Central Catholic High School (Lawrence, Massachusetts)

Central Catholic High School
Address
300 Hampshire Street Lawrence Lawrence, Massachusetts, (Essex County), 01841 United States
Coordinates	42°42′45″N 71°10′17″W
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
Tuition	$10,800 (2011-2012)
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 Lawrence, 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]

History

Sources

• 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 seating 2500 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 until 2001.
• 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 is still used to this day.
• 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
• 1989: Football team wins its first Merrimack Valley Conference Football title completing a perfect 10-0 regular season. The team was led by dynamic big-play receiver Mark Conway, who was named to the Boston Herald All Scholastic team.
• Mid '90s: The Memorial Gymnasium Building undergoes extensive renovations.
• September, 1996: Upon the closing of its sister school, St. Mary's High School, Central Catholic opens in September as a co-educational institution and admitting young women from St Mary's as well as from throughout the Merrimack Valley.
• December, 1997: Football team wins the MIAA Division II Super Bowl by beating Wakefield, MA 34-16 behind captain Joseph Uliano '98 who was The Eagle-Tribune Defensive Player of the Year and named to both the Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastic Teams.
• December, 1998: Football team repeats as MIAA Division II Super Bowl champions with its 29-13 victory over Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (Acton, MA) behind captain and 2-time MIAA Super Bowl champion quarterback Niall Murphy '99.
• March 14, 1999: The Central Catholic Boys Varsity Basketball Team wins their first MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) Division 1 State Championship, beating Holy Name of Worcester 63-57 in the title game. The team was led by Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year, Merrimack Valley Conference MVP, Boston Globe All-Scholastic, and eventual McDonald's All-American Scott Hazelton '00.
• 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. Marc Pelletier, from the class of 1979, is named Dean of Students
• 2001Christopher Sullivan, from the class of 1981, is named Dean of Studies.
• 2003: The replacement of 1100 student lockers paid for by Walk 4 and 5
• 2005: A brand new $12.5 Million addition is opened which connects the Memorial Gymnasium to the Hampshire street building and includes a new main entrance between the buildings, a new cafeteria, chapel and state-of-the art lab and computer facilities
• April 25, 2006: In Memoriam: Mr. Peter V. O'Sullivan, beloved teacher, mentor and coach at Central for over 30 years dies.
• 2006: For the first time in the school's history, 100% of Central Catholic's 272 seniors graduate and go on to higher education.
• March 15, 2008: The Central Catholic Boys Varsity Basketball Team wins the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) Division 1 State Championship, beating St. John's High School (Shrewsbury, MA) in the title game, and complete the season ranked #17 in the nation by maxpreps.com.
• July 2010: Doreen Keller is named first woman principal at Central Catholic.
• November 2010: The girls varsity soccer team wins their first ever MIAA Division 1 State Title in the 15 yr history of the program. The game was against Shrewsbury at Worcester State College November 19 where the Raider took the Colonials down 2-1.

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, 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!"

Campus

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.

Academic departments

• Religious Studies
• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social Studies
• World Languages
• Business and Technology
• Visual and Performing Arts
• Health and Physical Education

Graduation awards

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.

Athletics

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.

Sports teams

• Baseball (boys' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman) Marc Pelletier
• Basketball (boys' and girls' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman) Rick Nault/Sue Downer
• Cheerleading (girls' varsity and junior varsity)
• Cross Country (boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity) Rob Benedetto & Bob MacDougall/Collette Madore
• Field Hockey (girl's varsity and junior varsity) Dennis King and Don Jalbert
• Football (varsity, junior varsity, sophomore, and freshman) Charles Adamopoulos
• Golf (varsity) Vincent Pastore
• Gymnastics (varsity) Robbie Gould
• Ice hockey (varsity, junior varsity a, and junior varsity b) Mike Janacowski
• Indoor Track (boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity) Sully Grella/Mike Leal/Katie Sullivan
• Lacrosse (boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity) Kevin Lally/Joe Young/Phil Rowley
• Outdoor Track (boys' and girls' varsity, junior varsity)Sully Grella & Mike Leal/ Katie Sullivan
• Soccer (boys' and girls' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman)Shawn Chase / Casey Grange
• Softball (girls' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman)Stacy Ciccilo
• Swimming and Diving (boys' and girls' varsity)
• Tennis (boys' and girls' varsity)John Rich
• Volleyball (boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity and girls' freshman)Gannon Paris
• Wrestling (boys varsity and junior varsity)Dennis King

Non-athletic activities and clubs

• Liturgical Band
• Student Newspaper (Raider Review)
• Passport Club
• GUTS (Guys and Girls United to Serve)
• Student Council
  • Executive Board - consisting of class officers from all four grade levels
  • Homeroom Representatives
• Theatre Guild
• Catwalk for Cancer
• Guts
• Campus Ministry
• Model United Nations
• National Honor Society
• Interact Club (Part of Rotary International)
• 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
• Fear Nothing
• Sound and Sight Club
• Fishing Club
• Concert/Pep/Jazz Band
• Spectrum Club
• Lego Club
• International Dance Club
• Chess Club

Tuition and Financial Aid

The tuition cost of Central Catholic High School is currently 10,800$ for the 2011/2012 school year. Tuition does go up every year and is scheduled to go up again for the 2012/2013 school year. It is estimated to go up about 600$, which would make the total for incoming freshman 11,400$ a year. Many students find this bill hard to pay every month, and so Central Catholic has offered a financial aid program. Most students get about 3000$ in aid. The cost of Central Catholic is astronomical but many students and parents find that the education and high school experience is quite worth the extra money.

Central Catholic High School has recently admitted their Freshman Class of 2016.

External links

• Central Catholic High School official site.