A Message from the President

Dear East Catholic Family,

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through Advent. Here at East Catholic, we are fully in the Christmas spirit! Our Donor Reception/Art Show/Christmas Concert was incredibly successful last night. We had a great turnout of donors and were entertained by artists, vocalists, and band members. It is one of my favorite nights of the year.

As we transition from Fall sports to Winter sports, I wanted to recognize the Football Team for wrapping up a very successful season. With a resounding 37-0 victory over Northwest Catholic in the Archbishop's Cup, the Eagles retained the Cup for the fourth year in a row and finished the regular season at 9-1. In the first round of the Class S playoffs, East had to face Bloomfield High School, the only team to beat East in the regular season. East led for most of the game, but they fell 22-21 in the end. It was a great season. Congratulations to Coach Seaver and the entire team!

Winter sports began official games starting on Wednesday this week. Our Girls’ Hockey Co-op won 6-3 against the Northwest/Mercy Co-op. Other teams will have their first games in the coming weeks. Please come out and cheer on our talented student-athletes.

As you will see below, we are looking forward to the Grand Reopening of the Reverend Robert E. Saunders Gymnasium on January 2nd. If you have not seen the gym yet, you are in for a real treat! New bleachers and a newly resurfaced floor make the space pop. The Girls’ Basketball team will play Manchester High School at 5:00, followed by the Grand Reopening Celebration, and then the Boys’ Basketball team will play Newington at 7:00. Should be a fun night! Hope to see you there.

Please note the following calendar announcement: we will have an 11:30 dismissal on Friday, December 20th. The half-day will conclude with our Christmas program from 10:30 am-11:30 am. School offices will be closed from 12/23-27 and 12/30-1/1. Classes will resume on 1/2.

On behalf of everyone at East Catholic, I wish the entire East Catholic family a blessed and joyful Christmas!

Peace,

Sean P. Brennan ‘85

Chief Administrator

Follow Us!

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

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Twitter: @EastCatholicHS

Powderpuff Football

The Class of 2026 won this year's battle between the juniors and seniors on November 22nd.

This is Thanksgiving in Manchester!

Thanks to Father Matt and a donor from his parish, many of our students were able to register for the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving this year! East Catholic students gathered on the lawn of St. James Church before the race, following a Mass led by Father Matt in our Chapel at East!

Congratulations to all our runners who braved the weather conditions to finish before enjoying the holiday with their families and friends!

We are looking forward to organizing East Catholic runners again next year!

Thanksgiving Baskets

The Student Government spent the Monday before Thanksgiving sorting through all your donations to assemble Thanksgiving baskets for families at Woodland School in East Hartford. On Tuesday morning, our student leaders then loaded up the bus to deliver the baskets.

Thank you to all who helped fulfill the lists! In total, we were able to put together 24 complete meals to ensure others would have a delicious Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy with their families this holiday.

Model UN

Friday, December 6th and Saturday, December 7th, students from Model UN attended The World Affairs Council. The CTWAC Model United Nations brings together over 1,000 Connecticut high school students to engage in debate and diplomacy, preparing them to become our future leaders.

The Council’s MUN program is exclusively student-run, offering students opportunities to take leadership positions and negotiate with peers. Students experience the inner workings of international policymaking as they tackle global issues and controversies, navigate crisis scenarios, debate solutions, and draft resolutions. Delegates also have the opportunity to travel to New York to tour the United Nations Headquarters, meet diplomats from the countries they’ll represent, and discuss timely global issues with the policymakers currently working to solve them.

The World Affairs Council of Connecticut’s Model UN began in 1952 at Hartford Public High School and is now one of the largest and longest continuously running Model UN programs in the world. In its 72 years, the program has impacted over 54,000 students across Connecticut.

ImmaCare Shelter



The World Languages Department joined Campus Ministry in preparing and serving a hot meal to clients at ImmaCare Shelter in Hartford, CT on November 19th. The next Shelter Meals is December 17th.

South Park Inn

Heather Brasche, the Art Department Chair, joined Campus Ministry and volunteer students Presley Conley and Jack Battersby in cooking up a meal for the South Park Inn on December 4th. The group assembled a meal of chicken, rice, and broccoli with rolls and sugar cookies for the shelter. 

Christmas Collection for Head Start

Thank you to all who donated! The East Catholic community was extremely generous with donations for our annual Christmas Collection for the Manchester Head Start program. On December 12th peer ministers Elizabeth Carmon, Tara Button, Sophia Zimmerman, Molly Caron and Sammy Creamer brought over 40 bags of donated coats, hats, gloves and other winter clothes for over 100 pre-k aged children in the Manchester Head Start program. So grateful to all that contributed and so blessed by the thoughtful community we have here at East Catholic! 

Advent Reconciliation

Many students, faculty, and staff took part in East Catholic's Advent Reconciliation service on December 10th. The service provided a time for people to ask for forgiveness and healing during this special season of Advent as we prepare for Christmas. Thank you to Father Matt Collins, our school chaplain, Father Carlos Castrillon, Father Marcin Pluciennik, and Father John Golas for donating their time.

Christmas Concert and Art Show

The Christmas Concert and Art Show took place on Thursday, December 12th. It was a wonderful display of the talent in our Fine Arts Department!

Archbishop's Cup!

The Archbishop’s Cup remains at East with a 37-0 victory over Northwest Catholic! The game against our rivals on November 27th ended the football team's regular season with an amazing record of 9-1. Congratulations, boys!

Congratulations to our Fall All-Conference Student-Athletes!

Boys Soccer: Matt Martello, Ben Lawrence

Girls Soccer: Anya Tansil, Grace Veltri, Avery Prewo, Anna Button, Tara Button

Field Hockey: Sarah Gionfriddo

XC: Braeden Knotts

Girls Swim: Anna Tevelde, Audrey Plourde, Kaitlyn Powell, Harper Blackstone, Olivia Garner, Ally Leary

Football: Joey Montalvo, Christian Morales, Theo Perkins, Ryan Carroll, Noah Patrei, Alex Rodriguez, Drew DeLaura, Troy Soteriou

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)

Seniors

It is scholarship season! Christmas break is a great time to start getting organized and start applying for scholarships. Scholarships are listed on your Naviance account and are updated regularly. We also encourage everyone to check out the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for scholarship opportunities (https://www.hfpgscholarships.org/).

Sophomores and Juniors

PSAT scores have been posted to your College Board Account. College Board encourages students to download the Big Future App which has resources to help prepare for your PSAT or SAT test. You can also find full length practice tests on the Blue Book App and learning and practice resources on Khan Academy. 

Freshmen

You are finishing up your first semester of high school! Keep going strong, monitoring your grades and assignments in FACTS and communicating with your teachers. After exams we will be calculating your starting GPA. You want to finish the quarter strong and do your best on midyear exams so that your first GPA is a solid reflection of you as a student. 

We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and New Year. 

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

*Entrance Exam:

Saturday, December 14th at 8:30 am

Register here for the exam: East Catholic High School's Entrance Exam (google.com)

*The October, November, and December 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.

Welcome Back!

We will be having our first Parents' Association Meeting on Tuesday, January 7th 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.

Thank You!

Thank you to all who supported our recent fundraising endeavors! Every little bit helps to fund scholarships and other programs for East Catholic!

BINGO Night!

Let's get this Bingo Party started! Join us at East Catholic High School on Sunday, January 12th from 3:00-6:00pm to win beautiful designer purses and fun raffle baskets. Families, students, staff, and members of the community are ALL invited!

Bring your own food and beverages. Proceeds support Project Graduation. Please RSVP here: ECHS Project Grad: ECHS BINGO Night 1/12/2025

Uniforms and Spirit Gear!

The Rainbow Graphic Spirit Store is open every month from the 1st through the 15th!

Place your orders here: Home | East Catholic (inksoft.com)

We also have our in-house Eagles' Nest in the front lobby! Click here to purchase items and pick-up in school: Home | Eagles Nest (square.site)

Please reach out to Helen Tully (tullyh@echs.com) or Shyanne VanAllen (vanallens@echs.com) with any questions!

The 2024-2025 School Calendar has been posted to the ECHS website and portal.

Please reach out to Mary Suter (suterm@echs.com) with any questions.