Notre Dame School

Our daughter attends TK at Notre Dame after two years of preschool there. We have had an excellent experience and she is thriving and loves the other students. Not only is the curriculum excellent but but the teachers are wonderful and the environment outstanding. The parents of the other students seem top notch and we have a family-like atmosphere. Our youngest can't wait until she is old enough to go there too. We highly recommend the preschool and TK both of which are still having in person instruction.

My husband and I sent both of our children to Notre Dame School. What we really appreciated was the nurturing environment that we found. The academic rigor that Notre Dame provided also came with fun and challenging athletic and arts opportunities. We also loved how the school supports specials: students have a different teacher for music, fine arts, and physical education. Further, there is a fabulous after school theatre program run by parents who have passional and commitment to the theatrical arts. The hot lunch program is delicious and nutritious. We especially appreciated the upper elementary and junior high field trips to interesting places including: the Balclutha ship trip (5th), the Monterrey Bay (7th), San Francisco (6th), and Ashland theatre field trip in 8th grade. When we were there, parents also organized a Washington D.C. trip. The choir and music opportunities were embedded in the school program and classes, and all students learn the fundamentals of music. The proximity to the university also provided the students with enriched programs and activities such as the science lab just a hop, skip and a jump away. Notre Dame is a traditional looking school that values respect and community service, but teachers also bring the most relevant and research-backed best practices to the classrooms as well. One other aspect is that my children, during those turbulent junior high years, were not just around peers who they had grown up with, but were able to be role models and teachers for the younger students, as Mass buddies and teacher aides.
I feel that the TK-8 structure keeps junior high students a little more innocent then massing all of the same-aged kids together at once, like the other junior highs in town. The financial investment is just that: an investment in our children. Well worth every penny.