February 28, 2020 A Message from the Head of School Dear Parents,
At Notre Dame, our efforts to limit exposure to pathogens continue with daily cleaning and sanitizing of classrooms and common areas by our custodial services. Additionally, the Academy provides classrooms, dining, and common areas with tissues, sanitizing dispensers, and germicidal wipes. Our full-time school nurse provides disease prevention guidance for faculty, staff, and students to raise awareness of smart hygiene practices. When students come to the health office with symptoms of a respiratory illness, they are promptly assessed by the school nurse. At the discretion of the nurse and in consultation with the parents, students may be sent home and advised to seek appropriate medical attention.
Thank you for your continued commitment to our students' safety.
Judith A. Dwyer, Ph.D.
Lenten Message from Campus Ministry This week marks the beginning of Lent, a time for us to look inward and reflect on what is keeping us from growing in relationship with God. As we consider our Lenten promises, we are encouraged not to think of them as a second chance at New Year's Resolutions, but to really discern what we need to change in order to put the good God first in our lives. At Community Prayer last week, we discussed what it means on Ash Wednesday when we hear the words "repent and believe the good news."
During the season of Lent, we will offer opportunities for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We will have Mass in the Mansion Chapel on Tuesday mornings, and we will have retreats for the seventh and eighth grades, the Mothers' Association, and juniors and seniors on our final Kairos retreat of the year. Students may serve at Women of Change and Divine Providence Village, and our juniors will be participating in their day of service at agencies that support issues meaningful to them. As a school community, we will be collecting feminine products, hair ties, and shoelaces for women in our own community and those served by the Sisters of Notre Dame at the border.
All are welcome to join us for Mass on Tuesdays March 10, 17, and 31 in the Mansion Chapel at 7:30 am.
Ms. Julia Tully
Campus Security Update from the Office of Information Resources and Technologies With the intention of consistently reinforcing campus security, Notre Dame recently improved its sign-in process for all visitors. The iPad application VisitU allows users to sign-in by typing their information into the iPad or scanning their driver's licenses, and alerting campus personnel of a visitor's arrival.
VisitU prints unique photo-ID badges for guests that clearly articulate the reason for the visitor to be on campus. The platform also conducts background checks against the National Offender Database, and informs specific school personnel if an offender checks in.
If you have any questions about VisitU or campus safety, please do not hesitate to email me, tgaspich@ndapa.org, or Josh Yates, Director of Operations, jyates@ndapa.org.
Mr. Tyler Gaspich
Announcements Upper School Course Selection Reminder The 2020-2021 Curriculum Guide is now available online.
Students will receive a course recommendation form on March 2 so that they may meet with their individual teachers in the upcoming weeks. Once completed, these forms must be signed by a parent or guardian. Students should return these forms to their advisors by March 12 to complete their course selection in a special Advisory meeting that day.
Attention - Parents of Students Entering Grade 10 Notre Dame offers an accelerated summer course which fulfills the Academy's Grade 10 Health requirement. Classes are limited to 15 students per class:
June 8-12 9:00 am-12:00 pm
Online registration opens on Monday, March 2 at noon. The fee for the class is $350.
You may access the registration link on the Academy's Summer Programs webpage under the tab: 10th Grade Summer Health Class.
Counselor Chat: Course Selection, Tuesday, March 10 Counselor Chat on Upper School Course Selection Tuesday, March 10, 8:00-9:30 am
Scholar Program Application Deadline is Today Attention Ninth Grade Parents: The deadline for applications for Notre Dame's Scholar Programs is today. Acceptances will be announced by Friday, March 6, before course selection begins. Please click here for more information regarding program requirements, webpage links, advisor contact information, and application information.
Join our Corporate Sponsor List for ND's STEM Symposium The Academy seeks forward-thinking partners in our mission to inspire young women who are confident global leaders in STEM through our 2020 International Sisters in STEM Symposium.
Highlighting the Symposium will be an address by NASA astronaut, Dr. Mae C. Jemison, on Friday, July 24, to which all students and members of the ND community are invited and encouraged to attend. Stay tuned for more details!
Special thanks to our newest corporate event sponsor, Independence Blue Cross! To join our list of Symposium sponsors and help us bring this innovative program to our students, please visit our Symposium website or contact Maria Gunn, Director of Advancement, at 610-687-3867 or mgunn@ndapa.org.
Re-enrollment Reminder Re-enrollment contracts for the 2020-2021 year must be submitted by Friday, March 11, to guarantee enrollment for your daughter(s). As a reminder, re-enrollment contracts are available through Backpack. If you have any questions about the re-enrollment process, please contact Stephanie Smith, Admissions Associate, at ssmith@ndapa.org.
Student Auditions for Pride and Prejudice March 9 Auditions for ND's all-school production of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice will be on Monday, March 9 from 3:15 - 4:00 pm in Connelly. Audition and registration materials have been sent to the students' Notre Dame emails.
Celebrate a Cherished Notre Dame Tradition with Your Daughter! Fathers and daughters in all grades are invited for our annual dance from 7:30 - 10:00 pm, Aimee Willard Gymnasium Seniors and their fathers are invited for a Senior Class Dinner in the Mansion from 6:00-7:00 pm
ND Offers Upper School Soccer Fitness Camp
Athletes will work on soccer specific fitness during this six-week summer program. The sessions will be run by the Notre Dame Head Varsity Soccer Coach Steve Wilman and will focus on work with and without the ball to improve each players overall soccer fitness levels.
Camp Dates: June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and July 6 6:30 pm-8:00 pm
CLICK HERE to learn more about soccer fitness camp and all ND summer programs.
Around Campus Freshman Excels at Spanish Proficiency Expo Congratulations to Rahbin Ravenell '23 who represented Notre Dame in the Spanish Oral Expo held on Saturday at The Haverford School. The event was sponsored by the local chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP). Students were partnered with participants from other schools to create and perform a skit in Spanish. Rahbin and her partners won third place in the competition.
Honors Physics and Chemistry Students Compete in Regional Science Fair On Saturday, February 22, 2020, as part of the curriculum for Honors Physics and Honors Chemistry, students traveled to E.T. Richardson Middle School to take part in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) Region 1A Science Fair. Over 120 students from 11 schools in Chester and Delaware Counties attended the fair. Students gave oral presentations to a panel of judges on their individual research projects completed early this year investigating a wide range of topics from bacteria to chemical titrations.
Following the presentations, awards were given based on the judges' scores. Out of 27 freshmen, 19 students were awarded First Place awards, with 8 receiving Second Place awards. Out of 40 sophomores, 21 students received First Place awards, with 19 receiving Second Place awards. Three students received perfect scores from the judges: Alexa Kish '23, Alex McCulloch '23, and Phoebe Phillips '22. Two students from the Class of 2023 won special awards. Katie Halligan was recognized for her excellent background research with a Robust Research Award and Therese Trainer was recognized for her thorough analysis of data with an Exceptional Analysis Award. Congratulations to all who participated!
Students Perform with All Catholic Band In the December 15 issue of ND Weekly we recognized ND students who were selected to participate in All Catholic and Archdiocesan musical events this spring.
Congratulations to our three ND musicians who performed in the Archdiocesan All Catholic Band last weekend. Emmeline Lignowski '20, Arden Dougherty '22 and Andrea Wat '22 were selected by audition to participate. Emmeline earned first chair flute and was a featured soloist. The musicians spent two full days in rehearsal ending with a concert on Sunday afternoon at Bishop Shanahan High School. Our musicians will perform with the All Catholic Band again at the Kimmel Center on Tuesday, April 21. Congratulations Emmeline, Arden, and Andrea!
ND Sophomore Named Athlete of the Week Congratulations to ND swimmer Ashley Kolessar '22 - Main Line Girls Athlete of the Week! Ashley holds school records in the 100 free, 100 breast, 200 medley relay, and 400 free relay. You can read more about this exceptional scholar-athlete in a Q & A with PA Prep Live here.
Athletes Receive Inter-Ac All-League Honors Congratulations to the following athletes who have been recognized by the Inter-Ac league coaches as All-League athletes for the 2019-20 winter season:
Basketball First Team: Maeve McErlane '22 Second Team: Allison Lynch '20
Swimming
Parents' Press Mothers' Lenten Retreat - Thursday March 12 at 8:30 am
The Parents' Association has openings for various positions for 2020-2021 including committee chairs, class parents and more. If you or someone you know would be interested in learning more, please contact parents@ndapa.org.
School Calendar
March
March 3 Retreat for Grades 7 and 8
March 7
March 9
March 10 Counselor Chat Lenten Liturgy
March 12
March 13 PB & J for Middle School Service (Communty Time)
March 15
March 16
March 17
March 18
March 19
March 21 Father Daughter Senior Dinner and Father Daughter Dance
March 24 12th Grade Service Trip
March 27
March 30
March 31
April
April 1 April 2
April 3 April 16 |