Soo and Joe Abboud had a checklist of what they wanted for their children, Margo and Joey.
 
“We wanted them to go to the same school, we wanted a nice community, we wanted the religious background, and we wanted it to be as rigorous as possible,” Soo said.
 
Both parents are doctors. Joe is from the area and a product of parochial school. The Abbouds sought diversity, as Soo is Korean and Joe is Lebanese.
 
“How can you teach tolerance if everybody looks the same?” Soo asked.
 
They found what they were looking for very close to home, at Holy Child School at Rosemont. The Catholic, independent, coed school teaches children from preschool through eighth grade.
 
“Each time we visited there, we fell in love with it,” Soo said. “The teachers seemed to really care about the children, and everyone seemed happy to be there. That’s the most compelling reason why we chose it.”
 
Two years into their time at the school — Margo is in second grade, Joey in kindergarten — the kids love it, and the Abbouds do, too.

“The kids, they wake up every morning, and they run out the door,” Soo said. “They cannot wait to go. They’re upset if it’s Saturday.”

The family has also felt at home with the close-knit school community. Soo said they have friends who went to Holy Child themselves, and know teachers who’ve been at the school for 30 years or more. It’s wonderful to see that kind of commitment to the school, and easy to understand.
 
“The kids are kind, and it’s a joyful environment,” she said. “We’ve only been there two years, and we’re already really close with the two classes.”
 
The curriculum at Holy Child is a good balance between challenging academics and the type of play that children this age need, Joe said. He’s been impressed by the school’s high standards, as well as the moral lessons his children are learning every day.
 
“For me, I felt like I just wanted to give them an experience where people were kind and they really expressed good values,” he said. “I wanted to make sure they understood about being a good person, a kind person, a giving person.”
 
The students at Holy Child are grounded, he said, something that was also important to him.

“If you finish your lower and middle school years there, I think you have the skill sets you need and some good values,” he said.

The Joy of Achievement

Want to know more about Holy Child School at Rosemont? Visit our website or join us for a Welcome Wednesday open house. Individual tours are available year-round.
 
 
 
Photographs by Casey Kallen.