| Our first semester—my first at De La Salle North—was quite a busy one! Our school-wide focus this year continues to be on student engagement. In classrooms, students are active creating hydroponic gardens, building competition robots, studying the governments of different countries, constructing models of the human knee joint, creating podcasts in Spanish, showcasing proofs of geometric theorems, computing compound loans, designing and building earthquake-safe high rise models, exploring electronic music, and acting out DNA replication and genetic recombination. Among many other things!
This year, teachers and administrators are focused on strengthening our professional learning community through faculty professional development, sharing research-based strategies and best practices, and building in time to meet with each other. One innovation is a program specifically for new teachers which includes a paid peer coach to support our newest faculty in a collaborative and collegial way. After working in public schools for most of my career, I am truly amazed by the supportive, connective nature of DLSNC's Lasallian environment not just for students but also for staff.
We are so proud that at the close of the first semester in January,173 students had earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher with 104 earning the distinction of 1st Honors (3.5-4.0 GPA). (Check out the photos below of the recent celebration for all the Honors students.) Equally impressive is the fact that 206 college acceptances have been received by our DLSNC seniors so far this year. I am incredibly honored to be part of Knight Nation—way to go Knights!
Deirdre Perkins
Vice-Principal for Academics
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Two Seniors Featured in Word Is Bond Walking Tours
Two DLSNC seniors participated this month in “In My Shoes,” a Black male youth storytelling project presented by Word is Bond. In celebration of Black History Month, the project featured eight curated walking tours in neighborhoods across Portland, led by young community ambassadors. Girmy Kiflemariam’s ‘23 tour, highlighted the pride residents of his New Columbia neighborhood feel about their N. Portland community, known colloquially as “the Ville.” Mycah Alemseghed’s ‘23 tour focused on the historically Black King neighborhood where he grew up in NE Portland, revealing what he finds significant in the story of Black success.
“In My Shoes” walking tours serve two purposes. They create opportunities for community members to learn about the experiences of young Black men in Portland, stimulating dialogue about racial equity and inclusion. Secondly, they are a way for the community ambassadors to become more engaged in their communities. Subsequent elements in the Word is Bond leadership program are trips to Washington, D.C. to learn about public policy and tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as well as a “homecoming” expedition to Ghana.
“I just want to share my own personal narrative and not the perspective of people who have never lived in this neighborhood,” summed up Girmy in a KGW8 news story about “In My Shoes.” “A lot of people stereotype the New Columbia area, and it has a reputation for being dangerous, but it's much more than that.”
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DLSNC Knights Relaunch Competitive Robotics Team
The DLSNC Knights reentered the world of FTC (First Tech Challenge) robotics for the first time since the fall of 2019. It was our team members’ first season, and we knew nothing about robots or code on the first day of class. Despite this inexperience, DLSNC was listed as a veteran team due to having had competitive teams in the past.
Through the League, we received much appreciated mentorship from the Benson team coach, John DeLacy, and its student captain, Gavin. In addition, a retired professor, Dr. Edward Epp, worked with us writing the code needed to make the robot work, and a retired programmer, Jed Lund, taught us to use GIThub and Android Studio.
By the end of the semester, we had successfully competed in two meets, placing 12th out of 15 teams. The team has continued to work on its robot even though the season has ended, aiming to succeed in making the robot complete all of the competition’s requirements. By continuing our work, we are learning the skills we need to be more competitive next season. Also strengthening the program is a new Robotics club which meets Tuesdays after school.
The students from first semester overcame huge hurdles and deserve to be remembered for bringing competitive robotics back to life at DLSNC. These students are: Diego Garcia '24 and Sophia Rangel Carmona '26 (lead programmers), Dararitu Wotcha '24, Dagem Gitaw '26, and Aaliyah Williams '24 (chassis building team), Levi Lasley '25, Josh Hardiman '26, and Ajak Ajak '26 (lift and claw building team), Syniah Allen '25 and Genesis Moten '24 (wiring), and Kevin Lira '24 (alliance and team markers).
--Karen Huffman, STEAM Director
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Both Knight Basketball Teams Heading to State Playoffs!
This past weekend De La Salle North Catholic hosted the 3A Lewis and Clark League Basketball Championships on our own Kelly Court. The night’s program was stacked with two highly anticipated games against the Westside Christian Eagles. First up, the men’s game was jam-packed with big plays that had fans on the edge of their seats. Our men’s team competed hard and left it all on the court. The Knights are now decorated as both the 2023 3A Lewis and Clark District Champions as they won the game with the final score of 70-59, as well as the League Champions, having the best record of the season!
Next up, the women’s game was a battle to the end, to say the least. The score was very close from start to finish, and the gym was filled with electric energy and excitement. The fans were cheering and jumping up and down as the Lady Knights traded buckets with the Eagles. With grit and perseverance, the Lady Knights were able to walk away as the 3A Lewis and Clark District Champions with a final score of 66-61.
Our Men’s and Women’s basketball teams made DLSNC history this past weekend. The teams have worked extremely hard all season long, and these accomplishments are well-deserved. We celebrate both teams, and we are beyond proud of them as both teams advance to the OSAA State Playoff tournament starting on Kelley Court this weekend.
--Demetrius Rhodes, Athletics Director
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Breakfast Gathering Promotes Corporate Work Study Program
Many thanks to our hardworking Ambassador Board for helping us to host the first in-person Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) Introductory Breakfast since 2019 at the beautiful new offices of NW Natural. Guests included long-time CWSP champions as well as representatives from companies seeking to learn more about DLSNC’s unique professional training program. CWSP enables students to graduate with a full year of real-world work experience, earning approximately 50% of the cost of their DLSNC education, while CWSP partners gain a diverse entry-level workforce coupled with corporate pride in supporting motivated students of limited means.
After an introduction on the history of DLSNC as well as the nuts and bolts of how CWSP serves students, our partners, and the school’s bottom line, current CWSP supervisors Casey Dawes of Nike Global Controlling Operations, Kristin Wheary from The Standard, and Erica Muir from BRIC Architecture articulated their experiences of supervising DLSNC students and answered questions from the audience. The breakfast concluded with impressive presentations from Kiah Allen ‘23, Kynayzya Brewer ‘24, and Violet Whaley ‘25 about their experiences working at Nike, OnPoint, and Davis Wright Tremaine.
According to Violet, “Being in an environment where you are expected to perform on an adult level and engage with professionals on an equal basis is a rare opportunity. I came into working at Davis Wright Tremaine with a very vague idea of what a professional workplace would be like, but the real-life experience has been incredibly helpful in deciding my career path, developing skills in communication, workplace etiquette, individuality, and responsibility. It will also leave me with valuable connections.”
--Noah Wagemann, CWSP Business Development Manager
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Knight Nation Spotlight Profile
This month we spotlight Sara Stewart, who has been DLSNC's part-time Director of Events in its Development Department for more than six years.
What do you like most about your job?
This is really my happy place in terms of a work environment. My professional background is in elementary education—I was a classroom teacher for five years—and then my passion in volunteering was always in events. To merge the two just is one of those happy combinations of life. Working among other people for whom this school is a vocation, not just a job, really resonates for me.
What makes you the perfect person for this job?
Working before in an LA school that served underserved populations and wanting to help my students achieve opportunity and now being a direct liaison to bring people together, getting them behind a mission of creating equal opportunities, that’s what makes me tick. Fundraising at DLSNC is so unique because it’s rare for someone to donate to us who doesn’t just get it. We’re not out there trying to sell our model. What drives me is the mission component of this job.
What was your first job?
My first job was camp counseling. The outdoors, outdoor school, and summer camps–Camp Silver Creek, Camp Howard–that was always my thing. In high school I was a leader for outdoor school for sixth graders. I ran the critter-catching station; my camp name was Kiwi. The irony of that is now I have three children who have never wanted to go to camp. I laugh about how that was so my thing, but they never took to it. Maybe I bored them to death with my camp stories.
Click here for more about Sara.
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Question of the Month
Continuing our feature on the rich academic offerings at DLSNC, this month we visit Ms. Waibel’s Senior Theology class. A recent assignment combining the theme of finding the sacred everywhere with developing a recipe (think The Great British Baking Show) sparked genuine creativity within her students.
Which of the answers below was not given in response to the prompt: “The Sacraments of Healing enter into the complex human experience of suffering physically, emotionally, and spiritually. What ‘ingredients’ does a person need to have to find the sacred during suffering OR to forgive?”
a) Two cups of tears and pain
b) Preheat the oven to just over uncomfortably hot so muffins will push you out of your comfort zone
c) One cup of “disconnecting your mistake from your identity” cocoa powder
d) Three tablespoons of a time you hurt someone else, for empathy
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