Dear Friend,
In September of this year Our Lady of Lourdes School was recognized as a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Lourdes was the only school in Montgomery County Maryland to be recognized as such, and one of only eight schools in the state to be awarded the Blue Ribbon. Later in the year, the school was named "Best of Bethesda School". The teachers, students and parents of Our Lady of Lourdes School have created a community that nurtures children, supports them in their faith development, and challenges them to strive for excellence in all that they do.
As we celebrate our 75th year, we look forward and plan for the future of our school. We dream of having more classroom space, an updated science lab, a refurbished cafeteria, new playground equipment and restrooms that have been modernized. We plan, too, for continued professional development for our teachers. Our exceptional faculty members are dedicated to providing the children of Lourdes with learning experiences that challenge and excite them, and the teachers are eager to learn new strategies and techniques to implement in their classrooms.
Our school tuition covers approximately 80% of the cost of educating the children of Lourdes. We depend on the generosity of our donors and our parents to cover the additional costs of a Lourdes education. We are determined to employ qualified, competent teachers who are dedicated to Catholic education, and to do that we must increase salaries. Our teacher salaries are currently about 20% less than those of the public school systems in the area.
Over 60% of our families applied for tuition assistance last year. We make every effort to meet the needs of all of our families. The Annual Fund and our fundraisers support the Collins Scholarship Fund and the Pat Long Scholarship Fund. These are usually depleted before school even begins in September. When we hear from a Lourdes family that they can no longer send their child to Lourdes because of a job loss or an illness that has put a strain on the family finances, we feel compelled to work something out so that they can remain in the Lourdes family. We need your help, though, to continue that practice.
This year we had several events that supported our Annual Fund. In April we had our 8th Annual Lions’s Roar Kate Truax 5K run and family fun day, and in the fall of 2016 we are planning our first annual Lourdes Tailgate Party and Cornhole Tournament. We ask you to prayerfully consider becoming a supporter for these events. Your support and your prayers are essential to the work we do at Lourdes, and we thank you in advance for supporting the children who attend Lourdes today and those who will come to us in the future seeking an excellent Catholic education that prepares them to become young men and women who will lead and serve others.
If you have further questions about our Annual Fund I encourage you to contact us by phone or email, and please visit our website at bethesda-lourdes.org to learn more about our school.
God bless you.
Patricia McGann
Principal
We're proud of our relationship with our business partners, and OLOL families and faculty appreciate and support our partners whenever they have the opportunity.
In September of this year Our Lady of Lourdes School was recognized as a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Lourdes was the only school in Montgomery County Maryland to be recognized as such, and one of only eight schools in the state to be awarded the Blue Ribbon. Later in the year, the school was named "Best of Bethesda School". The teachers, students and parents of Our Lady of Lourdes School have created a community that nurtures children, supports them in their faith development, and challenges them to strive for excellence in all that they do.
As we celebrate our 75th year, we look forward and plan for the future of our school. We dream of having more classroom space, an updated science lab, a refurbished cafeteria, new playground equipment and restrooms that have been modernized. We plan, too, for continued professional development for our teachers. Our exceptional faculty members are dedicated to providing the children of Lourdes with learning experiences that challenge and excite them, and the teachers are eager to learn new strategies and techniques to implement in their classrooms.
Our school tuition covers approximately 80% of the cost of educating the children of Lourdes. We depend on the generosity of our donors and our parents to cover the additional costs of a Lourdes education. We are determined to employ qualified, competent teachers who are dedicated to Catholic education, and to do that we must increase salaries. Our teacher salaries are currently about 20% less than those of the public school systems in the area.
Over 60% of our families applied for tuition assistance last year. We make every effort to meet the needs of all of our families. The Annual Fund and our fundraisers support the Collins Scholarship Fund and the Pat Long Scholarship Fund. These are usually depleted before school even begins in September. When we hear from a Lourdes family that they can no longer send their child to Lourdes because of a job loss or an illness that has put a strain on the family finances, we feel compelled to work something out so that they can remain in the Lourdes family. We need your help, though, to continue that practice.
This year we had several events that supported our Annual Fund. In April we had our 8th Annual Lions’s Roar Kate Truax 5K run and family fun day, and in the fall of 2016 we are planning our first annual Lourdes Tailgate Party and Cornhole Tournament. We ask you to prayerfully consider becoming a supporter for these events. Your support and your prayers are essential to the work we do at Lourdes, and we thank you in advance for supporting the children who attend Lourdes today and those who will come to us in the future seeking an excellent Catholic education that prepares them to become young men and women who will lead and serve others.
If you have further questions about our Annual Fund I encourage you to contact us by phone or email, and please visit our website at bethesda-lourdes.org to learn more about our school.
God bless you.
Patricia McGann
Principal
We're proud of our relationship with our business partners, and OLOL families and faculty appreciate and support our partners whenever they have the opportunity.
Why Parents Support OLOL
"Though our children have graduated, our family continues to make Lourdes a charitable priority. Our continued support of Lourdes is, in part, a measure of our gratitude. However, our support is not just giving thanks for what the school has done in the past — as important as that is. We also support Lourdes because we greatly value what the school continues to do, and what — given adequate resources — it will do in the future." - Matt Dolan, Father of Lourdes Alumni
What is the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School "Own the Vision" Annual Fund? |
The Our Lady of Lourdes "Own the Vision" Annual Fund is a planned, coordinated, concentrated effort undertaken each year to raise unrestricted gifts to help the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School ensure its viability and reach its full potential, as we maintain and enhance the excellence of our Catholic education.
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How does your annual fund donation benefit today's students? |
Every Our Lady of Lourdes School Annual Fund contribution directly addresses the school’s immediate needs and priorities to ensure academic excellence for today’s students.
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What are the 2016-2017 Annual Fund Goals? |
The state of our school is strong. Our Catholic identity drives what we do, and we look toward our future with optimism. We have big goals this year and your contribution to the Annual Fund is needed now more than ever to assist us with:
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Thank you for being a part of the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School community. Thank you for investing in the children who are here at Lourdes now, and those who will come here one day to learn to read and write, to add and subtract, to dream big, to pray, and to serve God and one another. Your investment in these children of today and those who will follow tomorrow truly is an investment in the future.
If you have any question, contact Mrs. Michela Donohue, Assistant Director of Development.
If you have any question, contact Mrs. Michela Donohue, Assistant Director of Development.
