Admissions
FAQs
What is the Spirit of Notre Dame?
See for yourself online. Watch Notre Dame High School's "Spirit Like No Other" video.
What is a Don of Notre Dame?
Our first principal, the Reverend James d'Autremont, CSC chose the nickname "Dons" because of its Spanish translation of "gentleman". In an attempt to avoid an animal nickname, Father d'Autremont
preferred his students to be referred to as the Dons of Notre Dame, or " Gentlemen of Mary."
How can I find a copy of Notre Dame's viewbook for prospective families?
Download it here: Notre Dame's 2007-2008 Enrollment Viewbook (.pdf).
Recent Notre Dame High School Highlights from the 2007-2008 Academic Year:
*The National Merit (R) Scholarship Corporation announced that Notre Dame High School senior Brendan O'Reilly is a National Merit (R) Scholar Semifinalist. Brendan also scored a perfect 36 on his ACT college placement test.
*Notre Dame High School alumnus Dan Tully '94 was appointed principal of the high school effective July 1, 2007. Tully, who is a 1994 NDHS graduate, had been Assistant Principal and Director of Student Activities. He has also taught a variety of subjects including Economics, United States History and Chicago Studies since 2000.
*Notre Dame High School saluted 33 alumni with their first annual Hall of Honor Awards which was held at the school on Sunday, September 30 and began with Mass followed by the awards ceremony Some of the Dons who were recognized included Chicago Cubs President John McDonough '71, Patrick McCaskey '67 of the Chicago Bears, James Pankow '65, who is a founding member of the group Chicago, and James Larocco '66, Director General of the Multinational Force and Observers in Rome, Italy and former Ambassador of Kuwait. Click here for a complete list.
*A group of Notre Dame High School science teachers recently received a $10,000 A+ for Energy (R) grant from BP Group to create a curriculum around the study of alternative energies. Teachers Fran Pelrine (Physics), Pam Fish, PhD (Earth Science) and Erin O’Connor (Astronomy and Chemistry) will teach their students about various alternative energies and the benefits that are derived from them.
*The varsity baseball field now has a two-story clubhouse which was built by G & L Contractors of Skokie. G & L Contractors is owned by Guy Battista who is the father of NDHS alumni Vito (’00), Guy (’03) and Frank (’07) Battista.
*New LCD cameras were installed in 30 classrooms so now each room as the capability to show PowerPoint presentations. There are now 35 new computers in the Computer Lab. Additionally, each computer in the other classrooms now has a new flat screen monitor. New carpeting has been installed in the hallways, the lobby and a classroom by Circle Flooring of Elk Grove Village which is owned by alumnus Bill Harrington (’68). Rooms 104 and 106 were completely remodeled and retiled and the bridge leading to the band room was also retiled.
*Notre Dame High School opened its doors on Wednesday, August 15 with record numbers of students and many upgrades and additions to its physical plant. The Freshman Class, which includes 227 students, is the largest in 22 years. The overall population stands at 793 students making it the highest total enrollment in 18 years.
Highlights from the 2006-2007 academic year:
*After 52 years of running Notre Dame High School (NDHS) in Niles , the Congregation of Holy Cross, Indiana Province (CSCs), announced in June 2006 that they would be leaving at the end of the 2006-2007 academic year due to personnel constraints. After months of negotiation, ownership was transferred from the CSCs to a new nonprofit organization made up of NDHS alumni and alumni parents. Notre Dame College Prep, as the new group is known, will retain the Notre Dame High School name and assumed ownership on January 1, 2007 . The school, while now independent, will remain Catholic. It is the first Catholic school in the Archdiocese to use a model of lay leadership called the Association of the Christian Faithful. The Catholicity of the school will be assured through its relationship to this Canon Law structure. The members of the Association are appointed by Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago. The school itself is an Illinois 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation.
*On March 1, 2007 , the Executive Board of NDCP appointed former Maryville Academy administrator Rev. John P. Smyth, as the school’s fifth president and first under its new governance structure. Rev. Raymond Klees was appointed Fr. Smyth's Special Assistant in April 2007.
*The Debate Team finished 1st in the Chicago Catholic League. The Debate Dons also finished 10th out of 111 teams at Harvard University’s 33nd Annual National Invitational Forensics Tournament.
*In March 2007, Notre Dame High School went “green” when it became the first Illinois high school and only Archdiocesan of Chicago school to install solar thermal panels on the roof of its George Holley Science Center. The three panels will heat water in the center. The school is also planning other green initiatives including additional solar thermal panels and the installation of a green roof as well as an extensive curriculum built around alternative energies.
* The Class of 2007 was offered over $3 million in earned scholarship money to attend colleges and universities.
*Sixteen 2007 graduates were set to play college sports.
*Fourteen students and teachers traveled to New Orleans for a week during the summer of 2007 to help rebuild the area following Hurricane Katrina.
*In addition to a new governance model and president, Notre Dame saw various upgrades including 31 flat screen computers in the Library and 25-inch televisions sets. The school also refurbished the new location for the Brother Andre Center, resurfaced the parking lot, and retiled a wing of floors. The entire 100 wing had new windows installed through the alumni-driven Windows to the Future program. More funds are being raised to expand this program to include the installation of more windows which will enhance the energy savings and aesthetics of the building.
*The NDHS varsity cheerleaders took first place titles in their divisions at the National Extreme Spirit competition. The Varsity finished as Grand National Champions with the highest score of any team at the event.
*In 2006, the varsity football team made its first playoff appearance since 2003.
*The freshmen basketball team was named co-champions of the East Suburban Catholic Conference in 2007.
*The Chicago Blackhawks Hockey Organization awarded the Notre Dame High School Hockey varsity and junior varsity teams with their 2006 RESPECT award for the outstanding sportsmanship they displayed before, during and after an inter-squad game at the United Center in March 2006. The award, given annually as part of the Blachhawks’ Junior Hawks program, stands for Rewarding Excellent Sportsmanship, Playing with Enthusiasm, Cooperation and Teamwork.
* Brett Dahm '07 qualified for state in bowling and placed 24 th overall.
*Wrestling state qualifiers: Joe Graves '07 (171) - 2 wins, 2 losses. Steve Catalano '07 (285) – 0 wins, 2 losses.
*Tom Baran '08 was a State qualifier for the 2 mile in the IHSA track and field meet.
The following seniors were named East Suburban Catholic Conference All-Conference (ESCC) athletes for the 2006-2007 academic year:
*Baseball - Tom Sheehan Jr. '07 and Rich Ruff '07
*Volleyball – Andrew Bishop '07
*Wrestling -- Brad Hammer '07 , Pat Kinner '07, Peter Fudalej '07, Joe Graves '07, Brendan McAleer '07. All Area Steve Catalano '07, Peter Fudalej '07, Joe Graves '07, Brad Hammer '07, Pat Kinnear '07. Regional champions: Steve Catalano '07, Joe Graves '07
*ESCC wrestling champion – Joe Graves '07 (171)
*ESCC All-Conference Soccer - Michael Smith '07
*ESCC All-Conference Football - Matt Jackson '07, Vincent Cullotta '07, Brendan McAlee r'07, Thomas Sheehan Jr. '07
*ESCC All-Conference Basketball – Matt Weel '07
*All area Wrestling: Steve Catalano '07, Peter Fudalej '07, Joe Graves '07, Bradley Hammer '07, Pat Kinnear '07 and Brendan McAleer '07
*School seasonal records (wrestling) Joe Graves '07 (28 falls) and career school records Joe Graves '07 (74 falls)
*ESCC All-Conference Special Mention – Bobby Flood '07
*Mike Smith '07 and Mike Gubatan '07 were 3 rd in ESCC conference for tennis in 3rd doubles
*Devin Hapanovich '07 was named to the 2006 Metro Central All Star Hockey Team.
*Tom Baran '08 and Peter Merkel '08 qualified for sectionals in cross country.
*Two alumni were honored with jersey retirement ceremonies this year. Baseball great Greg Luzinski, a 1968 graduate, was on hand in October 2006 when his #5 jersey was retired. Mike Schwass '76 of Des Plaines, a hockey standout who became a quadriplegic when he was injured while playing in a hockey game in December 1975, saw his number 21 jersey retired.
*During the 2006-2007 academic year, Notre Dame’s Debate Team took first place finish in the Chicago Catholic League and placed tenth out of 111 teams at the Harvard University tournament this year with senior John Bussa '07 , Ed Lapinski '08 and Dan Stagl '08 and Joe Mahoney '09 advancing to the semi-finals. Debate students also participated in a number of out-of-town tournaments including the Tournament of Champions at the University of Kentucky, The Crestian Classic at Pine Crest High School in Florida and the National Catholic Forensics League Tournament in Houston, Texas. Additionally, Ed Lapinski '08 was ranked first and junior Dan Stagl '08 was ranked 5 th in the Chicago Catholic Leagues ranking.
*Paul Sidlowski ( Morton Grove ) was named a Commended Student in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program.
*Two Class of 2008 students went to state to compete in the 2006-2007 World Youth in Science and Engineering competition. Nick Nowotarski placed 7 th on the Chemistry exam and Brendan O’Reilly placed 4 th on the Chemistry exam and 7 th on the English exam.
The following students placed first in the 2006-2007 WYSE regional finals: Peter Romei '07 (tie, physics) and Phillip Szachowicz '07 (math) and Joseph Casey '07(energineering graphics) and Robert Draths III '07 (tie, physics). The following students participated as Sectional Competitors: Andrew Bishop '07, Jeremy Bishop '07, Joseph Casey '07, Matthew Hanna '07, Daniel Marcus '07, Peter Romei '07, Paul Sidlowski '07 and Phillip Szachowicz '07.
*Four members of Notre Dame High School’s Accounting Class won the Junior Achievement of Chicago’s Junior Titan Competition. The team, consisting of seniors John Wenzl '07, Nick Gies '07 and Jeff Ramirez '07 and Jonathan Keafer '08,each won an IBM Think Pad laptop. The competition challenged the high school participants to apply their management skills and knowledge of economics through a computer simulation which allows “companies” or teams to compete against each other as they manufacture and market a fictional product while trying to achieve while trying to achieve the highest Performance Index possible.
Students receiving full scholarships to college include:
* Stefan von Aulock '07 who received the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship and will attend Northern Illinois University in Dekalb.
*Zachary Wiatr '07 who received the United States Air Force ROTC Scholarship Award and will attend the University of Illinois-Champaign.
*Shane Murray '07 who received the Army ROTC Scholarship Award and will attend St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisconsin.
*Our Notre Dame/Resurrection Band recorded its third consecutive first place finish in the Class AA State of the Band contest.
*Practicing Irish step dancing for over two hours per day, seven days a week has paid off for John Godley '09 who finished 6th in the world at the All- Ireland Championships in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland.
*The 3 rd annual Fine Arts Festival featured award-winning visual displays, musical numbers and 6 one-act plays over a two day period in May. About 350 people enjoyed this festival which showcases NDHS students’ artistic talents.
*The new Notre Dame High School Jazz Band will perform in Ireland during the summer of 2007.
*As part of his Eagle Scout project, Philip Szachowicz '07 collected more than 2,000 books to donate to libraries and schools in Cambodia through the Pookai Book Project, a foundation that sends books abroad.
*Over $18,000 was raised through various fundraisers by the NDHS community to offset medical costs for fellow student Scott Chan, a junior, who suffered a stroke on January 25, 2007. Chan has undergone one brain surgery and continues to receive intensive physical, occupational and speech therapy.
*The school raised $12,227.33 through it’s 44 Annual Mission Mardi Gras to benefit Holy Cross missions in Uganda and Bangeldesh.
*The Basil Moreau Chapter of the National Honor Society participated in the Adopt-A-Kid program providing 400 gifts of clothing and toys to children during the Christmas holiday season.