Chez News: February 2023

February 2023

So much to report mid-winter Chez Nous! The creative talents and hard work of our students, teachers, and alumnae brought well-deserved recognition. We welcomed professionals from our school community to share their expertise with our students during our Career Fair. And we headed into February Break after celebrating the legacy of Anne de Xainctonge and how her spirit and pedagogy live on in our students and their teachers today.

Finally, a reminder that tickets are still on sale for the 66th Annual Chez Nous Benefit, which will once again be in person at Pier Sixty on Saturday, March 25th from noon to 4pm! The Chez Nous Benefit is a Notre Dame tradition, complete with a gourmet three course meal, open bar, live auction, and a paddle raise for the scholarship fund. This is an exciting and fun afternoon for our community to come together to celebrate our Notre Dame students. Read more about the Benefit and purchase your tickets here.

Creativity All Around Chez Nous!

Creativity has been the theme for the 22-23 school year, and recent awards and accomplishments have recognized the creative and imaginative powers of our student and alumnae community. Three students won prestigious Scholastic Art and Writing awards; a young alumna published her first book of poetry, and our Arts Department Chair was selected at one of Yamaha's 40 Under 40 Music Educators! As you can tell, artistic inspiration abounds Chez Nous!

Kaley McDevitt '23 was awarded a Gold Key Award for her poem "Making Waves."

Caroline Schouten '25 received Honorable Mention for her short story "Reflecting."

Angelina Shere '24 won a Gold Key for her artwork, shown above.

Nicole Wakabayashi: One of Yamaha's 40 Under 40 Music Educators!

ND's music Director was chosen out of hundreds of applicants for this award that celebrates and recognizes outstanding music educators nationwide, who are making a difference by growing and strengthening their schools' music programs.

Kat Chang '22 describes herself as someone who "Feels deeply and intensely all the time." She began writing poetry in earnest the August before her senior year at Notre Dame. Starting simply with the Notes app on her phone to "capture the moment," she gradually realized she was writing all the time and pumping out three poems a day. She started saving her work on a Google Doc. During a difficult time, she found that poetry was "healing made tangible." It wasn't until a friend suggested it that she considered publishing her poems.

Kat says her current college Philosophy major has influenced her creative writing style. She advises would-be writers among the ND student community to "dabble in everything." Having written previously in the school's student newspaper on the topic of "Maximizing Your Creative Drive," Kat urges young writers to take risks: "What you think are weaknesses can be your strength."

Kat's book grace in the downpour is available for purchase on Amazon and is proudly on display in the ND library!

Students Network at

College Fair 2023!

ND Alumna Rianne Pyle '17 discusses her career

as a film maker with student fair attendees.

Nearly 50 professionals from the ND community--alumnae, parents, and friends--spent the morning of February 10th in the school's Dolan Center to meet with students, answering questions about the pathways to their careers and giving the inside scoop on their working lives. Volunteers came from a wide range of industries, including healthcare, law, business, finance, technology, engineering, publishing, education, arts, and entertainment. Everyone Chez Nous is grateful to our Career Fair volunteers for giving so generously of their time!

Students get the chance to introduce themselves and network with our volunteers from a variety of professions.

Two alumnae volunteers from the Class of '18, Meghan Haddad and Jaylin Santos, take a moment for a selfie with Sr. Virginia.

Our Lady of Lourdes Day Festivities

Honor the Story of Anne de Xainctonge

and Celebrate Student Achievement

Students, faculty, and staff gathered on Friday, February 17th to celebrate ND's Feast Day in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes. The program began with a welcome from School President Sr. Virginia O'Brien, S.U., who introduced the theme of Academic Achievement, in keeping with Notre Dame's mission statement. Students from Ms. Kane's 9th grade English class presented projects on the topic of Marginalized Communities, Sophomores from

Ms. Halloran's English classes showed visual representations of important motifs from their study of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Mr. Stordeur's junior US History students showed off compelling websites on a range of current events, and Mr. Vasey's Senior Global Inequalities class members screened impressive videos on the housing crisis in America.

As is tradition, Junior members of Anne's Leaders told the story of our school's founder, Anne de Xainctonge, this year in a video format. A student-created slideshow of the year's major events followed, accompanied by Glee Club singing "Don't Stop Believing." Students received a sweet treat upon departure for the Mid-Winter Break, and faculty and staff headed off to a festive lunch out. All in all, a spirited and enlightening celebration Chez Nous!

Brooke Harding '23 presents on the housing crisis.

Sr. Virginia kicks off the festivities.

Aryana Mehran '26 highlights the plight of women in Iran.

Save the Dates

ND Drama presents The Wiz on Saturday, April 21st at 6 pm and Sunday, April 22nd at 2 pm. Tickets will be available at the door. You won't want to miss it!

Our Chez Nous Benefit will be held at Pier Sixty on Saturday, March 25th, from noon - 4 pm. This event is our only fundraiser of the year, and all proceeds directly support our students so that they may experience a learning environment that encourages academic excellence, spiritual formation and engagement in the world. Enjoy a cocktail hour, 3-course gourmet lunch, and the chance to bid on wonderful prizes. Purchase your tickets below!