Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School

Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School, sometimes called Kapaun, is a private, four year, co-educational, secondary school operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita. It is located on the east side of Wichita, Kansas. The school colors are blue and white. The average annual enrollment is approximately 850 students. Kapaun Mt. Carmel is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 5A division and are known as the "Crusaders". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs. History Chaplain Kapaun Memorial High School was named after Chaplain Emil Kapaun, a priest of the Wichita Diocese who served and died in the Korean War. It opened in 1956 another site on east Central Ave (not the same as the present site), in east Wichita, and was operated by the Jesuits as a preparatory school for young men. Jesuits served at the school in various capacities until the early 1990s. Alumni of the initial Chaplain Kapaun school recall that under the basketball court's "floating floor" was a rifle range, where students - under supervision - practiced marksmanship with school-supplied .22 cal rifles, and that supported a school rifle team. Mount Carmel Academy was established in 1887 by the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) as a girl's boarding school. The BVM sisters served the school until the early 1990s. John (Jack) Vickers (1891-1940) was an oil mogul who got his start in Butler County oil fields and former "Vickers Oil Refinery" in Potwin. In 1934, Vickers built a large mansion at 8500 E Central (named "Vickridge"). In 1961, his estate became the new site for "Mount Carmel Academy".