Aquin Catholic Schools

Aquin Catholic Schools is a group of three private Catholic schools in Freeport, Illinois in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford.

Aquin Catholic Schools
Aquin Junior-Senior High School
Address
1419 South Galena Avenue

Freeport
,
Illinois
61032

United States
Coordinates42°17′9″N 89°36′22″W
Information
Typeprivate
DenominationRoman Catholic
EstablishedSeptember 7, 1923[1]
SuperintendentRosemarie Brubaker
Grades9–12
Gendercoed
Enrollment100 (High School)
Color(s)Blue and Gold         
Athletics conferenceNorthwest Upstate Illini
SportsBoys basketball
Girls basketball
Boys baseball
Girls softball
Boys football
Girls volleyball
Boys golf
Girls golf
Girls cross country
Girls swimming and diving
Team nameBulldogs
AccreditationNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools[2]
YearbookVeritas
Websitewww.aquinschools.org

History

The school opened on September 7, 1923. In July 1924, Fr. Charles Conley was appointed pastor of St. Mary’s parish and was named superintendent of the school. Enrollment increased during that year and 6 acres of property adjacent to St. Vincent's orphanage was acquired to build an independent high school. On September 6, 2007, Thomas G. Doran, the Bishop of Rockford, renamed the three Catholic schools in Freeport to Aquin Catholic Schools, and their campuses are now referred to as the Junior-Senior High Campus, the Elementary Campus, and the PreSchool Campus. The name was changed to Aquin High School at the start of the 1924 school year.[3]

Traditions

The school's prom is open to 11th and 12th grade (junior and senior) students. Since 1926, the high school has a special prom assignment system used so each student has a date during prom and so cohesion increases among the students.[4] The nuns operating the school first created the tradition, in part to provide inclusion for the students who attended Aquin from St. Vincent's Orphanage (just across the street), and as years passed other elements became a part of the annual event.[5]

On the day prom dates are assigned, the school places female students in the gymnasium and the male students in the library.[4] The female students wear paper bags so the male students, when they see them, will not know who is who. Each male student, dressed in a formal outfit or a special costume,[5] draws the name of a female student randomly from a hat. The male students later perform skits about their prom dates.[4] After the skits are over the male students ask the females to be their prom dates. The female students give gift bags to the males, and some males also have gift bags for the females.[5] In 2017 Michelle Gallagher, who served as the junior class adviser, stated "It's less of a date and more like something fun to do with your classmates."[4]

Athletics

The Bulldogs compete in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference. They participate in several IHSA sponsored athletics and activities, including; football, girls cross country, girls volleyball, boys & girls basketball, boys & girls golf, boys baseball, girls softball, and girls swimming and diving.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Teams

The following teams finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments:[15]

  • Football:
    1A State Champions (1981–82)
    1A State Champions (1986–87)
    1A State Champions (2005–06)
  • Basketball (girls):
    1A State Champions (2011–12)
    1A State Champions (2012–13)
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Notes and references
  1. Aquin's History
  2. NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  3. "Aquin's History". Aquin Catholic Schools. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  4. Lyga, Breane (2017-03-15). "Aquin High School students continue tradition with prom draw". WREX. Archived from the original on 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  5. Leathlean, Jane (2017-03-14). "Aquin draws on 90-year tradition for prom dates". Journal Standard. Retrieved 2017-03-22.
  6. IHSA Baseball Records
  7. IHSA Boys Basketball Records
  8. IHSA Football Records
  9. IHSA Boys Golf Records
  10. IHSA Girls Basketball Records
  11. IHSA Girls Cross Country Records
  12. IHSA Girls Golf Records
  13. IHSA Softball Records
  14. IHSA Girls Volleyball Records
  15. "IHSA Season Summaries". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 6 April 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
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