Blessed Sacrament DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:per PP, I have a child at the school and also do not check any of the boxes.

Yeah but you know a ton of people for whom that post rings true.

There is a small minority of folks for whom those items ring true. The vast majority of parents don't fit into those stereotypes. But I know DCUMs love to trash this school because of some weird insecurity.

Or basically all Catholic schools.

Or all Catholics. Don't you know we're all drunks that love sports and only socialize with each other?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in 20015 (CC, DC) and tons of kids in our neighborhood go to STA, NCS, Maret, Sidwell, GDS, etc (8 in a two block radius in fact). No one who attends these schools feels left out if they live in CC, DC or CC, MD - that is a naive statement.

There are also tons of BSS kids and Lafayette kids - and they all play together (shocking! - not!).

Also, to further shatter the falsehoods written on this topic, we know several families who have graduated from BSS and attended top privates - NCS, Sidwell, STA, etc. Most families prefer to stick with the Catholic schools, but if a student wants to go to one of the Big 3 (and has good grades just like all other applicants) then they can. Nothing stopping them.

You all need a wake up call and tone down the anti-Catholic rhetoric. It's just not true!

Nothing is stopping them. That's true.

But very few choose this route. The magnetic pull of the Catholic world is extremely strong.

And once the kids enter high school, neighborhood friendships begin to weaken as high school one are formed.

Very few kids at Deal choose the private school route after K-8 in DCPS. The magnetic pull of the public school world is extremely strong.

And once the kids enter high school, neighborhood friendships begin to weaken as high school ones are formed.

Do you see how ridiculous your statements sound? I'd hazard a guess that the number of Catholic K-8 kids continuing on to Catholic high schools is no larger than the number of independent school K-8 kids continuing on at independent high schools, and no larger than the number of public middle schoolers continuing on at public high schools. Yet, somehow, when Catholics do it, it's because they're just sooo insular and "the pull' is just too strong, as if it's some sort of cult. OK. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Nothing is stopping them. That's true.

But very few choose this route. The magnetic pull of the Catholic world is extremely strong.

And once the kids enter high school, neighborhood friendships begin to weaken as high school one are formed.


You know, I think I recognize this poster. If I am right, s/he often posts about the singular nature of Catholic schools. My idea is that s/he is not anti-Catholic, but rather views the strong (in some ways insular) community at Catholic schools to be a good thing.

I am not Catholic, but my child attended a Catholic school for a time, and I would have to agree that this was one of the benefits.

[Anonymous]

I think the academics are fine. It is a parish school and meant to serve the academic needs of a diverse group of kids. Given the population it serves, they are well-positioned to meet the needs of high achieving kids. What people are saying in this thread is that families aren't choosing this school based on academics. It is for the community and Catholic education. Some of my fellow Catholics need to lighten up. There is a truth to these stereotypes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:per PP, I have a child at the school and also do not check any of the boxes.

Yeah but you know a ton of people for whom that post rings true.

There is a small minority of folks for whom those items ring true. The vast majority of parents don't fit into those stereotypes. But I know DCUMs love to trash this school because of some weird insecurity.

Oh please get over yourself. I have two kids at BS and those stereotypes totally ring true. In fact, I thought of that when I dropped off my mother for Grandparents day and kids this morning at the school and got a good chuckle.

[Anonymous]

There are very few BSS students getting into the top high schools, particularly the non-Catholic independents (NCS, St Alban's Holton). They apply, but don't make the cut and end up at their second or third choice which happens to be a Catholic high school- of which there are many great options to choose from. If you have your heart set on one of these "top" high schools BSS would not be the path to take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are very few BSS students getting into the top high schools, particularly the non-Catholic independents (NCS, St Alban's Holton). They apply, but don't make the cut and end up at their second or third choice which happens to be a Catholic high school- of which there are many great options to choose from. If you have your heart set on one of these "top" high schools BSS would not be the path to take.

They generally have no interest in these Independent schools and rarely, if ever, apply. Their first choices are the Catholic high schools, just like their choice for elementary and middle schools were Catholic schools.

Attending one of the Independent schools for the overwhelming majority of them would be considered very odd behavior.

The dearth of students a STA or NCS or Sidwell from these Catholic Schools is because there is no interest and not because they applied and couldn't get in.

[Anonymous]

Have my second 8th grader at BSS. Don't know a single child who applied to an independent school this year or in my previous child's year. There are plenty of excellent Catholic high schools to choose from so the kids head to those.

Speaking of that -- isn't there a newspaper that goes out this time of year saying where all the kids are going? I love that thing. Does anyone have the link?

[Anonymous]

I had my DC there for a year. What a nightmare it was. Very unfriendly parents, terrible admin team, the monsignor was begging for money every chance he got, so many very pushy fundraisers. We attended a few and they were low class picnic type not well organized events, where nobody would talk to us. Academically-didn't see any significant difference from my current public school.

[Anonymous]

Re: Blessed Sacrament students not applying to independents... Blessed Sacrament families do apply to these "top schools", at least three kids did this year and were not accepted.

But to the point of the original post- if NCS, St. Alban's, etc is your long term goal then the parish schools are not a good choice. Your children just won't be as prepared as the children from Beauvoir, Primary Day etc., also competing for the limited slots. Some of the independent Catholic schools, such as Stone Ridge or Mater Dei, are better options as they are stronger academically than the parish schools.

As previously posted, people who are happy with Blessed Sacrament acknowledge that they are there for the community rather than academic excellence. If you are coming from outside that community you will be welcome, but it can be a bit rocky, for parents and kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Re: Blessed Sacrament students not applying to independents... Blessed Sacrament families do apply to these "top schools", at least three kids did this year and were not accepted.

But to the point of the original post- if NCS, St. Alban's, etc is your long term goal then the parish schools are not a good choice. Your children just won't be as prepared as the children from Beauvoir, Primary Day etc., also competing for the limited slots. Some of the independent Catholic schools, such as Stone Ridge or Mater Dei, are better options as they are stronger academically than the parish schools.

As previously posted, people who are happy with Blessed Sacrament acknowledge that they are there for the community rather than academic excellence. If you are coming from outside that community you will be welcome, but it can be a bit rocky, for parents and kids.

Three kids out of a graduation class i a very small percentage. We are BS parents and have never heard of any apply to these schools.

Who knows how sincere these applications are anyway. Even if accepted they might have chosen to stay with their friends.

[Anonymous]

Mater Dei and other dc Catholics pulled a bunch of spots at sta this year. Some them are gunning for the close.

[Anonymous]

Only school administrators really know where children are applying for high schools because they forward along the transcripts. The application process can be very stressful for kids and parents and not everyone is eager to share this information. As I said, I know of three families who applied unsuccessfully to "top schools" but there might have been more that chose not to share.

Since children have to pay to take additional entrance exams for the independent schools, fill out lengthy applications and submit essays along with the parents having to take time off from work for interviews at the schools --I don't think anyone goes through that process unless they are sincere.

Bottom line, if you are interested in sending your child to one of the city's top high school , as questioned in the original post, someone

[Anonymous]

Heard many of the new incoming 9th graders at STA were very strong athletes. Look out Landon! Go Dogs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have my second 8th grader at BSS. Don't know a single child who applied to an independent school this year or in my previous child's year. There are plenty of excellent Catholic high schools to choose from so the kids head to those.

Speaking of that -- isn't there a newspaper that goes out this time of year saying where all the kids are going? I love that thing. Does anyone have the link?

Our Parish Times. The May issue isn't out yet.