Our Lady of the Hills Regional Catholic High School – Spring Update

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Catholic News Agency

OUR LADY OF THE HILLS REGIONAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL UPDATES

By: Sue Murphy, OLH Counselor and Susie McCalla, Faculty and Admissions Director

The educational challenge, the development of a love for learning, and the strengthening of moral character are goals OLH students find infectious and invigorating.

You may wonder what could cause such a positive stir among teenagers in this somewhat troubled twenty-first century. OLH faculty, staff, administration, parents, and students lead by example and strongly contribute to upholding our mottoā€”ā€œOLH . . . Men and Women for Others.ā€

At the close of the 2014 school year, grade 9-12 students logged approximately 13,000 hours of assistance to the needs of school, community, and the world. Below is just a small sampling of how OLH students exhibit their motto.


Individual and School Projects

Thanksgiving Baskets ā€“ All OLH students save their money for a ā€œThanksgiving Dinnerā€ shopping spree and delivery to approximately twenty deserving families of Kerr County.

Gifts Under the Christmas Tree ā€“ All students were encouraged to bring gifts for orphans of the Dominican Republic. Sponsor: Katherine Harris, OLH Junior

Change Through OLH ā€“ Ongoing nine-week competition between grade levels where students donate spare change to benefit whichever deserving community organization the grade level winners choose.

Childrenā€™s Book Drive with book donations benefiting MOMā€™s Center and Community Needs Council in Fredericksburg, TX. Sponsor: Maeve Junker, OLH Sophomore


OLH Student Councilā€¦

Early in the school year the OLH Family was saddened as tragedy struck OLH Assistant Coach Joe Martinezā€™s family when his son was critically injured in an automobile accident and faced months of hospitalization and rehabilitation.

To assist the family with expenses, OLH students raised approximately $2,500 by purchasing free dress days and contributing to a school-wide bake sale.


OLH Key Clubā€¦

OLH Key Club - Jean Drive

All-School Jean Drive benefiting St. Vincent de Paul, Christian Womenā€™s Job Corps, and Pregnancy Resource Center

Valentines for Veterans – Over 100 Valentines made by OLH students delivered to our veterans at local VA Hospital

Adopt a Highway ā€“ On-going

Recycling Program for OLH
Participated in Project Eliminate with Kiwanis Club International in providing funds to eradicate tetanus

40 Cans for Lent


OLH National Honor Societyā€¦

Trick-or-Treat for canned goods for local food pantry

Bi-Annual Blood Drives ā€“ Hundreds of lives saved through donations by OLH staff, students, and parents

Hosted Winter Formal for local retirement center

Honor our local Veterans with special assembly and refreshments


Fine Arts

Visual and performing arts at OLH is the ā€œicing on the cake.ā€ Regional and state honors in theatre, art, and choir have been abundant throughout the years. Varied community organizations have come to rely on OLH performing arts for entertainment at club meetings.


Hawk Spirit Soars

High school athletic programs are crucial in molding students for meeting the unending demands of our society today and in the future. ā€œIn my 30 years in the business world, I have found that what an athlete brings to the workplace is discipline, teamwork, a drive for success, the desire to be held accountable and a willingness to have their performance measured,ā€ says Steve Reinemund, former Chairman & CEO, of PepsiCo.
Through the years, all OLH sports teams (football, basketball, volleyball, soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, golf, track and cross country, swim team) continually strive to bring honor to our school and community by placing in varying levels in competitive events ā€” local, regional, and state. Through teaching and by example, OLH coaches are constantly instilling the above-mentioned admirable attributes in their teamsā€™ players.


Academic Excellence

OLH students at mass

Research shows that the number one reason parents elect to entrust their children to a private school is the academic excellence, which also happens to be a major goal of principals of private schools.

As referenced by the Council for American Private Education, the following headlines in early October of this year captured some of the story : ā€œ2014 SAT Scores Remain Stagnant,ā€ ā€œStudent Performance Stalls on SAT.ā€ College Board itself reported: SAT scores for the 2014 crop of high school graduates were stubbornly stuck at levels ā€œsimilar to other recent senior classes.ā€

But the fixation on stagnation largely ignored another important element of the story: scores varied significantly by the type of school students attended. It turns out that students who graduated from religious and independent schools had scores that substantially outdistanced those of students in public schools and actually helped lift the national average.


SAT Scores for the Class of 2014

School Reading Math Writing
Independent 535 580 542
Religious 533 537 527
Public 492 501 478
OLH 555 537 537
Texas 476 495 461
National Mean 497 513 487

OLH has had twenty-four National Merit Scholars since we began entering the competition in 2007.

Located in Kerrville, Texas, the Heart of the Texas Hill Country, Our Lady of the Hills Regional Catholic High School welcomes and serves students from a wide range of ethnicities, financial situations, religious denominations, and cultures. If a student wants and needs to be at OLH, the monetary means to aid in attaining that goal is available through our local benefactors and Hope for the Future Scholarships.

Visit Our Lady of the Hills Regional Catholic High School TODAY.