If it's Friday, there must be an explosion somewhere on campus at Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School.

No need to worry, though. It's just Mr. Fong showing his chemistry classes how sodium chloride reacts with H2O.

"So many of our students have shared in the experience of a 'Mr. Fong explosion,' and few of them will forget that experience - or the learning and science behind it," says Principal Simon Chiu.

"I like it when he blows things up," said Dion Harris '13. "He always surprises us. I thought chemistry class would be more about the periodic tables, but he makes it interesting."

Most students who have had classes with Mr. Fong can recall a good explosion or a surprise he pulled off for the students.

"He pulled a real rabbit out of a box in my class," said Karissa White '12. "I was so surprised. It was great."

SJND is a leader in the Bay Area with its science program and college-level facilities in the Aiello Science Center, complete with labs and equipment for independent research.

SJND is also at the forefront of promoting science education in the community, specially among middle-school students. The school is hosting the second annual Diocese of Oakland Science Fair on Feb. 12

The women’s volleyball teams at Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School raised $1,000 for breast cancer research as part of their special Dig Pink fundraiser on Oct. 20.

The teams sold pink T shirts commemorating a special Dig Pink SJND volleyball match against Salesian, and the proceeds were donated to the Side-Out Foundation, which pairs volleyball enthusiasts with breast cancer researchers.

Students at SJND work the special shirts to school Wednesday, and faculty and families came to the sold-out games wearing the special attire. The Pilots also wore special pink jerseys for the match. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“We encouraged everyone to wear pink to the game,” said Coach Ed Chen. “And the girls did a great job, selling the shirts and spreading the word about Dig Pink.”

The SJND Cross Country team, with a great mix of returning runners and a fleet group of freshman and sophomore runners, is poised to return to the state championships next month.

The Pilots are ranked in the top 5 in the North Coast Section, and they're competing for the Bay Shore Athletic League championship this season.

"This is a very exciting and fun-filled year," said Coach Tony Fong, who took the team to Fresno last year for the state championships, where SJND placed 15th.

The team has been generating a lot of attention in the news because of the fast performances of freshman Gabe Arias-Sheridan and sophomore Nick Ratto at the Stanford Invitational.


On the women's side, Coach Fong said the team has an outstanding chance this year to take the league title, as well as making it to the state championships.

"This would be a first in the history of St. Joe's if this happens," he said.

Kimberly Avalos, all league last year, and Elizabeth Ahrens, MVP her freshman year, are capable of placing in the top 10 in the league, he said.

The team schedule continues through November. Go Pilots!

Table tennis? We've got a club for that. How about surfing, cooking or gaming? We've got clubs for those, too.

Freshman students were invited to rush for clubs in a September tradition at SJND  that gives students the opportunity to stretch themselves outside the classroom. While music played and the campus took on a festival atmosphere, students visited the different booths and had the opportunity to join some 23 different co-curricular clubs.

The newest clubs include one for cooking and baking called "The Foodies," and another for learning how to craft or create just about anything, called "Make." There's also a new guitar group and a club called "Interact" for students who want to get more involved in community service.

Publishing the yearbook this year has changed from being an activity in Journalism class to being a co-curricular activity, open to all who are interested in helping put together the memory books for posterity.

Clubs are still adding members, so students who are interested should listen for club announcements and stop by club meetings. For more information, contact Mrs. Kuznik, assistant principal of student activities.