School News

The Mount Notre Dame (MND) community is ready to rally behind 2013 MND graduate and 2019 Team USA member Rose Lavelle by hosting a viewing party of Team USA's first FIFA World Cup Soccer game on Tuesday, June 11 beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the school foyer. The MND community is invited to enjoy some snacks and refreshments beforehand with the live stream vs. Thailand getting underway at 3 p.m. The event concludes when the game ends at approximately 5 p.m.

Rose Lavelle was a four-year varsity performer at MND from 2009-2013, earning GGCL First Team Honors during her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She was also named All-State as a junior and was the Cincinnati Enquirer Player of the Year her senior season. She went on to star at the University of Wisconsin, earning numerous Big Ten awards during her career and was the number one overall draft pick in the 2017 NWSL Draft by the Boston Breakers.

MND held its Commencement Exercises for the 159^th Graduating Class – the Class of 2019 – on Tuesday, May 28th at the Sharonville Convention Center. During the ceremony, students listened to the valedictory address by Lauren Ulland who was ranked first in her class. Approximately 73.4 percent of the graduating class received scholarship offers – a total of 555 scholarships equaling $21 million.

Principal Karen Day commented, "I am so proud of the way the Class of 2019 has developed into academically talented young women with a strong faith foundation that will propel them to meet and exceed their collegiate goals.These young women are empowered to transform the world!"

The following awards and medals were presented to members of the senior class:

• St. Julie Billiart Christian Leadership Award – Sarah Nagy
• Medal for Academic Excellence – Lauren Ulland
• Excellence in English – Cara Wagner
• Excellence in French – Ginny Edwards
• Excellence in Information Technology & Business – Caroline Rueter
• Excellence in Latin – Elizabeth Elin
• Excellence in Mathematics – Lauren Ulland
• Excellence in Performing Arts – Veronica Lakatos
• Excellence in Religious Studies – Ashley Fasola
• Excellence in Science – Ginny Edwards
• Excellence in Social Studies – Caroline Gott
• Excellence in Spanish – Julia Barnes
• Excellence in Visual Arts – Amanda Clark

On April 24^th, MND held the Class of 2019 Showcase of Excellence. During the event, the MND community honors seniors who demonstrate outstanding characteristics in alignment with MND's three pillars of development: Academic, Spiritual and Student Development.

Seniors were nominated by their classmates as well as by members of MND's faculty and staff. Seniors selected to represent their class in the area of Academic Development include: Ginny Edwards (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis), Julia Evans (Penn State), Erin Mahan (Michigan State University) and Lauren Ulland (The Ohio State University). Seniors selected in the area of Spiritual Development include: Madeleine Campbell (St. Louis University), Rachel Creeden (Miami University Ohio), Ashley Fasola (University of Cincinnati) and Sarah Nagy (University of Tennessee). Seniors selected in the area of Student Development include: Emily English (University of Cincinnati), Kallie Halas (University of Cincinnati), Minh-Thu Truong (The Ohio State University) and Cara Wagner (University of Missouri).

MND Principal Mrs. Karen Day commented, "The members of the Class of 2019 have become empowered young women who are prepared to transform our world.These 12 students are excellent role models for the rest of the MND sisterhood.They have provided inspiration on how to learn, live, lead and serve.We couldn't be prouder of our seniors!"

Mount Notre Dame President Judy Back Gerwe '78 announced plans to create a new educational space for students this summer located on the second floor across from the office area and College and Career Center. The space will be called the Learning Commons and will also become the new library for the school.

"We are excited about creating this new space right in the center of our school building for our students," said Gerwe. "We are so appreciative of our donors who have made this new Learning Commons come to life for our community."

Funding for this project is provided by generous MND benefactors who are investing in our comprehensive capital campaign Achieve More ... Now and Forever that is currently in the major gift phase. This is Part I of our construction. Once we reach our campaign goal, we will begin work on a new Performing Arts Center that will be located in the current theater and library space, an area that was once our school gymnasium. The Performing Arts Center will be used for theater, band, choral, and dance performances as well as parent and student meetings and events. We also hope to include the larger community in its uses.

The journey to a campaign began with the development of a new five-year Strategic Plan that was launched in the spring of 2017. Achieve More ... Now and Forever addresses two of the aspiration statements from the plan. One is "To be financially positioned to advance the mission of MND" which is the endowment piece of the campaign - Achieve More Forever. The other is "To assess the current and future facility needs of the school" which will be the facilities piece of the campaign – Achieve More Now. We have created a visionary campus master plan that will determine the most effective use of our campus over the next several years.

MND will have six Advanced Placement (AP) faculty members reading and grading AP tests this summer for the College Board. Faculty members include Dr. T. Matthew Fletcher (Physics C), Mr. Robert Knollman (World History), Ms. Christine Mencer (Spanish), Mrs. Catherine Schildknecht (European History), Mr. Kevin Stachowski (Biology) and Mr. Bennett VanOudenallen (Human Geography). Having six AP teachers chosen from one school to grade for the College Board is a testament to MND's strong Advanced Placement program. Approximately 11,000 teachers across the nation will be grading this summer.

MND currently offers 20 AP courses. Ninety-one MND students were recognized as AP Scholars after the 2017-2018 school year.

AP® and Advanced Placement® are registered trademarks of the College Board.Used with permission.

MND Sophomore Abby Casavant won First Place in the Poetry Category in the Mount St. Joseph University Writing Contest. Up to ten entries are permitted per school with a total of 38 schools participating this year. There were 3 categories (personal essay, fiction, and poetry).

Drop - By Abby Casavant '21

Am I an iceberg?

Icebergs are

Concealed.

Unrevealed.

Submerged.

Diverged.

Trapped.

Compact.

An iceberg holds

Firm in its mold.

An impression,

A recollection.

An iceberg is studied.

What's under its surface?

What is its purpose?

What does it think?

Why doesn't it sink?

An iceberg drifts on.

Full of Wisdom.

Waiting for freedom.

Undefeated.

Unimpeded.

When it melts,

Drip.

It's slow,

Drip.

But steady,

Drip.

Drop.

Free.

Flowing in crystalline water.

I am an iceberg.

But one day,

I'll be a drop.

MND earned the OHSAA Division I Girls Basketball State Championship with a 52-31 victory over Pickerington Central on March 16th at OSU's Jerome Schottenstein Center. It is MND's second state basketball title in three years.

The Cougars (27-2) made history in defeating the reigning-champion Tigers, collecting the program's seventh career state title, tied for the most in OHSAA history with Pickerington Central and Columbus Africentric Early College.

MND held its fifth annual Thomas Geier Creative Writing Contest on March 5th and March 6th. The contest, which seeks to reward and encourage creative writing among eighth grade students entering MND in the fall, is named in honor of former MND faculty member and current Board member, Mr. Thomas Geier. In his 39 years at MND, Mr. Geier served as the English Department Chair and taught a wide range of classes, including AP English, British Literature and Creative Writing. He also served as MND's Academic Dean and co-authored several plays that have been performed by the MND Theatre group.

Participants could choose from several writing prompts and were allowed up to 90 minutes to complete their work. Judges looked for inventive and entertaining content as well as skillful use of language. Maria Kilgore (All Saints) was named the first place winner and Nora Daley (Walnut Hills) and Emma McKenna (St. Margaret of York) both received honorable mentions.
All three girls received a tuition award.

"We had quite a few noteworthy entries this year," noted Mr. Geier. "Judging was not easy. Thanks to all of the contestants for their creative efforts!"

A record number of MND students participated in the seventh annual Night for the Fight event held on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the University of Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena. The overnight cancer-awareness event benefitting CancerFree KIDS involved teens from over 50 schools and approximately 1,400 students across the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area. The event seeks to encourage the next generation to join the battle against pediatric cancer through activities meant to educate, motivate and inspire.

Students from MND continue to lead the way, with a seven-year streak of having the most participants as well as raising the most money. This year, 320 MND students took part in the event.

Mr. Todd Forman, MND's Community Service Director and co-founder of the event notes, "We are so excited to see this event grow from its humble beginnings.Inspired by the passing of the father of then MND student Kelly Higgins, and the death of my nephew Jeffrey Thomas Hayden to pediatric cancer, this event provides critical funding for pediatric cancer research, with most of the funding being invested at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.We hope to continue to help CancerFree KIDS inspire the next generation of doctors, nurses, caregivers and philanthropists for years to come."

MND is proud to announce that seniors Ginny Edwards, Erin Mahan and Caroline Rueter are Finalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program. They will now be considered for one of approximately 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million. About 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2017 PSAT. Less than one percent of those students were selected as Finalists.

National Merit Scholarship winners for the class of 2019 will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.