Notre Dame junior says some of the most fun she's had at school was in a math class.
Notre Dame junior Anna Miklas, a member of the school’s elite Student Ambassador club, said some of the most fun she’s had so far at NDP was in math class. But not just any math class. It was as a freshman in Honors Integrated Math 9, a class that featured equations in three variables, radicals, complex numbers, polynomial and rational functions, quadratic relations and systems, permutations and combinations, probability and statistics, coordinate geometry, congruence and similarity, transformational geometry and trigonometry.
If that doesn’t sound like fun, we’re with you. But the class Miklas is referring to was taught by none other than NDPMA’s resident math “enterteacher,” Mark McCaskey.
“Mr. McCaskey is hilarious and every class was super funny,” Miklas said. “However, this didn’t distract from learning the material. Overall, the class was engaging and entertaining, and I really learned a lot!”
Miklas also is in Notre Dame’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, which was a big part of why she enrolled in the school in the first place.
Notre Dame junior Anna Miklas has been a member of the school’s track and field team.
And extracurricular she most certainly has been so far at Notre Dame.
Besides a heavy load of academics — currently IB HL Integrated Math, IB HL History, IB HL Language and Literature, Honors Spanish 7/8, Christian History, IB SL Environmental Science, IB Visual Art and Morality — Miklas has participated on the Irish track and volleyball teams, the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society as well as the many duties that come with her role as a student ambassador.
“I didn’t realize it at first, but I came to learn that Notre Dame makes it possible to participate in multiple different sports and activities that you may never expect to do or join when you start here,” she said.
In fact, Miklas said one of her experiences playing sports at NDP was another “fun” moment at the school.
“Winning the second-to-last tournament with the JV volleyball team my sophomore year was so much fun,” she recalled. “Getting that trophy showed how our hard work paid off. We had a really joyous moment that I was lucky enough to share with my close friends and teammates.”
Miklas also said that, all things considered, she thinks Notre Dame is the absolute right school for her.
“Notre Dame has been a great fit for me because it mixes a quality learning experience with an enthusiastic and spirited atmosphere,” she said. “It also has helped me become more of a Christian person by providing constant moments of reflection in our morning all-school prayer, on class retreats, and in religion classes.”
While college is still more than a year and a half away for Miklas, she nonetheless believes that she will be better prepared than most once she gets there.
“Notre Dame has helped me become a real academic scholar by challenging me with advanced courses and by employing teachers who constantly push me to improve,” she said. “I know when I graduate from here I will leave feeling fulfilled and totally ready to take on college.”
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.