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. In 2010, Doreen Keller became the school's first woman principal. The president is Chris Sullivan. The school has approximately 1,200 students and 18,000+ alumni. It was originally a boys-only school but has been co-educational since 1996.

History

* 1926: Brother Florentius founds

Mount Saint Michael Academy Mount Saint Michael Academy is an all-boys' Roman Catholic high school in the Wakefield neighborhood of the New York City borough of the Bronx. The school's campus also borders the city of Mount Vernon in neighboring Westchester County and is ad ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

* 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 was scheduled to open in July, 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 Main Street * 1936–1938: The school outgrows its small campus at the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

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 ** ''July 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 residential 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 The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in New England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those ...

, locker rooms, and more classrooms. * 1951: Memorial Gymnasium Building is dedicated to fourteen alumni killed in action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

* 1960: The first three lay teachers are 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

Conference title completing a perfect 10–0 regular season. The team was led by the big-play combination of

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

All-Scholastic quarterback Chris Lane and Boston Herald All-Scholastic receiver Mark Conway. * 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 Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

, MA 34–16 behind captain Joseph Uliano '98 who was

The Eagle-Tribune ''The Eagle-Tribune'' (and ''Sunday Eagle-Tribune'') is a seven-day morning daily newspaper covering the Merrimack Valley and Essex County, Massachusetts, and southern New Hampshire. It is the largest-circulation daily newspaper owned by Commu ...

Defensive Player of the Year and named to both the Boston Herald and

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-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) is an open-enrollment high school in Acton, Massachusetts, United States. A part of the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, it serves the Massachusetts towns of Acton and Boxborough and has s ...

( Acton, MA) behind captain and 2-time MIAA Super Bowl champion quarterback Niall Murphy '99. * March 14, 1999: The Central Catholic Boys Varsity Basket ball 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,

Conference MVP,

All-Scholastic, and eventual

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Scott Hazelton '00. * 1999: Brother Thomas Long, FMS, who graduated from the school in 1973, is appointed as the first president of the school. David DeFillippo, from the class of 1966, is appointed as the schools first layperson principal. * 2005: A brand new addition is opened which connects the Memorial Gymnasium to the Hampshire street building and includes an additional wing and a new main entrance between the buildings, a new cafeteria, chapel, and state-of-the-art lab and computer facilities * 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 the first woman principal at Central Catholic. *November 2010: The girl's varsity soccer team wins their first-ever MIAA Division 1 State Title in the 15-year history of the program. The game was against Shrewsbury at Worcester State College on November 19 where the Raiders took the Colonials down 2–1. * August 2013: School President Bro. Thomas P. Long, FMS resigns. * October 2013: Brother Rick Carey is named CCHS President. * December 7, 2013: Football team wins the MIAA Division I State Championship by defeating Xaverian 34–17, behind head coach Chuck Adamopoulos, nicknamed Ground Chuck, captain and All-State running back D'Andre Drummond-Mayrie and wide receiver Cody Demers. * March 2017: Central Catholic Boys hockey team wins their first three super 8 playoff games by a combined score of 11-1 to make it to their first super 8 championship game against the Arlington Spy Ponders at TD Garden. They eventually lost in overtime 2-1.

Campus

Central Catholic's campus consists of three inter-connected buildings on a small plot of land off Hampshire Street in north

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. The first of which is the oldest remaining part of the Auburn St. school known as the Memorial Gymnasium, known as the "Large Gym" (opened 1950). This building houses classrooms in a hallway known as "the Horseshoe" and the gym, along with a large performance stage as well as a cafe. The second of which is the Hampshire Street building, known as the "Old Building" (opened 1969). This three floor 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 Street and a turf field parallel to Auburn Street. Because of a lack of playing fields at its urban campus, Central Catholic is exploring the possibility of developing a satellite athletic campus to serve its growing athletic program.

Academic departments

* Religious Studies *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

* Mathematics *

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

* Social Studies *

World Languages In sociolinguistics, a world language (sometimes global language, rarely international language) is a language that is geographically widespread and makes it possible for members of different language communities to communicate. The term may also b ...

* Business and Technology * Visual and Performing Arts *

Health and Physical Education Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

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 worthy 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 Mary J. Kilcoyne Award is given to the outstanding female athlete.

Athletics

Central Catholic Raiders are a member of the MIAA and the

Merrimack Valley Conference The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is an organization that sponsors activities in thirty-three sports, comprising 374 public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The MIAA is a member of the Na ...

. Up until 1996, the athletic teams were known as the Red Raiders, but the school dropped the word "Red" in 2000. The school offers 29 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 Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

campus. The Boys Hockey Team practices and plays their home games at Icenter in Salem NH. On February 21 2021 the Boys hockey team beat Tewksbury (5-2) to win the (first-ever due to covid-19) MVC Division 1 championship Cup they would finish the season 9-1. The Central Catholic Boys Hockey Team has won the MVC championship 13 times, with the most recent being in 2022, and has qualified for the MIAA Super 8 Tournament 10 times, most recently in 2018. In 2022, The team qualified for the inaugural reconfigured 32 team state tournament as the no. 17 seed before being defeated 2-1 in the first round by no. 16 Winchester. On February 24, 2007, the Central Catholic Raiders received their first-ever invitation to participate in a play-in game for the Super 8 Hockey Tournament. The team beat Waltham High School in the play-in game and then proceeded to win one game against

Malden Catholic High School Malden Catholic High School is a private, Catholic secondary school located in Malden, Massachusetts. The school was founded by the Congregation of the Brothers of St. Francis Xavier, an international congregation of religious brothers. It is ...

and lose to both

Catholic Memorial School Catholic Memorial (CM) is an all-boys college preparatory school (grades 7–12) located in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and is administered by the Congregation of Christian ...

and

Weymouth High School Weymouth High School (WHS) is a comprehensive public high school in Weymouth, Massachusetts, United States that serves students in grades nine through twelve. Weymouth High School also offers a Career and Technical Education Program offering suc ...

respectively in the round-robin bracket round. The football team, track teams, and girls' lacrosse team share the Veterans Memorial Stadium 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, most recently in 2019. 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 boys winning the state championship in 2008. Girls were state champs in 2009. The golf team year in and year out compete 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 2008 won the Division 2 North Sectional Championship and more recently won the MVC Championship in 2010. The Lady Raider soccer program just captured its first MVC crown in ten years in 2008 and repeated in 2009. On March 14 of 2009, 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 2009 and 2010. In 2013, the football team made an improbable run to the Division 1 State Championship, upsetting multiple powerhouse programs throughout the playoffs including Everett, Acton-Boxborough, and Xaverian. They finished the season with a 12–1 record and defeated Xaverian in the Division 1 State Championship by a score of 34–17 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts. The school colors are red & navy blue. Those colors are proudly worn during pep rallies and games as Central Catholic has some of the most dedicated and enthusiastic fans in the nation. The school has had a history of dedicated fans known as the "red sea" who have gone particularly out of their way to show their dedication. "Moses Parting the Red Sea", one of the unique rallying cheers, has gone viral on Facebook since his first appearance in 2010.

Sports teams

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

(boys' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman) *

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

(boys' and girls' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman) *

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

(co-ed varsity and junior varsity) * Cross Country (boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity) *

Field Hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

(girl's varsity and junior varsity) * Football (varsity, junior varsity, sophomore, and freshman) *

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

(co-ed, varsity) *

Gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

(co-ed, varsity) *

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

(varsity, junior varsity a, and junior varsity b) *

Indoor Track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

(boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity) *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

(boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity) *

Outdoor Track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

(boys' and girls' varsity, junior varsity) * Soccer (boys' and girls' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman) *

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

(girls' varsity, junior varsity, and freshman) *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

(boys' and girls' varsity) *

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

(boys' and girls' varsity) *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

(boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity and girls' freshman) *

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

(co-ed varsity and junior varsity)

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 ass officers from all four grade levels * Theatre Guild * Catwalk for Cancer *

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

* National Honor Society * Interact Club * Drone Club * Bowling Club * Yearbook Club * Technology Club * Art Club * Karate Club * Ski Club * Cinema Club * Math League * Student Alumni Association (SAA) (DErwin) * Mock Trial Club * Peer Leadership * Project Rebuild * Marist Youth Group * Fishing Club * Concert/Pep/Jazz Band * Spectrum Club * Robotics Club * International Dance Club * Chess Club * Amnesty International * Anime Club * Running Club

Tuition and financial aid

The tuition cost of Central Catholic High School was $15,365 for the 2021/2022 school year. Central Catholic offers a financial aid program. Thirty percent of students receive some form of assistance or scholarship.

Notable alumni

Michael M. Gilday Michael Martin Gilday (born October 10, 1962) is a United States Navy officer who has served as the 32nd Chief of Naval Operations, chief of naval operations since August 22, 2019. Gilday has commanded two Destroyer, destroyers, served as Directo ...

, Chief of Naval Operations,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. * Jonathan Lemire (1997), journalist and host of

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

's '' Way Too Early''

References

{{Boys' schools in Massachusetts Merrimack Valley Conference Marist Brothers schools Catholic secondary schools in Massachusetts Schools in Essex County, Massachusetts Lawrence, Massachusetts 1935 establishments in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1935