Students At NDA

How We Recognize our Students

At Notre Dame Academy, a variety of programs and tradition recognize excellence at NDA and support the accomplishments of our students. On the following pages, you can find our B.E.S.T. Award and Honor Roll information as well as a listing of our Honor Societies and our Student of the Month.
Improvement

B.E.S.T Award

The BEST Award is intended to recognize students who have worked the hardest, improved the most and put forth the most effort in classes. A student from each grade level is honored with the B.E.S.T. Award for the first, second and third quarters. To determine the B.E.S.T. Award recipient for each grade level, teachers are asked to nominate students in their class that have exhibited the above characteristics. For each grade level, the student who receives the most nominations is selected as the B.E.S.T. Award recipient for that quarter. Corporex is NDA’s Business Education Success Team (B.E.S.T.) partner. The names of students who earn First or Second Honors and the names of all students nominated for the B.E.S.T. Award
are displayed quarterly.

Exceptional Marks

Honor Roll

Honors are calculated on the semester weighted scholastic mark. A student achieves First Honors if she has an average weighted scholastic mark of 95 or higher and no weighted scholastic mark (M1/M2) below 90 and has no incomplete grades. A student achieves Second Honors if she has an average weighted scholastic mark of 85 or higher and no weighted scholastic mark (M1/M2) below 80 and has no incomplete grades.

Student Recognition

Honor Societies

The Société Honoraire de Français, the French National Honor Society, is an organization sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, whose intent is to recognize high school students in the United States who have maintained excellent grades in their French language courses. Students eligible for membership must have completed at least three semesters of French, with an average of 92% or higher in each of the three semesters. All inducted members must continue to meet the grade average requirement, and they are expected to participate in the activities of the French Club and to mentor other students who are experiencing difficulties in their study of French.

The International Thespian Society works to honor student achievement in theatre and enrich their theatre education experience; support teachers by providing professional development, networking opportunities, resources, and recognition; and influence public opinion that theatre education is essential and builds life skills. Here at Notre Dame Academy, this club works to support our theatre department and theatrical involvement in our community here in the Greater Cincinnati area. Students work to help with ticket sales, promotional materials, celebrations, and performances. In addition, they go out into the community to see shows and support fellow students in their journeys as performers. 

La Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, the Spanish Honor Society, is an honor society for high school students enrolled in Spanish and/or Portuguese, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. The mission of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica is to recognize high school achievement in Spanish and Portuguese and to promote interest in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian studies. Notre Dame Academy’s chapter is Benito Juárez and is moderated by Ms. Stacey Bill. To be eligible, students must maintain a 90% or higher for three consecutive semesters in Spanish and fill out an application. Upon induction, students are expected to continue their language studies and/or fulfill their language requirement by being an active member of Spanish Club. Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica students are also required to participate in the yearly service project throughout the Spanish speaking local community as well as come to monthly meetings.

The Latin National Honors Society recognizes Latin students for their outstanding achievement upon completion of three semesters of study with an A average for each semester, participation in Latin club, and current membership with the Kentucky Junior Classical League.

Mu Alpha Theta is a national high school and two-year college mathematics honor society that aims to spark a greater interest in the field of mathematics. The Mu Alpha Theta chapter at Notre Dame Academy is moderated by Ms. Leslie Litmer and is the only national organization for high school juniors and seniors that recognizes excellence in the field of math. Students eligible for membership must have completed the equivalent of two years of college preparatory mathematics, completed or are enrolled in a third college preparatory mathematics course, have a minimum weighted average of 95% in all mathematics classes, and have a minimum weighted average of 92% overall. All inducted Mu Alpha Theta members must continue to meet the specified averages, attend all meetings, take two of the four Math Fax tests offered throughout the school year, and complete eight hours of math-related service per year.

The Notre Dame Academy chapter of the National English Honor Society exists to recognize and promote excellence in Literature and Language Arts at the High School level.   The society is moderated by Mrs. Amanda Schultz and invites Junior and Senior level students to join.  A student becomes eligible for NEHS when she has achieved a minimum 3.00 overall GPA and a 3.5 overall English GPA.   Based on this acquired GPA eligible students are invited to apply via a letter highlighting their endeavors and achievements in the field of English that go above and beyond standard course work.   Inducted NEHS members do not complete a specific number of service hours, but are required to actively participate in regular meetings and to contribute to a yearly service event which promotes literacy either in the school or in the community at large.  

The Notre Dame Academy chapter of the National Honor Society is moderated by Mrs. Molly Proudfit. In order to apply for membership, a student must be a junior or senior and have a weighted GPA of 3.50 or greater, 30 verified service hours, exhibit leadership skills and demonstrate positive character traits. First year members are required to complete 25 hours of service (outside of hours required for a class) and second year members are required to complete 30 hours of service (outside of hours required for a class). Students must adhere all Notre Dame Academy guidelines when choosing a service activity, performing the service, and logging and verifying service hours. Additionally, members must maintain a cumulative weighted GPA of 3.50 to maintain membership in the NDA chapter of the National Honor Society.

Rho Kappa is the National Social Studies Honors Society and is the only national organization for high school juniors and seniors that recognizes excellence in the field of social studies. Rho Kappa provides students with national recognition and opportunities for exploration in the field of social studies. Membership in Rho Kappa at NDA is an honor available to seniors who have been in attendance at NDA for one semester, have completed four semesters of courses in the field of social studies and be prepared to complete at least six semesters and have an overall GPA of 93 and a social studies GPA of 95. Students who have been inducted into Rho Kappa must continue to meet the grade point averages, attend a minimum of four meetings a year and complete eight hours of service during their senior year in the field of social studies as determined by the social studies department. 

Student Recognition

Student of The Month

Sprawling the campus of Notre Dame Academy are young women with unique God-given talents and gifts. As an effort to recognize these young women, the faculty and staff at Notre Dame Academy select a Student of the Month. Each month throughout the year, Notre Dame Academy will recognize one panda for being exceptional. A reminder to all students that exceptional can be defined in many different ways. This includes one’s academic achievement, effort, attitude, service, compassion, motivation, and/or responsibility – just to name a few characteristics indicative of an exceptional student.