Notre Dame Junior Senior High School (NDJSHS) in Utica, New York

Utica, New York

Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....

, is a co-ed

Coeducation

Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...

 Roman Catholic high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

. Notre Dame includes grades 7-12, and is known primarily for being highly competitive in both baseball and basketball. Notre Dame's current principal is Sister Anna Mae Collins, assisted by Roy Kane as the vice principal. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse

Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse

The Diocese of Syracuse is a Catholic diocese headquartered in Syracuse, New York, USA. The current bishop is the Most Rev. Robert J. Cunningham. The Diocese of Syracuse includes 350,000 Catholics residing in seven counties of Central and South Central New York State...

.

Background

The school mascot is the Juggler. Morning announcements are generally made via the daily "Morning Show", a student run news channel broadcast to mounted televisions in each room. Popular segments on the "Morning Show" include birthdays, the day's lunch, and the "Fact of Earl" segment.

Extracurricular activities

The school is home to several extracurricular activities such as athletics, chorus and drama. The school also has a Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC); Master Sergeant Howard Keyes of the United States Marine Corps currently administers the program. The NJROTC program is active in the community, holding regular fish fries at the American Legion Post 229, sending cadets to volunteer at nursing homes, marching in parades, as well as providing volunteer service for the community as a whole. The program also possesses several drill teams, such as trick, silent, NS1 basic, unarmed platoon drill, armed platoon drill, as well as academic and inspection teams and the color guard.

Sports teams include Soccer, Tennis, Lacrosse, Cross Country, Basketball, Hockey (through other schools), Cheerleading, Bowling, Golf, Softball, Baseball and Football. Clubs include Drama, Choir, Mock Trial, Rotary Club, Campus Ministry, National Honor Society, Senior Ball Committee, Yearbook Staff, "The Morning Show," Chess Club, "Tech Squad", and Student Council.

The land that the school was built on was the former location of a military hospital. Initially, the school owned the land currently occupied by the business park, but sold it off, giving the current boundaries.

Education

Notre Dame holds a variety of classes meant to challenge and aid its students in the academic process. Foreign language choices are limited to French or Spanish, which are begun in seventh grade and required. A standard selection of mathematics is available, including pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus, and statistics. The sciences offered include living environment, physical sciences, earth science, biology, chemistry, and physics. Standard business courses are also offered in lieu of foreign language. There are several courses which broach the topic of fine arts. Social studies include basic American history, world history, US history, and various government classes. Students must take physical education (P.E.) unless enrolled in the NJROTC program, which is a class in itself. Standard English classes are offered and generally mandatory for all students, as well as the option for Honors English in eleventh grade. Theology classes are required for all students, including those not of the Catholic faith. Computer classes are mandatory for all seventh and eighth graders, and students can join Tech Squad, which maintains the school computers. Basic classes are also offered in all subjects for those unable to cope with Regents work . Through a joint program with Mohawk Valley Community College, several college courses are available. Also, several AP courses are offered, including World History, US History, Biology, Calculus AB and English. An optional "tenth period" is held on Wednesday to Friday for students to go to a teacher for extra help. A small library is also maintained with a selection of recently published books.

Technology

The Notre Dame campus is well updated with the current technology. Each teacher is equipped with a laptop, their choice of PC or Macintosh, with which they record grades and attendance, as well as use to enhance the learning experience. There are also several carts of laptops which teachers may borrow for classroom use. These carts are equipped with Macintosh laptops, as the computer lab is equipped with Macintosh desktops. PCs, though less dominant, are also available to students. Two half-year computer courses in seventh and eighth grade are geared towards not only computer literacy, but also an understanding of the Macintosh platform. The school is equipped with a secure wireless network as well as a network of Ethernet cables through the building. Also utilized are projectors, overheads, the ELMO (a modern variant on the overhead which does not require transparent sheets), as well as several SmartBoards (a touchscreen white board onto which the computer desktop is projected) and AirLiners (a wireless touch tablet which allows interaction with a computer without physically using the computer).

Foundations

Notre Dame was established in 1959 by the Xaverian Brothers

Xaverian Brothers

The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a religious order founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier...

. It was originally just a high school, but in 1994 both local Catholic junior high schools merged and moved to the high school building.

Future

Effective as of 2009, the Diocese of Syracuse intends to combine all of the Catholic schools in the Greater Utica area into one location. The first phase of this step was taken in the summer of 2009, with the closing of the schools of St. Peter's and the remaining St. Mary's, consolidating them into the Our Lady of Lourdes site. This followed the 2002 closings of the Sacred Heart, Holy Trinity and other St. Mary's schools. The former Our Lady of Lourdes was renamed to Notre Dame Elementary School. Current plans entail the renovation and creation of additions to the current Notre Dame JS/HS site to accommodate the elementary school. The plans project completion of this renovation by around 2014 to 2015. However, certain questions as to space have been raised in regards to the additions. The campus, which is already crowded, would seem a poor choice for this consolidated school. An example of this is the use of the baseball outfield as a soccer field in the fall, and the lack of a softball field.