Catholic Central School (Springfield, Ohio)

Catholic Central School
Address
1200 East High Street Springfield, Ohio, (Clark County), 45505 United States
Coordinates	39°55′19″N 83°47′29″W
Information
Motto	Our Students . . . Our Purpose, Our Product, Our Pride
Denomination	Roman Catholic
School district	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati
President	Kenith Brit
Principal	Patrick Finneran
Grades	PreK–12
Color(s)	Green and Gold
Athletics conference	Ohio Heritage Conference
Nickname	Irish
Accreditation(s)	North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Website	http://www.ccirish.org/

Catholic Central School is a private, Roman Catholic school in Springfield, Ohio. Part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Catholic Central provides education for grades PreK-12 at three campuses. It was recently ranked as one of the Top 50 Catholic Schools in the Nation. The school's sports teams are known as the Fighting Irish.

Academics

Students are taught basic courses in mathematics, sciences, religion, language arts, foreign language and social studies. AP courses are available as an option for advanced students. The school also offers various electives, including various music and theater classes, as well as many arts classes, like digital photography and scrapbooking.

The school's mission statement reads:

"Catholic Central School is a pre-K - 12 Archdiocesan regional school committed to changing people's lives by providing a Catholic education foundation that allows students to succeed. We serve God by educating students of any family that supports our values. We are guided by our values and the ability to establish and maintain an advanced teaching and learning environment that attracts a committed faculty able to carry out this mission."

January Term

As a semester in January, Catholic Central High School has "J-Term," or January Term. Students take two elective courses a day (class times last for three hours, as opposed to the normal fifty minutes). Freshman students are required to take physical education and health courses as a means to fulfill to graduation requirement. Sophomore students also take physical education, and may choose to take either an Ohio Graduation Test preparation course or an upperclass elective. Junior and senior students are able to complete any class they wish, assuming they have completed their gym and health credits.

Popular courses offered during J-Term have included Comparative Anatomy and Physiology: Dissection, History Through Film or Song, International Arts and Crafts, Drama, and Shakespeare: Beyond the Written Word, among others. Upperclass students have the opportunity to complete an independent study and seniors may go on a class trip to Ireland.

The term has been nationally recognized, and in 2005, Catholic Central was ranked as one of the Top 50 Catholic Schools in the Nation because of the semester.

Campus

The school is at 1200 E. High Street in Springfield, Ohio. Students from grades 7-12 attend classes at the Catholic Central High School campus. Preschool through 6th grade classes are taught at two feeder campuses located in Springfield.

Consolidation

In 2004, the seventh and eighth grade classes at the local Catholic elementary schools began being taught at the main high school campus. As the consolidation was considered successful by Catholic Central and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, plans began to circulate about Catholic Central potentially finding one location to teach all grades Pre-K through 12. While a fund would have made the purchase of the former site of Springfield South High School available for Catholic Central, they eventually declined the offer.

As of 2012, school officials began a public announcement of a capital campaign with a long-term vision of the complete consolidation onto the East High Street campus. The first phase of the project includes a $5 - $6 million investment which would bring more students to the main campus while at the same time reducing the number of sites from three to two.

Feeder campuses

Prior to the consolidation in 2004, four feeder schools, named after their parishes, taught grades Kindergarten through Grade 8. Some of the schools offered pre-school, as well. After the transition of seventh and eighth graders to the East High campus, the schools (St. Teresa in Springfield, St. Bernard's in Springfield, Holy Trinity in Springfield, and St. Mary's in Urbana) taught up to 6th Grade. In Fall 2005, a year following the consolidation, all of the feeder schools renamed themselves to Catholic Central Elementary School and Holy Trinity officially closed. Due to low attendance, Catholic Central announced the closure of the Urbana campus in Spring of 2008. The schools located at the St. Teresa and St. Bernard's parish sites remain open.

Athletics

Since 2001, Catholic Central High School's athletic teams have participated in the Ohio Heritage Conference (OHC).

Students can participate in the following sports:

• Fall: Cheerleading, Boys'/Girls' Cross Country, Football, Girls' Tennis, Boys'/ Girls' Golf, Boys'/Girls' Soccer, and Volleyball
• Winter: Cheerleading, Boys'/Girls' Basketball, and Boys'/Girls' Swimming, Bowling, and Wrestling
• Spring: Baseball, Softball, Boys' Tennis, and Track

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

Catholic Central High School has won the state championship in the following sports:

• Boys Basketball – 1996
• Boys Soccer - 2001, 2007

Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

Notable alumni

Arts

• David Herzog – West End actor

Athletics

• Jason Collier – professional basketball player
• Jim Paxson, Sr. – professional basketball player

Hall of Honor

In 2008, Catholic Central inducted the first class into its "Hall of Honor," which was established to recognize the school's distinguished alumni. There are two categories of inductees: the "Distinguished Hall of Honor" is for alumni who have made significant contributions to their professions and the school, while being active in their community; the "Athletic Hall of Honor" recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to the school's athletic program. According to the school, inductees stand as representatives of the school's "Legacy of Leadership."

Notable faculty

• Darlene Tempelton, Campus Minister and religion/history professor. Author of 'Women in Yorkist England' and various articles.

External links

• School website