Parents Portal
Letter from the Principal
Dear Parent and Guardians,
Welcome and/or welcome back to Bishop O'Dowd High School. With just a few days until classes begin, the school is now ready for a new year. This summer saw the completion of significant interior remodeling of the school, including new lockers in every hallway, new flooring and ceilings, enhanced technology in the classrooms and a state-of-the-art public address system. In addition, the school was completely painted on the exterior and new landscaping has been installed. Please feel free to take a tour when you are on campus. This summer’s work concludes the first phase of the master plan. Over the last several years, more than $9 million was raised and has been spent about evenly on capital development and program enhancement. These improvements would not have been possible without your generous support. Thank you for investing in the future of our school.
With the summer construction completed we are looking forward to a great year. Earlier this month, the faculty held its annual retreat and we received a presentation from author Jane Nelsen regarding positive discipline. Jane’s thoughtful presentation provided our faculty with additional tools for classroom management so as to make the most of instructional opportunities.
For the next two weeks, I will be looking forward to seeing you at our mandatory Teen Challenge meetings. Information regarding these meetings is posted on the school website. Parent or guardian participation at a Teen Challenge meeting is required prior to student participation in activities at school, including but not limited to sports, dances, dramatic performances, or trips.
“Back to School Night” is set for Thursday, Sept. 2, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. This is a great opportunity to meet your student’s teachers and see the improvements that have been made to the campus over the summer. Please plan to arrive early to minimize congestion and facilitate parking on campus. Please note that the format for “Back to School Night” is somewhat different from years past in that parents/guardians are to report directly to the first period class at 7 p.m. We will not be meeting in the large gym as we have done previously. However, as in years past, we will conclude the evening with refreshments in the cafeteria at 8:50 p.m.
Again, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the new school year and I am looking forward to seeing you on campus. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions about our back to school activities.
God bless you and your family,
Joseph G. Salamack, III
Principal, Bishop O'Dowd High School
Parents News & Events
Parents in Prayer
PIP meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month at 8:45 AM in the Chapel. If you cannot join us, please e-mail your intention or prayer to
prayers@bishopodowd.org.
Green Team
If you are interested in what's happening with our 'going green' efforts at BOD please consider becoming a member of the Green Team. This is a group made up of Parents, students and school administrators who are all working together to make BOD a greener and leaner school. Email
dragonparents@bishopodowd.org, to get on the email distribution list.
Caring Committee News
Overview: We would like to let the O’Dowd community know about the newly formed Caring Committee. The Caring Committee is a group of O’Dowd parents who volunteer to help when a member of O’Dowd community (current families, faculty and staff) is in need of extra support during a challenging time such as a death in the immediate family or a serious illness. Depending on the family’s needs, support can take the form of meals, carpooling, grocery shopping, running errands or other tasks that might make things easier for the family.
Here’s how it works: When a Bishop O’Dowd family is in crisis, the need will be brought to the attention of the Caring Committee chair who will contact the family to see what support is needed and desired. The chair will contact committee volunteers to arrange support.
What you can do: In order for the Caring Committee to be successful, we need members of the community to let us know whenever someone in our community needs support. All referrals are kept confidential. Please contact acounts@bishopodowd.org. or Joe Salamack jsalamack@bishopodowd.org or Assistant Principal for Campus Life Kevin Cushing (kcushing@bishopodowd.org)
If you are interested in joining the Caring Committee, please contact Annette or email to dragonparents@bishopodowd.org.
Bishop O’Dowd is a strong community, and we grow stronger when we actively support each other in good times and in tough times. And please, remember to contact the committee if you or someone you know in the Bishop O’Dowd community could use our help.
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