Holy Name of Jesus School

Holy Name is a vibrant community of families that provides a safe, fun, warm place for students to learn and grow. My daughter, Kayla, is in 7^th grade and has been at Holy Name since kindergarten. She loves the small classrooms and the personalized attention students get from teachers and the other staff at school. We have made so many wonderful friendships with other families. It feels like the school belongs to us. It’s our home away from home.

Holy Name school is family oriented. The new principal has really taken charge and is updating and modernizing the school’s policies and direction. The teachers and staff are kind and caring. The after school extra curricular activities are numerous. Both of kids are happily going to school everyday.

Holy Name school and church are very family oriented. The new principal has really taken charge and is updating and modernizing the school’s policies and direction. The teachers and staff are also amazing. They are very dedicated to the students educational, spiritual, and emotional needs. The school offers numerous extra curricular activities including aftercare programs. They teach and promote high morals to members of the community regardless of their religious beliefs.

We been attending Holy Name since Kindergarten and we love the school. It’s a wonderful school with even a better community of teachers, parents, and staff. Our children love that they are in a safe environment and feel protected. As a parent, that’s a big plus. The past 3 years has been great and we are looking forward to many more years at Holy Name.

Holy Name is a wonderful learning community. Our children are not just looked after, they are cared for and loved daily. We find Holy Name exceeds our expectations consistently. Our second grader is happy going to school and challenged to think… not just memorize. Our twin kindergarten boys are thriving and happy in school. Field trips, community events, season events– Holy Name has it all. I love the academic component at the school and the Extended Care is truly awesome. In Extended Care they make season arts and crafts, play sport and even get homework help. The Holy Name community is diverse and inclusive of all people. We feel lucky to have found this hidden gem in the Sunset.

Holy Name School has a rich history Began in 1941, eventually growing to 800 plus students. K thru 8. Good preparation & foundation for high school & actually taught discipline. Rich athletic history over the years. One coach, Pete Murray, who began coaching at Holy Name in late 50’s, I believe, was inducted into the CYO HOF a few years ago. Not just for his wins but for his dedication & his ideas for letting more athletes being involved in the sporting environment. Currently has approx. 300 students but the tradition is hopefully carrying on.

My daughter did half of her elementary at Holy Names school. My experience as a parent was that, if I didn’t or couldn’t expend at least $ 400.00 a month, (besides the tuition), I was ignored and treated very rude by the staff, it was as if, they would had their black list of parents and I was in it constantly. There were days that my daughter would seat in her bed in the morning and would get upset, she would say, I don’t want to go to that school mommy, every body is so mean. So I decided to do the recess and play time and focus on how my baby would interact and the kids with her. My daughter felt so happy having me around, but the strange thing was that, she just would play with me and just 2 girls, the rest would pass with kind of look like, we’ll wait until you are alone!
The last thing was that, my daughter wore little gold hoops earrings, she wore them at kindergarten, all first grade and in the middle of second grade, one of her classmates had her ears pierced and was wearing plastic earrings. This girl went an told the teacher that, my daughter had dangling earrings and that was against the school policies!
The teacher took my daughter to the bathroom and removed her earrings, these earrings were small as the size of a nickle and they were in the shape of a hoop, they were no dangling earrings.
When I picked my daughter up, she was crying, she told me about the girl and that she felt laughed for the entire class.
I went and try to talked to the teacher, these teacher said that, she had orders from the principal. I went to talk to the principal, Ms. Murphy, she said, well you can let her wear the earrings at home and remove them before she comes to school.
My argument was, that the earrings weren’t dangling and that my daughter had wore them since kindergarten, and now in second grade all of a sudden, because that girl is making that argument, then my daughter can’t wear her earrings that she wore since she was 1 year old.
Ms. Murphy said, well there is a concern of safety, SAFETY?, yes she answered, that one child could pull her earrings, how? I asked, she is in second grade, not in pre school, besides, how could someone pull her earrings, when they aren’t dangling and they don’t have the space to be pulled down?, then Ms. Murphy said; since (I have foreign culture) Oh you people that have to wear earrings, all of you people don’t belong here in the states, you all should go back where they came from!
I told her, Ms. Murphy, is this is the way you are, you are discriminating and I feel my daughter is in the wrong school. She responded if you remove your daughter from this school, I’ll call every catholic school and tell them not to take your daughter. It was the middle of the year, just a day before had paid the tuiton month ahead.
I went to the archdiocese on church street, I was told that they didn’t have any jurisdiction and that every school had their own rules, in other words, they were pretty much their owners and kings.
I went to apply to all the catholic school and they all had an excuse on not to receive my daughter. Finally, one school accepted my daughter, the principal told me, that it was non sense what Ms. Murphy had said and done and that when she called him, he told him that, she wasn’t acting right and that he wouldn’t have any problem in accepting my daughter, that was St. Thomas The Apostol, and the Principal Mr. Lambre. My daughter graduated at St. Thomas The Apostol School, looked happy and it was one step in our lives that gave us strenght and encouragement because people like Ms. Murphy one day will find their match and God will do the justice. Looking back now, as my daughter is an adult, my understanding is that everything happened for a reason and eventhough Ms. Murphy discriminated us and allowed such abuse towards my daughter, As a mom and with my accions, made me tell her STOP!, you can’t do it to my baby, like I told her, if you can’t see fairness and practice equality with respect, then my daughter is in the wrong school, to this day, I can see my daughter’s face somber when some how, it comes Holy Name school to the comversation, or when we passed by, my daughter told me last year, you know mom, I never went back to Holy Names, even on their yearly fairs and I never want to go back in there.
I wanted to cry, just then, I realized of the huge dark echo that this woman had impacted in my little girl’s heart.
My daughter is a great business woman now, full of ideas, encouragement, love and compassion, she said mom things like Ms. Murphy and how you showed me how to change it makes me realized, that you are the most wonderful mom of this earth, I love you mom!, what else, could I ask in return? priceless moments of love from my baby now a young beautiful woman, I’m in heaven. Thank you for your time and I hope that my share would help in your guidance and life.

I was a student who attended from 2^nd –8^th grade and graduated in 1990. I have such great memories of Holy Name, the staff, the sports I played, and my class mates, who thanks to Facebook, I was able to reunite with after all these years. Holy Name holds a special place in my heart, it was such a loving environment. I’m happy to see that some of my teachers are there like Mr. Dea and Mrs. Cosmos (who is now principal). If I lived in the area, I would send my kids without a doubt.

After going through the hassle and frustration with the SFUSD, my husband and I decided to look into private schools. We lined up tours at our neighborhood schools. A couple of the schools were not the right fit for us. One in particular did not feel welcoming at all. When we finally toured Holy Name, I immediately felt «at home». I know it sounds clichéd but that’s truly how I felt.
The office secretary, Mrs. Cheetham, was (and is) very warm and welcoming. While we waited for our tour guide, we had a chance to look around and see the art work and other student projects that were all over the walls and in the hall. I was very much impressed with the maturity of the 2 students (8^th graders!) who took us around the school. They spoke very highly of the staff/​teachers and seemed very proud of their school. I will be honest and say that I tried to get some «dirt» from them to see if they were just repeating a script. I got nothing from them and to be honest, I believed that they really were being honest with me. We were able to take a peek into the class rooms and see the teachers in action. I liked that part. But what (or is it who?) I REALLY liked was the Principal, Mrs. Cosmos. My goodness, what a wonderful lady. She gave us more information about the school academics, sports, after school activities and the many opportunities for parents to get involved. She totally sealed the deal for me. I knew that Holy Name would be the right school for my son.
While Holy Name is a Catholic school, and religion is obviously taught, you don’t have to be Catholic to attend. I have never felt any pressure or pushy-​ness (is that even a word?) when it comes to the religious aspect.
My son is now is 2^nd grade and I still feel the same way I did when I first toured it, I love it. The teachers and staff are great with the kids and genuinely love what they do. Communication with the teachers is wonderful. You can email, call or just talk to them in person without feeling like you are bothering them.
While Holy Name School is a hidden gem in the Sunset, I hope this review helps parents with incoming Kindergarten, or transferring students.

My son attends and really likes the school. There are some really good teachers and staff and the athletic program is good for those who are so inclined. The school excels at allowing participation as an active parent to improve the school or assist with activities, but you don’t have to be over the top on where you can volunteer. You can quietly support the school without having to be a leader.
Being non-​catholic and having my son attend a catholic is not an issue for anyone attending. I figure catholic school is like a subsidized private school, costing less but still having elements of a private school.

I graduated from Holy Name in the early 90s. I was well prepared for high school, but to this day have a negative view of the place.
I went to a training at Apple Computers in Cupertino last year. One of the trainers went to Holy Name, and we shared some stories. It turned out that we both had negative experiences with the same upper grades teacher.
Despite this teacher’s discouraging attitude, we both ended up going to college and starting successful careers. That teacher serves as a model for how not to perform my job.

When I think about the eight long years I spent at (in?) this joint, the movie Mean Girls comes to mind, and I also realized at a very young age that this conservative school was NOT up my alley. From what I remember, there was a lot of institutional racism, sexism, and it just felt very *closed* in general.
I graduated in 1993, so perhaps the school’s culture has changed.
I *will* give Holy Name credit for preparing me for high school (they had us reading stock quotes in 7^th or 8^th grade). I had exposure to a more advanced curriculum that kids at neighboring public middle schools didn’t have access to, and for that I am thankful.
If I had kids, I doubt I would send them here, unless I was conservative (and I’m not) and/​or wanted them prayin’ at school (and I don’t).