Blessed Sacrament in NWDC

[Anonymous]

I am looking for thoughts/opinions on Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase - my general impression was that it is one of the better catholic elementary schools, but see that they have openings in the older grades which seemed odd. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks

[Anonymous]

This may not be exactly the information you are seeking, but I used to teach at Georgetown Visitation, and we had lots of girls who came from Blessed Sacrament, and they were always lovely young women and academically well-prepared.

[Anonymous]

I used to live in Chevy Chase and was a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament.

I remember being told that to have a very good chance of getting into this school (yes, it isn't easy), you need to be an "active" (contributing) parishioner who lives within certain neighborhoods around the church (both in MD and DC). I didn't live in one of those neighborhoods and wasn't sure if my DC would be admitted. It turned out to be irrelevant because we moved away.

For me, this policy had a huge upside -- a true sense of community. You'd see lots of kids walking to Blessed Sacrament, and then afterwards you'd see the older kids walking to the American City Diner for an after-school snack.

[Anonymous]

We have a child at BS and it's a real bargain for what you get. Although it is not a private school, most of the children go onto other private/Catholic schools and are well prepared. I think the reason there are some openings in the middle school is that some children switch to schools that have openings in the middle school years that go up to 12th grade. I find this often hapends with K-8 schools. Many people do not want to wait to high school to try and secure a spot.

[Anonymous]

I know some parents who have kids there now and LOVE it. I have taught many children who come from there and a lot of the boys were PUNKS. Rude and not that bright, which is NOT good. But that was a long time ago, so I would look and give it a fair shake.

[Anonymous]

I have my children at the school and one of the great advantages is that it is k-8 and they are all together for several years. The older children get to mentor the younger kids so they are able to show age appropriate leadership and mentoring. The building is well maintained with nice traditional classrooms. The new computer lab is amazing. The parents are very active and supportive. There is a strong emphasis on charity activities.

The reason there are openings in older grades is as the PP said. Many schools open up at 3rd (eg chevy chase elem), 4th (eg ncs, st albans), 6th (eg st anselms, holy child) and so work to move the child then rather than later. Some parents also want their child there thru second grade when many of the sacraments (reconciliation, first communion) occur and then switch to public or other private.

While it may be hard to get in as a non-parishioner or out of boundary, i've seen parents enroll their older child and then the following year apply for their younger children where they will get top preference as siblings.

[Anonymous]

You really can't go wrong with the cathoic schools around there - kids from BS, Little Flower, Victory, Trinity, etc. get into all the catholic high schools in big numbers.

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much for the responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have my children at the school and one of the great advantages is that it is k-8 and they are all together for several years. The older children get to mentor the younger kids so they are able to show age appropriate leadership and mentoring. The building is well maintained with nice traditional classrooms. The new computer lab is amazing. The parents are very active and supportive. There is a strong emphasis on charity activities.

The reason there are openings in older grades is as the PP said. Many schools open up at 3rd (eg chevy chase elem), 4th (eg ncs, st albans), 6th (eg st anselms, holy child) and so work to move the child then rather than later. Some parents also want their child there thru second grade when many of the sacraments (reconciliation, first communion) occur and then switch to public or other private.

While it may be hard to get in as a non-parishioner or out of boundary, i've seen parents enroll their older child and then the following year apply for their younger children where they will get top preference as siblings.

I am very interested in Blessed Sacrament for my son. He's an active boy. Does the school handle active boys well? I know that Catholic schools tend to be more structured, and I'm worried that he'd have a hard time.

[Anonymous]

Oh God, PP, I looked at Little Flower and the boys looked MISERABLE. I think some area Cath. schools are doing a lovely job, but that school made me sad for those boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh God, PP, I looked at Little Flower and the boys looked MISERABLE. I think some area Cath. schools are doing a lovely job, but that school made me sad for those boys.

I got the same feeling when I visited Little Flower, but I was wondering if Blessed Sacrament is different. Does anyone know?

[Anonymous]

I have two sons at Blessed sacrament. They have never been miserable at school! They loves their friends and there is recess time everyday (which goes down as they get into older grades). Also they have a lot of fun traditions - mission fair, st nicks, gingerbread houses, buddies, etc. There is also gym twice a week. There is an upcoming open house jan 8 and 23. The website is http://www.bsstoday.org if you want to take a look online.

[Anonymous]

would suggest you have an open and frank discussion regarding expectations of financial contribution to the parish. the new priest there is quite aggressive about financial contributions, particularly if your children attend blessed sacrament. it's very different from how things were done in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:would suggest you have an open and frank discussion regarding expectations of financial contribution to the parish. the new priest there is quite aggressive about financial contributions, particularly if your children attend blessed sacrament. it's very different from how things were done in the past.

Thanks - at the open house, the priest actually gave an estimate of how much a family should contribute to the parish each year.

[Anonymous]

We are looking at moving within the next month to the DC area. We are flexible so long as the commute can be thirty minutes or less to DC. Can anyone recommend good catholic schools and parishes for a 4 yr old and 7 yr old? We're looking at St Bartholomew and Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda, but we are flexible. Any comments on those or others? Thanks!