NDA's Big Impact in 2023
AP Platinum and Access Award
This year, Notre Dame Academy was recognized by the College Board's Honor Roll for reaching the highest level of distinction, Platinum. Even more striking, NDA was only one of nine schools in the Los Angeles Archdiocese and the only Catholic school in West Los Angeles to receive both the Platinum Level and AP Access Award, honoring schools that demonstrate a clear and effective commitment to equitable access to advanced coursework.
Only 6% of all eligible schools in the US and Canada were awarded the Platinum Level on the AP School Honor Roll this year, and only a fraction of those also earned the AP Access Award.
Athletics Milestones
- Beach Volleyball: Mission League Champions 2023
- Basketball: CIF SS 4A Champions 2023
- Swim Team: Individual qualifications CIF SS Championships 2023
- Cross Country: CIF Prelim Qualifiers 2023
- Indoor Volleyball: CIF SS DIV Sweet Sixteen appearance 2023
NDA scholar athletes play at collegiate levels: Cal Berkeley, Loyola of Maryland, LMU, St. Mary’s of CA, UCLA, Vassar, Wesleyan and more.
Individual Accolades
- Basketball - CIF D4 Player of the Year (22-23): Shelby M.
- Tennis - Angelus League Singles Runner-up (23-34): Amanda N.
- Volleyball - Named to the 2023 AVCA National Phenom Watchlist: Ava M., Nessa N., and Sophia S.
- Beach Volleyball - Named 1st Team: Ava M. and Kalia S.; Named 2nd Team All-Mission League: Nessa N.
- Swim - Emma H.: Completed 5 mile charity open water swim.
Notre Dame Academy 2023 graduates achieved:
- 100% of NDA graduates accepted to four year colleges
- $17 million in merit scholarships across all accepted schools
Elite scholarships awarded:
- UVA Jefferson Scholarship (1 % of the nation)
- QuestBridge Scholarships (Less than 10% of the nation)
- Posse Scholarship (4% of the nation) - National Merit Scholarship (7,250 awarded out of 1.5 million PSAT test takers)
Breaking Barriers: NDA Fuels Girls’ Passion for STEM!
Enrollment in STEM programs is growing exponentially:
- AP Bio and AP Computer Science enrollment doubled
- Disruptive Innovation grew by 171%
- Rocketry participation rose by 147%
- Robotics participation rose by 200%
Members of the class of 2023 selected majors in traditionally male-dominated STEM fields such as:
Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Astrophysics and Aerospace Engineering, Cybersecurity, Neuroscience and everything in between at prestigious universities.
Excellence in Co-Curricular Academic Teams and Activities
Rocketry
- NDA’s Rocketry team has consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally for several years. In 2023, the team placed 9th in the nation!
- NDA Rocketry is the only all-girls team in the nation’s top ten in 2023.
- This team is one of twenty 6-12th grade schools in the nation chosen to participate in the NASA Student Launch Initiative in a competition with primarily university students.
Recent Team Accomplishments:
- Mock Trial advanced to the quarterfinals out of 80 teams this year.
- Academic Decathlon upheld a legacy of success with wins in 22-23 that include: 12 gold medals, 13 silver medals, 11 bronze medals, Division 1 second place in team overall scores and second place in the Super Quiz category for team 1.
- Speech and Debate grew in its 2nd year, and we have a newly formed Model UN team.
- In the DTASC drama competition this fall, all the performing arts teams advanced to the semi-finals; the Small Screen team made it to the finals and received honorable mention. NDA’s Set Design and Lighting Design teams also advanced to the finals and received honorable mentions, while the Marketing and Publicity representative won 2nd place.