For years, the Mermaid has stood as a symbol of school spirit, enthusiasm and passion for the student body. She and her comrade, the Fanman, could usually be found at various school events getting the energy of the crowd up. 

With COVID, things have changed.

“Without being able to attend events in person, it has been very difficult to get our base engaged, so Jack and I have worked to find creative ways to support the teams by expanding our social media presence,” stated Claire Noble.

Noble is a senior and the present Mermaid. She is a committed and passionate varsity soccer player, runner, pickleball player, hockey player, student and baker. 

“I feel so honored to be a Mermaid. I knew it would be really difficult to win with all the great competition. Covid has made it interesting, but I still relish my role.” 

Noble didn’t expect the role of Mermaid in her freshman year, due to her constant travel with hockey, but that did not stop her from trying out anyway.

“I knew that if I won, I would have to give hockey up. It was a tough decision, but I did some soul searching, and I realized I really wanted to be a Notre Dame Mermaid. I do miss hockey, but I love the role of Mermaid,” Noble stated. 

Claire Noble is not the only Noble to roam the school halls presently. She is one of the Noble triplets, the others being Eddie and Emily, and has a younger brother named Ian, who is a freshman. All are happy and supportive of Noble’s mermaid status. 

Noble and Jack Christensen, the present Fanman, have many plans and ideas to continue pumping student morale and enthusiasm for sports and other NDA programs.

“Jack and I met several times throughout the summer to discuss new themes and ideas,” said Noble. “My hopes as Mermaid are for people to see the enthusiasm and passion I have for Notre Dame Academy and the student body and to motivate others to get involved.”

Noble plans to continue playing soccer and pursue a major in biology in hopes of going into medicine and dentistry. She expects that the “Noble triplets” will most likely not attend the same college, and will be surprised, but not at all disheartened, if they do.