East Catholic High School is a private, college preparatory high school located in

Manchester, Connecticut Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713. The urban center of the town is the Manchester (CDP), Connecticut, Manchester census- ...

, United States, under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Hartford. The parochial school was founded in 1961 and is inspired by the

charism A spiritual gift or charism (plural: charisms or charismata; in Greek singular: χάρισμα ''charisma'', plural: χαρίσματα ''charismata'') is an extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the ...

of the

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Congregationis Sororum a Domina Nostra Namurcensi) are a Catholic institute of religious sisters, founded to provide education to the poor. The institute was founded in Amiens, France, in 1804, but the oppo ...

. East Catholic is the only school in the Archdiocese of Hartford that has had the continued presence of its founding order throughout its history. In the 2011–2012 school year, East had 690 students in grades 9–12, with 47 teachers. Students are representatives of 36 towns and cities in the

Greater Hartford Greater Hartford is a region located in the U.S. state of Connecticut, centered on the state's capital of Hartford. It represents the only combined statistical area in Connecticut defined by a city within the state, being bordered by the Greater B ...

area, central Connecticut, and central Massachusetts. In athletics, the school competes in the Central Connecticut Conference.

Awards and recognition

During the 1988–89 school year, East Catholic High School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

, the highest award an American school can receive from the United States Department of Education. East Catholic is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and the State of Connecticut, and is a member of the National Catholic Educational Association, the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools, the Connecticut Association of Schools and the Schools of the Archdiocese of Hartford.

Leadership

Over its history, East Catholic has been led by eight different principals. Starting in 2017, the school administration structure changed to incorporate the position "Head of School" in addition to the traditional principal role. In 2020, the administration changed the “Head of School” and principal roles to “President” with “Deans” of Academics and Students. * Rev. Charles Shaw, founding Principal (1961–1970) (died in 2011) * Rev. Robert Saunders, Principal (1970–1981) (died in 1997) * Rev. William Charbonneau '65, Principal (1981–1986), President (1987–1996) (died in 2010) * Peg Siegmund, Principal and Chief Administrator (1986–2005) * Bette Gould, SSJ, Interim Principal (2005–2006) (died in 2014) * Christian J. Cashman, Principal & Chief Administrator (2006–2010) * Karen Juliano, Ed.D., Interim Principal (2010–2011) * Jason S. Hartling, Principal & Chief Administrator (2011–2016) * Thomas E. Maynard, Interim Principal & Chief Administrator (2016-2017) * Ryan P. Hinton, Principal (2017 to 2020) * Thomas E. Maynard, Head of School (2018 to 2019) * Val Mara, Interim Head of School (2019-2020) * Sean P. Brennan ‘85, President (2020-) * Janice Reilly, Dean of Students (2020-) * Gina Burby, Dean of Academics (2021-)

Athletics

Long-time Athletic Director and Varsity Soccer Coach Tom Malin led the boys' soccer team to his 300th career win against Middletown on October 17, 2007. In 2011, now-retired

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 ...

coach Jim Penders won his 600th career victory in a state semifinal game against Wamogo High. The current

track and field 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 eve ...

coach at East Catholic, Bill Baron, was named National Track Coach of the Year in 1988 while coaching at

East Hartford High School East Hartford High School is a public high school of the East Hartford, Connecticut Public Schools. East Hartford High Schools shares its campus and many of its programs with the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy (CIBA), an honors ...

, and celebrated his 50th year of coaching during the 2015 season. As of 2019, 83% of the entire student body played a sport on one of the school's 48 athletic 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 ...

— varsity, junior varsity, freshman * Boys'

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 ...

– V, JV, freshman * Girls' basketball — V, JV, 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 ...

– V * Boys' cross country — V, JV * Girls' cross country – V, JV * Girls'

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 ...

– V, JV * Football — V, JV, freshman * Boys'

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 ...

– V, JV * Girls' golf — V, JV * Boys'

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 ...

– V, JV * Girls' indoor track — V, JV * Boys'

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 ...

— V, JV * Girls' ice hockey – V * Boys'

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 ...

– V, JV * Girls' lacrosse — V, JV, freshman * Boys'

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 ...

— V, JV * Girls' outdoor track – V, JV * Boys' soccer — V, JV, freshman * Girls' soccer – V, JV, freshman * Girls'

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 ...

– V, JV * Boys' swimming & diving – V * Girls' swimming & diving — V * Boys'

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 ...

– V * Girls' tennis — V * Girls'

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 ...

– V, JV, 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 ...

– V, JV As of 2019, East Catholic has won 61 state championships, including 11 state championships since 2014. The boys' golf program has contributed to more than 20% of the state championships won by East Catholic, winning twelve in total and eleven since 1999.

Mascot

According to the East Catholic school website, "the students of East Catholic selected the Eagle as the school mascot in our inaugural year during the fall of 1961. This choice was fitting for two reasons: # The Eagle is spoken of often in Holy Scripture with reverence and inspiration. # The Eagle is a symbol of the United States of America representing freedom, strength, clear vision, and determination."

Notable alumni

* Ralph Brancaccio - artist * Mary Cadorette - dancer and television actor * Mike Crispino - sportscaster * Michael Donnelly -

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

fighter pilot * Frank Mozzicato - Kansas City Royals prospect *

Jim Penders James F. Penders is the coach of the UConn Huskies baseball team. Penders began his time with the Huskies in 1991 as a player on the varsity team. In his senior year, he was named a co-captain and helped to lead the Huskies to victory in the 1994 ...

- head baseball coach, UConn Huskies *

Kim Zolciak Kimberleigh Marie Zolciak-Biermann ( Zolciak; born May 19, 1978) is an American television personality and singer. In 2008, she appeared as one of the original housewives on the reality television series ''The Real Housewives of Atlanta.'' Zolci ...

- reality television star and recording artist * Cam Gambolati - trainer of 1985 Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck

References

External links

*
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford
{{authority control Education in Manchester, Connecticut Schools in Hartford County, Connecticut Catholic secondary schools in Connecticut Educational institutions established in 1961 Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur schools 1961 establishments in Connecticut