Our Lady of the Lake School

OLL is known for its strong, friendly and welcoming culture, within the student body and parent community. Parents LOVE school, the teachers and the leadership (principal and priest). This parish school is very diverse compared to other North Seattle parish schools. The students love going to school, excel in a wide range of extracurricular activites, and the parents really put a lot of heart and soul into supporting the school.
—Submitted by a parent

We are not Catholic and were really leery of sending our child to this school but our public school was not an option, due to the open classroom model. Being the parents of an only child, we really love being a part of the school community. The school families, which are lead by an 8th graders, really expands the circle of friends our son has. He really looks up to the older kids and they are so nice to him. The principal is great and the parish priest is really a wonderful man. We love the school for all things that can't be measured by test scores. I want our kid to grow into a well rounded and educated child and the school lacks technology that the public school has and the middle school doesn't have a foreign language program. We are on the fence about changing schools even though the current 8th grade has great test scores. We have one more year before middle school we'll see if next years 8th grade get similar scores.
—Submitted by a parent

We are new to this school (6th grade). It's a hard, hard, year to switch schools! We came from a very unstructured environment; no uniforms or religion classes, not a lot of testing, not a lot of desks. The amount of change for our son was HUGE. Our family, as a group, has been so supported - it's astonishing really. They have hung in there with us and our sometimes moody pre-teen. He is known by all the staff and Father Tim, he has been challenged in his studies and is working hard on personal responsibility (homework etc), the athletics program is super active, his ideas have been embraced by the adults around him (he has started their first Ultimate team). The parent group and the church combine to create a vibrant community; inviting interesting speakers and hosting events. The "new" principal is fantastic and key to the school's success. Science is stronger than I have ever found, with an energetic teacher and nice lab. My son loves math and the school works actively to keep him engaged- he's thriving. I notice they keep tweaking the math program to address kids needs - I feel like they are really paying attention. Fun assignments + a new gym coming! We LOVE it!
—Submitted by a parent

I find it difficult to believe that the reviews presented here are genuine. My children attended this school. In the radius of two blocks I know four families who had children who attended OLL and moved them to other schools. The primary reason was inappropriate response to bullying and incompetent teachers / principal. It is very important that you comply and fit in to this community. If your child has special needs there are little to no resources to address them (our son was undiagnosed Dyslexic). We found that this school did not prepare our older child for high school. The math / science is very weak (if there is a science lab, that is a new development) and the changeover in teachers at the middle school level is astonishing. In addition, we found that there was little or no communication in dovetailing curriculum between grades (astonishing in that there is only one class per grade). If you are Catholic and want the religious factor this may be for you but if you put your kids first, put your money in a college fund and walk down the street to one of the many fine public schools that have exceptional teachers and programs.
—Submitted by a parent

OLL school has been a great choice for our family. I have a son in high school now and OLL prepared him very well. The older OLL children regularly do things with the younger children which makes the younger ones feel very special. The school gets the children very well prepared for public speaking early on, and by the time they are in middle school, they are winning speech competitions. The 8th grade play is a must see. Each year, the 8th graders, along with some of the 6th and 7th graders perform a play (thanks to the wonderful OLL art and drama program). The OLL staff is amazing. The science program is exceptional led by a very enthusiastic teacher, language program for all the kids. I can go on and on.
—Submitted by a parent

My children are blossoming at this school. The mixture of community and persoanl attention is wonderful and has an excellent effect on the children at the school. The teachers are very intelligent as well as committed. Since I am not Catholic but my husband is, we consider the religious lessons more of a scholarly bonus than a requirement. The school has a very healthy mix of race, religious beliefs, and gender. My family is looking forward to many more years at OLL.
—Submitted by a parent

We are new to this school this year. After visiting many schools, we became convinced that OLL (that's what the local say) was the right place for our child. The teachers are very caring and focused on their students. The principal is very energetic and knows all of his students. The school environment was very welcoming to new families. I suspect that this school will continue to grow - and I am glad we got on board before others.
—Submitted by a parent

I attended the school from Kindergarten to 8th grade. I have fond memories of the school but as with most schools there are some not so fond ones. The good outweigh the bad. Some of the highlights of my years there was the outdoor education program. The 4th and 5th graders go to Cornet Bay and stay in cabins with high school students who are pretty much the ones that make sure they have a good time. I had so much fun there that as a high school student I would want to go back to watch the 4th and 5th graders. On rainy days (they happen a lot in Seattle) the 8th graders go to supervise the younger grades. I also loved the musical which the 8th graders preform every year. It did a great job for preparing me for high school.
—Submitted by a former student

Our Lady of the Lake is a great school for your children to grow and learn in. Their teachers just love teaching and like to do hands on activities. Even though the class sizes are large the teachers give them individual attention and personalized tutoring. The school has many school activities that bring classes together like 4th and 5th grade camp, middle school retreat, pioneer farm for 3rd grade, 8th grade go to Olympia, 8th grade play, and the teachers pick 5 7th graders to go to Washington DC for a leadership camp. Most of the children at OLL our enrolled into sports teams. OLL has sports like Soccer, track, basketball, baseball, and tennis.
—Submitted by Mathew Wirtz, a student