Notre Dame Preparatory School (Towson, Maryland)

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Notre Dame Preparatory School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Towson, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. Notre Dame Preparatory School is one of Baltimore's oldest Catholic, college preparatory schools for girls. Founded in 1873 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, a teaching order from Germany, Notre Dame Prep is located in Towson, Maryland, north of Baltimore City. The school's original mission--to foster academic excellence, spiritual growth and practice of social justice in its students--has inspired more than 6,000 living alumnae and continues to inspire the approximately 750 girls currently enrolled in grades 6-12.

1 School Mission Statement
2 School Song
3 Background
4 Curriculum and Athletics
5 Uniform
6 School Traditions
7 Student Organizations
8 Enrollment
9 Notable Alumnae
10 External links
11 Notes and references

[edit] School Mission Statement

Notre Dame Preparatory School exists to educate and inspire young women. It is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school in the tradition of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Its dedicated religious and lay educators are committed to academic excellence, spiritual growth and the practice of justice in the school community, in the Church and in the world. Notre Dame provides a diverse program that emphasizes the dignity and value of each person as it prepares young women of moral integrity to become more loving, just and wise.

[edit] School Song

   "The Gateway"

   Where the Gateway opens 
   to our Lady's Way,
   There a column symbols truth 
   by night and day.
   Where the seal is woven
   into white and blue,
   Stands a flag of beauty,
   Notre Dame for you.

   Refrain
   Ever hail her
   alma mater,
   Know her colors
   sign for you.
   Work and play
   beneath her mantle
   Blue be loyal,
   white be true.

   As the campus greets you
   every tree unfolds,
   And ready mother gives
   the gift she holds
   Here is love's pure whiteness
   and the blue lamp's glow,
   Thought and care of one's heart
   from her two hands flow.

[edit] Background

Founded in 1873 by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Prep moved to its present location in 1960. The school's mission is to "foster academic excellence, spiritual growth and practice of social justice".

[edit] Curriculum and Athletics

Notre Dame Preparatory offers over 160 course options for its students. It offers 25 Advanced Placement options, as well as Japanese, community service, and swimming. All students are required to take religion and English for four years. Notre Dame Preparatory boasts a 100% graduation and college matriculation rate. The school also offers over 25 student clubs and 15 interscholastic sports, including cross country, track and field, basketball, softball, badminton, and other sports.

[edit] Uniform

The girls of the school are easily recognizable in their uniforms of a blue pleated jumper with white collar and white cuffs on the sleeves. The students are also required to wear saddle shoes and a name tag denoting her name.

The school ring is made of black onyx and gold. It has a picture of the front of the school etched in gold on the top of the ring. The sides of the ring have NDP and the class graduation year engraved. The ring is supposed to be worn on student's right ring finger. They receive this ring in the beginning of junior year on "Ring Day" and have been known to wear it the rest of their years at NDP and beyond.

[edit] School Traditions

Notre Dame Prep is a school founded on tradition. Besides the unchanged, traditional uniform, students of past and present are united through events like Ring Day and Tree Trim.

Gym Meet is a time honored tradition where high school students compete in the categories of march, song, aerobics, and dance for the coveted silver cup. Each of the 4 high school classes picks a Gym Meet theme and elects a Gym Meet Captain each year. Gym Meet committees are selected by the Athletic Association. The committees, under the supervision of the Gym Meet Captain, create routines in the categories of dance, march, aerobics and song. The routines are approved by the Athletic Association before the committees teach them to the class. Classes have set practice times after school during the month of February to learn the routine. Gym Meet takes place during the first weekend in March. The classes compete on both Friday and Saturday nights in front of an audience of parents, friends and anonymous judges. The results of the competition are revealed on Saturday night. Classes with the most points in each category win the respective march, song, aerobics and dance plaques. The class with the most points overall wins the coveted Silver Cup. (In the case of a tie, the winner of the poster category, which is revealed prior to the weekend competition, is awarded the silver cup.)

Walking under the gateway is the school tradition that marks the entrance and exit of students to the NDP community. The iron and stone structure is reminiscent of the gateway that once graced the main entrance to the Charles Street Campus. Incoming students walk through the arch toward the school to mark their entrance into the Notre Dame Prep community. Similarly, on graduation day, seniors walk under the arch toward Hampton Lane symbolizing the end of their journey at NDP.

[edit] Student Organizations

At Notre Dame, students find many was to express their personalities outside of the classroom. Through clubs and organizations, students are able to have their voices heard. Community spirit is enhanced through the enthusiastic participation of students and the leadership of teachers.

Student Council

The student council at Notre Dame sponsors events like Candy Grams, Open House, Mother-Daughter Fashion Show, Have A Heart Week and Spring Dance.

Athletic Association

AA strives to promote school spirit throughout the student body. The Athletic Association sponsors activities like Gym Meet, Patron Drive, AA Dance and Tree Trim.

Christian Community Awareness Program

CCAP is a student directed organization aimed at encouraging social service in the community. CCAP programs display the humanitarian efforts of the student body through events like Penny Queen and the St. Veronica's Christmas Party.

Campus Ministry

Campus Ministry is devoted to aiding the students of Notre Dame Prep in their spiritual growth and journeys. Campus ministers work throughout the year planning liturgies, retreats, and other prayer services.

Students Against Destructive Decisions

SADD works to raise awareness of unwise decisions and prevent destructive behavior.

Cultural Awareness

Cultural Awareness promotes the exploration of different cultures. Every year the group attends a local conference that allows the girls to discuss topics that concern different cultures. Every other year, each girl has the opportunity to attend a nation wide conference that allows them to meet people from all over the world.

Spirit Club

The spirit club was founded to increase the student body's school spirit and support of NDP athletic teams. The spirit club awards the spirit banner to the class with the highest participation level at spirit games.

Finis

Student enrolled in Finis produce the Notre Dame yearbook.

Gateway

Students enrolled in Gateway produce the NDP newspaper.

Esprit

The creative writing class at NDP produces Esprit, a literary magazine compiling the work of various student.

[edit] Enrollment

Currently, the school has over 6,000 living alumni and enrolls about 750 students from grades 6-12. Class sizes average 16-20 students and the school boasts a student-faculty ratio of 9:1.