It's true that not many NPS boys go on to Catholic high schools like Gonzaga or St. John's. They are great schools, and former head Jim Neill is a Gonzaga grad, so it could be an option. I've seen some NPS girls go the Catholic school route. They' ve gone to a Catholic Middle School, and then on to Visitation etc. Hope this helps!

I think the biggest difference between the schools is the terminal year (8th for St Pats and 6th for NPS).

The benefit of 8th is your kid can apply to the Catholic schools such as Visi, Prep and Gonzaga. The benefit of leaving in 6th is that it is generally easier to get into the independents in 7th and your kid has middle school to adjust.

Thai is vastly oversimplifying the issue but that would be my main takeaway.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anybody else making this Pk decision now? We are so torn on what to do!!! We love both schools! NPS seems warmer, but is St Pat's warm with kids too? NPS is smaller--are kids/families more "known" there than in St. Pat's?

I would not put my child at NPS.

Curious why you would not put your child at NPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anybody else making this Pk decision now? We are so torn on what to do!!! We love both schools! NPS seems warmer, but is St Pat's warm with kids too? NPS is smaller--are kids/families more "known" there than in St. Pat's?

I would not put my child at NPS.

Can you say why you wouldn't?

Anonymous wrote:Anybody else making this Pk decision now? We are so torn on what to do!!! We love both schools! NPS seems warmer, but is St Pat's warm with kids too? NPS is smaller--are kids/families more "known" there than in St. Pat's?

I would not put my child at NPS.

Anybody else making this Pk decision now? We are so torn on what to do!!! We love both schools! NPS seems warmer, but is St Pat's warm with kids too? NPS is smaller--are kids/families more "known" there than in St. Pat's?

St. Pats!

You may get off the waitlist, OP. Keep open minded if you like one of them a bit more. 😁

Anonymous wrote:OP here - as it turns out we won’t have to chose. DC was offered a spot at one of the schools and waitlisted at the other. Glad I don’t have to chose - I really liked both schools!

Sometimes it's easier to leave it up to fate. I'm sure you'll be happy with either. They're both great schools.

What grade and which did you choose?

Anonymous wrote:OP here - as it turns out we won’t have to chose. DC was offered a spot at one of the schools and waitlisted at the other. Glad I don’t have to chose - I really liked both schools!

IMO they are peer schools; whenever someone mentions the one, invariably someone mentions the other. I'm sure there are differences (i'm only familiar with one)--how could there not be?--but I'm sure it's deciding between two good choices, rather than dramatic differences. I'm so glad that you are happy with this outcome and wish your child the best.

OP here - as it turns out we won’t have to chose. DC was offered a spot at one of the schools and waitlisted at the other. Glad I don’t have to chose - I really liked both schools!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve also had three kids attend St Pats, and I’m incredibly grateful for the community experience and my own parent experience, and my kids educations. It’s not perfect - no school is - but I will never find another community like St Patricks and I think most people feel that way. I’ve had friends that moved to other places, friends whose kids graduated, (my oldest is now at a different school) - all whom continue to say that St Pats was their favorite school community. I loved that the parent community is close and active there .... exactly what you want when your kids are young. I have a close friend whose kids are at NPS and they’ve loved it and it is a sweet school for sure, but she’s often said she wishes the community was more like St Pats. I do think there is also a slight difference in academics (with SP being a bit stronger). There are a lot of negative posters on here and I’ve gotten the sense from people who don’t go to St Pats that there is some envy there generally. Also - just FYI, I’ve literally never had a midweek birthday party and I’ve had three kids there for 9 years!
Anyway, good luck - you can’t go wrong !

Talk about a backhanded slam.

Somehow, I find this comment (bolded) almost impossible to believe.

It's a head scratcher for sure

It speaks volumes that a St Pat’s parent is bashing NPS while the NPS parents are gracious and complimentary of St Pat’s.

+1. But remember, according to this poster, we're all just envious because our kids are not at St Pats. Yeah, I bet that's it.

Sorry - never once did I see any St Pats parent bashing NPS on here. The only bashing going on is from people NOT at St Pats, bashing St Pats.

I'm a current St. Pat's parent and I have friends who are parents at many other independent schools (including NPS). I find some of these negative comments to be a bit unfair. In the experiences I've had, St. Pat's has some very lovely families and children (and a few rotten ones too). SO DOES NPS (and every other school).

I just don't understand why some people who do not attend a school, or know one jerky person from a school feel the need to bash that school and generalize about the community. There are so many schools in this region, and I think that people who are vying for these limited slots get a bit crazy with searching for data points and evidence to confirm whatever biases and preconceived notions they may have about a school.

We are a middle class family and receive generous aid from the school. We have been very happy with the families we know and the education our child is getting is wonderful. I am so glad I ignored the DCUM chatter on this issue, because we would not have landed in such a good school for our child. The fit is great for child. Teachers are so responsive and attentive to child's needs and the students seem to be a kind and close knit group.