Alexandria Catholic School— why so little instructional time?

[Anonymous]

It’s not all Arlington diocese schools. My kids are at STM and the bishop is not dictating mass 3x a week.

If there is a midweek holy day they go on that day and then not on Friday.

If parents have issues you need to address with the school if not rectified you move on and do what’s best for your kids. Unless there is a leadership change nothing will change unless a lot of people speak up

[Anonymous]

I’m not in NOVA but our Catholic school does religion class everyday, with the fifth day being religious music. Mass is once a week and then there is usually a whole school mass every 2-4 weeks.

But I am not surprised if there are extra religious observances and activities given the time of the year. Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Lent, Easter…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Typical — instead of addressing the substance or questioning authority, all the lambs have nothing to say other than, “Oh stop complaining and pick a new school.”

This is what happens when you go to mass 3x a week during school hours, instead of learning how to think critically and communicate effectively. Sad. Glad I went to normal Catholic school that emphasized learning.

Exactly what do you expect us to do about it? You’re the one who’s not “questioning authority”. Go talk to the principal. That’s the only person who can change things. No one on DCUM can do anything about it. We just get annoyed by your repetitive posts.

[Anonymous]

There about 1,500 minutes.
About 240 are set aside for religion (Mass, instruction, the rosary, confession, Stations of the Cross...) per week. That is 6.25% of the week.

If your child went to public school, and you were a practicing Catholic and you went to Mass on Holy Days of obligation, enrolled your child in religious education each week, went to confession about once a month, got ashes after work/school, your life would be better busy. I chose Catholic K-8, in part, because I needed some support in helping my kids lead a faith-based life.

Can I suggest you lean in and offer up some your frustration? Ironically, a good way to do this is by attending the Stations of the Cross at your child's school. If you sit with them, you will see that your child's teacher is not "taking an hour off" but managing 25 kids by themselves during a pretty reverent time. You will also see kids working on patience, maintaining attention, reading, singing, and (for the altar servers) demonstrating leadership abilities, without screens or little bags of cereal.

[Anonymous]

If you have ever attended Mass at the Basilica, you would have understood that the priest takes religion seriously. Unless you have a plan for swaying him,I would suggest going somewhere else.

It has always been a school that goes to Mass a lot..
More so than other schools in the Diocese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have ever attended Mass at the Basilica, you would have understood that the priest takes religion seriously. Unless you have a plan for swaying him,I would suggest going somewhere else.

It has always been a school that goes to Mass a lot..
More so than other schools in the Diocese.

Most priests “take religion seriously.” But forcing kids to go to mass 3x a week (not including the FOURTH mass on Sunday!) will just turn most kids off from religion. It’s excessive.

Going to mass 3x a week at the expense of math, reading, and writing is not healthy. And it’s not how most Catholic schools operate.

And I strongly suspect that even the teachers don’t appreciate the disruption.

How long do Rectors stay before they transfer or rotate out????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have ever attended Mass at the Basilica, you would have understood that the priest takes religion seriously. Unless you have a plan for swaying him,I would suggest going somewhere else.

It has always been a school that goes to Mass a lot..
More so than other schools in the Diocese.

St Mary’s school hasn’t always gone to Mass more than the other schools in the diocese! That is not an accurate statement, PP. The increase in Mass attendance began with the hiring of the current principal.

It is well known the pastor likes to spend money, is that taking religion seriously? His excessive spending seems gluttonous to the average Catholic. While he loves the Mass, he also loves to spend his parishioners money!

BSSM is a well-loved school with dedicated teachers and supportive families. They are the glue to holding this school community together. It will once again soar with new leadership, but until then there will be parent chatter about ineffective leadership and a lack of communication.

[Anonymous]

Wow. Is it too much Mass? Is it a lame daycare? Is it the teachers who want to have more Mass so they can avoid teaching? Are the teachers the school heroes holding all together? Is the tuition way too high?

Find another school, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have ever attended Mass at the Basilica, you would have understood that the priest takes religion seriously. Unless you have a plan for swaying him,I would suggest going somewhere else.

It has always been a school that goes to Mass a lot..
More so than other schools in the Diocese.

St Mary’s school hasn’t always gone to Mass more than the other schools in the diocese! That is not an accurate statement, PP. The increase in Mass attendance began with the hiring of the current principal.

It is well known the pastor likes to spend money, is that taking religion seriously? His excessive spending seems gluttonous to the average Catholic. While he loves the Mass, he also loves to spend his parishioners money!

BSSM is a well-loved school with dedicated teachers and supportive families. They are the glue to holding this school community together. It will once again soar with new leadership, but until then there will be parent chatter about ineffective leadership and a lack of communication.

This.

But according to tyt DCUM crew, Any parent who doesn’t love and adore the current leadership should just shut up or leave. Blah blah blah blah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s really out of control. For example, this week, students are off on Monday, have mass on Tuesday, have mass yet again on Friday morning, and then have stations of the cross Friday afternoon (which is an hour-long event). And this week is not unusual — last week was similar, PLUS they had random “inclusion” assemblies and movies during classroom time.

We’re new to the school and perhaps should have done better due diligence before enrolling. But isn’t this a bit much? Why so little emphasis on ACADEMICS? I’m all for spiritual development, but there should be a balance. It’s a school, not a monastery.

It breaks my heart to watch the children miss out on academic development.

Is this typical in DMV? (and yes, I know it’s Lent, but that doesn’t mean learning should cease).

Why are you surprised it is Catholic School.

Religious schools are indoctrination that is the definition of religion and indoctrination.

[Anonymous]

This is a DCUM moment! The indoctrination poster meets the disgruntled St. Mary’s parent. You two have so much in common.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have ever attended Mass at the Basilica, you would have understood that the priest takes religion seriously. Unless you have a plan for swaying him,I would suggest going somewhere else.

It has always been a school that goes to Mass a lot..
More so than other schools in the Diocese.

Most priests “take religion seriously.” But forcing kids to go to mass 3x a week (not including the FOURTH mass on Sunday!) will just turn most kids off from religion. It’s excessive.

Going to mass 3x a week at the expense of math, reading, and writing is not healthy. And it’s not how most Catholic schools operate.

And I strongly suspect that even the teachers don’t appreciate the disruption.

How long do Rectors stay before they transfer or rotate out????

But are kids actually going to Mass three times a week? That isn’t clear to me after reading this thread. Sounds like there was one week with 2 Masses and then Stations? If that’s the case, this doesn’t sound like a huge deal. It is Lent, after all.

[Anonymous]

What posters from other K-8 schools are saying is that if they have Mass on Feast of the Annunciation this Tuesday, they would not have a school Mass on Friday. The Friday school Mass is cancelled due to the school worshiping together on Tuesday. This seems to be the norm in the Arlington Diocese.

On the other hand, St Mary will have Mass at the church on Tuesday, Mass in the gym on Friday, and then a walk back to the church for Stations of the Cross on Friday afternoon.

Yes it is Lent, but this is more than the other Diocesan schools are doing, and from other posts it seems to be the pattern for every liturgical season. The OP, a school parent, is questioning why BSSM is always on a different schedule. Saying “it is a Catholic school” isn’t the answer, as BSSM seems to be the exception within the conservative Arlington Diocese K-8 schools.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP but there is still so much to love about the school. They hosted an inclusive basketball clinic today that DC took part in. It was a great event that many former students, now in HS, came back to help run.

You’re unhappy, fine. But coming here to then insult other posters makes you look like the problem. Get parents at the school to push the agenda. If it doesn’t work, move along.

[Anonymous]

If we are real about how many educational hours a day in ANY school… we are looking at 2.5. The rest is filler no matter how you slice it. Mass and stations of the cross aren’t the worst way to entertain the kids.