Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart ( ) is a combined primary and secondary independent girls'

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

located at 10202 Memorial Drive in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. A member of the

Network of Sacred Heart Schools The School of the Sacred Heart is an international network of private Catholic schools that are run by or affiliated with the Society of the Sacred Heart, which was founded in France by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat. Membership of the network ex ...

, it offers a college preparatory curriculum for girls. Duchesne, which enrolls girls from pre-K3 to the 12th grade, is part of the

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and the

Independent Schools Association of the Southwest The Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) is a nonprofit association of 89 independent schools located in the U.S. states of Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. ISAS is a member of the National Associ ...

. Duchesne is in the Memorial area and is east of the city of

Hunters Creek Village Hunters Creek Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 4,385 at the 2020 census. It is part of a collection of upscale residential communities in west Houston known as the Memor ...

History

Duchesne was established in September 1960 as a part of the

, with 58 high-school pupils. The school is named after

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne Rose Philippine Duchesne, RCSJ (August 29, 1769 – November 18, 1852), was a French religious sister and educator whom Pope John Paul II canonized in 1988. She is the only fully canonized female Roman Catholic saint to share a feast day with t ...

, the first member of the

Society of the Sacred Heart , image = RSCJnuevo.jpg, , image_size = 150px , caption = , abbreviation = Post-nominal letters: RSCJ , formation = , founder = Saint Sr. Madeleine Sophie Barat, R.S.C.J. ...

to come to America. The school is part of the

. The campus was built around a large oak tree, in the center of its campus. It became a symbol for the school because the name "Duchesne" is French for "of the oak". The oak tree also represents a notable graduation tradition at Duchesne. As each senior is called up to receive her diploma, she passes under the oak tree. On September 17, 2014, the original oak tree fell during a thunderstorm. it was over fifty years old and had been weakened after surviving a severe drought. On February 17, 2015, a new oak tree was transported by crane to a location near where the old oak tree previously stood and is currently still standing. The new oak tree allows the graduation tradition to continue. Another fixture of the campus is a two-story white house that stood on the property when it was purchased for the school. It faces the oak tree and houses the

RSCJ , image = RSCJnuevo.jpg, , image_size = 150px , caption = , abbreviation = Post-nominal letters: RSCJ , formation = , founder = Saint Sr. Madeleine Sophie Barat, R.S.C.J. ...

who live on campus. Some of the school's classes were originally conducted here.

Student life

The school is divided into three divisions: the Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School. The school has an annual tradition known as Congé - a day where classes are canceled and the Senior class organizes games and activities for the entire school to participate in.

Academics and culture

In 1974, ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' stated that students from Duchesne and nearby Saint Agnes Academy originated from "mostly business and professional people with money"."''Texas Monthly'''s Guide to Private Schools Part Two." ''

''.

Emmis Communications Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which h ...

, October 1974. Vol. 2, No. 10. ISSN 0148-7736. Start pag
83
Cited: p
87
In 2017, Niche ranked Duchesne among the Best Private High Schools in the Houston metro area.

Upper School Curriculum

Upper school students must complete four years of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

as well as three years of

foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a given country, and that native speakers from that country must usually acquire through conscious learning - be this through language lessons at school ...

and mathematics to graduate. As a part of the student's religious studies, freshman and sophomores must complete two service projects each semester, while juniors and seniors take a social awareness course and volunteer throughout the Houston area. Additionally, Upper School students must have three fine arts bins, three computer science bins, and three PE bins by the time they graduate. Each 6 week module is one bin, three bins is the equivalent of one year-long course.

Athletics

Duchesne offers 11 sports for students to participate in throughout the academic year. In the fall, Duchesne offers field hockey, cross country, and volleyball as sports. Soccer, basketball, and swimming are played in the winter season. In the spring, students play

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

. Golf is offered year-round, and Swimming occurs during the end of the fall season, all of the winter season, and part of the spring season. Duchesne is affiliated with the

Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas. It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Salado, Texas. Foun ...

(TAPPS).

Notable Organizations

Robotics

Iron Plaid 3103 is the school's all-girl high school robotics team associated with FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). Founded in 2009, the team has won numerous awards, including the Rookie All-Star award and a Finalist award in 2009, the Engineering Inspiration award, Industrial Design award and Industrial Safety award in 2014, the Engineering Inspiration award in 2015 and in 2017. The team has attended championships a total of 4 times.

Notes

External links

Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart
– Official website {{authority control Independent Schools Association of the Southwest Girls' schools in Texas Private K-12 schools in Houston Catholic secondary schools in Texas Sacred Heart schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1960 1960 establishments in Texas