Catholic Memorial School


Catholic Memorial School is an all-boys college preparatory school 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 Brothers.

History

Catholic Memorial High School, as it was called at the time, opened its doors on September 9, 1957, with 225 students and five Christian Brothers of Ireland in the former St. Theresa of Avila Parish School building. The building, now known as Donahue Hall, was donated to the Christian Brothers by Monsignor Charles A. Donahue, V.F., LL.D. who was the pastor of St. Theresa's.
The school was named "Catholic Memorial" at the suggestion of Richard Cardinal Cushing, to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Archdiocese of Boston and as a memorial to Catholic donors.
Brother Joseph G. McKenna, C.F.C., was the first headmaster of Catholic Memorial; he opened a new school building which was dedicated by Cardinal Cushing on November 10, 1959. Three years later the classroom wing was opened and the enrollment increased to 1110 students.
In 1971 there were 22 Christian Brothers, but in 2016, only three.
The middle school opened in September 1993 with 185 students in grades 7 and 8.

Academics

The tuition charge for the 2018–2019 school year was US$$22,000. Scholarships are awarded upon admission to students in Catholic Memorial's middle school and high school programs. The admissions committee selects students for scholarship eligibility based upon their past academic performance and the results of the entrance exams. No applications are available for scholarships; instead, every application for admission is reviewed for scholarship potential. Financial aid is available for qualifying families. Over $1 million is given annually in financial aid.
Catholic Memorial offers 31 honors and Advanced Placement courses.

College placement

Catholic Memorial is a college-preparatory institution. Students come from over 90 different towns and communities.
CM students have been accepted at Boston College, Boston University, Babson College, Bowdoin College, Brandeis University, Bryant University, Carnegie Mellon University, The Catholic University of America, College of the Holy Cross, Cornell University, Duke University, Emerson College, Gettysburg College, Harvard University, Iona College, New York University, Providence College, Syracuse University, Wake Forest University, University of Chicago, University of Connecticut, University of Illinois, University of Massachusetts, University of Miami, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, University of Notre Dame, and University of Southern California.

Community service

CM's mission includes the mandate to teach young men to "lead through service". CM students participate in numerous BERSI trips each year. These domestic and international travel experiences, build community among the students and immerse students in service experiences. Trips include the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, as well as Brownsville, Texas, and Wyoming. Additionally, a required 60-hour senior service program begins at the start of each year, with seniors serving at inner-city grammar schools, hospitals, non-profit agencies, clothing distribution centers, food pantries, and soup kitchens. Volunteers from all grades also participate in service experiences. Each year, CM students send large delegations—The Sea of Red—to the Walk for Breast Cancer.
Over ten community service clubs contribute thousands of hours of service each year. One year the combined service of all grades at CM contributed over 10,000 hours of manpower to local communities in and around Boston.
Annual Blessed Edmund Rice Solidarity Initiative school trips are taken to El Salvador, Europe, Peru, Dominican Republic and, most recently South Korea and Canada.

School facts

Catholic Memorial sports teams are known as the Knights. CM is a member of the Catholic Conference, along with the Boston College High School Eagles, the Malden Catholic Lancers, the St. John's Preparatory School Eagles and the Xaverian Brothers High School Hawks. St. John's, Shrewsbury is the sixth team in the conference in some sports.
Between 2005 and 2012, Catholic Memorial students' athletic accomplishments include:
Catholic Memorial's boys' ice hockey team is regarded as one of the premier high school ice hockey programs in the country. They compete in the MIAA as a part of the Catholic Conference, one of the premier high school ice hockey conferences in the United States. Catholic Memorial retains a bitter rivalry with nearby Boston College High School, another national power. They are one of only three teams to have won the Massachusetts Super Eight Tournament on multiple occasions.
Catholic Memorial has won 13 Super Eight tournaments, which pits the best eight Division 1 teams in the state against each other in a round-robin tournament to determine the Division 1A Massachusetts state champion. Catholic Memorial has consistently been ranked #1 in Massachusetts boys' ice hockey by the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and United States High School Hockey Online polls. Catholic Memorial has also been nationally ranked as the #1 team in the United States a number of times, most recently in 2008. CM was declared the high school hockey National Champions during the 2005–2006 season by the USHSHO.

Extracurriculars

Athletic clubs

Journalism

Catholic Memorial students produce a number of publications each year. Errant is CM's literary magazine, publishing original poems, stories, and artwork by students. Knight Insight is published by the in-school Journalism class, and includes school news and updates as well as submissions from students. The CM Latin Club publishes Equites, a seasonal newspaper. Yearbook Club meets year-round starting in September and produces the school's annual yearbook, moderated by Craig Spaner.

CMTV

Catholic Memorial Television is Catholic Memorial's broadcast journalist program. Using an online live-streaming program, CMTV broadcasts a short program every morning to each homeroom, reporting news, notices, and upcoming events and sports games. In addition to broadcasting the pledge of allegiance and morning prayer, CMTV also arranges humorous skits and facilitates special announcements from school leadership.

Latin Club

Catholic Memorial's Junior Classical League, or Latin Club, is always represented at the Massachusetts State Convention, where many CM students win prizes. It publishes Equites, a seasonal newspaper detailing the club's events and achievements.

Drama

The Catholic Memorial Drama Club, known in the 1960s as the Genesians and later as the Catholic Memorial Players, puts on two shows a year. In the past, one play in autumn was performed annually, but later, the Drama Club added a spring musical. The following is a list of some past performances:
YearFall playYearSpring musical
1960Arsenic and Old Lace
1964You Can't Take It with You
1965When Men Reduce as Women Do
1966Julius Caesar
1968The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
1970The Mouse That Roared
1984Grease
1993Inherit the Wind1993Count Dracula
1999Peter Pan
2006Chess
2006On Borrowed Time2007Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2007Twelve Angry Men2008Guys and Dolls
2008A Man for All Seasons2009How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
20092010Les Misérables
2010The Guys2011Grease
20112012Damn Yankees
20122013Me and My Girl
2013It's a Wonderful Life2014Shrek The Musical
2014Sherlock Holmes2015Catch Me If You Can
2015Twentieth Century2016Bye Bye Birdie
2016Hamlet2017The Addams Family
2017Cyrano de Bergerac2018The Phantom
2018You Can't Take It with You2019

Honor societies

Catholic Memorial offers multiple honor societies, ranging from individual subjects to the National Honor Society. The following is a list of active honor societies:
Honor societyRequirements
Latin Honor Society
  • Studied Latin for two years
  • High GPA in a language class
National Honor Society
Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society
  • High GPA in history class
    • World Language Honor Society
  • High GPA in Latin class

    • Speech and debate

    At Catholic Memorial, nearly every student participates in "forensics", or speech and debate, at one point in his academic career. CM faculty teach students public speaking skills through various classroom activities. In the Speech and Debate club students perform and compete inter-scholastically as they recite speeches, dramatic acts and original oratory. Since 1961 the school's Speech and Debate program have produced over 25 state and three national champions. The 2010 team won the "Founder's Award" at Nationals. The team joined the NSDA 100 Club in October, 2018 in recognition for accumulating over 100 degrees over the course of the 2017-2018 school year. The Forensics program has won two straight Massachusetts Speech and Debate league championships in 2017 and 2018.

    Heads of school

    1. Br. Joseph G. McKenna, CFC
    2. Br. Daniel B. McIllmurray, CFC
    3. Br. Arthur E. Newman, CFC
    4. Br. William V. Dennehy, CFC
    5. Br. William S. Henry, CFC
    6. Br. William B. Dobbins, CFC
    7. Br. James C. Timoney, CFC
    8. Br. E. John Sheehan, CFC
    9. Br. John B. Flaherty, CFC '64
    10. Br. James J. MacDonald, CFC '75
    11. Paul E. Sheff '62,
    12. Peter F. Folan, Ed.D.

      Notable alumni

    Shane Starrett - professional hockey player

    Notable faculty