Our beloved school, Our Lady of the Lake, is included in the prestigious "Best of Essex" awards. This is an incredible opportunity for us to showcase the exceptional educational experience our children receive every day at OLL.
Congratulations to OLL's Class of 2023 who celebrated their Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement Ceremony! We are so proud and know you will go on to do great things!
Congratulations to all the students who were inducted into this year's National Junior Honor Society! Your dedication to the standards of scholarship, leadership, service, and character have been rewarded with this exceptional honor. We are so proud and wish you continued success in the future!
We are excited to share with you that our recent production of Mary Poppins Jr. was a huge success! Our students put on an incredible show that left the audience in awe. We want to extend our sincerest congratulations to all the students who participated in the production, as well as to our amazing directors, Mrs. Catherine Duran and Ms. Gigi Hanna, for their hard work and dedication in putting on such an outstanding show. The students worked tirelessly for months to prepare for the performances, and it truly paid off. The singing, dancing, acting, and set design were all fantastic, and the energy and enthusiasm of the cast and crew were contagious. It was a joy to watch our students showcase their talents and bring the beloved story of Mary Poppins to life.
Congratulations to OLL's Kaira Lalwani who took First Place and Maddy Robeson who received an Honorable Mention at the last Forensics Competition of the year in the area of Humorous Interpretation. Both girls also placed among the overall top scoring competitors for the year, with Kaira coming in sixth place and Maddy coming in seventh. Another team member, Katerina Clemente, also received a high score award, coming in 14th place for the year. Congratulations to the entire Forensics Team on a great year!
OLL 7th Grade presented a moving Stations of the Cross prayer service for fellow students, parents, and parishioners to share the experience of Christ’s passion and cultivate a deeper love for him. Each station was fine-tuned with a meaningful message for today's youth: Was there ever a time you felt lonely or overwhelmed? Was there a time you found it difficult to start again after failure? This solemn and contemplative service is a long-standing OLL tradition that helps keep our hearts grounded during the Lenten season.
Congratulations to OLL's Finn Sousa and all the other young men and women honored as Outstanding Catholic School Graduates by the Archdiocese of Newark. Finn was recognized for his Catholic values in word and deed and his commitment to academic achievement. Finn and his fellow honorees truly exemplify the very best of Catholic education.
The 3rd Grade went international for this year’s Culture Fair! Each student showcased their family’s culture with background research of their native country. Informational posters were displayed along with family photos and mementos. Students also completed an oral presentation to each visiting group and shared their original poems. The Fair was kicked off with a special class lunch where they shared traditional dishes of each culture.
Six OLL 4th Grade students competed in the Verona Spelling Bee on Saturday, January 28th. We are so proud of them all for taking on this challenge and so wonderfully representing our school!
In order to further develop their understanding of our Catholic faith, 4th graders at Our Lady of the Lake School scheduled a Question and Answer session with Dr. Tom Neal, a professor at Notre Dame Seminary in Louisiana. Dr. Neal was very impressed with the level of deep thinking the students used in asking their questions; so much so, that he told Mrs. Petrozziello that he is going to share their questions with his own students and ask them to answer them as well, as he believed they would find them to be "excellent and challenging" questions.
The Great Kindness Challenge is a proactive and positive SEL-focused bullying prevention program that improves school climate and increases student engagement. The Great Kindness Challenge - School Edition is one week devoted to performing as many acts of kindness as possible on campus. Using the provided kindness checklist, students accept the challenge and show the world that KINDNESS MATTERS!
The North Jersey Forensics League held it first competition of the 22/23 school year in the category of Reading at Lacordaire Academy in Montclair. OLL students made a strong showing, with two competitors making it to the finals.
Mrs. Kirkner's third grade class learned many of the steps needed for publishing a book. With the help of Mrs. Roca, one of the student's mothers, the class created a recipe book and gifted it to their families for Christmas. The book showcases each family's favorite recipe along with fun kitchen photographs of the students. Mrs. Roca did this same project as a child and her mother still uses the book! So, she wanted to pass down the tradition to the families in her son's class. Well done and thank you Mrs. Roca for your time and creativity!
The third graders in Mrs. Kirkner’s class participated in a STEM investigation... The third graders in Mrs. Kirkner’s class participated in a STEM investigation that required the students to work collaboratively to construct a bridge out of popsicle craft sticks. Their engineering wheels were in motion as they created amazing works of architecture. Working in small groups also encouraged teambuilding skills. Way to go third graders!
OLL students had a fun day with sprinkles on top...literally! The students helped Principal Ronquillo keep his promise to get turned into a banana split when the students reached their Read-a-thon goal of $3,000. Donning his bright yellow banana costume, Principal Ronquillo experienced the works-- chocolate syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles and a few cherries for good luck. Keep your eyes peeled :) as more Read-a-thon fun is around the corner...
Today we competed in the first tournament of the year in the category of reading. Two of our students made the finals: Matteo Spain and Abigail Pacheco. We are off to a fabulous start! Our next category will be declamation. Go Lake!