Misplaced Pages

Benilde-St. Margaret's
Location
St. Louis Park, (Hennepin County), Minnesota United States
Coordinates	44°57′30″N 93°20′43″W / 44.95833°N 93.34528°W / 44.95833; -93.34528
Information
Type	pay to play school
Motto	Pietas ∙ Veritas ∙ Scientia (Duty ∙ Truth ∙ Knowledge)
Religious affiliation(s)	Christian
Denomination	Catholic
Patron saint(s)	Saint Bénilde Romançon Saint Margaret of Scotland
Established	1907 (St. Margaret) 1956 (Benilde High School) 1974 (Benilde-St. Margaret's )
President	Danielle Hermanny
Principal	Stephanie Nitchals
Faculty	95
Grades	7–12
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	1,152 (2023)
• Grade 7	93
• Grade 8	137
• Grade 9	229
• Grade 10	239
• Grade 11	228
• Grade 12	226
Average class size	21.6
Student to teacher ratio	11.4:1
Color(s)	Red and White
Athletics	26 varsity sports
Athletics conference	Metro West Conference
Mascot	Red Knight
Nickname	pay to play Knights
Accreditation	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Newspaper	Knight Errant http://bsmknighterrant.org
Yearbook	Sangraal
Website	www.bsmschool.org

Benilde-St. Margaret's is a Catholic, co-educational private prep school for grades 7–12 located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, that draws its over one thousand students from throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

History

It is named after Saint Bénilde Romançon and Saint Margaret of Scotland. Benilde-St. Margaret's was originally a secondary school formed by a merger in 1974 between St. Margaret's Academy, a Catholic secondary school for girls in Minneapolis, and Benilde High School, a Catholic secondary school for boys in St. Louis Park. Its present building was originally that of Benilde High School.

St. Margaret's Academy

St. Margaret's was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1907 as St. Margaret's Academy. The campus for this all-girls school was located near the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis and included two mansions and a carriage house that had been built in the 1880s. By 1959 the old school had become inadequate in size – for every 100 girls accepted, about 200 were turned away. The Sisters of St. Joseph, who had anticipated such a problem, had purchased twenty-eight acres, and by 1960 a new school was built on Upton Avenue, near the Eloise Butler Wildflower Gardens and Wirth Park.

Benilde High School

The Brothers of the Christian Schools (informally known as the Christian Brothers), under the direction of Brother Mark Sullivan, built a boys' school in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park in 1956 because De La Salle (the first all-boys Catholic high school in the west metro) was full.

Merger

Both schools operated independently until the 1970s, at which time enrollment began to decline and costs began to escalate. In 1974, the St. Margaret's facility was sold to the Minneapolis school system, and the merged Benilde-St. Margaret's School opened its door at the former Benilde High School site. One hundred ninety students graduated in its first class.

The school has undergone two major additions since the merger; a new gym in 1986, along with a new chapel, theatre, arts center, and classroom wing in 2001.

The mascot is a Knight, named Victor E Knight who attends school events and leads students in singing the school rouser and cheering on student athletes.

Academics

In 1989, a junior high was added, and one hundred seventh- and eighth-graders were enrolled in the first year. Students receive laptops to do their work over the school year. As a "school within a school," the junior high exists to help seventh and eighth-grade students develop their potential and make a successful transition from elementary to high school. The junior faculty and staff foster decision-making and responsibility in a nurturing atmosphere and they provide a variety of spiritual, academic, and extracurricular opportunities for student involvement. The Junior High is in the same building as the high school.

Activities

The school competes in the Metro West Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. The school's newspaper is the Knight Errant. The Knight Errant has won several awards and the website, bsmknighterrant.org, in 2009 received one of seven National Pace Maker Awards for progressive journalism. Speech is also quite popular, with 100 students participating in the season of 2009–2010.

Notable alumni

• Andrew Alberts, former NHL hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks
• Mark T. Vande Hei, former NASA Astronaut
• Devean George, former NBA basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers
• Sean Lumpkin, former NFL football player for the New Orleans Saints
• Larry Mikan, basketball player for NCAA DI Minnesota Golden Gophers, and NBA Cleveland Cavaliers
• Father H. Timothy ("Tim") Vakoc – the first U.S. military chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq War.
• Jordan Taylor, NCAA University of Wisconsin-Madison 2008 Mr. Basketball award winner. Led the Badgers to the Sweet 16 in 2011 March Madness and 2012 March Madness
• Michael Fabiano, professional opera singer
• David Carr, journalist
• Erik Madigan Heck, photographer, founding editor of Nomenus Quarterly
• Grant Besse (2013) - Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey, 2013 Mr Hockey Award, drafted by the Anaheim Ducks
• Will Steger (1962), Polar Explorer, Author
• Olivia Olson (2024), basketball player
• Kelly Pannek (2014), NCAA Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey, United States women's national ice hockey team, 2018 Olympic gold medalist
• Hilda Simms, African American actress and activist
• Julia Duffy, Emmy nominated actress

References

1. Institution Summary Archived 2018-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, AdvancED, Retrieved 2012-07-08
2. Benilde-St. Margaret's School Homepage, History of Benilde-St.Margaret's Archived February 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
3. "Home". bsmknighterrant.org.
4. Frederick, Jace (November 26, 2016). "Benilde-St. Margaret's Wins First State Title Without Star Running Back". www.twincities.com. Pinoeer Press. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
5. Faces In The Crowd, Sports Illustrated, March 1, 1965, Accessed October 2, 2011.
6. "olivia-olson". ESPN.com.

External links

• Benilde-St. Margaret's Official Website

v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Ordinaries	Bishops Joseph Crétin Thomas Grace Archbishops John Ireland Austin Dowling John Gregory Murray William O. Brady Leo Binz John Roach Harry Joseph Flynn John Clayton Nienstedt Bernard Hebda Coadjutor archbishop Leo Christopher Byrne
Auxiliary bishops	John Jeremiah Lawler James J. Byrne Leonard Philip Cowley Gerald Francis O'Keefe James P. Shannon John Roach Raymond Alphonse Lucker Paul Vincent Dudley John Francis Kinney William Henry Bullock James Richard Ham Robert James Carlson Joseph Charron Lawrence Welsh Frederick F. Campbell Richard Pates Lee A. Piché Andrew H. Cozzens Joseph Andrew Williams Michael Izen Kevin Kenney
Churches	Cathedrals Cathedral of Saint Paul Basilica of Saint Mary Former cathedrals First Second Third Parishes Guardian Angels Church, Chaska St. Peter's Church, Mendota Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Minneapolis Church of St. Stephen, Minneapolis Church of St. Wenceslaus, New Prague Church of St. Mark, Saint Paul Church of St. Mary, New Trier Church of St. Michael, St. Michael Church of the Assumption, St. Paul Church of St. Agnes, St. Paul Church of St. Bernard, St. Paul Church of St. Casimir, St. Paul St. Mary's Church of the Purification, Marystown Church of the Annunciation, Webster Township Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Wheatland Township Historic Church of St. Hubertus, Chanhassen Chapel Our Lady of Victory Chapel
Education	Higher education St. Catherine University University of St. Thomas Seminaries Saint John Vianney College Seminary Saint Paul Seminary Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary (defunct) High schools Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield Benilde-St. Margaret's, St. Louis Park Bethlehem Academy, Faribault Chesterton Academy, Edina Convent of the Visitation, Mendota Heights Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Minneapolis DeLaSalle High School, Minneapolis Hill-Murray School, Maplewood Holy Family Catholic High School, Victoria Providence Academy, Plymouth Saint Agnes School, St. Paul Saint Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights Totino-Grace High School, Fridley
Priests	Joseph Francis Busch Peter F. Christensen Alexander Christie Jozef Cieminski James Louis Connolly Timothy J. Corbett Donald DeGrood James Albert Duffy Hilary Baumann Hacker Patrick Richard Heffron Patrick J. Hessian Michael Joncas James Keane Kevin Kenney John M. LeVoir James McGolrick Francis Missia Thomas O'Gorman Augustin Ravoux James Michael Reardon James O'Reilly Jakub W.J. Pacholski John A. Ryan Patrick J. Ryan Francis Joseph Schenk Alphonse James Schladweiler John Shanley Paul Sirba John Stariha Tim Vakoc Thomas Anthony Welch
Cemeteries	Calvary Cemetery Resurrection Cemetery
Other	The Catholic Spirit Ninth National Eucharistic Congress
Catholicism portal

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
• Catholic secondary schools in Minnesota
• Lasallian schools in the United States
• Private middle schools in Minnesota
• Educational institutions established in 1907
• Educational institutions established in 1974
• Schools in Hennepin County, Minnesota
• 1907 establishments in Minnesota