News & Events News
Since the pandemic, live theatrical productions at Notre Dame have taken a hiatus, until now. The newest production of Notre Dame San Jose, 9 Girls; a thrilling murder mystery is hitting the streets of San Jose. The play, 9 Girls, takes place in the shadow of World War II when a group of sorority sisters visit a remote cabin in the mountains.
Notre Dame recently hosted its first mixer of the year and the first in-person mixer in almost two years. Held in Pardini Park, the event was attended by more than 600 students from 27 local schools and featured games, snacks, a photo booth and other activities. Laughter and music filled the air and the energy, especially from the Class of 2022 Orange & Light Blue Raptors who were enjoying their "last, first mixer," was palpable!
Recently in English classes, the sophomores have been reading the book Oedipus the King. Oedipus (Eh - de-phus) is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles about a man who marries his mother and kills his father. In addition to reading this book, the 10th graders had to create group presentations involving the plot of certain pages, the themes, the literary devices and the images that relate to the story. They also had to find a song, a quote and a nonfiction article to go along with those pages.
The Multifaith Prayer and Meditation Space in Notre Dame's Center for Women's Leadership has felt special since it opened. It is a peaceful and calming place, something that can be difficult to find on a busy high school campus. Visitors can often feel the energy, as if the space is inviting introspection and meditation. This week, multifaith women leaders officially blessed this sacred space in a ceremony that was livestreamed to the ND community.
Notre Dame's AAPI (Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders) students joined San Jose City Council members and many of our downtown neighbors for a historic ceremony commemorating the City Council Resolution apologizing for the city's role in acts of injustice towards Chinese immigrants and their descendants. The ceremony was held at the Circle of Palms Plaza in downtown, the location where Chinatown once stood before being burned to the ground in 1887 after the city council had declared the neighborhood a public nuisance to make way for a new city hall.
Notre Dame's TASC Justice (Teaching, Advising and Serving the Community) group hosted an on-campus opportunity for students in celebration of International Day of Peace. Students were invited to create chalk art, have some treats and enjoy a photo booth. They were also invited to pick up a postcard to fill out and send to their local politicians.
At Notre Dame, classroom learning across the curriculum is applied in real-world contexts through visits to our local neighbors. After more than a year, downtown field trips are back! Last week students in Economics ventured out to visit local vendors and merchandise in relation to branding and entrepreneurship.
Students of the Notre Dame Robotics Team, The Janksters, recently hosted their 9th annual Boot Camp to give potential new members a taste of robotics while helping them learn about different aspects that comprise the team. The four-day camp, led by veteran team members, provided insight and exposure to the robotics program and helped students meet others with similar interests.
Each fall since 2015 the senior class has painted the bell in Pardini Park in their class colors. This week the Class of 2022 Orange & Light Blue Raptors did just that while ensuring compliance with Covid regulations. Members of the class council took turns sanding off the old color and applying the new. Now it shines as a beacon for the Class of 2022!
On Thursday, June 3rd, the Notre Dame community celebrated with a Baccalaureate Mass for the Class of 2021. The event was held at our downtown place of worship, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph and presided over by Father Joe Kim. The event, attended by the graduates and Notre Dame faculty and staff, was live-streamed for viewers at home. You can view the event by clicking on the image above or the title.
The Notre Dame community celebrated the many accomplishments of the Class of 2021 at their Senior Recognition Ceremony on Thursday, May 27th. The event was attended by the graduates and their mentors and class moderators and was followed by a dinner celebration in Pardini Park. You can view a live-stream recording of the ceremony by clicking on the image above or the title of the article.
As a Catholic learning community, Notre Dame provides an on-campus opportunity for students to be prepared for the sacrament of confirmation into the Church. This year, 40 upperclassmen were confirmed at the Confirmation Mass on Friday, May 21st. It is traditionally held at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, Notre Dame's place of worship. The current COVID-19 situation allowed for the students and families to attend Mass in person.
Each year, the sophomores at Notre Dame are invited to listen to the testimony of a Holocaust survivor. This year, the Class of 2023 listened to Anita’s testimony, hosted by the Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Holocaust Center. In their religion, history and English classes, the Jaguars are learning and reflecting on the Holocaust and its toll on the world. Themes of forgiveness, inclusivity and love are some of the topics they are focusing on, and Anita’s story reminded them of those concepts.
After more than a year of full remote learning, Notre Dame opened up a full hybrid learning environment for all students this week. For several months, there has been a hybrid pilot program for select students dependent on which courses they took. But starting on April 26th, a new schedule began for students who opted for hybrid learning.
Notre Dame sophomore, Malyna '23 was chosen from to participate in 2L® NextGen Program, a week-long leadership and civic engagement program for current high school sophomores and juniors.
The last time the Class of 2023 Jaguars were on campus all together was in March 2020 right before campus shut down. But on Friday, April 23, more than 90 sophomores came to campus to participate in Sophomore Breakaway Day, a day just for them to enjoy and step away from the stress of classes. They took part in a variety of activities while spending time with those they missed over the year as they prepared for the beginning of full hybrid classes for the last grading period.
Sophomore Snikitha Banda was named a Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2021 Finalist after being awarded the Grand Prize - Best of Championship Award at the 2021 Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Engineering Fair for her project “Style Transfer Augmentation: Cancer Subtype Classification using Genetic Status in Histopathology Images.” She will be competing at ISEF alongside her peers from around the world next month.
Over the past few weeks, the cast of Notre Dame’s spring musical, “Rise Up! Together We Can Overcome,” has been working hard to put together its first virtual musical. “Rise Up!” is a collection of songs from musicals that fit the overarching theme of overcoming hardships together. From Hamilton to Xanadu, this cabaret-style musical is full of songs and choreographies that are encouraging and enjoyable.
NBC Bay Area's, Comunidad del Valle, had a conversation with Carmen Barcena-Barba, Notre Dame counselor, in English and Spanish. to discuss the emotional and academic impact of learning from home and returning to school.
After noticing that many advocacy organizations tended to solely target older teenagers and adults, Notre Dame senior Catherine Tong decided to start a speech and debate course that would teach young elementary schoolers about controversial social issues and help them develop their public speaking skills at the same time. The course was taught at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in downtown San Jose.
The Woman’s Place Project (WPP) is a Notre Dame tradition begun by Sister Maureen Hilliard 26 years ago. The project was inspired by The Dinner Party, Judy Chicago's iconic 1970's feminist project. The Woman's Place Project is an interdisciplinary project that asks each freshman to research a woman and create a table setting based on her life and accomplishments.
COVID restrictions were no match for the dauntless spirit and sisterhood of our Notre Dame students this week as they celebrated Spirit Week 2021. ASB School Council, under the leadership of president, Maddi Wong '21, brought joy and laughter to students at home and planned special celebrations for socially-distanced seniors who joined them on campus Friday.
In a year of COVID and remote learning, Spirit Week preparations have been a bit different but the enthusiasm and joy are still there! Songs have been practiced, games have been played, and the energy, even via Zoom, is high! Spirit Week preparations officially kicked off Friday with the banner reveal! And, since gym decs are not possible this year, each class also revealed a mural featuring each student and their mentors.
We invite you to view this video, produced through a partnership between HP and NBC Bay Area, which highlights Notre Dame as the Center for Women's Leadership. It will air on NBC over the next six weeks in celebration of Women's History Month.
Notre Dame’s Facing History Student Leadership Group has been hosting a speaker series for Black History Month featuring many African American women from different careers and perspectives. Facing History members Rupali Batta ‘22 and Madeleine Lloyd ‘23 recently led an event that featured Tanya Fitzgerald, a Christian-Contemporary singer-songwriter and recording artist.