The two alarm fire at /*Regis High School*/, located on East 84th Street, started just after midnight on Saturday.
"The damage was significant, but remarkably limited," the school's president Philip Judge said in a written statement on Saturday. "The upper gym and faculty lounge are unusable, but the damage is largely contained there. There is some water damage in the auditorium and Phys Ed office, with requisite amounts of broken glass in those areas and a number of places needing repainting."
Classes were cancelled on Monday, but normal school hours will be in effect when classes resume on Tuesday. After school activities will also resume. Athletes will receive information on any alterations to practice/game schedules from their coaching staff.
"Please say a prayer of thanksgiving that no one was hurt, and one of gratitude for the firefighters who worked so hard to contain and put out the fire. We are insured and already have staff in cleaning up," he said.
Regis High School is a private Jesuit university-preparatory school for academically gifted Roman Catholic young men from the New York metropolitan area who demonstrate superior intellectual and leadership potential. In the admissions process, special consideration is given to those who cannot otherwise afford a /*Catholic*/ education.
The school was founded in 1914 through the financial bequest of a single formerly anonymous benefactres who stipulated that her gift be used to build a Jesuit high school providing a free education for Catholic boys with special consideration given to those who could not otherwise afford a Catholic education. The school remains tuition free to this day.
A 2009 documentary about the school revealed the identity of the benefactress as Julia M. Grant, the widow of Hugh J. Grant.
/*Regis Philbin*/, of 'Live with Regis and Kelly,' is named after the school where his father is an alumnus.
The school has been used in several tv shows and films, including Finding Forrester in 2000 and Remember Me in 2009.
