History
A Roman Catholic High School for Boys had been established in 1890 at Broad and Vine streets through the philanthropy of Thomas E. Cahill, a Philadelphia merchant-entrepreneur. This school was a positive development for education in the city, but unfortunately it was only benefiting the boys at the time. Girls had yet to have a Catholic School available.
“There is an urgent need for the establishment in the City of Philadelphia of a Catholic High School for girls,” stated Father John W. Shanahan as found in the First Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for the year ending June 30, 1895. In 1901, Father Philip R. McDevitt, who succeeded Father Shanahan, reported that High School Centres had been organized. There were five such Centres throughout the city. The religious community that served the parish school in which the Centre was located also staffed the High School Centre. There was, however, still the dream of a Catholic girls’ high school. Along with the dream, there was a prayer for a “Catholic Philanthropist:” to meet the necessity and to endow such a school.
The dream was realized in 1908, the centennial year of the diocese, when a devout Catholic lay woman, Mary E. H. McMichan, came forward to offer a gift of sufficient funds toward the establishment of such a school. The building's façade marks 1911 as the construction year. Since then, thousands of young women have attended.
From the beginning of the 20th century, Catholic Girls’ High School, the first Diocesan all-girls Catholic high school in the US, has welcomed “the daughters of the working-class families.” These girls have been given the advantages of a quality secondary education.
At the request of Mary McMichan, in 1925, the school’s name was prefaced with John W. Hallahan in honor of her brother.
Hallahan was granted permission in the mid-1930s to have Mickey Mouse, a registered Disney character, as a mascot. The tradition of jumping into the fountain at Logan Circle started in the 1970s and continues every year on the last day of the school year. The newly appointed Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores jump into the Swann Memorial Fountain and attract the local media in Philadelphia.
Read more about this topic: J. W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School
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