Canterbury School is an independent college preparatory school for students of pre-school age through Grade 12. The school is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana and enrolls 905 students in three divisions.

History

Established in 1977, Canterbury School opened at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was a nondenominational, self-supported school with 89 students in Kindergarten through Grade Six. It sought to inspire and motivate students while instilling Christian values and morals, cultivating an appreciation for the fine arts, developing foreign language skills, and setting high standards for teaching and learning. It continued to grow and within three years, it outgrew its church setting. In 1980, it relocated to the vacant Fort Wayne Community Schools building on Covington Road. When Jonathan Hancock arrived as the fourth headmaster in 1983, he oversaw Canterbury’s expansion to Grade 12. And in 1987, the year the first seniors graduated from Canterbury, the school grew yet again, opening a campus for grades nine through 12 on Smith Road. Programs for students as young as 2 were added that year, providing opportunities for children of every age to meet and embrace the educational challenges envisioned by those caring and dedicated parents who first served as an example of what can be achieved. Then, in 2007-2008, the school added onto both campuses.

School Mission

Canterbury School is an independent, coeducational day school offering a college-preparatory education to students in early childhood through Grade 12. The school seeks to enroll students of diverse talents and backgrounds. Canterbury promotes the total development of each child in his or her intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual growth.

Academics

The high school is known for its academic excellence, with nearly 100% of its students matriculating to colleges and universities, many of which are elite and highly regarded colleges, including the Ivy League.

Canterbury High School's students consistently dwarf state and national SAT averages, often having some of the highest scores in the state: the class of 2008 had a 1244 average, compared to the state 1007 average, and 1017 national average; on the ACT Canterbury students had a mean of 27.2, while the national average was 21.1. All students enrolled in AP level courses are required to take the exam. In 2008, 117 students took 263 exams. 96% of the exams scored a three (pass grade) or higher while 80% of all exams taken earned a four or five note. These statistics and its college preparatory curriculum credit Canterbury as one of the best high schools in the state of Indiana.

Athletics

Fall Boys and Girls Cross Country Girls Golf Boys Tennis Boys Soccer Girls Soccer Girls Volleyball

Winter Boys Basketball Girls Basketball Girls Cheerleading Boys and Girls Swimming

Spring Boys Baseball Boys Golf Girls Softball Girls Tennis Boys and Girls Track

Canterbury maintains its inclusion policy, allowing all students to compete in sports, even if they are not competitive at the varsity level.

In 2008 and 2009, the Girls Basketball were the Indiana state champions in the 1A division. The Canterbury Boys Soccer also has a long history of competing at the State Championships. In all sports, the school has had 15 semi-state or state final appearances.

The school's baseball field is dimensionally modeled after the field of Yankee Stadium.

Fine Arts

Canterbury has always wanted its students to receive a well-rounded education. Students study fine arts for at least two semesters, whether it be photography, computer art, visual art, chamber music, jazz band, debate, speech, women's choir, men's a cappella, or theatre.

Each year, the high school puts on two productions, typically a musical and a play. Recent works include: Seussical, The Wizard of Oz, Into the Woods, Romeo and Juliet, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare , You Can't Take it With You, and The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Student Organizations

Student organizations include:

Anime Club

Bowling Team - Student Leader: Scott Zellner, Faculty Advisor: Ed Chiang

Canterbury Automated Vehicle Society (CAVS) - Student Leader: Eric Roth

Debate - Student Leader/Founder: AJ Alifimoff - Faculty Advisor/Coach: Dennis Eller

Excalibur Yearbook - Faculty Advisor: Catherine Crupi

International Student Organization

JETS (Junior Engineering Technical Society) Team - Faculty Advisor: Walt Rieger

Junior Classical League

Key Club International

Mimesis Literary Review

Mock Trial - Student Leader/Founder: AJ Alifimoff

Model UN - Student Leader: Brendan Murphy, Joe Steigmeyer - Faculty Advisor: Greg Novak

Sci Fi Club - Student Leader: Scott Zellner - Faculty Advisor: Greg Novak

Science Olympiad - Student Leader/Founder: AJ Alifimoff - Faculty Advisor: Dan DeMarchis

Science Show - Faculty Advisor: Ted King

Speech Team - Student Leaders: Brendan Murphy, Angel Smith

Sententiae Literary Magazine - Editor-in-Chiefs: Various throughout the year - Faculty Advisor: Alice Hancock

Stock Market Club - Student Leader: Luke Fallon

Untitled Paper - Editor-in-Chiefs: Brendan Murphy, Mariam Gomaa, Kate DeSimone - Faculty Advisor: Alice Hancock

Success of clubs

Canterbury extracurriculars have enjoyed relative success throughout the years that the school has existed.

Speech Team

Canterbury has won the class A state speech tournament several times and has placed for many years in a row. In 2007, the team won first. In 2008, they placed 3rd in class A, with multiple state finalists, including third place Broadcasting finalist Christian Kraegel (Senior), and state champion Ronnye Rutledge (Senior) in Poetry, and second place in Dramatic Interpretation.

In 2009, the team placed second, with only two state finalists, both in Discussion: AJ Alifimoff, a sophomore, in second, and freshman Jodie Goodman in fifth.

Untitled Paper

Canterbury's Untitled Paper, under the faculty leadership of Alice Hancock, has placed multiple times in the Columbia Newspaper competition, winning a Silver award many years in a row.

Science Olympiad

Canterbury's Science Olympiad team, new in 2008, placed third in the local regional competition.

JETS

The JETS team at Canterbury has won various national awards, winning the competition multiple times in the past five years.

Travel Programs

Students are given a wide variety of travel opportunities that include the Australian exchange, French Immersion trip, Spanish Immersion, Lyrical Opera Trip, and the Stratford Theatre Trip. Also each junior class takes a week trip in which they visit six or seven colleges of varying sizes, settings, and selectivity to help them find the best college type to fit their needs.

Resources

Canterbury School