HOLY FAMILY - HOLY NAME SCHOOL
NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

     Holy Family - Holy Name School was established in 1973 as a result of the merger of Holy Name School, owned by Holy Name Parish, and Holy Family School, owned by St. Lawrence Martyr Parish. At a time when many parish school were closing, merger was seen as a way of insuring the availability of Catholic education for the parish communities in the future. From the time of the merger until 1976, the school functioned out of the two buildings which had originally been the individual parish school. Primary grades were housed at the former Holy Name site and grades five through eight were housed in a set of buildings adjacent to St. Lawrence Church. These buildings also housed Holy Family High School - a separate entity from the elementary school, yet associated with the former Holy Name School and the pre Holy Family-Holy Name by proximity and name.

     Through negotiations in 1976 with office of Housing and Urban Development, St. Lawrence Church purchased the building formerly housing Carney Academy / Cooke School - part of the New Bedford Public School System. This building was located across the street from the merged school and was in much better physical condition than the buildings being used at that time. Holy Family - Holy Name School and part of Holy Family High School were moved to this new facility - the former Holy Name School was sold to Kinyon Campbell (by Holy Name) and one building in disrepair was razed and replaced by parking for St. Lawrence Parish

    In 1985, Holy Family High School closed, allowing Holy Family - Holy Name to expand into the portion of the building formerly occupied by the high school. Since that time Holy Family - Holy Name School has expanded it's services ( beyond the original K through 8 ) to include a preschool, kindergarten care program, extended care program as well as computer lab, a music room and a prayer room. The building is also used to house the St Lawrence Religious Education Program Office and also serves as the Parish Center.

    As service to working parents and for the safety of students, the school chose to extend its hours of operation from early morning to early evening providing childcare for students. The school also installed an extensive security system and a locked door intercom system for screening visitors. The school provides emotional support for families in crisis as well as evening workshops to educate families of various issues.

    Technology has now established itself at Holy Family - Holy Name School with the launch of a school website and the incorporation of technology into the curriculum. All learning areas now have at least one Windows based PC with content filtered, high-speed Internet access. All administrative areas are provided with a secure computing environment and have network storage of all critical files. Faculty members now use a secure groupware calendar and email system for the communication of morning notes and scheduling.

 
  For more information on what Holy Family - Holy Name School currently has to offer, please see our Registration page or check out our Virtual Tour.