La Salle High School (Cincinnati, Ohio)
La Salle High School is a Catholic, all-male, archdiocesan high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school was opened September 6, 1960, and was named in honor of Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, a French priest , and educational reformer. The school was officially dedicated on May 14, 1961. It was founded by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Academics. The curriculum is accredited by the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Catholic School Accrediting Association. Curriculum levels are Lasallian Scholars Institute (LSI), Honors Program studies, Advanced College Preparatory studies, College  Preparatory studies, and Individualized studies. Students are required to pass all parts of the Ohio Graduation Test in order to receive a diploma. Laptop program. In the fall of 2010, freshmen and sophomores were issued tablet computers. Students are able to take handwritten notes in Microsoft OneNote, submit assignments and check grades online, as well as communicate with their teachers directly via email. In preparation for its laptop program, the school installed a Cisco wireless network, Moodle course management system, PowerSchool student information system, and implemented its own private cloud infrastructure with Hyper-V. Language requirements. Students in the Honors  or Advanced College Preparatory programs are required to take at least two consecutive courses in the same foreign language during their freshman and sophomore years. All other students who choose to start a foreign language are subject to the same requirement. Spirituality. Every student is required to make a school-sponsored Kairos retreat and complete a minimum of sixty hours of Christian Service outside of regular school hours in order to graduate. At least half of those hours must directly involve working for the homeless, poor, crippled, sick, elderly or others struggling in their lives. The remaining hours can also  involve activities such as work at parish, festival, park, school, or other community related activities. Canned food drive. La Salle High School hosts an annual Truck Full of Love canned food drive. In 2007, a record 76,000 cans were collected for Little Sisters of the Poor in Clifton. The La Salle Drama Program. The La Salle Drama Program's awards include the 2007 State Championship for their Fall production of "1776" and an area conference win for their 2008 Fall production "Damn Yankees" (which was also nominated for Best Musical at the Cincinnati Cappies 2009 awards gala). La Salle was  nominated for 11 Cappies for this show, but sadly won none. Their 2010 Spring production of "Aida" was nominated for many Cappie awards and won two. In 2011, their fall play "Teahouse of the August Moon" was chosen to be performed full-length at the EdTA Ohio State Conference, and in 2012 the fall musical "All Shook Up" had the honor of performing an hour-long portion of the show. In 2013, LaSalle Drama's production "The Outsiders" was also chosen to perform a full-length show at the EdTA Ohio State Conference. There are two types of productions put  on at La Salle, one being a "Black Box Production" (which is held in the Black Box theater) and the other being a "Main Stage Production" (which is held on the stage in the gymnasium). In addition to regular productions, La Salle puts on an annual "Passion Play", "Dramapalooza" show, and a touring "Mistletoe Minstrels" show. The Passion Play is held near Easter to commemorate the life and the Passion of Jesus Christ. Dramapalooza is held so that the seniors or drama board members can put on a show of their own individual skits and pieces. Mistletoe Minstrels is a  touring Christmas show where drama students sing and dance to classic Christmas songs at local nursing homes to spread Christmas cheer and joy to the elderly. Clubs and organizations. There are over forty clubs and organizations available to students at La Salle High School. Key Club. Key Club is an international student-led organization which facilitates student community service. Students in Key Club are expected to complete a minimum of 15 hours of community service in Key Club-sponsored activities by the end of May each year. These hours can count towards the student's graduation requirement. Band. La Salle 's band program has seen much success in recent years. Under the direction of Angelo Sylvester, the Pride of La Salle marching band has had three consecutive top-three finishes in class at adjudicated Mid-States Band Association events (most recently earning the title in Class AA), as well as being a Bands of America Grand Nationals Semi-finalist for two years running. La Salle's Wind Ensemble has also received a Superior rating in classes C, B, and A consecutively at adjudicated OMEA events. Additionally, La Salle's Winter Guard program has received high accolades in recent years in  not only Tri-State Circuit events, but also at Winter Guard International. The Winter Guard is a WGI Cincinnati Regional Finalist, as well as a WGI World Championships Semi-finalist. Athletics. The Lancers compete in the Greater Catholic League GCL The Lancers compete in the following sports Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Ice-Hockey, Soccer, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, and Wrestling.