Preparing Students for Heaven and College
Each school year begins with excitement, energy, and new opportunities to take a school community to the next level. This is certainly the case at Notre Dame Preparatory in Scottsdale. NDP principal Mrs. Jill Platt is ready to continue the momentum from last year and do even more great things with her community.
One of the ways students will be significantly impacted moving forward is through the creation of innovative academic pathways to help students as they discern a future career. Notre Dame Prep has created robust curriculum opportunities for students through the addition of courses that help students explore career interests as well as give students new opportunities in the areas of business and pre-med. Platt says the idea is to align curriculum offerings so that students can follow pathways. “We are extending the STEM curriculum, as well as expanding into the business and pre-med pathways so students can get hands-on opportunities in certain careers during their years at NDP.” Business offerings this year will extend to Accounting, Introduction to Graphic Design, and General Business Studies.
Platt also stated that it’s not all just about careers. Forming the whole child means providing opportunities for students to explore their God-given talents as they discover who they are and how they are meant to contribute to society. Platt is proud of the accomplishment achieved by students Christopher Griffin, Chris Bateman, Colton Baldwin and Calvin Bicket in May 2019 at Seed Spot’s national demo day. Their Audience Impact award for the social anxiety assistance app, Social Bud, was developed together in their Intro to Entrepreneurship class.
Implementing daily lessons to use in a way that can positively impact the world is at the core of Catholic education. “After all, our mission here is different,” asserted assistant principal Mrs. Emmy Robison, who is in her second year at Notre Dame Prep. “We aim to prepare students not just for college, but for heaven as well. We are relentlessly pursuing opportunities to enhance our academic, spiritual, and service programs so that can form all students into true saints and scholars.”
Opportunities to travel within and outside of the US occur through service-learning trips throughout the year, giving students opportunities to observe firsthand the significant needs of impoverished and underserved communities. These trips are meant to ignite the fire of social justice and reinforce what students are learning about Catholic social teachings in their classes. Another unique travel opportunity will bring the NDP Baking Club to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, to explore what it takes to be the best in the culinary industry. Whether exploring personal interests related to classes, campus ministry, or clubs, Notre Dame Prep students have many opportunities to learn about themselves and their interests as they prepare to choose their paths of student for college. Platt believes, “We at NDP are grooming future leaders to go out and make a positive impact on the world!”
(Credit picture and original article from The Catholic Sun: https://www.catholicsun.org/2019/05/22/social-bud-earns-notre-dame-prep-team-national-award/)
