NDB is known for many things: our pride, our spirit, and our tight-knit community. Perhaps the most important thing that makes our school special is our commitment to sisterhood.

The tradition of pairing up the freshman with the juniors and sophomores with the seniors has been long-running and is a signature trademark of NDB. The sister classes’ support for each other becomes clear during spirit events like fundraisers, rallies, and Aquacades, but besides that, there can be a lack of interaction between them during other times of the year.

The Junior Class Council, along with the help of the Freshman Class Coordinator Jonathan Tomczak have come up with the solution to this problem: an official Sister Program.

The program focuses specifically on building the relationship between the freshman and juniors. It will develop throughout the school year with a series of social activities designed to help the classes get to know each other on a more personal level.

The first sister event of the year was the ice cream social event, which took place on August 26 during the afternoon Collaboration.

A few days before the event, the junior council sent out a survey for every freshman and junior to fill out, which asked questions about their interests and hobbies. Its purpose was to help pair up one freshman (the “little sister”) with one junior (the “big sister”) and have them spend time at the social getting to know each other.

When asked about the survey, Tomczak said, “The questions were designed to not just look at their responses, but also the responses were placed on a gradient.”

The devotion to these sister pairings that Tomczak and the junior council gave has paid off as both classes immensely enjoyed the activity and grew closer as a result of it.

Junior Sofia Schnabel said, “I definitely feel closer to my sister class after this activity. I think it’s because not only did I get to socialize with my freshman, but I also got to socialize with other peoples’ ‘little sisters.’”

She added, “Also, because of the quizzes that we filled out, I felt like [my sister and I]  had a lot of similar interests so it was easy to make connections with her and other peoples’ little sisters as well.”

The activity also helped freshman become better equipped to the culture and society of NDB.

“[My big sister and her friends] showed me around and helped me learn a lot more about the school,” said freshman Amelia Ailanjian. “And they told me about their past experiences as an NDB student and gave me some good advice. I now feel a lot more comfortable as a student here.”

The activity has definitely been beneficial for the short-term, but the junior class council hopes that the sister-class bonding can continue to grow and develop throughout the upcoming school year.

When asked about the importance of building relationships between the classes, Junior Class President Olivia Pera said, “It’s definitely important to bond with them more on a social level than just on a spirit level. So, by doing these [activities], we can kind of create situations where it’s easier for the freshmen to make friends with upperclassmen, and give them opportunities to become more like actual sisters.”

The ice cream social has created a foundation for future relationships between the freshman and juniors and has established a bond between the two. It was a key step towards achieving what NDB is all about: Entering with friends and leaving with sisters.