Mater Dei families

[Anonymous]

does Mater Dei really hold 8th graders back to be better at sports? I've never heard anything so absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:does Mater Dei really hold 8th graders back to be better at sports? I've never heard anything so absurd.

The hold backs are usually at the earliest level.
In general, the boy attends K and 1st at another school then comes to MD as a first grader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:does Mater Dei really hold 8th graders back to be better at sports? I've never heard anything so absurd.

The hold backs are usually at the earliest level.
In general, the boy attends K and 1st at another school then comes to MD as a first grader.

LOL. We personally know several boys who were 6th graders when they applied to MD, but were accepted on the condition that they repeat 6th grade. Happens all the time.

[Anonymous]

HOw is the school for Non-catholics? We believe in Christian princliples but are a non-traditional family (single mom) and I worry my child will be taught the worst and me/ us

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HOw is the school for Non-catholics? We believe in Christian princliples but are a non-traditional family (single mom) and I worry my child will be taught the worst and me/ us

**And yes, at times I believe in proof-reading. Sorry for typos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:does Mater Dei really hold 8th graders back to be better at sports? I've never heard anything so absurd.

The hold backs are usually at the earliest level.
In general, the boy attends K and 1st at another school then comes to MD as a first grader.

LOL. We personally know several boys who were 6th graders when they applied to MD, but were accepted on the condition that they repeat 6th grade. Happens all the time.

That is customary if the move is from public school to private school. Kids in private school tend to be about a year older.

[Anonymous]

Not at our school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HOw is the school for Non-catholics? We believe in Christian princliples but are a non-traditional family (single mom) and I worry my child will be taught the worst and me/ us

Hard to say because its happened so rarely in the past.

These boys are all part of the same Catholic community. The only non-Catholics have been the very few AAs they have admitted.

This is a very Catholic environment. The have a chapel on campus and its integrated into the experience.

You might want to look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:does Mater Dei really hold 8th graders back to be better at sports? I've never heard anything so absurd.

Welcome to Washington where any advantage available is pursued and taken.

MD is not the only school doing it. Landon pioneered the practice.

[Anonymous]

I think its safe to stay every single private school is having kids reclassify for a wide array of reasons.

It is funny to see though just how much bigger the Mater Dei kids are in 8th grade in athletic games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think its safe to stay every single private school is having kids reclassify for a wide array of reasons.

It is funny to see though just how much bigger the Mater Dei kids are in 8th grade in athletic games.

I was unaware that there was such a large difference in the size of 14 yr olds vs. 15 yr olds. Could it be that some of the difference is due to the size of the parents?

[Anonymous]

save the BS. its called puberty. most kids hit puberty between the ages of 13 - 17. I think the average age is around 14 - 15 but some kids hit is as early as 13 or 14. All kids are different.

[Anonymous]

As a non-Catholic I find all this talk about the Catholic mafia disgusting. I have had grandchildren is all three types of schools: public, independent BIG 3 non-Catholic and Catholic
(parish elementary and high school). I have met lovely supportive parents in all three environments. What I liked about the parish elementary school and the parents I met there is the emphasis on the whole child. The BIG 3 school really focussed on academics and was a pressure cooker, which was a good fit for my very motivated, brainy grandson. He came out with a truly amazing education - equivalent to what I had a a good university. They taught him to write and to use critical thinking skills and he got into a top college. He had less money than his peers, but was well liked and accepted.

The grandkids who went to Catholic elementary and high schools were treated as "whole people." Their spiritual and social growth was viewed as as important as their grades. In one of the well known Catholic High Schools they received a well rounded excellent education, which prepared them well for college. There was an emphasis on athletics including sportsmanship and I never observed bad behavior from parents during games. This worked well for my smart and athletic grandchildren. We were welcomed by the Catholic community, and made good friends.

In public school my grandkids were exposed to a very diverse group of kids from all over the world. This diversity made it a rich learning environment. Some years they had absolutely wonderful teachers and some years the teaching was mediocre. There was too much standardized testing in my opinion and the classes were large, but my self motivated mature grandson is doing just fine. Don't know what high school will like for him yet. My grandson with special needs
(GT/LD) is in an excellent program that fits him well.

I truly do not understand the animosity toward Catholic education on DCUM. It is not consistent with our experience at all! The mantra of this board is to find a school that is a good fit for your particular child. I would recommend including Catholic schools in your search.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing wrong with Catholic education, per se. But there is something about the Catholic Mafia - particularly when rooting for their kids on the sidelines - that is nauseating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a non-Catholic I find all this talk about the Catholic mafia disgusting. I have had grandchildren is all three types of schools: public, independent BIG 3 non-Catholic and Catholic
(parish elementary and high school). I have met lovely supportive parents in all three environments. What I liked about the parish elementary school and the parents I met there is the emphasis on the whole child. The BIG 3 school really focussed on academics and was a pressure cooker, which was a good fit for my very motivated, brainy grandson. He came out with a truly amazing education - equivalent to what I had a a good university. They taught him to write and to use critical thinking skills and he got into a top college. He had less money than his peers, but was well liked and accepted.

The grandkids who went to Catholic elementary and high schools were treated as "whole people." Their spiritual and social growth was viewed as as important as their grades. In one of the well known Catholic High Schools they received a well rounded excellent education, which prepared them well for college. There was an emphasis on athletics including sportsmanship and I never observed bad behavior from parents during games. This worked well for my smart and athletic grandchildren. We were welcomed by the Catholic community, and made good friends.

In public school my grandkids were exposed to a very diverse group of kids from all over the world. This diversity made it a rich learning environment. Some years they had absolutely wonderful teachers and some years the teaching was mediocre. There was too much standardized testing in my opinion and the classes were large, but my self motivated mature grandson is doing just fine. Don't know what high school will like for him yet. My grandson with special needs
(GT/LD) is in an excellent program that fits him well.


I truly do not understand the animosity toward Catholic education on DCUM. It is not consistent with our experience at all! The mantra of this board is to find a school that is a good fit for your particular child. I would recommend including Catholic schools in your search.

The DC Catholics as a group rarely, if ever, consider the Independent schools. They send their kids to Catholic grammar schools and one of the Catholic high schools. Frequently there are family connections to these schools. Or they send them to public schools for a variety of reasons. This strong tendency to stick together is what is being referred to as the Catholic Mafia. These are not people who view Diversity as an unalloyed good.

Graduates of these Catholic high schools tend to stick together after high school and college. Protestant and others who go to these Catholic schools aren't treated badly. But they are never really part of the community. They are a very small minority.

To those obsessed with the academics and competition at some of these Independent schools, it must be disorienting to discover there is a large segment of the population that wouldn't send their kids there if they were free.