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Cathedral High School (CHS) in Boston, MA, is one of 150 local nonprofits that will share $30 million through Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. Selected from 630 applicants, CHS will receive $75,000 over three years.
Located in the historic South End neighborhood, CHS is a Catholic, urban, coeducational college preparatory school committed to excellence and social justice and where its students are expected to make lasting and powerful impacts in their local, national and global communities. For the past 20 years Cathedral has had a 100% high school graduation and 100% college acceptance rate.
Through the Cummings Foundation grant, CHS will be able to expand and broaden college and career options for inner-city youth in greater Boston so that all students have a transformational post-secondary experience.
“We are incredibly honored to receive this grant which will ultimately bolster our 7th through 12th grade college readiness program. Our expanded model now creates a pathway for college readiness for all students,” states school president, Dan Carmody. “We are proud of the work we have done to prepare students for college and this grant allows us to enhance and broaden our program.”
“The way the local nonprofit sector perseveres, steps up, and pivots to meet the shifting needs of the community is most impressive,” said Cummings Foundation executive director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are incredibly grateful for these tireless efforts to support people in the community and to increase equity and access to opportunities.”
This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including housing and food insecurity, workforce development, immigrant services, social justice, education and mental health services. The nonprofits are spread across 46 different cities and towns.
Cummings Foundation has now awarded $480 million to greater Boston nonprofits. The complete list of this year’s 150 grant winners, plus nearly 1,500 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
Hauroa Morgant of Juan Diego Catholic High School (JDCHS) was named the 2022-2023 Gatorade Utah Boys Soccer Player of the Year, the first to be chosen from JDCHS.
The award, now in its 38th year, recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the field. Morgant is distinguished as Utah’s best high school boys soccer player. A national player of the year is selected from the state players of the year. Morgant was not selected as national player of the year, but that does not deter his accomplishments on and off the soccer field.
The 6-foot, 2 inch, 185-pound senior forward led the Soaring Eagle to a 17-1 record and the Class 3A state championship this past season. Morgant scored a state-record 45 goals and passed for five assists, netting the lone tally in the JDCHS 1-0 win over Morgan High School in the state final. The captain of the Tahitian Under-17 Men’s National team, Morgant played for the full Tahitian Men’s National Team during qualifying play for the 2022 World Cup. He concluded his prep soccer career with 61 goals and six assists in 27 games.
Morgant has volunteered locally as a youth soccer coach and has maintained a B average in the classroom since moving to Utah from Tahiti, prior to his junior year. He plans to attend Salt Lake Community College, where he hopes to walk-on to the soccer team, beginning this fall.
For nearly 40 years, Gatorade has honored high school athletes at the top of their game as teammates, supporting their communities and achieving academic success. From CEOs and coaches to star athletes and community leaders, Gatorade Player of the Year winners showcase the power of sport.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student-athletes, visit https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/.
The September grand opening and blessing of the Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic High School (SJHS) building celebrated in grand style the 75th Anniversary of the Canonization of Saint Jeanne, 30 years of educational excellence within the Temecula Valley and the completion of construction and readiness for the 2023 - 2024 school year, enabling students and families to continue learning in a preschool through grade 12 faith-based educational community. The state-of-the-art school building on more than 17 acres with over 20,000 sq. ft. of learning space—including a culinary arts kitchen, media and arts studio, biomedical and engineering labs and chapel—will serve up to 475 high school students.
“Dreams definitely come true when there is hope, perseverance, and a good cause,” said Sister Ernestine Velarde, ODN, president of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Schools. “A 30-year dream to extend the education of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Schools through the high school years has been fulfilled with the help and support of so many people.”
The opening of the high school building culminates the previous five years’ pioneering dedication of the sisters, families, students, staff and donors to bringing a Catholic high school to the Temecula Valley.
Committed to providing collegeprep, AP and dual/concurrentenrollment courses, a competitive sports program and UC A-G approved courses, all rooted in Catholic values, SJHS has a 100 percent graduation rate with three graduated classes. Students have been admitted to top universities, including Yale, MIT, UCLA, University of Notre Dame, Stanford, USC and UC Berkeley. SJHS has been named Best Schools #1 for Diversity in Riverside County by Niche in 2022 and 2023 and a Distinguished School for 2021-2023 by Project Lead the Way (PLTW) for providing quality instruction in three curriculum pathways. SJHS’s participation in FFA has helped students achieve significant honors with students in servant leadership in state and regional officer positions.
“It is a pleasure to be part of something that makes such a remarkable impact on students’ lives and thus to society,” said Annette Zaleski, SJHS principal. “Saint Jeanne students (preschool through grade 12) commit to living their ‘yes’ to God’s call, which leads them to serve others.”
Most Pure Heart of Mary School opened its doors to students this school year after it looked as though the doors would be closed for good at the end of the 2021 – 2022 school year. The school was able to stay open with a successful Go-Fund-Me campaign where the community, including alumni and local businesses, rallied around the school.
A boon to the funding challenges the school was able to meet, is that enrollment increased for the school with a rich history as one of the oldest historically Black catholic schools in the country. In addition to graduates serving the city and church as first-responders, teachers, doctors, nurses and more, Heart of Mary also claims alumni such as U.S. Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman and Major General, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Ambassador J. Gary Cooper.
Building on the community spirit is just what principal JeKirra Johnson is hoping to do and to let parents know the school is committed to its mission. She is quoted as saying, “We are trying to educate the whole child. I want them to know that when they bring their child to Heart of Mary, their child is going to be loved. They’re going to be cared for. And they’re going to be educated, and we’re going to meet their needs. If there’s a gap in learning, our goal is to close that gap.”