News & Notes

Thomas ’17 Extends Legendary College Career

Iimar'I Thomas ’17 finished her University of Cincinnati basketball career with a bang, logging a school- and conference- record 51 points to go with 12 rebounds in a 76-61 win at East Carolina on February 24. With that performance, Thomas also joined Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only two players in UC history to score at least 50 points in a game. As if this singular performance wasn’t enough, Thomas backed it up by being named American Athletic Conference Player of the Year for 2020-21. Thomas finished the season among the nation's Top 30 in nine categories for

Y2020-21, including minutes played per game (second at 39.37), field goals made (fourth at 195), YYY YY total points (sixth at 526), points per game (seventh at 23.9), free throws made (seventh at 126), total minutes played (eighth at 866), free throws attempted (14th at 154), field goal percentage (22nd at .545) and field goals attempted (29th at 358). The latest AAC awards add to an impressive career list already for Thomas that includes WBCA Honorable Mention All-America and unanimous First Team All-AAC selections last season, First Team All-AAC honors as a sophomore in 2018-19 and AAC Freshman of the Year and a unanimous All-Freshman Team selections in 2017-18. The only player in UC history to achieve at least 1,800 career points and 800 career rebounds, Thomas ranks among the program's best in multiple career categories, including field goal percentage (first at .583), blocks (second at 127), field goals made (second at 746), points (third at 1,882), rebounds (fourth at 858) and rebound average (tied for eighth at 7.1). In early April, it was announced Thomas was joining the UCLA women’s program as a graduate transfer, most likely slotting into the starting lineup next season and providing a much-needed scoring punch right away for the Bruins. GO IRISH!

SHC Network Launched

<< < < < In March, SHC announced the launch of SHC Network, a consolidated school video network on YouTube which includes all of our school channels (SHCtv Sports, SHCLive, SHC Visual & Performing Arts, SHC Emerald, SHC Productions). Check out bit.ly/SHCNetwork today or aim your SHC|us app here to launch the page on your mobile device.

magazine

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING

Mark Pardini ’88

Director of Communications & Marketing Clarissa Mendiola

Communications & Marketing Content Manager Giselle Palacios-Delmundo ’94

Communications & Marketing Graphic Designer Thai Chu

Photography Manager

CONTRIBUTORS

Abigail Barkley ’21; Margi Beima; Bernard Bonifacio; Dairien Boyd; Kevin Buckley ’13; Thai Chu; Club Soda Productions; Lucie Duffort; Darryl Fong; Mona Fowler; Clarissa Mendiola; Ryan Meyer Photography; Chris Nunes ’92; Giselle FF F FPalacios-Delmundo ’94; Mark Pardini ’88; Prestige Photography; Teresa Santana ’21; Melinda Skrade, Lauren Wild ’99 F FRONT & BACK COVER: Thai Chu

xx x SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL MAGAZINE is a publication of the SHC Office of Communications & Marketing and is published for alumni, faculty, staff, parents, students, investors, parents of alumni and friends. SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL PREPARATORY 1055 Ellis Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 415.775.6626 • ocm@shcp.edu Do you receive more than one copy of the magazine? Do you need another copy? Please contact the SHC Office of Advancement at advancement@shcp.edu or 415.775.6626 ext. 564.

FEATURES

C O V I D

This March marked one full year since the initial stay at home order was mandated in San Francisco, and our lives look much different than they did in the early days of the pandemic. As a community, we have become accustomed to the relentless pace of change, and perhaps tiresome of words like unprecedented and uncertain. 2021 has inspired so much hope for better days ahead, and SHC was blessed to welcome students back to campus in January. Last summer, SHC created a new role born out of necessity — the COVID-19 Safety Coordinator. Andy Chan, facilities coordinator and head track & field and cross country coach, was appointed to the role, and over the past several months, he has worked tirelessly to ensure our entire school community — now back on campus and in-person in a hybrid model — stays healthy and safe. The road to our return was long and complex, as Chan reflected in a recent conversation.

THE 2019-20 ACADEMIC YEAR ENDED IN A DISTANCE-LEARNING SCHEDULE WITH NO CLEAR END IN SIGHT. AT WHAT POINT DID SHC BEGIN PREPARING IN EARNEST FOR A POSSIBLE RETURN TO IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION?

Deciding when to bring the students back on-campus was a conversation that the Administrative Team was having, but helping with the how to bring students back on-campus, was definitely my responsibility as the COVID-19 Safety Coordinator. Looking back to the summer when I was first appointed to the role, even though we were aware that our return might not happen soon, I was constantly working on how to do it safely. Early in the 2020-21 school year we focused on getting approval to have Learning Hubs on-campus for our students who needed extra support. It required a lot of paperwork with SFDPH and there were a lot of guidelines we needed to follow, but we were able to get Learning Hubs going in early September. Some athletics teams were even able to begin in-person workouts at this time, which again, required adherence to many new protocols. In October, we received the paperwork and instructions from SFDPH to re-open for in-person instruction. Above all, we needed to have a

safety plan in place which took several people, a lot of writing and editing, and a lot of time in order to submit our application, which we did in mid-October. After a site visit by SFDPH at the end of that month, SHC was approved. While all this was happening, I was also working on securing a health pre-screening system that met our needs, and researching COVID-19 testing options for our faculty, staff and students. Ultimately, we decided to do a “practice week” for faculty and staff on-campus before Thanksgiving. It was a chance for teachers to practice social distancing, wearing masks all day, and teaching on Zoom from classrooms without

the added stress of managing students in-person. We were already doing twice-monthly COVID-19 testing for faculty and staff as well. The plan for a January return was presented, using the hybrid schedule we created over the summer. Our students would be split into two cohorts, each attending in-person two days per week. We eased into it by first welcoming ninth and tenth graders for our initial week back, and then eleventh and twelfth graders the subsequent week. It was a long journey to get to the hybrid schedule involving lots of twists and turns and lots of unanticipated issues that needed thought.

Our faculty and staff is “ full of amazing people who love what they do. We’ve all had to change ‘how’ we do it but we are finding effective ways to do it.”

ANDY CHAN COVID-19 SAFETY COORDINATOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER CROSS COUNTRY & TRACK & FIELD COACH

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS SHC HAS BEEN ABLE TO MEET THE MOMENT, MAKING THE MOST OF DISTANCE-LEARNING AND NOW OUR HYBRID LEARNING SCHEDULE?

Our faculty and staff is full of amazing people who love what they do. We’ve all had to change “how” we do it but we are finding effective ways to do it. As a cross country coach, I felt like a game show host for most of the fall — but, it wasn’t that important to write great training workouts. It was important that I engage the team with interesting things to do together to create a sense of community while we had to be apart – virtual competitions, escape rooms on Zoom, ’80s dance party music during their weight room Zoom workouts, etc. I have so much respect for my colleagues in the classroom, for learning new skills on the fly and having to put it all into practice. I hear students thanking their teachers all the time and I think that shows how much they appreciate and respect the effort that teachers are making. As COVID-19 Safety Coordinator, I am proud of how I have met the moment. I couldn’t have known how much work and how much responsibility this position involved when I signed on. I love our school and I love our community, so it really is an honor to serve in this way. I am doing everything that I can to keep us safe. That has meant talking to and working with parents, students, and our faculty and staff, and educating them on our COVID-19 safety guidelines. I make myself available to anyone who has a concern or a question or just wants to talk. I’ve made new connections with so many community members through this role, so that’s a special silver lining. There is always a lot of anxiety knowing we are still navigating this pandemic, and I have tried to inject some humor into all my community communications. I am proud of the work that I have done. It’s exhausting and I sleep well with a very clear conscience. I feel that I have not taken any shortcuts or turned a blind eye to any situation. I wake up refreshed every morning, ready to give the best of me to whatever comes my way the next day.

WHAT IS YOUR HOPE AS THE VACCINE ROLLOUT CONTINUES AND AS WE MOVE FORWARD LIVING THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC?

My hope for the SHC community is that we can return to normal — or at least closer to what was once considered normal — soon. I hope at some point during the 2021-22 school year, we are doing Irish things – educating the students and providing them with excellent cocurricular opportunities — without feeling limited by COVID-19 restrictions. My role as COVID-19 Safety Safety Coordinator has put me front and center in our community … but I can’t wait for this role to no longer be needed.

Keeping SHC Healthy & Safe:

SHC'S COVID-19 MITIGATION PROTOCOLS:

• No-touch thermal scanners at the main entrances. • Hand sanitizer dispensing machines throughout campus. • Social distancing markers throughout campus. • Wayfinding graphics throughout campus to keep foot traffic flowing. • Desks 6 feet apart in classrooms and acrylic barriers installed for teacher desks. • Air purifiers for all classrooms and offices. • Installation of open-able windows to classrooms and offices that previously did not have windows that could be opened. • Safety signage throughout campus. • Temporary classroom set-ups in the

Plaza, Gym, and De Paul Lobby. • Implementation of Ruvna as SHC’s daily health pre-screening for faculty, staff and students. • Providing COVID-19 tests for faculty, staff and students.