Saint Viator High School is a private

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 let ...

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

al secondary school run by the

Clerics of Saint Viator The Clerics of Saint Viator (french: Clercs de Saint-Viateur ), abbreviated C.S.V. and also known as the Viatorians is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (priest, brothers and lay associates) founded in ...

in Arlington Heights, Illinois. It was founded by Father Louis Querbes and opened in 1961 to serve as a

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 educatio ...

for students from the northwest suburbs of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, which is part of the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

History

The

reallocated some land it had already owned — tentatively designated for a future cemetery — for educational purposes, and assigned the Clerics of St. Viator to build and run a boys' secondary school. It opened in 1961 to a small class of

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

and a few sophomores, graduating its first class in 1965. Enrollments waxed and waned over the next few decades. Faced with declining numbers in 1987, the choice was made to merge with Sacred Heart of Mary High School of Rolling Meadows, with which Saint Viator already had a

sister school A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex school, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Rad ...

relationship. The merger occurred in the summer of 1987; Saint Viator absorbed the faculty, staff, and student body of Sacred Heart beginning with the 1987–88 school year, and admitted a co-educational freshman class (the class of 1991). The physical plant remained largely unchanged from its original 1961 footprint. A co-educational student population required the construction of a girls'

locker room A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as locker rooms, workplaces, elementary schools, middle and high schools, trans ...

. This kicked off a string of renovations to occur throughout the 1990s, including a renovation of the boys' locker room, the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, and science labs. After a major

capital campaign Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

, the school constructed a multipurpose athletic addition, and the Boler Center was dedicated in summer of 2005. In 2014, the Marie Gallagher Academic Commons was dedicated and in 2015 Fr. Louis Querbes Hall and the new fine arts facilities were dedicated.

Controversy

Since 2007, Saint Viator High School has used hair samples to test each of its 1,000 students for drugs in the fall and then conduct random screens during the rest of the school year. Starting in 2013, the school will also test for alcohol. Private schools have broader legal authority to test students for illegal substances than their public counterparts. And while a few area public high schools do conduct drug testing, the practice is limited to teens in sports or other

extracurricular activities An extracurricular activity (ECA) or extra academic activity (EAA) or cultural activities is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Such activities a ...

. Yet even among private schools, testing students' hair for alcohol use appears to be particularly rare. The testing company, Massachusetts-based Psychemedics Corp., said Saint Viator is among a handful nationwide using the company's new hair test for alcohol. At St. Viator, students are notified of their mandatory testing appointments on the morning of the test. At lunchtime, a school official snips off a sample of about 60 hairs from the crown of each chosen student's head. The alcohol test measures

ethyl glucuronide Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) is a metabolite of ethanol which is formed in the body by glucuronidation following exposure to ethanol, usually from drinking alcoholic beverages. It is used as a biomarker to test for ethanol use and to monitor alcohol ab ...

, (EtG), to indicate alcohol consumption in the previous three months. The tests take about a week to process and are capable of indicating a minimum average consumption of two to three drinks per week. Students who test positive must attend a meeting with their parents, counselor and the school president. After 90 days the student will be retested, a second positive will result in more serious disciplinary consequences and possible consideration for dismissal from school. Private schools can in general mandate drug and alcohol tests at their own discretion.

Academics

Saint Viator follows a Christian Catholic Environment. Students are required to take classes from a breadth of areas, including math, English, fine arts, science, social science, and religion; a foreign language is required for a minimum of two years. Instruction in the Spanish, French, Italian and Mandarin Chinese languages is offered. Since 2009, German is no longer offered. 17 Advanced Placement courses are offered in

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, English Literature,

Calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

(AB & BC), Spanish Language and Culture, French Language and Culture, Italian Language and Culture, Chinese Language and Culture,

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, Chemistry,

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

(C), U.S. History,

European History The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early ...

Human Geography Human geography or anthropogeography is the branch of geography that studies spatial relationships between human communities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment. It analyzes spatial interdependencies between social i ...

, Computer Science Principles, Statistics and

World History World history may refer to: * Human history, the history of human beings * History of Earth, the history of planet Earth * World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective * ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...

The school requires students to complete a fixed number of community service hours in order to graduate. Starting with the class of 2010, students are required to complete 25 community service hours in one year which adds up to 100 service hours for the 4 years. In 2008, Saint Viator was named a blue ribbon school by the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

. It was one of only three private high schools in the country to be recognized as blue ribbon schools. Again in 2014, the school was recognized as a blue ribbon school. This time around it was only one of six private high schools in the nation and the only high school in the Archdiocese of Chicago to be recognized. Since 1996, numerous students from Saint Viator have achieved a 36 on the American College Test, the ACT. In 2016-17, nine students were named National Merit Commended Scholars, five were named National Merit Semi-Finalists, and three were named National Merit Finalists.

Extracurricular activities

Saint Viator offers various academic and leadership societies, such as National Honor Society, Ambassador's Club, Justice League, Math Club, Science Club, The Justice League, Film Club, Champions Club, Anime Club,

Students Against Destructive Decisions Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), formerly Students Against Driving Drunk, is an organization whose aim is to prevent accidents from students taking potentially destructive decisions. Mission "SADD empowers and mobilizes students a ...

(SADD), Yearbook, Viator Voice (newspaper), Recycling Corps,

Link Crew Link Crew is a North American student leadership program. Its focus is on making select individuals from the Junior and Senior classes, known as "Link Leaders," into mentors for freshmen and new students. Link Crew operates in 3,705 schools in 47 U ...

, Tech Crew and Student Council; foreign language clubs; and Scholastic Bowl. There are also many performing ensembles offered: the Winter Musical (established in 1967), the Fall Play, Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Jazz Band, Musical Pit Orchestra, Pep Band, Concert Choir, Treble Choir,

Chamber Singer Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

s, Music Ministry, and Orchesis.

Athletics

For most sports, Saint Viator plays in the

East Suburban Catholic Conference The East Suburban Catholic Conference (ESCC) is an athletic conference consisting of 9 Catholic high schools in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois (though despite its name, two schools are located in the city itself). The conference became indepe ...

; for swimming and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

, the Metro Catholic Aquatics Conference. The Saint Viator hockey team plays in both the Chicago Catholic Hockey League and the Scholastic Hockey League. Saint Viator's athletics have been a very prosperous school in some of their athletic teams. Taking top 3 almost every year in their conference. Soccer is one of these teams being one of few schools with the highest number of state appearances. The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective sports in state tournaments sponsored by the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fe ...

: * Baseball: State Champions (2017); 4th place (2016); 2nd place (1964–65) * Golf (boys): 3rd place (1983–84); 2nd place (2006–07); State Champions (2007–08, 2008–09, 2009-10) * Soccer (boys): 4th place (2014–15); 3rd place (2013–14); 4th place (2001–02); 3rd place (1996–97, 1997–98, 2004–05); 2nd place (2000–01); State Champions (2003–04, 2009–10) * Soccer (girls): 2nd place (2009–10), State Champions (2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05); * Swimming & Diving (boys): 4th place (1973–74) * Water Polo (boys): 4th place (2001–02) * Varsity Hockey: 2nd place (1978–1979, 1988–1989, 2011–2012, and 2018-2019) * Varsity Cheerleading (girls): State Champions (2011–12)

Notable alumni

* Brett Basanez (class of 2001) — record-breaking

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

; formerly of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

and Chicago Bears * Emmett Cleary (class of 2008) — offensive tackle for NFL's Detroit Lions *

Rory Dames Rory Dames Jr. (born February 10, 1973) is an American soccer coach who most recently was the head coach of the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). He is the owner and former president of Chicago Eclipse Select, a y ...

(class of 1991) — head coach of soccer's

Chicago Red Stars The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sin ...

* Rob Eiter (class of 1985) — 1996 Olympic wrestler * Mike Guendling (class of 1979) — former NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Cole Kmet Cole Kmet (born March 10, 1999) is an American football tight end for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, and was drafted by the Bears in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Ea ...

(class of 2017), American football player for the Chicago Bears and played collegiately for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. * Natasha Korecki (class of 1992) — ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' reporter who has covered high-profile criminal trials * Tommy Madaras (class of 2014) — current Major League Rugby Prop for the

Dallas Jackals The Dallas Jackals are a Major League Rugby team that began play in the 2022 season as an expansion franchise. They were originally going to join the MLR for the 2021 season, but on January 19, 2021, the Jackals delayed their inaugural season to ...

, who played Rugby at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

Ted Nugent Theodore Anthony Nugent (; born December 13, 1948) is an American rock musician and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock ...

(class of 1967) — rock star of

The Amboy Dukes The Amboy Dukes were an American rock band formed in 1964 in Chicago, Illinois, and later based in Detroit, Michigan. They are best known for their only hit single, " Journey to the Center of the Mind". The band's name comes from the title of ...

and

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...

as well as an accomplished solo career; known for

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and pro-hunting views *

Jarrett Payton Jarrett Walter Payton (born December 26, 1980) is a former American football running back. He is the son of Walter Payton. Payton was previously signed as an undrafted free agent by the NFL Tennessee Titans. Payton also played for the Montreal ...

(class of 1999) —

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

, media personality and son of

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

* Jonathan Spector (class of 2004), soccer player, defender for Orlando City SC ( Major League Soccer) and U. S. national team *

Brian Stack Brian Stack may refer to: * Brian Stack (comedian) (born 1967), American actor, comedian, and writer * Brian P. Stack (born 1966), New Jersey senator * Brian Stack (prison officer) (1935/36–1984), shot by the IRA See also * Brian Stock (born 19 ...

(class of 1982) — performer and writer on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' *

Ben Weasel Benjamin Foster (born 1968), also known as Ben Weasel, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Early life Foster was born in 1968, and was raised in Prospect Heights, Ill ...

(Benjamin Foster), founding member and lead singer of punk band

Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago subur ...

Notable staff

* Ron Feiereisel was a former professional basketball player for the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Founded in 1947, the Lakers are one of the NBA's most famous and successful franchises. As of summer 2012, th ...

. In between coaching jobs at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

, he was the school's first basketball coach.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Viator High School School buildings completed in 1961 Educational institutions established in 1961 Catholic secondary schools in Illinois Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Schools in Arlington Heights, Illinois Private high schools in Cook County, Illinois 1961 establishments in Illinois