Iona Preparatory School
| Iona Preparatory School | |
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| File:Iona logo.png | |
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| Information | |
| Type | Parochial Secondary |
| Established | 1916 |
| President | James Irzyk[1] |
| Principal | George F. Teasdale |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 750[2] |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Maroon and Gold |
| Mascot | The Gaels |
| Newspaper | The Gael Force |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Website | ionaprep.org |
Iona Preparatory School (also known as Iona Prep) is an all-boys National School of Excellence Catholic high school located in New Rochelle, NY in suburban Westchester County. Named for the Scottish island of Iona, the school was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1916. Current enrollment is approximately 750 students in grades 9 through 12.
The school has also earned a blue ribbon award. The school is widely considered one of the best secondary schools for young men in the area.
Iona Prep is a brother school to the local The Ursuline School.
To gain admission, students are required to complete the ISEE, SSAT, or TACHS.
Academics
Iona Prep's curriculum is largely based on the humanities. It is required that each student takes four years of math, science, religion, and history. Students must also take three years of a foreign language, and a year of humanities (art and music). Seniors have a choice with electives in selecting many of their classes, and have the option of taking honors or AP classes if they qualify academically. Also, in order to graduate, each student in grade 9-11 must spend a day of community service. Seniors must assist their communities for a much longer period of time.
Academic Upgrades
Edline
The Iona Preparatory School Edline site went live in 2007. [3] The addition of Edline has been well received by parents because it gives parents a twice monthly update on a students grades and important news from Iona Prep.
Classrooms
Over the past two years Iona Prep has reconstructed the Chemistry, Biology, and Physics laboratories, equipping them with new instruments and smart-board technology. Other classrooms throughout the building have also received smart-boards.
During the 2008 summer vacation Iona Prep upgraded Parents Hall with central air conditioning.
Service
The Christian Service Program at Iona Prep stems from the Gospel command to serve others. All Iona Preparatory students perform volunteer service in a context in which the recipients of their service are people whose lifestyle indicates a genuine need for their time and talents. Iona Prep requires Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors to complete a minimum amount of community service. Freshman are required to do a day of service, Sophomores 10 hours outside of school, Juniors 15 hours outside of school, and seniors 50 hours outside of school respectively. [4]
Extracurricular Activities
Iona Preparatory has a wide range of afterschool activities for its students including clubs for those interested in sci-fi movies, video games, anime, and many others. Iona is also known for its excellent speech and debate (forensics) team. In 1999, Iona Prep was the National Forensics League Champion, and had multiple national champions in multiple events. There are also heritage societies along with acting and stage crew and film club. There are a number of service clubs as well.
Clubs and Groups
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Athletics
Football history
One of Iona Prep's most famous alumni is Alex Raymond, the creator of the Flash Gordon comic strip. Raymond won an athletic scholarship to the Prep and was a fullback on coach "Turk" Smith's 1926 team that compiled a 5-2-1 record. The "Maroon Marauders" first undefeated, untied season occurred in 1931, when Buck Freeman directed the Gaels to an 8-0 record. The Prep's star player that year was Joe Hoctor, who was nicknamed "The Haunt from Haag." During the 1932 season, the Gaels had a 17 game winning streak snapped by New Rochelle High School on Thanksgiving Day, as the Huguenots prevailed, 14-0. Joe Hoctor had an 82-yard scoring dash voided on the game's opening play (the referee said that he didn't blow his whistle to start play). Iona Prep had the best football teams in the school's history between 1943 and 1948, when the Gaels lost only two games in six seasons. At the start of the 1944 campaign, Iona Prep defeated the Army Plebes by a score of 7-0 (this was the same year that West Point won the national championship at the varsity level with Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard). Ken Germann was Westchester County's first "Coach of the Year" in 1946 as the Gaels went 8-0 and defeated Georgetown Prep 66-18 at the end of the season. Iona Prep's star player during the undefeated 1947 season was Bob Sexton, who returned to the Prep in 1958 as a teacher and coach. Sexton died at age 33 in December, 1962 during open heart surgery. The "Most Typical Ionian" award, named in honor of Bob Sexton, has been an annual presentation since 1963. Following the undefeated "Eight and Oh!" seasons of 1946 and 1947, Iona Prep had a 22 game winning streak (the longest in the school's history) snapped by Stamford (Conn.) High School in October, 1948, when the Gaels fell to their out-of-state rivals at Boyle Stadium in Stamford by a score of 20-0. One of the most historic games in the history of Iona Prep football took place during the 1951 season, when Blessed Sacrament upended the Gaels for the first and only time in a 13-7 thriller that was played at Memorial Field in Mt. Vernon. When the Catholic High School Football League was organized in 1954, Iona Prep was the first recipient of the championship as they went undefeated in the league behind the talented play of scatback Lew Leone and lineman Bill Draddy. Noted golf instructor Butch Harmon played on Iona Prep's JV team in 1958 before he transferred to New Rochelle High School the following year. Harmon was also named MVP of the 1961 Turkey Bowl when he scored both TDs for NRHS as the Purples prevailed, 14-0. Fullback Dick Licini starred on the Gaels' 1963 team that went 5-2-1 and upended NRHS 19-7 on Thanksgiving morning. The Prep's last undefeated, untied championship season was in 1967, when the squad was directed by ace quarterback Howie Burke, who was rated the best signal-caller in the metropolitan area that year. Iona coach Renzie Lamb was honored as "Coach of the Year" for 1967. Iona Prep also won the Catholic High School Football League (CHSFL) title in 1971 with a 7-1 record under the tutelage of Rudy Augustin. The Gaels' last league championship was in 2004.
Iona Prep formerly played New Rochelle High School annually on Thanksgiving Day in a rivalry game called the "Turkey Bowl." This tradition ended with the advent of postseason play and the New York State Championships that are held in the Carrier Dome, in Syracuse.
Other sports
In addition to the Gaels' great success on the gridiron, the school is known as a sports powerhouse in many other different athletic areas. The school has won numerous golfing championships. The school has been dominant in the CHSAA hockey league, only losing two league games, and consistently being ranked on the Journal News' Top 5 teams. They team had a very successful campaign in the 2007-08 season, winning the regular season championship, as well as the CHSHL championship 3-2 in OT in a best-of-three series over arch-rival Archbishop Stepinac High School. The basketball team has begun resurging this year, now atop the league standings. Its baseball team is consistently one of the best in the N.Y Metro area with more bright young stars coming up,and both the varsity and junior varsity lacrosse teams are one of the best in westcheter county. The school has also recently added rowing and wrestling, with great success in both. Both teams have experienced victories over rival Fordham Prep. The wrestling team has numerous young stars and the rowing team is very promising.
Sports offered include:
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Notable alumni (by year of graduation)
- Alex Raymond 1927, creator of Flash Gordon comic strip
- Donald Spoto 1959, biographer and historian
- Don McLean 1963, musician, best known for the 1971 song, "American Pie"
- Frank Abagnale 1966, perpetrator of bank fraud in the late 1960s, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Catch Me If You Can.
- Bud Cort 1966, actor, best known for Harold and Maude
- Tommy Mottola 1967, Sony executive, ex-husband of Mariah Carey
- Louis R. Cappelli 1969, real estate developer
- Dick Ambrose 1971, NFL Player, Cleveland Browns
- John Mara 1972, co-owner of NFL's New York Giants
- Nick Gregory 1978, television weatherman on Fox 5 News in New York
- Rob Spence 1978, offensive coordinator for Clemson University football team
- Tommy Dreamer 1988, WWE & ECW pro wrestler
- Brian Slocum 1999, major league baseball player, pitches for the Cleveland Indians
References
- ^ Iona Prep's current president
- ^ Statistical information gathered from Iona Prep's official site's Iona Prep Quick Facts page.
- ^ Iona Prep's Edline page Official Edline page
- ^ Iona Prep's community service information Community Service page
Further Reading
External links
- YouTube Video of 2007 Iona Prep vs. St. Anthony's Football Game
- Robert J. Sexton at Findagrave.com
- Alex Raymond at Findagrave.com
