Dear Visitors,

I would like to welcome you to the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish School web site!  For fifty-six 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 back a Japanese intern to our school after a year’s hiatus.  This will be the fourth year that we have a Japanese intern.  Ms. Keiko Yagura will be offering our kindergarten through fifth grade students an introduction to Japanese language and culture.  She 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.  Last March we had an extremely successful middle school service project.  Our sixth, seventh, and eighth graders participated in the Stop Hunger Now program.  During the course of one day, our students put together over 25,000 meals for Haiti and other famine struck areas of the world.  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 seventh 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 you during a staff meeting last year, we decided that this year’s theme will be “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”  As part of this theme, we will concentrate on specific virtues for each month: Love (August), Pardon (September), Faith (October), Hope (November), Light (December), Console (January), Understand (February), Joy (March), Giving (April), and Receiving (May). All of these virtues are important parts of the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.  Although I will be dealing with other aspects of school life throughout the year, I feel this theme with these virtues will set the tone for what I know will be another great year for our students, families, and staff.  As we begin our 2010-2011 school year, I ask God to bless our students, staff, families, school, and parish.

Blessings,

Robert B. Scripko, Ph.D.

Principal