The Organic Library

Can you imagine religion without churches? Medicine without hospitals? Sports without playing fields? Neither can I. Nor, using that same line of thinking, can I imagine the world of academia without libraries. Yet that is exactly the direction in which some schools are headed. For those in that camp, the thinking goes, “the library lives […]

One Story: Minnie Jang

Senior Minnie Jang has a system for applying to schools that has worked quite well for her. Essentially, it boils down to this: You pick the school you want to go to… and apply. That’s it. No second, third, or fourth choice. No back up plan. No safe bets. Just go for it. That’s what […]

One Story: Em McCarthy

There’s no formal application or approval process required to merit a profile in Bluenote. Usually, someone or something is simply brought to our attention. Ordinarily, by an NDP faculty or staff member with the hope that we’ll do a story on the subject. Every once in a while though, someone isn’t so much intentionally brought […]

AP Economics: All Profit, No Loss

“Honestly? I really wasn’t at all certain I could do the job,” said NDP alum (Class of ’94) and current NDP faculty member, Barbara Mantler. The job she referred to was taking over the Advanced Placement (AP) Economics class this year after the legendary Mrs. Ann Klaes – whose NDP career spanned more than 4 […]

Say Yes to the Dress

It is admissions time at NDP. With that in mind, the following is a re-print of one of our most popular posts on this theme, previously published in 2013. I am the oldest of four girls. We all went to NDP for high school. Because we’re all close in age, for much of that time my parents had 2 or […]

Gateway Redux

Occasionally, Bluenote just gets it wrong. Never intentionally, of course, but wrong, nonetheless. Last week’s post on the Gateway Club fell short. Of clarity. Of explanation. Of expectations. This week’s post is a sincere attempt to rectify those shortcomings and hopefully, in the process, paint a fuller picture of the remarkable club that is the Gateway […]

One Story: Amanda Abraham

I don’t know if they keep such accounts, but if they do, then NDP senior, Amanda Abraham, surely must hold the record for the fastest talker on the planet. I should have tape-recorded our interview together. Instead, I arrived armed with only a note pad and pen and became positively giddy trying to keep up […]

The Pursuit of Knowledge

It’s true what they say. Knowledge is power. It’s something those who believe in the value of a good education take for granted. Knowledge takes you where you want to go. But at Notre Dame Prep, knowledge is something far more than that. It’s a source of joy and a gift to be shared. This […]

One Story: Siena Thrasher

Sitting there listening to NDP junior, Siena Thrasher talk about “her life, her passions, and her faith,” I am reminded for all the world of The Little Flower, Therese of Lisieux. For starters, Siena bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Therese. She is a 21st century version of the 19th century saint: pretty, dark-eyed, and […]

Stone Soup and Other Tales of Advent

It is December, and the noise level is deafening. Not even a major snowstorm could muffle the holiday clamor. Everywhere, Christmas has been cranked up and marked down, blared and blasted, misappropriated and misunderstood. Hark! The herald… If somewhere an angel sings, it is impossible to hear above the din. These are the darkest days of the […]