Student Life

5thAnnualSHADES Retreat

“Our Catholic, social teaching of solidarity guides us to build a community that empowers all people to attain their full potential.” The 2021 SHADES Retreat was organized by club members and themed “Sankofa: Connecting our past with our present as we plan for our future.” The day was filled with inspiring words and messages from esteemed speakers, as well as song and dance celebrations. Speakers included Pastor David A. Cox, Pastor of Calvary Fellowship Ministries, Mrs. Kesha Cox, author, motivational speaker and founder of Never Settle for Less (parents of Izzy Cox ’21) and Deacon Curtis Turner, President and Principal of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, the oldest operating Catholic school founded for the education of African Americans in the US.

The retreat began with a prayer service that included gospel readings and songs of praise, featuring Minister Tanza Baker of Calvary Fellowship Ministries and students Ewelina Krokos ’21 and Christian Hobdy ’21. Alexandra Williams ’24 also performed Amazing Grace on the violin and Dwayne Curry, a program officer at the RWJ Foundation presented a spoken word poetry piece. Alumna Jacqui Coppola ’09, a wellness and self-discovery coach, presented a beautiful meditation, Living in the Present Moment.

The morning session concluded with a panel discussion. Panel members included Dr. Charisse West ‘85 Smith, who is the first African American woman to serve on the ND Board of Governors and is co-chair of the Diversity Committee. Other panelists were Deacon Turner, Mr. Dwayne Curry, Pastor Cox and Mrs. Cox. The afternoon featured a presentation and art project facilitated by Brother Mickey McGrath, an artist, author and presenter who explored the relationship between art and faith.

In 2018, The Boy Scouts of America allowed girls to join their program. Soon after, Hope Evanko ‘23 joined a troop and began her journey of becoming a member of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts. Hope’s first position of responsibility was as a Senior Patrol Leader. She also served as a Den Chief for a cub scout troop. Hope earned special awards including Ad Altare Dei, Pope Pius XII and Ockanickon Honor Camper as well as 21 merit badges. The culmination of a scout’s leadership training and a final step toward the rank of Eagle is the completion of an Eagle Project. For her project, Hope constructed a stone fire pit and five benches at Crossing Community Church in Newtown, PA. She titled the project “Fire, Faith, Fellowship and Family.” Regarding her achievement, Hope said, “It is definitely a very rewarding feeling to be a part of the Inaugural Class of Female Eagle Scouts. It's something that I had always wanted to achieve since my dad is an Eagle Scout.” Hope’s father, Joseph Evanko ’91 said, “I remember when I was at ND and earned my Eagle Scout award over 30 years ago. This is an even greater honor for Hope since she is one of the first female Eagle Scouts.”

ND HELPS LOCAL CHILDREN CELEBRATE A SAFE AND SWEET HALLOWEEN

Our Notre Dame family answered the call to donate candy, juice boxes, snacks and crafts for last year’s Halloween Candy Drive. The Service Learning students assembled over 600 treat bags. In addition to the treats, craft bags were made for preschool children that included materials to make a fun and fuzzy spider along with whimsical Halloween-themed coloring pages. The students made 300 craft bags. The treat and craft bags were donated to the five branches of the Mercer County CYO and the Carolyn Stokes Preschool. Treat bags were also shared with the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) and HomeFront to distribute along with dinner meals. ND was happy to host the students from Sprouts School of the Arts which is an annual tradition. Weather permitted the event to be held outside under the tent with the students’ favorite activities and treats.

Notre Dame SENIORS

DesignWebsites

Julia Haas ‘21 (above left), created an informative and fun food website and blog called Get Veggie With It. Julia’s site originated while, as a student in Mrs. Bannon’s Journalism class, she was given the assignment to create a website. Julia combined her passions for vegetarianism and journalism to formulate the content for the site. Mrs. Bannon enjoys allowing her students to create work about which they are truly passionate. Mrs. Bannon stated, “Julia went above and beyond. She really mastered the technology, even doing a restaurant review with a link to make reservations. She exceeded my expectations and also found a real passion for journalism.” Veronica Cruz’ ‘21 (above right) site was an independent project born during the pandemic. The successful “study buddy” site was titled ProcrastiNote. Veronica and her co-founders realized that as high schoolers living in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic many students were struggling mentally and academically. We wanted to make a difference and help other students.” Their efforts to support students in a school lifestyle that was almost exclusively online became a fantastic way to help high school students stay ahead. Veronica and her team worked to make sure that ProcrastiNote was a database with everything that a COVID-19 era high schooler would need to excel in life.

PinkOut 2020

Notre Dame’s 12th Annual Pink Out looked a little different this past year, but faculty member, Ms. Diane Wargo and the ND Cares Club were still able to honor breast cancer warriors and angels as they do each year. The Pink Out theme was “Supporting each other through love.” The week prior to the official Pink Out Game, ND Cares Club members along with Ms. Wargo and Mrs. Maruca held prayer services with students for the breast cancer angels, warriors and survivors. Although we could not have the usual hair cutting event during halftime, students went to local salons to have their hair cut and were still able to donate. Ponytail donations were collected at the end of each prayer service to be used in the making of wigs for cancer patients. The ND Cares Club also collected donations to make care packages for those undergoing chemotherapy. The Notre Dame family found a way to overcome obstacles and give back to the community. Always Irish Strong.

ANNOUNCED UNDER THE LIGHTS

Notre Dame crowned the Homecoming King and Queen under the lights of Msgr. Walter E. Nolan Field. Congratulations to the 2020-21 King and Queen, Gavin Martin ’21 and Millie Myles ’21. Congratulations

Pictured left to right: Yaw Asante ’21, Ryan Britton ’21, George Chrissafis ’21, Gavin Martin ’21, Trent Collins ’21, Millie Miles ’21, Lauren Lencovich ’21, Casey Fanelli ’21, Emma DiuBaldi ’21 and Isabella Dussias ’21

CANDLE ROSE CEREMONY CELEBRATED DURING LITURGY

In keeping with a long-standing Notre Dame tradition, the current senior student leaders passed candles to the juniors taking their positions as a symbol of changing leadership. The graduating seniors receive a rose of gratitude from the juniors for all of their hard work and dedication to the Notre Dame student body.