Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School

Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School
Address
5510 Double Oak Lane Birmingham, Alabama, (Shelby County) 35242 United States
Coordinates	33°21′29″N 86°44′00″W / 33.3581385°N 86.7332993°WCoordinates: 33°21′29″N 86°44′00″W / 33.3581385°N 86.7332993°W
Information
Type	Private, Coeducational
Religious affiliation(s)	Roman Catholic
Established	1984
Principal	Katie Zielinski
Staff	36 (teaching), 45 including administration
Faculty	60% have advanced degrees, 100% have attended continuing education in the last year
Grades	Preschool–8
Enrollment	315 (2015)
Student to teacher ratio	9:1
Hours in school day	8
Color(s)	Blue and Grey
Song	On Eagle's Wings
Mascot	Eagle
Team name	Eagles
Accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools[1]
Website	http://www.olvbirmingham.com/

Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School, which is located in Birmingham, Alabama, is a pre-kindergarten through 8th-grade Catholic elementary and middle school under the direction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama.^[2]

Honors and Awards

Our Lady of the Valley (OLV) is a two-time recipient of the United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence award.^[3][4][5] OLV received the Blue Ribbon School award in 1998-1999 and 2011.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]} The Blue Ribbon School of Excellence^[12][13] award distinguishes OLV for its excellence in teaching, curriculum, student achievement, leadership, professional development, parental involvement, and community support.^[14]

OLV has received the following honors:

• In 2011, the OLV Science Olympiad Team placed 23rd in the nation and was the highest ranked school from the state of Alabama.^[15]
• OLV School is the highest-ranked private school in the Alabama State Science Olympiad middle school competition.^[16][17]
• In 2014, OLV received five "superior" and twelve "excellent" rating awards at the Junior Thespian Festival.^[15]
• OLV students are represented in countywide spelling bees every year.^[18]
• OLV's Stock Market Team finished in the top 5% of the nation in 2010, finishing 25th in a field of 600 US teams.^[15]
• OLV finished in the top 10 in the State Geography Bee in 2010.^[15]
• Ann Stevens, the OLV science teacher, was awarded the 2007 NCEA Distinguished Teacher Award.^[19]

Community

• Students at OLV participate in fundraising activities for charity. Among these are:
  • Catholic Family Services, a Birmingham-based agency specializing in assistance and counseling to women facing a crisis pregnancy^[20]
  • Oak Mountain Missions
  • Hyderabad Indian Orphanage in India
  • Beacon of Hope Schools.^[21]
• OLV's thespian group regularly performs Broadway musicals.

Activities

OLV's courses in fine arts consist of performing and visual arts classes (with two full drama productions each year), jr. Thespian Troupe, debate, band, piano, voice, and choir

OLV's athletics consists of soccer, volleyball, basketball, track and field, football, baseball, and cross country teams.

OLV offers religion, Spanish, technology, advanced math and science and exploratory classes. It also offers counseling, alter servers, cheerleading, chess, Guardian Angels, scouts, a spelling bee, student council, and yearbook.

External links

• Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School Official Website
• Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School Official Twitter

References

1. SACS-CASI. "SACS-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Retrieved 2015-07-11.
2. The Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. "Diocesan School Spotlight". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
3. U.S. Department of Education. "2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools". Retrieved 2015-07-11.
4. U.S. Department of Education. "U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Recognizes 305 Schools as 2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
5. U.S. Department of Education. "2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools - High Performing" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-12.
6. New York State Education Department. "2011 National Blue Ribbon Schools" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-12.
7. AL.com Birmingham. "Two Shelby County schools win Blue Ribbon awards". Retrieved 2015-07-11.
8. FOX 6 WBRC. "Two Birmingham schools chosen for National Blue Ribbon honor". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
9. Questia Magazine. "Catholic Schools Receive Blue Ribbon Recognition". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
10. U.S. Department of Education. "National Blue Ribbon Schools Recognized - 1982 through 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-11.
11. YouTube. "Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School Blue Ribbon Scrapbook". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
12. U.S. Department of Education. "National Blue Ribbon Schools Program". Retrieved 2015-07-11.
13. Public School Review. "What a National Blue Ribbon of Distinction Truly Means". Retrieved 2015-07-11.
14. U.S. Department of Education. "OLV Blue Ribbon Schools Application" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-11.
15. Our Lady of the Valley School. "Accreditation and Honors". Retrieved 2015-07-11.
16. Our Lady of the Valley School. "OLV Science Olympiad Medal Placements". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
17. Alabama Science Olympiad. "UAT Science Olympiad 2015 Final Score Sheet Division B" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-12.
18. Shelby County Reporter. "TMS seventh-grader wins Shelby County Spelling Bee". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
19. Our Lady of the Valley School. "2007 NCEA Distinguished Teacher Award" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-11.
20. Catholic Family Services. "Catholic Family Services". Retrieved 2015-07-12.
21. 280 Living. "OLV students band together to help others". Retrieved 2015-07-12.