OPINION | Page 5 THRIFT FOR STYLE AND SUSTAINABILITY
www.TheNDBCatalyst.com
the
ARTS & LIFE | Page 9 TAYLOR SWIFT BEGINS ERAS TOUR
SPORTS | Page 10 LACROSSE GAINS NEW PLAYERS
CATALYST
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL
Volume 9, Issue 5
@theNDBCatalyst
1540 Ralston Avenue, Belmont, CA 94002
Women’s History Month Women’s History Month gives people all over the world the opportunity to recognize contributions from women over time. At NDB, the month of March is especially important because its mission is to educate confident young women for life beyond the classroom. To celebrate the month, The Catalyst acknowledges the school’s female administrators and staffulty who appreciate the all-girls education that defines NDB.
Meredith Essalat ‘98 Head of School
Wendy Connolly Social Science Teacher
Sarah Boragno ‘02 English Teacher
“We celebrate success, recognizing women who have gone before us to really make it possible for us to be able to have the lives and the experiences we have today, and the careers we will eventually have.”
“I think Women’s History Month is every day, and it’s a reminder to continue fighting. Because we are an all girls community, we need to write women back into history.”
“We are cultivating activists here, people that actually go out and make a difference and do something. In other words, we feel like we actually are being strong leaders who want to make a difference.”
March 2023
Recognizing Staffulty Appreciation Week by Eva Nichter News Co-Editor
The NDB community showed lots of love for its staffulty during Staffulty Appreciation Week from March 6 to March 10. Throughout the week, both faculty and staff members received handwritten cards, gifts and a lot of gratitude from NDB students and families. In previous years, NDB, along with many other schools across the nation, celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week during the first full week of May. But, as NDB implements the use of the word “staffulty” this year in order to acknowledge all who work at the school, the community also recognizes the need to extend the celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week to all of its other members, including staff. This year, Staffulty Appreciation Week was officially established as the second full week of March. “Everybody who’s on a campus in a school is working towards the same goal, which is to elevate the student experience, whether that’s intellectually or socially or spiritually,” said Head of School Meredith Essalat. “So, I want everybody to receive the same degree of gratitude and appreciation for what they’re bringing to the table.” Ashley Sullivan, mom of two current NDB students, organized the events for the week. She worked with the NDB Mother’s Club and individual families to make Staffulty Appreciation Week a success and to acknowledge the efforts of every working member of the school. On Monday, the week’s festivities began. Before the school day started, a coffee cart was set up in the staffulty lounge with a variety of caffeinated beverages for members to enjoy. Each staffulty member received a mug with the phrase “NDB Staffulty” printed on the front. On Tuesday, cards from students were written for every staffulty member. These cards contained words of appreciation and gratitude for every person who makes NDB special. Each staffulty member picked up their individual card in the parlor.
Information compiled and designed by The Catalyst Editorial Staff
See STAFFULTY| Page 2
Juniors use capstones to explore social justice issues by Editorial Staff The annual capstone project is a core piece of NDB’s Spiritual Life curriculum for juniors through their Social Justice class. The goal of each project is for each student to identify a social justice issue that they are interested in, relate the issue to their own personal passions, and then work within their community to address the issue. This project provides students with an excellent opportunity to engage with their local community outside of the school. Social Justice teacher David Muir served as the advisor for the project. He emphasized to students the importance of choosing a topic that each of them cares about and enjoys because it is something they will dedicate most of the school year to.
There were a variety of topics that juniors chose for their projects and they reflected the diverse interests of these students. They included making blankets for homeless teenagers, giving autistic children cooking lessons, creating a podcast promoting body positivity, and more. As soon as the project was assigned earlier this year, each junior created a proposal with their project’s goals, found an adult mentor to guide them through the process, and then spent several months working on their project. In addition, they wrote a four page research paper about their topic and then presented an informational slideshow to their peers. The process has taken them through the fall and spring semesters with both assignments due on March 7. The projects themselves were presented to the com-
munity in what was called the Capstone Showcase on March 27. Juniors were allowed to work alone or in small groups, especially if somebody else shared a similar passion. Some students chose this approach. “The best part of working on the capstone with my partner, Ella, was that we both shared the same passions,” said junior Reese Lancaster. “We were both really excited to work on the project and it made it a lot more fun because we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and divide up the work so it wasn’t too stressful.” Other juniors, like Zoé Shaikh, chose to do their project alone. Shaikh has a passion for horseback riding, so she chose to teach young children how to ride horses. “I actually took a lot away from the capstone.
I definitely learned a lot more about teaching and about my students,” said Shaikh. “I was just happy to make a difference in my students’ life, no matter how small.” The capstone project is a valuable oppor-
tunity for juniors to devote some time to something that they truly enjoy doing outside of school as well as has the potential to benefit their community. “My partners and I tutored foster kids for our capstone project,” said ju-
nior Caitlin Degnan. “I was super passionate about my project, and it turned out to be something that I want to continue during college.” In previous years, the capstone project was See CAPSTONES| Page 2
MIA MUZZI / THE CATALYST
Juniors present their capstone projects during Spiritual Life class.