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MORGAN WALLEN PERFORMS IN MOUNTAIN VIEW VARSITY TENNIS COMPETES IN CLOVIS
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL
Volume 9, Issue 1
1540 Ralston Avenue, Belmont, CA 94002
The Sharks: Freshman class of 2026 joins the sisterhood
@theNDBCatalyst
September 2022
Meredith Essalat, ‘98 begins tenure as NDB head of school
by Molly Phan Editor in Chief
first but now that I’m actually getting into it, they’re making a lot more sense and I’m enjoying it.” “High school has definitely been an adjustment from middle school, but so far it’s been good,” Cuneo stated. On August 26, the NDB tradition of Big/Little Sister day took place. Each freshman was paired with a junior to be her big sister. In June, the sister classes
On July 1, 2022, Meredith Essalat, ‘98 assumed office as NDB’s new head of school. As an NDB alumna herself, she describes her return to campus as “coming home” to the community that she credits for the person she is today. Essalat graduated from NDB as a member of the Class of 1998, whose class color and mascot were the Blue Sharks. As the current freshman Class of 2026 has also been named the Blue Sharks, she feels an “incredible connection” to the students already. As a Tiger, Essalat stayed very involved on campus. She served as the Editor in Chief of the yearbook during her senior year and also as a teacher’s assistant (TA) for several years. Ultimately, her favorite parts of high school revolved around her passion for writing. “I loved to write, I still do. So all of my favorite classes were really the ones around language arts and social sciences,” Essalat shared. Essalat’s favorite memories during her time as a student reflect the close-knit environment that NDB is most known for. She recalls feeling bonded with her class during the Sophomore Overnight which was an on-campus sleepover event, as well as during the Junior Ring
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MIA MUZZI / THE CATALYST
On Friday, September 16, the Sharks elected Brooke True, Lizzie Johnson, Tali Cuneo, Nelly Hickson, Emma Downing, Kate McClenahan and Alex Davidow to serve on their class council. by Mia Muzzi Managing Editor The Class of 2026, who have named themselves the Sharks in line with their class color of blue, have officially started their first year of high school at NDB. They started the school year strong in school spirit, placing third at the Welcome Back rally. With many activities planned for the year, the Sharks can look forward to an exciting freshman year.
The first event of many for the Sharks was Freshmen Orientation on August 12. There, they were supported by Link Crew and ASB in learning about what to expect at NDB in their first few weeks at school. After learning how to open their lockers, touring campus and participating in icebreaker activities, the Freshmen joined their parents for dinner in the Father Downey Garden. “Orientation was a really fun way to be able
to meet my classmates and see the school before it started,” shared freshman Alexandra Charnas. Julianna Loar and Tali Cuneo, members of the freshman class, reflected on their experiences after being on campus for nearly a month. “It’s been pretty fun. I know a lot more people now and I’ve been making so many friends. It’s just been good to hangout with them,” said Loar. “The classes were rough at
College application season begins for seniors Community reflects Director of College Counseling Dina Cunha guides them through the process on post-Roe America by Editorial Staff On August 1, the University of California and Common App portals opened to the Class of 2023. These portals allow students to begin adding colleges to their application lists, view essay prompts and officially apply to schools. The work began much earlier as students began requesting letters of recommendation and writing essays during the summer. For Dr. Dina Cunha, NDB’s college counselor, the work is year-round. Within the first few weeks of the school year, Cunha’s work consists of ensuring that all seniors have updated the information on their college lists and making sure transcripts are in order.
September is the beginning of “essay season” for college applications, and seniors need to start finalizing what schools they are considering in order to focus on their main essays as well as deadlines for each individual school. So far, the class of 2023 has been on top of their college workload, with most students submitting transcript forms and college list changes on time. “For those of you who are early action, early decision, you’re going to have to put your ducks in a row a lot quicker,” said Cunha. “So that means not only updating your college list early… but also making sure your essays are pretty much done for those See COLLEGE| Page 2
by Lauren Fitzgerald Staff Writer
EVA NICHTER / THE CATALYST
Seniors begin the application process through portals, such as Common App.
On June 24 of this year, the Supreme Court overturned the landmark case enshrining the right to an abortion, Roe v. Wade. The overruling case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, hands the decision of abortion access to the state level. In many parts of the nation, laws restricting or completely eliminating abortion access went into effect immediately. Thirteen states – Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming – passed “trigger laws” on abortions deemed medically unnecessary prior to the ruling, which took immediate effect when the Dobbs ruling was handed down. Trigger laws take effect as soon as they are viewed permissible by the constitution, making the time that states allowed abortion after the ruling nonexistent. Other states followed suit, with their restricted or banned abortion access laws passed shortly after the decision. “It’s pretty unprecedented,” commented Elise Spenner, Editor in Chief of High School SCOTUS, a podcast dedicated to analyzing Supreme Court rulings. “A lot of the rulings that would be seen as this See ROE | Page 3