Benilde-St. Margaret's is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 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 recorde ...

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

for grades 7–12 located in St. Louis Park,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 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 ( la, Archidiœcesis Paulopolitana et Minneapolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers ...

History

It is named after Saint Bénilde Romançon and

Saint Margaret of Scotland Saint Margaret of Scotland ( gd, Naomh Maighréad; sco, Saunt Marget, ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was an English princess and a Scottish queen. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". Born in the Kingdom of Hungary to th ...

. 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 the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, 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 Eloise may refer to: *Eloise (given name) Places * Éloise, a commune in south-eastern France * Lake Eloise, Florida, United States Film and television * ''Eloïse's Lover'', a 2009 Spanish film released domestically as ''Eloïse'' * ''Elois ...

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, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

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 A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

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.

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 announced ...

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 an ...

. 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 Andrew James Alberts (born June 30, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes and the Vancouver Canucks. A stay ...

, former

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

hockey player for the

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, former

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Devean George Devean Jamar George (born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), mostly as a backup small forward. He won three NBA championships during his time w ...

, former

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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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

Sean Lumpkin Sean Franklin Lumpkin (born January 4, 1970) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints who drafted him out of the University of Minnesota. While at Minnesota Lumpkin played four years an ...

, former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

* Larry Mikan, basketball player for NCAA DI

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

, 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

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 student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

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, Tea ...

, professional opera singer * David Carr, journalist *

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(2013) -

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, 2013 Mr Hockey Award, drafted by the

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(1962), Polar Explorer, Author *

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(2014),

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, 2018 Olympic gold medalist *

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, African American actress and activist *

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, 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