Xaverian Brothers High School
Xaverian Brothers High School (XBHS) was founded in 1963 by the Xaverian Brothers. It is a private, Catholic secondary school for boys at grades 7 to 12. Located within a campus in Westwood, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Xaverian is sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers religious order and offers a college preparatory program. The school attracts students from more than 60 communities in eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. History and tradition. The Xaverian Brothers established XBHS in its current location in Westwood, Massachusetts in 1963 with the support of Cardinal  Richard Cushing, the Archbishop of Boston. Cardinal Cushing officiated the school's dedication ceremony on August 31, 1963, with Xaverian Brothers' provincial Brother Gilroy Bishop, and the first headmaster, Brother Marcellus Feeley. The land that the school stands on today was originally part of the Forbes family estate. The late philanthropist Rocco Zoppo was instrumental in arranging for the Brothers to receive the land. The school's Rocco Zoppo Chapter of the National Honor Society is now named in his honor. The first day of school at XBHS was September 5, 1963 with 251 students, all ninth graders. Academics. XBHS  is a Catholic college preparatory school for boys in grades 7-12. The school is a Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School that enrolls 880 students from more than 60 different communities. There are Academic Department Centers for Mathematics, English, Social Studies, World Languages, Theology, and three science labs (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). In 2014, the Francis Xavier Division (grades 7 and 8) was established, bringing in the first-ever 7th grade class. Athletics. XBHS is a member of the Catholic Conference and is classified as Division 1 in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) for a majority of its athletic programs . It sponsors 16 varsity sports - cross country (non-cut), golf, football (non-cut) and soccer during the fall season; alpine skiing (non-cut), basketball, hockey, indoor track (non-cut), swimming (non-cut), and wrestling (non-cut) during the winter season; and baseball, lacrosse, rugby (non-cut), tennis, track & field (non-cut) and volleyball during the spring season. The MIAA has honored Xaverian athletics five times for outstanding sportsmanship. Many Xaverian graduates go on to participate in college athletics and a few alumni are playing among the professional ranks in basketball, football and hockey including James Bailey '75 and Dana Barros  '85 in the NBA; Greg Comella '93, Matt Hasselbeck '93, Tim Hasselbeck '96, Drew Strojny '99, Maurice Hurst Jr. '13, and Joe Gaziano '15 in the NFL; and Mark Young '77 in the AHL, and Chris Wagner '09 in the NHL. Ted Currle is the current Athletic Director. Athletic success. The Hawks' most notable success in athletics has been in alpine skiing, baseball, cross country, golf, football, lacrosse and track & field. In particular, the football team has brought great notoriety to the school, having won ten MIAA Division 1 State Championships in 1966, 1967, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009 , 2014 and 2015. The 2015 team was ranked the 22nd best team in nation by USA Today. Further, four Hawks' football players have been selected the Massachusetts Player of the Year by numerous organizations: Greg Comella in 1992, Matt Hasselbeck in 1993, Chris Fox in 2005, Alex Phalen in 2009, Joe Gaziano in 2014, and Coby Tippett in 2015. In addition, the alpine ski team won the State Championship in 2013 and 2016. The golf team won state titles in 2014 and 2016. The baseball team won the State Championship in 2004, 2012, and 2021 with the 2004 team ranked  the 24th best team in the country by USA Today. The cross country team won the State Championship in 1984. The swimming and diving team won the State Championship in 1996. The lacrosse team won the State Championship in 2013. And in track & field, Derek Anderson '00 won the 1999 and 2000 All-State Discus and set the state record of 186-03; Chris Bonner '02 won the 2002 All-State 600m and set the state record of 1:20.11; and the 2006 outdoor track team won the MIAA All State Meet. Campus ministry. As a Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School  firmly rooted in the Catholic tradition, XBHS places a strong emphasis on Christian faith formation and Christian service, volunteer community service inspired by the teachings of Christ. Such faith formation and service takes place in two required and several other voluntary forms. All students are required to participate in the Freshman Day of Awareness, which introduces students to the Xaverian Christian Community, and the Sophomore Faith Experience, which is an off-campus retreat that builds upon the development of faith during the Freshman year. XBHS offers students many other voluntary opportunities to take part in various Christian faith formation and  service programs. The Xaverian Leadership Institute (XLI) is a five-day Servant Leadership retreat for Seniors which takes place during August. The Xaverian Global Encounter program is an optional retreat/service experience that takes place during the April and Summer Vacations. During the experience, students travel to marginalized areas to live, work and pray with established communities. Past global encounter sites have included: Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Rostro de Cristo Program in Duran, Ecuador, Los Ninos International in Tijuana, Mexico, Bethlehem Farm in Pence Springs, West Virginia and Camden, New Jersey. In addition, the Christian Senior Service  Program is conducted during the last term of the Senior year. This five to six week program places seniors in approved social service agencies to complete full-time volunteer work for a minimum of 25 – 30 hours per week. Clubs and activities. Theater Arts. XBHS's theatrical performances have been in existence since Xaverian first opened in the late 1960s. Since its first production, "Take Time Out" Xaverian has performed over 80 shows. XBHS presents a fall drama, a spring musical, and two sketch comedy shows and live music performances dubbed "Live @ the X". The artistic director for productions is  Julianne O'Connor and the production manager is Paula Duddy. Performance History: Notable alumni. XBHS has approximately 10,000 alumni living all around the globe. Notable alumni distinguishing themselves include: Notable alumni distinguishing themselves in athletics include: