Bishop O’Dowd High School 2015 REGISTRATION INFORMATION FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Finding God in All Things
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WELCOME TO BISHOP O’DOWD HIGH SCHOOL! We are excited to have you join our community and be a part of our proud tradition of academic and extracurricular excellence since 1951. The joy of a challenging O’Dowd education is a priceless gift that will prepare every student to succeed in college and build a strong foundation for the future. Our students thrive intellectually, morally and spiritually during their years as a Dragon. Our outstanding faculty, counselors, coaches and administrators focus on the success of each and every student. Our dedicated International Student Coordinator guides our international students as they explore and engage in new classes and different activities while forging their individual paths that lead them to self-discovery as well as the college of their choice. Your journey of discovery starts here. Sincerely, Pam Shay, M.S.A. Principal
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Stephen Phelps, Ed.D. P res ide n t
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SUBMIT ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS ON TIME. DOCUMENTS DUE BY JUNE 2, 2015: To attend the Bishop O’Dowd High School International Program, please complete and submit the online registration within two weeks of acceptance. Online enrollment takes 30-40 minutes. To begin, go to bishopodowd.org/registration. You will need: • Your health insurance information • Your family calendar • A fluent English speaker by your side To complete enrollment, please pay the $5,000 non-refundable tuition deposit within two weeks of acceptance. The balance of $26,000 in tuition is due no later than June 1, 2015.
• CALIFORNIA IMMUNIZATION FORM
(or equivalent document with all same information) • Completed and certified by a physician • Must include a negative TB test (If positive, include required clear x-ray) • DTAP series more than 7 years after date of birth • Form included and available electronically
• STUDENT PHYSICAL EVALUATION
(or equivalent document with all same information) • Completed and certified by a physician • Form included and available electronically
• GUARDIANSHIP FORM
• signed by birth parent that grants the host family and the agency authority to interact with the school in all matters • Sample form included and available electronically
• TWO (2) OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS
Include ALL previous schools for grades 9 and after. (Transcripts must include final grades from the most recently completed term.)
DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION DUE AT ORIENTATION, JULY 29, 2015: • HOST FAMILY CONTACT INFORMATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS Student Orientation 1:1 Laptop Program Tuition Information Student Life What You Need to Know
Include names, address, phone number (home, work and mobile) and email.
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• HOST FAMILY EMERGENCY CONTACT FORM
• Completed and signed by local guardian/host family with local information • Form included and available electronically
• PROOF OF HEALTH INSURANCE
Must cover the student in the U.S. – copy of insurance card is sufficient.
• I-20 FORM • PASSPORT AND VISA BOD 2015 International.indd 3
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International Student Orientation We look forward to welcoming you at our International Student Orientation starting July 29, 2015. The session runs on weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and includes: • Math placement tests • Scheduling for classes • Laptop set up and orientation • Ordering of books and uniforms • Cross cultural activities and meeting U.S. students, faculty and administrators from Bishop O’Dowd High School • And many other features of O’Dowd
Attendance is mandatory at the Orientation starting July 29. From August 18-20, there will be additional class level orientations. Classes begin on August 21.
“O’Dowd has prepared me for the new and changing world. I believe that because of O’Dowd, I have the ability to impact change, too.” — Sam ’15
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1:1 Laptop Program at O’Dowd At O’Dowd, personalized learning begins with the option for students to choose their own laptop. Students may: • purchase a school-provided and supported HP laptop. • bring a school-approved Windows or Mac laptop. All students are required to have an approved laptop to complement their educational experience. Please note: When you purchase the O’Dowd laptop or AppleCare for your Mac, your student will have immediate, on-site hardware support. Software support is provided only for O’Dowd course-specific software programs. It is highly recommended that families purchase an extended warranty (e.g. AppleCare, GeekSquad, etc.)
If you have questions about our 1:1 Laptop program or our technology infrastructure, please visit the Technology portal on our website or contact Romeo Baldeviso at rbaldeviso@bishopodowd.org or call +1 (510) 577-9100, ext. 137.
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Tuition Information Total tuition and fees to attend Bishop O’Dowd High School during the 2015-2016 school year is $31,000. To complete enrollment, please pay the $5,000 non-refundable tuition deposit within two weeks of acceptance. The remaining tuition is due no later than June 1, 2015. This covers the full cost of the 2015-16 school year including the orientation from July 29 to August 11.
TUITION INCLUDES: • All books and uniforms (5 polo shirts, 2 outerwear) • Special English language support after school • Academic, college and personal counseling specifically tailored to our international students • Academic mentoring and support • Orientation and transition programs • Administrative support associated with immigration and customs Additional costs may be incurred for optional student activities such as athletics, cocurricular clubs and student programs. Enrollment is complete when tuition and fees have been received by Bishop O’Dowd High School. Payments can be made by any of these means: 1. Wire Transfer from your bank to Bishop O’Dowd High School account at Wells Fargo Bank. For wire transfer information, please email Business Office Director Joan Grell, jgrell@bishopodowd.org. 2. Deliver a check to the Bishop O’Dowd High School Business Office, Dominican Hall, 9500 Stearns Avenue, Oakland, CA 94605. 3. Mail a check for U.S. dollars to the school’s lock box (Bishop O’Dowd High School, Dept 33821, P.O. Box 39000, San Francisco, CA 94139). Please write the student’s name on the check. Bishop O’Dowd High School does not accept credit card payments for international tuition and fees.
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Student Life
THE MORE YOU EXPLORE AT O’DOWD, THE MORE OPPORTUNITIES YOU’LL FIND. IT’S ALL RIGHT HERE. AND IT’S ALL HERE FOR YOU.
Arts Show your creativity! Engage in theater, digital music, in ceramics. Play with our Jazz Band. O’Dowd offers so many ways to express yourself in our fine and performing arts programs.
Athletics O’Dowd Athletics has a long-standing tradition of excellence dating back to the 1950s. We now field 57 teams across 15 competitive sports with over 700 participating student-athletes. Through dedication, commitment and teamwork, O’Dowd students continue to power DRAGON PRIDE!
Clubs Want to learn how to build robots? Think you could be a lawyer in Mock Trial? Proud to be Armenian? Interested in computer
programming? Play Ultimate Frisbee? Hooked on Harry Potter? Committed to freeing political prisoners? We have over 50 student run clubs at O’Dowd.
Debate Award-winning, leadership skill building, nationwide traveling. That’s the debate program at O’Dowd: Public Forum, Parliamentary, Lincoln-Douglas, and Policy. Every student is welcome to learn how to compete in the exciting world of debate. Be part of the team that goes to the top competitions in the country to compete at the highest levels.
NHS/CSF O’Dowd is proud to be a member school of both the National Honor Society (NHS) and the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). NHS recognizes and honors students
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throughout the country who exemplify academic excellence, personal character, leadership and service to both school and community. CSF recognizes high standards of scholarship, service and citizenship of students in California. Members of CSF and NHS are recognized at graduation.
Student Government The Associated Student Body is led by an elected Executive Council. Every class also has its own elected leadership team. Working together, these students organize events and activities, dances and environmental action.
leadership in all liturgies and school-wide charity drives. Class Ministry, guided by CMT, is open to all students in each grade so that they can explore their own spirituality, discuss issues relevant to faith and participate in ministering to their peers. The O’Dowd retreat program offers unique age-appropriate opportunities, from learning how to be part of the O’Dowd community to serving the disenfranchised in our local community, to attending and leading Kairos retreats. These experiences expand our students’ understanding of their faith and their place in our faith community.
Campus Ministry The Campus Ministry Team (CMT) is the core group of senior leaders involved in our Campus Ministry. CMT provides
ART DRAMA ATHLETICS DEBATE LIVING LAB NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY FRISBEE CLUB CAMPUS MINISTRY SERVICE LEARNING MUSIC ROBOTICS
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CES/Living Lab Located in the Living Lab, the Center for Environmental Studies (CES) is O’Dowd’s 5,000-square-foot LEED-Platinum-Certified educational facility, dedicated to cultivating the next generation of environmental and sustainability leaders. Together, the Living Lab and CES position O’Dowd as a leader in the Education for Sustainability (EfS) movement. Both serve as an entry point for transitioning to incorporating sustainability into all facets of O’Dowd life: campus and operations, curriculum and education, community engagement and overall culture. The Students for Sustainability Club (S4S) uses the CES and Living Lab as inspiration for greening projects across the entire campus. The Living Lab Club members meet during Meeting Periods (MP) each month to develop their native and edible garden skills with mentoring from our Living Lab team.
Service Learning Service Learning is an educational method that meets a real need in the community and in the classroom. It integrates hands-on student volunteer service to the community with reflection and classroom connections in order to deepen understanding about social justice and our response to injustice. Every student completes a minimum of 100 hours of service throughout a four-year program. Each project connects students with the marginalized and disenfranchised people they serve by fostering relationships with them.
“Only at O’Dowd could I find the perfect balance of academics, athletics, faith and enriching activities in a loving community.” – Charlotte ’15
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What You Need to Know HOW TO GET HERE Carpools The Dragon Parents Group has registered a carpool website at eRideshare.com to help parents find carpools. Sign up for an O’Dowd carpool and see who in your neighborhood has signed up to participate. Student Parking Permits are available only to seniors. The cost for the permit is based on car occupancy. The more kids in the carpool, the less the cost of the permit!
Parking To complement our campus-wide sustainability efforts, we encourage students to carpool or take public transportation. We provide on-campus parking spaces reserved for seniors. There are additional free parking spaces near our school entrance and in/ adjacent to our lower lot. We recognize that more students are driving to allow greater flexibility to participate in afterschool performing arts, athletics, tutoring and club activities. We are assessing and developing new and additional student parking solutions for the fall.
AC Transit There are two morning and afternoon chartered bus lines to/from O’Dowd that serve our students: • Route 682 picks up in Rockridge and runs the length of the Highway 13 corridor. • Route 680 runs along MacArthur Blvd. from Lakeshore Avenue.
BART O’Dowd provides free and convenient transportation on an O’Dowd shuttle bus to
and from campus and the San Leandro BART Station for students and staff. Half-price BART tickets ($16 each, valued at $32) are available to our students. The Teenage Student Discount Certification form and instructions are available on our website. For all transportation information, visit Getting Here in the Parent section of our website.
WHAT TO WEAR At O’Dowd, we wear our name proud—on our polos, sweatshirts and club t-shirts. Our dress code emphasizes that the way we look positively impacts the way we feel: proud to be Dragons. And, we make it easy! • Approved O’Dowd polo and O’Dowd outerwear (exclusively available at the Dragon Den) • Clean (no holes) pants or shorts to the knees • Shoes with backs or back straps
WHERE TO EAT Epicurean Group, dedicated to sustainable dining, manages our Cafeteria. This means locally-produced, natural foods for delicious meals! Grass-fed or Niman Ranch beef. Eggs from cage-free raised chickens. Seasonal menus—sometimes with vegetables from our Living Lab! Breakfast and lunch are provided every school day for easy purchase at our Cafeteria via student meal cards. For information and menus, visit Cafeteria in the About section of our website.
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Dear International Students and Families, I am delighted to welcome you to Bishop O’Dowd High School for the 2015-16 academic year and to wish you much success as you fulfill your academic goals and learn more about yourself while at O’Dowd. Your teachers and school community are eager to support you both academically and socially. We encourage you to embrace school life, get involved and make new friends. You will find lots of information on our website that will help you get to know our school better. More information regarding the International Student Orientation, a two-week mandatory session before school beginning July 29, is coming your way! If you have any questions, please contact me at rlau@bishopodowd.org. I look forward to meeting you soon. Regards, Robin Lau International Student Coordinator bishopodowd.org/admissions/international_students.php
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EXPERIENCE O’DOWD At Bishop O’Dowd High School, we provide every student with the opportunity to succeed. We offer a challenging college-prep curriculum, rich cultural diversity, and superb athletic, Campus Ministry, and performing and visual arts programs. The learning experience we offer makes O’Dowd one of the most desirable and unique Catholic high schools in California.
If you have questions, we have answers! Please call us at +1 (510) 577-9100 or visit bishopodowd.org/admissions/international_students.php.
Robin Lau, ext. 616 International Program Coordinator and Counselor rlau@bishopodowd.org Kerryn Pincus, M.Ed., ext. 603 Director of Admissions, kpincus@bishopodowd.org Pam Shay, M.S.A., ext. 113 Principal pshay@bishopodowd.org Romeo Baldeviso, ext. 137 CIO, Office of Technology rbaldeviso@bishopodowd.org Joan Grell, ext. 170 Business Office jgrell@bishopodowd.org
Finding God in All Things
Bishop O’Dowd High School | 9500 Stearns Avenue | Oakland, CA 94605 +1 (510) 577-9100 | bishopodowd.org Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and by the Western Catholic Education Association
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