In the second year of a program at Notre Dame’s upper division designed to help get freshman through the stress and strain of semester finals, a number of NDP’s upperclassmen and faculty members pitched in this week to offer assistance to those experiencing final exams in high school for the first time. The goal, says program administrators, is to get underclassmen used to Notre Dame exams and to develop more effective and efficient study habits for the rest of their Notre Dame careers.
“Since this is our freshmen students' first go-around with these important tests, we wanted to give them the opportunity to meet with upperclassmen who have ‘survived’ NDP finals before,” said Stacy Golliff, guidance counselor for the freshman class. “Our incredible upperclassmen tutors along with many NDP teachers generously gave up their study hall time and prep periods to meet with a group of freshmen divided up into subject areas. The upperclassmen gave study tips specific for the class and how to approach the upcoming finals. Every freshmen was involved in this throughout the day, with most coming to the media center during the day.”
Notre Dame ninth grader Rachel Kloss was grateful for the one-on-one help she received from Kim Anderson, who is a Spanish teacher and IB DP coordinator in the upper division.
“Senora Anderson helped me with using the online book and showed me tools that I didn't know were there to help me study for the Spanish exam, which is my hardest class,” Kloss said. “Now I feel so much more confident that I will do well on the exam."
Besides Anderson, the faculty and staff team who coordinated or worked on the program and assisted the students included English teacher and IB MYP coordinator Katrina Sagert; freshman/sophomore A-L counselor Jamie Rodda; and Golliff. Science teacher Lawrence Kearney and math teachers Michelle Garcia and Daniel Staniszewski also worked this past week with ninth graders during block periods and rotated through different subject areas.
Goliff said the main purpose of their sessions with the students was to give suggestions and tips learned from previous students' experience and to help them to better manage stress before getting too overwhelmed. “These are ‘take what you need’-type presentations covering a variety of topics,” she said.
Goliff noted that it’s the third such finals prep since the self-management program was first created and implemented in the fall of last year.
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 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.