Nativity Catholic School

09/06/2026

Sneak-A-Peek: At Our Preschool and Pre-K Preview

The youngest among us – our preschoolers and pre-kindergartners – just attended their Sneak-A-Peek last week, viewing their classrooms, meeting their teachers, seeing old friends and making new ones.

Their coming school days will be filled with fun, faith, and learning. In addition to Religion, Math, Science, Language Arts, and Spanish, the students will visit the Library and MakerSpace weekly, as well as take Music and PE classes once a week.

We’ve got ONE preschool (3-year-old) seat open now – please join us! Contact Shannon Murphy at (703)455-2300, or [email protected], for more information.

08/28/2026

Back to School – And Busy!!

We’ve just started back to school and we’ve been very busy!
A few new staff members have joined us, as we began the school year with a Diocese-wide Mass at All Saints Catholic Church celebrated by Bishop Burbidge, and the keynote speaker, Arthur Brooks, who provided insight and inspiration for the new school year. It was time well-spent.

The following day, we welcomed our students and their families with a partial week, including a Family Day – a half-day with a Sneak-A-Peek, Mass, and Hot Dog & Popsicle Party, served up by our PTO and Knights of Columbus. It was a fantastic way to begin the school year – full of faithful, food-filled fun!

08/16/2026

Nativity Mini Golf … A Hole in One

Nativity students of all ages engage in project-based learning activities throughout the school year. One recent example involved Nativity’s 7th and 8th grade students, working together on a creative STEM project in Math class, where they were charged with the task of creating a world-class miniature golf course for an in-school tournament.

Our students rose to the challenge, designing stunningly creative golf holes to build a golf course in the gym that was truly championship level. Once they created engineering designs based on their vision, measured with precision, and implemented them using solid engineering design principles, they tested them to determine each hole’s par.

Then the 7th and 8th graders took turns playing in the First Annual Nativity Miniature Golf Tournament, which was comprised of all of their mini-golf designs. We are so very proud of our middle school students and continue to be inspired by their excellent work.

07/26/2026

Walking In Their Shoes

One of our most fun end-of-year activities is Principal/Teacher of the Day! It is offered each school year through the Annual Nativity School Auction, where families can bid and win Principal or Teacher of the Day. This past school year, Principal Estela Harris began her term by giving the entire student body a dress-down day!

All around the school, students served as classroom teachers and assistants, building facility manager and lunchroom director – teaching lessons, conducting a fire drill, running classrooms, reading aloud, managing the lunchroom, leading prayer, and more.

We all had great fun!

07/26/2026

07/19/2026

Learning About Lady Liberty

Our First Graders ended the school year celebrating our country’s Statue of Liberty, learning of her composition, her history, and her significance.

Beginning their study with fiction and non-fiction selections from our EPIC subscription (a PTO Gift!), students next investigated why the Statue appears green, instead of its original copper color. Conducting a hands-on experiment using a penny, vinegar, and plenty of patience, each student placed the penny in a cup with vinegar and left it outside the classroom for the day, checking on it throughout the day to observe the changes. They were excited and amazed by the results as they connected the experiment to the statue’s oxidation process. It wasn’t always green?? WOW!!

At the end of the unit, students created the Statue of Liberty torches and crowns. See the photo!

06/22/2026

Recognizing Eighth Grade Excellence

Eighth Grade Graduation Festivities kicked off Wednesday evening with the Awards Banquet, where academic, virtue, and physical education awards were presented. Our Student Council President, Katherine Tramel, delivered her speech, taking us along on her journey through all of the Eighth Grade’s years here at Nativity. It was a whimsical walk down memory lane, filled with laughs, faith, and fun!

Thursday’s Graduation Festivities included the Pass-It-On Ceremony, the Walk of Fame, and the Parade of Honor. Our graduating Eighth Graders and their families spent this second day in fun and fellowship -- up until 7 p.m., when they were due back to Nativity to graduate!

That evening in the church, we began with a beautiful Mass prepared by Monsignor Bob Cilinski and the Eighth Graders, opening the 2026 Graduation Ceremony as our Eighth Graders took their seats together at the front of the Church.

Our Class Valedictorian, Grace Morris, delivered her speech, recalling the class' special moments experienced – and very special people encountered – throughout their years at Nativity.

The Star Award is presented each year to an eighth-grade student, who best exemplifies the ideals of good citizenship, and lives Nativity’s commitment to God’s message, Christian fellowship, and service to the community. The recipient has a strong academic work ethic, as well as strong morals and values. The 2026 recipient of The Star Award: Blake Pleva!
Congratulations!

Once the Graduation Ceremony ended, after our music teacher, Ms. Fetzer, sang a moving rendition of our beloved Father Martin's favorite, an Old Irish Blessing, a ca****la, we met in the Father Martin Center to share stories, enjoy refreshments, and take many, many photos.

06/14/2026

25 Years as Nativity’s Principal: A Journey of Faith, STEM, and Excellence

Last week, Monsignor Bob dedicated a day to Ms. Maria Kelly, our principal of 25 years, beginning with a Mass in her name, and then a school-wide reception, featuring parent, teacher, religious and diocesan speakers, highlighting the many honors, awards, and distinctions Nativity has garnered under Ms. Kelly’s leadership. Among them, we are a Nationally Certified STEM School, an ITEEA STEM School of Excellence, and a National Blue Ribbon School for Excellence.

Under Ms. Kelly’s purview, the school has undergone a major renovation, which provided us with a new Science Lab, art room, 2 new classrooms, a new media center, and a new regulation-sized gymnasium.

In March 2020, when much of the world shut down due to COVID, we were one of the few schools that safely opened back up in-person that August for the new school year. In fact, state inspectors were calling the school office to visit to see how Ms. Kelly had managed it.

All of us here at Nativity are looking forward to seeing what Ms. Kelly has planned next for Nativity and its community. We’ll be sure to let you know!

05/13/2026

The Nativity Stars Gala & Auction Silent Auction is NOW OPEN!

Bid on amazing items and experiences while supporting Nativity Catholic School — all from the comfort of home! There’s still time to purchase tickets and join us for an evening of fun at A Night at the Races!

🔗 Browse items & register to bid:
https://e.givesmart.com/events/Kvh/signUp

🎟️ Get Tickets:
nativityschool.org/gala

05/06/2026

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to our Teachers, especially during this Teacher Appreciation Week!