German Americans of Cleveland

Cleveland Press Articles

Notre Dame Girls Love It

By Katy Snider
Cleveland Press, December 12, 1963

The young ladies of Notre Dame Academy have gone east — way east.

And a straw vote among the pupils indicates high enthusiasm for the new high school on Butternut Rd. in Munson Twp.

"Great," "fun," "exciting" were some of the ways girls described studying at the pastoral outpost.

"I love it--it's so different," exclaimed student souncil president Barbara Balchak, who travels each day by chartered bus to and from her home at 10805 Manor Ave., Cleveland.

Most of the 340 girls at the school travel in such chartered buses, at an average cost of $15 a month.

The Sisters of Notre Dame, who run the school, signaled the end of an era when they decided last July to move to the country from their 42-year-old home on Ansel Rd.

The motherhouse of the order had already moved to the educational center in Auburn Center. And Notre Dame College has been in South Euclid since 1928.

The high school opened at its new location Sept. 6, in 12 classrooms housed in two temporary buildings and Notre Dame Academy's first permanent building, a remodeled barn.

According to Sister Mary Owen, principal of the school, the shift east cause only a few girls to leave Notre Dame. And some new pupils were added, such as former Chardon High School student Heather Holmes.

Sister Mary Owen even tells of one girl so determined to follow Notre Dame to Munson Twp. that her parents finally moved from Avon to Chardon.

Photo caption: Changing classes are heralded by the bell rung by Georgina Kindall, 9302 Pierpont Ave., Cleveland. Three hand bells are used because no permanent bell system has been installed in the temporary buildings. Georgina, a senior and editor of the school's newspaper, travels a total of 46 miles each day to attend classes.

Photo caption: Assembly room and study hall now under construction will be Notre Dame Academy's first new building. Behind the temporary building on the right and connected to it by a corridor is the remodeled barn housing the administration.