Testimonials

What Our Students Say About O'Hara...

• A Catholic education allows me to learn about my faith, have school Masses, and learn about God. It also teaches me how to be respectful of others, recognize Christ in everyone and practice what God teaches me. It teaches me how to pray and worship only the true God. A Catholic education also teaches me the Commandments, the rules that God has given us to live a better life and how to follow them.
• Daily I thank God for my Catholic education. From kindergarten through 8th grade, I have been blessed with a first-rate Catholic education at O'Hara.
  
  O'Hara is a Catholic community that encourages personal faith in Jesus and service to others while encouraging students to reach their highest academic potential. When students see faith in action every day, it becomes part of their lives. My family has made many sacrifices in order for me to attend Catholic schools. For that, I am forever thankful.
  
  My Catholic education will continue to have a great impact on the person I am to become. Living through Jesus' example has helped to create meaning and direction in my life, and I believe I have become a better person for it. Growing up as a student at O'Hara has taught me to respect others and respect myself. It has taught me to reach for my dreams and to never give up on hope or faith.
  
  God has placed each of us on this earth to live, to experience, to discover, and most of all to love. O'Hara has provided me with an excellent base for continuing my education at Marist. O'Hara is a school that creates success! I am so blessed to be part of the O'Hara community.
• I started attending O'Hara when I was in fourth grade. O'Hara Catholic school has given me a great academic education and it prepares me well for Marist and a future college. At my public school, I never even got an ounce of what I'm getting here. At O'Hara, I started to learn about responsibility. O'Hara has taught me how to react with other kids and has shown me the meaning of life, God.
  
  The only person that was baptized in my family before I went to O'Hara was my mom. By the fifth grade, I was really recognizing how much I needed God in my life. Going to Masses with O'Hara and celebrating the Eucharist really made me want to become part of the Catholic faith and to become a better person. My family then started going to RCIA classes so we could become baptized and be able to take communion.
  
  By the time Easter Sunday came, I was ready to become a different, and better, person. When they called my name to go up, I was really nervous, but ready. I felt like I spent a long time for it and felt like it was a miracle from God that my family got to be able to be a part of what we celebrated. I really owe it to O'Hara because if I never attended, I wouldn't be a person with faith. I would be just a person in life waiting for my calling from God.
  
  O'Hara has been an amazing experience for me and I know that I will always remember it. I have had good times and bad, but all were part of God's plan. I have become a better person because of the people and environment I have grown up in. I want to thank everyone in my life for giving me such an opportunity to be who I am today and to live the way that God wants.
• My Catholic education has made a big impact on my life. I have gone to Catholic schools through pre-school, elementary, and middle school. From my perspective, Catholic schools seem to prepare their students better for what will come in the future, such as high school, jobs, and just life in general.
  
  The O'Hara community has influenced my life in many different ways. They have taught me to pray often and to realize that God is always there, even during the worst or best times that will occur during my life. O'Hara has academically prepared me better for high school and grades ahead. I have had more one on one attention with the teachers because of the smaller classes. The teachers also are very welcoming and they are very accountable. They let you know when you're doing something great or getting behind. If you are in a situation where you are missing assignments or not keeping up, they will let you know what you need to do to keep up, with a positive attitude towards the students.
  
  Socially, O'Hara has been great for me. People are very kind and Christ-like. My friends and I also relate a lot to one and other because we are both religious and have the same attitudes towards life. When I came about two years ago, the people were very open and not exclusive. I was shy at first but after awhile I had a lot of friends and felt very included in the O'Hara community because they were so warm and open. Just like what is said in the mission statement, the environment is nurturing and the O'Hara community is like one big loving family.
• I am very satisfied with the choice my parents made to send me to O'Hara. I have had a great experience, and I am confident my Catholic schooling has prepared me well for high school and many years to come.
  
  I have been at O'Hara for nine years, and my Catholic education has made me who I am today. I have learned to love God and thank him for everything he has given me. O'Hara has expectations that have made me a better person. One of the many I follow every day is to recognize Christ in all people.
  
  While growing up here, I have felt so close to all the teachers and my friends. When my grandpa passed away, all of my friends went beyond what they had to do, helping me get through this rough time. Barb in the front office came down and told me my mom was coming to pick me up and that I should get packed up and ready to go home. I was crying and almost all of my friends knew what happened. They gave me hugs, called me on the phone, sent me emails, and even asked if I wanted to do things to get my mind off thinking about my grandpa. After about two days home from school, I got sent a letter from everyone in 8th grade. I think this was a great act of kindness and part of the Catholic education we get here.
  
  At O'Hara, the teachers make sure you understand and they help you out when you are really stuck. I am so grateful to be going to a Catholic school. O'Hara has prepared me for all the obstacles I will run into in high school, college, and later in life. I have also learned that I have to be the role model of Christ, and that little kids are watching and will copy us later. I am very thankful for everything God has given me. I am so glad that I am an O'Hara student with a great Catholic education, which has changed me in body, mind, spirit, and actions.

What Our Parents Say About O'Hara...

• There are many great reasons why we send our son to O'Hara. My husband and I really enjoy the structured, but loving atmosphere at O'Hara. The notion that it takes a village to raise a child is really why we have our child at O'Hara. The teachers and school personnel provide an extra positive support to the children that makes us feel like our child is getting the education he needs. The students not only get a good education but also get the reinforcement they need to build self-confidence. We can't imagine our son going to school anywhere other than O'Hara.
• We want to give our children a quality education in a place where faith is a part of every day. O'Hara continues the values that are important in our home, and our children are free to be children of faith.
• We wanted our children to have a quality education while learning in a Catholic environment. We believe in the O'Hara Catholic School Mission Statement of preparing students to strive for excellence spiritually, academically, physically and socially to become life long learners with strong Catholic values. We know that the O'Hara teachers are very student-centered and do their very best job in preparing our children to become contributing members to society.
• We send our child to Catholic school because Catholic schools teach generosity, compassion, and citizenship with the same zeal as reading, writing and arithmetic.
• We started out with O'Hara Pre-School with no plans for Catholic school. But we liked the family atmosphere, small classes, religious and moral education, (including freedom to say "...one nation under God") so much, we stuck with it. We are glad we did and now will probably go all the way through Marist. The teachers at O'Hara are here because they want to be... many of them having their own children here. In the opportunities I have had to interact and volunteer with other parents, they are excited to be here and participate. Kids don't just 'end up' here because they have to be. They are here because their parents want them here. Every student I have encountered is polite and positive.
• We wanted our children to have God's teachings integrated into their entire education, not just a daily or weekly class. Along with O'Hara's reputation for excellence in teaching, their philosophy of respect and service toward others made sending our children here an easy decision. Our children love attending school. They regularly bring home their class projects, songs and new Spanish words, and we are very pleased with their academic progress. Last, but not least, the teachers and staff are great. They keep us well informed of our children's progress and difficulties. They have truly welcomed us with open arms and made us feel that we're part of the O'Hara family.
• We send our children to O'Hara because of the values that are taught and the quality of the education.
• After educating one child, Kindergarten through 12th Grade in the public school, we observed a decline not only in the general education of what our child was receiving but also in the moral values portrayed in the public school arena as well. We feel that O'Hara is establishing a foundation for our children that will carry them through all their formative years and help them to become successful adults.
• We know our son will receive a good education and a solid belief in God. We also know that he is in a loving environment.
• We are at O'Hara because of the Catholic values in their teaching. The classrooms are not overcrowded, and our daughter gets the attention that young children need.
• We feel strongly about having our children attend a school that will encourage and reinforce their Catholic faith. We have been so pleased with the integration of prayer and Christian values into our children's school day. We appreciate the service the children do within and outside of the school. They have benefited from their contact with the priests who come to the school to teach and say Mass. Our children have taught us things about Catholicism, and about love and caring in general.
• Seven years ago, we looked for a school that had high standards of excellence in education, religion, and community. We found it - and still do - at O'Hara Catholic School.
• We chose to pursue a Catholic education for our children in order that they would receive a solid education, but more importantly that Christian values would be reinforced throughout their day at school. It is comforting to know that at O'Hara the message of God is the common thread throughout all of classes. We have special teachers at O'Hara that give of themselves to help our children on their way.
• The values and beliefs established in our home are carried out and taught in school. O'Hara is a community of families that all have the same basic beliefs and all work together with the school for all the children. Plus, there is not a purple hair or multi body piercing!
• O'Hara is making a wonderful difference in helping our children develop a strong moral character.
• I believe the integration of religion in school creates a sense of family. I also feel O'Hara expects a higher level of commitment and responsibility from the students than the public schools do.