Seton Keough High School

Seton Keough High School is an all-girls college preparatory private, Roman Catholic high school in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, at 1201 Caton Avenue. It was founded in 1988 after the joining of the two schools, Archbishop Keough and Seton High School. It is scheduled for closure in June of 2017.^[2]

History

Seton Keough is named in honor of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton and Francis Patrick Keough, who was the Archbishop of Baltimore from 1947 to 1961.^[3]

Seton Keough builds on a tradition of Catholic education for young women in Baltimore. In 1865, the Daughters of Charity opened St. Joseph School of Industry at Carey and Lexington Streets. This first school trained needy girls between the ages of 12 and 21; they learned such trades as dressmaking, sewing, tailoring, stenography, and typing. In addition, they studied religion, composition, history, mathematics, and reading.

Saint Joseph School of Industry moved to a new location, at 28th and Charles Streets, in 1907. When it became apparent the Diocese needed a central high school, Archbishop Curley asked the Daughters of Charity to expand the school. In 1926, the name of the school was changed to Seton High School, and the curriculum changed to emphasize a strong academic and business program. The school flourished.

As enrollment at all Catholic high schools increased, by the mid-sixties it became evident a new school was needed on the southwest side of the city. The School Sisters of Notre Dame responded to this need, and in 1965, Sr. Mary Virginia Connolly became the founding principal of Archbishop Keough High School. The school was built on 30 acres of land on Caton Avenue, and was structured as an Archdiocesan High School . Archbishop Keough High added one grade a year; the first commencement took place in June, 1969. The school flourished; in 1987, it was named an exemplary school by the U.S. Department of Education.

Although both Seton and Archbishop Keough had enrollments exceeding 1100 in the mid-sixties, by the mid-eighties enrollment patterns had changed. In the summer of 1987, the boards of Archbishop Keough and Seton began to meet to explore the possibility of a merger. The need for a strong new school which combined the best of both schools—facilities, faculties, students, and equipment—to assure the future of Catholic secondary education for women in the Archdiocese of Baltimore became apparent. On June 15, 1988, after a year of joint planning, Seton High School moved out of its location on North Charles Street and into the Caton Avenue building with Archbishop Keough High School. The names of both schools changed to form The Seton Keough High School. The colors of both schools changed to green and gray: gray for the shared color, and green as a sign of hope for the future. The curriculum includes a dynamic college-preparatory curriculum in all academic subjects as well as the fine and performing arts, on levels including Advanced Placement, and Honors, and the Marillac Program for students with special needs.

On October 26, 2016, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced that the school will close in June of 2017.^[2] The decision was reached as a result of an 18-month study of 22 Catholic schools in and around Baltimore. Conducted by consulting firms Ayers Saint Gross, DataStory and Fielding Nair International, the study examined school facilities, enrollment, and projected demographic data and potential areas of growth. The study identified three schools for closure due to under-enrollment and/or facility condition, including Seton Keough.^[2]

Traditions

Big Sister/Little Sister

Upon entry into the school, underclasswomen are paired with upperclasswomen. These pairs participate in activities that welcome new students to the Seton Keough community and provide a foundation of friendship for all four years.

Year Day

There is a class wide contest at Seton Keough called "Year Day". A theme for the event is chosen (such as Disney movies, board games, decades, etc.) and each class must decorate a hallway, write a song, create a T-shirt, perform a dance, skit and a cheer in respect with the theme. A board of teachers judges them and ranks them from 1st to 4th place in each event. The class with the overall high score wins bragging rights until a new Year Day Champ is named. There are also other games during the course of the day, such as pie eating contests, tug-o-war, floor hockey, basketball, and slip-n-slide.

Halloween Contest

An annual Halloween costume contest is held each year. With the categories of; (per grade level) best single costume, best double costume, best group costume, cutest costume, funniest costume, and scariest costume. The senior class traditionally dresses in a grade-wide themed costume. The class of 2008 dressed as convicts, the class of 2009 dressed in a jungle theme, the class of 2010 dressed as the living dead, the class of 2011 dressed as super heroes, the class of 2012 dressed as soldiers, the class of 2013 dressed as cops and robbers, the class of 2014 dressed as senior citizens, the class of 2015 dressed as senior sisters (nuns), the class of 2016 dressed as seventies theme, and the class of 2017 dressed as secret service.

Walk for Hope

The Kathleen Bowen Walk for Hope is an annual fundraiser to raise money for the St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. In 2015, the walk also raised funds to establish an SKHS fund to assist students whose parents/guardians are battling cancer.^[4] The event begins and ends with a prayer service in the auditorium. Throughout the day, students walked around the loop in front of the school and take part in activities from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in different classrooms.^[5] Activities include making items and cards to send to St. Jude patients,^[6] the opportunity for girls to donate hair to make wigs for cancer patients,^[5] and the sale of food and baked goods to raise money for the cause, among other things.

Sophomore Pin and Junior Ring

Students in their sophomore year receive a school pin, with the school's crest attached to their graduation year by a gold chain, to signify their progression of becoming upperclassmen.^[7]

Girls in their junior year receive a school ring, to signify their progression of becoming the seniors and leaders of the school. Ring style options are reminiscent of those worn by both Archbishop Keough and Seton High School students.^[7]

Class colors

Students in each class will have a class color which is rotated every four years. In the 2015-16 year, the senior class was red, the junior class was blue, the sophomore class was green and the freshmen class was yellow. When a senior class graduates, the incoming freshman class will take their color as their own. In addition, each class picks a popular character to represent their class in the appropriate class color that will stay with them through their years there such as Tweety for yellow.

Tragedies

In November 1969, a very popular teacher at Archbishop Keough, Sister Cathy Cesnik, was found murdered in the outskirts of the city of Baltimore. She was a popular English and drama teacher. According to a Huffington Post article (5/14/2015), her murder was never solved.

On September 18, 2001, Meghan Puls was riding in a friend's Corvette when the car left the road when the driver lost control due to resurfacing. Meghan was a three sport junior who excelled at basketball. Her basketball jersey hangs in the gym and her number is on the scoreboard.

Athletics

In 2012, SK sports teams won 5 championships. Seton Keough is home to 12 athletic teams. Three of these are in the IAAM Conference "A" and the remaining nine are in the IAAM Conference "B".

• IAAM Conference "A" Sports

Volleyball - JV and Varsity (2012 Champions)
Basketball - JV and Varsity
Softball - JV and Varsity (2012 Champions)

• IAAM Conference "B" Sports

Field Hockey - JV and Varsity (2012 Champions)
Cross Country - Varsity
Soccer - JV and Varsity
Indoor Track and Field - Varsity
Swimming - Varsity (2012 Champions)
Cheerleading - Varsity
Golf - Varsity (2012 Champions)
Track and Field - Varsity
Lacrosse - JV and Varsity

Arts

Theatre The theatre department was revived in 2002. Now with a parenting organization behind it, the theatre department puts on three productions a year: a musical in the fall, and a play in the spring, as well as a Variety Show in the winter. As of 2012, the play is in the fall and the musical is in the spring; with 2012 being both musicals. The auditorium has upgraded sound and light equipment over the past few years. Musicals are typically, performed with live music from a pit band compiled of Seton Keough students and neighboring Catholic school students, including Mount De Sales and Mount Saint Joseph.

2002 Fall- Anything Goes
2003 Spring- Steel Magnolias

2003 Fall- Guys and Dolls
2004 Spring- A Midsummer Night's Dream

2004 Fall- Cinderella
2005 Spring- Peter Pan

2005 Fall- Wizard of Oz
2006 Spring- Little Women

2006 Fall- Annie
2007 Spring- The Odd Couple

2007 Fall- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2008 Spring- Alice in Wonderland

2008 Fall- Beauty and the Beast
2009 Spring- Cheaper by the Dozen

2009 Fall- The King and I
2010 Spring- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2010 Fall- The Sound Of Music
2011 Spring- The Mouse that Roared

2011 Fall- Seussical the Musical
2012 Spring- Our Miss Brooks

2012 Fall- School House Rock Live!
2013 Spring- Godspell

2013 Fall - Blithe Spirit
2014 Spring - High School Musical

2014 Fall - Almost, Maine
2015 Spring - West Side Story

2015 Fall - Into the Woods

See also

• National Catholic Educational Association

References

External links

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
• School website

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
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