Kellenberg Memorial High School

History

Kellenberg Memorial High School is named in honor of Most Rev. Walter P. Kellenberg, founding Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. In the 1960s, Kellenberg had commissioned the construction of four diocesan high schools, including Maria Regina in Uniondale. Facing declining enrollment and a lack of low-cost priests and nuns to teach in these schools, Bishop McGann closed Maria Regina, but in the face of parental protests, the school was acquired by the Marianist brothers who were already running Chaminade High School in nearby Mineola, and was reopened as Kellenberg Memorial in 1987.

In September, 1987, the administration of Kellenberg Memorial High School announced the establishment of the Bro. Joseph C. Fox Latin School. The Latin School is named in honor of a Marianist brother, Bro. Joseph C. Fox, who taught for over fifty years in Catholic schools. This new division of KMHS provides a qualitative Catholic education to students from the public schools in grades six through eight.

Campus

Kellenberg is accessed through the main entrance across from RXR Plaza on Glenn Curtiss Blvd. Although the lobby was originally designed as the main entrance, the school is oriented toward its north entrance. The north entrance of the school features a mural of the Holy Family, including a depiction of Jesus as a teenager, designed by artist Yan Rieger in 1997, in honor of the school's tenth anniversary. Students and Marianists assisted the artist and his wife with the execution of the mural. Kellenberg Memorial has five athletic fields, baseball, football, softball etc., four of which separately named after each of the Four Evangelists. The school also is the caretakers of two Nassau County properties, one east of the school and one west, which are used for athletic purposes. These properties are named Jerusalem and Jericho respectively, after the two biblical cities.A new artificial turf field was installed during the summer of 2010. This marks a series of campus improvements and expansions that will take place throughout 2010 and 2011.

Kellenberg's campus features three courtyards and four chapels. Kellenberg's main courtyard is located in the center of the building and contains a koi river, four bridges, and a central bell tower. Many interior classrooms overlook this courtyard and students are permitted to pass through the courtyard between classes. Has 2 courtyard facilities where you can take a break and use you phone before and after school hours.

Academics

Kellenberg Memorial High School offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. Core liberal arts courses are supplemented with required courses in chorus, health, computer technology, music and art. Students in the Latin School also take Latin.

Admission to the school is highly competitive, with many applicants enrolling in private exam preparation courses for the Catholic High School Entrance Exam (CHSEE/TACHS) in general and Kellenberg in particular.

Latin School

The school also operates the Brother Joseph C. Fox Latin School on its campus. Serving students from grades 6–8, it was originally designed to serve students who started in public school but wished to transfer into the Catholic system; it now accepts students from both public and Catholic elementary schools.

Admission to the program is highly competitive, with many applying over a year in advance. The nature of the program allows middle school students to have courses taught by high school teachers (often with high school material) and to take part in clubs, activities and services that would normally not be available at a regular middle school. Students in grades 7 and 8 are required to take Latin, with those who remain at Kellenberg for high school placed in accelerated classes. Students who graduate from the program are guaranteed admission to the high school, however, they are required to take the CHSEE for statistical and quality-assurance purposes.

While the school has a separate administration for academics, guidance and discipline, the schools are otherwise administered as one unit, sharing facilities and faculty and with most clubs and activities run as one Grade 6–12 unit; the administration of the Latin School is subsidiary to that of the greater school, with the Assistant Principal for the Latin School answerable to the Principal and President of Kellenberg Memorial High School.

It is the only Latin School on Long Island; New York City also has the public Brooklyn Latin School.

Faculty

As of April 2010, the faculty included 130 members, including 4 Marianist Priests and 12 Marianist Brothers. Many of the school administrators maintain teaching roles in the school. There is also a large school staff body consisting of about 70 members. Many members of the Society of Mary have canine companions that often follow them to the classroom or reside in their offices during the day, sometimes cited as a very likable trait of the school. Much of the faculty and school staff are alumni.

Administrators have contributed articles to a diverse range of publications, from the religious Catalyst to the mainstream New York Times. Current faculty include present college faculty, published authors and professional musicians, and former faculty members contributed to works still included in the school's curriculum, from history classes to faith-based clubs. Music produced by student organizations is sold at online music retailers.

Co-curricular and extracurricular activities

In the Marianist tradition, many students join sodality groups to mutually reinforce their Catholic faith. The groups meet weekly and participate in various religious activities. The school also operates Emmanuel, a Marianist Retreat House devoted to students' spiritual formation.

A major co-curricular focus is music. Activities in this area include Band (four levels), Chorus (four levels), Guitar Club, Jazz Band, the Firebird Swing Jazz Choir, Orchestra, Pit Band, and Jubilee Choir, Gregorian Consortium (sometimes called St. Greg's). Publications include Blue and Gold (a school yearbook), "The Renaissance" (a literary magazine), "The Phoenix" (a school newspaper), and three additional divisional newspapers—The Sophomore Senitel, The Freshman Flash, and the Early Bird, (a Latin school publication).

Kellenberg also has an Academic Quiz Bowl team and a Science Olympiad team. The Academic Quiz Bowl team came in 11th place at the NAQT High School National Championship and placed second in the 2010 season of the New York area TV show The Challenge. The team won the 2009 New York State NAQT tournament, placing first in the state with the JV team in fifth; at the state level, three of the top five players came from Kellenberg teams. The Science Olympiad team has qualified for the New York State Science Olympiad Competition for the past 2 years.

A major activity for female students at Kellenberg is the Blue and Gold sports night. The students who participate are divided into two teams, a blue team and a gold team. The girls practice from February until May. The competition takes place on one night in early May and attracts a widespread Long Island audience.

Kellenberg administrators have twice eliminated activities that they considered "no longer commensurate with the goals of a Christian education". Kellenberg first abolished the school's hockey team, reasoning that hockey "kept degenerating into physical mayhem". And in 2006, the school received national attention when the principal, Kenneth Hoagland, canceled the Senior Prom. In a letter from late March 2006, he cited booze cruises sponsored by parents, cocktail parties, and the film American Pie as examples of "adolescent culture being formed and led by the media". The school received national attention from ABC, CNN, Fox News, MTV, The New York Times, and Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.

Notable alumni