A Message from the President

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 20th at 6:00 PM 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 PM 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 29th is also quite busy. We begin with a New Families Orientation at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, April 30th. 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

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Connecticut Humane Society

The collection for the CT Humane Society was a success! With help from senior advisor, Mrs. Andrews, the Class of 2024 collected a variety of items for animals in need during the month of March. Thank you to all who donated new toys, animal food, towels, blankets, treats, and more!

Pep Rally

Our Spring Pep Rally was held on Thursday, April 18th. The celebrations led by the Pep Band and our Student Government honored the Spring sports captains and hosted some fun Class vs Class games. First up was our "Oversized Outfits" Relay Race where students had to put on a pair of large shoes, large pants, and and oversized shirt before making a lay up and running back to the next person on their team. The second game was a live-action version of Hungry, Hungry Hippos using scooters, balloons, and laundry baskets. Seniors were victorious in both games!

Thank you to our Student Government who worked hard to put together 3 exciting Pep Rallies this year! We appreciate your dedication to the school and your classmates.

Anything But a Backpack Day

Wednesday was a fun day for Seniors as they held their first "Anything But a Backpack" Day!

Golf Tournament

It's tee time! Registration is now open for the 33rd Annual Tom Malin Eagle Invitational happening on June 14th at Blackledge Country Club. Don't miss your chance to hit the links for a great cause! We will be honoring Connie Wentzel as we raise money for ECHS Athletics, which we know is near and dear to her heart.

Register your team here: 2024 ECHS Tom Malin Eagle Golf Invitational (auctria.com)

UMass Jazz Fest

The Jazz Band, Stage Band, and Combo all performed at the UMass Jazz Festival on Saturday, April 6. All the groups did an outstanding job performing, received clinics from UMass faculty, and attended a concert by the Mingus Dynasty. Each group had multiple students receive "Outstanding Performance" awards.

Stage Band: Maher Abunasra and Matthew Shattuck

Jazz Band and Combo: Nina Crawford, Adam Eskin, and Alejandro Oyewole

Two students also received full scholarships to Jazz in July, the summer music camp at UMass: Nina Crawford and Adam Eskin (who was awarded the Frederick C. Tillis scholarship named for the long-time UMass educator and founder of Jazz in July).

The Combo was awarded the “Outstanding Performance by a Combo” and performed as the opening group at the evening concert, featuring the Mingus Dynasty.

Winter Sports Recap

Team Successes:

Girls Hockey CCC Champs, Final 4 States 

Girls Basketball Final 4 States

Luke Ramans hit All-American marks for Diving!

Alex Barfield and Austin Shapard competed at adidas Track Nationals!

All-State:

Mallory Pierz-Girls Ice Hockey Karolina Prytko-Girls Ice Hockey Leah Martineau-Girls Ice Hockey Luke Ramans-Boys Diving Samson Reilly-Boys Basketball

All Conference:

Mallory Pierz-Girls Ice Hockey Karolina Prytko-Girls Ice Hockey Leah Martineau-Girls Ice Hockey Sarah Gionfriddo-Girls Ice Hockey Samson Reilly-Boys Basketball Yayo Rodriguez-Boys Basketball Brayden Jones-Boys Basketball Liz McGuirl-Girls Basketball Uri Abrokwa-Girls Basketball Luke Ramans-Boys Diving

Spring Team Photos

The yearbook photographer will be here on Monday, April 22nd at 1:00pm for team photos. Please be in the gym in and in your team uniform.

Spring Captains

The Spring Sports Captains were honored at this week's Pep Rally. Thank you for your leadership!

Gym Campaign

East Catholic loves its history and anything that fosters a sense of nostalgia, but even we think it's time to replace the bleachers from 1961! We are over halfway to our goal! Help us update our gym facility: ECHS Gym Campaign (auctria.com)

AP Exams

AP testing will be happening May 6th through the 17th. Parents and students will be receiving an email about the schedule and procedures. Please read though the information carefully. 

Blood Drive

East Catholic will be hosting their annual Blood Drive on Tuesday, April 23. Students, faculty, and staff are filling the appointments! Our goal is 36 pints of blood donated which helps save up to 100 lives!

SATs Update

If any student would like to take the SATs again, they can sign up through College Board at collegeboard.org. Upcoming dates are in May, June, and August. 

Senior Updates

Counselors will meet with seniors as they move through their final quarter of high school. We will be asking them to reflect on their journey at East Catholic and candidly share their thoughts on how East helped form them. Seniors should continue to check Naviance for scholarships and to update college outcomes and decisions. 

Senior Retreat

The Class of 2024 participated in their final ECHS retreat yesterday. The Campus Ministry team took the students to Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center in West Hartford. While there, the group participated in four different sessions led by guest presenters: yoga & mindfulness, a labyrinth walk, health & nutrition, and adjustment to college/life after high school. What a beautiful day to be outside and enjoying time together before graduation!

Service Hours

Remember that all students are required to complete 10 hours of community service by the Spring. Many organizations could use extra hands to assist in their undertakings for the community for the Spring!

Although it is the student's own responsibility to search out places to volunteer, Campus Ministry does have some opportunities that are offered right here through our school, as well as a few volunteer activities with local organizations that are happening on a weekly basis. If you are in need of assistance finding an organization to partner with for your hours, please stop by Campus Ministry and they can help get you signed up!

New Families Orientation

We are excited for those who have completed their enrollment packets and have registered to be part of the Class of 2028! On Tuesday, April 30 at 6:00pm, we are inviting those who are now fully enrolled to join us for the Accepted Students Orientation. Parents and guardians will receive information about the upcoming year, a representative from Tommy Hilfiger will be present to assist with uniforms, and students can begin to mingle with their future classmates! We look forward to getting to know our incoming freshmen!

Krispy Kreme

The Krispy Kreme Fundraiser is BACK! The Parents' Association will begin taking orders now through April 24th.

The order needs to be placed with Krispy Kreme on April 25th.

Donuts will be ready for pick-up on Thursday, May 2nd.

Donuts will be one dozen for $15. All proceeds to benefit Project Graduation.

Link to order: Krispy Kreme Glazed Dozen | ECHS-Project-Graduation (square.site)

Teacher and Staff Appreciation

Get ready! May 17th is our Teacher and Staff Appreciation Luncheon at East Catholic – an event always so generously supported by all of you! We have the opportunity to show our amazing teachers and staff how grateful we are as a community for all that they do for our students. We will look for contributions of time (we need volunteers the day of the event), as well as talent, and/or treasure (food, $5 and $10 gift cards, cash...). A Sign Up Genius will be emailed to all families in the coming days through which you can sign up to volunteer in any way in which you are willing and able. Please keep an eye out for it! 

Next Meeting

We will be having one final Parents' Association Meeting in May to celebrate the success of the 2023-2024 school year! Stay tuned for a separate email with the date, time, and details.

For more information on upcoming events and volunteering opportunities, visit

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



Any questions? Email echsPA@echs.com.

The 2023-2024 School Calendar has been posted to the ECHS website and portal.