St. Francis de Sales School (Toledo, Ohio)

St. Francis de Sales School or SFS is a private, all-male, college-preparatory school in Toledo, Ohio. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo. The school was named as one of the top 20 Catholic high schools in the nation for academics by Catholic High School Honor Roll for two consecutive years in 2005 and 2006.[1][2]

St. Francis de Sales School
Address
2323 West Bancroft Street

Toledo
,
(Lucas County)
,
Ohio
43607

United States
Coordinates41.66329°N 83.59546°W / 41.66329; -83.59546
Information
Typeprivate, all-male, college-preparatory
MottoSuaviter et Fortiter
(Gently but Firmly)
EstablishedSeptember 14, 1955
PresidentRev. Geoff Rose, OSFS
PrincipalMr. John Hall
Grades7–12
Enrollment605 (2016)
Color(s)Red & Blue
         
AthleticsMr. Justin Edgell
Athletics conferenceThree Rivers Athletic Conference
MascotKnight
AccreditationOhio Catholic School Accrediting Association
NewspaperLance
YearbookAccolade
AffiliationsO.S.F.S.
AdmissionsRev. Joe Newman, OSFS, Director
ChaplainRev. Alan Zobler, OSFS
Websitehttp://www.sfstoledo.org

About

St. Francis de Sales School is a college preparatory school run by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church. The school opened on September 14, 1955 as the greater Toledo area's second college-preparatory high school, and, as of August 2015, added grades seven and eight. The school's athletic teams have won 27 official and unofficial state championships in football, basketball, tennis, wrestling, swimming and diving, water polo, and hockey, as well as numerous State Runners-Up, Regional Titles, District Titles and City League Titles. The AquaKnight swim team's 42-year district title streak (53 titles, total) is the 2nd longest winning streak in any high school sport in the nation behind Cedar Rapids Washington boys swim team's 46 consecutive district titles. Named after Saint Francis de Sales, the community has been described as a family-like group and has an active alumni base both in the city of Toledo and throughout the country. The mascot is the Knight.

Campus

The campus of St. Francis is located on twenty-five acres. The campus includes an eight-lane swimming pool, an eight-lane track, baseball field, football fields and a soccer field. In 2005, the school introduced a $14 million renovation/addition. In the renovation/addition, St. Francis built a new chapel, arts wing, fitness/weight room and new locker rooms. The school is located in a historic area of Toledo, on Bancroft Street, just one-half mile from the University of Toledo.

In the fall of 2012, the Student Achievement Center was added to the school. The addition included 2,500 square feet of space for tutoring, a computer lab, and private meeting rooms for students.

School body

There are 600+ students. There are 56 faculty members, which results with a student-teacher ratio of 13:1. Six teachers have their Ph.D., and 28 have their master's degree. St. Francis draws students from all around Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Most of the students attended Catholic grade schools, although 30% come from public schools.

Admission and tuition

Freshmen are accepted on the basis of a placement examination with regard to the recommendation of their grade school. Transfer students are accepted on an individual basis after consideration of their high school transcripts.

Tuition and fees for 2018-2019 vary based on student's grade; $9,900 for grades 7-8 and $12,400 for grades 9-12, with an added $250 fee for grade 12.[3]

St. Francis de Sales, the gentleman saint and patron of St. Francis de Sales School

Spirituality

St. Francis offers various levels of retreat programs for its students. All freshmen and sophomores participate in daylong retreats which are carefully structured and planned for their age-level interests and concerns. Juniors and seniors are required to participate in at least one approved retreat experience during the 11th or 12th grade year. In addition, students are required to take eight semesters of Theology, and at least 30 service hours both Junior and Senior year are required for graduation.

In 2005, St. Francis invested in a new chapel facing the front of the school, where throughout the school year, all students are encouraged to participate in mass. These include opening school, Thanksgiving, and holy day liturgies; days of recollection; reconciliation services; etc.

Academics

There are eight academic departments: Theology, English, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Applied and Fine Arts, and Health & Physical Education. Every student at St. Francis is required to take a core program of 4 years of English, religion, math, and science (including 2 basic lab sciences from biology, chemistry, physics); 2.5 years of physical education and health; 3 years of social studies; 2 years of a foreign language (3 years highly recommended); 1 year of basic art; and 0.5 year of computer science.

In addition to academic requirements, all students are encouraged to participate in service projects. Formal projects, approved by the Christian Service Department, are a requirement for the sophomore, junior, and senior classes.

Athletics

In athletics, the Knights had been long members of the Toledo City League before joining the Three Rivers Athletic Conference in 2011. The school's colors are red and blue. Their athletic rivals include the neighboring all-boys school St. John's Jesuit and area Co-Ed Central Catholic.

Knight Swimming and Diving, as well as Water Polo, stand out in the athletic venue. Known locally as the "AquaKnights," the swim team has placed second in the state three out of the last five years (2010, 2011, 2014). The swim team has a particularly strong history; winning 42 straight Northwest Ohio District Championships beginning in 1966 spanning until their defeat by rival St. John's in February 2008, a national record.[4] The AquaKnights have a well-known rivalry with Cincinnati St. Xaiver. The Water Polo team has consistently placed in the top four teams in the state for the last eight years, but hasn't secured a Water Polo title since 2001.

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships
Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

The St. Francis Knights hold more state titles than any other Catholic school in the Diocese of Toledo, and any other high school in the greater Toledo area.

Other State Championships
  • Water Polo - 1973, 1974, 1975, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 [11]
  • Tennis - 2001, 2002[12]

Soccer

The 2003 soccer team were the Division I runner up, compiling a final record of 20-1-1, with their only loss coming in the state finals. Head coach John B. Orozco earned coach of the year honors that same year.

The Irish Knight

The Irish Knight is awarded to the winner of the Central Catholic High School and St. Francis de Sales School football game. The winning school receives and hosts the Irish Knight in their school, along with bragging rights.

The Knights have not held the Irish Knight since 2003. The Irish Knight series is currently led by Central Catholic High School 32-28-1. There has only been one overtime game, which occurred in 2003.[13]

All-Sports Trophy

Since 1974, when the All-Sports Trophy was introduced, the Knights of St. Francis de Sales High School have held or shared the trophy ten times. They held the trophy in 1975, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1992, 1994, 2001, and 2005, and they shared with St. John's Jesuit in 2000, 2002 and 2019.

Alma Mater

(Sung to the tune of the Finlandia hymn)

All hail to thee, our alma mater

We pledge to thee our faithful loyalty

In battle fierce

When foes hostile surround thee,

We will be there to guard thy honor

Knights of de Sales

Arise and battle bravely

Victory is ours

St. Francis de Sales

Notable alumni
gollark: Continue doing so.
gollark: I have too many intensely unfinished things going on anyway.
gollark: Rotate, SolarFlame5.
gollark: You can have a "light" button or something and it'll still be usable without interaction most of the time.
gollark: Memory LCDs are basically faster-to-update e-paper screens. Basically ideal for this.

References
  1. Catholic High School Honor Roll
  2. Category Leaders - 2006 Catholic High School Honor Roll
  3. "sfstoledo2 | Tuition". St. Francis de Sales School. Retrieved 2018-11-29.
  4. Toledo Blade Knights make splash with 42nd straight, The Toledo Blade, Zach Silka, Saturday, February 17, 2007
  5. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Football". Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  6. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Wrestling". Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  7. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball AAA". Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  8. OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  9. ToledoBlade.com. "St. Francis wins its first state hockey championship". Retrieved 2011-03-13.
  10. Inside St. Edward hockey's 3-1 loss to Toledo St. Francis de Sales in 2015 OHSAA state championship: Top play, stats, reaction (photos, video),
  11. OHSSCA. "Ohio High School Swim Coaches' Association-Boys Water Polo State Champions". Archived from the original on June 23, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  12. OTCA. "Ohio Tennis Coaches' Association Web site". Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  13. https://fightingirishathletics.org/irish-knight/
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