Missions and SLEs | Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School 2 | Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School

If you choose to start your child’s education early, we offer a newly opened pre-kindergarten program
Your child will have a certified teacher for every grade level PreK-8
Your child will learn from specialists in accelerated mathematics, science, art, technology, library, PE, language arts, writing lab, religion, music, social studies, health and Spanish
Our 32 total faculty, staff, and administrative personnel, all have extensive experience in education and have been employed at OLL for up to 36 years
Master’s Degrees are held by certified teachers
All staff and faculty stay up to date on graduate programs, workshops, in-services, and memberships in professional organizations
All Faculty and Staff attend academic and faith formation in-service programs offered by the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon. And they all meet the requirements of catechismal training provided by this same Archdiocese
Your future graduate will have the opportunity to apply to the school of their choice

As a Catholic school, approved by the Local Ordinary (Canon 803), we provide authentic Catholic teaching, promoting evangelization, service and involvement in the community, and participation in the sacraments. OLL students participate in weekly Mass, daily prayer services, and many other special programs created for the various liturgical seasons. OLL has a strong religion curriculum which meets the USCCB requirements and is an effective instruction faithful to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. We also offer a vibrant religion program taught by qualified teachers who are active in the Catholic faith.

Our Lady of the Lake School’s story begins in 1888 with the founding of the OLL Parish. At that time, a small Catholic faith community was being organized by Father Charles O’Reilly. They named their community the Sacred Heart Parish and built a small wooden church on the corners of First and E Streets. The school part of the Parish was first created in 1938 when Father Joseph Vanderbeck combined forces with the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary from the Marlhurst campus. The original school had only 3 teachers, 4 rooms, and was located on A Ave.

The school moved to its present location in 1942 and opened with 6 classrooms. It was enlarged in 1949 to accommodate a swelling enrollment of 451 students. An addition was built to include a gymnasium which first served temporarily as the new church. The parish was renamed Our Lady of the Lake Parish in 1951 to honor the Blessed Mother and better identify the location. The present church building was erected four years later in 1955. The last addition to the old school building occurred in 1980 with a science room built above the adjoined garage. In 2012, conversion of the parish office into a new educational center was finally completed. It features state of the art capabilities, a 21st century learning environment, and the building even earned the Silver LEED certification. In 2022, OLL completed the first large-scale renovation of the Parish Center building including space for the inaugural pre-kindergarten program, expanded space for middle school classrooms, and an expansion of the current science lab.

Although the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary are no longer represented on the teaching faculty, their charism remains a central focus:

“...the full development of the human person through education, social justice, contemplation, and the arts.”

- (Catholic Sentinel, October 8, 2009). This charism informs the school’s four SLEs pillars: Catholic Values, Life-long Learning, Responsible Citizenship, and Self-awareness.