Gateway Express Spring 2023

Message from the PRESIDENT

Dear Families, Alumni and Friends,

Happy Spring! It is my pleasure to bring you the latest issue of our Gateway Express email newsletter. We find it difficult to report on all of the wonderful things happening at NDA in a quarterly newsletter and annual magazine, so we encourage you to follow us on social media. Did you happen to see our posts that the combined NDA and Lynn Tech Girls Indoor Track Team ran away with the CAC title in February?!

NDA has been out in the world recently! A few weeks ago, a large group of high school students and faculty visited France and Spain. We have also had students experience a mission trip to West Virginia, a NASSP student leadership conference in Washington, DC, community service at Cor Unum in Lawrence, MA, and a BioBuilder Learning Lab in Boston, MA. Last week, another group returned from an immersive educational exchange program in Novara, Italy. We are already planning for an international trip to Iceland, and I hope we can partner with SNDdeN schools in Japan in the future.

Spring is often one of the busiest times of the year at NDA with a number of student-centered activities and community-wide events. As always, we look forward to our spring theater productions. Our Middle School is performing “Everyone Gets Eaten By Sharks” the first weekend in May, which is immediately followed by our Alumni Mass & Tea, and Golf Tournament. Our Upper School recently performed “Turn of the Screw” at the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival and looks forward to sharing with our community soon.

For a complete list of all of our upcoming events, visit our website. As always, thank you for cheering us on!

Gratefully,

Dr. Vittoria Pacifico President

NAMES AND FACES OF NDA

MEET MATTHEW KELLY

Matthew Kelly is the School Counselor at the Academy of Notre Dame for grades PreK - 8. Matt provides social, emotional, and behavioral support to our school community through individual short-term relief counseling, skill building groups, team building lunch bunches, and more.

This year Matt implemented a new social-emotional learning curriculum to assist students in gaining relevant and valuable skills that will benefit their development through NDA and beyond. The curriculum is offered by Second Step, a leading non-profit organization organization offering social-emotional learning programs to over 20 million students in the US. Social-emotional learning is a key component of a child’s development and has numerous benefits such as helping students develop coping mechanisms, reducing incidents of bullying, and increasing academic performance.

Every other week Matt visits classrooms in grades Kindergarten through 8th Grade to deliver lessons on various topics including growth mindsets & goal setting, emotion management, empathy & kindness, and problem-solving.

Thank you, Matt, for being a valuable member of our school community. Our students are are lucky to have you!

THANK YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEERS

T hank you to both our alumni and parent volunteers that participated in Career Day and our Young Alumni Panel. Alumni and parent mentoring is an important resource for our students, helping them to gain valuable knowledge and experience beyond the classroom. If you would like to become a student mentor, please email alumni@ndatyngsboro.org.

Career Day: Top (L to R): Melissa Moore ’97, Fiona Roberts ’04, Robin Goyette Whitman ’78, Jennifer Splaine (Parent) Bottom (L to R): Brianna LeMay Durand ’06, Beth Guiler O’Connell ’85, Alethea Dys-Peirce ’12, Andrea Laws ’88, Karla Valles (Parent)

Young Alumni Panel (L to R): Sarah Houston ’22, Katie Vieira ’22, Molly Berard ’20, Danielle Wuerdeman ’22, Nora Leach ’20, Aimee Lewis ’20

ALUMNI AT NDA

Did you know that NDA has eight faculty and staff members who are also alumni? We are blessed to have graduates return to the Academy and share their talents with our students and our school. Thank you to all our faculty and staff members who dedicate their time and energy to making NDA a positive learning environment.

Top (L to R): Kristen Bowes Stella ’02, Office of Institutional Advancement, Karen Ogden Araujo ’07, Main Office, Rachael Simpson, 8th Grade Alumna, Grade 6

Bottom (L to R): Beth Guiler O’Connell ’85, Upper School English, Katie Connolly ’13, Grade 2, Shakira Willet ’21, EDP

Not Pictured: Taylor McCarthy Faria ’10, Religion, and Randy Ovalles ’22, EDP & Coach

DELIGHTFUL DOZEN

We are so pleased that members of the Class of 1960 continue to keep in touch after all these years! They used to call themselves the Delightful Dozen because there were consistently twelve alumni who would gather to celebrate important milestones, host events on holidays, and go away for a “Girls’ Weekend.”

When they turned 50, the group went to Montreal. Though they have lost some friends over the years, they continue to meet and look back fondly on their time at the Academy. Congratulations to the Class of 1960 and all our alumni who made friends for life at NDA. We love hearing your stories and seeing your photos!

Not

Seated (L-R): Carol Richards Martin, Marcia Boumila Nugent, Eileen Gallagher Crowley, Brenda Hoffman D’Orto, and Barbara Quill Leary Standing (L-R): Jane McLaughlin Shaughnessy, Barbara McArdle Markham, Patricia Fitzgerald Brophy, Anne Couto Graham, Mary Jane Farley, and Patricia Creegan Kelley.

Pictured: Judith Neylon O’Brien

PASSING OF THERESE BOUCHER

It is with deep sadness that we share that Mrs. Therese Boucher passed away recently at the blessed age of 94. Mrs. Boucher served as NDA’s Phys. Ed. Teacher and Athletic Director at NDA for 19 of her 94 years, and she is remembered fondly. She was succeeded by the current Athletic Director, Ms. Lisa Zappala, who has now served for 33 years! What tremendous legacies these two special women have given to NDA.

Together, they have impacted the lives of hundreds of young women (and now men) over the last 52 years. It’s important for us to remember their significant contributions: their time and love for their students. Thankfully, Ms. Zappala continues to serve the NDA community as the Athletic Director and we hope she’ll remain in that role for many years! Today, we’d like to ask alumni and friends to reflect on how Mrs. Boucher touched your life. Please click here to write a message or memory that we can share with the NDA community and Mrs. Boucher’s family.

We are happy to share that thanks to the generosity of her family, a scholarship is being created in her name to benefit a student athlete. Please consider making a donation of any amount to ensure that the Therese Boucher Memorial Scholarship can continue for many years. With your gift, you will be supporting today’s students and honoring Mrs. Boucher’s memory. Thank you for your consideration.

SPOTLIGHT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The Office of Institutional Advancement has been adding content to our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn social media accounts. If you want to stay up-to-date on all the cool stuff happening at NDA in real time, then give us a like, follow, and share. If you missed out over the last few months, you need to check out the inspiring wall mural painted in the Upper School hallway by Natalie Foy ’23 on Instagram and Facebook. You can also connect with fellow alumni, parents and friends on LinkedIn. If you are searching for a job or networking opportunities and want to tap into your NDA network, then please add NDA as your alma mater to make you searchable to fellow alumni!

UPCOMING NDA EVENTS

ALUMNI MASS AND SENIOR MEDALLION CEREMONY

All alumni are welcome back to campus on Sunday, May 7, 2023 for the traditional Mass & Tea and Senior Medallion Ceremony. This time honored tradition is a chance to reconnect with friends, celebrate the St. Julie Alumna/us of the Year, remember members of the NDA community who passed and welcome the graduating class to the Alumni Association. Alumni and families of the Class of 2023 please visit ndatyngsboro.org/massandtea/ to register. Unable to attend? Register and view the Mass virtually!

To nominate an Alumna/us for the St. Julie Alumni of the Year award, go to: ndatyngsboro.org/alumnileadership/

30TH ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

Join the NDA community on Monday, May 8, 2023 at Vesper Country Club for the Academy’s Annual Golf Tournament in support of the Eric P. Hanson Memorial Scholarship for NDA students. This long standing event is one of NDA’s largest fundraisers and enables the Academy to offer financial support to students and families who otherwise may not be able to attend our exceptional school.

Whether you play under par or spend most of your time in the rough, golfing for a good cause is always fun! Not a golfer? Sponsorship opportunities are also available and we welcome all to attend a cocktail reception in the Golf House after the tournament. Fore more information and to register visit ndatyngsboro.org/golf/ *Please note a change in start time from the formal invitation. Shotgun start will now be at 12:30 PM allowing more time for socializing after the tournament.

REUNION 2023

Calling all classes ending in 3s and 8s, your reunion is coming up! Contact the alumni office if you’d like to coordinate your class celebration. We’d love to partner with you and a few classmates to make your reunion a success. Email Kristen Bowes Stella ’02 at kstella@ndatyngsboro.org to get started.

HOMECOMING 2023

Mark your calendars for our annual Homecoming on Saturday, September 30, 2023! Enjoy an afternoon of celebration with alumni, students, parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends. The outdoor event will feature food, fun and activities for the entire family. The event will conclude with a 4 PM Mass in Our Lady’s Chapel, followed by a cocktail reception for our Reunion Classes (classes ending in 3s and 8s).

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK IN PHOTOS