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St. Michael’s Preparatory School is a select, academically oriented, Catholic boarding school for young men from grades 9-12. The School offers a classical sequence of courses at College Prep, Honors, and Advanced Placement levels. St. Michael’s is the only boarding school to rank among the Top 50 Catholic High Schools in the nation. All graduates go on to college. At our present facility, maximum enrollment is 64 students.
The formation at St. Michael’s Preparatory School integrates faith, academics and character. These principles will continue to form students throughout their lives, long after they have graduated.
Faith
St. Michael’s best serves young men who possess the aptitude and commitment both to receive and to enrich what the school community has to offer. At the heart of our unique school’s identity is the Catholic faith from which flows the truths on which we base our approach to education.
Academics
The program consists of challenging academic courses for a college-bound student. These courses endeavor to communicate knowledge in fidelity to the Catholic intellectual tradition and so to form our students as men of insight and integrity. We focus on the Western heritage of theology, humanities, the arts and the sciences; we round out a young man’s education through athletics.
Character
As a boarding school, St. Michael’s offers significant opportunities for a consistent and wholesome growth. By individual participation in a common life ordered to the same high end, a student at St. Michael’s experiences the true basis for Christian life and friendship, thus complementing the formation he has received at home. The different roles a young man must assume during his time here require the constant and habitual practice of responsibility, charity, and integrity.
Monastic Community
St. Michael’s Preparatory School is served by the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael’s Abbey. The Abbey is home to a community of over 70 priests and seminarians. All of the confreres live a full priestly and monastic common life. The high school students participate in this life of grace. Our young men study the Catholic Faith in class as well as join in prayer with the abbey community. Each morning begins with 7:00 a.m. Mass; each night concludes with Holy Hour at 8:00 p.m. during which confession is available. The sacrament of Confirmation is given to eligible students every other year.
Whether teaching in the classroom or kneeling in church during prayer, the priests are constantly present to give the students an example of how to live the Faith. Without a doubt, the students are impressed with the priests who become their friends as well as their teachers.
Boarding setting
Boarding schools help to prepare young men on the academic level to meet the multi-faceted demands of university life. Students who are prepared in the secure yet challenging setting which a boarding school provides often find that they have the necessary skills to succeed in college when they enter, skills that put them ahead of their peers attending day schools. More than anywhere else, a student in a boarding school can grow as he experiences the joys and demands of social interaction. This lively exchange gives birth to wholesome and deep friendships that neither years nor distances will ever weaken.
Safe Environment
Faculty and staff have an active concern for the physical, intellectual and spiritual safety and well being of students. At St. Michael’s this means policies, procedures and staff trainings that cover all aspects of student life and student supervision. All school personnel have undergone the necessary security background checks which are reviewed by the Department of Justice. Abbey personal who teach at the school have additional training. They fulfill the necessary requirements of the Presidium program which is endorsed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the US Conference of Major Superiors of Men. Additionally, St. Michael’s Prep is currently endorsed by a nationally-recognized team which evaluates all aspects of safety in the environment for the students of the Prep School. We are proud to assure parents and students that we were successful in receiving this endorsement on our first team visit in 2002 and each subsequent visit.
Quick Facts
- Dynamic spiritual life which daily includes:
Mass, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, prayer and opportunity for confession.
- Teacher to Student ratio is 1 to 4.
- More than half the teachers are Norbertine priests.
- Almost 70% of students regularly earn an 88% or higher and a place on the Honor Roll.
- All graduates go on to higher learning.
- Almost 90% of students participate in CIF varsity-level sports.
- Each year upperclassmen can spend two weeks in Rome, Italy where faith, history and culture meld into one.
- Most students return home each weekend as 66% of students live within the Los Angeles Basin and another 16% in Southern California.
- First Catholic Prep School to receive endorsement at the national level as “safe environment for young people.”
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