How meaningful relationships, shared traditions and the people who surround our children help them grow.
There is something special about being known by someone who has watched you grow. A grandparent who remembers your first steps. A parent who knows when you’re excited and when you’re nervous. A teacher who notices the quiet student beginning to raise their hand. A friend who knows exactly what will make you laugh.
To be known is to be seen beyond a single moment. And for children, those relationships become part of the foundation from which they grow. In a Catholic community, those connections take on another dimension. We are called to see one another as individuals with unique gifts and potential, while recognizing that we are also part of something larger than ourselves. Faith gives us a shared foundation for supporting one another, celebrating one another and growing together.
This November, as we welcome grandparents and VIPs to Notre Dame Academy, we are reminded of just how much the people around us shape who we become, and how meaningful it is to grow within a community rooted in faith, relationships and belonging.
A Day to Share
Grandparents & VIP Day is a special opportunity for our students to share a meaningful part of their world with someone they love. From walking the halls and visiting classrooms to crafting art together and seeing where their grandchild or special person learns each day, these simple moments can become lasting memories.
Because this experience happens only once each year, it is something our entire community can help make special. From preparing our children to welcome their guests to volunteering and helping create a warm, joyful atmosphere, every small gesture contributes to the day.
For our grandparents and VIPs, it is a chance to feel part of their child’s journey. For our students, it is a chance to proudly share it.
RSVPs can be submitted by parents through the link in the Insight. Past Insights can be viewed here.
The Relationships That Help Children Grow
Children are shaped by many people along the way. Parents provide encouragement. Teachers recognize potential. Grandparents and VIPs share stories, traditions and perspectives. Friends teach us how to belong, while older students can become role models for those coming behind them.
At Notre Dame Academy, these relationships are not only part of the Preschool experience, but also K–8 experience. Through our buddy program, preschool and kindergarten students are paired with seventh and eighth grade students, creating opportunities for friendship, mentorship and connection across grade levels. As children grow, they are surrounded by people who know them, support them and help them see what is possible.
Over time, these relationships become part of what makes NDA feel like more than a place to learn. It becomes a community where children are known, encouraged and reminded that they never grow alone.
The Gift of Belonging
At Notre Dame Academy, we believe belonging happens through small moments, repeated over time.
A familiar teacher greeting your child. A parent volunteering at an event. A middle schooler finding their best friends at the school dance. A teacher celebrating your child’s growth at the end of a trimester. A grandparent walking through the school doors.
Eventually, those individual moments become something larger. They become our catholic community.
And perhaps that is what we are most grateful for this November: the people who encourage our children, challenge them, celebrate them and remind them that they are part of something larger than themselves.
Education is much larger than what a child learns each day. It’s about who they become, and the people who help them along the way.
Whether your family has been part of Notre Dame Academy for years or you are just beginning to discover our school, there is a place for you here. Find ways to connect, get involved and experience the Catholic community that makes NDA special.