East Catholic High School's Newsletter

A Message from the President

Dear East Catholic Family,

Fall arrived this week with some chillier temperatures, but highs in the 70’s are on tap for the weekend. We have shifted to winter dress code, so plan accordingly.

The renovated Rev. Robert E. Saunders Gymnasium is open for business! Our volleyball teams have played a number of games in there over the past two weeks, and it is phenomenal! We had the whole school in there today for our fall pep rally.

Last night we held our annual Fall Open House. We had a great turnout of prospective students and their families. Open House is our single biggest Admissions event each year, and people love it. Many thanks to our faculty, staff, student ambassadors, and parent volunteers for helping out on such a successful evening.

If you are looking for a good high school Football game, head over to Bloomfield High School tonight at 6:30. East Catholic (4-0) visits Bloomfield (3-2) in the CT Football game of the week. Good luck Eagles!

Next weekend we are excited to see Stage East perform in Alice in Wonderland on Friday at 7:00 and Saturday at 1:00 and 7:00. Come out and support our actors and actresses!

As you can see below, there are a number of events coming up in the next few weeks. We hope to see our East Catholic family members out in full force!

Please be in touch with any thoughts, concerns, or positive celebrations!

Peace,

Sean P. Brennan ‘85

Chief Administrator

East Catholic is a busy place! There are new things happening daily with students, staff, and programs. Be sure to follow us on your favorite social media apps for the latest updates!

Facebook: East Catholic High School

Instagram: @eastcatholichighschool

Twitter: @EastCatholicHS

WFSB Game of the Week

Marc Robbins from WFSB has announced that TONIGHT'S (10/18) East Catholic Football at Bloomfield is their Game of the Week! This will be broadcast on WWAX (The WAX) TV this evening at 6:30pm.

There are several ways you can watch The WAX:

Comcast: Channel 931 and 1166

Cox Cable: Channel 19

Frontier: Channel 27

Charter/Spectrum: Channel 795

Veterans Day 2024

On Monday, November 11th, East Catholic will have a half day of school to host an event honoring those who have served. If you or a family member have served or are currently serving in our armed forces, please join us on Veterans Day for breakfast and a special program in your honor.

To plan for our attendees, please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/Uv5WWpt5sz8ufxX39

If you have any questions, reach out to Adrienne Andrews (adrienneandrews@echs.com) or Kathy O'Neill Reilly (kathleenreilly@echs.com).

Catholic Financial Life Insurance

Representatives from Catholic Financial Life Insurance (CFLI) out of Massachusetts, formerly St. Jean the Baptiste Insurance, stopped by East last week to present our school with a donation in their support of Catholic schools. Many thanks to the president of their division, Nancy Roberge, and her team.

Office of Student Life

Reminder about Winter Uniform

The East Catholic handbook can be found on the FACTS Family Portal under "Announcements."

Please see pages 18-20 for information on Dress Code.

Winter uniforms are to be worn now through April Vacation. The Winter dress code consists of pants for young men- no shorts. Polos may still be worn with or without a quarter zip, sweater, vest.

Campus Ministry

Shelter Meal

East Catholic Campus Ministry prepared its first shelter meal of the season for the South Park Inn in Hartford on October 4th. Students London Rowe (10th), Amalie Saccoccio (10th) and Ariana Bairagee (12th) made spaghetti and meatballs with rolls, salad and fresh baked cookies. The meal was served to over 45 people at the shelter that evening.

Campus Ministry prepares two meals monthly and students can sign up to help and earn 2-4 service hours.

Student Service

Students are required to have 10 hours of service by May 1, 2025 (seniors by April 1, 2025). Freshman will learn how to post and track their hours in the Mobile Serve app during a Campus Ministry session for them on Oct. 17th. Service opportunities are always posted in Campus Ministry.

Junior Class Retreat

The Junior Class is headed to Holy Family Retreat & Conference Center in West Hartford on Wednesday, Oct. 30th for their class retreat hosted by Campus Ministry. They will take part in interactive workshops on mindfulness and social justice. And, a panel of current seniors will talk with them about navigating their junior year and how to prepare for their next step after high school. Attire is dress down.

Advancement Office

Fine Arts

Stage East

Get ready to tumble down the rabbit hole! East Catholic High School's Stage East is bringing Alice in Wonderland to life on stage! Join us for a magical adventure filled with whimsical characters and unforgettable moments.

When:

Friday, October 25 at 7:00 PM

Saturday, October 26 at 1:00 PM (matinee)

Saturday, October 26 at 7:00 PM

Where: East Catholic Auditorium

Tickets: $10 at the door

Don't miss this enchanting production!

Please reach out to Mrs. Quackenbush (quackenbushj@echs.com) with any questions.

Athletics

Friday Night Football on the Radio

George DeMaio from WELI radio and the NFHS Network will be broadcasting the East Catholic football game at Bloomfield Friday night! The game will be on AM1300, Fox Sports 1300AM, and streaming live on the NFHS Network: Bloomfield vs East Catholic - Boys Varsity Football 10/18/2024 | Live & On Demand (nfhsnetwork.com)

Championship Banner!

Our boys golf team, represented by Coach Malin and Charlie Hathaway, unveiled their 2024 State Championship banner at Friday's Pep Rally.

2024 CIAC Sportsmanship Conference

Some of our senior student-athletes represented East Catholic at the 2024 CIAC Sportsmanship Conference. As John Holt, Media Director for the CIAC, said in his opening speech, “this is more of a celebration than a conference!” That it was! 28 schools, including East Catholic, were honored with the Michaels Jewelers Achievement Cup for sportsmanship. We were so honored to be recognized!

Rev. Robert E. Saunders Gymnasium

The gym is open for business! Volleyball took to the floor first with their home match against E.O. Smith. Then entire school was able to enjoy it on Friday, October 18th for our first pep rally where we honored our fall teams! It really came together beautifully. We hope you'll come to a future event and enjoy it too!

1961 Bleachers to 2024 Adirondack Chairs

Alumnus Chris Malone '78 and his crew at Opportunity Works Connecticut, Inc. (www.owct.org) have designed and built a set of Adirondack chairs from the 1961 mahogany for you to enjoy on your porch or deck. While priceless in history, we are raffling off the chance to own this pair for $25 a ticket.

Home | Adirondack Chairs (square.site)

School Counseling

PSATs

We had a great PSAT administration! Scores for Sophomores and Juniors should be back in about 4-6 weeks.

Seniors

Seniors are doing a great job with transcript requests. Keep watching those deadlines and keeping you counselor up to date.

Freshmen

Freshmen are settled in and about to wrap up their first quarter of high school. Please do not hesitate to see teachers for extra help or to go over your work.

Admission Office

Open House

Thank you to all the prospective families who attended our Open House on Thursday night! We had a nice turnout of new and some familiar faces. We love getting to see alumni return to our halls with the next generation of Eagles!

Our band students filled the halls with music, our athletic teams filled the back gym with excitement, our Parents' Association greeted visitors in our ITC, and our faculty welcomed our future scholars into their classrooms. We were so grateful to have our East Catholic community show off what we're all about!

If you know of a student interested in attending East Catholic High School, please be sure to share their important dates with them:

*Entrance Exams:

Saturday, October 26th at 8:30 am

Saturday, November 9th at 8:30 am

Saturday, December 14th at 8:30 am

*These 3 exams are the only exams where prospective students are considered for merit scholarships. (Other financial aid options are available.)

Please contact Chad Malone '08 (malonc@echs.com) or Abby Diemar '00 (diemara@echs.com) with any questions.

Parents' Association

Welcome Back!

We will be having our first Parents' Association Meeting on Tuesday, November 12th at 6:00pm in the first-floor conference room. We can't wait to see some new faces, as well as our returners. Remember, ALL are invited! Come to hear updates on the school, learn about upcoming events, and meet some fellow parents and guardians!

Be a part of the success of the 2024-2025 school year!

For more information on upcoming events and volunteering opportunities, visit

East Catholic High School - Parents Association (echs.com)

Any questions? Email echsPA@echs.com.