History of the School
On January 4, 1957, ground was broken and blessed for an elementary school and parish hall to serve the communities of San Dimas and La Verne. The property consisted of ten acres situated on a former orange grove at the corner of Bonita Avenue and San Dimas Canyon Road. The initial construction included an eight-classroom school and parish hall to be used exclusively for church purposes until another building was constructed.
On September 5, 1957, one hundred fifty-six students registered for grades one through four. The school was staffed by three Sisters of St. Louis and one lay teacher. To accommodate the growing population, ground was broken for a second school building and a hall on February 17, 1966. By the addition of a grade each year, the school soon had a total of eight grades. By 1968 there were fourteen classrooms, two for each grade.
In September 1969, there was a drop in student enrollment and only one first grade was filled. In the early 1970's, this decline became significant and Holy Name of Mary School began phasing out the double grade system. Over a period of time, the unused classrooms have been converted into a library, a science room, a music room, a computer room, a faculty room, and in 1979, a Kindergarten was opened.
In 1985, a new Youth Center was built to provide a meeting place for the rapidly growing number of young people in the parish. The building was used for extended school care during the weekdays, youth activities at night and on weekends, and religious education activities on Sundays. In the spring of 1990, a one-room nursery was converted from one of the garages. From 1995 to 1997 it was used as an office for Outreach Concern Counseling. In January 1998, the counseling office was relocated to the Pastoral Center.
Due to the needs of our community, a Pre-Kindergarten opened in 1999 in the Youth Center with 16 students. A new playground was installed in the fall of 2001 for the school and parish children.
In 2001, Holy Name of Mary Parish underwent a building campaign with plans to build a new church, parish offices, and a parish center. Construction of the church and parish offices began in 2002 and was completed in 2004. The first Mass in our new church was held on July 3, 2004. In the school year 2005-2006, the kindergarten went to a full day program. Our new "Hall for All" opened in the summer of 2015.
Holy Name of Mary School presently serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade with an enrollment of 340 students. The school has ten classrooms, a library, a computer lab, a science lab, a nurse's office, a finance office, and a teachers' lounge.
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