St. Bernard's High School (Fitchburg, Massachusetts)

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St. Bernard's Central Catholic High School is a diocesan, Roman Catholic high school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester.

[edit] Background

St. Bernard's was established as an all-girls school in 1920 by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The school became coeducational in 1926. The school was designated as a regional , diocesan high school in 1953. ^[1]

Traditionally a college-preparatory school for middle-class Catholic famiilies, the school has gentrified but still maintains an open attitude for all socioeconomic classes. The faculty sees many of its own students return to teach at the school, including some of the longest-serving members of the staff. Set in a classic 1920s building on Harvard Street, the school has been a living member of Fitchburg for over 80 years.

Academically rigorous, the school also has a superior athletic department. The school competes well across the board, sometimes even in divisions designed for much larger schools (Football- 1A and hockey- 1N). The winter sports compete particuarly well. Boys' hockey consistently ranks highly in the state, though drawing from only 240 boys. Both boys' and girls' basketball regularly win Central Mass Division 2 titles and play many of the larger, Division 1 schools of the area remarkably well.