News & Events News
The author of Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Strikers, Suffragists Immigrants, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California recently spoke to the junior class, sharing stories of little-known activists that have fought for civil rights in California.
Students from more than ten Bay Area schools performed in Nazaara 2018, an annual dance showcase hosted by Notre Dame and Bellarmine high schools. Proceeds from this annual event benefits One School at a Time, or OSAAT, an organization that helps build schools in rural India.
Students, faculty and staff enjoyed a morning walk to our downtown place of worship, Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph for a Holy Week service. In his homily, Monsignor Cilia encouraged young people to raise their voices for those in need and for justice. The liturgy also included a blessing of immersion trip participants as well as all those who have taken action to rise up in leadership, justice and solidarity.
Representative Zoe Lofgren recently spoke to students at Notre Dame, encouraging them to volunteer, join campaigns and participate in demonstrations to make their voices heard. She also shared that the most important thing students can do to ensure a better future is to understand the power that they have as young people and the rights they have as Americans.
In a powerful show of solidarity with the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and youth around the country, Notre Dame students, faculty and staff walked around our campus block on March 14. For the final three minutes of the 17-minute march they linked arms and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in honor of the lives lost.
Notre Dame's Sister Project collects feminine products for donation to Sacred Heart Community Center, a valued downtown partner. This year, students collected more than 60,000 items – enough to fill three vans to capacity. In the seven years since its inception, the project has raised over $115,000 in products and cash donations.
YWCA Silicon Valley has named Principal Mary Beth Riley a 2018 Tribute to Women Award recipient. The Tribute to Women Awards recognize the achievements of women who have excelled in their field and have made significant contributions to the Silicon Valley through their leadership.
Emily '18 and Manasa '20 will have their art included in this year's NUMU ArtNow competition and exhibit. Selected from more than 1,400 submissions, their pieces will be judged by university art instructors. NUMU offers a total of $10,000 in scholarships and awards to encourage students to pursue a profession in the visual arts.
Students officially kicked off Spirit Week preparations as they revealed their class themes and banners on Monday. An annual tradition, Spirit Week builds community and provides students with opportunities to develop their leadership and collaboration skills. Wearing outlandish costumes, students sing, dance and strengthen their bonds of sisterhood while creating lasting high school memories.
Notre Dame students attended the 2018 Watermark Conference for Women recently and were inspired by speakers including Amal Clooney and Reese Witherspoon. They had the opportunity to learn from successful business women about topics such as body positivity, being heard in the workplace, and the role of resilience in success.
Notre Dame's varsity basketball team wrapped up the season on Friday with a 45-21 win over Castilleja. Under the direction of ND alumna Coach Ali Bueno, the team went undefeated in league play this year, finishing the season with 20 wins and no losses! On Friday ND also celebrated the seven seniors on the team. They will be playing the first game of CCS on Saturday, the 24th, at Aptos High School.
Notre Dame offers a variety of immersion trip opportunities, both locally and globally. Sacred Heart Community Center has long been a Notre Dame partner. In December, students participated in a neighborhood plunge with Sacred Heart, an event they shared on their website.
The Class of 2019 took the short walk across the street to City Lights Theatre to see Alabama Story this week. Set in 1950s, the play brings to life the realities of racism, ignorance and privilege in the deep south, topics that are studied in depth in US History.
In addition to teaching young women 'what they need to know for life' Notre Dame is committed to providing learning opportunities for the broader community, including parents of current students. The latest Parent Education Workshop, Demystifying the Teenage Brain, provided attendees with important scientific information about brain development and also real strategies and tips for helping navigate these important parenting years.
Students in Nicole Pfaff's Monsters: Our Dark Mirrors English class create interactive maps to better comprehend the classic Frankenstein. Through this exercise they are better able to imagine the plot and the characters and the struggles they faced. As a KQED Teacher Ambassador, Nicole completed an interactive maps course and then applied the concepts to her lesson plans. To read her KQED blog post about the process and lesson, click on the title of the article above.
Notre Dame's sophomore class participated in two days of breakaway activities recently. In addition to strengthening the bonds of sisterhood and taking part in practice ACT standardized testing, students took part in a poverty simulation exercise. This Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) immersed participants in the reality of a Silicon Valley that grows in disparity as much as prosperity.
Notre Dame's Speech & Debate Team members participated in the Stephen Stewart Invitational recently, coming home with first place wins in Impromptu, Original Advocacy and Parliamentary Debate. Students also ranked in the top five in Domestic Extemporaneous and Original Oratory.
Twenty two Notre Dame students and their moms strengthened their bonds through a two day retreat focusing on the spirituality and dynamics of the mother/daughter relationship. The retreat was held at the beautiful Vallambrosa Center in Menlo Park.
Eleven students in Notre Dame's Science Research Class traveled to New Orleans recently to present their science research projects at an international session sponsored by the American Geophysical Union (AGU). These students, who participate in the AGU BrightStars program conducted their own science research projects and documented their work for presentation at the conference.
Members of Notre Dame's Class of 2017 Ravens flew back home to campus last week to share their wisdom with current students. Coming from colleges and universities on the west coast, across the country and even across the Atlantic including Fordham, Johns Hopkins, Berkeley and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, they shared tips for successfully transitioning from high school to college.
Dipashreya Sur '18 fulfilled her dream of building a library for a small rural school in India using funds from the Mary Beth Riley International Service & Study Scholarship, donations and money collected through Girl Scout sales. Recently she was able to attend the official ribbon-cutting ceremony of the library, named in honor of her grandmother, with her grandfather. Her story was featured in Notre Dame's annual report, Ora et Labora, and this week in the Mercury News.
Maalvika Bhat '18 has been producing her own comic strip for years beginning on her first day of 8th grade. Now a senior at Notre Dame, Maalvika's book has been published. Her characters are reflective of adults, teachers and students that can be found in most schools around the country. Through them, Maalvika has tackled major issues around family, school and the development of typical teenagers. Her story was recently featured in the San Jose Mercury News.
More than 200 members of the Notre Dame family came together recently to celebrate Las Posadas. This tradition of Catholic faith and Mexican culture acknowledges the waiting, hoping and traveling of the Advent season as we recount Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem.
Freshmen joined campus ministry staff in a volunteer opportunity at Sacred Heart Community Service recently, helping to make the holidays a little bit brighter for our local community. By sorting and boxing food, volunteers helped Sacred Heart continue their 50-year tradition of caring for our neighbors who need a little extra help this season.
At the invitation of Shruthisri Ravinsankar '21, a member of the Santa Clara County Student Advisory Board, Supervisor Cindy Chavez visited campus recently. Supervisor Chavez shared with students the importance of addressing key issues at a local level and encouraged them to do something greater than themselves and find their 'magnificent obsession.'