Our Lady of Good Counsel High School (Maryland)

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is a private, Catholic, college-preparatory, coeducational high school in Olney, Maryland, an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School
Address
17301 Old Vic Boulevard

Olney
,
Maryland
20832
Coordinates39°8′30″N 77°2′43″W
Information
TypePrivate, Coeducational
MottoFaciat Maria Nos Videre
(English: Mary, make us see.)
Religious affiliation(s)Roman Catholic
Established1958
School districtArchdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools [1]
CEEB code211-083[2]
PresidentDr. Paul Barker
PrincipalMr. Tom Campbell
ChaplainFr. Tom Lavin
Grades9–12
Enrollment1200+ (2019-2020)
Campus51 acres (210,000 m2)
Color(s)Blue and Gold   
SloganWe inspire our students to excel, serve, and love.
Song"Alma Mater"
Athletics conferenceWashington Catholic Athletic Conference
MascotFalcon
NicknameFalcons
AccreditationMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools[3]
PublicationThe Counselor (literary magazine)
NewspaperThe Talon
Tuition$24,215
AffiliationXaverian Brothers
Alumni12,630
Admissions DirectorMaria Nichols
Athletic DirectorSteve Howes
Websitehttps://www.olgchs.org/about-us/first-glance

Operated under the sponsorship of the Xaverian Brothers, Our Lady of Good Counsel serves students grades nine through twelve.

The school was founded in 1958 as an all-boys school in Wheaton, Maryland. In 1988, the school became coeducational, and during the 2006-2007 school year, the school relocated to a new campus in Olney, Maryland, about 7 miles (11 km) north of its previous location in Wheaton, Maryland.

The faculty consists of 200 teachers, counselors and administrators. 70 percent of the teachers hold advanced degrees. In September 1993 and 2002, Good Counsel High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in Secondary Education by the United States Department of Education. The school is fully accredited by the Middle States Association.

On July 1, 2011, Paul Barker took the helm as president after former Xaverian brother, Art Raimo, moved on from his position after serving 15 years as the president and another 18 years as a teacher/staff member at Good Counsel. Alumnus Tom Campbell '93, became principal on July 1, 2013, following the retirement of Jack Graham.

Academics

Good Counsel High School offers both Advanced Placement courses, the STEM Program, and the International Baccalaureate Program. The school offers classes in three tracks: Honors, College Prep, or Ryken. The Ryken Program is geared towards students with mild learning differences, and is named after Theodore Ryken, founder of the Xaverian Brothers

Religious life

As a Xaverian Brothers sponsored school, Good Counsel has an active campus ministry. Students are required to take four years of religious studies classes, as well as participate in religious retreats. The school chaplain offers a daily Mass as well as all-school Masses on major religious holidays. Students and faculty participate as altar servers, readers, Eucharistic ministers, and choir members. All students are required to complete a certain number of community service hours each year, for a total of 100 hours upon graduation.

Fine arts

All Good Counsel students are required to fulfill at least one art credit before graduation. The school offers Theatre, Band, Chorus, Dance, and Visual Arts. Good Counsel's visual arts program begins with the Art Fundamentals course and includes courses that focus on drawing, sculpting, and artwork in other mediums. The school has musical ensembles including a wind ensemble, symphonic band, string ensemble, beginning and advanced percussion ensembles, jazz ensemble, and a marching band. The school's theater program performs two mainstage productions a year. A 700 seat performing arts center opened in spring 2016. Every year, for the past several years, Good Counsel's Theatre productions have received a five-star rating from the DC Metro Theatre Arts Magazine, including their presentation of Les Misérables.[4]

Athletics

Good Counsel's has many of the area's top-ranked athletic teams and is recognized as a regional and national powerhouse for both boys' and girls' sports. GC has collected over 60 championship titles in the past decade. Many of their talented student-athletes have continued on at the collegiate level and have received athletic scholarships at notable colleges and universities.

Good Counsel has most recently won, or has been a finalist for, the WCAC championship title in the following sports:

  • Football
  • Girls' Lacrosse
  • Boys' Cross Country
  • Girls' Soccer
  • Wrestling
  • Swimming
  • Girls' Field Hockey
  • Boys' Track
  • Girls' Basketball
  • Girls' Volleyball
  • Boys' Baseball
  • Girls' Cheerleading

Both the men and women's swim teams are traditionally, among the best in the Washington area. The women's team won 13 straight Metro titles from 1997-2009.

The varsity ice hockey team won the MAPHL (Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League) Varsity A championship game in 2013 and 2015. The team also boasts a championship in 2002-2003 in the MSHL (Maryland State Hockey League). New in 2014, is the Good Counsel Equestrian Team, which successfully competes throughout the year.

Notable alumni

Good Counsel has many notable alumni, recognizing them annually with a Distinguished Alumni award.[5] The football team has also had many players make it to the NFL.[6]

Notes and references
  1. "Find a School". Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools.
  2. "Code Search". The College Board. 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  3. MSA-CSS. "MSA-Commission on Secondary Schools". Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
  4. Georgia, Jennifer (March 18, 2013). "Les Misérables at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School". Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  5. "Distinguished Alumni". Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. Olney, MD. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  6. "NFL Alumni". Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. Olney, MD. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  7. Pressley, Sue Anne (April 15, 1991). "Spirit of a Friend Lives On". Washington Post.
  8. Hyman, Mark (January 5, 2009). "ESPN's interest gives prep sports a home under bright lights". Sports Business Daily.
  9. "Alumni Spotlight Series". Our Lady of Good Counsel High School. November 11, 2019.
  10. Freeman, Rick (November 2, 2000). "Family Values". Washington Post.
  11. Orton, Kathy (October 11, 2002). "Brown's Gessner Is Quite a Catch". Washington Post.
  12. "For Mason, lessons in persistence". The Washington Times. April 24, 2008.
  13. Markus, Don (July 29, 2016). "Former Terp James Gist feels at home playing in Greece". Baltimore Sun.
  14. Parker, Brandon (April 24, 2013). "NFL draft 2013: Jelani Jenkins, Good Counsel alum, looks to prove himself at pro level". Washington Post.
  15. Diven, Keely (June 7, 2017). "Redskins sign local DB, waive another DB to make room". NBC Sports Washington.
  16. Lee, Edward (August 6, 2018). "For Rams safety Blake Countess, practice in Owings Mills is a happy homecoming and 'business trip'". Baltimore Sun.
  17. "#TBT: Vikings standout Stefon Diggs was an All-USA WR at Good Counsel (Md.)". USA TODAY High School Sports. September 28, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
  18. Reinink, Amy (June 26, 2017). "Bethesda Interview: Jack Conger". Bethesda Magazine.
  19. Bogage, Jacob (January 31, 2020). "Good Counsel teammates Kendall Fuller and Dorian O'Daniel team up for Chiefs at Super Bowl". Washington Post.
  20. Detweiler, Eric (November 28, 2012). "Midge Purce lifts Good Counsel girls' soccer atop final rankings for second straight year". Washington Post.
  21. Eilerson, Nick (January 22, 2017). "Olympic champ Kyle Snyder returns to high school gym to wrestle for Ohio State". Washington Post.
  22. "Maryland Girls Soccer POY: Imani Dorsey". USA TODAY High School Sports. February 6, 2014.
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