- Colegio Católico Notre Dame
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For other schools of the same name, see Notre Dame High School (disambiguation).
Colegio Católico Notre Dame File:Ccnd-logo.jpg Virtus et Scientia"Virtue and Science"Location Caguas, 
Puerto Rico, 
United StatesCoordinates 18°14′10″N 66°2′56″W / 18.23611°N 66.04889°WCoordinates: 18°14′10″N 66°2′56″W / 18.23611°N 66.04889°W Information Type Private, Coeducational Established October 3, 1916 Principal Mr. José Grillo '58 (CCNDS);
Sister Bernardine Fontánez (CCNDE)Grades PK–12 Enrollment 2,300+ (2006-2007) Accreditation(s) Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools[1] Affiliation Catholic Website http://www.ccnd.org/;
http://www.ccnde-sec.orgColegio Católico Notre Dame is a coeducational Roman Catholic school located in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Notre Dame is composed of a pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. Not all these schools are located on the same campus.
Contents
History
The Colegio Católico Notre Dame was founded on October 3, 1916 by Redemptorist Priests (of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer) with the help of the Congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Originally the school had the name of Colegio Dulce Nombre de Jesús but this was eventually changed to the name it has today.
Notre Dame initially accepted students from kindergarten to the fourth grade. By 1921, the school had expanded to include the eighth grade. In 1947, the first 24 students graduated twelfth grade from Notre Dame.
In 1956, the grades from seventh to twelfth were moved to Troche Avenue in Caguas, its current location. The high school was then named Notre Dame High School in honor of the Virgin Mary and the Sisters of Notre Dame. The elementary school is located next to the Cathedral Dulce Nombre de Jesús in the "plaza" of Caguas. Notre Dame also has a pre-kindergarten (formed in 1986) and a kindergarten (formed in 1950), both located in the same campus as the high school.
In 1964 Notre Dame received accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Eventually, the school went back to the name Colegio Católico Notre Dame in order to unify the schools.
In 1997, the elementary school received the "Blue Ribbon Award" of Excellence in Education awarded by the "Blue Ribbon Schools Program".
Notre Dame is currently the biggest private school in Puerto Rico with more than 2,300 students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.[citation needed]
School's Motto
The school's motto is virtus et scientia, which translates to virtue and science
School's Mission
In Spanish
"La misión del Colegio Católico Notre Dame es capacitar a los estudiantes para evangelizar con la visión de promover justicia para Puerto Rico y el mundo y vivir la sabiduría de la fe católica. Nos esforzamos por educar a nuestra comunidad con excelencia a fin de incentivar a sus miembros a convertirse en individuos responsables que respeten la diversidad teniendo como prioridad el hacer suya la opción por los pobres."
In English
"The mission of Notre Dame High School is to prepare students to evangelize with the vision of promoting justice for Puerto Rico and the world and live the wisdom of the catholic faith. We strive to educate our community with excellence with the purpose to motivate its members to be responsible individuals that respect diversity and having as a priority the poor."
Clubs and organizations
Some of the school's clubs are:
- Scala, the school's newspaper was founded in 1946.
- Student Council - formed in 1958.
- National Honor Society
- Chemistry Club
- English Club
- Forensics League
- French Club
- History Club
- Chess Club
- Library Club
- School Band
- Oratory Club
- Ministry of Music
- Drama Club
- School Choir
- Math Club
- Robotics Club
- Ecology Club
- T.E.A ("Taller de Expresión Artística" or Drama and Art Club)
- United Nations Club (ONU)
- Soles Verdes Club (Ecology Club)
- Scientia Club (Science Club for the Middle School)
- Huellas - (Villafañe por siempre)
- In Focus (Photography Club)
- Amnistía Internacional Capítulo Notre Dame
Facilities
The elementary school is located next to the city's cathedral, where students attend mass.
The high school campus has a baseball field, a track, volleyball and basketball courts. The Neumann Hall Auditorium serves as a cafeteria and a place to hold large events and mass.
Famous alumni
Government and politics
- Juan Dalmau - Lost Candidate for Governor Puerto Rican Independence Party
- José Luis Dalmau - former Senator
- Jose Aponte - Representative-at-Large, former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico & former Secretary General of the PNP
Literature, music and art
- Magali Carrasquillo, artist
- Georgina Borri, artist
- Félix Jiménez, writer
- Jeanette Becerra, writer
- Stella Soto, writer
- Jorge Luis Ramos, actor, producer and director
- Ana Isabelle, singer
- Charles Juhász-Alvarado, artist
- Elsa María Meléndez, artist
- Claudio Solano, artist
- Jorge Luis Ramos, artist
- Jorge "Fish" Rodríguez, music video director and editor
- Joann Polanco, actress
Sports
- Felipe Crespo, Baseball
- César Crespo, Baseball
- Luis J. Haddock, Tennis
- Janice Olivencia, Golf
- Damaris Flores, Volleyball
- Zamaris Flores, Volleyball
- Jose Mulero, Volleyball
- Carlos Ramirez, Volleyball
Other
- Carlos Manuel Rodríguez - candidate for future canonization; beatified on April 29, 2001.
Notes and references
- ^ MSA-CIWA. "MSA-Committee on Institution-Wide Accreditation". http://www.css-msa.org/search.php/. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
External links
Categories:- High schools in Puerto Rico
- Elementary schools in Puerto Rico
- Roman Catholic secondary schools in Puerto Rico
- Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
- Caguas, Puerto Rico
- Educational institutions established in 1916
- Blue Ribbon schools in Puerto Rico
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