2024 -- H 7346

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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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

     Referred To: House read and passed

     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

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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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