Thoughts on Bishop O’connell
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Anonymous
| I feel like it’s mostly a school for kids who are really good at sports or live in a not great school district. |
Anonymous
| Our kids went to Yorktown and we know many O'Connell graduates. They're nice people and are doing well. There's nothing wrong with the school at all. My impression has always been that its academics are fine -- on par with surrounding publics -- and that its sports are great. And it scores a zero on the snob meter, which counts for a whole lot in my book. |
Anonymous
| Great, friendly school. Conservative, but we are definitely not conservative and no problems. Academics are what you make of it. Lots of options. |
Anonymous
LOL ok. |
Anonymous
|
It’s a solid school. If your kid wants a challenge with honors + AP they can do that. If they want to take more genEd courses they can do that too. Sports, theater, newspaper, etc. The Big 3 are not every ones idea of a good HS.
They have 1200 students so they will have a lot of offerings and will cater to different ability and motivation levels. They had 24 seniors who took athletic scholarships. As for the comment about public being a better option, academically it’s probably not very different. But it does offer smaller class sizes (18 avg). And some people value private school aspects like the faith community, service requirements, uniforms, etc. |
Anonymous
Why LOL? Where was the lie? (I have no ties to O'Connell but just looked at the college list and "fine" is the best way to describe it.) |
Anonymous
I also have no ties to DJO but I think this list is pretty good: UVA BC Emory Naval Academy Duke Air Force Academy Georgetown USMA Rice UCLA Embry-Riddle NYU W&M That looks better than “meh” to me. And keep in mind the matriculation list is where they are going, not everywhere they got admitted. |
Anonymous
| What is the deal with the boys pants. Honestly this is a hard sell. Why not khakis? It makes the school look strange. Girls uniforms look find but really long. I have looked at the school list and it looks okay. |
Anonymous
| I liked the fact that DJO seemed to have a very "normal community high school vibe" to it, coupled with the sports program. Re: academics, my understanding is that there is a material difference with the honors program. |
Anonymous
| We have multiple kids who are going or have gone through O’Connell- they and their friends say that it feels like “family.” Academics are what you make of it, like any school. None of the “retake a test til you get an 80” that you get in FCPS. Teachers are available and willing to help struggling kids, though. Overall a great experience there that prepared my oldest incredibly well for a Top-20 university. Also- look at the amount of scholarship money each graduating class earns- some kids choose solid, but not top tier colleges because of generous academic scholarship offers. |
Anonymous
Well, that settles it for me then. |
Anonymous
|
The Fine Arts Department (music, drama, choir) is amazing and has a lot of student who made District and State ensembles.
There is a lot of energy around sports, but no, it isn't Gonzaga. What's nice about that is kids don't have to ride the bench once they hit 9th grade. If you want to work, there are several no-cut sports. One of my kids went for a new sport junior year and was welcomed. They have many AP & Honors classes if you are eligible. One of my friend's children graduated with 10 APs, all of which were accepted by their university of choice. A great guidance department. Student life (discipline) holds kids accountable but they are still reasonable. There are a lot of events (dances, fundraisers, Golf tournaments, 5Ks) that are not our style as a family, but we have two very different kids who are happy there, and cousin who is not Catholic who is also thriving. Plenty of service opportunities, but they don't just take the money and run-they educate the students about who needs the 5,000 cans of soup and why. During non-Covid times, trips to Europe are available through the language department and my kid has hopped on a a plane a number of times for school related events. It isn't Hogwarts, but if you want to it your own, the potential is there. When my kid was struggling they helped a great deal with creating a good schedule and re-assessing some courses. Engineering is easier to take virtually than say, French, for example. Smart people. My kid can text a guidance counselor on a Saturday and get a response without issue. I didn't expect that. There is a lot of support and kindness. |
Anonymous
Me! I know this one. I teach at a K-8 school and met the vendor at a conference. The person who suggested those pants actually tested them for comfort and durability and lack itchy seams. This person has a sensory issue and is a like a uniform crash test dummy. Very happy to have clothes that can be worn for more than a year, as I have multiple kids. |
Anonymous
I thought the pants a little odd, too, at first, though it didn’t play into a decision to go or not. My DS thinks they’re really comfortable (he wore khakis k-8), and I think they seem to wrinkle less out of the dryer so generally look nicer day to day. They also seem to have a nicer fit than regular khakis. |
Anonymous
| I have a kid at a DC co-educational catholic HS, and now I am very curious about these pants! Somebody post a link. |