My all-girl Catholic school was incredibly challenging academically. I was stressed out most of the time, and I did not sleep a whole lot, but that didn't matter because I was given the opportunity to be extremely well prepared for college. But academics are not everything, and high school was so much more than school. Some weird and cool things happened while in high school, and I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. Here are just a few things Notre Dame Academy (NDA) girls will remember from their time there.
1. The note passing phase.
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For some reason, we all thought that drawing pictures and writing long drawn out notes about nothing was so cool. I still have all of my notes, and they are hilarious. In retrospect, we probably should have been paying more attention in class and spending less time doodling. Maybe I would have been better at math.
2. Photobooth during lab.
Bless NDA for having those really old Macs that had Photobooth, otherwise I'm not sure what we actually would have done with our lab time.
3. Being able to use your school uniform as a Harry Potter costume (or a napkin, or a towel or to clean your paint brushes in Art).
The number of NDA girls I saw at the Harry Potter premieres was crazy, and nearly all of us were utilizing our school uniforms as our "costume" because that was so cool.
4. Getting your locker decorated for your birthday.
If it was your birthday, the entire school knew it by the state of your locker in the morning. Shrink wrap, sticky notes, photos, balloons, you name it and it was there. (Not to mention all of the snacks your friends gave to/made for you!)
5. You had to make a "mol."
In Chemistry, everyone had to make a mole during the mol unit. You know, like the number 6 x 10 to the 23rd? You had to come up with a "theme" and write a story about your mole using random information about Avogadro's number. Mine was "Finding Nemole," and I was very proud of it. It is actually still being displayed in my Chemistry teacher's classroom.
6. Raising a chicken/duck from egg to "birth."
This was one of my favorite parts of Honors Bio. It was so much fun picking out our egg, and making sure we turned it in the incubator, so it didn't come out with mangled limbs. My friend, Erin, and I named our chicken Ksenia because, of course, it was a totally normal name for a chicken.
7. Reaching "that point" in the quarter/year.
It happened to all of us. That moment where you just couldn't handle it anymore and needed a nap more than you ever had in your entire life.
8. Volleyball was/is Queen.
Football obviously was not a thing at NDA, and although we had a brother school right across the street, volleyball was the sport. (Soccer was pretty fabulous, too, though.)
9. And speaking of sports, themed games were the bomb.
We had jungle/safari themed days....
We had jungle/safari themed days....
And the coveted "Playing For a Purpose" game among others.
10. And don't even get me started on Catholic School's Week.
We had Nunday Monday (AKA the coolest day ever because the nuns made us ice cream sundaes).
Dress like a boy day. Which everyone took very, very seriously. (The fifth member of 1D, Louis, was absent in this picture.)
And the best day of all, Decade day where we were also privileged to be given Skyline for lunch. Yes, we were "The Breakfast Club," and it was amazing. Yes, I was Brian, and I didn't get the girl.
11. Your parents made you go to some pretty place, so they could take an endless amount of photos of you and your friends before prom.
Ugh, I always hated this.
12. You had to find a white dress to go under your white graduation gown that had shoulder pads and made everyone look horrible.
There is a reason most of my grad pics are not full length.
13. And while you often stated how much you couldn't wait to leave NDA because it was hard...
I still have issues with this stuff.
14. Looking back now, you know Notre Dame Academy has helped you prepare for college and be a young women who wants to go make a difference in the world.
15. And you would't have wanted to grow up anywhere else, and you wouldn't have wanted to grow up with anyone else.
To my fellow pandas, thank you for a great four years. We definitely had our ups and downs, but what we shared together was special. I hope you are all doing well with everything, and I wish you the best as you continue on your journey!
