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Marcelo Culligan’s ’18 longtime association with North Oakland’s Destiny Arts Center has led to a unique opportunity for him to pursue his passions – photography and video making. Marcelo is participating in the New Media Arts Program, sponsored by Adobe Project 1324 and Yak Films, a worldwide street dance film crew, designed to prepare creative young people for professional development in online multimedia. Apprentices learn film, digital photography, video production, editing, publishing, social networking and branding. They are provided with the latest technology and tools, learn to work in a team, and are supported by leaders in the field. Marcelo was involved with Destiny Arts Center from kindergarten through 9th grade, participating in the non-profit’s dance and martial arts programs. He returned to Destiny last summer to work one of the organization’s camps, taking photos of the various dance and cultural activities. Staff members there were so impressed with his photography skills that they invited him to join the inaugural New Media Arts Program at Destiny. Marcelo is now participating in his third session with the program, and has advanced from apprentice to intern. He works each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for several hours in the late afternoon/early evening, helping set up for photo shoots, taking photos and recording Destiny program performances – both on and off site. He feels fortunate to have Yoram Savion, the co-founder of Yak Films, as his mentor. Savion has occasionally asked Marcelo for his assistance in Yak Films endeavors. Marcelo is grateful for the internship opportunity. “I’m not only able to expand my skills, but I have the chance to work with people with more advanced skill sets and learn so much,” he said. “And I’m also able to see the perspectives of different artists and can incorporate those into my own artwork.” Interns also have the ability to check out professional photo and video equipment to complete their own individual and group projects. “There was a project for US History in which we had to make a music video, and I used the Adobe equipment. It was the best!” he said. Looking to the future, Marcelo plans to major in business in college, and hopes to do portrait and fashion photography for magazines.

The O’Dowd community gathered in the large gymnasium on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, to celebrate the Advent Liturgy. In his homily, campus chaplain Fr. Jim Sullivan talked about the joy of giving. “The more you give, the more you have to give. And the more you give, the more you will receive,” he said. At the conclusion of the liturgy, the community bid farewell to religion teacher Rich Vitale, who after 10 years of service to O’Dowd is moving to Washington, DC, at the end of the semester, where his wife took a position at the Carnegie Institution for Science.

What can we as individuals and as a community do to bridge the divide that the recent Presidential election has created in our country? That was the question posed at the second Dragon Talks session, held in the theater on December 6. A panel comprised of faculty members Jeff Beeby, Tony Green, Mark Lederer, Lou Richie, Tony Green and Director of Counseling Fran Warmerdam, as well as students Jason Brown ’18, Audrey Byrne ’17 and Sydney Lewis ’17, facilitated the discussion. This session was a follow up to the inaugural Dragon Talks, held on October 6, which offered a forum to discuss the racial difficulties our country has recently experienced. Those who attended this week’s session identified education, along with respectful and honest conversation, in which people truly listen to one another, as important first steps. “A lot of the problems are born out of ignorance,” Lewis said, adding that education is key for greater understanding. Green pointed out that all human beings belong to the same species and that “race” is not a biological reality but a myth. “We are all from a single clan from East Africa,” he said. “Everyone is directly related by blood.” Standing against racism and misogyny are critical, Warmerdam said. ‘That means being really, really present to what’s going on,” she said. Panelists said it was important to respect people with differing political viewpoints, even though that can be difficult at times. There are a host of different reasons why people choose to vote for a particular candidate, Richie said, and you can’t say that everyone who voted for a particular candidate is a racist. “I had a young lady in class who said that she thought Trump was a terrible human being, but because of her religious views she couldn’t vote for Clinton because Clinton is pro-choice,” he said. The difficulty our society is having with civil conversation is troubling, Lederer said. “That concerns me as an educator, and as somebody who believes in the power of honest conversation,” he said. “So I’m trying to think about ways to be hopeful in the absence of conversations and trying to discern ways of being joyful.” Throughout the session, students were encouraged to effect change by excelling in the classroom, relentlessly pushing for greater knowledge, and putting themselves in a better position to thrive in college and pursue a career in which they can be effective change makers in the community. “Dream as big as you possibly can,” Richie said. Students were also charged with pushing for civil, meaningful conversations in the classroom, in their friend groups, and in the greater community – even if that means being uncomfortable when speaking out for change. “It’s what we do together that will make a difference,” Warmerdam said. Future Dragon Talks are planned.

Juniors Ryan Hunt and Kian Nouri are among two dozen teens serving on the Oakland Youth Advisory Commission (YAC), advising the City Council on key policy issues affecting youth and meeting with civic leaders to advocate for youth needs. The YAC tackles issues of importance to youth and is committed to increasing opportunities for youth participation in civic engagement and youth leadership and empowerment. Members (ranging in age from 13 to 21) are appointed by the Mayor and City Council for two year terms and meet twice a month. Both Ryan and Kian hold committee positions – Ryan is the government affairs officer and Kian is the media and public relations officer – which require attendance at additional meetings. “I saw this as a good way to get involved in Oakland and learn more about parliamentary procedure,” Ryan said. Kian saw the opportunity as a way to have a say in decisions made that affect the youth of Oakland. “A lot of youth don’t get to have a voice,” he said. A couple of months ago the YAC members endorsed a “yes” vote on Measure HH, The Soda Tax, Ryan said. “It’s great to know my voice is being heard and that I’m having a positive impact on my community,” he said. Looking ahead, the group is deciding what their focus will be for the next two years. Issues under consideration include youth homelessness, Black Lives Matter and the Dream Act. Whatever the group decides, Kian is excited to get started. “I’m looking forward to getting out into the community and doing work,” he said.

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Masterpieces of Western Religious Art classes recently studied the drypoint prints created by the famous Dutch painter and printmaker, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Largely known for his masterful paintings, Rembrandt also created prints using a process called drypoint to create prints of many subjects, including moments in the life of Jesus. Masterpieces of Western Religious Art students studied the Scriptural accounts of the scenes and then analyzed the prints. To cap their studies, students visited the classroom of ceramics teacher, Chris Roscoe, who demonstrated the process of creating drypoint prints with ink and a press.

O’Dowd students were among tens of millions of students in 180-plus countries who participated in Hour of Code, organized by Code.org.  Close to 100 students voluntarily participated in the event during MP on Dec. 1. This was the second year that O’Dowd has joined in the experience. The students were able to choose from dozens of tutorials, including Star Wars and Minecraft, geared to boost their skills in computer programming like Blocks and JavaScript. “Learning to program can really open up opportunities for jobs, due to new technological advances in our world. I chose the Star Wars tutorial where I learned to write lines of code to have drones move in a game. At the end, I was able to create my own game by writing many different lines of instructions for the drone. It was very fun and I am excited to continue learning to code in the future,” Ellie Desler ’19 said. Computer science is foundational for every industry today. According to Code.org, there are more than 500,000 computing jobs open nationwide, but last year only 42,969 computer science students graduated into the work force. And, a computer science major can earn 40 percent more than the college average. The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify “code”, to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. “I’m delighted to have participated again in this year’s Hour of Code,” Chief Information Officer Romeo Baldeviso said. “Computing occupations are the #1 source of all new wages in the U.S. and make up two-thirds of all projected new jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. We need to improve access for all students, including groups who have traditionally been underrepresented and events like an Hour of Code allow us to reach these students.”

Final Exams BART Shuttle Schedule Dec 12th Am Shuttle: 7:40am & 8:05am pick up at San Leandro BART Afternoon Shuttle: 12:30pm & 1:45pm departs BOD to San Leandro BART Dec 13th Am Shuttle: 7:40am & 8:05am pick up at the San Leandro BART Afternoon Shuttle: 12:30pm & 1:45pm departs BOD to San Leandro BART Dec 14th Am Shuttle: 7:40am & 8:05am pick up at San Leandro BART Afternoon Shuttle: 12:30pm & 1:45pm departs BOD to San Leandro BART Dec 15th Am Shuttle: 7:40am & 8:05am pick up at San Leandro BART Morning/Afternoon Shuttle: 10:30am,11:30am,12:00pm and 2:30pm departs BOD to San Leandro BART * AC Transit buses will pick up students at the usual time in the mornings during finals week, but they will depart O’Dowd at 12:15 p.m. only. **There will be no 3:30pm or 6:15pm BART Shuttles during finals week** **The BART Shuttle will be out of service from 12/16/16 -1/2/17. Normal Shuttle service resumes on 1/3/17**

Our Annual Food and Toy Drive is underway! Each first period classroom is asked to “adopt” one family from St. Vincent Day Home in in West Oakland. SVDH offers day-care/pre-school/kindergarten programs that serve and support working families with economic challenges. To “adopt” a family means each class (approx. 25 students) will collect/donate 2 boxes of non-perishable food items and at least 1 gift for each member of the family, parents included. O’Dowd students may have already talked with their parents about items they are collecting. Each class decides who will bring in which items. A suggested list is below, but items vary by class and family needs. We need all items to be brought to Period 1 homerooms by next Tuesday morning, Dec. 6. Delivery to SVDH will be on Wednesday morning, Dec. 7. A huge THANK YOU to the whole O’Dowd community for all the ways you have offered support. NOTE: We ask that food NOT be perishable and it is a request of St. Vincent Day Home that no toys be violence oriented (i.e. no guns, no knives, no fighting “action figures”) Thank you! SUGGESTED FOOD LIST (NOTE – No perishable foods) Canned Fruit Canned Veggies Canned Soups & Crackers Cereals Coffee / Tea Sugar Flour Rice Pinto beans (dry) Peanut Butter & Jelly Canned meats Tuna – canned Vegetable oil Treats: fruit snacks, cookies, cocoa POSSIBLE HOUSEHOLD SUPPLIES: Toothbrushes & Toothpaste Soap & Shampoo Cleaning sponges Lotions or skin cream Band Aids, first aid POSSIBLE (GENERAL) Kid’s items (if there are no specifics from the family info) Children’s Books Fun stickers Coloring books, Paper Pens, Pencils, Erasers Chalk, Crayons, Water color markers Dolls, balls, stuffed animals Games or puzzles “The annual Food and Toy Drive kicked off yesterday, and runs through Tuesday, December 6. The drive serves families from Saint Vincent’s Day Home, a non-profit with more than a century of service to children of low-income families. Learn more“

Freddy Bunkers ’19 had a problem. Playing in club volleyball tournaments – many a couple hours’ drive from home – Freddy spent some uncomfortable moments in the family car sweaty and … well … stinky. “I really didn’t want to be sitting in my sweat, stinking up the car,” he said. While Freddy learned that sweating is very good for the skin, leaving sweat on the skin is problematic, and contributes to acne breakouts. So Freddy and a grammar school friend, developed a product to fix this problem – 12-inch by 12-inch pre-moistened body wipes that get rid of sweat and grime and leave users feeling clean and refreshed. The unscented, biodegradable wipes, made with 100 % natural fibers, and are hypoallergenic, alcohol, paraben and sulfate free, are sold through Freddy’s company, HyperGo. Freddy says product usefulness isn’t limited to athletes. “We have a broad consumer range,” he said. “It’s really anyone who needs to get clean quickly – parents who have been at yoga and are going grocery shopping afterwards, people who want to freshen up after walking or biking to work, for those sweaty kids after soccer, even homeless people who don’t have regular access to shower facilities.” In fact, Freddy has partnered with local homeless shelters, providing wipes that they distribute to those in shelters and on the street. “Sometimes the homeless people are going to job interviews without taking a shower. The wipes have helped them clean up before their interviews,” he said. He’s also undertaken some community initiatives, such as HyperGo’s Camp for Kids Initiative. Freddy sets aside a portion of his company’s monthly profits to send kids to a local camp – kids who wouldn’t otherwise have such an opportunity. Getting Started Freddy said that his mom, Jennifer Adams Bunkers, who is the CEO/Founder of TruKid, a company that creates kid-friendly, natural body care products, was instrumental in helping him launch his company. Using his mom’s connections with manufacturers, they sampled dozens of wipe styles, requested formula and material changes, and conducted product trials to come up with the wipes, which are sold in packages of 20. Singles-to-go will be available in December. “The process took many months,” he said. Freddy also built a few websites until he settled on the one he liked. In the process, he realized that he likes to work on the back end of the business – the website, social media etc. He’s learned a lot about pricing and the expenses of running a growing business, and has even incorporated apps on his phone to help manage and streamline the business. Jennifer and the mom of Freddy’s grammar school friend fronted the money for the initial purchase of wipes – funds he’s since been able to pay back. Freddy’s initial order of 10,000 packages, the smallest quantity he could order, has sold through and he’s geared up to produce more. And he was able to hire a couple of employees – Michelle Dold ’11, who actively heads up all of HyperGo’s marketing efforts, and Kelsie Halstenrud ’12, who helped out over the summer and fall. Alex Hentges ’11 helped Freddy immensely in the very beginning when the company was just getting off the ground. Freddy estimates he devotes at least an hour a day on his company, with his mom helping out as needed. “On Mondays we pack our Amazon orders (Amazon buys from HyperGo as well as sells the product on Amazon.com), and the orders we sell on our company e-commerce site,” he said. “We’re also hoping to get the product in retail sporting goods stores.” Also look for HyperGo in various product subscription boxes in the next few months. He recently spoke at Harvard Business School Alumni event held in San Francisco, detailing his path to success. “That was really nerve racking speaking to a group very, very successful business people,” Freddy said. Looking to the future, Freddy dreams of creating a personal care wipes conglomerate that rivals Clorox’s disinfectant wipes business. He envisions several lines of wipes “an athlete’s foot wipe, an acne wipe, after construction work wipes, you name it, any kind of wipe for personal needs, basically wipes for your life,” he said. But for now, he is focusing on sports hygiene, taking care of the athletes or new fitness enthusiasts after they work out.

Dr. Candell’s talk began with a review of the prevalence of adolescent mental health issues and the changes in behavior and mood that teens often exhibit when they are struggling.  Noting the how biology, stress, and parent-child relationship are all contributing factors in adolescent mental health, Dr. Candell helped parents explore ways that their relationship with their teen can add to or reduce teen stress.  Parents can add stress by focusing on the negative, nagging and lecturing,  overemphasizing academic achievement, and overreacting to what is normal teen behavior.  These stressors can have a compounding effect for teens as they often lead to decreases in motivation and concentration and then a further decline in academic performance.  Dr. Candell explained that the dramatic feelings and extreme thinking that parents often see in their teen can be seen as evidence of the developing teenage brain.  Furthermore, the desire to be different from parents, to explore parts of their own personality, and have private life with peers can all be normal ways that teens search for self-identity.  Adolescent stress increases when parents respond to these challenges with efforts to be excessively controlling. To help parents work with these challenges, Dr. Candell recommended that parents distinguish the non-negotiable limits from those that are open to negotiation and to enlist their teen to be engaged in the process of setting limits. Creating buy-in, communicating calmly, openly, and authentically, listening, and providing unsolicited affirmations are all ways to build the parent-child relationship to help reduce stress. Parents in attendance had opportunities to share their experience of both being both stressed by their teen and a source of stressful their teen.

The Health and Wellness Leadership Team chose to focus on helping students understand and cope with stress for Health and Wellness Week.  Members of the student leadership team offered morning prayers, announcement period videos, lunchtime and MP activities to provide students opportunities to learn more about the impact of stress and how to develop healthy habits to reduce stress.  On Monday, dogs from Therapy Pets were brought to campus and were available during lunch periods to help students take a moment to relax.  Meditation and Yoga and a talk were offered during MP to encourage students to practice healthy ways to cope with stress.  Art teacher Chris Roscoe offered Clay Play during lunches to give students the opportunity to reduce stress through creativity.  The focus on healthy habits continued into Tuesday where the Health and Wellness Leadership team and SCorps joined together to offer students the opportunity to practice healthy eating and exercise habits using the blender bike to make healthy smoothies.  Gratitude was the focus on Wednesday with students learning about the power that genuine gratitude has in improving mood and being encouraged to practice expressing gratitude throughout the day.  The week concluded with a focus on teen mental health. The health and wellness student leaders hosted an informational table at lunch on the impact of stress on teen mental health, teen anxiety, and teen depression.  Dr. Adrianne Candell spoke to the parent community on Thursday evening in a presentation titled “Promoting Teen Wellness.” Health and Wellness Leadership Team members are: Will Huntington, Henna Kaur, Sierra Jimenez, Sanah Basrai, Sheaj Basrai, Bella Kocabiyik, and Alden O’Rafferty. Health and Wellness Leadership Team faculty moderators are: Mr. Mark Lederer and Ms. Laurie Thirion

O’Dowd students who served as poll workers in last week’s General Election learned the importance of patience, being courteous and maintaining a calm demeanor – even when dealing with confused or unhappy voters. Maksymilian Bialek ’17, Mark Gravador ’17 and Tyler LeBoa ’17 had an opportunity to share their poll working experiences with classmates the day after the election. Having put in a full day shift – that stretched from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. – the students were tired yet exhilarated. “I stayed up until about 1:30 a.m. to see the final results,” Gravador said. “It was truly an enlightening experience as I was able to vote for the very first time, work at the polls and experience first-hand how the election process works.” Issues the students dealt with included voters being confused about their polling location, weathering the early morning and evening rushes, and being patient with some voters who took upwards of an hour to mark their ballots. They also fielded complaints from voters when their polling sites ran out of English language “I Voted” stickers. Still, the students said they would definitely volunteer again. Assigned to a polling site located in the cafeteria at Vannoy Elementary School in Castro Valley, LeBoa had a fun experience when second and third grade students came through to see how the process worked. “I really enjoyed talking with the classes,” he said. Along with another poll worker, LeBoa explained what was going on and showed students how the scanner that reads ballots worked and where voters dropped off mail in ballots. “Even though my 18th birthday isn’t until March and I was unable to vote, it was a really cool learning experience in a very historic election. It was interesting to learn firsthand how the voting system in American works,” LeBoa said. Said Gravador “The passion, dedication, and commitment of my fellow poll workers truly inspired me as we all worked together to move forward in the name of democracy.” The California State Legislature adopted a law allowing high school students to serve as poll workers on Election Day in August 1996. The Student Poll Worker Program promotes civic awareness and educates about the election process by involving students to serve as poll workers on Election Day. Students must be 16 years of age at the time of the election, must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and must have a minimum grade point average of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale). The students are paid for the efforts and can also earn class credit or community service hours.

The O’Dowd Instrumental Music Department and the Dragon Parents invite all to enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas in a uniquely O’Dowd way. Holiday music will fill the air as our Christmas tree comes to life. Stay toasty and warm with hot cocoa and treats, compliments of the Dragon Parents. After the tree lighting, stay for the annual Music Department Winter Concert. Enjoy performances by talented O’Dowd students from the String Orchestra, Symphonic Band, Jazz Workshop, Jazz Combo, and Advanced Jazz Band. The concert will cover a wide range of musical styles with something for everyone.  Thursday, December 8 Tree Lighting: 6-7 p.m., Quad Concert starts at 7:30 p.m., Theater, Free Admission

Family and friends were on hand to congratulate Mariana Alvear, lacrosse, UC Davis; Myah Pace, basketball, University of San Diego; and Hannah Rosenfeld, softball, George Mason University.

Students in Molleen Dominguez’s Masterpieces of Western Religious Art classes recently created Modern Stations of the Cross around the O’Dowd campus. The Stations of the Cross are a traditional prayer practice in Christianity, especially Catholicism, where participants pray and walk from art piece to art piece, reflecting on the last moments of the life of Christ. After studying Biblical accounts of the crucifixion, artistic representations of them, and other modern stations around the world, each of her two classes set out to create a set of 14 modern stations. They applied traditional stations (such as “Jesus falls a third time”) to modern situations (like policy brutality and environmental degradation). Students in the classes provided thoughtful reflections about the stations, and reasons why they chose to locate stations in certain spaces. For example, one student explained Station 6 – Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus, located in Dominican Hall – this way: “Veronica wipes the face of Jesus when he falls, and our counselors help and support us when we are struggling in school or with our personal lives. The building is full of people that care and supports us, similar to how Veronica cares for Jesus.” Station 10 – Jesus is Stripped of his Garments – is located at the lost-and-found station near the attendance office. A student noted “When Jesus was stripped of his garments, he experienced shame and a loss of identity. Reflecting on the lost items in the lost-and-found allows students to connect the loss of material items in their lives to the loss Jesus endured before his crucifixion. The material items that are lost represent other loss Students said the project made the Stations of the Cross real for them. “I liked learning how Jesus’ suffering relates to our own,” Kelsey Pearl ’17 said. “It was a fun way to voice our opinions and perceptions of our society with influence from Jesus’s trials and tribulations. I liked using our creativity in creating the stations and deciding where to display each one,” Andi Wiley ’18 said. “It is hoped that most students will walk at least some of the stations as part of their Religious Studies classes,” Dominguez said. “But everyone is welcome to participate by walking the stations at any time.” Guide books and maps of the stations are available at the front office, and the stations will be up until December 7.

Many of our O’Dowd students came to school this morning feeling frustrated, confused and powerless. Administrators discussed prior to school starting this morning our responsibility to provide safe spaces in classrooms for students to process their thoughts and emotions, adhering to principles of civility and mutual respect. We advised teachers to allow students, regardless of viewpoint, to name their feelings, claim those feelings, and for teachers to validate our students’ perspectives and feelings. Our students expressed appreciation that we provided a space for their expression. They remained on the Quad from about 9:30 a.m. to about 10:20 a.m. Students voluntarily dispersed when we made an announcement that we’d be resuming our class schedule at that time. Our students are to be commended for their hopeful messaging, prayer, and calls to work together on issues of inclusion, love and respect.