St. John's Preparatory School (Massachusetts)


St. John's Preparatory School is a 6–12 private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory school for boys located at 72 Spring Street, Danvers, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1907 by the Xaverian Brothers and is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was formerly a combination commuter-boarding school but ended its residential program in 1975.

List of headmasters and principals

Campus

St. John's Preparatory school is located in the town of Danvers, Massachusetts, about north of Boston. The school is spread out over of wooded, residential land. The student population spends the majority of its time in the three main academic buildings:
Other buildings of note include:
Also on the property of St. John's are two homes for Xaverian Brothers:

Athletics

Since 2001, the swim and dive team has won twelve Division-1 State Titles, including nine in a row between 2006 and 2014, with the most recent title in 2017. The fencing team won their 6th straight state championship and went undefeated in the 2009–2010 season. The golf team won the state championship in the fall of 2010 and 2015, and came in second place in 2011 following a league title. The athletic program has a longstanding rivalry with Catholic Conference competitor Xaverian Brothers High School. The other members of the Catholic Conference include Malden Catholic High School, Boston College High School, and Catholic Memorial High School. St. John's is the sixth team in the conference in some sports. In 2012, 2018, and 2019 the varsity football team won the state title in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 championship. The hockey team won the Super 8 state title in 2015. As recently as the fall sports season in 2019, the school's mountain biking team won the NNEMTB New England Championship, their second straight. The school also recently started a crew team that has gone on to compete in the Head of the Charles Regatta multiple times.

Drama Guild

The St. John's Prep Drama Guild presents two major productions a year: a fall production, and in the spring, an entry into the Massachusetts State Drama Festival. Through the rigorous drama classes offered through the Fine Arts Department, students gain an understanding of the inner-workings of theater which is then applied in the productions. Recent fall productions include Peter and the Starcatchers, Beauty and the Beast, Anonymous, Young Frankenstein, One Man Two Guvnors, Spamalot, The Laramie Project, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Animal Crackers, On the Razzle and Crazy for You.
The St. John's Prep Drama Guild is currently in first place for all time victories in the Massachusetts State Drama Festival, with 19 wins. Their participation in the festival began in 1974 under the direction of Brother Ron Santoro, and is now currently under the direction of Alicia Greenwood. Their first winning production was Molière's The Doctor in Spite of Himself in 1974. Recent festival entries include , Borealis, Iphigenia 2.0, The Quest of Queen Thomas, And God Created Great Whales, Metamorphoses, bobrauschenbergamerica, Macbeth, The Manhattan Project's Alice in Wonderland, The Green Bird, Richard III and The Odyssey. The Drama Guild won the Massachusetts's Educational Theatre Guild's 2017 Drama Festival with their production of The Quest of Queen Thomas by Brit Christopher, directed by Alicia Greenwood. They have also represented the state at the New England Festival on numerous occasions.
The St. John's Prep Drama Guild has two to three summer productions a year. Recent summer shows include Much Ado About Nothing, The Sparrow, and Middletown. These shows are often directed by alumni who have graduated from the St. John's Prep Drama Guild.

Clubs and other extracurriculars

St. John's is the home of more than 60 clubs and extracurricular activities. While faculty moderators are present, many of these groups are run solely by the students. The clubs include academic organizations, such as The Spire yearbook staff, The Concordia newspaper, and the Cicero Society debating club. Recreational clubs include the Improv Club and the Aviation Club. St. John's also has many clubs that help further prepare students for life after college, such as the Young Republicans, Model United Nations, Mock Trial, Animal Welfare Club, and Future Entrepreneurs. There is also an Aviation Club managed by former principal Br. Timothy Paul. Minority outreach clubs exist as well, such as L.U.N.A. and Always our Brothers and Sisters, St. John's Prep's Gay/Straight Alliance. Many fine arts activities are offered, including after-school music lessons and the award-winning Drama Guild, Swingtown!, the Prep's faculty-student acappella group.

Notable alumni

Beginning in 1993 St. Johns has given one alumni a Distinguished Alumnus Award each year.