Central Catholic High School (Lawrence, Massachusetts)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Central Catholic High School is a secondary school in Lawrence, Massachusetts associated with the Marist Brothers of the Schools and founded in 1935 by Brother Florentius. As of 2006, the principal is David M. DeFillippo, the school's first lay principal, and its president is Brother Rene Roy, FMS. The school has approximately 1150 students and 11,000 alumni. It was originally a boys-only school, but has been co-educational since 1996.

Contents

[edit] History

  • 1926: Brother Florentius founds Mount Saint Michael Academy in Bronx, New York
  • 1932: Brother Florentius is assigned as principal of St. Anne's School in Lawrence, Massachusetts
  • 1935
    • July: Brother Florentius announces that Central Catholic High School will open in September, meeting the need of an all-boys' school in Lawrence
    • September 16: Fifty boys began their first day of classes at Central Catholic at its location on Haverhill Street
  • 1935-1938: The school outgrows its small campus at the Knights of Columbus building and expands into borrowed spaces at Holy Trinity School, Franklin Street School, and Hampshire Street School. The Hampshire Street site would later grow into the school's current location.
  • 1938
    • May 1: Brother Florentius dies
    • June 10: Ground is broken on Auburn Street, near the intersection of Hampshire Street, on a permanent building for the school
    • August: Brother Joseph Abel is named principal
    • June: The fifty boys who enrolled in school four years previously become the school's first graduating class
    • December 11: The completed building is dedicated, complete with eight classrooms, a library, cafeteria, science laboratory, and residence quarters for the fifteen Marist Brothers who taught at the school
  • June, 1945: The school graduates its 400th student
  • 1950: Memorial Gymnasium Building is completed with the largest-at-the-time auditorium and gymnasium in the Merrimack Valley, locker rooms, and more classrooms. The building, still in use to this day, is known as the "Gym Building"
  • 1951: Memorial Gymnasium Building is dedicated to fourteen alumni killed in action during World War II
  • 1960: The first three lay teachers are hired at the school. Two of these men, Mr. Warren Hayes and Mr. Michael Sullivan, continued teaching into the late 1990s
  • 1967: The first lay female teacher is hired at the school
  • 1969: The Board of Directors are established and initiate a campaign to construct a new building
  • 1970: The new building, at 300 Hampshire Street, is opened, and, to this day, remains the main building for the school
  • September 16, 1971: The Hampshire Street building is dedicated
  • 1972: The Auburn Street building's use is discontinued
  • 1984: The Auburn Street building is demolished
  • September, 1996: Upon the closing of sister school, St. Mary's High School, Central Catholic transforms to a co-educational institution and admits its first young women
  • 1999: Brother Thomas Long, FMS, who graduated from the school in 1973, is appointed as the first president of the school. Mr. David DeFillippo, from the class of 1966, is appointed as the school's first layperson principal
  • 2006: For the first time in the school's history, 100% of Central Catholic's 272 seniors graduate and go on to higher education

[edit] Mission statement

Central Catholic High School, established and conducted by the Marist Brothers of the Schools, is dedicated to the mission of Saint Marcellin Champagnat: to make Jesus known and loved among young people.

Preparing hearts and minds for college and for life, Central Catholic promotes the spiritual, moral, intellectual, emotional and physical growth of the whole person. Students are readied to assume their place as competent and compassionate members of the church and the human family.

Faculty and students form a Christian living community in which the dignity of each person is respected. Central Catholic shows particular regard for students who are educationally at-risk and economically disadvantaged. Every student is encouraged to develop their God-given talents and use them in the service of others, particularly the least favored.

Central Catholic High School, licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

[edit] Current leadership

Information current as of end-of-academic-year, 2005

  • President: Brother Rene Roy, FMS
  • Principal: David DeFillippo '1966
  • Vice-Principal: Jeanne Burns
  • Dean of Students: Marc Pelletier '1979
  • Dean of Studies: Christopher Sullivan '1981
  • Associate Dean of Students: Doreen Keller
  • Business Manager: Daniel Cargill
  • Director of Institutional Advancement: Molly Bresnahan
  • Director of Admissions: Kathleen Gerow
  • Director of Techology: Jodi Linnehan Kriner
  • Director of Athletics: Peter Paladino
  • Director of Activities & Special Projects: Brother James Halliday, FMS
  • Campus Ministers: Betty Desjardins, Joseph Reganato, Sister Terry Gauvin
  • Director of Guidance: Denise Horan
  • Director of Library Services: Kristina Keleher
  • Director of Buildings & Grounds: John Ostrowski, Jr.

[edit] Academic departments

[edit] Graduation awards

The two major awards given at graduation ceremonies every year are the Brother Florentius, FMS Memorial Award, presented to "the graduate who best exemplifies the ideals and values embodied in the founder of Central Catholic High School" and the Florentian Yearbook Dedication, presented "by the graduating class to the person or persons whom they consider worth of special praise." The Florentius award has been given annually since 1963 and the Florentian Dedication has been given annually since the inception of the yearbook in 1945. Also given at graduation are the Michael Garvey Award which is given to an outstanding male student-athlete and the Outstanding Female Student Athlete Award.

[edit] Athletics

Central Catholic is a member of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Merrimack Valley Conference. The school offers 22 varsity programs and 52 teams at levels such as varisty, junior varsity, and freshman.

[edit] Sports teams

[edit] Non-athletic activities and clubs

  • Liturgical Band
  • Student Newspaper (Raider Review)
  • Passport Club
  • GUTS (Guys and Girls United to Serve)
  • Student Government
  • Theater Guild
  • Campus Ministry
  • Model United Nations
  • National Honor Society
  • Interact Club
  • Bowling Club
  • Yearbook Club
  • Technology Committee
  • Art Club
  • Walk-A-Thon Committee
  • Ski Club
  • School Life Committee
  • Cinema Club
  • Math League
  • Mock Trial Club
  • Peer Leadership
  • Project Rebuild
  • Marist Youth Group
  • Walk-A-Thon Planning Committee

[edit] External link

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/e/n/Central_Catholic_High_School_%28Lawrence%2C_Massachusetts%29_0daa.html"