ARCHMERE ACADEMY

'Archmere Academy' is a Roman Catholic college preparatory school of 508 students in Claymont, Delaware. It is run independently within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.

Contents

History

Development

Proposed Further Development

Academics

Athletics

Student Clubs and groups

Trivia

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links

History

Archmere was founded in 1932 with assistance from the Norbertine religious order, initially as an all-boys school, in the former home of U.S. industrialist John J. Raskob. It was also a boarding school, but due to the space available at the time, the size of the school was quite small. Over time, the school grew in size, forgoing the style of a boarding school, and eventually accepting girls in 1975. In April 2001, a small group of Norbertines attempted to take over the school, but this action was halted, partially due to a meeting held with the leader of the Norbertines in Vatican City.
On January 29, 2003, Headmaster, Rev. Timothy F. Mullen died unexpectedly in his office; the Rev. Michael Collins, O.Praem. ’68 was appointed as Archmere’s seventh Headmaster. On July 1, 2004 the Board of Trustees selected Rev. John C. Zagarella, O.Praem. as Archmere’s eighth Headmaster. Most recently, on July 28, 2006, Rev. John C. Zagarella, O.Praem. resigned as Headmaster. The Rev. Joseph McLaughlin, O. Praem. replaced Father Zagarella immediately and will serve as Headmaster for one year while the Board of Trustees designs a new long-term leadership structure for the school. Father McLaughlin previously taught at Archmere from 1970-1983 before becoming Headmaster until 1996. Since 2001, Father McLaughlin has served as Archmere's Chaplain.[1]

Development

Currently Archmere is undergoing its first capital campaign in over 20 years. The Campaign’s goal is to:

★ Complete the Justin E. Diny Science Center (including a technology center, two multimedia classrooms and two-story physics lab for hands-on learning)

★ The new McLaughlin/Mullen Student Life Center to house the campus dining and worship as well as consolidate student’s services center (health, guidance and counseling suite)

★ Renovations of the gym’s ground floor (women’s and men’s lockers, fitness center and coaches offices)

★ Athletic field refurbishments and site improvements

Proposed Further Development

Future improvements to the campus will include:

★ Renovations to St. Norbert Hall

★ A new gymnasium

★ Renovations to the Manor

★ Patio restoration

Academics

As a college preparatory school emphasizing a well-rounded student, Archmere students are required to take a large number of courses in a variety of areas, including eight semesters of English, as well as six semesters of religion, mathematics, foreign language, history, and the sciences. Students also have many choices for elective classes, including art, yearbook (which meets during classtime), band, chorus, and computer courses.
Archmere offers a large number of Advanced Placement|AP] courses, including Spanish, French, German, Statistics, Calculus, both AB and BC, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science, Art Portfolio in 2-D and 3-D, Computer Science, English, Composition, US History, European History, and World History.

Athletics

Archmere students are required to participate in either a school sport, a physical education class, or an outside program approved by the school. Such sports, many for both male and female students, include football, field hockey, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, swimming,lacrosse, volleyball, golf, tennis, cheerleading, baseball, softball, cross country, track and field, and wrestling.

Student Clubs and groups

Many students at Archmere find time for clubs in addition to academics and sports.
Short listing of Archmere clubs. See web site for more information.

★ Mock Trial

★ Model UN

★ Language Clubs for all offered languages

★ Student Council

★ National Honor Society

★ Foreign Language Honor Societies

★ The 'Green Arch' (school newspaper)

★ Mastersingers

★ Drama Club

★ Ecology Club

★ Academic Bowl

★ 'TEAMS' (Math/Engineering competitive team)

★ Robotics Team

★ Fencing Club

★ Stage Crew and Tech Crew

★ Community Service Club

★ Boxing Club

★ 'Tapestry' (school literary magazine)

★ High School Academic Bowl

★ 'The Patio' (school yearbook)

★ Forensics (debate and speech club)

★ Guitar Hero Club

★ Harpooning Club

Trivia

Archmere's mascot, the Great Auk, is frequently compared to a large penguin by neighboring schools. Archmere is the only high school in the United States to have the Great Auk as a mascot.

Notable alumni

★ Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Class of 1961. Senior United States Senator from Delaware, first elected in 1972, and 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate.

See also

★ List of schools

References

External links

★ Archmere Academy Official Website

★ Archmere Alumni Official Website