The ND Spirit

Next Tuesday, we're asking all parents to come to campus on Tuesday night. This will be here before you know since we're taking our Quarter Break on Monday and having a Late Start (!) on Tuesday morning. Parents/Guardians are asked to sign up to meet with teachers for 10 minutes through this link beginning at 5:00 pm. Ten minutes might not seem like much--but it's good to connect and then if you need more time, you can schedule it then.

At 5:30, we'll be gathering parents for grade-specific meetings. The 9th & 10th grade parents will be meeting in the theater to learn about the Leadership Retreat in January. The junior parents will be meeting in the Commons for Junior Ring information and to discuss the College Bootcamp and other issues. The senior parents will be meeting in the Media Center to discuss senior events and college applications, too.

At 6:00, we'll resume Parent-Teacher Conferences and continue until 8:00 pm. The next day, we'll again have a Late Start and then we'll have testing for each grade to be completed by noon. Here's another copy of the Sign Up link.

Go Spirits!

Dr. Tim Uhl

We had over 150 people here to celebrate our Hispanic Heritage. There was dancing, great food, and a DJ. It was great night to celebrate Notre Dame!

• • Snowball Fight - Wednesday, October 8 at 4:30 PM in the sophomore quad

  • This week's student announcements can be found here

• Homecoming Dance is on Saturday, October 11 at 7:00 - 10:00 PM. Ticket order link Dance Guidelines

• Family Pumpkin Carving Event - Friday, October 24 at 6:00 - 8:00 PM in the sophomore quad

• Pay to Dress next week to support Susan Bacon Cancer Resource Center ($5 per day, Tuesday-Friday)

• We've launched this simple Google Form to "crowdsource" alumnae information. If you know of any alumnae, feel free to share the link

• Here is a Google Doc with student service opportunities
• Volleyball schedule can be found here; tennis schedule here. Both the volleyball and tennis teams are undefeated in conference play! Here is a look at the basketball schedule and the soccer schedule.

Here is the link to the Student Handbook. We're continuing to adjust as issues arise.

• Oct 8: All-School Mass 10:40; Snowball fight 4:30 pm
• Oct 9: Homecoming Volleyball Game vs. Anzar (varsity 5:00)
• Oct 10: last day of 1st Quarter
• Oct 13: Quarter Break (no school)
• Oct 14: Late Start; Parent-Teacher Conferences 6-8 pm
• Oct 15: Late Start; Testing day (noon dismissal)
• Oct 25: Middle School Halloween Dance
• Oct 28: Open House for prospective students 6-8 pm
• Nov 1st: Bocce Ball
• Nov 15: Mother-Daughter Tea & Fashion Show
• Feb 7: Crab & Pasta Feed

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES

Tuesday October 14th from 5:00 - 8:00 PM

• Parents are invited to sign up for 10 minute conferences with teachers. If you need more than 10 minutes, please contact a teacher directly to set up a different day and time.

• SignUp Genius link

TESTING DAY

Wednesday October 15 - 9:20 start time

Notre Dame will be administering the following tests on this school day:

• 9th grade - STAR Testing

• Used by faculty to monitor progress in the areas of mathematics and reading and for placement into honors classes. The scores will be compared to historical data (most of our 9th graders have taken the STAR in Middle School)

• The tests are computerized and self-paced, adapting the difficulty of questions based on the answers a student provides.

• A student's score is translated into a percentile rank, which indicates how they perform compared to other students in the same grade level.

• Students are encouraged to take their time and give their best effort. Because of the adaptive nature of the test, some students may finish earlier than others.

• Students will need to bring a book to read if they finish early.

• We expect 9th grade students to be finished with STAR testing between 11:30-11:45. Students will be dismissed from school for the remainder of the day.

• 10th grade - PSAT

• Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test - a practice at taking the PSAT, which uses the same format for the SAT. SAT is one of two standardized tests (ACT is the second) used by some colleges and universities as part of the admission requirements.

• We expect the 10th grade students to be finished with the PSAT between 11:45 - Noon. Students will be dismissed for the remainder of the day.

• 11th grade - PSAT/NMSQT

• 11th grade students will take the same PSAT as 10th graders, but they are eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program based on this year's score.

• The National Merit Scholarship Corporation uses a selection index, derived from your PSAT/NMSQT component scores, to determine eligibility.

• A different cutoff score is used for each state to identify the top-scoring students.

• High scoring students are named Commended Students or Semifinalists.

• If selected as a Semifinalist, a student must complete the official National Merit Scholarship Application, which requires an essay and details of your achievements.

• We expect the 11th grade students to be finished with the PSAT between 11:45 - Noon. Students will be dismissed for the remainder of the day.

• 12th grade - SAT (optional)

• Six of our seniors have signed up to take the SAT on our campus.

• For the most comprehensive data base of schools that are test-optional or test-free, visit FairTest

• The UC and CSU systems remain test-free, meaning they do not accept any standardized test scores as part of their admissions decisions.

• For the remaining seniors not taking the SAT, you do not have school. All of our full-time faculty will be proctoring exams.

• We expect the 12th grade students taking the exam to be finished with the SAT between 11:45 - Noon. Students will be dismissed for the remainder of the day.

• Students who have been approved by the College Board for extended time on the PSAT and SAT will be finished at approximately 1:00 PM.

COLLEGE VISITS AT NOTRE DAME

• 8:30 AM Friday Oct 10 - Swarthmore College

• 9:55 AM Thursday Oct 16 - Trinity College

• 1:50 PM Wednesday Oct 22 - Soka University of America

• 9:55 AM Thursday Oct 23 - Dominican University of California

• 8:30 AM Tuesday Oct 28 - Syracuse University

• 10:10 AM Tuesday Oct 28 - Binghamton University

• 12:00 PM Tuesday Oct 28 - Seton Hall University

• 2:20 PM Tuesday Oct 28 - University of San Diego

• 9:20 AM Wednesday Oct 29 - Chapman University

• 11:50 AM Wednesday Oct 29 - University of the Pacific

• 1:50 PM Wednesday Oct 29 - Whittier College

COLLEGE OPEN HOUSE DATES

• Saturday Oct 11 - CSU Chico

• Saturday Oct 18 - CSU Monterey Bay

• Saturday Oct 18 - Menlo College

• Saturday Oct 18 - Santa Clara University

• Saturday Oct 18 - Sonoma State University

• Saturday Oct 25 - CSU East Bay

• Saturday Oct 25 - St. Mary’s College of California

• Saturday Oct 25 - UC Berkeley

• Saturday Oct 25 - University of San Francisco

• Saturday Nov 8 - Dominican University of California

Scholarship list

Bocce Night is nearly here and we are hoping to see many of our families there! Our girls will be serving and singing and the evening will be a good time. Whether you are coming to play or just eat, please look at the attached Bocce flyer included in this newsletter-a QR code is included for an easy sign up.

Also, we are asking that each ND family donate a nice bottle of wine for our wine raffle. A Sign Up Genius will be going home this week asking for help and donations for the event. Thank you, in advance, for your support!

Information on the Bocce Night (November 1st) can be found here and sponsorship & signup information here.

Email: tuhl@notredamesalinas.org

Website: www.notredamesalinas.org
Location: Salinas, CA
Phone: 831-751-1850
Twitter: @drtimuhl