Anonymous
Post 03/04/2020 21:46     Subject: Re:Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Dechantal must be doing something right. I have a child in the school and know many of the 8th grade families. At least two current 8th graders scored in the 99 percentile on their HSPT this year. I know of another child that scored in the 98 percentile. Quite a few 8th graders got academic scholarships to Catholic high schools. Most 8th graders seem to have gotten into the high schools that they of their choice (and many got into GP, SR, and Visitation).
Anonymous
Post 09/11/2019 22:47     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Anonymous wrote:Can folks comment on this school. We are considering it for a neurotypical child and other child who has math and reading disability, although on grade level with extra help. How many classes are there per grade? What is the class size? Are neurotypical learners challenged? We will attend next week’s open house but wanted to hear some opinions before attending. Helps to know what questions to ask.


I am curious what you think the word neurotypical means?

Anonymous
Post 09/11/2019 22:45     Subject: Re:Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Dechantel is a total mess and the education is terrible.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2019 22:27     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Anonymous wrote:Most of the classes are 18-22. Much smaller than my MCPS kindergarten at 27. So that information is clearly outdated or it may be one of the two larger classes. As to the AP who indicated I am all for bulldozer old school discipline. Absolutely. My kids are not going to be brats like many of the horrible mannered kids out there. My kids are happy as can be when they come home. And I know many families who feel the same way. Don’t believe one or two jaded people who post here all the time. Whether it’s Lourdes or any other school, come see for yourself.


I guarantee that if you go see for yourself you won’t see the reality. You won’t see the vice principal/PE teacher and you will be lied to about the class sizes. You also won’t see the priest who quite rudely called out the former Georgetown Visitation head for supporting the inclusion of same sex marriages in Visi’s alum magazine. Trust me, there are a lot of disgruntled parents. And you won’t see any of that until you go there. It is unfortunate.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2019 09:05     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Anonymous wrote:Most of the classes are 18-22. Much smaller than my MCPS kindergarten at 27. So that information is clearly outdated or it may be one of the two larger classes. As to the AP who indicated I am all for bulldozer old school discipline. Absolutely. My kids are not going to be brats like many of the horrible mannered kids out there. My kids are happy as can be when they come home. And I know many families who feel the same way. Don’t believe one or two jaded people who post here all the time. Whether it’s Lourdes or any other school, come see for yourself.


The guideline for MCPS class size for k is 18 kids for Focus (high FARMS) school and 24 kids for non FOCUS schools. So if you somehow had a classroom for K of 27 kids, well that’s pretty unusual for most schools. My kids each had 22 kids for K (and we didn’t pay tens of thousands of dollars for this like OLOL parents. The OLOL family on our street are Trump supporters (and not just because they are anti-abortion.). Not a place I would be comfortable sending my kids, although I understand it’s much much cheaper than most secular private schools in the area.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2019 08:18     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Most of the classes are 18-22. Much smaller than my MCPS kindergarten at 27. So that information is clearly outdated or it may be one of the two larger classes. As to the AP who indicated I am all for bulldozer old school discipline. Absolutely. My kids are not going to be brats like many of the horrible mannered kids out there. My kids are happy as can be when they come home. And I know many families who feel the same way. Don’t believe one or two jaded people who post here all the time. Whether it’s Lourdes or any other school, come see for yourself.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2019 02:03     Subject: Re:Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

My neighbors send their kids there. According to them, the class sizes are big, like 26 or 28 kids, and their math curriculum seems slower than what my kids are doing in McPS . My kids’ MCPS classes have been 21-25 kids and so they get a smaller class than what OLOL kids get for free. So basically you send your kids there if you really want them to have a Catholic education and to associate with other Catholics.
Anonymous
Post 09/06/2019 00:23     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Anonymous wrote:What is going on at the Catholic grade schools lately. With the exception of DeChantal they all see to be a crazy mess.




DeChantal seemed horrible when we visited. Not very friendly administrator meeting with us and kids seemed very unhappy.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2019 22:08     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Anonymous wrote:Our Lady of Lourdes is not for everyone. And this is all about values. There was a reference to the 1950s in this thread. As a parent at Lourdes, I am glad that my kids are receiving an education that is not dependent on technology (take a look at MCPS and how they have backtracked on that issue) and that these kids can actually solve a math problem. The environment is small. The kids pray every morning. They learn every day, and are challenged. It is not an incredibly intense environment and I am happy about that. My kids have many years of their lives to be in those types of environments. In short, it is a place where kids can be kids and no one can take that away from them. The new principal is working hard and gaining parent support more and more every day. The assistant principal may not be the most popular with parents, but the kids adore him, and he instills lasting discipline - a very rare find in today's educators. So, if you are considering the school, come see for yourself.


Okay really, let’s examine this. The AP is “adored” by kids so that means he must be ok. But he’s not popular with parents. Does that even make sense as a good defense? He’s not popular with parents because he isn’t good. He is tolerated because parents have no choice (other than leave). He’s a bombastic mess and isn’t qualified to be an AP. Kids love him because he is the PE teacher and plays fun games with them. Does this man even have an advanced degree in education? Does he even have a college degree? His idea of “discipline” is that old school bulldozer run over kids discipline. If you want that, then OLOL is the place for you. It is definitely not a progressive education. It is that old school, one step above public school uncreative sort of place. Restorative justice? Nope. Responsive classroom? Nope. None of that. My kid told me he has made kids cry. I would switch to the Woods Academy if we had the money or OLV if I lived in DC.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2019 20:51     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

"with the exception of dechantal" haha what
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2019 16:28     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Anonymous wrote:What is going on at the Catholic grade schools lately. With the exception of DeChantal they all see to be a crazy mess.

+1
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2019 15:50     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

What is going on at the Catholic grade schools lately. With the exception of DeChantal they all see to be a crazy mess.
Anonymous
Post 09/05/2019 15:05     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Our Lady of Lourdes is not for everyone. And this is all about values. There was a reference to the 1950s in this thread. As a parent at Lourdes, I am glad that my kids are receiving an education that is not dependent on technology (take a look at MCPS and how they have backtracked on that issue) and that these kids can actually solve a math problem. The environment is small. The kids pray every morning. They learn every day, and are challenged. It is not an incredibly intense environment and I am happy about that. My kids have many years of their lives to be in those types of environments. In short, it is a place where kids can be kids and no one can take that away from them. The new principal is working hard and gaining parent support more and more every day. The assistant principal may not be the most popular with parents, but the kids adore him, and he instills lasting discipline - a very rare find in today's educators. So, if you are considering the school, come see for yourself.
Anonymous
Post 03/25/2019 07:40     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Yes insecure loser is right and inappropriate. Should not be at the school or any school and shouldn’t be vice principal. For someone to be a vice principal they should be qualified. I’ll say no more about that. Yes outdated curricula. Some of the books brought home use language from the 1959s that’s offensive today.
Anonymous
Post 03/22/2019 21:23     Subject: Our Lady of Lourdes in Bethesda

Anonymous wrote:This place is HORRIBLE. You don’t want to send your kid here. Unqualified teachers, nightmare principal who significantly favors donors, totally unqualified vice principal who doesn’t even have a college degree, outdated curriculum, a lot of shady things going on behind the scenes.


You again. You always post the same thing about the principal and donors. The principal this year is NEW. The curriculum is not outdated. The vice principal is qualified to be a PE teacher, but nothing more. Although he does fun things with the kids, he really is an insecure sort of loser type. The school would be better off without him or get a new vice principal. But whatever.