College placement

Catholic Memorial is a college-preparatory institution. Students come from over 90 different towns and communities.^[6]

Community service

CM's mission includes the mandate to teach young men to "lead through service".^[7] CM students participate in numerous BERSI trips each year. These domestic and international travel experiences, build community among the students and immerse students in service experiences. Trips include the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, as well as Brownsville, Texas, and Wyoming. Additionally, a required 60-hour senior service program begins at the start of each year, with seniors serving at inner-city grammar schools, hospitals, non-profit agencies, clothing distribution centers, food pantries, and soup kitchens. Volunteers from all grades also participate in service experiences. Each year, CM students send large delegations - The Sea of Red - to the Walk for Breast Cancer.

In the past, the Annual Blessed Edmund Rice Solidarity Initiative (BERSI) has organized school trips to El Salvador, Europe, Peru, Dominican Republic, South Korea and Canada.^[8]

Anti-Semitism

Catholic Memorial made headlines in 2016 when students chanted anti-semitic expressions at a basketball game against Newton North High School. Catholic Memorial students at the game chanted "You killed Jesus. "^[9] In response to the incident, Newton superintendent David Fleishman contacted the Anti-Defamation League, feeling that "they have a lot of work to do at Catholic Memorial."^[9] The Archdiocese of Boston called the situation "unacceptable."^[10] In a subsequent statement, Catholic Memorial indicated that they were "deeply disturbed by the behavior of a group of student spectators who made an unacceptable chant."^[10] Catholic Memorial ultimately made long-term revisions to their curriculum that would mitigate any recurrence of such an incident of antisemitism.^[11]

Journalism

Catholic Memorial students produce a number of publications each year. Errant is CM's literary magazine, publishing original poems, stories, and artwork by students.^[12] Knight Insight is published by the in-school Journalism class, and includes school news and updates as well as submissions from students.^[12] The CM Latin Club publishes Equites, a seasonal newspaper.^[13] Yearbook Club meets year-round starting in September and produces the school's annual yearbook, moderated by Craig Spaner.

CMTV

Catholic Memorial Television is Catholic Memorial's broadcast journalist program. Using an online live-streaming program, CMTV broadcasts a short program every morning to each homeroom, reporting news, notices, and upcoming events and sports games.^[12] In addition to broadcasting the pledge of allegiance and morning prayer, CMTV also arranges humorous skits and facilitates special announcements from school leadership.^[12] As of 2022, the club no longer does daily broadcasts.

Latin Club

Catholic Memorial's Junior Classical League, or Latin Club, is always represented at the Massachusetts State Convention, where many CM students win prizes.^[12] It publishes Equites, a seasonal newspaper detailing the club's events and achievements.^[12][13]

Theater

The Catholic Memorial Theater Program, known in the 1960s as the Genesians and later as the Catholic Memorial Players and Drama Club, puts on two shows a year. In the past, one play in autumn was performed annually, but later, the Drama Club added a spring musical. The following is a list of some past performances:

Honor societies

Catholic Memorial offers multiple honor societies, ranging from individual subjects to the National Honor Society.^[12] The following is a list of active honor societies:

Speech and debate

At Catholic Memorial, nearly every student participates in "forensics", or speech and debate, at one point in his academic career.^[23] CM faculty teach students public speaking skills through various classroom activities. In the Speech and Debate club students perform and compete inter-scholastically as they recite speeches, dramatic acts and original oratory. Since 1961 the school's Speech and Debate program have produced over 25 state and three national champions. The 2010 team won the "Founder's Award" at Nationals. The team joined the NSDA 100 Club in October, 2018 in recognition for accumulating over 100 degrees over the course of the 2017–2018 school year. The Forensics program has won two straight Massachusetts Speech and Debate league championships in 2017 and 2018. After a second-place finish in 2019, Catholic Memorial returned as champions of Massachusetts Speech and Debate League in both 2020, 2021, and 2022.