Canterbury School (Connecticut)

Canterbury School
Address
101 Aspetuck Avenue
New Milford, Connecticut, (Litchfield County), 06776
United States
Coordinates 41°35′11″N 73°24′45″W / 41.586383°N 73.412597°WCoordinates: 41°35′11″N 73°24′45″W / 41.586383°N 73.412597°W
Information
Type Private, Day & Boarding School
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1915
Headmaster Thomas J. Sheehy
Faculty 60
Grades 9–12
Gender Coeducational
Enrollment 338 total
210 boarding
128 day (2012)
Average class size 11
Student to teacher ratio 6:1
Campus Suburban
Campus size 150 acres (2 km²)
Color(s) Navy and Columbia Blue         
Athletics conference NEPSAC
Sports 27 JV/Varsity Teams
Team name Saints
Accreditation New England Association of Schools and Colleges[1]
Average SAT scores 1350
Publication Carillon (literary magazine)
Newspaper The Tabard
Yearbook Cantuarian
Tuition Day – $39,400
Boarding – $50,350
Director of Communications Marc Vanasse
Academic Dean Lou Mandler
Dean of Students Peter LaVigne
Dean of the School JP Mandler
Admission Director Matt Mulhern
Athletic Director David Wilson
Website http://www.cbury.org

Canterbury School is a college preparatory, coeducational boarding and day school for students in Forms III through VI (grades 9-12 and post-grad). It is located in New Milford, Connecticut, United States, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford.

History

Canterbury was founded in 1915 on the aspiration of two men: Henry O. Havemeyer, scion of a wealthy family which made its fortune in sugar refining, and Nelson Hume, a Catholic schoolmaster. They intended to establish a Roman Catholic school where young men could be guided in their religion and be prepared to attend Ivy League universities.[2]

The school was established in New Milford, Connecticut, on the location of the former Ingleside School for Girls. Hume became the first headmaster of the school. From its start with 16 enrolled students, Nelson Hume guided the school through two world wars and the great depression until his death in 1948. He was succeeded as headmaster by Walter Sheehan, John Reydel in 1973, Roderick Clarke in 1978, and Thomas Sheehy in 1990. Canterbury became co-educational in the fall of 1971. The school now enrolls more than 350 boarding and day students on its campus in New Milford . Canterbury School celebrates its centennial in 2015.

Facilities

Academic

Old School House contains the language and history departments; the majority of language and history classes are held here. Canterbury offers Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Latin.

Hume Building contains the theology and mathematic departments on the upper level, and the science department on the lower level. The Hume building also houses Canterbury's Maguire Auditorium on the upper level.

Steele Hall was completely renovated in 2009. It contains the library, Admission and administrative offices on the upper level, and the student lounge, snack bar, mailroom, faculty room, dining hall, and lecture room on the lower level.

Duffy House contains art space and studios renovated from the old dining hall.

The Old Gym's first floor space has been renovated for the Stephen '43 and Lacey Hume Music Center, the L. Michael Sheehy '56 Choral Classroom, and rehearsal spaces.

Residential

Canterbury School has eight residence halls that provide housing for about 250 students. Each residence hall contains faculty apartments that range from the size of town houses to smaller one-bedroom suites. Canterbury also has built single family homes on campus, providing housing for some faculty, such as the Headmaster’s House, located on the corner of Aspetuck Avenue and Elkington Farm Road. Though they are not currently used to house students, from time to time Canterbury has roomed students in faculty residences.

Sheehan House (née Middle House) is named for Canterbury’s second headmaster, and is located in center of the lower campus. Simply referred to as "Sheehan" by students, it houses upper form boys.

Carter House (née South House) is located on the lower campus and houses upper and lower form girls.

Duffy House (née North House) is located on the northern end of the lower campus and houses lower form girls. It contains a faculty townhouse on the western end of the building, in space that was converted from administrative offices.

Hickory Hearth is at the southern end of the lower campus and provides space for six students and three faculty members.

Havemeyer House is located on the upper campus and houses upper form boys. Two faculty townhouses bookend the dorm.

Carmody House is located on the upper campus and houses lower form boys. Two faculty townhouses bookend the dorm.

South House is a newly constructed building on the lower campus between Hickory Hearth and Carter House that houses upper form girls.

Ingleside serves as the health center and dormitory which currently houses eight girls.

Religious

Chapel of Our Lady was built in 1928 and expanded in 1959. It can seat 300. The bottom floor of the chapel contains a classroom. Its stained glass windows have been recently restored. The chapel's carillon is named for alumnus Mel Ferrer '34.

Chaplain’s Residence is the oldest building on campus and has had various uses, including acting as Canterbury’s first chapel.

Athletic

The Athletic Center contains the Canterbury Ice Hockey Arena (1975), the Castellini/Saxe Squash Pavilion (five courts), the field house (with three basketball courts), weight room, trainers room, and a wrestling room.

Pigott Basketball Arena was added on to the Old Gym complex in the 1960s and includes the varsity basketball arena and locker room facilities.

William R. Higgins ’53 Aquatic Center, opened in the fall of 2008, provides a new 8-lane, 25-yard pool and diving facility. It is located in the same building complex as the Pigott Basketball Arena.

Outdoor facilities include 8 tennis courts, a track, a multipurpose turf field (summer 2013), other multipurpose grass playing fields, and baseball and softball diamonds with dugouts.

Dining Hall

Located on the first floor of Steele Hall, Canterbury offers a full service dining hall preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily. All meals are prepared under the direction of a Culinary Institute of America chef.[3]

Interscholastic Sports

When the school was founded in 1915, Nelson Hume believed that physical activity was an important component in the education of his students. Canterbury carries on that tradition, expecting students to participate in a sport each season at level appropriate with their skills. Canterbury fields teams and competes against other schools at the Varsity, Junior Varsity, 3rd Team, and sometimes 4th team level.

Fall

Fall sports include boys' and girls' cross country, field hockey, football, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' water polo, girls' volleyball, and boys' and girls' crew.

Winter

Winter sports include boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' ice hockey, boys' and girls' squash, boys' and girls' swimming, and wrestling.

Spring

Spring sports include baseball, crew, golf, boys' and girls' lacrosse, softball, boys' and girls' tennis, outdoor track, and riding.

Notable alumni/faculty

References

  1. ↑ NEASC-CIS. "NEASC-Commission on Independent Schools". Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  2. ↑ Canterbury School: The First Ninety Years 1915-2005, compiled by Kathy Bolster (c) 2006
  3. ↑ Canterbury School Website, Official website of the Canterbury School, Connecticut - Dining Page.

External links