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Notre Dame College is welcoming its new students to campus this fall with four days of in-person activities Thursday, August 26, through Sunday, August 29.

The Welcome Week reception for the College’s Class of 2025 is highlighted by the traditional academic opening Convocation Thursday, August 26, at 5 p.m. on the Administration Building Lawn, or in Regina Auditorium in case of rain. Opening Convocation is considered the formal beginning of the academic year, similar to how graduation serves as the closure. The ceremony features faculty in academic regalia as an official greeting and formal acceptance of students to the College learning community.

Convocation is followed by an all-campus barbecue at 6 p.m. and a kickoff orientation experience at 7:30 p.m., both on the campus Administration Building lawn. This kickoff event, which opens with a marching band and cheerleading team showcase, will give new students an opportunity to learn more about what to expect in the days ahead and to meet their Welcome Week groups and student leaders for the first time.

New Notre Dame students begin moving in to residence halls on Thursday, August 26, at 9 a.m. Some fall athletes and performing arts students settled into their new campus home away from home in the previous weeks. Fall semester onsite and Term D1 online classes at the College begin Monday, August 30.

During Welcome Week, these first-year and new transfer students at Notre Dame will learn keys to academic success, information about Title IX and hazing and participate in ice-breakers to get to know their classmates beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 27. This second day also will feature a “Cookies & Canvas” painting event at 3:30 p.m. in the Falcons’ Nest on campus and ends with a movie on the Administration Building lawn. Faculty and staff will join new students to view Disney’s “Cruella” at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 28, starts with a service project, courtesy of Notre Dame’s Campus Ministry office, with opportunities for new Falcons to visit to off-campus service sites at Church of the Good Shephard and Disciples Christian Church. Students also can stay on campus in the Falcons Nest and prepare bagged lunches for the Catholic Worker Drop-In Center. The day continues with a mathematics training session; volleyball open practice; and involvement fair, an open house in which students can visit with all the different student organizations available on campus. This third day of Welcome Week is capped off with a late-night inflatables event on campus. Students can enjoy jousting, an obstacle course and a rock wall, along with cornhole, ladder golf and other lawn games.

The final day, Sunday, August 29, features a Falcon Fest block party at the residence halls and ends with Sunday evening Mass in Regina Chapel.

A complete list of Welcome Week activities for new Notre Dame students follows:

Thursday, August 26:
  • 5-5:45 p.m., Convocation, Administration Building Lawn (rain site Regina Auditorium)
  • 6-7:30 p.m., All-Campus BBQ, Administration Building Lawn
  • 7:30-8:30 p.m., Welcome Week Kickoff, Administration Building Lawn
  • 8:45-9:45 p.m., Residence Hall Floor Meetings, Residence Halls
  • 8:45-9:45 p.m., Commuter Meeting, Falcons’ Nest
Friday, August 27:
  • 7:30-9:30 a.m., Breakfast/Free Time, Connelly Center
  • 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Returning Student Move-in, Residence Halls
  • 9:15-10:30 a.m., Keys to Academic Success, Regina Auditorium
  • 10:30-11: 15 a.m., Group Ice Breakers, Regina Classrooms
  • 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Title IX & Hazing, Regina Auditorium
  • 12:30-3:30 p.m., Lunch/Free Time, Connelly Center
  • 3:30-5 p.m., Cookies & Canvas, Falcon Café (RSVP needed)
  • 4:30-7:30 p.m., Dinner/Free Time, Connelly Center
  • 7:30-9:30 p.m., Movie, “Cruella,” Administration Building Lawn
Saturday, August 28:
  • 10 a.m. to noon, Service Project with Campus Ministry, Regina Hall (RSVP needed)
  • 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Brunch/Free Time, Connelly Center
  • Noon to 1:00 P.M., Math Orientation (if applicable), Administration Building Room 211
  • 1-2:30 p.m., Volleyball Open Practice, Keller Center
  • 3-5 p.m., Student Involvement Fair, Administration Building Lawn
  • 5-7:30 p.m., Dinner, Connelly Center
  • 7-9 p.m., Late Night Activity (Inflatables!), Administration Building Lawn
Sunday, August, 29:
  • 10-11 a.m., Yoga, Regina 202 (Dance Studio)
  • 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Brunch/Free Time, Connelly Center
  • 1-2 p.m., Class Schedule Tours, throughout Campus
  • 2:30-4:30 p.m., Falcon Fest Block Party, Residence Hall Quad
  • 4:30-7:30 p.m., Dinner/Free Time, Connelly Center
  • 8-9 p.m., Church, Regina Chapel

August 2021

About Notre Dame College

Notre Dame College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts college in South Euclid committed to teaching students how to make a good living and live a good life. Founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1922, the college offers bachelor’s degrees in 30 disciplines plus a variety of master’s degrees, certification programs and continuing and professional development programs for adult learners on campus and online. For more information, visit NotreDameCollege.edu.