Over the Christmas break, members of the growing International Baccalaureate community at Notre Dame got together at a coffee shop to share experiences. According to IB Diploma Programme (@IB_DP) coordinator and Spanish teacher Kim Anderson, the get together was organized in an effort to connect alums who already have gone through the rigorous curriculum of the IB with NDP students currently enrolled in the program.
“I am hoping to make this a regular event to help the NDP IB alums connect with the current NDP IB students and become mentors,” Anderson said. “The alums would provide a support system for the current NDP IBers and help them out with sorting out potential colleges and universities, with their this high-level academic program and also just to lend an ear when things get stressful.”
In October during the IB extended essay “lock-down,” Anderson coordinated a Skype session with a number of NDP IB alums currently at the University of Michigan (@UMich). “It was a awesome and inspirational for our current IB kids,” she said. “And now I think this coffee night, which had a great turnout, has taken it to a whole new level.”
Catching up with a couple of Notre Dame Prep alums, Anderson said that Chris George, who graduated from NDP in 2010, has just started his first year of law school at the University of Notre Dame (@NotreDame). “Another alum, Andrew Lyng (’10), has just started his first year of law school at Harvard (@Harvard).”
Besides Anderson, other NDP teachers and staff in attendance were David Osiecki (IB History and IB Econ), Jocelynn Yaroch (IB Biology and IB Sports Exercise and Health Science), Anthony Butorac (IB English), and Sharon Derico (former IB coordinator and IB English teacher, current NDP vice-principal).
More photos from the event are below.
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." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by 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.