Notre Dame School is thriving. We are eager to get back to the business of school.
Our enrollment is healthy and our students come to us from a variety of backgrounds. What is it about Catholic education that sets us apart? What’s different about attending a Catholic school? In our case, our students benefit from a faith-filled education. We follow the New York State Common Core Standards in all subject areas and our teachers will continue to attend workshops to hone their teaching skills.
Technology is an integral part of our learning process—our students work with iPads, laptops, flip cameras, and iPod touch players. We also travel via video-conferencing all over our county and the world. We are also pleased with our Early Childhood Programs. We are delighted to have so many little ones and their families join our school community.
This September we will have one session of Nursery, with some students staying for a full day and others joining us for the morning. We are happy to have three sessions of Pre-K, with some students staying for a full day and others joining us for the morning. The Early Childhood students are a part of our school community, attending PE classes, Art, Music, Technology and Library. The Nursery children have their own playground with items just the right size. The little ones come blessed with the eagerness to learn and discover. Every day there is something new and different.
We work hard to keep that spirit alive in all our students. While we cannot teach our students everything, we do want to teach them to become lifelong learners. Education, especially Catholic education, is not about feeding facts into children. It is about forming them for life. Children, no matter the age, want to succeed and to feel loved. To that end, we must learn to work together for the good of all. If we help our children to see that everyone is special and everyone has a contribution to make, the world can only become a happier and safer place. These are dividends for us all!
That is the responsibility of educators – teachers and parents alike. Here at Notre Dame we work together to make those dividends have a high yield.
To those who are joining our school this year, welcome.
To those who are returning, we can’t wait to see you.
To all those who are moving on, we will miss you.
To all, have a happy year. We’ll see you on the fourth.
Caryn Flores Durkin
Principal
Notre Dame School
