Notre Dame turns 85, tries to return apostles to the community

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Notre Dame has 506 students and has been ranked in the top 50 schools in the nation every year since 2006.

This year marks the 85th anniversary of Catholic secondary education in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, and Notre Dame Regional High School of Cape Girardeau is commemorating the milestone with an all-school reunion.

The reunion will take place July 17 at the Venue in Cape Girardeau.

The school started as St. Mary's High School, with classes beginning in 1925 at the site of the old Saint Francis Medical Center at the corner of Sprigg and William streets. Eight students received diplomas when St. Mary's graduated its first class four years later.

Today, Notre Dame Regional High School has 506 students at its campus at 265 Notre Dame Drive off Route K west of Cape Girardeau.

The school has been ranked among the top 50 Catholic high schools in the nation each year since 2006.

Brother David Migliorino, principal at Notre Dame, believes that Catholic education is important from an educational and value standpoint.

"Preparing our students for the present and the future is more demanding than ever before," said Migliorino. "They need to master the basics, develop critical thinking skills, learn to solve problems, and make a commitment to a lifestyle based on gospel values. Thus our mission here at Notre Dame is to combine faith with living and learning."

Migliorino summarizes Notre Dame's mission by saying, "Give us your child ... and we shall return you an apostle."

Returning "apostles" to parents of Notre Dame students isn't an easy task today, the principal admits.

"We share a vision and a challenge here at Notre Dame," Migliorino said. "Our vision encompasses the education of our students to become lifelong learners rooted in the gospel. Our challenge is to reach out for newer and better ways of doing that."

Part of meeting that challenge involves expanding Notre Dame's facilities to meet the needs of the growing student population. Construction begins in the spring on a project that will mean new classrooms, a new gymnasium and a performing and visual arts center.

The celebration of 85 years of Catholic secondary education in the area offers the school an opportunity to reflect on history and tradition, which Notre Dame faculty sees as an important part their program.

"Notre Dame provides each student with a successful model of education that exemplifies community building and serves as a prototype of Christian value-centered education rooted in Roman Catholic tradition," Migliorino said.