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Advanced Jazz Band traveled to Santa Cruz for its first-ever performance at the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival.  The First Combo played an excellent set followed by the Advanced Jazz Band’s performance in Crocker Theater.  After the performance, veteran educator John Maltester gave the students a great clinic.

CONCORD CA; OWEN OWENS FIELD -The Bishop O’Dowd Men and Women’s rugby teams both advance to the Northern California Championships after winning a very wet Saturday evening double header of Nor Cal Rugby Playoffs on the De La Salle Campus. The Bishop O’Dowd Varsity Women’s Rugby Team (6-3) defeated the Renegades of Union Mine High School 29-14. Led by the hard running and tackling of the 8th man, Captain and High School All American Bianca Ortiz-Pallen, the Lady Dragons scored first and never looked back, running in 5 tries to 2. Halftime Score: O’Dowd 19, Renegades 5. The O’Dowd Ladies will advance to the Northern California Plate Championships to face the Land Park Harlequins (5-2). The O’Dowd Varsity Men improve to (7-4) after holding on to defeat a determined De La Salle team 24-21. The Dragons produced an impressive show of forward power via the hard driving of Seniors Richard Rogers, Louis Mischeaux and Tony Cardenas. Halftime Score: O’Dowd 24 DLS 7. The Division 2 Championships will pit the Dragons against the Del Campo High School Cougars (6-2) who narrowly escaped the Berkeley Rhinos 15-14. Men’s Scoring Timeline: 5.00 O’Dowd Try Center Andrew Crudo 5 Fullback Robert Crosby Conversion 2 12.00 O’Dowd Try Crosby 5, Crosby Conversion 2 18.00 O’Dowd Try Wing Orion Binder 5, 23.00 DLS Try and Conversion 7 33.00 O’Dowd Try Prop Troy Coaston 5 Halftime Score O’Dowd 24, DLS 7 50.00 DLS Try and Conversion 7 65.00 DLS Try and Conversion 7 Final Score O’Dowd 24 DLS 21

This year’s Art Show was a spectacular success with works from many of O’Dowd’s talented visual art students exhibited. The String Orchestra and Jazz Workshop Band provided the music for the event, playing a challenging and exciting program of music

Symphonic Band performed an excellent set of music at the Castro Valley High School CMEA Festival including Bernstein’s “Danzon” and “Dillon’s Flight” by Ralph Ford.  After the performance came the sight reading competition and a great clinic with Mr. Tim Harris.

Advanced Jazz Band and combo traveled to Reno for the annual Reno Jazz Festival. The opening night was spent attending an amazing concert by Snarky Puppy and the next day the big band performed an exciting set in the morning followed by a day of clinics, then the combo closed the day with their own set. Everyone was left exhausted but fulfilled.

This year’s Ashkenaz Fundraiser was probably the best one so far, with the jazz bands blowing the roof off for 2 hours. Jazz Band alum Riley Cooke sat in with Advanced Jazz Band sounding great and Combo premiered their version of The Meters’ “Cissy Strut”. It was a great way to stretch out, relax, and end the year in a musical way!

Bishop O’Dowd’s Department of Sustainability hosted the 4th annual Sustainability Symposium for Northern California Secondary School Educators. Representatives were present from: Bishop O’Dowd, De La Salle, Moreau Catholic, Saint Ignatius, Head Royce, Harker, Prospect Sierra, College Preparatory School, Mercy, Strategic Energy Innovations (great curriculum resources), and Santa Clara University. The event kicked off with a delicious lunch featuring local Living Lab produce, and dynamic conversation at each table group, celebrating progress made at each school site, and sharing greatest challenges. Just after lunch there were brief presentations from various representatives highlighting best practices in facilities management and local conferences. The majority of the afternoon was spend on collaborations focused around problem solving on challenges related to work across the Campus Facilities, Curriculum, Community Engagement, and Cultural shifts. The symposium ended up being a wonderful exchange of ideas, and a great opportunity for educators and students to reenergize their spirits in this challenging work.

O’Dowd rugby players Michael Shilliday ’17, Andrew Crudo ’18, Walter Garner ’17 and David Rosario-Sanchez ’17 were among 160 top rugby players in the country who recently attended the Cal Rugby Camp. They are pictured here with O’Dowd varsity rugby coach Ray Lehner and his son Oliver. Cal head varsity rugby coach Jack Clark said the O’Dowd campers “were uniformly rugby knowledgeable. It is clear they enjoy the game and are well coached. They were also a pleasure to be around. They’re really coachable and hardworking boys.”

The O’Dowd men’s and women’s rugby teams embraced a community service opportunity last week, helping set up and break down for a retreat for women who have male family members – spouses, children or other relatives – in prison. The retreat took place at Holy Redeemer Center, where the teams practice, and was sponsored by Kairos Outside Northern California. The organization provides the retreats free of charge, and they are designed to provide the family members a safe environment in which to interact with other women who are in similar situations. The women learn to form small support groups that give them strength for the challenges they face. “We set up cots, tables, chairs, inflated mattresses, hung banners, and unloaded groceries on Thursday (10/1), and then we returned on Sunday (10/4) to break everything down,” Director of Rugby Ray Lehner said. “Both days went really well, and the retreat organizers were very thankful. Our kids really enjoyed the experience.”

BOD 2016 Softball team Div. III defending champions win title for 2nd year in a row. The 8-0 shut out against San Marin High Scool consisted of excellent pitching by senior, Alexis Scalzo, and fantastic hitting and fielding by all the players ending their season with a 22-4 Overall and 11-2 League record. Congratulations to the players who made the WACC Foothill All-League Softball Teams: First Team: Alexis Scalzo, Hannah Rosenfeld and Frankie Hammoude Second Team: Michael Edwards-Gonzales and Nicole Hammoude Honorable Mention: Allie Curtis and Lizzy Avery Player of the Year for All League: Frankie Hammoude We are also proud of our Seniors and Team Captains: Alexis Scalzo, Olivia Olmos, and Haley Ferrufino-Jurs. Congratulations to the entire Team for all of their accomplishments

The Bishop O’Dowd 2016 Women’s Varsity Softball team with an overall record of 20-4 and league record of 11-2 head to the NCS Semi-Finals Wednesday 6/1/16 @ 6pm at the Castro Valley Community Center against Analy High School. – Click here for the NCS/Les Schwab Tires Softball Championships Division 3 bracket »

Congratulations to our student-athletes who signed National Letters of Intent today: Hannah Castillo, volleyball, UC Merced; Haley Nishimoto, soccer, Middle Tennessee State University; Matt Powell, soccer, UCLA; and Stephanie Zuniga, soccer, University of Colorado.

O’Dowd’s 2016-17 Sustainability Guest Speaker Series was kicked off  during  Meeting Period (MP) on September 15, with Ben Sparks ’87 providing faculty and students insight on the world of recycling and waste. Ben is truly an expert in the waste industry, and is currently the Senior Consultant at Green Planet 21, a sustainable company specializing in recycling and zero-landfill. He also has years of senior level experience in other waste organizations, including being past president of the Stopwaste.org Board. Ben discussed how recycling demonstrates the fundamental connection between matter, energy, and conservation. Throughout his talk students and teachers alike were invited to conceptualize just how much waste we produce locally and nationally. Ben also brought to life the interesting industrial recycling processes of various materials such as office paper, cardboard, plastics, and aluminum. The discussion included important “closed loop” brainstorming, showing the audience the creative ways in which businesses are recycling, reusing, and re-purposing. He also shared many fun facts along the way, for example: 1 ton of office paper saves 9 barrels of oil!

Adam Herndon understands that preserving a legacy is dependent on educating the next generation. That’s why he chose to write a children’s book “The Story of Alonzo Herndon, Who Says a Slave Can’t be a Millionaire?” (published in 2013 and illustrated by Jamie Rachal ’93), based on the life of his great, great uncle. His aim was not only to educate but inspire. The book details how Alonzo Herndon was born into slavery in 1858 and eventually became a millionaire. “Uncle Alonzo overcame harsh conditions and attained wealth through barbering, real estate, and insurance. He was the ultimate American Dream,” says Herndon. “I want this story to serve as an example for all young people growing up today. Even the privileged face a unique set of struggles and this real-life story proves that nothing is impossible.” Herndon met with a group of O’Dowd students on September 14, sharing his life’s journey and inspiring them to “Dream big, work hard, stay focused, and surround yourself with good people.” An award-winning insurance agent, who is a member of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table – the premier association of financial professionals, and a Board of Trustee Member of the Alonzo F. and Norris B. Herndon Foundation, Herndon said he learned the hard way that you can’t “just show up” and expect to have success. As a student in Tony Green’s history class, Herndon didn’t take his studies seriously and Green wasn’t having it. “Mr. Green had the nerve to call my mother!” Herndon said. “He told her I was underachieving and not working as hard as I could.” Herndon’s mother removed all electronic distractions from his room, leaving only his alarm clock. “She wanted to teach me a lesson,” he said, adding that she even threatened to pull him out of O’Dowd if he didn’t shape up. As a result, Herndon decided he would no longer just go through the motions – he was going to work hard and push himself to greater heights, academically and athletically. After graduating from O’Dowd, he attended The Ohio State University, where he studied communications and business administration and was a track and field All-American. During his first year at Ohio State, he broke the school record in the 600-meter run (1:18.05). During his college athletic career, he was a five-time Big Ten champion and a team captain. It was while Herndon was at the NCAA Indoor Nationals at the Georgia Dome that he noticed the Herndon Home, located a couple of blocks away from the stadium. He remembered having heard bits and pieces of the Herndon family history as a youngster but decided to learn the full story. “I never knew that Alonzo was the first Black millionaire in the south, that he founded the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, and that he helped start the Niagara Movement that was the precursor to the NAACP,” Herndon said. “He not only pulled himself and his family up by the bootstraps but also helped other African Americans better their lives and achieve equal rights.” Added Herndon, “My dream is that his amazing journey inspires readers, young and old, to achieve greatness no matter how many obstacles stand in their path.” Get more information about Adam Herndon .

By: S-Corps Leadership Team Members Sal Beeby, Stefano Hurtado, Tyler LeBoa The autumn equinox – meaning “equal night” in Latin – occurs once a year and marks the first day of fall. On the equinox, we have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. After this, the days start to become shorter and the nights become longer. Around the world, different cultures gather around traditions that acknowledge the balance and transition represented in the equinox. This year, S-Corps put together a festival for O’Dowd students centered around this natural event. The concept was a carnival-style festival that would be held on the baseball field during a home football game, with the purpose of spreading information about the environment, as well as celebrate and have a good time. Through awareness of the equinox, S-Corps also hoped to strengthen students’ and parents’ connection to sustainability and to the natural environment (such as O’Dowd’s own Living Lab). With activities such as nature-based art, relay races, cornhole, a petting zoo, and an informational booth, the Fall Equinox Festival was both purposeful and enjoyable. For those who love to have fun in the sun, the cornhole and relay race booths were a hit. Students practiced their throws and participated in friendly competition as they battled to win the chewy and sweet cookies, cupcakes, and brownies. These treats, along with other prizes, could also be won by answering a environmental trivia question correctly as the trivia prize wheel. After playing hard and building up a sweat, attendees enjoyed a much-needed snack of pumpkin soup and tomato salsa, both made by students out of Living Lab-grown produce. Others hopped onto the lemonade bike blenders, which used human-powered energy to create refreshing and delicious drinks. Both O’Dowd and the visiting team members loved spending some time in the petting zoo, which included a goat, bunnies, and chickens. The animals were also a huge hit with the little ones, who could not wait to hold the fluffy animals. Another popular booth was the art table, where people could paint their faces and get creative with natural, plant-based arts and crafts. During halftime of the varsity football game, the S-Corps Student Leadership Team went out to the 50 yard line to present the crowd with the school’s most recent environmental award: The Green Ribbon Award. This is the highest level of achievement in environmental education given to a select number of schools by the US Department of Education. Following the presentation of the award, two fall harvest raffle baskets were awarded to two lucky fans (who had received raffle tickets for attending the equinox festival) filled with produce from the Living Lab and salsa made from tomatoes in the Living Lab. In conclusion, the very first annual Fall Equinox festival was a huge success. Thank you to all that helped out in any way!

Alijah Vera-Tucker ’17 is one of more than 90 of the nation’s premier high school football players who have been selected by ESPN Recruiting to participate in the 2017 Under Armour All-American High School Football Game presented by American Family Insurance. The game is slated for Sunday, January 1, 2017, at the Orlando Citrus Bowl and will be televised live on ESPN at 1 p.m. EST. Vera-Tucker was presented his honorary game jersey in front of teammates, family and friends in a ceremony held in Dominican Hall Lounge on September 28. “It’s a real honor to be playing in this game,” he said. In addition, his mom, Rhonda Vera, was presented with the Dream Champion Award for her support of in helping her son achieve his dreams. Former All-America game selections include NFL Pro Bowl wide receivers Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons and A.J. Green of the Cincinnati Bengals. In addition to eight total first round selections in the 2016 draft, current college stars like LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and Clemson’s DeShaun Watson have also participated in the game.

September 22, 2016 Annalisa Belliss of StopWaste and Chris Slafter of ReThink Disposable engaged faculty and students in thought-provoking discussions on waste prevention and its positive impacts on the environment, community and economy during Meeting Period (MP) on September 22 as part of the Sustainability Guest Speaker Series. StopWaste is a public agency that works with Alameda County schools, businesses, and nonprofits to reduce waste through waste prevention, recycling, and food recovery projects. ReThink Disposable Clean Water, a program of Clean Water Action – Clean Water Fund, takes on single use products by engaging the public, food business owners, and policy makers to reduce waste and cut costs. O’Dowd has partnered with ReThink Disposable to minimize the use of paper plates in the cafeteria and, as a result, saves 3,000 pounds of waste every year! Annalisa creatively engaged guests on the issues of food waste, discussing how minimizing food waste addresses environmental issues and also promotes quality of labor and anti-hunger projects on a global scale. The audience watched a short film on the life cycle of a strawberry and were asked to think critically about how consumers and food industry treat products. Chris then shared the unique story that brought him to work with ReThink Disposable. An avid surfer of the northern California coastline, Chris was exposed to the tangible consequences of plastic waste production and vowed to make a change in his community. Now working with ReThink Disposable, Chris and his team collaborate with local businesses on innovative projects. From reducing unnecessary packaging such as individual condiment wrappers to collecting data on consumer habits with reusable containers, ReThink Disposable is tackling challenging problems one straw at a time. The semester will continue to feature a wealth of guest speakers, including O’Dowd alumni, parents, and greater Bay Area community members. All of the O’Dowd community is invited to join us for these talks, which take place from 1:50 – 2:50 p.m. on the following dates: 10/6, 11/17, and 12/1.

More than 100 supporters of Bishop O’Dowd High School gathered for a reception held at the Center for Environmental Studies (CES) on October 6 to celebrate the school’s impressive accomplishments made possibly by philanthropy. More than $3 million was raised during the 2015-16 school year, with more than 2,200 alumni, current and past parents, faculty and staff, grandparents, organizations and friends of the school contributing. President Steve Phelps welcomed the group, thanked them for their generosity, and talked about several campus improvements completed over the summer, including the complete remodeling of a 65-year-old chemistry lab into a state-of-the-art science lab and classroom, the widening of the main road onto campus, the construction of a handicap-accessible entrance to Dominican Hall, and the expansion of the parking area behind Cummins Center. He also talked about the plans in the works to purchase the nearby Seneca Reservoir property (O’Dowd currently has an approved purchase option for the property), which would double the size of the campus and enable the school to begin development on future campus planning. Principal JD Childs said he was incredibly impressed with the community’s generosity. “Your investment supports actual programs, but it also furthers our mission, helps us enact our values, and helps us in the crucial work of formation with our young people,” he said. More importantly, Childs said he was struck by the way in which parents, in particular, invest so generously in the mission of the school. “You operate out of abundance,” he said. “O’Dowd parents perform service, attend events, celebrate teachers, support one another in parenting – encouraging students other than their own, and model the kind of generosity that we all want our children to embody in their lives beyond O’Dowd.”

But the students had the opportunity to gain a better understanding about that fateful day in American history from someone intimately connected to the World Trade Center, Cherrie Nanninga ’66. The former Director of Real Estate for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Nanninga’s office was on the 88th floor of World Trade Center Tower 1. Had it not been for a doctor’s appointment and the unavailability of a colleague to meet her for a breakfast meeting at Windows on the World, a restaurant located on the 107th floor of her building, Nanninga could have lost her life that day. When Nanninga first heard about an explosion happening at the World Trade Center, she thought a transformer might have blown. It was while she was at the doctor’s office that she learned the gravity of the situation. “I was watching TV in the waiting room and saw the second plane hit the building,” she said. Nanninga talked about her 9/11 experience, as well as the history of the World Trade Center, during a visit to campus on October 12. The visit provided a wonderful opportunity for students to hear and question a primary participant in a seminal historical event, AP US History teacher Brian Cushing said. “History came alive and was very personal during our class time with her and now it is a bit easier for them to be cognizant that what they read and what we discuss are accounts of real people with the same kinds of hopes, fears and aspirations as they have,” he said. Students were fascinated by Nanninga’s recollections of 9/11. “It was very interesting and heart wrenching to hear an account of someone who witnessed the attacks and played a very large role in the World Trade Center building. It was especially interesting to hear her account of when the second plane hit the Center,” Isaiah Henry ’18 said. Nishantha Jayasuriya’s understanding of the 9/11 attacks had been an amalgamation of media sound bites, political statements and history lessons. “Ms. Nanninga opened my eyes to a different view, one that was not politicized but human and genuine. Her vivid descriptions of the storied history and vibrant locale of the Trade Center, all of which she was a part of, demonstrated to me that the building meant something past its politicized significance. She showed me that the issue was more human than people have stylized it, a lesson more valuable to me than anything I have ever learned in the recent past,” he said. The First Attack on the WTC Created to revitalize lower Manhattan, the World Trade Center was developed by the Port Authority, with construction beginning in 1968. “Almost 50,000 people worked there. It was like a city,” Nanninga said. The building of the Trade Center eventually encouraged residential development in the area, resulting in a very vibrant district, she added. Nanninga was working on the 60th floor of World Trade Center Tower 1 in February 1993, when a truck bomb was detonated in the parking garage below the complex. As Nanninga tried to make her way down the dark stairwell to evacuate the building, the smoke became so heavy she couldn’t breathe. So she turned around and went back upstairs where she waited to be rescued. While several safety improvements were made as a result of the bombing, such as adding lighting in stairwells, emotional healing was more difficult, Nanninga said. “Getting the tenants comfortable with going back into the building was hard,” she said. Several years later, Nanninga oversaw the Port Authority’s efforts to net lease the building, and negotiated this complex, multi-billion dollar real estate transaction with Larry Silverstein. It was one of the biggest deals in the history of New York real estate. Silverstein closed on the net lease of the complex in July 2001, and had Port Authority employees – including Nanninga – under contract to work for him for several months. Later, after leaving the Port Authority, Nanninga served as Chief Operating Officer for CBRE, Inc.’s New York Tri-State Region. CBRE is the world’s leading commercial real estate services firm. She’s currently a partner at RESGroup, a consulting firm that advises public and private sector clients on the development of mixed-use complexes, hotels, convention centers, offices, residential, retail, museums and special uses.

October 6, 2016 The CES was brimming with students, alumni, parents and faculty at last week’s Sustainability Guest Speaker Series, which featured Paul Valva ’76. The talk provided an engaging and interdisciplinary discussion on the built environment, climate change, and how to make waves in our community. Paul brought a great deal of knowledge and experience to his presentation, as he has received a Master in Strategic Leadership Towards Sustainability from the Blekinge Tekniska Hogskola in Karlskrona, Sweden. In 2006, Paul was trained as a member of Al Gore’s The Climate Project to educate the public about climate change. Currently he serves as an advisor to Paul Hawken’s Project Drawdown in addition to acting as a principal with the Valva Realty Company – a third generation family-owned real estate brokerage company located in Oakland. This speaker series session introduced attendees to the critical relationship between the natural environment and human based infrastructure. Paul captured imaginations with the vast possibilities of future technologies such as transit oriented development, vertical access wind turbines, Tesla powerwalls, LED lighting, and even plastic roads – which all provide creative solutions in urban design and building construction. The presentation also tackled how to break down barriers that impede sustainability and reinforce climate change. Guest were invited to think about environmental stewardship and common psychological reactions to this challenging issue. Paul concluded the discussion by developing a case for sustainability that guides others towards change through education, inspiration and a shared responsibility.