Notre Dame Academy is a

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, all-girls

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Part of the Greater Boston region, it is located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of Massachusetts. At the 2020 ...

. It is located in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Boston), Cathedral o ...

History

Notre Dame Academy (NDA), sponsored by the

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Congregationis Sororum a Domina Nostra Namurcensi) is a Catholic Church, Catholic Religious institute (Catholic), institute of religious sisters, founded to teaching order, provide education to the poor. The i ...

, is the oldest Catholic day academy for girls in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. Located in Hingham, MA since 1965, it has its roots in two earlier academies: Notre Dame Academy, Boston (Lancaster Street, Berkeley Street, the Fenway, Granby Street) begun in 1853, and Notre Dame Academy, Roxbury, opened in 1854.

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

of Notre Dame traveled to the east coast from

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to found the academies. The Boston Academy began in a simple wooden structure (Lancaster Street) and, within ten years, the flourishing school needed to move to a larger facility. For the next fifty years, the academy radiated a strong religious and intellectual influence from its Berkeley Street campus. As the area became a booming industrial center in the city, it was no longer conducive for the Academy and so the school moved once again. In 1916, the school moved to 400 The Fenway and, by 1919, shared the location with the new Emmanuel College. As the college grew, the Academy moved once again, to Granby Street. The Boston Academy continued to flourish at this site until 1954. Notre Dame Academy at Washington Street in the Roxbury section of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

began in 1854 as a day school and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

. In 1954, the students from the Granby Street School joined the students at the Roxbury campus and there was one Academy in the city. As the city changed and the needs of the South Shore increased, the school relocated to the present Hingham campus. Today, to meet the needs of the current student body, NDA is rebuilding at the Hingham campus and expanding its facilities. For over 155 years, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their lay colleagues have provided a

college preparatory A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

education to young women, encompassing the spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical development of their students.

Campus

The school is located on a campus. The academic building consists of a chapel, auditorium, classrooms, science labs, art rooms, music and choral rooms, library, computer labs, the Maribeth Merrigan Multi Media Learning Center, guidance center, gymnasium, cafeteria, offices, and meeting rooms. The campus includes a memorial garden; three athletic fields for soccer, field hockey, softball, and lacrosse; an eight-lane track; and five tennis courts.

Student body

Students come to NDA from over 40 towns across the South Shore and surrounding areas. They travel south from Norwood, Westwood, and Boston. Some travel northeast from the Brockton area and others travel north along the Route 3 corridor from towns such as

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, and from

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. Students come from a variety of public, private and parochial schools.

Tuition

Tuition for the 2023-2024 academic year is $27,900.

Notable alumnae

* Geneva Duker, dancer *

Maura Tierney Maura Lynn Tierney (born February 3, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on the sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), Abby Lockhart on the medical drama '' ER'' (1999–2009) and Helen Solloway on the myst ...

, actress * Laura Duksta, author * Molly Considine, teacher * Caraid O'Brien, playwright

Notes and references

External links

School Website
{{authority control Girls' schools in Massachusetts Catholic secondary schools in Massachusetts Schools in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur schools Educational institutions established in 1853 Buildings and structures in Hingham, Massachusetts 1853 establishments in Massachusetts