I'm away this week in Phoenix (shhh, don't tell the students!) helping Mom move into an assisted living apartment. I find my focus divided between things going on at Notre Dame, our attempts to buy a house, and helping Mom. To that end, I don't think I can put together a unified blog, so here goes:

My big reveal of a ND-chatbot and how AI can be helpful was a great big dud. Sorry that you couldn't open it! We're working on it and I'll be back when it's shareable.

The Crab Feed last weekend was a blast and we raised some money, too. Thanks to Connie for spearheading that effort and all the volunteers who made it happen. You can read Connie's summary below in the Alumnae Section. Thanks to all!

Thanks to the hustle of biology teacher Michele Guido, we should be getting a (free) saltwater tank delivered this week. We're planning to build a Marine Biology course so we definitely need a large saltwater tank. And no, we're not going to use it for next year's Crab Feed!

We're going to have a massive presence at next week's (Jan 29th) Mayor's Breakfast at Compass Church. Noelani Amador, our excellent ASB President, will be offering a welcome and benediction. A couple of choir members will be singing the National Anthem. And our choir will be singing a song, too!

Next week is Catholic Schools Week so our students will have a chance to dress up like their parents (Parent Appreciation Day is Monday), their favorite teacher (Teacher Appreciation Day is Tuesday), and their favorite student (Student Appreciation Day is Wednesday).

Save the Date for the Fall Academic Awards Ceremony on February 20th. We'll have the assembly during the day and will schedule the time when your guest speaker confirms she can make it!

Go Spirits!

Dr. Tim Uhl

• Senior portraits are due soon to Miss Marisol. You may find the information here: Senior Portrait Information

• The Junior and Senior Class Ring Ceremony is taking place next month. You may find the information here: Class Ring Information

• The student announcements for the week can be found here.
• Here is the Crab Feed SignUp Genius. We need volunteers for the Jan 18th event.

• Winter Ball is taking place on Saturday, February 1, 7:00 - 10:00 PM at The Club at Crazy Horse Ranch in Salinas. Tickets may be purchased here by Friday, January 24. Dance Guidelines & Guest Pass. Tickets may also be purchased from Miss Marisol using a cash or check. Please make checks payable to Notre Dame High School.

• Here's a letter explaining the AI summer program which has a link to a brochure.
• We've launched this simple Google Form to "crowdsource" alumnae information. If you know of any alumnae, feel free to share the link
• Here is a Google Doc with student service opportunities

Here is the link to the Student Handbook. We're continuing to adjust as issues arise.

• Jan 23rd: Home basketball vs. Marina 5:30
• Jan 25th: Home basketball vs. CEIBA 1:00 pm
• Jan 27th: Catholic Schools Week begins
• Jan 29th: Mayor's Breakfast; Lunar New Year; Home Basketball vs. Monterey Bay 5:30 pm
• Jan 30th: Catholic Schools Week Mass 9:20 in the theater
• Feb 3rd: Spring Sports Begin
• Feb 20th: Fall Semester Academic Awards

As we continue to add games, here is the basketball schedule, the lacrosse schedule, and the swimming schedule. This fall's volleyball and tennis schedules are now being built.

Every interested Spirit coming out for spring sports needs to be up-to-date on Home Campus. Every new student-athlete was emailed information this week.

2024-25 Scholarship Opportunities

Exciting news...our recent Crab Feed was a resounding success thanks to generous donors, supportive parents, and 13 of our students who worked hard the entire evening! The atmosphere was electric with friendly conversations, enthusiastic bidding at the auctions and, of course, delicious food.Our auctioneer, Wayne Gularte, was incredibly engaging and helped us raise a significant portion of our proceeds. We were thrilled to raise over $30,000 for our school and students, and our 50/50 Raffle winner was actually one of our own parents.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who made this event possible. A special thanks to our committee: Bart and Jill Guidotti, Glenn and Valerie Herrera, Jeff and Kristy Barnes, Mike and Lynne Hodges, Charlene Huihui, Kathy Ferrasci, and Michele and Casie Guido. Their support was invaluable! Thanks, also, to Dr. Uhl who kept the evening going with his humor and wit!

We had over 35 alumnae present continuing to support their alma mater...we've included a group picture of all these lovely ladies.

We look forward to making next year's Crab Feed even bigger and better!

Email: tuhl@notredamesalinas.org

Website: www.notredamesalinas.org
Location: Salinas, CA
Phone: 831-751-1850
Twitter: @drtimuhl

TheCatholic School Matters podcast is on hiatus until January.

Previous episodes this season:

• conversation with Dr. John Reyes of Boston College discussing the concept of "polycrisis" and how that impacts leadership in these turbulent times.
• A conversation with Ryan Collins, an Educational Technology blogger and administrator, discussing how AI is changing educational technology and instruction.
• A discussion about burnout and balanced leadership with consultant and former Catholic school leader Andrew Murray. Based in New Zealand, Murray has a unique perspective on finding balance after a tough bout with long COVID.
• A conversation with author, professor, and school choice advocate Dr. Ashley Rogers Berner of Johns Hopkins. Her new book Educational Pluralism & Democracy: How to Handle Indoctrination, Promote Exposure, and Rebuild America's Schools is a great discussion of building a new system of school with accountability
• A conversation with Susan Morrissey about Artificial Intelligence. Susan is a graduate student and PD presenter who thinks about AI through a Catholic lens.
• I kicked off Season 9 with a conversation with theologian Dr. Ann Garrido. We discuss her latest book, Redeeming Power, and its relation to her earlier work Let's Talk About Truth. We discuss how power and influence are perceived, how important it is to be truthful in leadership, and the challenges of both in ministry