In addition to our students' intellectual growth, our mission emphasizes the spiritual formation of our students. As a Catholic school, Notre Dame seeks to follow the vision of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by

  1. Empowering our students to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today
  2. Drawing young people into responsible participation in the life, mission, and work of the Catholic Church
  3. Fostering the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person

Some important elements of living our Catholic faith are:

  • A lay Campus Minister to plan service, prayer, and retreats
  • A faculty committed both to students' spiritual growth and their own
  • Chapel and campus ministry are centrally located in the school
  • Christian art and imagery throughout the classrooms and buildings
  • Daily prayer
  • Liturgical celebrations
  • Retreats
  • Advent and Lent service projects

Retreats

At Notre Dame, retreats are an integral part of our Campus Ministry program.  They provide opportunities for students to grow spiritually in a Christ-centered environment.  The program encourages students to explore personal faith, build community, develop leadership skills and spend time in prayer. Each student is required to participate in an annual retreat. 

On-Campus Prayer Services

A student liturgy committee plans several school-wide liturgies throughout the year. The entire student body, faculty, and staff participate in liturgies marking Thanksgiving, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. Seniors and their parents are invited to a graduation liturgy which celebrates and welcomes them into the alumni family.

Serving the Community

The Notre Dame service requirement requires each student to complete approximately 50 hours of community service by graduation. The goal of this program is to deepen the students’ personal development through increasing self-awareness, nurturing self-actualization and confidence, and encouraging them to be responsible.  Notre Dame students completed 14,200 hours of community service during the 2018-2019 school year.