St. Mary Catholic High School (formerly St. Mary Central High School) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Fox Crossing, Wisconsin Fox Crossing is a village in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. It was incorporated from the former Town of Menasha in 2016. The population as of the 2020 census was 18,974. Fox Crossing is located in the Fox Cities region and the Appl ...

, near

Neenah Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the East North Central States, north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River (Wiscon ...

. It operates within the

Diocese of Green Bay The Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay ( la, Diocesis Sinus Viridis) was established on March 3, 1868, by Pope Pius IX. It covers the city of Green Bay, as well as Brown, Calumet, Door, Florence, Forest, Kewaunee, Langlade, Manitowoc, Mar ...

. It is the only high school in the St. Mary Catholic Schools system (formerly Twin City Catholic Educational System), which also operates three elementary schools and one middle school.

History

St. Mary Catholic Church in Menasha opened an elementary school in the late nineteenth-century, adding high-school grades when opening a new building in 1928. A three-story building, it contained a gymnasium, cafeteria, and all the other typical amenities associated with a high school of the day. The wings of the building housed the elementary school. There were additions to the building in 1952 and 1962. The school stayed open until the spring of 1997 when a new building was erected in the Town of Menasha, now Fox Crossing. Parts of the old high school were demolished to make way for additions to the grade school. The new building opened in the fall of 1997. It includes a small chapel, three computer labs, one distance-learning lab, traditional classrooms, a cafeteria with a stage, and a significantly larger gymnasium. Since 1997, additional facilities have been added, including the EEEC Energy Center; Jane's Woods, a two-acre wildlife sanctuary; and Zephyr Fields, a new football/soccer stadium. In 2013, the school completed the construction of the Jane Bergstrom Fine Arts Education Center, which includes a 495-seat performance theater and a 115-seat forensic theater.

Sports

The school won several championships during its association with WISAA (Wisconsin Independent School Athletic Association). However, in the early 2000s WISAA dissolved and the school entered the

Olympian Conference Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

in the

Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin. Its history dates to 1895, making it the earliest continually existing high school athletic organization in the country. I ...

(WIAA). Since their entrance in the WIAA, the school has won the following state titles: *Division 3 Women's Tennis Singles State Championship (3 times) *Division 3 Men's Tennis Singles State Championship *Division 3 Men's Soccer State Championship(Runner-up) *Division 3 Women's Soccer State Championship *Division 3 Women's Soccer State Championship (Runner-up) *Division 3 Men's Baseball State Championship(Runner-up) (3 times) *Division 3 Men's Baseball State Championship *Division 4 Women's Basketball State Championship *Division 4 Women's Basketball State Championship (Runner-up)

SMCS

The school belongs to St. Mary Catholic Schools, a school system comprising three grade schools, one middle school, and one high school in Neenah/Menasha/Fox Crossing: *St. Mary Elementary School *St. Margaret Mary Elementary School *St. Gabriel Elementary School *St. Mary Catholic Middle School (formerly Seton Catholic Middle School)

School facts

*The school’s mascot is the Zephyr, after the speedy, record-setting ''

Pioneer Zephyr The ''Pioneer Zephyr'' is a diesel-powered trainset built by the Budd Company in 1934 for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), commonly known as the Burlington Route. The trainset was the second internal combustion-powered streamli ...

'' train. *The school colors are

Columbia blue Columbia blue is a light blue color named after Columbia University. The color itself derives from the official hue of the Philolexian Society, the university's oldest student organization. Although Columbia blue is often identified with Pantone ...

and gold. *The yearbook is the ''Renard'', French for ''

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

'', recalling the nearby Fox River and its early French explorer

Jean Nicolet Jean Nicolet (Nicollet), Sieur de Belleborne (October 1642) was a French '' coureur des bois'' noted for exploring Lake Michigan, Mackinac Island, Green Bay, and being the first European to set foot in what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin. ...

. *The gymnasium is named for alumnus, coach, and benefactor
Ralph ‘Cyclone’ McClone
*Until the new building was constructed, the school conducted its graduations in St. Mary's Catholic Church, Menasha. *The school's enrollment is around 230 students in grades 9–12.

Notes and references

External links

St. Mary Central High School website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary Central High School, Neenah, Wisconsin Catholic secondary schools in Wisconsin Schools in Winnebago County, Wisconsin Educational institutions established in 1928 Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay 1928 establishments in Wisconsin