Type Private, Coeducational Established 1987 Grades Pre-K through 8th Phone +1 301-990-2088 Mascot Wolf Average class size 11 | Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic Principal W. Hall Miller Accreditation 1999 Founder Mother of God Community Founded 1987 Colors White, Blue, Red | |
Address 20501 Goshen Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20879, USA | ||
Mother of God School (MOG) is a Catholic, coeducational private school located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The school currently enrolls students in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the Mother of God Community (formerly known as the Potomac Charismatic Community, Inc), which was responsible for the school's founding. It is located across the street from the St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church, but is not connected to the parish. The school recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
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Background
Mother of God School was founded in 1987 to help meet the needs of parents with young children in the Mother of God Community. The Community is a group of Catholic religious and laypeople around Montgomery County, Maryland who have made a commitment to help one another better adhere to the principles of Catholicism. In the mid 1980s, it experienced an influx of younger families who needed to enroll their children in local schools. To help meet these needs, and to spread its message to other families, the Community voted to purchase a piece of land along Goshen Road and construct a school. The three-story brick building was built partially into the side of a hill and was joined to the "Goshen House" (affectionately called "The White House" by students), a building which housed a chapel and living areas for members of the community. The buildings face a central courtyard housing a statue of the Virgin Mary which would later be used in the school's annual May Crowning, one of many traditions shared by both the school and community. The students of the school spent two years in an unused public school building nearby before the construction of the Goshen Road campus was completed.
After review of the school, the Archdiocese of Washington determined Mother of God met the diocese's "Policies for Catholic Schools" and accepted it as an affiliated Catholic school. In 1999, the school was first accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. It is currently accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
In the early 2000s, the school's second major construction project was completed: a brick building housing a large gym and several classrooms. The gym would be used for meetings and worship services for not only the school and community, but also many other local organizations.
The school achieved a maximum size of over 250 students. In the late 2000s, however, Mother of God found its enrollment increasingly sustained by a few community families who had been enrolled more as more of a tradition, rather than a competitive choice. Under the direction of principal Mary Reinhard and her predecessor, the school instituted new policies and reorganized much of its staff, in the hope of catching the attention of a new generation of parents. The first of the changes began with the school letting go of its foreign language teacher in favor of the Rosetta Stone Classroom language-learning software, with the eventual goal of transitioning to a more computer-interactive learning environment. This goal was finally realized in the 2013-2014 school year, when middle school students were given laptop computers to access MOG's first online textbooks. The school also attempted a transition to Project Based Learning (PBL), as instructed by Janet Prouty, and hired a new President, psychologist Dr. Andre Leyva, who would be responsible for engaging students and providing intuitive feedback for teachers.
To help facilitate these changes, MOG also renewed its focus on fundraising. This was accomplished in part by beginning two new annual traditions: the "Race for Education" and GlobalFest. Both were designed to raise money by engaging parents and the Gaithersburg community, and were moderately successful. GlobalFest, in particular, was heavily advertised by the school (the class of 2012 even recorded a radio ad to promote the event) and helped provide the funds needed to convert part of the gym building to house a new Pre-School program. Mother of God succeeded in attracting a new generation of students, mostly enrolled in the new Pre-K programs. The last of the "old" families' students were finally graduating, however, and Mother of God had difficulty maintaining enrollment. With the retirement of Principal Reinhard and several teachers, the school once again struggled financially. Alice Garvey served as interim principal for the 2012 - 2014 period. The Mother of God Community has made an attempt to change with its recent hiring of Mr. W. Hall Miller, a longtime member of the community, as the school's new principal.
Student Clubs and Activities
Mother of God has a fairly minuscule number of clubs for a school its size, including Boy and Girl Scouts chapters; a Robotics Club; and a Mathcounts club which has consistently achieved Silver and Gold Level status. The school has a history of Mathcounts competitors who have done well in local competitions, including some who have progressed to the state level.
The school also boasts a Drama Club with annual productions, and a concert band and string ensemble that have bi-annual concerts. The school's "Band" teachers and conductors are members of the Washington Archdiocesan Music Teachers' Council, which provides music lessons and extracurricular band experiences for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Washington.
Athletics
The school's athletic programs have declined with enrollment, but its soccer and basketball teams are still extant.
Traditions
Many of Mother of God's unique traditions have changed in recent years with the school's push to acquire new students. Two new traditions are Globalfest and the Race for Education (both school fundraisers); older ones include the May Crowning Ceremony, annual student-staff basketball game, and Leavers' Assembly. The Leavers' Assembly in particular is a longstanding tradition at Mother of God. It is held every year the day before the eighth grade's graduation, and features a procession in by the soon-to-be graduates, who perform skits that show off some facet of their personalities as a last display of their unique contributions to the school. Afterwards, each of the remaining classes presents their own send-off gifts, art, songs, or skits for the graduates; for example, the first grade traditionally sings a cover of the Christian rock song "Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart", as taught by K.C. Davy.
Globalfest
Mother of God School's Globalfest is its biggest annual event. It is frequently attended by large numbers of people from around the county, and is advertised in local newspapers and radio broadcasts. In the fall, the kindergarten through eighth grades are assigned countries from around the globe (the preschool classes are given a state within the U.S.). Throughout the year, each class will do projects and research related to their country. As spring approaches, classes will begin to make posters and art to display in their homerooms; they will also start practicing a traditional skit, song, or dance from their assigned nation. Before the night of Globalfest, each class will have decorated their classroom with images of their countries' symbols and landmarks. Parents provide traditional food and music on the day of the event, and each class performs. Attendees bid in a silent auction; purchase food and trinkets; and visit each classroom, where they can learn about the countries depicted, win prizes, and get a "passport" stamped.