Xavier High School is a private,

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 ...

coeducational 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 t ...

college preparatory school

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

run by the US East Province of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

on the island of

Weno Weno, formerly Moen, is an island municipality of Chuuk State of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It is the largest town in the FSM. It has an estimated area of 20 square kilometers. Population The population was 13,856 at the censu ...

in Chuuk,

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

. It was established by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in 1952. It was the first high school in the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. History Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trus ...

. Bishop Thomas Feeney, S.J., D.D. from the New York Province of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

(the Jesuits) originally envisioned a minor seminary to train local clergy. Soon after, Xavier Seminary became the first college preparatory school in the Western Pacific. The mission of Xavier High School is to educate students to become competent, conscientious, and compassionate leaders whose lives are guided by the Christian call of service. Today, Xavier High School continues to provide a college preparatory education as a Catholic school in the Jesuit tradition, serving the different island-nations of Micronesia. In 2014 Xavier produced four Gates scholars; the first recipient of the Ushiba Scholarship to Sophia University in Japan; and an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

History

During World War II, the Japanese government urged Mabuchi Construction Company to construct a communications center for the Japanese military in Chuuk. In 1952, Xavier High School was opened at its present site on Mabuchi hill, as the first high school in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Bishop Thomas Feeney, S.J., D.D. from the New York Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) originally envisioned a minor seminary to train local clergy. Soon after, Xavier Seminary became the first college preparatory school in the Western Pacific. The school property was added to the United States

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976 as St. Xavier Academy.

Academics

Xavier follows closely the academic program at Jesuit college prep schools in the United States: four years of religion, English, literature, science, and mathematics (concluding with calculus), three years of history, and two years of Latin, plus computer skills, study skills, and health and wholeness. Religion courses are very traditional: in first year mainly the creeds, sacraments, virtues, Ten Commandments, and Our Father; in second year a contextual study of the New Testament and who Jesus is for them, following the

Ignatian Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

dynamic; in third year the Old Testament and Catholic liturgy; in fourth year discussion of major moral issues with the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a guide. The active service component is during vacation between junior and senior year when each student devotes 160 hours to some project in direct service to the poor on their home island, keeps a journal, and at the end enters a common reflection on their experiences. Added to this is the Senior Survey Project, a semester course during which students learn research skills specific to their own island-nations, linking them again to their communities. Components specific to Micronesia also enter into the syllabus in the first year coverage of Pacific history and geography, while focusing on relationships among the various Micronesian cultures. Also, senior English classes have discussions of human rights and social justice issues. Environmental studies is included in the biology course and also offered as an elective in senior year, along with another elective on developmental studies specific to their own places of origin. The other electives are Japanese in junior year and accounting and music in senior year. College and career prep are covered in third and fourth year English with preparation for the PSAT, SAT, and TOEFL tests, and also in college counselling courses in junior and senior year.

Staffing and enrollment

Xavier High School employs an international staff of Jesuits, volunteers, alumni, and local people. Xavier had in 2014 an enrollment of 190 students (107 boys, 83 girls), While most of the boys board on campus, the girls live off campus and are served by school buses. Students come from the different island nations of Micronesia, serving the island-nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, the

Republic of Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

, and the

Republic of the Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

. They are selected by passing a written test and written recommendation. Alumni have gone on to influential roles throughout Micronesia. Some have described it as "the Harvard of Micronesia".

Notable alumni

Erhart Aten Erhart Aten (1932–2004) was a Micronesian politician who served as the first elected Governor of Chuuk State (then called Truk). Aten took office in 1978 after self-government was implemented. He stepped down from office in 1986 after serving ...

(1962), Governor of Chuuk *

John Ehsa John Ehsa (20 August 1958 – January 2022) was a Micronesian politician. Ehsa served as the Governor of Pohnpei, one of the four states that constitute the Federated States of Micronesia, from 14 January 2008 until his resignation in Octo ...

(1975),

Governor of Pohnpei The office of the Governor of Pohnpei is the highest elected position in the state of Pohnpei State, Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. References

Governors of Pohnpei, * Pohnpei 1979 establishments in the Trust Territory of the Pa ...

Manny Mori Emanuel "Manny" Mori (born December 25, 1949) is a Micronesian politician who served as President of the Federated States of Micronesia from 11 May 2007 to 11 May 2015. Early life Mori was born on the island of Fefan and attended and graduated fr ...

(1969),

President of the Federated States of Micronesia The president of the Federated States of Micronesia is the head of state and government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The FSM president, by virtue of his or her office, is the head of the FSM Cabinet and is in charge of the admin ...

Peter Sugiyama Peter Lawrence Naoya Sugiyama (April 19, 1943–June 10, 2007) was a Palauan politician. Personal life Sugiyama's father was a Japanese immigrant. He moved to Koror in 1914 at the invitation of his uncle, after the Japanese Empire seized cont ...

(c.1962), member of the

Senate of Palau The Senate of Palau is the upper house of the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''). The Senate has 13 members serving four-year terms in multi-seat constituencies. No political parties exist. The most recent election was held on 3 No ...

Joseph Urusemal Joseph John "Joe" Urusemal (born March 19, 1952) is a Micronesian political figure who served as the sixth President of the Federated States of Micronesia from 2003 until 2007. Urusemal is married to former First Lady Olania Latileilam, who is ...

(1973),

Peter M. Christian Peter Martin Christian (born 16 October 1947) is a Micronesian politician who served as the 8th President of the Federated States of Micronesia, from 11 May 2015 to 11 May 2019. Peter Martin Christian was among the first fourteen persons to be e ...

(1966),

References

External links

Xavier High School website
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1952 Schools in the Federated States of Micronesia Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in the Federated States of Micronesia School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...