Chez News: An Insider's View of Notre Dame

Chez News

Notre Dame School

of Manhattan

September 2019

Letter from the President

September 24, 2019

Before September slips away, I am delighted to send you news of Notre Dame. As is our tradition, we opened the school year with the Mass of the Holy Spirit, celebrated by Fr. Kenneth Boller, S.J., Pastor of Xavier Parish on West 16th Street. Fr. Boller reminded us that the Holy Spirit lives in each one of us and calls us to a greater awareness of and response to the needs of our times in the spirit of the Gospel.

In the spirit of service, a small group of Notre Dame students and faculty, under the leadership of Sr. Mary Dolan, S.U. are planning to spend some days this December participating in the Encuentro Project in El Paso, Texas. This is a short term immersion program where the Notre Dame group will be able to participate in workshops in Catholic Social Teaching on migrant/border realities and minister to migrant, refugee or vulnerable immigrant persons. We will update you on this project in our December Chez News.

Last Friday, a few students from Xavier joined Notre Dame students as we participated in the Climate Strike. We walked from school to Battery Park where we joined tens of thousands of others advocating for a global response to the threat of climate change.

Our mission of education promotes opportunities for our students to be engaged in the world around them. Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, we will be studying the wide variety of opportunities Notre Dame students encounter. Just today, many of the students collaborated with Notre Dame Trustee, Ms. Virginia Dolan and her friends to make fleece blankets for those in need. Please know we appreciate your support of our mission in the tradition of Anne de Xainctonge.

Warm regards,

Dr. Virginia O'Brien, SU

President

Mass of the Holy Spirit

Members of the Notre Dame Scola sing while Fr. Kenneth Boller, SJ presides at the Mass of the Holy Spirit

On Friday, September 13, we gathered together as a school to celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit. The celebration of this special Mass began in the sixteenth century as part of the Jesuit tradition of devotional revival. The readings focused on the power of prayer (Ephesians 3:14-21) and the miracle of the Resurrection and Christ's exhortation for the disciples to let in the Holy Spirit (John 20:19-22).

Offertory table representing aspects of Notre Dame's mission

Our students presented gifts at the Offertory, which symbolize some of the important aspects of Notre Dame’s mission, including academics, spirituality, service, global involvement, art, and sports.

Notre Dame students Tara Suter ’20 and Lily Notes ’21 assist Fr. Boller as Eucharistic ministers

Our annual Mass of the Holy Spirit marks an important moment in our school year when we pause to reflect on the values of the founder of the Sisters of St. Ursula, Anne de Xainctonge. Anne believed in the centrality of education as an emancipatory vehicle for women and girls, and we strive every day to uphold her legacy for all of the students Chez Nous .

Art Room Redesign

Art 9 Students work on their haptic self-portraits

This summer we installed sleek new chairs and tables in our art classroom. We have significantly increased the surface area available for students to work through the installation of five new four-by-six-foot laminate-top tables. Students also have excellent seating support in new silver-frame navy blue chairs.

Art 9 students work on their haptic self-portraits

In Ms. Elizabeth Davenport's Art 9 class, students completed a number of self-portraits with and without the use of mirrors. Here they experiment with gazing into the mirror while drawing haptic self-portraits using their non-dominant hand. Their ergonomic setup lets them focus on making good work in a comfortable space with plenty of room to move around.

Students in AP Art History make portable clay figures

On a recent day in AP Art History, students learned about handheld clay objects, such as the Neolithic figures discovered at Ain Ghazal in modern-day Jordan, as well as Paleolithic figures like the Woman of Willendorf . Students then made their own handheld clay sculptures to get a sense of the process, as well as their scale.

AP Art History students work on clay figures in the spirit of examples like the Woman of Willendorf

Whatever project the students are working on, the new space is conducive to a range of learning paradigms. We are thrilled to be able to provide them with excellent facilities for art classes, extracurricular art activities, and other art projects.

Welcome New Parents

Parents listen as Principal Jackie Brilliant welcomes them to Notre Dame

We were thrilled to welcome Notre Dame's new parents to the school on Tuesday, September 10 for the new parents Light the Way Orientation. We had a strong showing from the parents of our newest Class of 2023 and it was a joy to meet so many of them and begin to introduce them to the history of our school and its values.

We have a very strong enrollment of ninety-four students in our new Class of 2023, bringing our total enrollment to 355 students for the 2019-2020 academic year. Welcome back to all of our students and we wish you an exciting year of opportunity and discovery.

Fall Athletic Season: Cross Country

The Fall 2019 Cross Country team huddles up for a group photo

Our fall athletic season is off and running! The cross country team had its Catholic High School Athletic Association season opener on Saturday, September 7 in Van Cortlandt Park. Five girls finished in the top thirty-eight out of seventy-five runners. Three of our students finished in the top twenty-five. Brianna Martinez-Burns '22 set a personal record of 19:30 in the 2.5 mile race. Isobel Stanger '20 also broke the twenty-minute mark with a 19:51 finish.

Brigid McCabe '21 wins the 2.5-mile race

Brigid McCabe '21 set a significant personal record, finishing first overall with a time of 15:42! Overall, the varsity team finished in 4th place and spirits were high. We can't wait to see what the team will accomplish this year.

Blanket Making for Those in Need

Notre Dame Board Trustee, Ms. Virginia Dolan, lending a helping hand with our Chez Nous students

For the eleventh year in a row, Notre Dame Board Trustee, Ms. Virginia Dolan and friends came to the school on Tuesday, September 24 to work with students on crafting warm, colorful fleece blankets for distribution to adults and children in need. The blankets not only provide warmth, they are a gift of human kindness. Students wrap the blankets in Christmas ribbon and attach handmade Christmas cards to each so that the recipients receive a truly beautiful and personal gift. Enjoy the photos of our exciting day, which was part of our Anne de Xainctonge Values Curriculum.

If you know of individuals or an organization that would be helped by these blankets, please contact Meagan Gong '14, our Special Events Associate, at gongm@cheznous.org or (212) 620-5575 ex. 392 .

Climate Strike

The photos below are a small representation of the many ND and Xavier students who participated in the Climate Strike on Friday, Sept. 20 in Battery Park City. Notre Dame students came to school to participate in the Climate Strike even though the school was closed for a faculty retreat.