Quigley Catholic High School

School History

In 1902 the Sisters of St. Joseph opened an academy for boys. At the suggestion of Bishop Hugh C. Boyle they opened the Mt. Gallitzin High School for Girls in September 1934. The first class graduated in 1938, the centennial year of Baden Township. The school offered both academic and commercial courses and touted its broad cultural program and the individual attention and direction given to each student. Most of the girls were commuters, save some boarders who were preparing to the Congregation of the Sisters. Once Quigley Catholic opened its doors in 1967 the school was forced to consolidate. At the time of the consolidation in 1967, the student enrollment was 245. There was one other school that consolidated to Quigley Catholic, St. Veronica’s.

St. Veronica High School was opened in September 1924, under the supervision of Fr. John Martin, pastor, and the Sisters of St. Joseph who staffed the new parish high school. Seventeen students were in the first graduating class. Growth continued so quickly that within 15 years new space was desperately needed. Rev. James O’Connell and Rev. Paul Nee continued the education expansion at St. Veronica’s. A building at 5th and Beaver Road was obtained through cooperation from the Ambridge School board in 1945. When a new school for elementary level students was built in 1959, the high school eventually moved back to its original home on Melrose Avenue. At the time of the consolidation in 1967 the enrollment of 243 included students from many other parishes besides St. Veronica.

In the mid-1960s the Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Pittsburgh was Auxiliary Bishop, Most Reverend John B. McDowell. At that time he and Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, John J. Wright saw a need for expanding the Diocesan presence in a regional Catholic high school to serve the people of the Beaver Valley.

In 1966, under the supervision of Bishop McDowell, land was purchased from the Sisters of St. Joseph and ground was broken. Quigley Catholic High School first opened its doors to students in September 1967. The 440 students came to the new school while construction of the building was still being finished around them. The formal dedication and blessing of the building took place on April 28, 1968. The school opened under the leadership of Father Robert J. Reardon as Headmaster and with the guidance of Sister St. Bede Downey, CSJ, who continued to serve Quigley Catholic for many years until her death. Additional principals have been Rev. George Leech, John S. Hoehl, Sr. Anna Marie Gaglia, CSJ, Rev. Ronald R. Cellini, Rev. David C. Menegay, Dr. Madonna Helbling and current principal Mrs. Rita McCormick. Growth and construction of one sort or another has been going on ever since. Quigley Catholic is the first and only regional Catholic high school in Beaver County.

About the Namesake of Quigley

MONSIGNOR THOMAS J. QUIGLEY: 1905-1960 superintendent of schools for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh until his death in 1960

“…This new school has been named in honor of the late and beloved Monsignor Thomas J. Quigley, who was Superintendent of Schools from August 1939 to December 1955. This extraordinary priest served the diocese, its schools, and the general community as a spiritual leader and an accomplished educator from 1931 until his untimely death in 1960. No man gave so much to education or to the Church as did he. In every area of education he was outstanding. Readily recognized as a leader by public and non-public educators, this priest contributed, in an extraordinary way, to the development of education for all children and for all segments of our community. It is significant that the priests of Beaver County voted by an overwhelming majority to dedicate this school in his memory. In this way they hoped to memorialize and to express appreciation for a life spent in improving both the city of God and the city of humankind. Dedicated priest, scholarly educator, prolific writer, able administrator, but most of all a man committed to a cause – this was Monsignor Quigley. And while we honor his memory by naming this school after him, we do, in fact, honor this school by using his name and identifying it with all that is good in education and community life.” Auxiliary Bishop, Most Reverend John B. McDowell (then, Superintendent of Schools) April 1968 from the Dedication of Quigley Catholic High School.

Academics

Quigley Catholic has again been named as a Catholic High School of Excellence consistently and consecutively since the inception of the honor. This honor of distinction is earned by less than 5% of all Catholic high schools in the nation. .

99% of Quigley Catholic's graduates matriculate to college. Recent graduates have been awarded an average of $126,000 per student in non-need based grants and scholarships. Graduates are accepted to many prestigious schools, including: West Point, United States Air Force Academy, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Notre Dame, John Carroll University, MIT, Case Western Reserve, Fordham University, Harvard University, Allegheny College, Duquesne University, Saint Vincent College, and New York University, to name a few. Template:June 2013

Campus Ministry

Sponsor: Miss Rebekah Hayes

Consultant: Mrs. Katie Matlak

The Campus Ministry team promotes the Catholic identity and culture of the school. It is a faculty and student collaboration to plan activities that mainly take place in the school chapel. The club is in charge of each grade's mandatory one day Catholic study retreat and two optional weekend Catholic study retreats. In addition, the club has raised money and started collections for charities.

Forensics and Mock Trial

Sponsor: Mr. Timothy Waxenfelter

The art of Public Speaking is taught at Quigley Catholic High School through its nationally recognized Forensics and Mock Trial teams. Mr. Waxenfelter is a Triple Diamond member of the National Forensics League.

Mock Trial

Moderator: Mr. Timothy Waxenfelter

The Mock Trial Team has won eight Pennsylvania State Championships, making it the number one ranked team in the state. The Mock Trial team was national runner-up for the year 2002.

Forensics

Moderator: Mr. Timothy Waxenfelter

The Forensics Team sends individuals to the state and national tournaments annually.

Musical Productions

Director: Ms. Laura Yoerg

Musical Director: Mrs. Marta Zak

Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science Sponsor: Mr. Timothy Hoban

The Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science is a statewide organization which encourages scientific research for students in grades 7 through 12. After designing a scientific experiment students must prepare an oral report of their findings and do a presentation before a panel of judges from the scientific community. Students compete at the regional and state level. Quigley Catholic has participated in PJAS for over 20 years.

National Honor Society

Sponsor: Miss Emily Lyons

Selection for membership is by a Faculty Council and is supposed to be based on outstanding scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Once elected, members have the responsibility to continue to demonstrate these qualities. Members are elected in the second semester of their junior year.

School Newspaper

Current Moderator: Miss Emily Lyons

The Q Review is a faculty/student-run newspaper that publishes once a month. The staff is selected by the moderator at the beginning of each school year.

Art Club

Sponsor: Mrs. Mary Jane Herrington

The Quigley Catholic Art Club allows student artists a place to hone their skills, develop new techniques, collaborate with others, create new friendships, and learn to work together through group projects that will beautify the school and community.

Prom Committee

Sponsor: Junior Class Moderators

The prom committee is responsible for organizing and running the junior/senior prom.

Student Council

Sponsors: Mrs. Kathleen Philips

Each class is represented by a student body elected president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary. Each class is responsible for raising funds for their prom.

The Executive Board is elected in a school-wide election at the end of each school year. The Executive Board is composed of the Council President, Council Vice President, Council Secretary, Council Publicity Director, and the Council Spirit Director. Also part of the Executive Board are the four Council Class Directors – the Presidents of each individual class chosen by their classmates each year.

Respect Life Club

Sponsors: The Religion Department

Students meet to pray, learn and discuss. The Respect Life Club raises money to host all-school assembly presentations by pro-life speakers. Members promote the March For Life among the student body.

Student Ambassadors

Sponsors: Miss Lauren Turkovich

Student Ambassadors are expected to serve and represent the school in a positive manner. New Student Ambassadors are chosen yearly from applicants.

Athletics

The girls sports teams are called the "Lady Spartans" and the boys sports teams are called the "Spartans".

Quigley currently has Fall, Winter and Spring sports.

Controversy

(Fr.) John "Jack" S. Hoehl was school principal from 1971 to 1985. Hoehl (a priest at the time) was accused, by at least 7 men in 2001, of sexual abuse while they were students at Quigley Catholic High School during Hoehl's tenure as principal there. The men claim they were invited to the rectory for, "wrestling team sleep overs" where they were allowed to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. While they were incapacitated Hoehl sexually abused them. One former Quigley Catholic student claims the abuse continued for four years. The lawsuits have been dropped because the statute of limitations has run out. However, Hoehl was permanently banned from ministry in 1988 by then Bishop, Donald Wuerl, because Wuerl considered the accusations to be credible. On June 16, 2004 the Vatican severed all ties with Heohl. There is no proof that other staff members were involved with or had knowledge of the alleged abuse.

Hoehl went on to become a youth counselor in West Virginia. He was subsequently removed from this post by the West Virginia Board of Counselors because of the credible accusations of sexual abuse from former students at Quigley Catholic High School.