| R 056 |
| 2024 -- H 7346 Enacted 01/30/2024 |
| H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N |
| JOYOUSLY CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF MOUNT SAINT CHARLES ACADEMY |
Introduced By: Representatives Shekarchi, Marszalkowski, Blazejewski, Phillips, Casey, J. Brien, Chippendale, Tanzi, Solomon, and Fellela |
| Date Introduced: January 30, 2024 |
| WHEREAS, By the end of the 19th century, Woonsocket had become populated by |
| thousands of people from Canada, most of them of French origins. The Woonsocket Catholic |
| clergy was primarily French-American and they decided that one of the best ways to serve this |
| population was by opening a school; and |
| WHEREAS, Monsignor Charles Dauray and Brother Josephus McGarry, SC, local |
| clergyman who desired to preserve the French language and the Catholic faith throughout the |
| region, worked with the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, a French Catholic congregation, to open a |
| Catholic school in the Bernon Heights neighborhood of Woonsocket. Thanks to their hard work |
| and dedication, Mount Saint Charles Academy was incorporated in 1919, and opened for its first |
| day of school on September 14, 1924, with Brother Josephus, SC, serving as the first Director; |
| and |
| WHEREAS, Beginning as an all-boys school, Mount Saint Charles became co- |
| educational in 1972, when it admitted fifty new students, with six becoming the first female |
| graduates in Mount Saint Charles history in 1973. In June of 2023 the school joyously celebrated |
| the 50th anniversary of the admission of female students. Mount Saint Charles also expanded in |
| 1972 to include middle school grades 7 and 8, and in 2015, it expanded once again to include the |
| 6th grade; and |
| WHEREAS, One thing that has always remained constant has been the high quality of |
| education offered to all the school’s students. Mount was first accredited by the New England |
| Association of Schools and Colleges in 1990, and continues to retain that distinction of |
| excellence with a 100 percent graduation rate. Most Mount Saint Charles' students advance to an |
| institution of higher education, earning approximately $22 million in scholarships and acceptance |
| to more than 170 colleges and universities over the years. In addition, Mount has been recognized |
| twice as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education; and |
| WHEREAS, Throughout the years, Mount Saint Charles has always been innovative and |
| has adapted to changing times and technology while remaining true to its Catholic faith, values, |
| and the special "Mount character” that appeals to so many people. A key innovation was the |
| establishment of the teacher counselor (TC) program within the school counseling department, |
| which ensures that each student has an adult advocate monitoring his/her needs, serves as a |
| liaison between the school and the student’s family, and has worked to help students through |
| mental health programing; and |
| WHEREAS, Most recently, Mount has completed a significant Media Center renovation |
| which included enhanced computer labs, the expansion of library services to include a coffee |
| shop and café area, where students can gather to study, and the construction of a new |
| amphitheater space for outdoor dining and events. In the curriculum and programming part of the |
| school’s offerings, the Advanced Placement program was expanded with the Capstone Diploma |
| program, which gives students extensive teaching focused on enhancing their analytical and |
| communication skills. In the 1990s, Mount completed the renovation of classrooms, the building |
| of a new music center and black box theater, and a new gymnasium; and |
| WHEREAS, Mount Saint Charles Academy may well be most famous for its outstanding |
| athletic programs. Its famed men’s ice hockey program, led for many years by esteemed Head |
| Coach Bill Belisle, won 45 State Titles, including 26 in a row, and produced numerous NHL |
| players. Other sports at the school that have earned State titles include, men’s soccer, swimming, |
| lacrosse, volleyball and baseball, and women’s tennis, volleyball, swimming, basketball, and |
| hockey. The ideal of the true student-athlete flourishes at Mount Saint Charles; and |
| WHEREAS, Mount Saint Charles also offers an array of outstanding enrichment |
| opportunities for its students. The Music Department offers extracurricular activities including |
| stage bands, jazz bands, string ensembles, a school Dance program that offers opportunities in |
| modern, jazz, ballet and tap, the Chorus that teaches vocal performance in musical theater, |
| religious songs and popular songs, and the Theater department that teaches theory, and training |
| experiences for aspiring actors; and |
| WHEREAS, Mount Saint Charles had its first lay President in 2009. The current |
| President is Mr. Alan Tenreiro, a distinguished 1992 Mount graduate who most recently was |
| named the National Principal of the Year for the key role he played in transforming Cumberland |
| High School into one of the most successful high schools in the State and Nation; now, therefore |
| be it |
| RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives hereby joyously celebrates the 100th |
| Anniversary of Mount Saint Charles Academy and wishes them another hundred years and more |
| of success. We thank them for all they do to educate, help, and develop our State and Nation’s |
| future generations and for all they do to make Woonsocket and the State of Rhode Island better |
| places in which to live and work; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
| transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mr. Alan Tenreiro, President of Mount Saint |
| Charles Academy. |
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| LC003270 |
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