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St. Mary Catholic Central High School is a private, co-educational, Catholic secondary school serving the communities of the Monroe County and the southern Downriver area.
The school serves as an extension of the educational ministry of the Catholic Church which continues the teaching mission of Jesus.
SMCC offers the student a challenging college preparatory program that prepares the student spiritually, academically, physically, and socially for a full, loving, Gospel-centered adult life. SMCC ~ Living Faith, Gaining Knowledge, Serving Others.
AP Art History*, AP Biology*, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC*, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science*, AP English Literature and Comp, AP English Literature and Comp*, AP Macroeconomics*, AP Microeconomics*, AP US Government and Politics*, AP US History, AP World History*
Club or Organization: French Club, Geek Squad, Interact Club, Mock Trial Team, National Honors Society, Respect Life Club, Spanish Club, SPLT - Student Prevention Leadership Team, Student Council
Arts and Music Programs: Liturgical Choir, Musical Theatre Production, Vocal Ensemble
Recreational Athletic Programs: Intramural basketball and volleyball
School Notes
Building on the charism of our founders, St. Mary Catholic
Central High School is a Christ-centered learning community forming
lives in a tradition of faithfulness to the Gospel, educational
excellence, and service to others.
St. Mary Catholic Central High School is a heritage school
formed from the 1986 merger of St. Mary Academy and Monroe Catholic
Central. SMCC continues the church`s educational tradition in
Monroe that began when the Sister`s Servants of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary founded St. Mary Academy in 1846. The Brothers of
Holy Cross came to Monroe in 1944 to staff Monroe Catholic Central,
a new all boys Catholic secondary school established by the
Archdiocese and several local parishes. SMCC exists as one of 1,200
Catholic high schools in the United States and one of 24 Catholic
secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Its 340 students
are part of the nearly 600,000 students educated in Catholic
secondary schools this year and part of the over 2.3 million
students educated in all Catholic sponsored elementary and
secondary institutions nationally. The National Catholic Education
Association estimates that, annually, Catholic schools provide the
country with a $21 billion savings in educational
expenditures.
Today, SMCC is considered a Vicariate-sponsored high school.
The Vicariate of Monroe, which is contiguous with Monroe County
borders, has fourteen parishes and five Catholic elementary
schools. SMCC has students representing all fourteen parishes. The
school is the only Catholic secondary institution in the Vicariate.
Further, it is one of only three non-public high schools in Monroe
County. Among the current student body, 68% come from Catholic
elementary schools in the Monroe Vicariate or from surrounding
communities in Huron Township, Downriver Detroit or Toledo. The
remaining 32% comes from local public middle schools, one of three
area local Lutheran elementary schools, a public charter school,
the local Montessori school, or from homeschooling.
SMCC serves the educational needs of young men and women of
diverse religious, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. The school is
an extension of the educational ministry of the Roman Catholic
Church which continues the teaching mission of Jesus. Approximately
80% of SMCC students identify themselves as Roman Catholic. The
remaining twenty percent of the population is comprised of
Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Non-denominational Christian, Greek
Orthodox, or Hindu. SMCC teaches Roman Catholic theology in
accordance with the precepts of the Catholic Church, utilizing the
theology curriculum for secondary schools that was approved by the
US Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2011. It seeks to enable all
of its students to understand more clearly and apply the teachings
of Jesus Christ and the Church. SMCC promotes an understanding of
Gospel values and their application to everyday life, realizing
one's relationship to an ever changing global society.
SMCC believes in the importance of being a vital and concerned
member of the community through prayer, discipline, and
responsiveness to the needs of the local community. A student's
faith and spiritual formation is further developed through the
school's efforts in the area of prayer, retreats, and service
through its Campus Ministry program. SMCC students pray together
twice each school day, first during homeroom with intentions, a
Scripture passage and a Saint of the Day reading and again through
a silent and reflective prayer at the beginning of the class period
of the day. In addition, many teachers begin each of their classes
with their own brief centering prayer. The Practicing Spirituality
class conducts frequent Morning Prayer services focused around
topics pertinent to the life of a young adult of faith in our
increasingly secular culture. In 2010, the school was blessed to
have Archbishop Allen Vigneron on hand to dedicate the beautiful
Chapel of the Infant Jesus of Prague. This sacred space serves as
the heart of the school's campus. Theology classes frequently use
the space for class lectures and discussions. During the seasons of
Advent and Lent, weekly Mass is offered in the Chapel and is open
to all students, parents, and guests. In addition to all of these
opportunities to pray as a community, the student body and staff
gather at least once a month at St. Mary's Parish, next door, as
community to share in an all-school liturgy. Each year while
enrolled at SMCC, students are required to attend a day or
overnight retreat. These sacred times of prayer and reflection
assist students in reflecting on; 1) what it means to live in a
Christian community, 2) God's gift of human sexuality and our
proper response to this gift, 3) the need to ask for and offer
forgiveness and healing in our relationships with others, and 4)
the call as young adults to make faith a central part of one's life
as they transition into full adulthood. SMCC students contribute
tens of thousands of hours of community service through our
Christian Service and Campus Ministry programs each year.
SMCC seeks to instill service as a "habit of the heart" in its
students and staff. Students volunteer at hundreds of school and
community events in an attempt to live out the Catholic Church's
social teachings. Annual mission trips to Appalachia and Guatemala
complement the faith development found in daily prayer, Theology
classes, and liturgical services and offer students an extended and
intense experience of living a "Me Third" attitude in service to
God and others.
SMCC is fully accredited through the AdvancedED - the North
Central Association. The school offers students a challenging
college preparatory program that develops students spiritually,
academically, morally, physically, and socially for a full, loving,
Gospel-centered adult life. Three levels of college preparatory
curriculum are offered: Honors/AP, College Prep, and Concepts.
Honors/AP classes challenge the strongest students with work aimed
at preparing them for admittance into highly selective four-year
universities. College Prep courses prepare our students
academically for a variety of collegiate programs. Concepts classes
are taught at a slower pace than most classes, offering special
assistance in areas of individualized need, yet still prepare
graduates to attend college after graduation.
In 2016, SMCC expanded its support for students strugglin with
mild to moderate learning challenges by establisihing the Academic
Support Services Center. Dedicated staff, trained in Special
Education, provide one on one support to students with IEPs through
Structured Study Halls and a variety of intervention
techniques.
In 2018, the school expanded its services once again to
students with learning challenges when it established the St. Andre
Besette Open Doors Inclusion Program. The Besette Program works
with students with moderate to severe learning challenges welcoming
individuals with Downs Syndrome, significant Autism spectrum
disorders or other learning challeges. The Director of Inclusion
works with student Peer Mentors in assisting students toward a
Certificate of Completion in providing a Catholic secondary
educational environment for students.
SMCC has been on the cutting edge of educational technology for
many years. In 2012, after two years of research, a significant
investment in its technology infrastructure, and substantial time
spent training its teaching staff; SMCC began transforming its
teaching and learning environment through the incorporation of
Apple`s iPad technology. Each student carries his or her own
personal iPad device. The iPad provides an on-demand internet
connection for research, and offers access to Apple`s immense
catalog of educational applications. SMCC also became one of the
first schools in the nation to fully implement the use of digital
textbooks in place of traditional hardcover or softcover
texts.
The school has 25 faculty members, four administrators, 10 full
and part-time student service staff members, and 10 full and-part
time support staff. Together, they have a combined 410 years of
service to SMCC and over 540 total years of experience in
education.
SMCC offered over $1,100,000 in tuition assistance to over 65%
of its students for the 2018-2019 school year with grants ranging
from $500 to 70% of tuition. In addition, SMCC offers renewable
academic scholarships of $500 to $5000 to incoming freshmen who
score in the top 20% nationally on the High School Placement
Test.
Extracurricular activities include Student Council, Interact,
National Honor Society, Mock Trial, French and Spanish Honor
Societies, Cultural Culinary Club, music, drama, and
athletics. SMCC offers 35 athletic teams in 20 sports. More
than 85% of the current student body will earn at least one varsity
letter while attending SMCC. Falcon and Kestrel teams have recently
won league, district, or regional, championships in baseball,
basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball,
tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling. The "Home of Champions"
has also claimed 14 Michigan High School Athletic Association State
Championships, more than other local school.
100% of SMCC graduates are accepted into college. They go on to
attend such diverse schools as the University of Michigan, Michigan
State University, University of Notre Dame, Harvard, Cornell, the
U.S. Air Force Academy, Purdue University, Case Western, University
of Detroit Mercy, Michigan Technological University, St. Mary`s
College, Kalamazoo College, Adrian College, John Carroll
University, Georgetown, Western Michigan University, University of
Dayton, Ave Maria University, Monroe County Community College, and
many others. The 73 members of Class of 2018 received over $8.2
million in college scholarship offers.
The school has over 12,000 alumni living in all fifty states
and numerous other countries, representing a diverse range of
occupations and employment.
How much does St. Mary Catholic Central High School cost?
St. Mary Catholic Central High School's tuition is approximately $10,450 for private students.
What is the acceptance rate of St. Mary Catholic Central High School?
The acceptance rate of St. Mary Catholic Central High School is 99%, which is higher than the national average of 94%.
What sports does St. Mary Catholic Central High School offer?
St. Mary Catholic Central High School offers 17 interscholastic sports: Baseball, Basketball, Cheering, Cross Country, Diving, Equestrian, Football, Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball and Wrestling. St. Mary Catholic Central High School is ranked as one of the top 20% of private schools in Michigan for most sports offered.
What is St. Mary Catholic Central High School's ranking?
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