News & Events News
Notre Dame’s South Asian Student Association (SASA) recently held a Diwali event celebrating the food, dance and traditional clothes that are part of their cultural identity. Diwali is a holy time in Hinduism known as the festival of lights and celebrates the triumph of light over darkness. The five-day long festival originated in the Indian subcontinent and is mentioned in early Sanskrit texts.
Notre Dame's student group, the AAPI Coalition, celebrated diversity this week with beverages representing their many cultures. Students were invited to join them and learn about the history and cultural significance of each beverage. The coalition's mission is to provide a safe space for Asian American and Pacific Islander students and to provide relevant cultural education to the larger ND community.
Notre Dame's Robotics Team 1967, the Janksters, kicked off their robotics season with the CalGames 2022 competition. Rookies and veterans alike were able to learn many valuable lessons including time management, the importance of being calm in stressful situations and effective communications.
Students navigate and explore the city and its abundant resources through a variety of experiences. On a daily basis, downtown San Jose becomes a destination for walking field trips with classes, a space for social outings and cultural engagement, a network of accessible jobs and internships and more. The city becomes a lab for learning and empowerment. In these first six weeks of school, 11 classes have taken walking field trips in our downtown neighborhood.
This week, KQED published senior Anna Yang's perspective, I Can't Read. Read her piece to learn how, when confronted with an uncomfortable truth, Anna learned the importance of language in connecting with her culture and family.
In recognition of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, Notre Dame’s mental health leadership group, Lighthouse, recently held a school-wide event, Prevention in Pardini, with the goal of bringing some positivity to the ND community and reminding students who are struggling that they are not alone.
Notre Dame's College Counseling Department hosted the Jesuit Excellence Tour (JET) on campus for juniors and seniors this week, giving students an opportunity to speak with admissions representatives from local colleges as well as those located across the country. During the course of a typical year, more than 100 college admissions individuals meet with students.
On Wednesday, September 21st, the junior class was celebrated and recognized by their teachers, mentors and class council. In celebration of their official induction as upper-class students, the Class of 2024 Royal Blue & Gold Dragons were invited to wear formal attire to celebrate this rite of passage. The blessing was mostly led by members of the junior class, giving class council members and the campus ministry homeroom representatives the opportunity to lead through prayer.
At Notre Dame, classroom learning across the curriculum is applied in real-world contexts through visits to our local neighbors. Classes regularly visit historic landmarks, civic and political organizations, and culturally-rich communities within walking distance of campus. The US History class recently went on a walking field trip last week to the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles located in the SOFA District.
A sea of uniforms flowed over the downtown San Jose streets as more 700 members of the Notre Dame community of students, faculty and staff made their way to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, our downtown place of worship, for the first liturgy of the school year.
Last week, the Crown & Shield newspaper editorial team hosted the first summer journalism workshop to teach incoming juniors, sophomores and freshmen the basics of journalism-writing and newspaper design.
Each fall since 2015 the senior class has painted the bell in Pardini Park in their class colors. This week the Class of 2023 Purple & Green Jaguars did just that. 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 2023!
The Janksters - Notre Dame’s robotics team - hosted their 10th annual robotics bootcamp. Bootcamp is an opportunity for prospective Janksters to get a glimpse into what robotics entails. Leaders and veteran students worked together over the summer to design, plan and produce a bootcamp to motivate students to learn about robotics. Janksters offered a series of workshops to teach new students basic robotics skills and team culture.
Junior Snikitha Banda was recognized by several national awards for serving her community. Nominated by Notre Dame counselor Artemisa Bobst, Snikitha earned the highest achievement of The Congressional Award - the Gold Medal in April.
Did you see a trailer of fish and sharks on Highway 101 earlier this month? Your eyes did not deceive you! The Marine Science Institute brought an assortment of marine creatures to ND for a reverse field trip. AP Environmental Students learned about our marine neighbors who live in the San Francisco Bay, like Staghorn Sculpin and Leopard Sharks, and got to pet these animals.
Students taking Chinese at Notre Dame this semester entered a national poster contest sponsored by CLASS (Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools) in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Month. The contest theme was “Chinese and Me 中文和我”, and each school was allowed to submit five entries. Notre Dame's entries earned two silver awards, a bronze award and two honorable mentions.
As part of our Explorations of Data Science class along with the AP CS-A class, we travelled to San Francisco for the Women of Silicon Valley event. The event was full of women in STEM who shared their personal stories about how they became involved in the tech field.
In March, talented local writers — ages 13 to 18 — applied to become the next Santa Clara County youth poet laureate. In early April, judges announced seven finalists that would be considered for the honorary post of Santa Clara Youth Poet Laureate. At a commencement ceremony on April 30, following a poetry showcase, Notre Dame junior Anna Yang was chosen as the next Santa Clara County youth poet laureate.
Junior Snikitha Banda was once again named a finalist at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world’s largest international pre-college science competition awarding approximately $4 million in prizes each year. She was one of twelve students awarded the Grand Prize - Best of Championship Award at the 2022 Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Engineering Fair, where nearly 800 students present outstanding and innovative research.
Notre Dame junior, Joyce Yang, received the FIRST Robotics Dean's List Award last weekend at the championship event held in Houston, Texas. Joyce was chosen as one of ten winners out of more than 400 finalists. This award acknowledges outstanding leadership and impact in promoting FIRST and STEM for students with outstanding academic records. Joyce has been instrumental on our team in leading the programming committee and creating documentation of training, design process and team outreach.
As part of an eventful weekend, the Janksters attended the 2022 Silicon Valley Regional (SVR), at San Jose State University in California. After an intense one-week turnaround from our previous regional in Monterey Bay, Team 1967 was ready to hit the field again with our 2022 competition robot, Josh. Becoming the most decorated team at SVR, the Janksters came home with a grand total of four awards: the Woodie Flowers Award, the Safety All-Star Award, the Judges’ Award, and the Dean’s List Finalist Award.
At Notre Dame High School in downtown San Jose the topic of period products might not be a big deal and the concept of having to do without these basic necessities is unthinkable. But for many people throughout the San Jose community, this is the harsh reality. According to Sacred Heart Community Center (SHCS), who serves thousands of people each month, some are often forced to stay at home rather than attend school or work due to a lack of adequate supplies.
Recently, Notre Dame’s Robotics Team, the Janksters, competed at the FIRST Robotics Competition Monterey Bay Regional, marking their first in-season, in-person tournament since 2019. After more than seven weeks of designing, manufacturing, and programming a robot from scratch, the Janksters brought their vision from blueprints to a 96 pound robot with 6 wheels, 9 motors, 2 sensors, and 3 sub mechanisms. Alongside 36 teams from across California, Team 1967 persevered through 3 days of tough qualification matches, numerous setbacks, and incredible elimination rounds.
On Tuesday, March 22, Notre Dame’s March For Our Lives group organized a school-wide walkout in protest of gun violence. At 2:00 pm, all students and faculty were invited to gather in a large circle in Pardini Park. After reading out the names of the 17 victims of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, attendees stood in silence for 17 minutes to honor them.
The Woman’s Place Project was originally inspired by the work of artist Judy Chicago. Sister Maureen Hilliard, SNDdeN, first viewed the exhibit in San Francisco. Moved by the powerful message of women’s contribution, Sister Maureen adapted the project for her freshman religious studies class in 1994. Over the years, the project has evolved into what it is today, an interdisciplinary study of the strength and contribution of women across time, culture and industry.