The Catalyst, Volume 8, Issue 4: January/February 2022

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OPINION | Page 5

ARTS & LIFE | Page 8 THE BACHELOR RETURNS FOR 26TH SEASON

MAKE INTERSESSION SKI WEEK!

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Volume 8, Issue 4

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CATALYST

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL

Community celebrates Black History Month by Peyton Daley Editor in Chief Black History Month, spanning from February 1 to March 1, is a time to highlight the achievements of Black individuals and recognize the Black community’s contribution to U.S. history and culture. At NDB, the month is honored with events organized by the I Am Diverse Club. The club has created a bulletin board to celebrate the month and an immersive exhibit on Afrofuturism that ties together elements of art and poetry from different African cultures. “We just want to bring a little bit more awareness of what Black History Month is to the school, just because there’s, like, no one here that would understand it,” said senior and I Am Diverse club member Ryan Edwards. “What we’re basically trying to do is just bring in that kind of culture that we don’t normally see, we’re not really allowed to talk about at the school, and allow people to understand how it affects our lives as African Americans every day, even though to other people, it doesn’t seem like it’s an everyday kind of thing.”

SPORTS | Page 11 PANDEMIC STOPS THE CHEER AT SERRA HS

Club moderator Gillian Imazumi-Hegarty also created an interactive slide deck titled “Honoring Black Excellence,” which has been shared with the student population to educate the community about the importance of Black history. For each day of February, one modern Black changemaker is highlighted in the slide deck along with a brief biography and links to more information. The slide deck also includes a playlist featuring educational songs produced by Black artists, which is available on Spotify with the title “Black History @ NDB.” “I hope that students will learn to respect Black history and try to understand it, and not just let it be, like, a thing that they have to go through… Like, actually try to work towards being a part of it and being a part of the change that we’re trying to promote,” Edwards commented. On February 1, a document was shared with the community providing resources about Black history and how to be anti-racist. The list included movies, books and articles such as “Hidden Figures,” See BHM| Page 3

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January/February 2022

NDB welcomes new Head of School

Meredith Myall Essalat ‘98, M.Ed. to assume office in July

ROBERT ROJAS / THE CATALYST

New Head of School Essalat visited campus on Tuesday to meet with “staffulty” and student leaders. by Editorial Staff On Friday, February 4, Meredith Myall Essalat, M.Ed., was announced as NDB’s new Head of School. Essalat is an alumna from the Class of 1998 and is eager to return to NDB starting with the 2022-2023 school year. Students got a chance to virtually meet Essalat for the first time during Collaboration on February 4, when she introduced herself to the school and answered questions from ASB officers. “What I’m excited about coming to an all-girls school for is the

empowerment and sisterhood, and really getting to continue that dynamic. When I came as a freshman myself, I was just struck by the level of comfortability that comes from a single-gender environment where we were just at ease with one another,” Essalat shared with the student body during the assembly hosted on Zoom. “We were real and authentic, and that’s really what I’m excited about.” Essalat graduated from NDB as salutatorian of her class, which were the blue Sharks. As an alumna, she understands what it means to be a Ti-

ger, and she is ready to lead the school into a new chapter while honoring old NDB traditions. “The traditions that have been so long standing at Notre Dame that I know are still in effect today: the Junior Ring Ceremony, Aquacades... those community building opportunities are where friends are formed and classes really came together to excite one another and build out the spirit of Notre Dame,” Essalat explained. “Those memories stand really, really strong, and those are the memories that my friends and I from my graduating class

still talk about to this day.” Essalat has worked as both a language arts teacher in middle school and Dean of Academic Curriculum at Nativity School in Menlo Park. She is currently the Head of School at Mission Dolores Academy in San Francisco. Additionally, she authored “The Overly Honest Teacher: Parenting Advice from the Classroom” in 2020. Because of the diverse roles she has taken on through her professional career, Essalat has the many skills needed to lead NDB as its Head of School.

International students host Lunar New Rising COVID-19 cases across Bay Year celebrations for Year of the Tiger Area hinders winter sports schedules by Ariel Lucas Contributing Writer

by Molly Phan Opinion Editor

Just as many western countries mark the start of the year on January 1 with fireworks, parties and resolutions, several Asian cultures celebrate Lunar New Year. This holiday takes place on the first day of the first month according to the Lunar calendar, and celebrations end on the fifteenth day of the new year. The history of this event traces back to folklore stories, the most popular of which is a Chinese myth called the Story of Nian. This legend tells of a mythical beast named Nian, who would attack villagers each new year. The creature was

In the last few months, the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has affected all aspects of life. Upwards of 800,000 cases have been reported each day since December when the first Omicron case was detected in the U.S. It is known that this new variant is highly transmittable, so high school sports have felt the impacts of this recent outbreak. NDB’s winter sports teams, basketball and soccer, have been experiencing the effects of Omicron through delayed or canceled games and exposure to players who have tested positive. De-

ARIEL LUCAS / THE CATALYST

Junior Helen Ren leads a calligraphy activity for NDB’s Lunar New Year celebrations. scared of the color red, so traditional celebrations and decorations center around the color to keep the beast away. The holiday falls

on February 1 this year, and during this time in Asian countries such as China and Taiwan, children are on See LUNAR| Page 2

MOLLY PHAN / THE CATALYST

Varsity basketball warms up to play Woodside Priory, a game that was postponed a week due to several positive Priory COVID-19 cases. pending on the situation, entire teams can be forced to quarantine, test or lose practice time. As an indoor

sport, basketball has been hit the hardest by this new spike in cases. Masks are See WINTER SPORTS | Page 10


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