St. John's Preparatory School

St. John's Preparatory School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York City, New York. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.BackgroundSt. John's Preparatory School was established in 1870 by the Vincentian Fathers as the Preparatory Department of St. John's College (later University). In 1955 the College moved out to its new campus and the prep school further expanded, taking over its former buildings. Through the early 1970s, St. John's Prep was all-boys, located in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn on Lewis and Hart Avenues. The school closed temporarily in 1972 but reopened in 1981 on Crescent Street in Astoria.Mater Christi Diocesan High School was founded in 1961 through the efforts of Brian J. McEntegart, then the Bishop of Brooklyn. It had separate boys' and girls' divisions which were staffed by De La Salle Brothers and Sisters of Mercy respectively. In 1974 the divisions were merged to become a fully coeducational school. In 1977 it was turned over to a community-based board of trustees and became known as Mater Christi Catholic High School. The school motto was "Ut vitam habeant et abundantius " from the Gospel of John 10:10, "That They May Have Life More Abundantly." In 1980 the school announced an affiliation with St. John's University. St. John's Prep's charter was re-issued and Mater Christi became St. John's Preparatory School.