School Sisters of Notre Dame

09/03/2026

The School Sisters of Notre Dame take seriously the call to love our neighbor. That’s why we are proud to be part of NETWORK’s See. Love. Vote. campaign, an initiative aimed at getting out the vote for the 2026 U.S. elections and ensuring that we all have a part in shaping our shared future.

What is the See. Love. Vote. campaign vote all about? Let’s break it down:

SEE. We see how some policy choices are making groceries, rent, and health care unaffordable, tearing families apart, trying to keep us from voting, and prioritizing profits over people.

LOVE. To this reality, we are responding with love – love for our neighbors, our families, and all our communities.

VOTE. This love propels us to vote in the 2026 elections and beyond, to make life better for all of us.

https://ssnd.org/ssnd-supports-see-love-vote-campaign/

09/02/2026

The SSND North American Vocation Team (Sisters Raquel, Carol Jean, Maria, Bridget and Raquel) gathered in Dallas last week to pray and plan for the next year. Stay tuned for all the ways they will lead us in promoting discernment and vocations to religious life in the coming months! You can learn more about the NAVT at ssnd.org/become-sister/contact-vocation-director/.

Blessed Theresa of Jesus, pray for us!

09/01/2026

The Season of Creation starts September 1, the Day of Prayer for Creation, and ends October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. During this time, we join our sisters and brothers in the ecumenical family in prayer and action for our common home.

This year, the theme for the Season is Living Water. The theme explores Ezekiel 47:9 and 12 as a powerful biblical vision of hope and ecological healing. Set amid exile and loss, the image of living water flowing from God’s sanctuary reveals divine healing that renews land, water, biodiversity, and human responsibility toward all of creation.

In past years, members of the SSND community have participated in prayer services, taken part in ecology themed book clubs, screened films on climate change, and tended gardens to celebrate the Season of Creation. In 2026, they will continue the tradition of coming together to protect the planet through prayer and action. Please join our SSND family in hoping and acting with creation.

To access Season of Creation resources, visit https://seasonofcreation.org/resources.

08/31/2026

From the classroom to the playground, from music lessons to science experiments, our sisters have been there through it all—teaching, learning, laughing, and helping generations of students grow.

As we head back to school, we’re taking a look back at some of the wonderful moments captured in our archives.

Here’s to the teachers who inspired us, the students who kept us on our toes, and all the memories made along the way.

Happy Back to School!

08/30/2026

Paragraph #190 of Laudato Si' reminds us that “environmental protection cannot be assured solely on the basis of financial calculations of costs and benefits. The environment is one of those goods that cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by market forces”. Once more, we need to reject a magical conception of the market, which would suggest that problems can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals. Is it realistic to hope that those who are obsessed with maximizing profits will stop to reflect on the environmental damage which they will leave behind for future generations? Where profits alone count, there can be no thinking about the rhythms of nature, its phases of decay and regeneration, or the complexity of ecosystems which may be gravely upset by human intervention. Moreover, biodiversity is considered at most a deposit of economic resources available for exploitation, with no serious thought for the real value of things, their significance for persons and cultures, or the concerns and needs of the poor.

08/27/2026

Tomorrow, August 28, the Feast Day of St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), the School Sisters of Notre Dame recognize our Augustinian heritage and give thanks for the enduring gifts of St. Augustine, whose wisdom continues to shape our charism.

We invite you to pray, reflect, and learn with us through the resource linked below. Explore the relevance of St. Augustine’s thought for our Church and world today through insights shared by our Augustinian Pope Leo XIV in his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Click here: https://amssnd.org/posts/feast-day-st-augustine-2026

08/25/2026

SSND North America is pleased to support “See. Love. Vote,” a nonpartisan campaign focused on get-out-the-vote efforts for the 2026 U.S. elections. Led by NETWORK Advocates and faith partners across the country, the “See. Love. Vote.” campaign is inspired by “See, Judge, Act”, a framework of Catholic Social Teaching that guides how we reflect on the world around us and take action for positive change. The campaign’s goal is to connect communities with the tools they need to be informed and engaged voters, inspired by the common good.

By visiting the website https://www.networkadvocates.org/vote/, you can register to vote, check your voter registration status, find your polling place, see who and what is on your ballot, and more.

“Catholic Social Doctrine affirms that voting is a sacred duty and responsibility,” said Lisa Demler, Shalom/JPIC Director of the School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province. “As members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame community, we are called to make the concerns of the poor our own, including in the exercise of voting. Additionally, the Call and Acts of our 25th General Chapter challenge us to pursue communion over division and act as credible witnesses in a time of social and political chaos.”

Equipped with knowledge and love, we will show up to vote this fall!

Network Lobby

08/24/2026

A meeting of SSND Shalom international branch representatives began last week in El Progresso, Honduras. The gathering is an opportunity for those leading SSND’s network for justice, peace, and integrity of creation to come together in prayer, share the work they have done, and work toward a vision and plan for future work of Shalom.

08/21/2026

When the School Sisters of Notre Dame founded Notre Dame School of Dallas in 1963, they began with 19 students and a conviction that children with intellectual disabilities deserved an education designed to help them thrive.

More than 60 years later, that mission continues.

America Magazine visited Notre Dame School as part of a new national feature exploring how Catholic schools are serving students with intellectual and developmental disabilities—and what true inclusion asks of Catholic education.

Today, Notre Dame serves about 150 students from across the Dallas area, preparing them not only academically, but with the practical, social, and vocational skills that foster greater independence.

We’re proud to see this SSND educational legacy—and the remarkable community carrying it forward—featured in America.

Because Catholic education should be available to all.

08/19/2026

A new episode of Called to Action is ready for listening! In Season 6, Episode 8: Breaking Down Language Barriers we welcome Sister Jean Ellman who shares her experiences educating both students and adults to speak bilingually, helping them be more successful in their community. Check it out at https://www.ssndcp.org/calledtoaction.

You can find a new episode of Called to Action every 2nd Wednesday of the month on Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music iHeartPodcast Network and ssndcp.org/calledtoaction

Called to Action NEW EPISODE ALERT:
https://www.ssndcp.org/calledtoaction
In Season 6, Episode 8: Breaking Down Language Barriers we welcome Sister Jean Ellman who shares with us her experiences educating both students and adults to speak bilingually, helping them be more successful in their community.
You can find a new episode every 2nd Wednesday of the month on Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music iHeartPodcast Network and ssndcp.org/calledtoaction