Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School (also known as DJO) is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
college preparatory school
A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...
founded in 1957 in
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...
. It was established by the
Diocese of Richmond
The Diocese of Richmond ( la, Diœcesis Richmondiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its current territory encompasses all of central and southern Virginia, Hampton Roads ...
, but it has been under the direction of the
Diocese of Arlington
The Diocese of Arlington ( la, Dioecesis Arlingtonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Diocese of Arlington comprises 70 parishes across 21 counties and se ...
since 1974. The school is named for
Bishop Denis J. O'Connell
Denis J. O'Connell (January 28, 1849 – January 1, 1927) was an Irish-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia from 1912 to 1926. He previously served as an auxiliary bi ...
, Bishop of Richmond from 1912 to 1926.
Brief History
On September 9, 1957, under the auspices of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School opened its doors as a co-institutional college preparatory school, admitting 360 ninth-graders. Greeting the class of 1961 were Brothers of Christian Schools and Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), who would guide their education. Since then, Bishop O'Connell has graduated more than 18,000 men and women. Today, the school serves the students from more than 80 different schools throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Academics
Bishop O'Connell High School holds high expectations for its students, faculty, and staff. The academic program is organized around required courses that aim to achieve desired learning goals for each student. All students follow a demanding college preparatory curriculum designed to ready them for admission to the leading colleges and universities. The Muller Academic Services Program provides support for students with documented learning disabilities. Coursework is available at the Honors and Advanced Placement levels. Dual credit and dual enrollment opportunities are also available through a partnership with Marymount University. The Global Studies Certificate Program offers optional beyond-the-classroom learning experiences focused on themes of world importance. The school also offers Expanded Services for students with intellectual and cognitive disabilities.
Advanced Placement Program
These
AP Courses
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curriculum, curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement ...
are offered to students:
Honors Program
![Bishop O'Connell Front Entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Bishop_O%27Connell_Front_Entrance.jpg)
Honors classes are also offered in a variety of academic areas. These courses are offered at the honors level:
Activities
Athletics
Bishop O'Connell High School participates in the
Washington Catholic Athletic Conference
The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) is a major high school athletic league for boys, girls, and co-ed Catholic high schools of the Archdiocese of Washington & Diocese of Arlington Schools located in the Washington Metropolitan Ar ...
(WCAC). In this league, O'Connell participates in all major sports against other Catholic high schools of the
D.C. metro area.
Rivalries
Since the mid-1980s, the school's primary athletic rival has been
Paul VI Catholic High School
St. Paul VI Catholic High School (known as PVI or Paul VI) is a Catholic school, Roman Catholic University-preparatory school, college preparatory school in Chantilly, Virginia, United States.
The school was previously located in southwest Fairfa ...
, located in
Chantilly
Chantilly may refer to:
Places
France
*Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department
**US Chantilly, a football club
*Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly
United States
* Chantilly, Missou ...
.
Bishop Ireton High School
Bishop Ireton High School is a Roman Catholic high school located in Alexandria, Virginia, less than one mile from Old Town Alexandria. The school was founded in 1964 by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, and named in honor of Peter Leo Ireton, ...
, located in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
, is another major athletic rival.
Basketball
=Boys' Varsity Team
=
These are some statistics from the last five years of O'Connell Varsity Boys' Basketball:
Soccer
The Girls' Varsity Soccer team were National Champions in 2004.
The Boys Varsity Soccer team beat the 19-0-1
DeMatha Stags on October 31, 2006, in the conference quarter-finals. The victory prevented DeMatha, who at one point this season was ranked number 1 in the nation, from winning their 4th straight
WCAC title. This resulted in the defeat of DeMatha's 67-game unbeaten streak. The team then lost to
Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
2–1 in the semi-final round of the WCAC tournament.
Clubs
![Bishop O'Connell Kimmit Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bishop_O%27Connell_Kimmit_Hall.jpg)
O'Connell has over 100 student-organized clubs. Their focuses are generally academic, service, and/or common interest. Some current clubs include: (listed alphabetically)
Charitable events
Superdance
The O'Connel
Superdanceis an annual 12-hour dance-a-thon held at the school which raises money for the
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States established to provide the means to cure cystic fibrosis (CF) and ensure that those living with CF live long and productive lives. The Foundation prov ...
. The Superdance is organized and run by students. It was started under the administration of principal Msgr. James McMurtrie. O'Connell students began holding the Superdance in 1976 because students wanted to speed the discovery of a cure for
cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...
(CF), a fatal disease of the lungs which had claimed the life of sophomore Brenda O'Donnell on April 14, 1975. Her sister, Maura, was a senior in 1976 and also suffered from cystic fibrosis. Their brother, Sean, died of cystic fibrosis that same year.
Maura O'Donnell graduated and went on to
nursing school
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
at
Marymount University
Marymount University is a private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington, Virginia. Marymount offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. It has approximately 3,897 students enrolled, representing approximately 45 states an ...
, continuing to support the Superdance in hopes that a cure would be found. Her last Superdance was in 1978 when she came out of the hospital just for the event. In a speech delivered to the O'Connell community, she stated:
"All of you I know have dreams – dreams of college, of success, of love and happiness – dreams of the future. We with cystic fibrosis have dreams too. Your wonderful all-out efforts and work for this dance-a-thon may help make some of our dreams come true."
Two months later, she died of this disease.
As of 2018, O'Connell students have raised over $4,300,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding a cure for the disease.
Hearty Soup Drive and Living Rosary
The Hearty Soup Drive is held annually throughout the month of October. Students have a month to collect as many cans of hearty soup as possible. At the end of the month, cans are collected and donated to the local Catholic Charities food bank. The school collects approximately 10,000 cans of soup each year. At the end of the week, all the cans are displayed on the football field (weather permitting) or inside the auditorium. The student body gathers to celebrate their successful event and pray a special Living Rosary, praying for those who will ultimately benefit from their soup collection.
Notable alumni
Arts and entertainment
*
Mike Brooks (Class of 1973) - Television news correspondent
*
Pat McGee (Class of 1991): Singer-songwriter, guitarist; founding member and frontman of the
Pat McGee Band
The Pat McGee Band is a rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed by frontman Pat McGee, who attended Longwood College in Farmville, VA. On the heels of his solo release '' From the Wood'' in 1995, the Pat McGee Band signed with Warner Bros. ...
*
David Monahan
David Harold Monahan (born August 13, 1971) is an Americans, American actor, best known for recurring roles on ''Crossing Jordan'' as Detective Matt Seely and ''Dawson's Creek'' as Tobey Barret. He has also appeared in such films as ''The Last ...
(Class of 1989): Actor
*
Mary Catherine “Taffy” Nivert (Class of 1962) - Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter
*
Geoff Sprung (Class of 1996) - Member of the band Old Dominion
Athletics
Basketball
*
Keljin Blevins (Class of 2014) - Former Montana State and current
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
player
*
Jason Clark (Class of 2008) - Former Georgetown and current professional player
*
Junior Etou
Luc Tselan Tsiene Etou (born June 4, 1994), also known as "Junior" Etou, is a Congolese basketball player for New Basket Brindisi of the Lega Basket Serie A.
Personal life
Etou was born in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo.
High school
From 2012 ...
(Class of 2014) - Congolese basketball player for
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...
of the
Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...
*
Marcus Ginyard (Class of 2005) - Former University of North Carolina and professional player
*
Xavier Johnson (Class of 2018) - Current Indiana University player
*
Matt Lewis (Class of 2017) - Former James Madison University and current professional player for the
Iowa Wolves
The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...
*
Kendall Marshall
Kendall Dewan Marshall (born August 19, 1991) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He was born in Dumfries, Virginia, and attended Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. He played college basketball for th ...
(Class of 2010) - Former University of North Carolina and professional player
*
Melo Trimble
Romelo Delante Trimble (born February 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. He played at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, where he was a McDonald's All-Ameri ...
(Class of 2014) - Former University of Maryland and current professional player
Football
*
Bob Asher (Class of 1966) - Played for the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
and
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
.
*
Casey Crawford (Class of 1995) - Former University of Virginia and NFL player, and Super Bowl XXXVII winner with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
;
CEO and co-founder of Movement Mortgage
*
Gibran Hamdan
Gibran Latif Hamdan (born February 8, 1981) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League and NFL Europa. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played co ...
(Class of 1998) - Former Indiana University and NFL player, played for the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
*
Eric Metcalf
Eric Quinn Metcalf (born January 23, 1968) is a former American football player who was primarily known as a return specialist, but played running back and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta F ...
(Class of 1985) - Former University of Texas and NFL player and three-time Pro Bowl selection for the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
and
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
. Was also a college long jumper who won the NCAA National Long Jump Championship in 1986 and 1988
*
Kamrin Moore (Class of 2014) - Former Boston College and NFL player, played the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
*
Terrence Wilkins
Terrence Olondo Wilkins (born July 29, 1975) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist for the Indianapolis Colts. He also played with St. Louis Rams, and was a preseason member of the Miami Dolphins in 2004 and also play ...
(Class of 1994) - Former University of Virginia and NFL player, and won Super Bowl XLI with the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
Soccer
*
Nataly Arias (Class of 2004) - Member of the
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
National Soccer team during the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany.
*
Kika Toulouse (Class of 2007) - Former professional player in the NWSL
Swimming
*
Kate Ziegler (Class of 2006) - Former world record holder in the 1500m freestyle
Other
*
Jimmy Lange
Jimmy Lange (born August 25, 1975) is an American professional boxer.
Early life
He began boxing at the age of five in Arlington, Virginia when his father who became his manager first brought him to Olympia Boxing Gym in Falls Church. Boxing im ...
(Class of 1995) - Former professional boxer
*
Mike Storm (Class of 1977) - Former pentathlete and Olympic silver medalist
Politics, law, and military
*
Edward DeMarco
Edward Joseph DeMarco is an American government official who served as the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, from 2009 through 2014. According to DeMarco, FHFA's mandate f ...
(Class of 1978) - Former acting director of the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA)
*
Mark Kimmitt
Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt (born 21 June 1954) is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, serving under George W. Bush from August 2008 to January 2009; he was the 16th person to hold the post. Prior to joinin ...
(Class of 1972) - Former Assistant Secretary of State
*
Robert Kimmitt (Class of 1965) - Former
United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
The United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, in the United States government, advises and assists the Secretary of the Treasury in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Treasury and its activities, and succeeds the Secret ...
and U.S. Ambassador to Germany
*
James Morhard (Class of 1974) - Former Deputy Administrator of NASA and deputy sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate
*
James Nealon (Class of 1973) - Former U.S. Ambassador
Controversy
On the morning of May 7, 2002, on
D.C. metro area
shock jock
A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative o ...
Elliot Segal
Elliot Segal (born February 17, 1969) is an American talk radio host. His ''Elliot in the Morning'' show is broadcast on WWDC (FM) in Washington, D.C., WRXL in Richmond, Virginia, and KRBZ in Kansas City, Missouri.
Personal
Segal was born in C ...
's radio program,
DC101's ''
Elliot in the Morning
''Elliot in the Morning'' is a syndicated morning radio talk show hosted by DJ Elliot Segal and airing weekdays from "5:48 until 10 something." It is based at WWDC-FM Washington, D.C. and is heard on an affiliated station in Richmond. The for ...
'' was conducting a contest. The winners of this contest would be cage dancers at an upcoming
Kid Rock
Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...
concert at
George Mason University
George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...
's
Patriot Center
EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C.
Opened in 1985, it is ...
. Two sixteen-year-old O'Connell pupils, claiming to be eighteen, called the show, and disclosed alleged sexual activity at O'Connell. The principal addressed pupils over the
PA system and criticized the content of the radio show. The two days of broadcasting were ruled indecent by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC). As a result, in October 2003, sixteen months after the incident, DC101's parent company
Clear Channel Communications
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
was fined $55,000.
FCC Announcement of Fine
(Released October 2, 2003)
Footnotes
External links
Bishop O'Connell High School
(official site)
Bishop O'Connell Virtual Tour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop Denis J. O'connell High School
Educational institutions established in 1957
Catholic secondary schools in Virginia
Schools in Arlington County, Virginia
1957 establishments in Virginia
Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington