Brother Martin High School

Brother Martin High School
Address
4401 Elysian Fields Avenue New Orleans , Louisiana United States
Information
Type	Roman Catholic, all-male secondary school
Motto	Amaetur Cor Jesu
Established	1889
Founder	Archbishop Jean Marie Odin C.M.
President	Mr. John Devlin
Grades	8 - 12
Number of students	1600+
Color(s)	Crimson and Gold
Mascot	Crusader
Affiliation	Roman Catholic Church (specifically the Brothers of the Sacred Heart)

Brother Martin High School is an all-male, Catholic secondary school located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It was formed in 1889 by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart establishing the school under the name of St. Aloysius College. The school's colors are crimson and gold and the mascot is the Crusader.

History

Brother Martin was created by combining the two schools St. Aloysius High School and Cor Jesu.In 1869 New Orleans Archbishop Jean Marie Odin invited the Brothers of the Sacred Heart to open a school in New Orleans, St. Aloysius opened on September 26, 1889 with six students. In 1892 the school was moved to a larger campus on the corner of Esplanade and Rampart, in 1969 it moved again under the newly changed name of Brother Martin High School. The combination came about after the Brothers of the Sacred Heart decided that expansion and cost saving would be better achieved with one school on the larger Cor Jesu campus. In 1969 the school was renamed after Brother Martin Hernandez, a brother of the Sacred Heart who was principal of St. Aloysius from 1934-1949, and was treasurer of the Brothers from 1969-1991. Brother Martin Hernandez was also a noted athlete, having been named to the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.

Admissions

Brother Martin High School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and financial aid programs, athletics and other school-administered programs.

In summary, the following considerations are used in admitting prospective students to Brother Martin High School are, the student priority of choice in selecting Brother Martin, the overall elementary school record, the recommendation of elementary school principals, and an interview with each applicant.

Students

The current enrollment of Brother Martin, as of 2006, is 1263. Brother Martin has a uniform code and a required Christian service project for each grade. In addition each student must abide by the Behavior Policy and attend a class level retreat each year. As of 2006, the cost of attending Brother Martin is around $8,500. Financial aide is administered by emergency grants, which are provided to a student should the death of a parent should jeopardize a student's attendance, or Work Study Program, which is awarded to a limited number of students. This program involves simple manual labor and pays a minimum wage salary (in addition to any aid grants the student might receive).

Academics

Brother Martin High School offers classes to young men in grades 8 - 12. Brother Martin provides a college preparatory curriculum designed to develop skills and create options for higher education. Brother Martin has a program specially designed for eighth grade, eighth grade students are required to carry a minimum of six courses, including Religion 8, English 8 or English 1 honors, Intro to Algebra, Algebra 1 or Algebra 1 honors, Physical science or Physical Science honors or Computer applications, World Geography, and Health/PE.

To graduate from Brother Martin, students must earn a minimum of 24 credits. Each course is equal to one credit. Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors are required to carry and successfully complete all required courses and a minimum of six credits each year, Seniors must carry and complete all required courses and a minimum of five credits.

Students enrolled in all four honor courses during their sophomore year are invited into the Honors Program. A student that is participating in the Honors program will br required to continue taking honors or advanced placement courses in English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. In addition, a student must also complete three consecutive credits of the same foreign language at Brother Martin. A students successful participation in the Honors Program earns him a Honors Diploma at Graduation. At the end of the first quarter, the first semester, the third quarter, and the second semester, students earning a grade point average of 4.0 or above are placed on the Principal's Honor Roll. Students earning a GPA of 3.50 to 3.99 are placed on the Alpha Honor Roll. Students earning a GPA of 3.0 to 3.49 are placed on the Beta Honor Roll.

School Organization and Administation

In addition to the School President and Principal, the administration of Brother Martin has a Vice-Principal in charge of discipline, Academic Assistant Principal, Assistant Principal for Admissions and Assistant Principal for Student Formation, in charge of the Honors/Curriculum Programs. In addition, each academic department has a department chairperson.

Athletics

Brother Martin has many athletic sports for students to choose from. Brother Martin is a member of the Lousiana High School Athletic Association and abides by LHSAA scholastic eligibility rules. brother Martin participates in District 10-5A.

 Brother martin has teams in, Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track, and Wrestling. All teams except, Tennis, Swim, Golf, and Bowling teams, consist of four levels of competition: eighth grade, ninth grade, junior varsity and varsity and teams are selected through a tryout process. Some Athletic championships achieved by Brother Martin include District in basketball from 1970-2005, including state championships in 2004 and 2005. District and Regional in Track in 2004 and district and State in wrestling from 1999 to 2003.

Extracurriculars

Some extracurriculars offered include: Academic Games team, band, Jazz band, Cheerleaders, Chess club, Chorus, Close-up, Drama club, Excalibut National Honor Society, Inline Hockey team, Intramural athletics, Key Club, The Pen and the Sword, the literary magazine, Magic Club, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, NJROTC Academic Team, NJROTC Athletic Team. NJROTC Color Guard, NJROTC Drill teams, NJROTC Rifle Team, The Crusader, the campus newspaper, Quiz Bowl team, Rugby team, Sppech and Debate club, Student Ambassadors, Student Ministers, Student Recruiting team, welcoming diversity team, Student Council, and the Testerday, the yearbook.

Campus Ministry

campus Ministry is an important part of the Brother martin Curriculum. Working closely with the school administration and the religion department, the goal of campus ministry at Brother Martin is "to complement the family in its primary role in religious education, to support the parish as a center of Catholic life, and to extend the religion lessons of the classroom to lived faith experiences."* We strive to "recognize the many gifts of the Spirit within our students and staff and call forth those gifts for service and ministry to the school community and to the church."*

Notable Alumni

• Blair Barbier, former LSU baseball player and current volunteer assistant coach at LSU
• Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints
• Raion Hill, former LSU and Buffalo Bills football player
• Ed Muniz, mayor of Kenner, Louisiana
• Rick Robey, basketball player, member of 1978 NCAA champion Kentucky Wildcats and 1981 NBA champion Boston Celtics
• Edward Scheidt, retired Chairman of the CIA Cryptographic Center
• Richard Simmons, fitness guru and celebrity
• Ronnie Virgets, journalist

References

• Official website