Dear Visitors,

I would like to welcome you to the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish School web site! For fifty-four years, OLL has been providing the students of Raleigh and the surrounding areas a quality Catholic education. Founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1954, the school has also seen religious and educational leadership from the Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Notre Dame. Today we remain a Sisters of Notre Dame affiliated school.

Members of our dedicated and creative staff, including two Sisters of Notre Dame, offer the students basic core classes in religion, language arts, social studies, math, and science. In addition students also take an enhancing enrichment curriculum: Spanish (daily classes in middle school), music, art, physical education, computers, and library. This year we will be welcoming a Japanese intern to our school for a third year. Ms. Kyoko Hori will be offering our kindergarten through fifth grade students an introduction to Japanese language and culture. They will also be making guest appearances in the middle school classes introducing students to aspects of Japanese culture such as art, folk dance, and the tea ceremony.

Besides our academic program, students develop an understanding of Catholic worship by participating in a variety of liturgies and paraliturgies: an all school weekly mass, special liturgies for holy and feast days, prayer services, and sacramental preparation (as part of the parish community). At the center of who we are as a Catholic school, students engage in service projects throughout the year as a school, classes, and individuals. At the same time, students are asked to come forth and participate in the parish as altar servers, readers, and cantors. Finally, OLL students participate in a variety of athletics (baseball, basketball, cheerleading, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball) and extracurricular activities (i.e., chess club, drama club, Science Olympiad, student council, choir).

I am excited to begin my fifth year as principal of OLL. Each year we choose a theme for all of us to concentrate on throughout the year. I find that by doing so we, as a school community, can emphasize certain aspects of our school life. Working with the teachers during a staff meeting last year, we decided that this year’s theme will be “We Are Called To Be People of Service!” As part of this theme, we will concentrate on specific virtues for each month: To Love Tenderly (August/September), Walk With Each Other (October), To Serve One Another (November), Shine With the Joy and the Love of the Lord (December), Sing a New Song (January), Open Your Heart (February), Live in the Light (March), Live in the Freedom of the City of God (April), and Act With Justice (May). As we begin our 2008-2009 school year, I ask God to bless our students, staff, families, school, and parish.

Blessings,

Robert B. Scripko, Ph.D. Principal