Memorable Events

The school’s endless organized events gave us the opportunity to put down the computers and books for a bit, and have some fun! Prom, winter formal, and the beginning of year dance gave us songs to scream and dance to, “heavy” appetizers, and broken chandeliers. SD students also got to see live music, eat delicious treats courtesy of the amazing dining hall staff, and participate in entertaining activities at The Panther and Pride Paloozas! On top of the on-campus activities, San Domenico gave the gift of Spring Discovery, a week of off campus learning. These varying trips not only brought smiles and laughter, but also built bonds with classmates. 

Along with a good time, these events brought unforgettable hilarious moments. From the “school-friendly” mosh and conga line at prom to the spirit rally games that kept the crowd of students and staff laughing. These moments are what truly makes SD, SD! 

Before we toss those caps into the air, we look back on the moments we’ve been able to enjoy throughout the year as seniors. We’ve had sunrises together, senior ditch day, the college application experience </3, and many more events that brought us together. Overall, the joy that San Domenico brings each and every student is appreciated, and the iconic events throughout the year never fail to leave an impact. Even though this year has flown by in seconds, the countless memories last a lifetime.  

Important News 

The 2022-2023 school year was a bumpy ride, but this rocky road wound up sweet like ice cream. 

From day one, San Domenico was fresh and exciting. After all, with new staff like Matthew Bristley, Dre Meller, Melissa Murphy, Stephanie Lapine, Sara Bianchi Chamberlin and others, how could it not be? And with the new teachers came great new classes like International Relations and Journalism. The year also started out with a new bell schedule, which while initially contentious, quickly transformed into something that worked for students and teachers alike. 

The schedule’s not the only thing that changed mid year. The notoriously popular AP literature, AP English Language and Composition,  AP US History, and AP Computer Science Principles, all had their exams go digital as part of a pilot program by the College Board. San Domenico is leading the charge into the future, where the SAT and other AP tests will soon follow.

As for San Domenico’s future, we’re saying au revoir to many valued members of our community, including head of school Cecily Stock. However, as keenly as their loss will be missed, bright new talent will no doubt help the school to keep shining like the gem it is.

Art Highlights

The 2022-2023 school year was a big one for the San Domenico art programs. The beginning of a new school year brought a fall upper school musical in the form of “Matilda,” a high-energy show that was redemption for many students who had their eighth-grade Matilda production canceled. The show was a hit with Fiona Martin (Matilda) taking the lead and every cast member stepping up to present a rebellious, polished, and genuinely fun production.

 At the same time, six middle and upper school film students visited New York City in October to represent the school at the 2022 All American High School Film Festival. The students, accompanied by Harry Maxon and several other teachers, presented their four short films that had been accepted, even walking the red carpet and overall making San Domenico proud. 

Not only did San Domenico earn awards in the film department, but May Wu was a shining star in the visual arts department. Wu won the 2022 Congressional Arts Competition for California’s Second District with her piece entitled “We Are the Keepers of Tomorrow” and visited Congressman Jared Huffman in D.C. in early fall for a ribbon-cutting ceremony of the display. 

With the end of March came another San Domenico theater production, a lively action comedy entitled “The 39 Steps” that was yet another hit. The production was professional. The actors did an incredible job, and it was definitely one of the best productions at San Domenico. 

Scattered throughout the year were performances by the Virtuoso Program and the Band Workshop class that set the soundtrack to our year. Events like the Vivaldi Benefit Concert, Chamber Concerts, and solo performances with the VP program were absolute showstoppers. It’s no wonder why many of the SD performers are the best of the best when it comes to orchestra performance. Not only did the VP performances “Wow” San Domenico students, but events with the Band Workshop at SD and around the Bay Area stole the show. The final SD arts showcase was the dance concert featuring students from Dance 1, 2, and 3 and students from the dance ensemble. Various styles of dance were performed along with seniors’ solo performances. All of these fun events helped make the SD community closer than ever and made this a truly memorable year for our art programs.

Food Favorites

Everyday, students line up to pile their plates with delicious and healthy food prepared by the Epicurean staff. They quarrel over their favorite days of the week— Mexican Monday, pasta Tuesday, “weird” chicken Wednesday, American Thursday and free-for-all Friday. Over this past year, certain dishes accumulated cult followings among the student body. Pasta Tuesday was the overall favorite, according to the majority of students, with Mexican Monday making a close second. When it comes to the most iconic dishes, nachos, pasta and waffle fries dominated the culinary arena. Additionally, students greatly enjoyed and appreciated the delicious cookies served every Wednesday. When it comes to the daily soup served during morning breaks, students deemed potato leek the best, with pho and chicken and rice as close contenders. This year sandwiches, such as the turkey pesto, were served alongside the daily soup, filling students’ stomachs and spreading smiles. Overall, the food here at SD cannot be left out from our yearly recap, as it is both an integral part of our daily lives and of exceptional quality. Big thanks to the Epicurean staff for the hard work they put in everyday to feed our community.

Sports Highlights

The successful season of the San Domenico athletic program entertained many of us during the 2022-2023 school year. The development of each team is clearly noticeable by coaches, athletes and fans. This year San Domenico started 5 new athletic teams, including girls beach volleyball, girls and boys water polo and golf. 42 panthers were recognized with the BCL-West (Bay Counties league) league awards. This year San Domenico will also be sending a record-breaking number of athletes to play college sports. 

Starting the year, the flag football team, with the BCL league title, clinched another great season and confirmed their dominance in the league. Women’s volleyball had the best season in the program’s history. They went to the NCS (North Coast Section) championship and qualified for the NorCal tournament for the first time. Men’s and women’s water polo teams, a brand new sport at San Domenico, had their debut in the league.

Girls basketball team definitely highlighted the winter season with their exceptional performance that resulted in a back-to-back NorCal (Northern California) championship title and second state championship appearance, this time in division IV. Boys basketball team noted tremendous improvement from the previous season, qualifying into division IV semifinals of the NorCal tournament. Boys soccer team also noted the best season in programs’ history finishing in the third place in BCL.

Track and Field is about to finish another great spring season. The team had one athlete (Joaquin Foster ’24) qualified for the state meet. Mountain biker, Hayley Ballard 23’, won the NorCal Championship. It was also a great year for the women’s swim team who qualified for league playoffs and ended up finishing third.

The 2022-2023 athletic season ended with a beautiful athletic banquet that celebrated the success of the San Domenico sports teams. The athletic program honored some of the most outstanding athletes of San Domenico with the Panther of The Year awards, the Scholar Athlete awards, the Marin Athletic Foundation Outstanding Student Athlete awards and the Panther Pride awards received by Hayley Ballard, Gytis Gervickas, Cici Lin, Zuzu Bikahi, Maja Cykowska, Angelo Neto, Nina-Marie Sadie, Ozzie Shenk.