Dear Notre Dame School Community Members and Visitors to Our Website,
Greetings! So much happens in the course of a school year. At our Christmas Assembly this year, our Drama Club (supported by our Step Team and Spirit Squad) treated us to a version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. As you probably already know, the story centers on the themes of past, present, and future. For us at Notre Dame, we can look back at the recent past of the beginning of this school year and recall a bevy of events and activities: Orientation on the Highline, Mass of the Holy Spirit, Senior Trip to DC, Alumnae Reunion and Cocktail Party, the Global Awareness Dinner, and much, much more.
As for the present, right now we are gearing up for the midyear exam period, holding review sessions at our Extended Day Academic Center, reassuring our students and imparting study skill strategies. Our seniors have applied to all their college by now, and we are all anticipating good results. We are sending out acceptance letters to the incoming Class of 2016, a group of promising students we can’t wait to get to know better!
Our future looks bright. We have junior and senior retreats on the calendar. Ring Day comes in the spring, and Senior Prom in June. Our Annual Benefit Luncheon is set for the last day of March. We will bid a fond (and often teary) farewell to our seniors. We will welcome our newest ninth graders at Registration Day. Our summer Camp Program will begin the day after school closes.
There’s a certain predictable rhythm and many rich traditions in a school such as ours that is celebrating its 100th Anniversary. We trace our history back to our spiritual founder, Anne De Xainctonge, a 16th century French woman, who was a pioneer in women’s education. Four hundred years ago, Anne wanted girls to have the same learning opportunities as boys. Her philosophy feels very current today—we are still working every day to give our young women every possible advantage. Our faculty and administration is committed to research and reflection as part of our teaching methods. Even more important, we dedicate ourselves to mentoring and supporting one another. By modeling this nurturing approach, we teach our students what is possible, how to reach high and strive far, without a damaging emphasis on competition and rank.
We call our school chez nous, French for “our home,” and we mean it. Notre Dame is home to a rich diversity of students. Young women of all backgrounds are welcomed into our community of learners. We encourage you to get to know our school better by perusing our website. Like any house-proud family, we think you will like what you see online, and in person, here at 327 West 13th Street in historic Greenwich Village. Notre Dame is a school with a rich history, a dynamic presence, and a promising future.
All the best,
Jaclyn Brilliant
Principal