Mater Dei High School (Breese, Illinois)

Mater Dei Catholic High School
Address
900 North Mater Dei Drive
Breese, Illinois 62230
United States
Coordinates 38°36′57″N 89°31′58″W / 38.61583°N 89.53278°W / 38.61583; -89.53278Coordinates: 38°36′57″N 89°31′58″W / 38.61583°N 89.53278°W / 38.61583; -89.53278
Information
Type Private, Coeducational, Parochial
Denomination Roman Catholic
Established 1954
Oversight Diocese of Belleville
Principal Dennis Litteken
Chaplain Fr. Chuck Tuttle
Faculty 39
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 518 (2008–09)
Average class size 110
Student to teacher ratio 13:1
Color(s) Navy Blue, Columbia Blue and White             
Slogan Rooted in Tradition for a Faith-Filled Future.
Team name Knights
Accreditation North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Newspaper The Lance
Yearbook The Knight
Tuition $3,798
Website http://www.materdeiknights.org

Mater Dei Catholic High School (often called Breese Mater Dei), is a Catholic, co-educational high school in Breese, Illinois in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville. It was founded in 1954 through the merger of St. Dominic’s High School in Breese and St. Mary's High School in Carlyle, Illinois.

The academic program is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and holds a Certificate of Recognition from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Recent developments at Mater Dei include the construction of a new east wing, expanding facilities by adding a new band room, weight room, and gym.

Parishes represented

St. Boniface, St. Mary-Centralia, St. Bernard, St. Mary-Edwardsville, St. Rose, St. Felicitas, St. Stephen-Caseyville, St. Francis, St. Teresa-Marydale, St. George, St. Josephs, St. Paul, St. Dominics, St. Mary-Carlyle, St. Augustines, St. Cecilias, St. Marys-Trenton, St. Anthonys- Beckemeyer, and St. Damian. The school also has many students with other religious and non religious beliefs.

Student activities

The school offers over 23 clubs covering areas from academic and performing arts to ministry and leadership. Clubs include: Chess club, Book club, Science Club, Model UN, ProLife Group, Saint Vincent DePaul Society, Student Council, Student Ambassadors, Peer Advisers, Liturgical Planning Core, Liturgical Music Group, Spring Musical, Fall play, and many more. The high school also has a student newspaper (Lance) and an award-winning student designed yearbook (Knight).[2]

Athletics

The school sponsors teams in basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, and track & field for both boys and girls. The school sponsors teams in baseball and football for boys, while girls also compete in cheerleading, softball, and volleyball.[3] The school is an independent school which does not participate in a conference or league, but is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) which sponsors and governs statewide competition in many sports. For most of its history, Mater Dei competed in the Class A, or smaller school classification. In recent years, the use of a multiplier on private schools has raised the school to the larger class (AA). They now compete in class 3A of the newly implemented four-class system.

The following teams have won their respective state tournaments sponsored by the IHSA:[4]

Notable athletic events

Every September, the school and neighboring Central Community High School play a football event named the Milk Bowl. A traveling trophy in the shape of a traditional milk can is awarded to the winning team to hold for the following year. The event gives both schools the most profit out of all athletic games, activities, etc. and is evenly shared between both. The game's location alternates each year between the schools' football fields.

Christmas Tournament

Mater Dei High School has hosted an annual Christmas Basketball Tournament beginning on December 26 every year since 1960. Recently, the tournament has been broadcast online.[5]

Notable alumni

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.