname "The Rebels" was retained with the hopes it could be connected with the American Revolution
or more generally as an ambiguous invocation of nonconformity and independent thinking.
In the spring of 2004, by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees, St. John's School officially changed its mascot to The Mavericks in order to further distance itself from any Confederate connections. The change was supported by a majority of faculty, though many students and alumni strongly opposed the change. Today, the Maverick mascot is widely used and accepted, since many students who remember the Rebel mascot have graduated.
In 2008, Houston Chronicle
columnist Rick Casey referenced the St. John's Mavericks in an article titled "The Original Maverick." After discussing the origins of the word maverick, Casey included a note at the end of his column:
In 2008, St. John's began using a horse mascot known as Maverick in its pep rallies.
The school reports that the median scores for juniors taking the SAT-I in 2006 were 735 Critical Reading, 730 Math, and 720 Writing. St. John's encourages students to take two or three SAT Subject Tests in preparation for the college application process.
In addition, the school has had a high level of success with the National Merit Scholarship Program. From 2000-2010, the school has had an average of 47 National Merit Finalists each year (out of an average class size of 135 students).
Lower and middle school students take the Educational Record Bureau tests each year. These scores are only used by the school to gauge its success and do not affect students' individual academic careers in any way.
, Gale Virtual Reference Library, ProQuest
, and Informe. The technology department also maintains the school's own Wiki page, mostly used by AP physics students, Nerd Squad members, and Computer Hardware and Networking students.
The Maverick football team plays the annual homecoming game against its traditional rival, The Kinkaid School
, at Rice Stadium
. The contest culminates in Kinkaid Week, a week of activities (including a whole-school pep rally that has featured helicopter fly-ins, motorcycle drive-throughs, and the like) designed to rally school spirit for the big game.
The lacrosse program at St. John's has traditionally been very strong, producing numerous All-American athletes in the sport. In 2006, both the men's and women's lacrosse teams won the Texas High School Lacrosse League Championship.
In the wake of the destructive Hurricane Senior, the varsity football team received the United States Army Strong Team of the Week award on November 11, 2008. The 1996 football team won the SPC championship, defeating Cassidy for the championship.
The varsity field hockey team won the SPC Championship in 2008, defeating the Hockaday School in overtime.
The girls tennis team got second in the SPC Championship in 2009, losing to the Greenhill School 3-2
The girls cross country team and the girls volleyball team both won their SPC championships in 2009.
A variety of student organizations support the sports teams. The cheerleading program features three squads: 8th grade, junior varsity (9th and 10th grades), and varsity (11th and 12th grades). Drum Corps is a musical ensemble that provides spirited entertainment at sporting events, especially football games. Pots and Pans is a recently established group that lends their percussive talents to the sidelines and stands, following in the footsteps of the legendary but now-defunct Lee Field Loonies.
In Upper School, one fine arts credit is required for graduation. Though this technically can be fulfilled with an Independent Study Project, most if not all students opt to participate in performing ensembles or take classes during the academic day to complete their requirement. Visual art (including basic design, photography, painting and drawing, sculpture, and ceramics), theatre, art history, music theory, and even history of rock and roll classes are offered.
The first extracurricular arts organization created was Johnnycake, founded by the original headmaster in 1949. It is one of the oldest organizations at St. John's and originally produced and performed works written by Mr. Chidsey. Open to all Upper School students, Johnnycake provides opportunities in all aspects of theatrical production from technical crew to set and costume design to performance. Once participants dedicate 100 hours of service to Johnnycake, they are eligible to become members of the International Thespian Society
. Upon graduation, students may submit an essay to earn lifetime membership to Johnnycake. Johnnycake supports three main theatrical productions, two repertory plays and a musical, each year in the Upper School as well as other smaller student productions. Shortcake, the middle school division of Johnnycake, offers two to three production opportunities in the Middle School each year.
Students can participate in many choral groups. Any male student in 4th through 12th grade may participate in the Boy Choir in addition to their regular choral assignment. In grades 4 and 5, students may participate in the co-ed St. John's Singers. The highlight of the year for the St. John's Singers is the Spring Fling, the annual spring musical production. In Middle School, girls may participate in Cantatores. Upper schoolers have many options, from the all-women Les Chanteuses, mixed Chorale, and the selective chamber choir Kantorei. The Chapel Singers are a small volunteer choir that sings frequently at Upper School chapel services. Every other year, Kantorei makes an international tour to perform across the globe. Recent visits have included Brazil, Canada, Austria, Italy (including a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica), and the Czech Republic. Most recently, Kantorei visited Spain in the summer of 2008.
There is no formal marching band at St. John's, but there are many musical ensembles and smaller bands. In Middle School, Beginner Band is open to class seven and eight students who are interested in learning to play a wind instrument. The Middle School Intermediate Band performs a repertoire ranging from standard band to pop and jazz. Students more adept at string instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass) can join the orchestral group, Sinfonietta. The Upper School features both a Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band as well as the Chamber Strings. Sporting events are frequently cheered on by the Drum Corps.
Another type of performing ensemble offered is dance. In seventh grade, students may join the Impulse dance ensemble as an extracurricular involvement. In 8th grade, Impulse is offered as a course to fulfill the fine arts requirement. Upper School dance is a co-curricular course taken for credit. The program consists of five levels in ascending order: Caprice I, Caprice II, Caprice III, Caprice IV, and Terpsichore. An additional level, Caprice IV, was added for the 2009-2010 school year due to the number of dancers who auditioned. Just for fun, informal tap dance lessons are sponsored by Tap Club for Upper School students.
In the past few years, the SJS Academic Bowl Team has been a successful quiz bowl team at local, state, and national levels. Also known as the Academic Team or Nerd Squad, the group competes in local, state, regional, and national tournaments of academic, intellectual, and sometimes esoteric topics related to anything from mathematics, science, the humanities, or "trash" (pop culture, sports, etcetera). The team often attends tournaments hosted by the Texas Quizbowl Alliance and other institutions. Most notably, it won the NAQT High School National Championship in 2002, placed third in 2003 and 2004, and advanced to the semifinals of the PACE NSC in 2004.
Dozens of other student organizations, from the Yearbook to Model United Nations to "Pots and Pans" (a moral/spirit group), form as clubs. Most clubs are organized by students and sponsored by faculty. Almost any interest supported by a group of students can be organized into a club, subject to approval by the Dean of Students. Funds are often provided for club activities, examples being pizza lunches or science materials. Other examples of clubs include sports based clubs (baseball, hockey, soccer), science (Faraday), cinematography (MavTV), academic (Quiz Bowl, Academic Challenge), government (Junior Statesmen, Model UN), international interests (Spanish Club, Italian Club, International Club), and general interests (Auto club et al.). Interest and activity in clubs varies from year to year.
Community service is first introduced in Lower School. Weekly canned food drives are held, and classes visit local food banks to see how their contributions are used. The annual drive to provide holiday presents to underprivileged families is a highlight of the year, culminating in a field trip to personally deliver the presents to the families. Many Lower School students choose to donate some of their art projects to Texas Children's Hospital each year.
In Middle School, additional community service projects are introduced. Students may be more involved in planning and helping with the organization of these projects. Each advisory may choose or designs a project to participate in as a group, and each grade completes one large project each year. In addition, there are many projects each month that all students are welcome to join. Examples of Middle School projects include volunteering at Special Olympics athletic events, organizing and dispensing toiletries for the homeless, participating in the annual Galveston Beach Clean-Up, and others. In Middle School and Upper School, personal service is promoted over monetary donations or drives.
Upper School community service is mostly student-driven. Any student may submit a proposal to design and lead their own project and recruit other participants. As a result, a wide variety of projects tailored to every interest develop, ranging from writing letters to troops stationed in Iraq to cleaning up trash from Galveston beach or Buffalo Bayou to escorting athletes at the Special Olympics. Students have worked with organizations including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the Flower Foundation, the Buffalo Bayou
Partnership, Texas Adopt-a-Beach, the Special Olympics
, Texas Children's Hospital
, the Seniors' Place, J. Will Jones Elementary, Breakthrough Houston, and more.
during the school day. Most uniform pieces must be manufactured by Sue Mills, a school uniform supplier. The St. John's plaid, only available from Sue Mills, is distinctive from any other school's.
The uniform for all male students consists of belted khaki
shorts or pants, worn with a white or powder blue Oxford shirt or a white, red (Lower School), white and black (Middle School), or white and navy and black (Upper School) polo shirt.
Lower School girls may wear a red or plaid jumper over a white peter pan collar blouse with red piping, khaki shorts or pants with a red or white polo shirt, or a plaid skort with a red or white polo shirt. Middle School girls may wear a red or plaid skirt with a white or black polo or a white oxford shirt or khaki shorts or pants with a white or black polo shirt. Upper School girls may wear a red or plaid skirt with a white or navy polo shirt or khaki shorts or pants with a white or navy polo shirt.
Grey slacks for both males and females, although technically uniform, are generally not worn. Sue Mills also offers various non-required but uniform-themed accessories in the trademark plaid, including backpacks and headbands.
Uniform outerwear, including sweatshirts, sweaters, and Boathouse jackets, may be purchased from Sue Mills or the campus bookstore. Upper School teams and clubs may also design their own outerwear with the approval of the Dean of Students. St. John's club outerwear is limited to two colors (and their variations): Red and gray.
Upper School students may wear the closed-toe, closed-heel shoes of their choice. Lower and Middle School students have stricter regulations about footwear and must wear shoes with white non-logoed socks visible above the shoe.
Students are required to tuck in shirts, and a 2004 survey conducted by The Review found that untucked shirts accounted for the vast majority of detentions and other disciplinary action.
Occasional out-of-uniform days are granted for special events (e.g. "Kinkaid Week" festivities), charitable causes (e.g. breast cancer), or for no particular reason (e.g. Hawaiian day). During these days, students are expected to follow the day's theme (if there is one) and the out-of-uniform guidelines presented in the school handbook.
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
in the Upper Kirby
Upper Kirby
Upper Kirby is a commercial district in Houston, Texas, United States.Upper Kirby contains many businesses, including restaurants. Upper Kirby is east of the Greenway Plaza, southwest of Neartown, north of the city of West University Place, and south of River Oaks.Upper Kirby is considered to be in...
district of Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, presenting a 13-year sequence of university preparatory training. A non-profit institution, it was founded in 1946 with the intention of providing the community with a school of exacting standards in the development of individual, spiritual, ethical, intellectual, social, and physical growth. While the means to achieve that purpose may change, it remains the basic mission of the school. The school is a member of the Houston Area Independent Schools
Houston Area Independent Schools
The Houston Area Independent Schools is a non-profit association of more than 50 private schools located in the Houston, Texas area of the United States.-PreK-12:* Covenant Christian School...
and has no religious affiliation. The school has been coeducational since its founding in 1946. On March 23, 2007, the St. John's School students and faculty celebrated the 60th anniversary of the school's founding.
St. John's receives no state or federal funding. Tuition for the 2008–2009 school year is $18,179 for Upper School students, $17,660 for Middle School students, and $15,175 for Lower School students. Many students receive partial to full need-based scholarships, as the school has a need-blind admissions policy.
Campus
Westheimer Road
Westheimer Road is an arterial road in the western half of Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street west to the Westpark Tollway. Westheimer Road runs roughly parallel to and south of Buffalo Bayou throughout its course. The street was named after Michael Louis Westheimer, a...
, houses the Upper (9-12) School. The Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools each maintain their own libraries. Upper and Middle School students share the Upper School cafeteria, and the Lower School has its own. Two tunnels run underneath Westheimer Road that connect the North and South Campuses. The school also maintains two athletic fields across West Alabama Street for field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, and a baseball field adjacent to St. Luke's Methodist Church. In addition, the school's main field, Skip Lee Field, is located on the South Campus to the east of the Middle School and to the south of the Lower School.
St. John's School is located in the Upper Kirby district bordering on River Oaks
River Oaks, Houston, Texas
River Oaks is an affluent community located in the geographic center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans . Established in the 1920s by brothers William and Michael Hogg, the community became a well-publicized national...
, an extremely affluent residential neighborhood. While the school draws many students from the Houston neighborhoods of River Oaks, Tanglewood, and Memorial
Memorial, Houston, Texas
The Memorial area of Houston, Texas, United States is west of Downtown Houston and northwest of Uptown Houston. It is bounded on the south by Buffalo Bayou, on the east by Interstate 610, on the west by Texas State Highway 6, and extends just north of the Katy Freeway to Westview and includes...
and the cities of West University Place
West University Place, Texas
West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the population of the city was 14,211...
and Bellaire
Bellaire, Texas
Bellaire is a city in southwest Harris County, Texas, United States, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 15,642 and is completely surrounded by the cities of Houston and West University Place....
, the school's student body hails from nearly every zip code in Houston and surrounding areas.
The school is adjacent to St. John the Divine Church and Lamar High School
Lamar High School (Houston)
Mirabeau B. Lamar Senior High School is a secondary school located at 3325 Westheimer Road in Houston, Texas, United States, with a zip code of 77098...
, a public secondary school operated by Houston Independent School District
Houston Independent School District
The Houston Independent School District is the largest public school system in Texas and the seventh-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities...
.
History of the area
In the 19th century Michael Louis Westheimer, a GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
immigrant who arrived in Houston in 1859, bought a 640 acres (259 ha) farm at an auction for $2.50 United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s per acre. On his property Westheimer established a school for local children, including some of his relatives from Germany. The path to the school became "Westheimer's Road," now called Westheimer Road.
Founding
W. St. John Garwood and Alan Lake ChidseyAlan Lake Chidsey
Alan Lake Chidsey was an American secondary educator.Chidsey was born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Union College in 1925 and continued his education at Harvard University. In 1934 he married Ellis Cochran Brown from Greenwich, Connecticut...
's dreams of creating a "school of exacting standards" in Houston became a reality at the end of World War II. In January 1946, Alan Lake Chidsey, former Headmaster of both the Pawling School (today the Trinity-Pawling School) and the Arizona Desert School and the post-war Assistant Dean of Students at University of Chicago, was asked to fly to Texas to speak at a gathering of interested members of the Houston community.
Frontrunners of the idea, Mr. and Mrs. W. St. John Garwood, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. Merrick Phelps, Mr. R. E. Smith, Mr. J. O. Winston, Jr. and the Reverend Thomas Sumners of the Church of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church were among those present at the meeting. At Mr. Chidsey’s persuasion, Mrs. William S. Farish immediately committed to her involvement with the school, and many others followed.
A proposal was drafted that entailed combining forces with the St. John the Divine nursery school to create the school. St. John's first 344 students filed into St. John the Divine's chapel on Opening Day, September 27, 1946. The entire campus, located on what used to be Westheimer's farm, was six acres (2.4 ha).
Today, SJS covers 28 acres (11.3 ha) of land and boasts 1,225 students supported by over 200 faculty and staff. Although the school's size has grown, the number of students per classroom remains small. In the words of former Chairman of the Board, Jim Elkins III, the school seeks to "build an inclusive community ethnically, culturally, and socio-economically." Today, the school has no affiliation with the church, although it does provide non-denominational Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
services at the church. In recent years, the Chapel program has branched out to offer more multicultural services, hosting speakers from a diverse range of faiths and non-religious backgrounds, such as environmentalists, athletes, and faculty or student alumni.
Notable events
In 1998, alumnus Wes AndersonWes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer of features, short films and commercials....
filmed the loosely autobiographical Rushmore at St. John's, neighboring Lamar High School, and crosstown rival The Kinkaid School
The Kinkaid School
The Kinkaid School is a K-12 non-sectarian school in Piney Point Village, Texas, United States.The Kinkaid School is the oldest independent coeducational school in the Houston, Texas area . The student body is divided into the Lower School , the Middle School and the Upper School...
. Like protagonist Max Fischer, Mr. Anderson staged numerous action epic plays in the now-demolished Hoodwink auditorium of his alma mater, with titles like The Five Maseratis and The Battle of the Alamo. Anderson co-wrote the movie with Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
, who attended St. John's competitor and fellow member of the Southwest Preparatory Conference, St. Mark's School of Texas
St. Mark's School of Texas
The St. Mark's School of Texas is a nonsectarian preparatory day school for boys located in Preston Hollow, Dallas, Texas, USA. The School offers grades 1–12.-History:...
in Dallas.
In 2005, Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
, then a current Supreme Court Justice, visited St. John's School. Other notable visitors to St. John's over the years have included former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Italian mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her interpretation of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music...
, whose first U.S. performance was at St. John's in 1993.
Also in 2005, St. John's Lower School students had the opportunity to connect to the International Space Station in orbit and ask the astronauts questions.
In 2006, Houston's WB News featured St. John's and physics teacher Erol Turk in a story about ACTIVboards, a new technology being used in classrooms.
In November 2007, the Wall Street Journal featured St. John's in a chart accompanying an article entitled "How to Get Into Harvard." http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-COLLEGE0711-sort.html The chart reported that 9% of SJS graduates in 2007 went to one of eight highly selective colleges. St. John's and fellow SPC member St. Mark's School of Texas were the only Texas schools to make the list.
In addition to Wes Anderson, notable St. John's alumni include Latina magazine founder Christy Haubegger
Christy Haubegger
Christy Haubegger is the founder of Latina magazine and a film producer, and has received numerous awards for her work.-Early life:...
, author Katherine Pannill Center, two-time Jeopardy champion, Ranjan Ramchandani, New York musician Patrick Lukens, Rice independent filmmaker Gabi Chennisi, and columnist Molly Ivins
Molly Ivins
Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins was an American newspaper columnist, populist, political commentator, humorist and author.-Early life and education:Ivins was born in Monterey, California, and raised in Houston, Texas...
.
On March 9, 2011, City of Houston mayor Annise Parker
Annise Parker
Annise Danette Parker is an American politician and the mayor of Houston since January 2, 2010. She served as an at-large member of the Houston City Council from 1998 to 2003 and city controller from 2004 to 2009...
spoke at Wednesday Chapel services.
Mascot
The St. John's mascotMascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
has a controversial history. The original mascot, The Crusaders, lasted only three years due to its religious connotations. The Rebels was selected as a replacement in 1949, with Confederate symbol Johnny Reb as the mascot.
In 1990, the Upper School students voted to discontinue the mascot and nickname, under the leadership of their African-American Head Prefect (student body president). A year later all symbols of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
were disassociated from the school, although the nickname "The Rebels" was retained with the hopes it could be connected with the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
or more generally as an ambiguous invocation of nonconformity and independent thinking.
In the spring of 2004, by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees, St. John's School officially changed its mascot to The Mavericks in order to further distance itself from any Confederate connections. The change was supported by a majority of faculty, though many students and alumni strongly opposed the change. Today, the Maverick mascot is widely used and accepted, since many students who remember the Rebel mascot have graduated.
In 2008, Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
columnist Rick Casey referenced the St. John's Mavericks in an article titled "The Original Maverick." After discussing the origins of the word maverick, Casey included a note at the end of his column:
(Note to students at St. John's School, which recently changed its mascot from Rebel to Maverick: Remember, it's rogue member of the Establishment.)
In 2008, St. John's began using a horse mascot known as Maverick in its pep rallies.
Curriculum
St. John's Upper School students graduate having completed at least three course credits in mathematics, reached level III in a foreign language, amassed four course credits in English and writing, two course credits in laboratory science, three course credits in history and social studies, two years in physical education or sports (as of 2010), and one course credit in the arts (music, visual arts, theater, or dance).Standardized testing
St. John's offers Advanced Placement courses in nearly every department. Students enrolled in AP-designated courses are encouraged to take the corresponding AP exams in early May of that year.The school reports that the median scores for juniors taking the SAT-I in 2006 were 735 Critical Reading, 730 Math, and 720 Writing. St. John's encourages students to take two or three SAT Subject Tests in preparation for the college application process.
In addition, the school has had a high level of success with the National Merit Scholarship Program. From 2000-2010, the school has had an average of 47 National Merit Finalists each year (out of an average class size of 135 students).
Lower and middle school students take the Educational Record Bureau tests each year. These scores are only used by the school to gauge its success and do not affect students' individual academic careers in any way.
Technology
All Upper School classrooms have projectors, and many feature ActivBoards. St. John's is a wireless campus with a protected WiFi network throughout campus. The school is not a laptop-campus (one that requires students to own and use laptops), however computers are readily available to Upper School students. The school features four computer labs, and laptop-checkout in the library, in addition to computers in study hall rooms and laptops in certain math and science classrooms. The libraries subscribe to a variety of resource databases including JSTORJSTOR
JSTOR is an online system for archiving academic journals, founded in 1995. It provides its member institutions full-text searches of digitized back issues of several hundred well-known journals, dating back to 1665 in the case of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society...
, Gale Virtual Reference Library, ProQuest
ProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based electronic publisher and microfilm publisher.It provides archives of sources such as newspapers, periodicals, dissertations, and aggregated databases of many types. Its content is estimated at 125 billion digital pages...
, and Informe. The technology department also maintains the school's own Wiki page, mostly used by AP physics students, Nerd Squad members, and Computer Hardware and Networking students.
Sports
St. John's offers a wide variety of sports. Students may participate in cross-country, volleyball, field hockey, or football in the fall season, soccer, basketball, swimming, or wrestling in the winter, and golf, tennis, lacrosse, softball, baseball, or track and field in the spring.The Maverick football team plays the annual homecoming game against its traditional rival, The Kinkaid School
The Kinkaid School
The Kinkaid School is a K-12 non-sectarian school in Piney Point Village, Texas, United States.The Kinkaid School is the oldest independent coeducational school in the Houston, Texas area . The student body is divided into the Lower School , the Middle School and the Upper School...
, at Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium
Rice Stadium is a football stadium located on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. It has been the home of the Rice University football team since its completion in 1950 and hosted Super Bowl VIII in 1974....
. The contest culminates in Kinkaid Week, a week of activities (including a whole-school pep rally that has featured helicopter fly-ins, motorcycle drive-throughs, and the like) designed to rally school spirit for the big game.
The lacrosse program at St. John's has traditionally been very strong, producing numerous All-American athletes in the sport. In 2006, both the men's and women's lacrosse teams won the Texas High School Lacrosse League Championship.
In the wake of the destructive Hurricane Senior, the varsity football team received the United States Army Strong Team of the Week award on November 11, 2008. The 1996 football team won the SPC championship, defeating Cassidy for the championship.
The varsity field hockey team won the SPC Championship in 2008, defeating the Hockaday School in overtime.
The girls tennis team got second in the SPC Championship in 2009, losing to the Greenhill School 3-2
The girls cross country team and the girls volleyball team both won their SPC championships in 2009.
A variety of student organizations support the sports teams. The cheerleading program features three squads: 8th grade, junior varsity (9th and 10th grades), and varsity (11th and 12th grades). Drum Corps is a musical ensemble that provides spirited entertainment at sporting events, especially football games. Pots and Pans is a recently established group that lends their percussive talents to the sidelines and stands, following in the footsteps of the legendary but now-defunct Lee Field Loonies.
Arts
Students can participate in the arts either in classes for academic credit, performing ensembles, or extracurricular organizations.In Upper School, one fine arts credit is required for graduation. Though this technically can be fulfilled with an Independent Study Project, most if not all students opt to participate in performing ensembles or take classes during the academic day to complete their requirement. Visual art (including basic design, photography, painting and drawing, sculpture, and ceramics), theatre, art history, music theory, and even history of rock and roll classes are offered.
The first extracurricular arts organization created was Johnnycake, founded by the original headmaster in 1949. It is one of the oldest organizations at St. John's and originally produced and performed works written by Mr. Chidsey. Open to all Upper School students, Johnnycake provides opportunities in all aspects of theatrical production from technical crew to set and costume design to performance. Once participants dedicate 100 hours of service to Johnnycake, they are eligible to become members of the International Thespian Society
International Thespian Society
The International Thespian Society is an honorary organization for high-school and middle-school theatre students located at more than 3,600 affiliated secondary schools across the United States, Canada, and abroad. The International Thespian Society was founded in Fairmont, West Virginia...
. Upon graduation, students may submit an essay to earn lifetime membership to Johnnycake. Johnnycake supports three main theatrical productions, two repertory plays and a musical, each year in the Upper School as well as other smaller student productions. Shortcake, the middle school division of Johnnycake, offers two to three production opportunities in the Middle School each year.
Students can participate in many choral groups. Any male student in 4th through 12th grade may participate in the Boy Choir in addition to their regular choral assignment. In grades 4 and 5, students may participate in the co-ed St. John's Singers. The highlight of the year for the St. John's Singers is the Spring Fling, the annual spring musical production. In Middle School, girls may participate in Cantatores. Upper schoolers have many options, from the all-women Les Chanteuses, mixed Chorale, and the selective chamber choir Kantorei. The Chapel Singers are a small volunteer choir that sings frequently at Upper School chapel services. Every other year, Kantorei makes an international tour to perform across the globe. Recent visits have included Brazil, Canada, Austria, Italy (including a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica), and the Czech Republic. Most recently, Kantorei visited Spain in the summer of 2008.
There is no formal marching band at St. John's, but there are many musical ensembles and smaller bands. In Middle School, Beginner Band is open to class seven and eight students who are interested in learning to play a wind instrument. The Middle School Intermediate Band performs a repertoire ranging from standard band to pop and jazz. Students more adept at string instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass) can join the orchestral group, Sinfonietta. The Upper School features both a Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band as well as the Chamber Strings. Sporting events are frequently cheered on by the Drum Corps.
Another type of performing ensemble offered is dance. In seventh grade, students may join the Impulse dance ensemble as an extracurricular involvement. In 8th grade, Impulse is offered as a course to fulfill the fine arts requirement. Upper School dance is a co-curricular course taken for credit. The program consists of five levels in ascending order: Caprice I, Caprice II, Caprice III, Caprice IV, and Terpsichore. An additional level, Caprice IV, was added for the 2009-2010 school year due to the number of dancers who auditioned. Just for fun, informal tap dance lessons are sponsored by Tap Club for Upper School students.
Student organizations
The Review is the official student newspaper of St. John's School. Established by the first headmaster Alan Lake Chidsey, it is one of the oldest student organizations on campus. Though originally both students and teachers contributed to the publication, now it is an entirely student-driven organization. Unlike the student journalism program at many schools, participation on the newspaper does not earn academic credit. The Review publishes issues monthly and produces a full-color magazine issue annually. Six sections comprise each issue: News, Features, BeyondSJS, Sports, Arts and Entertainment, and Opinions. The Editorial Board is the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, News Editor, Features Editor, BeyondSJS Editor, Arts and Entertainment Editor, Opinions Editor, Photo Editor, and Copy Editor. A favorite feature in each issue is "Word for Word," a collection of recent memorable quotes from members of the SJS community. Another periodical, The Hall Monitor, is created and read by Middle School students. The Hall Monitor is published on quarterly basis. However, due to the absence of a teacher sponsor, The Hall Monitor was disbanded after the 2009-2010 school year.In the past few years, the SJS Academic Bowl Team has been a successful quiz bowl team at local, state, and national levels. Also known as the Academic Team or Nerd Squad, the group competes in local, state, regional, and national tournaments of academic, intellectual, and sometimes esoteric topics related to anything from mathematics, science, the humanities, or "trash" (pop culture, sports, etcetera). The team often attends tournaments hosted by the Texas Quizbowl Alliance and other institutions. Most notably, it won the NAQT High School National Championship in 2002, placed third in 2003 and 2004, and advanced to the semifinals of the PACE NSC in 2004.
Dozens of other student organizations, from the Yearbook to Model United Nations to "Pots and Pans" (a moral/spirit group), form as clubs. Most clubs are organized by students and sponsored by faculty. Almost any interest supported by a group of students can be organized into a club, subject to approval by the Dean of Students. Funds are often provided for club activities, examples being pizza lunches or science materials. Other examples of clubs include sports based clubs (baseball, hockey, soccer), science (Faraday), cinematography (MavTV), academic (Quiz Bowl, Academic Challenge), government (Junior Statesmen, Model UN), international interests (Spanish Club, Italian Club, International Club), and general interests (Auto club et al.). Interest and activity in clubs varies from year to year.
Community service
Though St. John's does not require community service hours for graduation, the student body boasts almost 100% student participation in community service projects. Service is encouraged by either participation in school-sponsored projects or individual participation in outside-of-school organizations. Many Upper School students receive awards both inside and out of school for their contributions to the community.Community service is first introduced in Lower School. Weekly canned food drives are held, and classes visit local food banks to see how their contributions are used. The annual drive to provide holiday presents to underprivileged families is a highlight of the year, culminating in a field trip to personally deliver the presents to the families. Many Lower School students choose to donate some of their art projects to Texas Children's Hospital each year.
In Middle School, additional community service projects are introduced. Students may be more involved in planning and helping with the organization of these projects. Each advisory may choose or designs a project to participate in as a group, and each grade completes one large project each year. In addition, there are many projects each month that all students are welcome to join. Examples of Middle School projects include volunteering at Special Olympics athletic events, organizing and dispensing toiletries for the homeless, participating in the annual Galveston Beach Clean-Up, and others. In Middle School and Upper School, personal service is promoted over monetary donations or drives.
Upper School community service is mostly student-driven. Any student may submit a proposal to design and lead their own project and recruit other participants. As a result, a wide variety of projects tailored to every interest develop, ranging from writing letters to troops stationed in Iraq to cleaning up trash from Galveston beach or Buffalo Bayou to escorting athletes at the Special Olympics. Students have worked with organizations including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, the Flower Foundation, the Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou
Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
Partnership, Texas Adopt-a-Beach, the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
, Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is a pediatric hospital located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas.With 639 licensed beds and 465 beds in operation, Texas Children's is the largest children's hospital in the United States and is affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine as that...
, the Seniors' Place, J. Will Jones Elementary, Breakthrough Houston, and more.
School uniform
St. John's requires that students wear the school uniformSchool uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
during the school day. Most uniform pieces must be manufactured by Sue Mills, a school uniform supplier. The St. John's plaid, only available from Sue Mills, is distinctive from any other school's.
The uniform for all male students consists of belted khaki
Khaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
shorts or pants, worn with a white or powder blue Oxford shirt or a white, red (Lower School), white and black (Middle School), or white and navy and black (Upper School) polo shirt.
Lower School girls may wear a red or plaid jumper over a white peter pan collar blouse with red piping, khaki shorts or pants with a red or white polo shirt, or a plaid skort with a red or white polo shirt. Middle School girls may wear a red or plaid skirt with a white or black polo or a white oxford shirt or khaki shorts or pants with a white or black polo shirt. Upper School girls may wear a red or plaid skirt with a white or navy polo shirt or khaki shorts or pants with a white or navy polo shirt.
Grey slacks for both males and females, although technically uniform, are generally not worn. Sue Mills also offers various non-required but uniform-themed accessories in the trademark plaid, including backpacks and headbands.
Uniform outerwear, including sweatshirts, sweaters, and Boathouse jackets, may be purchased from Sue Mills or the campus bookstore. Upper School teams and clubs may also design their own outerwear with the approval of the Dean of Students. St. John's club outerwear is limited to two colors (and their variations): Red and gray.
Upper School students may wear the closed-toe, closed-heel shoes of their choice. Lower and Middle School students have stricter regulations about footwear and must wear shoes with white non-logoed socks visible above the shoe.
Students are required to tuck in shirts, and a 2004 survey conducted by The Review found that untucked shirts accounted for the vast majority of detentions and other disciplinary action.
Occasional out-of-uniform days are granted for special events (e.g. "Kinkaid Week" festivities), charitable causes (e.g. breast cancer), or for no particular reason (e.g. Hawaiian day). During these days, students are expected to follow the day's theme (if there is one) and the out-of-uniform guidelines presented in the school handbook.
Headmasters
- Alan Lake ChidseyAlan Lake ChidseyAlan Lake Chidsey was an American secondary educator.Chidsey was born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Union College in 1925 and continued his education at Harvard University. In 1934 he married Ellis Cochran Brown from Greenwich, Connecticut...
, 1946–1966 - Elwood Kimball Salls, 1966–1976
- Thomas Read, 1976–1981
- James R. Maggart, 1981–1991
- E. Philip Cannon, 1991 - 1998 (1991 - 1992 as interim headmaster)
- John Allman, 1998–2009
- Jim Hendrix, 2009-2010 (as interim headmaster)
- Mark Desjardins, 2010-