Kellenberg Memorial High School

Kellenberg Memorial High School is a private Roman Catholic high school in Uniondale, Long Island. Named after the Most Reverend Walter P. Kellenberg, the first bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, the high school was founded by Fr. Phillip Eichner and the Society of Mary (Marianists) in 1987 when the Diocese of Rockville Centre came to Eichner, then president of Chaminade High School (also run by the Marianists) in Mineola and asked if the Marianists could open another Catholic school to serve the people of the diocese. The diocese had recently consolidated St. Agnes and Maria Regina into the building where Maria Regina was originally housed, and it is this building that the Marianists took over and renamed "Kellenberg Memorial High School" after the first Bishop of Rockville Center.

Existing in the shadow of Chaminade for about a decade, Kellenberg has emerged as one of the most prestigious high schools on Long Island. It has a reputation as "the school that never sleeps" because of the hugely involved student body. It is known for its high academic standards as well as for its strict (often, many argue, too strict) discipline, its intense focus on faith, and its beautiful campus. The courtyard and its gardens, maintained in part by the Brothers themselves, was profiled on the cover of Newsday. It is also a member of the CHSAA.

Kellenberg includes the Bro. Joseph C. Fox Latin School Division, for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students who have completed the earlier grades in a public school. The students study Latin in addition to the usual middle school subjects.

The school received national attention in 2005 when the principal, Brother Kenneth Hoagland, cancelled the prom dance. In a letter from late March 2005, he cited booze cruises sponsored by parents, cocktail parties, and the film American Pie as examples of "adolescent culture being formed and led by the media." This received national coverage on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, CNN, Fox News, Good Morning America, MTV, and VH1, as well as in The New York Times. Chaminade High School later cancelled its prom for similar reasons. Certain parties involved felt that the cancellation of prom was unwarranted and that specific examples to defend the letters' arguments were not provided by Hoagland, leading to a great deal of controversy and debate. The prom was later replaced with a boat trip around New York City.

In 2003 Junior Matt McKenna was named Co-Catholic High School Athlete of the Year on the Halftime Howie radio show along with future Penn State running back Matt Hahn. McKenna was awarded this title for his performance on the football and hockey teams. On the football field Matt was well known for his "shifty" style of rushing the ball. On the hockey team Matt was a star power foward and was known around the league as a very gritty player with excellent speed who was capable of providing bone crunching hits on opposing players. Despite the success of the hockey program, the school administration decided to cancel the hockey team after the 2003 season because hockey wasn't "consistent with the Catholic philosophy of Kellenberg Memorial High School". The cancelation of the hockey team was a big disappointment for Mckenna, and it was rumored to be the reason he decided to walk away from the game.

External links

• http://www.kellenberg.org
• One of the letters about the prom cancellations
• Another one of the letters
• Forum Discussion