The Notre Dame Sponsorship Transition

Nov. Board Memo to Prospective Families

MEMO: Notre Dame High School Prospective Families

FROM: Joseph Gurdak, Notre Dame Board Chairman

SUBJECT: Notre Dame Nears an Independent Future

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Welcome to our Open House. I hope you and your son will find a future home in Notre Dame during your tour of the campus with our wonderful student guides.

As Chairman of the Board of Governance I am proud to have the opportunity to announce that the leadership transition process is nearing completion. Notre Dame is now positioned more strongly than ever to promote its mission of educating the mind and heart and to set a new standard of excellence and leadership in Catholic education.

The Provincial Superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross Priests, Indiana Province and the officers of the new Notre Dame not-for-profit corporation have signed an official Letter of Intent for transfer of ownership of the school. Final documents for the legal transfer of assets are now being prepared. In addition, our Executive Board and the Archdiocese of Chicago are in the final stages of creating the civil and canon law structures necessary to set up Notre Dame as an independent Catholic school.

The entire process has moved along very swiftly. The canon and civil lawyers for the Archdiocese will finish their work within the next week. On behalf of Notre Dame, Board member Christopher Nowotarski (NDHS ‘76), JD, of Stone, Pogrund & Korey, is working with Rev. Patrick Laggas, JCD, Judicial Vicar of the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Chicago to craft a structure that will ensure the long term vitality of Notre Dame High School . “The Second Vatican Council anticipated and called for lay leadership of our Catholic institutions,” adds Nicholas Wolsonvich, Ph.D., Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools. “Notre Dame will serve as our prototype for lay leadership while preserving our Catholic identity. Cardinal George has challenged us to create a structure that meets the needs of the Church and the community and to support its success.”

On October 9, I and other members of our new board visited Cathedral High School in Indianapolis , an independent Catholic school formed in 1974 when its two sponsoring religious communities ended their involvement. The school has thrived under new lay leadership and now ranks consistently at the top in its area. Cathedral has been twice-recognized as a No Child Left Behind/Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, a U.S. Department of Education award honoring academically superior schools. “It was an inspiration to see the excellence this school has achieved under dedicated lay leadership,” my fellow board member Robert Flood (NDHS ’66) noted after the visit. Bob’s nephew attends Cathedral and he has grown strong in his faith and well-rounded in academics and extracurricular activities. Cathedral’s leaders were generous with their time, advice and encouragement. We are committed to building a similar structure and record of success for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame at a Glance - 2006 Fall Highlights

Notre Dame’s success story has already begun to be written this academic year:

Paul Sidlowski ’07 was named a Commended Student in the 2007 National Merit Scholarship Program
Walkathon 2006, our annual student activities fundraiser, was wildly successful as the Dons raised a new record amount of over $56,000 for extracurriculars and new exterior windows
The Chicago Blackhawks awarded the Notre Dame varsity and junior varsity hockey teams their 2006 “RESPECT” award for the outstanding sportsmanship the Dons displayed before, during and after an inter-squad game they played in March 2006 at the United Center
Over 50 students sought to become part of the award-winning debate team, the defending champs of the Catholic League
Notre Dame has seen an increase in the number of students attending with a student population of 765 this year as compared to 754 in 2005-2006
The varsity football team made the playoffs for the first time since 2003
Recent upgrades have dotted the Notre Dame landscape. They include a revamped award-winning website, 31 new PC’s with flat screens in the library, a refurbished new home for the Brother Andre Center, a re-surfaced parking lot, another wing of re-tiled floors and the start of a project designed to install new exterior windows.
New initiatives include the Personal Growth Plan (PGP), the Christian Ministry and Service Program and the Center on College and Life Preparation (CCLP).

The PGP is a customized four-year plan for each student outlining specific goals for all dimensions of his life – academic, spiritual, athletic, service and experiential programs, with ongoing measurement and feedback.
Through the Christian Ministry and Service Program, each student will accumulate over 115 hours of service over four years as he serves Notre Dame and the community.
Notre Dame’s new Center on College and Life Preparation (CCLP) has begun to further develop NDHS’ belief that individual attention given to each young man during these formative years ensures he graduates from Notre Dame not only ready to be a college student but also a husband, a father, a civic leader, a good friend and much more. The CCLP’s current work research focuses on the state of single-sex education in the U.S.