Chez News Notre Dame School of Manhattan

March 2020

Letter from the President

March 2020   Dear Notre Dame, Our 355 students have now completed their first day of classes via Zoom. I am pleased to write that the girls all logged in via their enhanced Zoom accounts, followed their new schedules that go from about 9am to 3pm, and reported that they enjoyed their classes even though they would prefer to be all together on W. 13th St. Teachers, who were able to see their students, stated that they could call on the girls and conduct class discussions as though they were in their regular classrooms. Overall, all the technology, planning, preparations, hard work and creativity proved beneficial for our entire school community.  News of the coronavirus and its effects continues to unfold at a rapid pace. By the time you read this email, more will be known that we know at this moment yet, the future will remain uncertain. At times like this, it may be helpful to ponder who and what are most important in our lives.  One central person in the life of our community is Mary, God's mother. Our founder, Anne de Xainctonge, entrusted her mission of education to Mary and thus our School is named after Mary, Notre Dame. Although I sent the image you see here out last evening to the school community, I am resending it via Constant Contact to everyone in the Notre Dame Community. The artwork was done by Br. Mickey O'Neil McGrath, O.S.F.S. It is an image of Mary, Health of the Sick. We can turn to Mary, especially at times like this and ask her intercession as we pray for the well-being of our families and friends, members in our community, the most vulnerable in our society, and our sisters and brothers throughout the world. Mary has always protected Anne's mission for centuries and she will continue to help today as well. This newsletter offers us an opportunity to catch up on what has been happening at Notre Dame. As March is Women's History month our features center on how our young women are women of faith, scholarship, justice, art, and sports. Special congratulations to the varsity basketball team NYC Catholic High School playoff champions. Please know I am praying for all of us during these difficult days. Warm regards, ‌ Dr. Virginia O’Brien, SU President

ND Classes are 'Zooming' Along

Faculty training on remote teaching through Zoom Video Communications

Like all schools in the area, Notre Dame’s campus was closed due to the coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean that the learning has stopped. Under the guidance of Mr. Alaric Lejano, Director of Technology and AP computer science teacher, the faculty learned how to teach virtually through Zoom Video Communications. Zoom is a remote conferencing services company that provides remote communications through video conferencing and mobile collaboration. This is especially important for distance learning. Students can log in from home and immediately be a part of class. Math teacher, Roisin Clarke ’10, created a new daily academic schedule for the virtual classes; and Principal Jackie Brilliant sent guidelines on distance learning etiquette for the entire school community.  Notre Dame students did not miss a beat as classes resumed from home and the girls are continuing their stellar educations ‘face to face’ with their teachers. Chez News will be sent more regularly to keep our ND families and friends informed on our virtual learning and other school updates. Stay tuned!

Women’s History Month is Every Month Chez Nous!

Each year March is designated Women’s History Month by Presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history. The National Women’s History Alliance selects and publishes the yearly theme. The 2020 Women’s History Month theme is “Valiant Women of the Vote.” The theme honors "the brave women who fought to win suffrage rights for women, and for the women who continue to fight for the voting rights of others."  The Notre Dame community exemplifies the theme of ‘Valiant Women’. Valiant by definition means possessing courage and determination, and the ND students illustrate these qualities in every aspect of their lives.  Women of Faith Class of 2021 creators of the Founder's Day production Notre Dame takes pride in its history of providing a strong Catholic education for young women in the tradition of Anne de Xainctonge. Inspired by this 17th Century pioneer in women’s education, Notre Dame promotes academic excellence for girls, an awareness of God in their lives, and engagement in the world around them. Each year, Notre Dame celebrates her life on the school’s Founder’s Day, which takes place on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. Of course, first and foremost, this feast day celebrates the most powerful role model for women of faith, the Blessed Mother. It is also the day that honors the tenacious efforts of Anne de Xainctonge, who advocated for equal access for girls’ education as far back as the 1600s! As they do every year, the Junior Class created a modern day re-telling of Anne’s life through songs and skits for the entire school. This year’s show was a joyous and uplifting production and was well received by the student body. The Liturgy Club (TLC) organizing Ash Wednesday Mass The ND students live their faith in other ways as well. Lent began on campus with a beautiful Ash Wednesday Mass organized by students in The Liturgy Club, also known as TLC. Their involvement and commitment to the planning of this liturgy were inspiring to their Chez Nous classmates. And the quest for a deeper understanding of faith has taken the ND girls off campus as well. Earlier this month, teachers Mr. Scott Vasey and Ms. Claire Littlefield took the newly selected Arrupe Leaders to the annual Arrupe Leaders Summit in Spark, Maryland. Travelling with students from Fordham Prep, the group joined other schools for this spiritual three-day program exploring how faith can promote justice. The Arrupe Summit students explored global issues through the lens of Fr. Pedro Arrupe, a former Superior General of the Society of Jesus, who saw social justice as a core to one’s faith in Christ. ND Arrupe Leaders of Notre Dame and Fordham Prep Summit facilitators worked with the students to weave together Arrupe’s example with leadership best practices and help them make connections to their own lives through hands-on activities and personal reflection time. These faith experiences invigorate the spiritual lives of ND students who continue to find ways to do for others in need.

Women of Scholarship ND students attend Engineers Tomorrow Conference Every day, Notre Dame students challenge themselves with rigorous academic schedules. In addition to their core courses, many of these students add AP classes as well as electives to round out their learning. They also extend themselves outside of campus to gain academic insights in a variety of subjects. Recently, Ms. Vella, Math Department Chair, took a group of students to the Engineering Tomorrow Conference. Engineering Tomorrow is an organization that helps get high school students interested in engineering. The moderators, college students involved in STEM programs, discuss how this field involves more than just the math and science courses they take in high school. They then delve into what it takes to be an engineer (problem solving skills, building equipment, applying math/science concepts). The organization holds annual conferences, and ND has been a consistent participant. This year the conference was held at Cathedral High School and was open to a variety of Catholic schools in Manhattan. In the morning the students built catapults and experimented with different balls and angles to try to hit specific distance targets. There was a competition during this portion and our ND students came in first and second place! In the afternoon, they calculated the shortest distance between cities on a map and then programmed a drone to fly to these specific cities on an enlarged map of the US. The girls really enjoyed the programming aspect to this portion and were trying to get as exact as possible!

ND students visit Bloomberg corporate office

During that same week, Ms. Vella, along with Mr. Lejano, AP computer science teacher, had the opportunity to take members of the ND club,  Girls Who Code,  to the Bloomberg Corporate office in midtown. They met with Scott Halstead P'19 who coordinated the day. Mr. Halstead is the team lead for a newly formed group that is rebuilding the Telemetry Infrastructure for Bloomberg LP from the bottom up. Their telemetry infrastructure platform provides interfaces for applications to post metric and log data. Mr. Halstead gave the students a private tour of the building and explained how they use programming and coding daily. The students reported that it was incredibly productive and inspiring, and they learned so much from their day with Mr. Halstead.  As is evident in the many avenues of learning, ND students take full advantage of the academic opportunities made available to them, both in the classrooms and on the road!

Women of Justice

Seniors waiting to hear Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The focus of this year’s Women’s History Month is celebrating the 100 th anniversary of women obtaining the national right to vote. Even though this is the centennial year of the ratification of the 19 th Amendment, Notre Dame has been celebrating this civic right every year in a unique way. Each spring, a week before graduation, Ms. Jackie Brilliant, principal of the school, meets with the graduating class to discuss with them the history of the suffrage movement. She emphasizes to them the import and necessity of casting one’s vote during elections. As a special graduation gift, she inserts the voter registration forms inside the diploma covers - a reminder to the graduates of their civic obligation that was long fought for.

Ms. Brilliant is one of many female role models the students have to look up to on campus. Thankfully there are now a multitude of female leaders who inspire our students in the world at large as well. One long-time role model and activist for the advocacy of equal rights for women has been Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and ND students got the rare opportunity to hear her speak and to meet her in person at the Union Theological Seminary! Justice Ginsburg was the special guest at the Ninth Annual Judith Davidson Moyers Women of Spirit Series.  Launched through a generous seed gift from journalist Bill Moyers, this lecture series provides a public forum to discuss pressing global issues and to explore enduring questions of human justice and the social challenges of our time. Ms. Rita Walters, who is the Vice President of Development for the Union Theological Seminary, is also a friend of Notre Dame and serves as a member of the Notre Dame School Board Development Committee. She arranged for a group of seniors to hear Justice Ginsburg’s powerful words, with a private question and answer session afterwards. The girls (as well as the chaperones) were overwhelmed by this opportunity and came away from it with new insights and determination. With such iconic women to look up to, there is no question that our Notre Dame students are ready and able to follow in their footsteps too! Note: No photos were allowed, so you will just have to trust us that they did meet Justice Ginsburg, and it was incredibly memorable for them!

Women of Art

Ms. Davenport’s 10 th grade class creating self-portraits

The arts are a major part of the curriculum Chez Nous , and ND students have the chance to strengthen their creative abilities through the various opportunities made available to them. One recent example is in Ms. Davenport’s 10 th grade class, where the artists were required to create self-portraits through a methodical process This activity required students to draw themselves 8 different times using different prompts and time restrictions as guidelines. The goal was to encourage them not to focus on creating a 'beautiful finished piece', but instead to really learn and observe their subject (themselves!) Through this intense observation, they used a variety of approaches to create their images - continuous contour, tonal, and 3-quarter pose. The results were remarkable, and students felt quite accomplished with their work.

Ave Doster-Schellenbaum's work in progress from 10th grade art

Notre Dame has taken is arts education on the road as well. The 9 th graders had the opportunity to attend a production at The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Center for Thought & Culture. The production was entitled Warriors Don’t Cry Show . Inspired by Dr. Melba Pattillo Beals’s Little Rock Nine Memoir  Warriors Don’t Cry , this intense play was a catalyst for deeper discussion about gun violence, social responsibility, civil discourse, social media, and community engagement.   The girls were mesmerized by the play and returned to campus inspired by the strong message of social justice it sent through the actors’ words and songs. In the musical arts, finishing touches are being put on the upcoming show, The Addams Family. With the students not being on campus temporarily, there will be new dates for the performances announced soon. Director Ms. Nicole Wakabayashi is very impressed with the focus that the actors have maintained during the many months of rehearsals, and she feels confident that this show will be the best one yet!   The arts are obviously thriving at ND, giving these students an appreciation of the aesthetic, and a holistic approach to learning.

Women of Sports

The winter sports season has wrapped up at Notre Dame, and once again, the ND Dragons have shown their athletic strength and power. Their valiant efforts paid off in victorious results.

ND's Indoor Track Team celebrating its terrific season!

Indoor Track The Indoor Track team closed out its season in extraordinary fashion at the CHSAA Intersectional Championships. Brigid McCabe '21 defended her distance title from Cross Country, winning the 3000m Intersectional and Catholic High School State Championship! She also placed third in the 1500 for one of the toughest doubles in the sport. Brigid will move on to race at Eastern Regionals, the New York Federation of Public High Schools State Meet, and New Balance Nationals. The entire team worked tirelessly to better their skills and each member ran a personal best in the final races. They all deserve a hearty congratulations for a season well run!  GO DRAGONS!

Varsity Basketball wins the GCHSAA Playoff Championship!

Basketball The basketball team was equally strong this year and finished on a solid note. Out of sixteen games, they lost only two, completing the season with an outstanding record. ND was the first-place team in the league. With this solid lead, the team confidently advanced to the semi-finals. There, they beat Cathedral High School and advanced to the playoffs against Cristo Rey of Brooklyn. It was a nail-biting game, but ND kept the lead and won with a final score of 40-20! As a result, Notre Dame is GCHSAA Playoff Champion! Way to go Dragons!   ND athletes have a strong commitment to supporting each other and working as a team. This camaraderie and collaboration have served them well earning them many accolades this season!

PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE Saturday, June 6, 2020 Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers Noon - 4:00 pm  Additional details to come soon!

Contact Information Elizabeth Bixenman Director of Development & Alumnae Relations (212) 620-5575, Ext. 317 bixenmane@cheznous.org Stay connected ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ www.cheznous.org ANCHORING LIVES for GENERATIONS