Colegio Católico Notre Dame is a coeducational

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

school located in

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Notre Dame is composed of a pre pre-kindergarten, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. They are all located on the same campus.

History

The Colegio Católico Notre Dame was founded on October 3, 1916 by Redemptorist Priests (of the

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scal ...

) with the help of the Congregation of the

School Sisters of Notre Dame School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in Bavaria in 1833 and devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and min ...

. Originally the school had the name of Colegio Dulce Nombre de Jesús but this was eventually changed to the name that it has today. Notre Dame initially accepted students from kindergarten to the fourth grade. By 1921, the school had expanded to include the eighth grade. In 1947, the first 24 students graduated twelfth grade from Notre Dame. In 1956, the grades from seventh to twelfth were moved to Troche Avenue in Caguas, its current location. The high school was then named Notre Dame High School in honor of the Virgin Mary and the

. The elementary school is located next to the Catedral Dulce Nombre de Jesús in the "

plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

" of Caguas. Notre Dame also has a pre-kindergarten (formed in 1986) and a kindergarten (formed in 1950), both located in the same campus as the high school. In 2017, the elementary grades were moved into a new building next to the Neumann Hall and Auditorium, in a new building. In 1964 Notre Dame received accreditation by the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, also referred to as the Middle States Association or MSA, is an accreditor in the United States. Historically, it has accredited schools in the Mid-Atlantic states region of the northeas ...

. Eventually, the school went back to the name Colegio Católico Notre Dame in order to unify the schools. In 1997, the elementary school received the "Blue Ribbon Award" of Excellence in Education awarded by the "

Blue Ribbon Schools Program The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

". Notre Dame is currently the biggest private school in

with more than 2,300 students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

School motto

The school's motto is that of the School Sisters of Notre Dame ''virtus et scientia'', which translates to "virtue and knowledge" from Latin.

School anthem

Lyrics to the school anthem, as copied from the school website:

Viva, viva Notre Dame que viva ahora y en el porvenir Alma máter de mis tiernos años, a Dios me enseñas a servir. A tí siempre seré leal, Alma máter, eres mi ideal. Que por sólo sendas de virtud Tú guías a la juventud. Viva, viva Notre Dame que viva ahora y en el porvenir Alma máter de mis tiernos años a Dios me enseñas a servir.

Clubs and organizations

Some of the school's clubs are: * Advocati Iustitia (Law Club) * Amnistía Internacional Capítulo Notre Dame * Astronomy Club * Chemistry Club * Chess Club * Comic Book Club * Dance Team Club (Founded in 2011-2012) * Drama Club * Ecology Club * English Club * Forensics League * History Club * Huellas (Religious ministry group) * In Focus (Photography Club) * Library Club * Math Club * Ministry of Music (Religious music ministry, an offshoot of the school choir and with many shared members) *

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

Club *

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

* Oratory Club (Spanish equivalent of Forensics League) * Robotics Club * Scala (School newspaper, founded in 1946) * School Band * School Choir "Coral Juvenil Mare Mia" * Seoul Knights (Korean Club) * Soles Verdes Club (Ecology Club) * Scientia Club (Science Club for the Middle School) * Student Council (Formed in 1958) * T.E.A ("Taller de Expresión Artística" or Drama and Art Club)

Facilities

The elementary school was located next to the city's cathedral, and was moved to a new facility in the high school campus in 2017. The high school campus has a soccer field, a track, volleyball and basketball courts. The Neumann Hall Auditorium serves as a cafeteria and a place to hold large events and mass. It also consists of many other rooms used for reunions. In 2017, a Cybercafe was added to the school's facilities. It consists of a menu in which you pay apart from the Cafeteria.

Famous alumni

Ana Isabelle Ana Isabel Acevedo Avilés is a Puerto Rican singer, actress, dancer, and entrepreneur. In December 2007, she released her first album, ''Por El Amor'' and in 2009, she won Univision's ''Viva el Sueño''. Career Her professional experience ran ...

, singer, actress, dancer and entrepreneur. * Catalina Morales, Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2015. *

José Aponte Hernández José F. Aponte Hernández (born January 19, 1958) is an accountant and former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico. Personal life Aponte was born in San Juan. Graduated from Colegio Católico Notre Dame High School in ...

, Representative-at-Large and former Speaker of the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

, former Secretary General of the New Progressive Party * Felipe Crespo, Baseball player. *

César Crespo César Antonio Crespo (born May 23, 1979) is a Puerto Rican former second baseman who last played in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Listed at 5'11, 170 lb., Crespo was a switch-hitter and throws right-handed. He is the younger brother o ...

, Baseball player. * Félix Omar Fernández, Olympic Athlete, Sydney 2000. *

Juan Dalmau Juan Manuel Dalmau Ramírez (born July 23, 1973) is a Puerto Rican politician, attorney and a candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rican Independence Party.Governor of Puerto Rico The governor of Puerto Rico () is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Elected to a 4 year-term through popular vote by the residents of the archipelago and island, ...

, Secretary General of the

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party (, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ideology are usually called ''independentist ...

* José Luis Dalmau, current Senator of the Senate of Puerto Rico and Former President of the Senate Senator of Puerto Rico *

Miguel Laureano Miguel Laureano Correa (born November 12, 1983) is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP). He is a member of the Puerto Rico Senate since 2017 representing Humacao Senatorial district. Early years and studi ...

, Former member of the Puerto Rico Senate from the Humacao district. * Janice Olivencia,

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

player. *

Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

, candidate for future canonization; beatified on April 29, 2001. * Lionel Perez Martinez, sports media personality, La Garata. * Luis J. Haddock, Tennis player. * Ismael Cruz Córdova, actor. * Juliette Feliciano Ortiz, actress, dancer, and singer. * Gerardo Lamadrid Castillo, published author and writer. * Leandro Antonetti, Soccer player,

Sevilla Atletico Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. * Rubén Estrada (Alejo), singer. * Ivan Rafael Gandia-Rosa, Basketball player. * Gladymar Torres, Olympic Athlete, Paris 2024.

Notes and references

External links

*
Official website of Colegio Católico Notre Dame (Middle and High School)

Official website of Colegio Católico Notre Dame (Elementary School)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colegio Catolico Notre Dame Elementary schools in Puerto Rico Catholic secondary schools in Puerto Rico Caguas, Puerto Rico Educational institutions established in 1916 1916 establishments in Puerto Rico