On January 24, a large contingent of Notre Dame Prep students and chaperones took a red-eye bus trip to Washington, D.C., for the 2013 March for Life. Upon arrival in D.C., the group joined 40,000 other students for youth rallies, concerts and a Mass for Life concelebrated by hundreds of priests and bishops.

"Seeing thousands of young pro-life advocates peacefully uniting against abortion is incredible," said NDP senior Lauren Kaye. Full Story    

Notre Dame Prep seniors Jake Mathews, Rebekah Bierema and Maria Pangori made all-district as the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association hosted the District 4 All-District Honors Band and Jazz Band Festival on January 12 at the Clarkston Performing Arts Center. 

The All District Honors Band is comprised of students from 16 different high schools in the Oakland County area and according to NDPMA band director Joe Martin, it is "the best of the best." The Notre Dame students performed at the Clarkston center under the direction of Mary Schneider from Eastern Michigan University and Ellen Rowe from the University of Michigan. "It was an outstanding concert and it makes me proud that we have such talented students," Martin said.

Notre Dame Marist Academy is hosting a school day open house on Wednesday, March 6, for junior kindergarten through eight grade incoming students. A "school day" open house gives you the opportunity to see first-hand the exceptional programs, including International Baccalaureate, offered by our school. By attending this special event, you can travel from classroom to classroom and see our students and teachers in action.

Whether you attended our November open house or are visiting our campus for the first time, we strongly encourage you to attend. We look forward to seeing you here to experience a day in the life of Notre Dame! Alumni are eligible to receive a $1,000 annual discount on their child's tuition.
 
For more information, contact Greg Simon '89 (NDHS) at gsimon@ndpma.org. 

Plans continue to move forward with the relocation of the lower division from Waterford to Pontiac. The final site plan was submitted to the city of Pontiac in January and is expected to be approved at a meeting in early February.  

Groundbreaking on the permanent 12,000-square-foot building is expected to be in March. Work on the exterior of the existing 5,000-square-foot church building and 750-square-foot connector, which is being converted into administrative offices, a media center and multi-purpose gathering/gym area is expected to begin in March as well. Interior work on the church building has already begun.  

The new building is targeted for completion by mid-August to coincide with the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year. 

In the Lent 2013 edition of "Today's Marists," a publication produced and distributed by The Society of Mary, U.S. Province, 150 years of Marist history in the United States is examined and celebrated. Read about how the Marists first visited the U.S. during the Civil War, established a presence in Louisiana and then expanded westward and toward the upper Midwest and New England. 

 Read publication here.   

Notre Dame Seminary, operated by the Marists for the Archdiocese  

of New Orleans from 1924 to 1967. (Undated photo)

Have news you'd like to share with your classmates? Send your personal update to the alumni office, and we'll publish it in the "Class Notes" section of the upcoming Spring 2013 issue of IRISH magazine.  

Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is looking for substitute teachers to work periodically throughout the school year. Candidates must hold a bachelor's degree. If you wish to be considered, please send your resume to vice principal Donna Kotzan at dkotzan@ndpma.org.