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For other uses, see St. John's School (disambiguation)

St. John's School is a coeducational independent school in the Upper Kirby district of Houston, Texas, presenting a 13-year sequence of college preparatory training. A non-profit institution, it was founded in 1946 with the intention of providing the community with a school of exacting standards in the development of individual, spiritual, ethical, intellectual, social, and physical growth. While the means to achieve that purpose may change, it remains the basic mission of the school. The school is a member of the Houston Area Independent Schools and has no religious affiliation. The school has been coeducational since its founding in 1946. On March 23, 2007, the St. John's School students and faculty celebrated the 60th aniversary of the school's founding.

St. John's receives no state or federal funding. Tuition is $15,050 for Upper School students, $14,200 for Middle School students, and $11,975 for Lower School students. Many students receive partial to full need-based scholarships, as the school has a need-blind admissions policy.

Mission

The School seeks to develop the whole person in preparation for a lifetime of personal fulfillment and contribution to society. In particular, it is dedicated to the enhancement and the expansion of future leadership for Houston and the country. The School offers talented, motivated, and energetic students a genuine challenge for academic accomplishment and for development of a sense of self-worth and of personal responsibility. The School in turn holds itself responsible for providing that challenge.

Campus

The Brown (South) Campus hosts the Lower (K-5) and Georges Middle (6-8) Schools as well as the Virginia Stuller Tatham (VST) Fine Arts Center and the Smith athletic center. The Cullen (North) Campus, separated from the South Campus by Westheimer Road, houses the Upper (9-12) School. Two tunnels run underneath Westheimer Road, and connect the North and South Campuses. The school also maintains two athletic fields across Richmond Avenue for field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, and a baseball field adjacent to St. Luke's Methodist Church.

The school is located in the Upper Kirby district bordering on River Oaks, an extremely affluent residential neighborhood. While the school draws the majority of its students from the Houston neighborhoods of River Oaks and Memorial and the cities of West University Place and Bellaire, the school's student body hails from nearly every zip code in Houston and surrounding areas.

The school is adjacent to Lamar High School, a public secondary school operated by Houston Independent School District.

The Upper Kirby district plans to establish a "teen center" at Richmond and Wake Forest geared towards students at St. John's, Lamar, Lanier, and other schools in or near Upper Kirby. Funding issues have delayed establishment of the center.

History

St. John's was established in 1946 with just 344 students and six acres of land. Founding headmaster Alan Lake Chidsey served as headmaster of both the Pawling School (today Trinity-Pawling School) and the Arizona Desert School before World War II and as Assistant Dean of Students at University of Chicago after the war. The school's seal is similar to that of the Trinity-Pawling School.

The school was originally affiliated with the St. John the Divine Episcopal Church nursery school. Today the school has no affiliation with the church, although it does provide non-denominational Judeo-Christian Chapel services at the church. In recent years, the Chapel program has branched out to offer more multicultural services, often hosting speakers from other faiths or non-religious backgrounds. The Upper School Chapel Guild, a student-led group, organizes and selects the speaker and theme for each service.

In 1998, alumnus Wes Anderson filmed the loosely autobiographical Rushmore at St. John's. Like protagonist Max Fischer, Mr. Anderson staged numerous action epic plays in the now-demolished Hoodwink auditorium of his alma mater, with titles like The Five Maseratis and The Battle of the Alamo. Anderson co-wrote the movie with Owen Wilson, who had attended St. John's rival and fellow member of the Southwest Preparatory Conference, St. Mark's School of Texas in Dallas.

In 1995, George W. Bush, then the Governor of Texas, served as the commencement speaker. Two years later, in 2000, while a candidate for President of the United States, Vanity Fair magazine and The New York Times reported that, as a child, Bush had been rejected for admission by St. John's. According to the article, Governor Bush consulted with his parents (the former president George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara Bush) on this issue and was able to confirm that he had, in fact, been rejected by St. John's decades before, which had led to his enrolling at Phillips Academy, his father's alma mater.

In 2005, Sandra Day O'Connor, then a current Supreme Court Justice, visited St. John's School. Other notable visitors to St. John's over the years have included former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III and Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, whose first U.S. performance was at St. John's in 1993.

Today, the school covers 28 acres at the corner of Westheimer and Claremont, and the school has an enrollment of 1,225 students supported by over 200 faculty and staff.

Mascot

The St. John's mascot has a controversial history. The original mascot, The Crusaders, lasted only three years due to its religious connotations. The Rebels was selected as a replacement in 1949, with Confederate symbol Johnny Reb as the mascot.

In 1990, the Upper School students voted to discontinue the mascot and nickname, under the leadership of their African-American Head Prefect (student body president). A year later all symbols of the Confederacy were disassociated from the school, although the nickname "The Rebels" was retained with the hopes it could be connected with the American Revolution or more generally as an ambiguous invocation of nonconformity and independent thinking.

In the spring of 2004, by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees, St. John's School officially changed its mascot to The Mavericks in order to further distance themselves from any Confederate connections. The change was supported by a majority of faculty. A large number of students and alumni opposed the change.

Academics

St. John's is widely regarded as having the most rigorous academics of any secondary school in the city of Houston.

St. John's Upper School students graduate having completed at least three courses in mathematics, three courses in a foreign language, four courses in English and writing, two courses in science, three courses in history and social studies, two years in physical education, and a year in the arts (music, fine arts, theater, or dance).

The school reports that the median SAT (New Scholastic Aptitude Test I) score for the Class of 2006 was 2140 out of 2400 (700 critical reading, 720 math, 720 writing).

Student life

Sports

St. John's offers a wide variety of sports. Students may participate in cross-country, volleyball, field hockey, or football in the fall season, soccer, basketball, swimming, or wrestling in the winter, and golf, tennis, lacrosse, softball, baseball, or track and field in the spring.

The Maverick football team plays the annual homecoming game against its traditional rival, The Kinkaid School at Rice Stadium. The contest culminates Kinkaid Week, a week of activities designed to rally school spirit for the big game.

The lacrosse program at St. John's has traditionally been very strong, producing numerous All-American athletes in the sport. In 2006, both the men's and women's lacrosse teams won the Texas High School Lacrosse League Championship.

A variety of student organizations support the sports teams. The cheerleading program features three squads: 8th grade, junior varsity (9th and 10th graders), and varsity (11th and 12th graders). Drum Corps is a musical ensemble that provides spirited entertainment at sporting events, especially football games. Pots and Pans is a recently established group that lends their percussive talents to the sidelines and stands, following in the footsteps of the legendary but now-defunct Lee Field Loonies.

The Arts

Students can participate in the arts either in classes for academic credit, performing ensembles, or extracurricular organizations. The first arts organization created was Johnnycake, founded by the original headmaster in 1949. It is one of the oldest organizations at St. John's. Open to all Upper School students, Johnnycake provides opportunities in all aspects of theatrical production from technical crew to set and costume designing to performance. Johnnycake supports three main theatrical productions in the Upper School as well as other smaller student productions. Shortcake, the middle school division of Johnnycake, offers two to three production opportunities in the Middle School. In both Upper and Middle School, students may enroll in theater class to fulfill their fine arts requirement.

Students can participate in many choral groups. Any male student in 4th through 12th grade may participate in the Boy Choir in addition to their regular choral assignment. In grades 4 and 5, students may participate in the co-ed St. John's Singers. The highlight of the year for the St. John's Singers is the Spring Fling, the annual spring musical production. In Middle School, girls may participate in Cantatores. Upper schoolers have many options, from the all-women Les Chanteuses, mixed Chorale, and the selective chamber choir Kantorei. The Chapel Singers are a small volunteer choir that sings frequently at Upper School chapel services. Every other year, Kantorei makes an international tour to perform across the globe. Recent visits have included Brazil, Canada, Austria, Italy (including a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica), and the Czech Republic.

There is no formal marching band at St. John's, but there are many musical ensembles and smaller bands. In Middle School, Beginner Band is open to class seven and eight students who are interested in learning to play a wind instrument. The Middle School Intermediate Band performs a repertoire ranging from standard band to pop and jazz. Students more adept at string instruments (violin, viola, cello, bass) can join the orchestral group, Sinfonia. The Upper School features both a Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band as well as the Chamber Strings. Sporting events are frequently cheered on by the Drum Corps.

Another type of performing ensemble offered is dance. In 7th grade, students may join the Impulse dance ensemble as an extracurricular involvement. In 8th grade, Impulse is offered as a course to fulfill the fine arts requirement. Upper School dance is a co-curricular course taken for credit. The program consists of four levels in ascending order: Caprice I, Caprice II, Caprice III, and Terpsichore. Just for fun, informal tap dance lessons are sponsored by Tap Club for Upper School students.

Student organizations

The Review is the official student newspaper of St. John's School. Established by the first headmaster Alan Lake Chidsey, it is one of the oldest student organizations on campus. The Review publishes issues monthly and produces a magazine issue annually. A favorite feature in each issue is Word for Word, a collection of recent memorable quotes from members of the SJS community.

An informal online newspaper, The Hall Monitor, is created and read by Middle School students.

The SJS Academic Challenge Team, in the past few years, has been a successful quiz bowl team at local, state, and national levels. Also known as the Academic Team or Nerd Squad, the group competes in local, state, regional, and national tournaments of academic, intellectual, and sometimes esoteric topics related to anything from mathematics, science, the humanities, or "trash" (pop culture, sports, etcetera). The team often attends tournaments hosted by the Texas Quizbowl Alliance and other institutions. Most notably, it won the NAQT High School National Championship in 2002, placed third in 2003 and 2004, and advanced to the semifinals of the PACE NSC in 2004.

Upper School student clubs include Rock Climbing Club, Tap Club, Chess Club, ECOS, Knitting Club, FACETS, Soccer Club, History Club, Ultimate Frisbee team, and more.

Location

The school is located in the Upper Kirby district adjacent to River Oaks, an affluent neighborhood. While the school draws the majority of its students from the Houston neighborhoods of River Oaks and Memorial and the cities of West University Place and Bellaire, the school's student body hails from nearly every zip code in Houston and surrounding areas.

The school is next door to Lamar High School, a public secondary school operated by Houston Independent School District.

The Upper Kirby district plans to establish a "teen center" at Richmond and Wake Forest geared towards students at St. John's, Lamar, Lanier, and other schools in or near Upper Kirby. Funding issues have delayed establishment of the center.

School uniform

St. John's requires that students wear the school uniform at all times. Most uniform pieces must be purchased from Sue Mills. The St. John's plaid, only available from Sue Mills, is distinctive from other Houston area schools.

The uniform for all male students consists of belted khaki or twill shorts or pants, worn with a white or powder blue oxford shirt or a white, red (Lower School), black (Middle School), or navy (Upper School) polo shirt.

Lower School girls may wear a red or plaid jumper over a white peter pan collar blouse with red piping, khaki or twill shorts or pants with a red or white polo shirt, or a plaid skort with a red or white polo shirt. Middle School girls may wear a red or plaid skirt with a white polo shirt or khaki or twill shorts or pants with a white or black polo shirt. Upper School girls may wear a red or plaid skirt with a white or navy polo shirt or khaki or twill shorts or pants with a white or navy polo shirt.

Grey slacks for both males and females are a previously unpopular uniform option that have gathered a small cult following among students.

Students are required to tuck in shirts, and a 2004 survey conducted by The Review found that untucked shirts accounted for the vast majority of detentions and other disciplinary action.

Headmasters

• Alan Lake Chidsey, 1946-1966
• Elwood Kimball Salls, 1966-1976
• Thomas Read, 1976-1981
• James R. Maggart, 1981-1991
• E. Philip Cannon, 1991-1998 (1991-1992 as interim headmaster)
• John Allman, 1998-present

Notable alumni

• Wes Anderson, Academy Award nominated writer, producer, and director of films
• William S. Farish
• Sarah Blaffer Hrdy
• Molly Ivins, famed political columnist
• Ken Keeler
• Mike France, a senior writer at Businessweek
• Peter Roussel
• Christy Haubegger, founder of Latina magazine

References

• History of SJS

External links

• St. John's School website
• Houston Association of Independent Schools (HAIS)
• Satellite photo of St. John's
• The Review, the official student newspaper of St. John's School
• The uniform of St. John's School

• Educational institutions established in 1946
• Elementary schools in Texas
• High schools in Texas
• Independent Schools Association of the Southwest
• Middle schools in Texas
• Private schools in Texas
• Private schools in Houston
• Preparatory schools in the United States