Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SHC, is a Catholic school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Founded in 1852, Sacred Heart Cathedral is the oldest Catholic secondary school and was the first co-ed Catholic high school in San Francisco.

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
Address
Map
1055 Ellis Street

Cathedral Hill

,
94109

United States
Coordinates37°46′59″N 122°25′24″W / 37.78306°N 122.42333°W / 37.78306; -122.42333
Information
TypePrivate, Coeducational
MottoSignum Fidei. Caritas Christi Urget Nos.
(Sign of Faith. Christ's Love Urges Us.)
Religious affiliation(s)Catholic;
Daughters of Charity;
Christian Brothers
Established1852 (St. Vincent/Cathedral)
1874 (Sacred Heart)
1987 (Sacred Heart and Cathedral merged)
School districtArchdiocese of San Francisco
PresidentMelinda Lawlor Skrade
PrincipalGary J. Cannon
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,354[1] (2020)
CampusUrban
Color(s)Forest green, Arctic white and royal blue    
SloganEnter to Learn, Leave to Serve
Fight songAlma Mater
Athletics conferenceWest Catholic Athletic League
MascotSeamus
Team nameFightin' Irish
RivalSt. Ignatius College Preparatory
AccreditationWestern Association of Schools and Colleges[2]
PublicationOracle (creative writing journal)
NewspaperEmerald
YearbookShamrock
Endowment$16 Million [citation needed]
TuitionDomestic: $26,500 +fees/pledge
International: $33,000 +fees/pledge
[3]
National Merit Scholars4 (class of 2023)
PrincipalGary J. Cannon
Dean of StudentsMario Sazo
Nicole Nastari
Admissions DirectorJonathan Lim
Athletic DirectorsPhil Freed
Margi Beima
Caesar Smith, Associate
Websitewww.shcp.edu

SHC is owned by the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

History

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Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory was formed by a merger between two single-sex schools — St. Vincent's and Sacred Heart High School.

St. Vincent's was founded in 1852 as an orphanage and a girls' day school by five sisters of the Daughters of Charity. In 1868, the Christian Brothers would open St. Peter’s Parochial School, whose grammar and high school divisions would be run by the Christian Brothers until 1953. Sacred Heart College was established in 1874 and had a curriculum spanning grammar school, high school along with a 3-year college program, after which students could transfer to St. Mary's College to complete their 4th year of college education. The college was located at Eddy & Larkin Streets from 1874 until 1906, relocated to Fell Street until 1914 then at Ellis & Franklin until present. College courses were eliminated in 1922 and the grammar school division was eliminated in 1928. SHC, along with St. Vincent's, were destroyed during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. St. Vincent’s school would eventually be rebuilt, and moved three more times, finally settling on the corner of Gough and Geary streets in 1938. In 1966, the St. Vincent’s would be razed to make way for St. Mary's Cathedral, rebuilt adjacent to it, then renamed Cathedral High School.

The schools would merge together in 1987 into Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, after having collaborated together since 1967.[4]

Facilities

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The school is located in San Francisco's Cathedral Hill District, with the two academic buildings located on the corner of Gough and Ellis Streets. A field used by the school's athletic teams for practice is also located on the corner of Gough and Eddy Streets.

De Paul Campus for the Arts

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On the northwest corner of the intersection is the former Cathedral High School building, now named the De Paul Campus for the Arts in honor of St. Vincent de Paul. It houses the Sister Caroline Collins, DC, Theater, opened in fall of 2010; freshman lockers; the history, visual and performing arts, and Language Other than English (LOTE) departments. Starting in 2020, the DePaul Campus underwent renovations to modernize the front lobby, which are now completed.[5][6]

The building adjoins San Francisco's Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption; the school's former building was razed by the Archdiocese of San Francisco to make room for the construction of the new Cathedral. The cathedral's rectory is adjacent to the De Paul Campus, but there is no access to it from the school; the entrance is located on the northeast corner entrance of the campus. Pope John Paul II stayed in the rectory at the De Paul Campus during his trip to San Francisco in 1987, which is marked by a plaque at the entrance of the rectory.[7]

La Salle campus

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The La Salle campus is named in honor of St. John Baptist de La Salle. This campus has a six-story building which houses school administration offices, the library, the Community Life Center, and the English, Mathematics, Science, and Religion departments. The library occupies the entire sixth story, except for a small chapel and veranda.

Student Life Center

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The Sister Teresa Piro, DC, Student Life Center, completed in 2004 at an estimated cost of $16 million, houses a 1,500-seat athletic gym (called the Pavilion) and 1,000-seat Dining Hall. The building is adjoined to an older facility housing a gymnasium, weight room, fitness center, and robotics lab.

Tuition and enrollment

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Tuition at SHC costs $26,500 per student in the 2024-25 term.[8] SHC provides an array of courses, including college preparatory, honors, and Advanced Placement classes. All students are required to take English and Religious Studies for four years, as well as three years of Math and Social Studies. SHC uses a tracking system for math, with students typically being placed on one of three tracks in their freshman years. They must also take one year of a Visual or Performing Art (VPA) to graduate.[9] Most students additionally opt to take three or four years of Science and a foreign language.[citation needed] Sacred Heart Cathedral enrolls approximately 1,300 students from San Francisco and its suburbs. [citation needed]

Athletics

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The athletic teams, known as the Fightin' Irish, compete in the West Catholic Athletic League. There are 22 teams and 53 sport levels for boys and girls at SHC split into Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons.[10][11]

In the 2021-2022 school year, Sacred Heart Cathedral claimed its first CIF football title in school history after winning the Division 4-A state championship game.[12]

Rivalry with St. Ignatius College Preparatory

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Sacred Heart Cathedral's traditional rival is St. Ignatius College Preparatory, also located in San Francisco. The rivalry between the two schools began with a two men who attended the schools. Bill Bruce attended SI and Jerry Mahoney attended SHC. The trophy was inaugurated in 1947 and is named in honor of Bill Bruce and Jerry Mahoney, each an alumnus exclusively representing one of the schools, both of whom were killed in World War II.

The two schools play against each other in football, boys basketball, baseball, and added in 2021, girls volleyball and basketball. In basketball, baseball, and volleyball where the teams play more than one game per season, only the first game counts towards winning the trophy. The trophy goes to the school that wins in three out of the five games.

Notable alumni

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "SHC Honor Roll of Investors 2020-21". issuu.com. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  2. ^ WASC-ACS. "WASC-Accrediting Commission for Schools". Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  3. ^ "TUITION & AID". Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  4. ^ "Mission & History". shcp education. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "Programs to Support". shcp.edu. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "A Senior's Perspective on Walkathon". shcp.edu. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "On Eve Of Sainthood, Remembering Pope John Paul II's '87 Bay Area Visit And Conservative Legacy". cbsnews. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
  8. ^ "Tuition & Aid". SHC. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  9. ^ "Departments and Courses: Visual and Performing Arts". shcp.edu. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  10. ^ "West Catholic Athletic League". wcalsports. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  11. ^ "Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory ~ Athletics". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
  12. ^ "Sacred Heart Cathedral wins first CIF state football championship in school history". December 12, 2021.
  13. ^ San Francisco Chronicle. September 8, 1892
  14. ^ a b c d "ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME". shcp.edu. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "San Francisco Police Department : Chiefs of the SFPD". Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  16. ^ website=Baseball-Reference
  17. ^ "Harry Heilmann Stats". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  18. ^ "Joe Cronin Stats". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  19. ^ "Joe Cronin | Society for American Baseball Research". sabr. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  20. ^ "SI math teacher Jim Delaney won silver in '48 London Olympics for shot put – SI History".
  21. ^ Melvin, Joshua (May 10, 2012). "Longtime San Bruno Mayor Bob Marshall dies". San Mateo County Times. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  22. ^ "SHC Mourns The Loss Of Bob Marshal '52". shcp education.
  23. ^ "Joe Peterson". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
  24. ^ "Eric White Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  25. ^ "New Balance All-Stars break distance medley relay world record in Boston". runningmagazine Canada. April 17, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  26. ^ "Keith Ismael". maxpreps. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
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