Colegio Católico Notre Dame is a coeducational

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

school located in

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. Notre Dame is composed of a pre pre-kindergarten, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. They are all located on the same campus.

History

The Colegio Católico Notre Dame was founded on October 3, 1916 by Redemptorist Priests (of the

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

) with the help of the Congregation of the

School Sisters of Notre Dame School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in Bavaria in 1833 and devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and mi ...

. Originally the school had the name of Colegio Dulce Nombre de Jesús but this was eventually changed to the name that it has today. Notre Dame initially accepted students from kindergarten to the fourth grade. By 1921, the school had expanded to include the eighth grade. In 1947, the first 24 students graduated twelfth grade from Notre Dame. In 1956, the grades from seventh to twelfth were moved to Troche Avenue in Caguas, its current location. The high school was then named Notre Dame High School in honor of the Virgin Mary and the

. The elementary school is located next to the Catedral Dulce Nombre de Jesús in the "

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

" of Caguas. Notre Dame also has a pre-kindergarten (formed in 1986) and a kindergarten (formed in 1950), both located in the same campus as the high school. In 2017, the elementary grades were moved into a new building next to the Neumann Hall and Auditorium, in a new building. In 1964 Notre Dame received accreditation by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

. Eventually, the school went back to the name Colegio Católico Notre Dame in order to unify the schools. In 1997, the elementary school received the "Blue Ribbon Award" of Excellence in Education awarded by the "

Blue Ribbon Schools Program The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

". Notre Dame is currently the biggest private school in

with more than 2,300 students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

School motto

The school's motto is that of the School Sisters of Notre Dame ''virtus et scientia'', which translates to "virtue and knowledge" from Latin.

School anthem

Lyrics to the school anthem, as copied from the school website:

Viva, viva Notre Dame que viva ahora y en el porvenir Alma máter de mis tiernos años, a Dios me enseñas a servir. A tí siempre seré leal, Alma máter, eres mi ideal. Que por sólo sendas de virtud Tú guías a la juventud. Viva, viva Notre Dame que viva ahora y en el porvenir Alma máter de mis tiernos años a Dios me enseñas a servir.

Clubs and organizations

Some of the school's clubs are: * Advocati Iustitia (Law Club) * Amnistía Internacional Capítulo Notre Dame * Astronomy Club * Chemistry Club * Chess Club * Comic Book Club * Dance Team Club (Founded in 2011-2012) * Drama Club * Ecology Club * English Club * Forensics League * History Club * Huellas (Religious ministry group) * In Focus (Photography Club) * Library Club * Math Club * Ministry of Music (Religious music ministry, an offshoot of the school choir and with many shared members) *

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

Club *

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

* Oratory Club (Spanish equivalent of Forensics League) * Robotics Club * Scala (School newspaper, founded in 1946) * School Band * School Choir "Coral Juvenil Mare Mia" * Seoul Knights (Korean Club) * Soles Verdes Club (Ecology Club) * Scientia Club (Science Club for the Middle School) * Student Council (Formed in 1958) * T.E.A ("Taller de Expresión Artística" or Drama and Art Club)

Facilities

The elementary school was located next to the city's cathedral, and was moved to a new facility in the high school campus in 2017. The high school campus has a soccer field, a track, volleyball and basketball courts. The Neumann Hall Auditorium serves as a cafeteria and a place to hold large events and mass. It also consists of many other rooms used for reunions. In 2017, a Cybercafe was added to the school's facilities. It consists of a menu in which you pay apart from the Cafeteria.

Famous alumni

Ana Isabelle Ana Isabel Acevedo Avilés is a Puerto Rican singer, actress, dancer and entrepreneur. In December 2007, she released her first album, ''Por El Amor'' and in 2009, she won Univision's ''Viva el Sueño''. Career Her professional experience rang ...

, singer, actress, dancer and entrepreneur. *

Catalina Morales Catalina Morales Gómez (born December 11, 1990) is a Colombian-born Puerto Rican model, television personality and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2015. She represented Puerto Rico at Miss Universe 2015, wher ...

, Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2015. *

José Aponte Hernández Jose Fernando Aponte Hernández (born January 19, 1958) is an accountant and former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. He was born in San Juan and obtained a bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Puerto R ...

, Representative-at-Large and former

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral state legislature (United States), territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. ...

, former Secretary General of the New Progressive Party *

Felipe Crespo Felipe Javier Crespo (born March 5, 1973) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball utility player, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for three different teams between and . Listed at 5'11, 195 lb., he was a switch-hitter and thre ...

, Baseball player. *

César Crespo César Antonio Crespo (born May 23, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former second baseman who last played in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Listed at 5'11, 170 lb., Crespo was a switch-hitter and throws right-handed. He is the younger brother o ...

, Baseball player. *

Félix Omar Fernández Félix Omar Fernández Rodríguez (born July 22, 1976) is a retired male track and field athlete. He competed in the Sprint (running), sprints events during his career. He competed for Puerto Rico at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he was elimina ...

, Olympic Athlete,

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. *

Juan Dalmau Juan Manuel Dalmau Ramírez (born July 23, 1973) is a Puerto Rican politician, attorney and a former candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rican Independence Party.Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico ( es, gobernador de Puerto Rico) is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and commander-in-chief of the Puerto Rico National Guard. The governor has a duty ...

, Secretary General of the

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party ( es, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ...

José Luis Dalmau José Luis Dalmau Santiago (born September 19, 1966) is an attorney and politician. He is the current President of the Senate of Puerto Rico and President of the Popular Democratic Party. Early years and studies José Luis Dalmau Santiago was ...

, Actual President of the Senate Senator of Puerto Rico *

Janice Olivencia Janice Olivencia (born September 16, 1982 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a professional golfer. In 2009, she became the first Puerto Rican woman to play in the U.S. Women's Open, and only the second Puerto Rican since Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez to pla ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

player. *

Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

, candidate for future canonization; beatified on April 29, 2001. * Lionel Perez Martinez, sports media personality, La Garata. * Luis J. Haddock, Tennis player. *

Ismael Cruz Córdova Ismael Enrique Cruz Córdova (born April 7, 1987) is a Puerto Rican actor who gained national attention playing Mando on ''Sesame Street''. Cruz also had a role in the Showtime original series ''Ray Donovan'', and in the third season of ''Berlin ...

, actor. * Juliette Feliciano Ortiz, actress, dancer, and singer. * Krystell Santiago Estrella, scientist, singer, musician, and film director. * Gerardo Lamadrid Castillo, published author and writer. *

Leandro Antonetti Leandro Antonetti López (born 13 January 2003) is a Puerto Rican professional footballer who plays for Primera Federación club Lugo. Mainly a forward, he can also play as a winger. Born in Spain, he represents the Puerto Rico national team. ...

, Soccer player,

Polvorín FC CD Lugo B, previously Sociedad Deportiva e Cultural Polvorín, is a Spanish football team based in Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia. Founded in 1991, it plays in Tercera Federación, holding home matches at ''Campo Municipal de A Che ...

. * Rubén Estrada (Alejo), singer. * Ivan Rafael Gandia-Rosa, Basketball player.

Notes and references

External links

*
Official website of Colegio Católico Notre Dame (Middle and High School)

Official website of Colegio Católico Notre Dame (Elementary School)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colegio Catolico Notre Dame Elementary schools in Puerto Rico Catholic secondary schools in Puerto Rico Caguas, Puerto Rico Educational institutions established in 1916 1916 establishments in Puerto Rico