News & Events News
To kick off the school year, ND Compadres parent resource group hosted a Bienvenida for incoming and returning parents to connect on a social level.
Last year Dylan ’25 was awarded a San Jose Downtown Door for her artwork. This year she has been selected as one of nine local high school interns to join the ArtNow Teen Council at New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU)!
ND’s highly anticipated prom took place in the Corinthian Grand Ballroom, giving its attendees an unforgettable night.
ND Compadres parent resource group celebrated graduating seniors in the Latinas Unidas student club and filled the gym in a unique way.
Notre Dame hosted Freshman Family Welcome Day on Saturday, inducting the Class of 2027 into our school community. Emotions ran high as students received a white lily, marking the start of their high school career.
Recently the Freshman Stingrays spent two days on an off-campus field trip. They spent a day learning the importance of caring for our planet at the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy, and a day at the Washington United Youth Center participating in various activities. These activities included reflection time and using the information to create plates honoring themselves, as well as time to create hygiene kits for donation to Sacred Heart Community Service.
Matilda: The Musical wrapped up its five-show run on Sunday. 181 students and adults dedicated a collective 217.5 hours to the production of this humorous and entertaining show. Under the guidance of Aparna ’23 who choreographed 2 dances, and Stage Manager Ares ’23 and Assistant Technical Director Aanya ’25 who helped manage this large troupe, the performing arts department presentation of Matilda was a humorous and entertaining show.
Notre Dame and Bellarmine hosted their annual dance showcase, Nazaara, which featured more than a dozen Bay Area dance teams. From Raas and Bhangra performances to Bharatanatyam and Bollywood dancing, there were a variety of South Asian cultures represented at the show. Proceeds were donated to Sankar Eye Foundation.
Notre Dame's Clean and Green club recently held various activities to celebrate Earth Week by spreading awareness about environmental justice and encouraging students to take action. They organized a school-wide clean up day where students could drop off their e-waste and invited a local nonprofit to teach students about upcycling, along with many other engaging events.
Recently, at the FIRST Robotics Silicon Valley Regional, Marta Carrillo, co-director of the Jankster team, was awarded the Woodie Flowers Award. This national award, founded in 1996, honors FIRST mentors who demonstrate exceptional leadership skills, communication skills and ethical behavior.
Notre Dame High School thespians recently attended the California State Thespian Festival, held in Upland and attended by more than 1,100 students. The festival provides opportunities to participate in acting and design competitions, watch some of the best high school theater in the country and take workshops led by professional actors, directors and designers.
Notre Dame's Robotics Team, the Janksters, recently competed at the Silicon Valley Nationals. The team’s successes went beyond their robot’s performance as they were awarded the Safety All Star Award for continuous efforts to uphold safety standards during the competition. They were also awarded Gracious Professionalism pins for helping other teams find disability-friendly access to the venue.
Recently a group of students from Notre Dame’s robotics team, The Janksters, attended The Tech Interactive’s Pave it Forward Luncheon. The annual event is designed to expose more young women and non-binary individuals to STEM by providing an opportunity to interact with professionals in various STEM fields. It allowed students to network with professionals, ask them questions, and have conversations about their careers.
In their freshman year, all students undertake the interdisciplinary study of the strength and contributions of women across time, culture and industry, each honoring an individual woman. Inspired by Judy Chicago's iconic 1970s feminist project, the Dinner Party, this year's Notre Dame High School's Woman's Place Project installation included 185 settings, each created by a student in the Class of 2026.
Notre Dame High School's Class of 2023 Purple & Mint Green Jaguars presented their Senior Service Learning Projects at last week's Young Women's Advocacy Summit. The Senior Service Learning Project asks each student to stand up for social justice as a “Woman of Impact.” Calling upon their talents, interest and knowledge, students engage in service learning to address a social need in the local or global community. At the Young Women’s Advocacy Summit, each student presented reflections on their service and justice journey and dialogued with community leaders about how they’ve grown as a justice advocate, community leader, spiritual seeker and lifelong learner.
The Janksters, along with 41 other teams, recently attended their first regional of the 2023 season at St. Ignatius College Preparatory. Their competition robot, Caroline, hit the field for a total of 21 matches and ended the competition ranked 50th in the state and in the top 20% globally! In addition, for the first time in team history, the Janksters were commended for their long-standing dedication to student recruitment, sponsor connections and knowledge documentation with the Team Sustainability Award.
Notre Dame's South Asian Student Association (SASA) recently hosted a Holi celebration. Also known as the festival of colors, Holi is a Hindu religious holiday that celebrates the victory of good over evil and is one of the most well-known festivals in India. The festival celebrates the beginning of spring with a chaotic countrywide colored powder fight.
Notre Dame's Facing History & Ourselves Student Leadership Group recently attended a mini-conference with students from high schools across the Bay Area where they heard from Gayle "Asali" Dickson, the only female artist for the Black Panther Party's newspaper. They also read and discussed excerpts from Judith Heumann’s book “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist.”
This week the Notre Dame High School student body welcomed incoming Head of School Ashley Rae Mathis in an all-school assembly. Ms. Mathis was introduced to each class by class council presidents who shared a few highlights. To close the assembly, Ms. Mathis spoke about gratitude - gratitude for this opportunity, gratitude for Mary Beth Riiley’s amazing example, and gratitude for the future. We look forward to welcoming her back to campus on July 1 when she officially becomes head of school.
For more than 20 years, Notre Dame students have celebrated Spirit Week with games, cheers, crazy costumes and lots of laughter and hugs. This year the Jaguars, Dragons, Basilisks and Stingrays continued the tradition, filling Julie Billiart Hall with noise and joy. As always, the traditional teacher bowling and faculty skit were huge hits! Student Council presented Head of School Mary Beth Riley with a specially decorated helmet to commemorate her last ride across JB Hall on a skateboard!
International Women's Day on March 1 also marked the start of Catholic Sisters Week. Notre Dame is blessed to be part of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and to have both Sister Carol Shoup and Sister Gillian Wallace on our campus.
Notre Dame's Robotics Team, the Janksters, revealed their 2023 robot to an enthusiastic crowd last weekend. The team has worked tirelessly to brainstorm, prototype and build this year's robot since January 7 when FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) revealed this year's team challenge, CHARGED UP.
Seniors recently traveled to the San Damiano Retreat Center in Danville for a three-day experience through which they reinforced bonds with classmates and spent time on important self-care. The retreat was based on the Kairos model, which encourages growth, self-discovery and mindfulness.
Generations of family members walk the Notre Dame halls – mothers, daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters who share the legacy of a Notre Dame education and St. Julie’s mission to “teach them what they need to know for life.”
Class field trips have always been a key component of the Notre Dame experience. Classroom learning across the curriculum is applied in real-world context through visits to local neighbors as well as iconic institutions across the Bay Area. Recently, science classes visited the California Academy of Sciences where they explored the depths of the rainforest and the ecosystem of the ocean, among other experiences.