Benilde-St. Margaret's is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, co-educational

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

prep school for grades 6–12 located in St. Louis Park,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, that draws its over one thousand students from throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area. It is located in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers the archdiocese from the cities of Minneapolis–S ...

History

It is named after Saint Bénilde Romançon and

Saint Margaret of Scotland Saint Margaret of Scotland (; , ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093 as the wife of King Malcolm III. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". She was a member of the House of Wessex and was b ...

. Benilde-St. Margaret's was originally a secondary school formed by a merger in 1974 between St. Margaret's Academy, a Catholic secondary school for girls in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, and Benilde High School, a Catholic secondary school for boys in St. Louis Park. Its present building was originally that of Benilde High School.

St. Margaret's Academy

St. Margaret's was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1907 as St. Margaret's Academy. The campus for this all-girls school was located near the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis and included two mansions and a carriage house that had been built in the 1880s. By 1959 the old school had become inadequate in size – for every 100 girls accepted, about 200 were turned away. The Sisters of St. Joseph, who had anticipated such a problem, had purchased twenty-eight acres, and by 1960 a new school was built on Upton Avenue, near the Eloise Butler Wildflower Gardens and Wirth Park.

Benilde High School

The Brothers of the Christian Schools (informally known as the Christian Brothers), under the direction of Brother Mark Sullivan, built a boys' school in the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of St. Louis Park in 1956 because De La Salle (the first all-boys Catholic high school in the west metro) was full.

Merger

Both schools operated independently until the 1970s, at which time enrollment began to decline and costs began to escalate. In 1974, the St. Margaret's facility was sold to the Minneapolis school system, and the merged Benilde-St. Margaret's School opened its door at the former Benilde High School site. One hundred ninety students graduated in its first class. The school has undergone two major additions since the merger; a new gym in 1986, along with a new chapel, theatre, arts center, and classroom wing in 2001. The mascot is a Knight, named Victor E Knight who attends school events and leads students in singing the school rouser and cheering on student athletes.

Academics

In 1989, a

junior high Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

was added, and one hundred seventh- and eighth-graders were enrolled in the first year. Students receive laptops to do their work over the school year. As a "school within a school," the junior high exists to help seventh and eighth-grade students develop their potential and make a successful transition from elementary to high school. The junior faculty and staff foster decision-making and responsibility in a nurturing atmosphere and they provide a variety of spiritual, academic, and extracurricular opportunities for student involvement. The Junior High is in the same building as the high school. Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, BSM will be adding
sixth grade
into their junior high.

Activities

The school competes in the

Metro West Conference Metro West Conference is a high school athletic conference in Minnesota. The name is based on the location of the schools in the western part of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area. The conference began in fall 2014. The conference was announc ...

in the

Minnesota State High School League The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States. The association supports interscholastic athletics a ...

. The school's newspaper is the ''Knight Errant.'' The ''Knight Errant'' has won several awards and the website, bsmknighterrant.org, in 2009 received one of seven National Pace Maker Awards for progressive journalism. Speech is also quite popular, with 100 students participating in the season of 2009–2010.

Notable alumni

* Andrew Alberts, former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

hockey player for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

Mark T. Vande Hei Mark Thomas Vande Hei (born November 10, 1966) is a retired United States Army officer and current NASA astronaut who has served as a flight engineer for Expedition 53, 54, 64, 65, and 66 on the International Space Station. Early life and e ...

, former

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* Devean George, former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

basketball player for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

Sean Lumpkin Sean Franklin Lumpkin (born January 4, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for four years with the Minnesota Gop ...

, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

football player for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

* Larry Mikan, basketball player for NCAA DI

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

, and

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

Faces In The Crowd
''Sports Illustrated'', March 1, 1965, Accessed October 2, 2011. * Father H. Timothy ("Tim") Vakoc – the first U.S. military chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq War. * Jordan Taylor,

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

2008 Mr. Basketball award winner. Led the Badgers to the Sweet 16 in 2011 March Madness and 2012 March Madness *

Michael Fabiano Michael Fabiano (born 8 May 1984) is an American operatic tenor. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, he has performed in leading opera houses throughout the world, including the San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Sydney Opera, Teatr ...

, professional opera singer * David Carr, journalist * Erik Madigan Heck, photographer, founding editor of Nomenus Quarterly * Grant Besse (2013) -

Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey The Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The team plays at the Kohl Center and is currently coached by Mike Hastings (ice hockey), Mik ...

, 2013 Mr Hockey Award, drafted by the

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Will Steger Will Steger (born August 27, 1944, in Richfield, Minnesota) is a prominent spokesperson for the understanding and preservation of the Arctic and has led some of the most significant feats in the field of dogsled expeditions; such as the first co ...

(1962), Polar Explorer, Author *

Olivia Olson Olivia Olson (born May 21, 1992) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and writer, largely known for her voice roles as Vanessa Doofenshmirtz in ''Phineas and Ferb'' and Marceline the Vampire Queen in ''Adventure Time''. She also played ...

(2024), basketball player *

Kelly Pannek Kelly Pannek (born December 29, 1995) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She previously played in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association. Career In ...

(2014),

Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey The Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota at the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis. The team is one of the members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National ...

United States women's national ice hockey team The United States women's national ice hockey team is controlled by USA Hockey. The U.S. has been one of the most successful women's ice hockey teams in international play, having medaled in every major tournament. In 1998, the women's Olympic ...

, 2018 Olympic gold medalist *

Hilda Simms Hilda Simms ( Moses; April 15, 1918 – February 6, 1994) was an American stage actress, best known for her starring role on Broadway in '' Anna Lucasta''. Early years Hilda Simms was born Hilda Moses in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of 9 siblings ...

, African American actress and activist *

Julia Duffy Julia Margaret Duffy (née Hinds; June 27, 1951) is an American actress. From 1983 to 1990, she played Stephanie Vanderkellen in the TV series ''Newhart''. The role garnered her critical acclaim, including seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations ...

, Emmy nominated actress

References

External links

Benilde-St. Margaret's Official Website
{{authority control Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Catholic secondary schools in Minnesota Lasallian schools in the United States Private middle schools in Minnesota Educational institutions established in 1907 Educational institutions established in 1974 Schools in Hennepin County, Minnesota 1907 establishments in Minnesota