New Applicant FAQs

Do you have to be Catholic to attend Holy Family?  
No.  While the majority of our students are Catholic, students of all denominations are welcome!  We celebrate our Catholic faith, and in permeates everything that we do, which makes our school community welcoming to people of all backgrounds.

Is religion more important than other subjects at a Catholic school?  
Religion is one of our classes, and it is also infused throughout all of our curriculum.  We also weave our faith throughout each day with morning, lunch time and afternoon prayer; as well as with a weekly Mass or prayer service.  When students reach LaSalle Middle School, they have the opportunity to grow their faith by participating in retreats with their classmates, being mentored by older students and young adults who share their own faith and “growing up” experiences.  We take very seriously the responsibility to form our students academically as well as spiritually, emotionally, and socially.

Why is service emphasized at Holy Family?  
At Holy Family, we believe that to fully live out the Catholic faith, a person needs to be of service, particularly to people who have been marginalized.   Beginning in kindergarten and continuing through eighth grade, we offer our students opportunities to serve with tasks as simple as canned food drives, raking lawns, or walk-a-thons, culminating in eighth grade with a service trip to serve the inner city of Omaha.  Our desire is to instill in our students the importance of serving others so they continue that example throughout high school and beyond.
 

Are Holy Family’s academic centers still located on two campuses? 
No.  Since the fall of 2018, Holy Family has been located on a single campus.  Preschool through 4th grade are in the St. Jude building of our campus, and grades 5 through 8 are in our LaSalle building, but we are all on one campus.
 

Can we afford the tuition? 
We know it can be challenging to afford a Catholic school tuition, but Holy Family is blessed to receive financial support from our four parishes — St. Jude, St. Patrick, St. Ludmila, and St. John XXIII.  Their support does make tuition more affordable for those families who attend and support one of those four parishes.  Tuition assistance is also available through the Student Tuition Organization and Holy Family Tuition Assistance programs.  In addition, since the summer of 2018, Iowa 529 plans can help to make Catholic education more financially accessible beginning with primary grades.  Please click on this linkand/or contact Holy Family’s Business Office at 319-390-6512 for more information if you think that your family may not be able to afford a Catholic education for your children!
 

What activities are available for middle school students?  
LaSalle Middle School offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities.  Sports, include football, tennis, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, track, swimming, and cross country.  Other activities include drama, speech, show choir, band, student council, and others.  Further, because we are a mid-sized school, our students have the opportunity to participate in multiple activities.  For our more advanced students, we also offer Expanded Learning Program  classes in Math and Literacy.