Columbus High School (CHS), also known as Columbus Catholic High School, 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 ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

, United States. It is located in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The Diocese of Dubuque was erected in 1837 and ...

and is part of the Cedar Valley Catholic School system.

History

Columbus High School opened with a class of 406 boys and 431 girls on August 31, 1959, following a three-year fund-raising effort. The school's primary advocate, Father A.A. McAvoy, began directing fundraising efforts in 1956. By 1959, McAvoy's efforts had yielded nearly two million dollars in pledges. In 1958, the cornerstone was blessed by Archbishop

Leo Binz Leo Binz (October 31, 1900 – October 9, 1979) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dubuque (1954–1961) and as Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis (1962–1975). A native of Illinois, he became a ...

. Father John Paar was named principal later that year and served for 10 years. In 1968, Father Walter Brunkan, the assistant principal, was promoted to principal and remained in that role for over 20 years. In 1991, he was reassigned to St. Mary Catholic Church in

Greene, Iowa Greene is a city in Butler County, Iowa, United States, along the Shell Rock River, and along Butler County's northern border, where Butler and Floyd counties meet. The population was 990 at the time of the 2020 census. History The community ...

, and Michael Palmer became the first lay principal. Palmer retired in 1999, and assistant principal Todd Dirth became principal, serving from 1999 until December 2003. John Carlucci served as the interim principal the remainder of that school year, and Richard Caye served as the principal for the 2004/2005 school year. The current principal, Tom Ulses, was appointed in 2005. The Columbus High School campus now also includes Blessed Maria Assunta Pallotta Catholic Middle School, serving grades 6 through 8. The middle school was established in August 2012, drawing students from Blessed Sacrament, Sacred Heart and St. Edward elementary schools.

Athletics

The Sailors compete in the

North Iowa Cedar League The North Iowa Cedar League (NICL) is a high school athletic conference made up of 15 high schools in north central and northeast Iowa. Most of the schools compete as 2A schools, (the second-smallest classification). The conference's most recen ...

Conference in the following sports: *Bowling *Cross country (boys' and girls') ** Boys' 3-time State Champions (1969, 1971, 1972) *Volleyball **2017 Class 3A State Champions *Football ** 3-time State Champions (1976, 1986, 2004) *Basketball (boys' and girls') **Girls' 1990 State Champions *Wrestling ** 2004 Class 2A State Champions *Track and field (boys' and girls') *Golf (boys' and girls') ** Boys' 8-time State Champions (1969, 1987, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2012, 2013) ** Coed State Champions - 1969 *Baseball (boys') *Softball (girls') *Soccer (boys' and girls') ** Boys' 2012 Class 1A State Champions *Tennis (boys' and girls') ** Boys' 2010 Class 1A State Champions ** Girls' 15-time State Champions (1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2013)

Notable alumni

Raja Chari Raja Jon Vurputoor Chari (born June 24, 1977) is an American test pilot and NASA astronaut. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, and has over 2,000 flyi ...

(born 1977), astronaut *

Tim Cordes Tim Cordes is a blindness, blind American physician who earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2005, and is the second blind person ever to be accepted to an American school of medicine. Valedictorian of U ...

, physician * Michael Hogan (born 1943), academic and historian *

Chris Klieman Christopher Paul Klieman ( ; born September 27, 1967) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at Kansas State University, a position he has held since the 2019 season. Klieman served as the head football coach at Nort ...

(born 1967), American football coach * Larry Nemmers (born 1943), American football official * Ben Sinnott (born 2002), American football player *

Tracie Spencer Tracie Monique Spencer (born July 12, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter. Spencer first came to attention in 1987, when the then 11-year-old won the junior vocalist competition on the television show ''Star Search''. Spencer soon signed a ...

(born 1976), singer-songwriter, actress and model

References

External links

Official school website
{{authority control Catholic secondary schools in Iowa Private high schools in Iowa Educational institutions established in 1959 Buildings and structures in Waterloo, Iowa Schools in Black Hawk County, Iowa 1959 establishments in Iowa

History

Athletics

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links