| Central Catholic High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 300 Hampshire Street Lawrence Lawrence, Massachusetts, (Essex County), 01841 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Private, Coeducational |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic, Marist Brothers |
| Established | 1935 |
| Founder | Brother Florentius |
| President | Brother Thomas P. Long |
| Chairperson | Thomas M. Burkardt |
| Dean | Christopher Sullivan (Studies) Doreen A. Keller (Students) Rick Nault (Assistant) |
| Principal | Doreen Keller |
| Vice principal | Jeanne R. Burns |
| Asst. Principal | Christopher Sullivan Rick Nault |
| Faculty | 125 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1350 (2011) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 10:1 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Red and Navy Blue |
| Athletics conference | Merrimack Valley Conference |
| Team name | Raiders |
| Accreditation(s) | New England Association of Schools and Colleges[1] |
| Tuition | $10,250 (2010-2011) |
| Alumni | 13,500 |
| Admissions Director | Christopher Merrill |
| Athletic Director | Peter Paladino |
| Website | www.centralcatholic.net |
Central Catholic High School is a college preparatory school with an academic campus in Lawrence, Massachusetts and an athletic campus in Methuen, Massachusetts associated with the Marist Brothers of the Schools and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and founded in 1935 by Brother Florentius. As of 2010, the current principal, Doreen Keller is the school's first female to hold the office, and its president is Brother Thomas P. Long, FMS. The school has approximately 1400 students and growing (with a class size of approximately 360 students) and 12,600 alumni. It was originally a boys-only school, but has been co-educational since 1996. [4]
Contents |
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, educate the whole person and serve others, especially the least favored.
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. Many students are accepted for thei ability on the sporting field, and not the classroom.
Central Catholic High School, licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
The Alma Mater is sung by students and staff: "In the midst of Lawrence City stands the school we love, Emblem pure of faith and duty blessed by God above. Lift the chorus, speed it onward, loud her praises bless, Hail to thee our Alma Mater Dear CCHS!"
Central Catholic's campus consists of three inter-connected buildings on a small plot of land off Hampshire Street in north Lawrence. The first of which is the oldest remaining part of the Auburn St. school known as the Memorial Gymnasium, known as the "Gym Building" (opened 1950). This building houses classrooms and the gym, along with a large performance stage. The second of which is the Hampshire Street building, known as the "Old Building" (opened 1969). This building houses the small gymnasium, theatre, administrative offices, computer labs, library, and classrooms. Third, an 80,000 square foot $12.8 Million building, the South Wing is known as the "New Building" (opened 2005). This building houses the new main entrance and lobby, offices of the president and principal, the campus store, additional locker rooms, the campus ministry office, the cafeteria, state-of-the-art science labs, the chapel and classrooms. The Lawrence campus has a softball field adjacent to the parking lot by Holly St.
Central Catholic is also in development of athletic fields in Methuen due to congestion of the urban Lawrence campus. The planned athletic campus will have a football and track stadium, lacrosse, baseball and softball fields.
The two major awards given at graduation ceremonies every year are the Brother Florentius, FMS Memorial Award, which is the highest honor 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.
Central Catholic Raiders are a member of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Merrimack Valley Conference. Up until 2000, the athletic teams were known as the Red Raiders, but the school dropped the word "Red" in 2000. The school offers 22 varsity programs and 51 teams at levels such as varsity, junior varsity, and freshman. Central Catholic has a softball field and open practice field on its Lawrence, MA campus and is currently developing a football stadium, track, baseball, softball and lacrosse fields on its Methuen, MA campus.
On February 24, 2007 the Central Catholic Raiders received their first-ever invitation to participate in a play-in game for the Super Eight Hockey Tournament. The team beat Waltham in the play-in game and then proceeded to win one game against Malden Catholic High School and lose to both Catholic Memorial and Weymouth High School respectively in the round-robin bracket round. The football team, track teams, and girls' lacrosse team share the Veterans Memorial Stadium (Lawrence) with Lawrence High School. The baseball team has qualified for the MIAA tournament 20 of the past 24 years winning the North Sectional Championship once while runners up two other times.The baseball team has 8 MVC championship crowns ('08 & '09 & 10'most recent).
In 2008 the baseball team won the MIAA prestigious sportsmanship TEAM award as well as the Massachusetts Alliance for Sportsmanship award given by the Boston Red Sox. The football team has won two Super Bowl championships and 6 MVC titles. The boys and girls basketball squads are state powerhouses. The boys winning the state championship in 2008. Girls were state champs in 2009.The golf team year in and year out competes for the MVC championship winning 5 back to back titles in recent years as well as in 2009. Wrestling and track perennially contend for MVC, sectional, and state championships. The boys recently won the 2009 state championship in outdoor track. The softball team in '08 won the Div 2 North Sectional Championship and more recently won the MVC Championship in 2010 . The Lady raider soccer program just captured their first MVC crown in ten years in 2008 and repeated in 09'. On March 14 of 09' the girls won the state championship in girls hoop at the DCU Center in Worcester,MA. The Boys Outdoor Track team are back-to-back State Champions, in '09 and '10. The school colors are red, navy blue & white.