Elementary School Clubs & Activities

Bell Choir is a weekly after school activity open to girls in grades 4-8. These bell ringers learn music to support our school liturgies and participate in the Christmas and Spring Concerts. Occasionally, they have also supported the music at non-NDA concerts.

Big Sister Day is a monthly activity organized and led by our NDA High School Campus Ministry Club, under the supervision of Sr. Anne Seeley, CND.  They prepare games and crafts for the younger girls (Grades 3-7) to enjoy either outside or inside, depending upon weather.

Students in grades 3-5 are invited to join an after school book club. Members explore interesting, good-quality books and meet weekly to discuss elements of the book. The goal of this extracurricular activity is to foster a lifelong love of reading in a social and fun environment.

In the Calligraphy Club for grades 6, 7, & 8, students will learn the history of calligraphy as the art of beautiful handwriting. The club, moderated by faculty member Kerri Paone, aims to teach all the details aspiring calligraphers need. This includes setting up a workspace, learning about the tools and materials needed, introduction to basic strokes to form letters, words, and flourishes. Through practice and guidance, students will also have the opportunity to develop their own style of calligraphy and turn it into a digital text. This club aims to promote and enhance student writing and creativity through the recognition and education of calligraphy as a visual artform.

Middle School students are invited to stay after school to receive additional support in math.

An elective in Coding is offered to girls in grades five through eight. The mission of teaching girls to code is to close the gender gap in technology. Computing skills are a critical path to security and prosperity in today’s job market. Computing is where the jobs are — and where they will be in the future, but fewer than 1 in 5 computer science graduates are women. The gender gap in computing is getting worse. In 1995, 37% of computer scientists were women. Today, it iso only 24%. Tech jobs are among the fastest growing in the country, yet girls are being left behind. However, at Notre Dame, our girls are ahead of the game because they are exposed to programming at a very young age. They start with the basics of coding and move at their own pace and develop their own interests. Students are familiarized with programming concepts taught through platforms such as Google - madewithcode.com, Apple-everyone-can-code, code.org, codeacademy.com, Tynker, Scratch, and more. By teaching our girls how to develop software, we can help them improve their careers and confidence in their everyday lives. As stated in our mission, they can truly become agents of transformation in an ever-changing technological world.

Students in grades 5-8 are eligible to participate in the drama elective class. Throughout the school year, drama elective members learn the foundations of acting, theater production, improvisation, scene and character study, and pantomime. The program culminates with a performance in the spring.