St. Joseph Notre Dame High School

Infobox_School2 | name = St. Joseph Notre Dame High School
established = 1881 Girls 1935 Boys
1985 Coeducational
type = Parochial
religious affiliation = Roman Catholic
head_name = Principal
head = Simon Chiu
faculty = 29
students = 435
mascot = Pilot
city = Alameda
state = California
country = United States
website = [http://www.sjnd.org/ www.sjnd.org]

St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California is a coeducational Roman Catholic high school. It is one of the few Catholic high schools in the world to possess an on-campus basilica. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and by the Western Catholic Educational Association. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland.

History

In 1881, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur founded an academy for girls, grades one through twelve, on a plot of land on the corner of Chestnut Street and San Jose Avenue in Alameda. San Francisco Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan, erected Saint Joseph's Parish in 1885. The fourth pastor, Father James Bernard Praught opened Saint Joseph Elementary School in 1916. In 1922, Notre Dame Academy is renamed Notre Dame Girls High School. Saint Joseph's Boys High School was founded in 1935 by Father Praught and the Brothers of Mary (Marianists) on the same city block as Saint Joseph's Church, Saint Joseph's Elementary School and Notre Dame Girls High School. Father Robert J. O'Conner succeeded Father Praught as fifth pastor in 1943. O' Connor's untimely death came in 1957.

In late 1957, San Francisco Archbishop John J. Mitty appointed Monsignor Alvin P. Wagner, the sixth pastor. Msgr. Wagner, in 1960, demolished the antiquated girls high school and built a new Saint Joseph's Notre Dame High School for girls. He erected the Gymnasium/Auditorium in 1964. The Brothers of Mary (Marianists) departed in 1970; shortly after, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

In 1983, Msgr. Wagner retired. Oakland Bishop John S. Cummins' plans were set in motion to no longer staff the parish with diocesan priests. Cummins invited the Fathers of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart. The new pastor, Father Patrick A. Goodwin, SSCC decided to consolidate the two schools. These plans were completed in 1985 with the consolidation of the two single-sex schools into the coeducational St. Joseph Notre Dame High School.

Students

SJND enrolls 435 young men and women in grades 9 through 12. SJND students come from over 27 public, independent and Catholic schools. Close to 40 percent of the students live in Alameda, 35 percent live in Oakland, 20 percent live in San Leandro and the remaining students live throughout the East Bay.

Curriculum

St. Joseph Notre Dame has a college preparatory curriculum. The school offers honors level courses in English, Math, Science, and Foreign Language and offers Advanced Placement courses in U.S. History, English Literature & Composition, American Government & Politics, Calculus AB, Physics, Biology, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, French Language, and Art Studio. St. Joseph Notre Dame implemented a block scheduling system in 2006.

Athletics

St. Joseph Notre Dame offers interscholastic sports teams in baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The school does not field a football team.

Despite being a small school, SJND has a reputation as a basketball powerhouse. Former players include NBA star Jason Kidd '92, UCLA standout Ray Young '98, Stanford standout Justin Davis '99, UCSB star player Alex Harris '04, and Joe Nelson '93 who is now a pitcher for the Florida Marlins. Under coach Frank LaPorte and his successor Gordon Johnson, the school has had many successes in basketball, including Division I state titles in 1991 (against Fremont High School of Los Angeles) and 1992 (against Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana), despite having a student body less than half the size of virtually all California Interscholastic Federation Division I schools. SJND reached the Boys' CIF Division I Finals two more times in 1997 & 1998, but lost to Crenshaw High School and Westchester High School, respectively. Most recently, SJND won the Boys' CIF Division IV state title under Coach Don Lippi. In men's tennis, No. 1 singles standout Chris Aria dominated the Bay Shore Athletic League, winning three BSAL Singles Championships in 2006, 2007, and 2008 under coaches Tom Brasier and Christina Cory. The mens volleyball team enjoyed similar success as they captured three successive BSAL titles from 2006-2008.

Encinal High, Alameda High School, and St. Joseph's collectively field men's and women's Rugby union teams. [cite web| url=http://alamedarugby.com/
title=Alameda Rugby ]

St. Joseph Notre Dame's mascot is the Pilot, in reference to the now-closed Naval Air Station Alameda.

Notable alumni

* Barry Reed, novelist, author of "The Verdict" later a movie starring Paul Newman
* Jason Kidd, professional basketball player
* Don Perata, teacher and politician
* Mark Curry, comedian/actor, star of the popular 1990s television show "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper"
* Joe Nelson, Florida Marlins pitcher
* Ray Young. professional basketball player

References