On Friday evening, June 8, the Notre Dame community saluted the Class of 2012 at their graduation ceremony. Over 1,000 people packed the gymnasium for the ceremony, which was highlighted by the awarding of 98 diplomas to the Class of 2012. Fr. Bill Sangiovanni announced scholarships and grants received by the class, which totaled an extremely impressive $10.7 million. Nearly 100 percent of the class will be moving on to higher education in the fall. Class Valedictorian was Meghan Cassidy and Salutatorian was Michael Martinsky.  Speakers at graduation included Dr. Margaret Dames, Superintendent, Betsy Peddle Brown, Town Clerk of the Town of Fairfield, and Chris Cipriano, Principal. To read the graduation article in the Fairfield Citizen News, click here. Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2012! 

The Notre Dame family wishes all fathers a very special Father's Day on Sunday, June 17. You will be in thoughts and our prayers. Thank you for all that you do, especially Father Bill and Father Cipriani.

To read the latest posts in Mr. Cipriano's blog, click here.  Mr. Cipriano reflects upon the recent graduation ceremony & discusses the bio lab renovations. 

Click here to obtain a copy of the 2012-13 Notre Dame school calendar. The date of graduation still needs to be approved  by the Diocese of Bridgeport, but there should not be any other major changes to this calendar. The official school calendar will be mailed home over the summer. 

The 23 seniors who participated in the inaugural Senior Experience program.

Notre Dame's first Senior Experience program wrapped up last week with student presentations and a senior experience fair. 23 students participated in the 120 hour internship during their final four weeks of high school. All students shared nothing but positive experiences from their internships. They commented on how the program helped them to determine college majors and potential careers! To say the program was a success would be an understatement. To see what students participated and their internship locations, click here. 

Demolition began this week on the biology lab, which will be completely renovated this summer. We will keep you updated on developments and progress this summer. Also slated for renovations are a computer lab, the cafeteria and several outdoor projects. 

The offices at Notre Dame will be open during the summer Monday - Thursday from 9:00 am  to 2:00 pm and on Fridays from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. 

Scholarships are still available for the University of Bridgeport's 2012 Summer Design Program - College Portfolio Preparation for high school students through the Shintaro Akatsu School of Design. This program brings together state-of-the-art design facilities, professional faculty, and an energetic student community to provide an in-depth college preparation and portfolio building experience. Classes are designed to help high school students enhance their creative skills and explore various art and design fields including industrial, interior and graphic design. The hands-on exercises are taught by the same leading art professionals who teach the undergraduate courses at SASD. To learn more, click here. 

ND is offering a senior DVD for purchase. This DVD will include the Graduation Ceremony, Baccalaureate Mass and the Senior Video. The DVD is available at a cost of $20. Contact ND at (203) 372-6521 to order.

Read all about Garrett Mendez's '05 amazing story of recovery and perseverance in this recent New Haven Register story. Garrett suffered a massive brain stem stroke months after his high school graduation. He is doing great things today thanks to prayers, intense determination, physical therapy and a loving family.

New ND students from South Korea are looking for warm and caring host families. They are interested in staying with host families because they want to learn more about American culture and to practice their English in an authentic atmosphere. By becoming a host family, you will not only give a student the chance to experience daily American life, but will also provide your family an opportunity to learn about another culture without having to leave your home. 

An appropriate Host Family will:

1. Have an open mind towards a different culture and be ready to learn about it.

2. Be able to provide a private room (a bathroom may be shared) for the student.

3. Be able to accept and take care of the student just like your own children, which includes providing a safe and comfortable environment, providing 3 adequate meals and appropriate snacks each day, and providing rides to and from activities and/or for essential shopping.

JY Education understands that sharing your home with a stranger is not easy, and your offering cannot be easily measured. However, as a gesture in appreciation of your hospitality, JY Education will contribute $1,200 monthly stipend to the host family.

If you are interested, please contact Dr. Jinyoung Park from JY Education: Phone: (203) 763-4345or (347) 860-0859.