Elementary School
The Academy’s coeducational elementary school consists of grades K1-8 and is based on the educational philosophy of their foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, St. Julie Billiart. Located in a suburban area of Massachusetts, in Middlesex County, the school is approximately 36 miles northwest of the city of Boston.
The Academy of Notre Dame has been fully accredited by New England Association of Schools and Colleges [NEAS&C] since 1978 and is a member school of the National Catholic Education Association [NCEA].
The elementary school currently houses 442 students in grades K1-8. There is one class of K1, two classes per grade in grades K2-grade 6 and three classes per grade in grades 7 and 8. The average class size in K1 is 20 students and in K2 is 26 students; the average class size in grades 1 through 6 is 25 students; and the average class size in grades 7 and 8 is 22 students. As part of the facility, there are 22 homerooms, several music/band rooms, an art room, a science laboratory, two technology laboratories, a library-media center, a cafeteria and kitchen area, an extended-day room, and two gymnasiums.
Sr. Mary Duke, SND, is the elementary school principal. The elementary school has a full-time guidance counselor, Mrs. Sherry Houle. Mrs. Ann-Marie Venti acts as the school secretary and elementary administrative assistant. There are 27 full-time teachers, a full-time librarian, and one part-time music teacher. Additional staff includes a full-time teacher aide in K1 & K2, a full-time teacher aide in grade two, a part-time resource teacher, and a full-time school nurse who is shared with the high school.
Students enter the building at 7:55 a.m. and the day ends at 2:32 p.m. Bus service is available from many of the surrounding suburban towns and carpools are frequently organized by parent coordinators.
Students in the elementary school consistently score well above national norms on standardized tests and are well prepared for the demands, challenges and expectations of high school – especially the high school at the Academy of Notre Dame.
