2020: THE YEAR IN STORIES

Share this article with a friend.

December 23, 2020

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

In a year we won't soon forget for all the wrong reasons, there was plenty of good news at Notre Dame during 2020 that also made it a year to remember for all the right reasons. 

As this year comes to a close, we've rounded up the most popular and most-read stories of the last 12 months (in no particular order). Stories about the courage and resilience of our faculty, students and staff. Stories about alumni. Stories about Christians, citizens and scholars. And stories about the essence of what makes NDPMA one of the top independent, Catholic schools in the Midwest.

Enjoy!

2020: The Year in Stories

FINDING THE BRIGHT SIDE
On a weekend that brought more disappointing news to student-athletes across the state, Notre Dame students, coaches and administrators try to stay positive by looking to each other for support.
 

STAYING ON SCHEDULE
Senior Katie Topoleski keeps to a schedule and says NDPMA students are lucky they attend a school that started online learning so quickly.
 

RECORD-SETTING YEAR FOR NOTRE DAME ARTISTS
Record-setting art from Notre Dame Preparatory School in Scholastic art competition includes another "best in show."
 

BOARD ANNOUNCES NEW APPOINTMENTS
Three trustees and new committee chair named, bringing critical expertise and commitment to school's governing body.
 

NOTRE DAME PREP ANNOUNCES ITS 2020 VALEDICTORY COURT
Late this past summer, 133 young men and women walked across a stage at Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy and celebrated receiving their diplomas after four years at Michigan's top Catholic high school. Among those graduates were those named to the 2020 Notre Dame Prep Valedictory Court.
 

SUPPORT STILL NEEDED FOR ALUMNI/FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES
Support needed for NDPMA family- and alumni-owned businesses and restaurants that are reinventing themselves as struggle amid the pandemic continues.
 

THE PERFECT SCORE
Notre Dame's Lars Boehme is the 11th NDP student since 2009 to earn a rare 36 on the ACT.
 

NOTRE DAME IS 'FIRST A FAMILY, THEN A SCHOOL'
Senior was shocked and heartbroken when the Notre Dame campus was shut down, but he's hoping to reschedule a few end-of-year activities. He's also looking forward to Penn State in the fall. 
 

'KINDNESS, RESPECT AND INCLUSIVITY'
Future doctor credits NDP teachers, counselors for setting her up for college and for a career serving the community. 
 

AN ADMIRABLE ACT
Driven Notre Dame senior Nick Laurencelle launches a free ACT prep program for NDP students looking to improve test results.
 

2020 IB/AP VISUAL ART EXHIBITION
Every year in the spring, NDPMA students, teachers and parents notice the elaborate array of artwork spread out around the main triangle. Some have said it's akin to the experience of visiting a museum. These pieces of art include those created by Notre Dame Prep IB Visual Arts seniors. But this spring was different.
 

FIVE NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP SEMIFINALISTS
The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
 

CLASS OF 2020 HONORED WITH PARADE
On Sunday, May 17, 2020, on what would have been the day of the Class of 2020's Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement, Notre Dame Preparatory School hosted a "socially-distanced" parade on the school's Pontiac campus. 
 

TURNING ZEBRA MUSSELS INTO GLASS
Notre Dame grad wins international biodesign competition, says NDP's IB program was hugely instrumental in her interest and ultimate success within the color and material design field in college.
 

MISSION MATTERS
On campus since the second grade, Meghan Kozole no longer takes her Notre Dame experience for granted.
 

ALUM AND CURRENT COLUMBIA STUDENT ON HIS NEW NORMAL
Even in the Ivy League, adjusting to distance learning is a work in progress.
 

NDP GRADUATING SENIORS WOW ONCE AGAIN
Michigan's No. 1 Catholic high school features another stellar graduating class that finishes with an overall GPA of 3.8 and averages more than $54,000 each in academic, merit-based college scholarships.
 

PYTHON PROGRAMMER
Senior heading to U-M or the University of Notre Dame earns special programming certification. He wants to put those skills to work soon to benefit society.
 

SIX SENIORS SIGN TODAY TO PLAY SPORTS AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL
Six Notre Dame student-athletes are celebrated in front of classmates after committing to play college athletics.
 

 

NOTRE DAME COACHES, ATHLETES PIVOT WITH CHANGES TO FALL SPORTS SEASON
This fall, athletics at Notre Dame may seem a little lighter depending how Southeast Michigan and Oakland County fare during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic still gripping most of the state and country.
 

IVY LEAGUE MIDDLE SCHOOLER
Notre Dame eighth grader Sehaj Gill earns "MicroBachelors®" degree and three certificates from New York University, Harvard, MIT and the University of Toronto, respectively, over the summer months. She says NDPMA brings "the best out of its students."
 

DOING HIS PART
Notre Dame junior is adapting well to virtual learning, leaving him time for helping those in need during the coronavirus outbreak.
 

MAKING TIME FOR SCHOOL AT HOME
Middle school family adapts to the new reality to ensure their children's learning continues uninterrupted.
 

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Notre Dame students weigh in on the first week of virtual learning.
 

VIRTUAL LEARNING AND TEACHING AT NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame teachers prepare for a second week of virtual learning.

 

INSPIRED BY THE FRONT LINE
Graduate says Notre Dame Prep gave her "the very best education, tools, guidance and a faith in God" to prepare her for the future. Now she's headed toward college and a career devoted to helping people.
 

MIDDLE SCHOOLERS DEBATE THE 'BIG QUESTION'
Notre Dame Middle School, with the largest middle school speech and debate program in the country, delivers 1,424 speeches in seven hours during this year's Big Questions debate event.
 

NDP JUNIOR NAMED TO FIRST ROBOTICS DEAN'S LIST
Notre Dame Prep junior also tabbed to help code new website designed to coordinate PPE donations from robotics teams.
 

INDEPENDENT DAYS
Hard-working Notre Dame parents keeping their pharmacies going and their kids learning. Also impressed with school's quick adaptability.
 

LITTLE ONLINE LEARNERS
Ensuring pre-kindergarten students stay safe, active and engaged at home keeps both teachers and parents busy.

For more news stories from this year or from the past several years, click here.

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.

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. Notre Dame Preparatory School 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 schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools 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 National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.