Anonymous wrote:I was raised Catholic and am now agnostic. We tried Catholic school (not BS) and it did not work for our family. The kids hated it. They thought it was too strict and complained how boring school was. DH and I were not in any of the cliques bc we weren’t parishioners and didn’t go to all the parish events. We moved to an Episcopal independence and it was a much better fit for us all.

Yea that’s because you imposed your own biases on your kids. You could have avoided that.

I think if this was a high school, it would be doable. For K-8 I’m not sure I’d do it

Anonymous wrote:BSS isn't just a school, it's a way of life. If you send your kids there you are part of a clique that vacations at Bethany, belongs to Columbia, drives a huge American SUV and raises lax bros and gals to play at Gonazaga and Visi. You're either all in or not.

As a current BS family, it does give these vibes and the multi-generational thing is definitely there. However, having just graduated an 8th grader who turned down one of those schools and having received the newsletter yesterday, a third of the class is attending St. John’s this year, a marked difference from just the previous year. Not even 1/4 of the girls are going to Visi versus last year when, if I recall correctly, more than half the girls went that way. Almost 1/2 the girls are going to St. John’s.

I will note that with two working parents I find it nearly impossible to manage the daytime asks, last minute asks for baked goods, etc., especially with multiple children there. We miss a lot of these types of “come to the classroom to see your child do x y or z” things as at times there are multiple in the same week. I also wish they would ask up front for a fee for all the variety of donations, fundraisers, etc. I’d much rather give you another $500 than be asked for money to fill a baby bottle, sell frozen food, donation to sisters of the whatever, $10 for this field trip, etc. It’s exhausting.

On a final note, we are Catholic, but a different parish. The children attend mass once a month and while the sacrament years are more highly Catholicism focused, the other years have a strong social justice bent. We have attended mass at BS many times now (we like it better than our home parish) and very very rarely do we see more than one or two of any of my kids’ classmates at mass.

Not sure OP. I come from a Catholic/Jewish family ( mom+ dad respectively). It might be ok but make sure to visit the school. I went to 12 years of Catholic School, and had message of Catholics can go to heaven, but not others. That was confusing to me as a kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's also a very competitive admit for K. They almost always have enough parishioners to fill slots, any open slots then go to Catholics outside the parish. So I wouldn't bet on admittance.

Not OP but swooping into this thread to ask about this. Is there no chance for non-Catholics at BS for K? We are specifically looking for a religious school but the DC area ones are $$$ except Catholic, and we live closest to BS. I was hoping we had a fighting chance.

Pretty much impossible to get into BSS in K unless you are a parishioner. You may have better luck in 4th grade onwards, when a lot of BSS families bolt to 4th-12th grade schools.

Why do they switch from 4th on?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the fact that there are Catholic and non-Catholic rates should tell you something. We tried the Heights for our DS Anglican kid and he was mercilessly bullied and we had to leave. I wouldn't do it. Remember your kid will have to attend mass, etc. https://www.bsstoday.org/admissions/tuition

Oh please — the difference in tuition is practically nothing and it’s only because of parish support. You’re grasping at straws.

Your kid at the Heights was probably bullied because he’s a weirdo.

Wow-really living those Christian values there aren’t you? Do you limit yourself to badmouthing kids you don’t know or do you kick puppies for fun too?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, the fact that there are Catholic and non-Catholic rates should tell you something. We tried the Heights for our DS Anglican kid and he was mercilessly bullied and we had to leave. I wouldn't do it. Remember your kid will have to attend mass, etc. https://www.bsstoday.org/admissions/tuition

Oh please — the difference in tuition is practically nothing and it’s only because of parish support. You’re grasping at straws.

Your kid at the Heights was probably bullied because he’s a weirdo.

Yikes!

For what it's worth, I watched BS kids on a field trip be horribly behaved.

Anonymous wrote:BSS isn't just a school, it's a way of life. If you send your kids there you are part of a clique that vacations at Bethany, belongs to Columbia, drives a huge American SUV and raises lax bros and gals to play at Gonazaga and Visi. You're either all in or not.

This. 1000% this.

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP -- I am a current BS parent. I actually don't know the religion of my child's classmates - some may be Jewish, atheist, Episcopalian, etc. for all I know. DH and I both Catholic. I'd just say you will need to embrace the religious aspects of the education. I'm not suggesting that you'd embrace it to the point of conversion, but showing respect and talking about it as you'd talk about history or other subjects, and discussing it with your kid to compare and contrast with the Jewish faith and how your family practices religion. I think it would be hard for a kid to be taught one thing during the day, and then have it dismissed as silly or wrong when they get home, so finding a way to meaningfully navigate your differences with what's taught in school will be important.

I'd agree with statements made from PPs who discussed the multigenerational ties to the school. There's a lot of that. You can view it as pro or a con. There are a lot of families who are deeply invested in the school's success and put a lot of their time and resources into it.

I guarantee the kids know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi — Thoughts on Blessed Sacrament for our kids?

We’re a liberal Jewish family (but not very religious) in the neighborhood.

Our neighbors seem to like BS, and we like that it’s nearby, affordable, and smaller than public but not too small.

We are looking for a school that will provide a good education, in a welcoming community, where our kids and we can make friends.

look at Milton. It has a liberal parent body (many are not religious) and offers sicnifigant financial aid to many families. It sounds like you and your family would fit in well there. Good education, welcoming community (many in Chevy chase), not super far away, will be a place for you and your kids to make friends for sure. It is also pretty diverse.

+1 for Milton. There are lots of non-religious families there and it is a great community

Non religious Jewish families you mean

Yes, like OP

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi — Thoughts on Blessed Sacrament for our kids?

We’re a liberal Jewish family (but not very religious) in the neighborhood.

Our neighbors seem to like BS, and we like that it’s nearby, affordable, and smaller than public but not too small.

We are looking for a school that will provide a good education, in a welcoming community, where our kids and we can make friends.

look at Milton. It has a liberal parent body (many are not religious) and offers sicnifigant financial aid to many families. It sounds like you and your family would fit in well there. Good education, welcoming community (many in Chevy chase), not super far away, will be a place for you and your kids to make friends for sure. It is also pretty diverse.

+1 for Milton. There are lots of non-religious families there and it is a great community

Non religious Jewish families you mean

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's also a very competitive admit for K. They almost always have enough parishioners to fill slots, any open slots then go to Catholics outside the parish. So I wouldn't bet on admittance.

Not OP but swooping into this thread to ask about this. Is there no chance for non-Catholics at BS for K? We are specifically looking for a religious school but the DC area ones are $$$ except Catholic, and we live closest to BS. I was hoping we had a fighting chance.

Pretty much impossible to get into BSS in K unless you are a parishioner. You may have better luck in 4th grade onwards, when a lot of BSS families bolt to 4th-12th grade schools.

Hi OP -- I am a current BS parent. I actually don't know the religion of my child's classmates - some may be Jewish, atheist, Episcopalian, etc. for all I know. DH and I both Catholic. I'd just say you will need to embrace the religious aspects of the education. I'm not suggesting that you'd embrace it to the point of conversion, but showing respect and talking about it as you'd talk about history or other subjects, and discussing it with your kid to compare and contrast with the Jewish faith and how your family practices religion. I think it would be hard for a kid to be taught one thing during the day, and then have it dismissed as silly or wrong when they get home, so finding a way to meaningfully navigate your differences with what's taught in school will be important.

I'd agree with statements made from PPs who discussed the multigenerational ties to the school. There's a lot of that. You can view it as pro or a con. There are a lot of families who are deeply invested in the school's success and put a lot of their time and resources into it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can’t underestimate how much religion happens at Catholic k-8s in addition to weekly mass. Praying several times a day, learning prayers in Spanish for Spanish class, w
writing projects about saints, all the best traditions revolving around Christmas and Lent. A Jewish family would be welcomed and probably a lot of people wouldn’t even know, but I don’t know why you’d do it. You’d end up resenting all the time taken from academics. Even some Catholics struggle with that aspect of Catholic k-8.

Did you go to Catholic school? It sure doesn’t sound like it. For starters, “weekly Mass” is extremely uncommon. That wasn’t even happening when I was in Catholic school decades ago. It was monthly — the first Friday to be exact.

Same but I think st Agnes in Arlington goes weekly. Arlington diocese is much more conservative than DC though. Huge trumpers over here in Catholic schools.

Weekly Mass has been around for decades before Trump.