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**Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory**
	Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
	Enter to Learn; Leave to Serve.; Signum Fidei. Caritas Christi Urget Nos. (Sign of Faith. Christ's Love Urges Us.)
Address
	1055 Ellis Street; San Francisco (Cathedral Hill), California, 94109; United States
Coordinates	37°46′59″N 122°25′24″W / 37.78306°N 122.42333°WCoordinates: 37°46′59″N 122°25′24″W / 37.78306°N 122.42333°W
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic;; Daughters of Charity;; Christian Brothers
Established	1852 (Cathedral); 1874 (Sacred Heart)
Opened	1987 (merger)
President	John Scudder
Principal	Ken Hogarty
Asst. Principal	Christine Buell;; Gary Cannon
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,250 (2008)
Campus	Urban
Color(s)	Green, White and Blue
Athletics conference	West Catholic Athletic League
Team name	Fightin' Irish
Accreditation(s)	Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Publication	Oracle (creative writing journal)
Newspaper	Emerald
Yearbook	Shamrock
Endowment	$16 Million
Tuition	$12,800 +fees/pledge
Dean of Students	Mario Sazo
Admissions Director	Tim Burke
Athletic Director	Phil Freed
Website	http://www.shcp.edu

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SH, SHC, or SHCP is a Catholic school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory is the oldest Catholic secondary school in San Francisco. SHCP was the first co-ed Catholic high school in San Francisco - created when the girls-only Cathedral High School (founded 1852) merged with the all-boys Sacred Heart High School (founded 1874) in 1987. SHCP is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco, and sponsored by the Daughters of Charity and the Christian Brothers. SHCP offers a values-based curriculum in the Lasallian/Vincentian tradition. The school prides itself on its commitment to its educational philosophy: "Enter to learn; leave to serve." Students participate in many service activities throughout their time at SHCP, but mandatory service hours are not a graduation requirement. Service activities include "van outreach" trips to feed the homeless, and time spent in the nearby St. Anthony's Dining Room, as well as immersion trips to impoverished areas around the country and in Central and South America.^{[citation needed]}

The school's motto is a combination of the Christian Brothers and Daughters of Charity mottos: "Signum Fidei, Caritas Christi Urget Nos".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Facilities

[edit] De Paul campus

The school is located in Cathedral Hill, which is a sub-neighborhood of San Francisco's Western Addition, commonly known as the Fillmore District, with the two academic buildings located on the corner of Gough and Ellis Streets. On the northwest corner of the intersection is the former Cathedral High School building, which is called the De Paul campus in honor of St. Vincent de Paul. It currently houses freshman lockers and the history, visual and performing arts, and modern language departments.

The building is adjoined to San Francisco's Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, and was built at the same time, as the school's former building was razed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco to make room for the construction of the new Cathedral. The cathedral's rectory is adjoined to the De Paul Campus but there is no access to it from the school; the entrance is located on the northeast corner entrance of the campus. Pope John Paul II stayed in the rectory at the De Paul Campus during his trip to San Francisco in 1987, which is marked by a plaque at the entrance of the rectory.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] La Salle campus

On the southeast corner of Gough and Ellis lies the school's La Salle campus, named in honor of St. John Baptist de La Salle. This campus has a six story building which houses school administration offices, the library, and the English, Mathematics, Science, and Religion departments. Each floor is completely occupied by a subject. The building is built into the side of a hill and because of that, the entrance into the building goes into the third floor instead of the first floor, so you would have to walk two stories down to get to the first floor. The library occupies the entire sixth story, except for a small chapel and veranda, which offers panoramic views overlooking San Francisco to the west and south. The La Salle campus occupies most of the block bordered by Gough, Ellis, Franklin, and Eddy streets, but other prominent buildings are the "Brothers' House" which houses the school's Christian Brothers community, and a house designed by renowned architect Bernard Maybeck.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Student Life Center

The Sister Teresa Piro, DC, Student Life Center, completed in 2004 at an estimated cost of $16 million, houses a 1,500-seat athletic gym, which is home to the school's championship men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams. Underneath the gym is a 1,000-seat Dining Hall. The building is also adjoined to the old gymnasium and a weight room. Adjoined to this facility is the Fitness-for-Life Center, which opened in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Fitness Center

In November 2006, students and faculty members of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory were invited to the grand opening of their new Fitness Center. At the same time, the school started a campaign, “Fitness for Life”, with intentions of establishing a healthier style of living on campus. The Fitness Center is equipped with brand new exercise equipment, including treadmills, elliptical machines, weights, and game machines. The fitness Center also includes a dance studio.

[edit] Academics

SHCP offers an array of subjects to its students. All students are required to take English and Religion for four years, as well as three years of Math and Social Studies. Two years of Science and a modern language are also required, and one year of Visual Art. Freshmen are required to take one semester of Physical Education and one semester of Earth Science and choose a modern language to learn. Choices include Spanish, French, Japanese, Mandarin and American Sign Language. Sophomores do a year of a Visual Arts courses and a Church History class. Some sophomores choose to take a double Math course, and they can combine the Visual Art and Religion class together and learn about Christian Art. Seniors are able to drop courses like Math, modern language, and Science and are able to take elective classes instead.^{[citation needed]}

All full time faculty, librarians, and counselors are represented by a labor union, the San Francisco Archdiocesan Federation of Teachers, Local 2240, which is an affiliate of the California Federation of Teachers (AFT, AFL-CIO). and have a collective bargaining agreement with the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

[edit] Admissions

In addition to basic information, applicants must prepare at least two essays about a specific question asked on the application. The applicant will answer questions about him/herself and what they can individually offer the school community. A recommendation letter from a faculty member of their institution previously attended is also required in the application. There is a fee of $75 for submission of the application. The letters of notification are sent out in March. Students with family members who graduated from SH, also known as "legacies" have a higher chance of getting into the school and the De Paul Scholarship Program. This has caused some controversy in the admissions process^{[citation needed]}. Sometime in the month of May, applicants are required to take a math placement exam to assess mathematical abilities.

Tuition at SHCP for the 2007-08 year was $14,850 total for each student. The tuition was $12,100, the registration costs $1,100, books are around $400 and the parent pledges or donations to the school would be around $1,250.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Shadow Program & Open House

SHCP has a shadow program, where an applicant follows a Freshman student around for a day to gather impressions of the school. There is also an open house, where parents and students come to the school to explore the campus.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Demographics

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory enrolls approximately 1,250 students from San Francisco and its suburbs. Reflecting the diversity of the Bay Area, students represent different religious, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, including Caucasian, Asian, Filipino, Hispanic, African American, and Native American. Recently, SHCP partnered with the Christian Brothers and Daughters of Charity to found the De Marillac Academy in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, an impoverished urban community several blocks away from the high school.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Athletics

The athletic teams, known as the Fightin' Irish, compete in the West Catholic Athletic League. There are 17 teams total for boys and girls at SHCP split into Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. Cross country, football, women's golf, women's tennis, and women's volleyball all occur in the fall. Basketball, soccer, and wrestling compete in the winter. Baseball, softball, men's volleyball, lacrosse, men's golf, men's tennis, swimming, and track and field finish the year's athletics in the spring^[2] ^[3].

Their cross-town rival is Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. The two schools compete for The Bruce Mahoney trophy every school year. Named after Bill Bruce, a student from Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, and Jerry Mahoney, a student from then-Sacred Heart High School, the trophy goes to the school victorious in the first scheduled league game in two of the following three sports: football, basketball, and baseball. SH has not won the competition in 10 years and has only won twice in the last nineteen years. Recently, Sacred Heart won the trophy in the 2008-2009 school year. The SI-SH rivalry is older than any other Catholic school sports rivalry in the country.^{[citation needed]} The first Sacred Heart-St. Ignatius contest was a rugby game played on St. Patrick's Day in 1891. The Irish won by a score of 14-4^[4]. One of the players, D.A. White, went on to be Chief of Police in San Francisco^{[citation needed]}.

Another cross town rival are the Crusaders of Archbishop Riordan High School. The Varsity football teams compete against each other for the Nick Stanfel Cup which was started in 1992. Stanfel played at Riordan and was a coach at Sacred Heart. This year the Stanfel Cup was won by Sacred Heart Cathedral, 10-7.^{[citation needed]}

The Girls' basketball team has won the state title four times: in 1998, 2006, 2007 and 2008. In the 2006-07 season, the Irish went undefeated in one of the toughest leagues (West Coast Athletic League) in the nation, with three wins over 2007 Division II champion, Archbishop Mitty High School and three wins over arch-rival St. Ignatius. They were ranked the best team in the nation in the end of the 07-08 season. They won the USA Today National Championship in 2007-2008 ^[5].

[edit] Student activities

[edit] Clubs

Student activities at SHCP range from clubs and student government to social events including dances, barbecues, and community volunteer opportunities. There are over 25 clubs, and many are created by the students with the help of a teacher. Current clubs and organizations include Big Green, Block Club, Book Club, Break Dancing, Broadcasting Club, Chorus, California Scholars Federation, Dance Team, The Emerald Newspaper, French Club, Guitar Club, History Club, the i3 Project, International Thespian Society, Japanese Club, Lasallian Vincentian Youth, NetWorld Club, The Oracle Literary Journal, Polynesian Dance Club, Speech and Debate Team, Sports Medicine Club, Table Tennis Club, Video Club, and the Shamrock Yearbook. All students are encouraged to join a club, but only Freshmen are required to do so (if they do not join a sports team) as a way of immerse themselves in the school community. Most clubs meet on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the activity block created by the school so that everyone has the opportunity to participate without having to stay after school hours.

Students also have the opportunity to participate in non-club performing arts activities in the form of the Fall Play and Spring Musical, Digital Photography, Instrumental Music, Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, the a cappella Women's Ensemble, and Jubilee Choir. Participation in these activities receives a graded credit. {Fact|date=April 2008}}

[edit] Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry offers opportunities for the SHCP community to actively participate in relationships with God, self, and others through discussion, reflection, service, and prayer. Through this community, teachers organize retreats for all grades, such as Venaver Montana and Venaver New Orleans. These are weeklong service trips on which the students incorporate reflection, discussion, service, and prayer, providing community members with the chance to authentically engage their spirituality. A key component of Campus Ministry is Lasallian Vincentian Youth (LVY), run by students who reflect service, faith, and community.

[edit] Performing Arts

SHCP's chorus groups, theatre company, and band participate in and put on many school wide events. The chorus sings at school masses, special performances, and in front of international audiences. The chorus has successfully competed in competitions. Their choir has traveled around the world to destinations like the Philippines, London, and Hawaii. Members have also performed in the Vatican in Rome and St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The theater company puts on a play in the beginning of the year around November or December and a musical around March or April. In years past they have also provided entertainment at alumni events and put on a student showcase. The band plays their instruments at school masses, rallies, concerts and sporting events.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Walk-A-Thon

The Walk-a-thon is a fundraiser that the whole school participates in, seeking donations from friends, family, and the community. The homeroom with the most donations for the day is awarded a prize such as a free breakfast at the Student Life Center cafeteria. A yearly goal is set and each student is asked to raise $250 toward that goal. Incentives are given for turning in money early as well as for reaching the $250 personal goal. Prizes include a "$250 Club Shirt", modified dress passes, and chances to win cash, gift cards,or iPods by spinning the Prize Wheel. This event happens sometime in September at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park. The Walk-a-thon raises money for student activities, athletics, clubs, student travels, construction of new buildings or renovations and updating technology for the school. Examples of use of the funds are the construction of the Student Life Center, library, athletic field, gateway and Fitness-for-Life Center.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Alma Mater

This is commonly sung at athletic, or athletic related events.

Alma Mater, Hail! Alma Mater proud

Fighting Irish pride foretold

One voice raised aloud

Our hearts stand bold

Our loyalty to you

Hail Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep.

Green, White and Blue

Unity proclaimed

Fearless we pursue

Untold strength will be our guide,

Irish brave and true!