Messages from the President
News From The Hill - Friday, April 19, 2024
Dear East Catholic Family,
It is starting to feel a bit more like spring here on the Hill. We have had enough rain, so we are praying for sunny, dry days for our fields! It was a busy first week following spring break. The seniors had some fun events like “anything but a backpack day,” and we recognized our spring sports captains at our final pep rally on Thursday.
The East Catholic Parents' Association met on Tuesday evening. While we have a good core of parents at the meetings, we would like to see even more parents at our final Parents' Association meeting in May. Food and drink will be provided. We would love to see you there. Please keep an eye on your inbox for that date.
East Catholic’s Spring Event will be taking place on April 20 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hartford Club. This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. We look forward to seeing past and present supporters at our biggest fundraiser of the year. We are also raising funds for new bleachers in the gym, and I am thrilled to report that we received an incredibly generous, anonymous gift of $100,000 towards that project. With over half of the $300,000 total needed in hand, we are well on our way to reaching our goal.
We have another busy week on tap next week. We will host our annual blood drive on Tuesday. The Academic Awards ceremony will be on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Please join us for a celebration of our students’ academic achievement. And, on Friday, we will have our Junior Prom.
The week of April 29 is also quite busy. We begin with a New Families Orientation at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30. It is always great to get a first visit with our incoming families. On Wednesday afternoon we are welcoming Dan Halloran ’86 to campus. Dan won an Emmy Award last year for his work at ESPN, and he is coming back to campus to check out our new broadcast studio and meet with the students who produce The Nest, our monthly newscast. On Thursday, we will be treated to the wonderful sounds of our spring concert. Hope to see many of you at these events!
As always, please be in touch with any questions, concerns, or good news!
Peace and blessings,
Sean P. Brennan, ‘85
Chief Administrator
News From The Hill - Friday, April 5, 2024
Dear East Catholic Family,
As we close out the week before spring break, we finished in a flurry and an earthquake! We had snow on April 4 and an earthquake during Mass on April 5! With the impending total solar eclipse on Monday, things are getting a little weird. We must be in need of a break, and luckily students and faculty are off next week. School offices will be open 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with a lighter staff than usual.
I am not going to give much of an intro to the stories and information below, but I do want to let you know that over the past week, we solicited feedback from students about their teachers. This is the first time we have gone through this process, so both faculty and students were wondering what it would be like.
The Google form consists of eight multiple choice questions:
- Clear behavioral expectations are stated and enforced in this class.
- Material is presented clearly and restated if not understood.
- The teacher is approachable about answering questions and is available for extra help.
- Due dates and grading policies for assignments and assessments are clear and reasonable.
- Assignments and assessments are graded and handed back in a timely fashion.
- Assessments reflect material the teacher emphasized in class.
- My learning is aided by the use of a variety of teaching styles.
- Technology is effectively used in the classroom.
The four options for each question are:
- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Disagree
- Strongly disagree
If students chose “disagree” or “strongly disagree,” they needed to provide a reason.
There are also two subjective questions:
- What is something you would stop, keep, or change in this class?
- Is there something another teacher has done in the past that helped you learn and could be incorporated into this class?
Two other notes, a committee of faculty members designed the survey, and I spoke to the entire student body in advance of their completing the surveys about how we trust them to provide honest and respectful feedback for teachers.
While we are still digesting all of the feedback, I can give you some highlights:
- Over 2,900 surveys were completed.
- Approval ratings are calculated by adding “strongly agree” and “agree”.
- Our students overall approval rating of our faculty is 94.1%!
I want to thank the committee that created the Google form, all of our teachers for setting aside the time to get student feedback, and the students for their thoughtful participation. We will continue to review the process and tweak it as needed going forward. We are truly blessed to have the students and faculty that we do! Thank you for all you all do to create such a wonderful and supportive community!
As a final note, our Advancement Office is hard at work planning a fantastic spring fling for April 20. I will be in attendance at the event and would encourage all of our families to be a part of this major fundraiser for our school! Your support is crucial in making this event a success. Please see the link to the event site below for more information on ways you can support.
As always, please be in touch with any questions, concerns, or good news!
Peace and blessings,
Sean P. Brennan, ‘85
Chief Administrator
News From the Hill - Friday, March 15, 2024
Dear East Catholic Family,
On Sunday, March 3 we had a very successful Hall of Fame induction ceremony. 300 people showed up to celebrate the 11 individuals, one family, and one team recognized. All of those honored were incredibly humbled, and they credited East Catholic for providing the foundation for their success. Please see the newest Hall of Fame inductees and honorees below!
Hats off to the members of Stage East for their great performances of High Spirits! The cast, crew, and musicians were all phenomenal. They put so much work into the musical, and it certainly paid off. With a number of performers graduating this year, it would be a great opportunity for some new blood to get involved!
As we transition from winter to spring seasons, I would like to congratulate all of our winter teams on solid seasons, and I wish our spring teams good luck as they get ready to compete.
The Parents' Association meeting originally scheduled for March 11 was postponed to Monday, March 18 at 6:00 p.m. in the conference room. Hope to see some new faces there.
Looking ahead to the next few weeks, there will be four regular school days next week with Friday, March 22 as a day off for students, but the faculty will attend a professional development/faith formation day at the Cathedral of St. Joseph. There is a 1:00 p.m. dismissal on Monday, March 25, two full days on March 26 and March 27, a half-day on March 28, and off on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We return to full days of classes on Tuesday, April 1. We will have full days from April 2 to April 5, and then we have spring break from April 8 to April 12.
Lastly, a number of staff members attended the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools (FACS) St. Patrick’s Day breakfast on Friday, March 15. It is always a great event but even better when our own Marissa Pinkham '24 read her essay about how the FACS tuition assistance allowed her to go to East Catholic, and she will take her thanks with her as she moves on to the University of New Haven to study forensics and play lacrosse. Way to go, Marissa!
As always, be sure to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or celebrations!
Peace and blessings,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News from the Hill - March 1, 2024
Dear East Catholic Family,
It is hard to believe that we are already welcoming in the month of March to this school year. I hope everyone had a good week off and is returning recharged and ready to go as we head toward Easter. During this Lenten season, we focus many of our prayers and Masses on growing closer to God. Since we moved our weekly Mass from 7:00 a.m. on Tuesdays to 10:45 a.m. on Thursdays, we have seen a significant uptick in attendees. Thank you Fr. Jaime and the campus ministry office for making that happen.
We have a number of winter teams and individual winter athletes still competing in conference or state postseason play. See the athletic section in the newsletter below and come out to support!
Performance week is upon us as Stage East puts the final touches on their upcoming musical, High Spirits. Please join us for one of the performances on March 8 or 9. The cast and crew have been working very hard, and we would love to have a great turnout to support them.
Every two or three years, we induct a new class into the East Catholic Hall of Fame. To be inducted, a person needs to be nominated to the selection committee. The committee then reviews all nominees and selects the most worthy. Categories for the HOF are alumni, athlete, faculty/staff, and friend/legacy family. The following people are being inducted on Sunday, March 3:
Alumni
- Bruce Belfiore, '72
- Christine Gagnon, '83
- Col. David Lamy, '86
- James “Skip” Thomas, '65
Athletes
- Mike Byam, '83
- Ken Brasa, '79
- Shamika Jackson, '04
- Kara Kochanek '08
Faculty/Staff
- Adrienne Andrews
- Father Charles E. Shaw
Friend
- Charlie Crocini
- The Andreo Family
There is always a lot happening on the Hill!
Peace and blessings,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
East Catholic Newsletter - March 1, 2024
News From the Hill - February 9, 2024
Dear East Catholic Family,
We had a very productive and busy Catholic Schools Week! On Wednesday night, we welcomed students and families from St. James and St. Bridget Schools for both girls and boys basketball games. We packed the gym for some exciting basketball and cheerleading. It was so nice to see so many families with ties to East Catholic, as well as future Eagles!
On Thursday, we celebrated Mass with a dozen Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur on their Feast Day. Many of the sisters worked at East Catholic over their careers, so they had a great time reminiscing on campus. Many thanks to all involved in welcoming the sisters for Mass and lunch.
We wrapped up the week with our winter sports pep rally. Always fun, the pep rally featured announcing our winter sports captains, a couple of songs from the pep band, a raffle, and volleyball games by class (the seniors won). It was an exciting afternoon!
This week kicked off with an all-school speaker, Mr. Mark Leinweaver. Mark is a successful Major League Baseball agent for 75 MLB players. In addition to his vocational success, Mark’s avocation is speaking to kids (middle and high school) about “Why Character Matters.” His energetic and passionate presentation was well-received by our students, many saying he was the best speaker we have had in a while.
With the winter sports season winding down, we have a number of teams who are gearing up for both CCC and State tournaments. Please keep an ear out for opportunities to go and support your fellow Eagles!
Senior nights will also be taking place in the upcoming days. Both our boys basketball team and our girls hockey team celebrate their senior night on Friday, February 9. Next week, our girls basketball team will honor their seniors on Monday, February 12 and our boys hockey team will hold their senior night on Saturday, February 17. We hope to see many of you in the stands cheering on our student athletes as they celebrate their athletic achievements over the past four years.
Looking ahead at our academic calendar, next week will be a full week of school, with Ash Wednesday Mass on Valentine's Day, February 14. The week of February 19 will be off our February break.
As always, be sure to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or celebrations!
Peace and blessings,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News From the Hill - January 26, 2024
Dear East Catholic Family,
Congratulations to all of our students and faculty for making it through the half-way point in the school year. We had a good mid-year exam period, bringing the first semester to a close. Report cards are due to be posted today. On to second semester!
Last Friday, the students had a well-deserved day off, and the faculty/staff had their annual retreat. As you will see below, we started off with a delicious breakfast on campus followed by a session about seeing God in our daily lives. The second part of the day was a bit more unorthodox. We went axe throwing! Thanks to Campus Ministry and others for organizing a fun day of bonding!
We were very fortunate to have the #1 ranked UConn Huskies Men's Basketball team on campus recently for a kid's basketball clinic. The Bleeding Blue for Good ProCamp has clinics all over the state, and we were excited to have them in our gym. See the photos below.
We are enrolling students for the fall already! The first round of members of the Class of 2028 have been accepted and started to enroll. Please spread the word that the second round of acceptances is coming soon. Many thanks to Mr. Malone and Mrs. Diemar – as well as our army of ambassadors – for all they do to attract mission-appropriate students to East!
We are excited to welcome students and families from St. James and St. Bridget’s schools for a night of basketball here in our gym. The girls teams will play at 6:00 p.m., and the boys teams will play at 7:15 p.m. The cheerleading squads from both schools will be there as well. Should be a fun night!
Next week is Catholic Schools Week, and we have a number of events going on, concluding the week with a pep rally on Friday. The events for the week are detailed below.
We remain very busy and involved here on the Hill! Please be sure to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or celebrations.
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News From the Hill - January 12, 2024
Dear East Catholic Family,
Happy New Year! I hope you all took time to rest and enjoy the holidays with your families. As we enter into the new calendar year and the second half of the school year, East Catholic remains a busy place!
Friday, January 5, we welcomed coadjutor Archbishop Christopher Coyne to East Catholic. Archbishop Coyne presided over Mass and was able to visit with staff and students as he familiarized himself with the community. He will officially take over the Archdiocese of Hartford in the spring upon Archbishop Blair’s retirement. We are looking forward to future visits!
Mid-term exams began this week and will continue into next week, with a review day on Tuesday. Students should take time during the long weekend and the Tuesday review day to ensure they have the understanding needed to champion the upcoming tests. If you have questions before the exams, be sure to connect with your teachers. As a reminder, we will close the school and its offices on Friday, January 19 for a faculty and staff retreat.
Winter sports are in full swing. Our indoor track and field team competed in the Elm City Coaches Meet last Friday and had numerous athletes qualify for states. On Saturday, the team will participate in the NCCC Invitational in Hartford. Storm Girls Ice Hockey, East Catholic’s co-op team with Glastonbury and South Windsor, reached a milestone on Wednesday, securing their 150th win since becoming a varsity sport in 2012— what an accomplishment! Our boys basketball team heads up to Springfield College on Friday afternoon for the Hoophall Classic to take on Christ the King High School from New York in a sold-out game. Our girls basketball team hopes to bring this season’s record up to 8-1 with a win on Friday night at home against Tolland. Our boys hockey team takes to the ice on Monday in Cromwell against the Wildcats co-op team of Suffield, Granby, and Windsor Locks. Good luck to all competing this weekend!
Our Eagles continue to showcase their talents in a number of ways. At the end of November, five students from our music programs auditioned and were selected for the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) Music Festival. These students represented East Catholic well in the honor band and honor choir for the Eastern Region. On Saturday, January 6, they performed in a concert at the Jorgensen Theater at UConn and are now qualified to audition as All-State musicians. Stage East has begun rehearsals for their production of High Spirits. Performances will be on Friday, March 8, and Saturday, March 9. Mark your calendars to attend one of the shows. It is always wonderful to see the months of hard work come together on stage! Finally, our student broadcast team continues to impress us with their monthly school news series, The Nest. If you have not seen December’s episode, you can watch The Nest - December 2023: Christmas Special YouTube video.
In planning ahead for next year, we sent out our first round of acceptance letters for the Class of 2028. We are already seeing future Eagles securing their spots in the freshman class. Our Admissions team is working diligently with families throughout the process. With an influx of new students completing applications and registering for upcoming entrance exams, we are preparing for another round of acceptance letters to go out on February 9. There is still plenty of time to apply, so please encourage all interested to be in touch with us. We are here to assist any prospective students in seeing all that we have to offer on the Hill!
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News From the Hill - December 15, 2023
Dear East Catholic Family,
I trust all in our East Catholic family are eagerly awaiting Christmas and some well-deserved time off. This is the last News from the Hill newsletter for 2023.
We have transitioned to the winter athletic season, and teams have begun to play against other schools. We wish all of our teams good luck in their respective seasons.
One of the highlights of each school year is our art show and Christmas concert which was held last night in our front foyer and auditorium. Once again, we were treated to a spectacular display of talent. Many thanks to the Fine Arts department for organizing and to the artists and musicians who shared their gifts with all of us. Many thanks also to our donors for coming to the reception prior to the show.
As you will see below, East Catholic students have been out in our local and greater community. From Model UN at the University of Hartford, to a history class field trip to New York City, choirs at Lake Compounce, the Harlem Globetrotters game, shelter meals, and other service work, our Eagles get out there and get involved.
Congratulations are in order for the four students who won the Knights of Columbus essay contest. Anthony Traboulsi, Gabriella Italia, Stefan Poth, and Michael Machewirth tackled the topic, “How can the Church evangelize in the digital age?” Well done to all!
Looking to next week, we will have a 1:00 p.m. dismissal on Monday, December 18 and an 11:30 a.m. dismissal on Friday, December 22. School will resume on Tuesday, January 2. Please make a note that school offices are closed for the entire break to give our staff some well-deserved time off.
When we return in the new year, we will have six full days of class and then move into our exam schedule. Review days are January 10 and January 16 with exam days on January 11, 12, 17, and 18. There will be no classes on Friday, January 19 as there is a faculty/staff retreat on that day.
Let’s have a great final week before break and may everyone in our East Catholic family have a joyous and festive Merry Christmas and a safe and relaxing New Year!
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News From the Hill - December 1, 2023
Dear East Catholic Family,
I hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. Thanks to all who turned out on Thanksgiving morning to see our football team fight hard and earn a victory over Northwest Catholic. That is three straight wins on Thanksgiving, and we retain the Archbishop’s Cup! That wraps up our fall athletic season. Congratulations to all who participated on all of our fall teams. Congratulations also to the Class of 2024 Powder Puff team for a 4-1 victory over the Class of 2025 team.
Thank you to everyone who filled the Thanksgiving baskets for Woodland School families in East Hartford. Mr. Link reported that we had so much donated that we had to do a separate donation to MACC Charities on Main Street in Manchester. As we move into December and the continuation of the holiday season, please see the information below about the focus for our Christmas drive.
Believe it or not, this week we passed the midpoint of the second quarter. With a little over four weeks left of classes, it is imperative that students keep up with their schoolwork. Please remind your student(s) to stay on track. We will send out the mid-year exam schedule in the next "News from the Hill".
Also, as the school year continues to move along, do not let your community service hours fall to the wayside. We require students to fulfill ten hours of service by the spring, and what better time to complete those hours than during the season of giving? If you need help getting started, please see our team in Campus Ministry for service opportunities.
Winter sports are underway. Please come out to support your fellow classmates with appropriate cheering! You can find all sports schedules under the Athletics page of our website. Best of luck to all of our teams!
The first Sunday of Advent is this weekend. As we enter this blessed season, may we continue to do our part to make our East Catholic community the best it can be. Let us lead with kindness and love to make our school the welcoming place we have come to know and love!
As always, please be in touch with good news, comments, or concerns.
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News from the Hill - November 17, 2023
Dear East Catholic Family,
As the fall sports season wraps up and we prepare for the winter season, life remains busy here on the Hill. Most teams have completed their seasons, but our girls varsity soccer team has put together a nice run in the Class L playoffs. After beating Joel Barlow in the first round, 3-0, they knocked off the number one seed, Berlin, with a resounding 3-0 victory in the second round. They then went on to beat Farmington 1-0 in the quarterfinals. On Wednesday, they played Simsbury at Willowbrook Park and lost 2-1 after going into overtime and penalty kicks. Congratulations on a hard-fought season! The girls swim and dive team wrapped up their season this week with the Class S state finals on Wednesday, placing sixth overall! The final game of the fall season matches our Eagles against Northwest Catholic in a traditional Thanksgiving Day football game at NWC at 10:30 a.m.
On Friday, November 10, we celebrated Veterans Day here on campus. This is the second year we have had a Veterans Day program rather than a day off. I could not be prouder of our East Catholic family. We welcomed 24 veterans from various military branches with a pancake breakfast, students did service projects on and off campus, and we heard speeches from Ms. Michele Leavitt Weinstein '82, Major Giovanni Tomasi, Jr. '08, and Mr. Ryan Hinton (former principal at East) as our Keynote speaker. You can see more about the program below. Many thanks to Mrs. Kathy Reilly and Mrs. Adrienne Andrews for their leadership in putting the day together. Great job, everyone!
Each month the East Catholic Parents Association meets to coordinate volunteer opportunities and to hear from me and other staff about what is going on at East. I encourage any and all parents to join the group if you can. Here are the dates for the remainder of the year:
- Monday, January 8 at 6:00 p.m.
- Monday, February 5 at 6:00 p.m.
- Monday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 16 at 6:00 p.m.
This will be the last News from the Hill before Thanksgiving. As a reminder, we have Monday, November 27 off for achieving our walk-a-thon fundraising goal. On behalf of the faculty and staff at East Catholic, we wish you all a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday. We have much to be thankful for, and at the top of the list would be our East Catholic family.
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News from the Hill - November 3, 2023
Dear East Catholic Family,
In the last two weeks, we wrapped up the first quarter of the school year were treated to four impressive performances of The Importance of Being Earnest, inducted new members of our National Honor Society, and easily surpassed our fundraising goal for Walk-a-Thon!
Stage East has been rehearsing for the fall play for a couple of months. What is even more impressive is that they have two separate casts. Each cast had two performances. Congratulations to all cast, crew, and especially Mrs. Quackenbush for putting on great shows!
On Wednesday, November 1, we inducted a handful of new seniors and a larger group of juniors to the East Catholic Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS). It was a lovely ceremony run by the officers of NHS: Braeden Pagani, Suzanne DePasquale, Adam Eskin, and Sarah Posniak. Many thanks for their leadership and for Mrs. Taylor’s oversight. All in attendance were blessed to hear the keynote speaker, Sister Peggy Evans, SNDdN.
Our students have been actively engaging with our community service initiatives. We served shelter meals and supported the MARC Halloween dance here on campus. Thanks to all who were involved. Remember, all students need at least 10 hours of community service each year. Get involved!
Our Walk-a-Thon came to an end this week with a spirited spirit week. It was great to see so many students having fun with the different days. See more below, but we are extremely grateful to all who donated in helping us reach our goal!
Looking forward, good luck to Braeden Knotts and Bella Jensen as they compete in the state Cross Country Open on Monday. We will have our annual Memorial Mass on Sunday, November 5 at 2:00 p.m. in the auditorium. The Parents Association will have a couple of fundraisers beginning on Monday, November 6 (see below).
Tri-M will host a Coffee House on Wednesday, November 8 in the cafeteria. We will recognize students who have committed to colleges and universities on Signing Day, November 9.
As we did last year, rather than giving a day off for Veterans Day, we will come to school for a half day to recognize the importance of our fellow citizens who served or are still serving in our military. We will spend time doing service projects but also hearing from veterans on Friday, November 10.
As always, please be in touch with good news, questions, or concerns.
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News from the Hill - October 20, 2023
Dear East Catholic Family,
It is hard to believe that we are approaching the end of October, but everyone is certainly keeping busy! Last Thursday, all sophomores and juniors took the PSAT. Seniors had the day off to work on college applications and the like, and freshmen had their own program – training in the ITC, a service project, and use of MobileServe to track their service hours each year. The day was incredibly successful. Freshmen were very engaged, and the PSAT went off without a hitch, even finishing a bit early. Thanks to the Counseling Office for their leadership!
With that extra time at the end of the day, sophomores and juniors were given a blank sheet of paper and asked to write a quick note to a prospective student as our fall open house was that evening. The thoughtful, sincere, and touching notes that our students wrote blew us all away. We are very fortunate to have such a caring and invested community!
The open house was a tremendous success. We had 150+ families register and over 450 people on campus for the evening. Many thanks to all who were involved – student ambassadors, faculty, staff, parents, etc. Special thanks to Chad Malone and Abby Diemar from our Admissions Office. The 2023–2024 admissions cycle is off to a great start!
Candidates for freshman class president gave speeches last week, and the class voted on Monday during advisory. Congratulations to Charlie Hathaway ’27 for winning a tight race. We are now taking applications for the freshman class executive board.
Many thanks to family and friends who have contributed to our annual WalkEast Walk-a-thon fundraiser. We are well on our way to our goal of $50,000. We will wrap up the walk-a-thon on Friday, November 3 with a pep rally at the end of the day. Proceeds from the walk-a-thon will go to our broadcast studio in the ITC. Please contribute if you have not already. If we reach our goal, we will get the Monday after Thanksgiving off.
Yesterday at our monthly, all-school assembly we were treated to a preview of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Stage East is in the final stretch of rehearsals, and, as you can see below, they will have three performances next weekend. Please try to catch one of the shows!
Congratulations to our Aetos Dios robotics team for an excellent showing at a recent competition. See the story below.
Lastly, as the first quarter comes to a close in one week, we encourage everyone to finish strong. Remember to ask your teacher questions if you need to clarify directions or the particulars of an assignment. We are here to help!
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator
News from the Hill - October 10, 2023
Dear East Catholic Family,
Thank you for your patience as you awaited the next installment of News From the Hill. Our previous director of marketing and communication, Sarah Lomazzo '14, accepted a new position at UCONN last month, and our new director, Kelly Shea '08, just started last week. I would like to thank Sarah for the dedication to the job while back at East, and we ask you to join in welcoming Kelly!
Well, we are all certainly staying busy here on campus! Classes are in full swing, sports are underway with multiple schedule changes due to the incessant rain, The Importance of Being Earnest is three weeks away from opening night, and both the freshman and junior classes have already had their class retreats. We closed out last week with our fall sports pep rally where we recognized our fall captains for each sport, raised the banner for winning the 2023 Division I boys basketball state championship, and wrapped up a Robotics Slime-a-Teacher fundraiser with Dean Reilly "winning" the prize of being slimed!
We had our second all-school assembly on September 28. New this year, we will gather the school each month for an all-school assembly in the auditorium. Run by the student government, so far this year we have seen two editions of The Nest, a news video spotlighting events and programs on campus. We are also looking to feature individual students and their known or unknown talents.
On Tuesday, October 3 I attended the CIAC Sportsmanship Conference with seven of our students and the Athletics Department. East Catholic was one of the schools recognized for establishing a Class Act program at our school. Class Act programs (ours is called Eagles Take Action) are committed to good sportsmanship on and off the field, and we certainly embrace good sportsmanship.
Our Admissions Office has been busy as well. We hosted 8th graders from Covenant Prep in Hartford and both St. James and St. Bridget from Manchester. These are fun days on campus, as we have graduates from our feeder schools who already attend East and are eager to host students for their shadow days.
Looking forward, we will transition from warm-weather dress code starting on Tuesday, October 10. Essentially, this means no more shorts (no one will miss them more than I). We will have our fall open house on Thursday, October 12 at 6:30 p.m. Tell all of your friends and family with 7th and 8th graders to come visit our great school!
Lastly, we continue to ask families to pull forward around the front circle when dropping off in the morning. If your student has athletic gear that needs to be dropped at the gym, you are encouraged to drop them at the back circle. Many parents also utilize the side entrance (music wing). Let's all work together to make drop off and pick up as safe as possible.
Please be in touch any time with good news, questions, or concerns.
Peace,
Sean P. Brennan '85
Chief Administrator