Notre Dame High School

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Notre Dame educates today's young women for leadership, global citizenship, and socially responsible entrepreneurship. Our rich urban landscape and innovative programs cultivate young women with strong voices who will bring intelligent compassion to their world - young women who become active leaders in our local, national, and global communities. We are proud to have the distinction of being the oldest girls' high school in the western United States and to be a partner with the city of San Jose since 1851. Here is what we have experienced every day for more than three decades on our campus:

• Integrated learning across programs that combines the best of teacher instruction and student inquiry with hands-on, experiential engagement across courses and outside the classroom. A perfect example of this is the focus on women and children at the 9th-grade level where students will learn about women around the world in global studies, research a woman and the contribution of her life's work, develop a place setting to honor the woman studied and present it at a public art installation on campus, learn about social issues and concerns that affect women and children and engage in direct service that addresses those needs. The sophomores focus on themes centered around human responsibility, juniors on race and membership, and seniors on solidarity and advocacy.
• An urban school that embraces the city as a classroom: from field trips to museums and the MLK library, to direct service at the local public school and outreach agencies, school excursions to St. Joseph Basilica for liturgies, team practices at San Jose State University's pool and tennis courts, chassis building at The Tech Shop for robotics, Friday afternoon lunches at Iguanas, parallel parking on 3rd St, Notre Dame students live immersed in the city and their campus is a gateway to limitless learning.
• A mission-aligned faculty and staff who take seriously the 200-year old challenge of St. Julie Billiart, the foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, to "teach them what they need to know for life."
• A proud circle of alumnae who value their relationships with each other and their alma mater throughout their adult lives. They find each other in their professional circles. They stand by each other as neighbors, witnesses, godparents, and friends.

Notre Dame High School, in the heart of downtown San Jose since 1851, provides young women an exemplary Catholic, college-preparatory education to become life-long learners, spiritual seekers, justice advocates, and community leaders. We are inspired by Saint Julie Billiart and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. We empower young women and “teach them what they need to know for life.”

Studies have shown that students thrive in an all-girls environment. They are more confident, have higher career aspirations, and are better equipped to impact the world. Notre Dame’s all-girls environment encourages girls to take leadership positions in every aspect of the school. At Notre Dame, all the scholars are girls, all the artists are girls, all the varsity athletes are girls, all the editors and journalists are girls, and all the ASB and class officers are girls.

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