Alums from ’79 and ’84 celebrate reunions

The campus at SJND was filled with the spirit of the 70s again on Sept. 19, as about 40 people from the Class of 1979 gathered for a wine and cheese reception in Room 204 of Marianist Hall.

Not far away, the Class of 1984 was gathering for pre-reunion drinks at Linguini’s on Park Street. They had a barbecue the next day at Lafayette Reservoir and invited families to join them to celebrate their 25th anniversary of graduating from SJND.

At the Class of 1979 reception, the group enjoyed spending time catching up with each other. Kevin Kelly asked the group to consider a gift to the Smart Classrooms capital campaign, which will eventually fund the modernization of all classrooms on SJND’s campus.

Room 204, where the group gathered, has already been revamped with wireless teaching tools and a new appealing look. Kelly and his brother, Jim ’76, and sister, Maura Koberlein’80, have pledged $5,000 each as a match for gifts from the Class of 1979 to the campaign.

Principal Simon Chiu visited with the group, as did former principal Tony Aiello. A few members of the Class of 1979 took a tour of the school’s campus, including the new science center, before they headed to McGee’s on Park Street to continue the celebrating.

“I took the tour and was impressed by the facilities,” said Ken Barrow, who organized the reunion. “I wish I still lived in Alameda. I’d definitely send my kids to SJND when they got old enough.”  There’s still time, Ken, they’re only 19 months and 5 years old!

Class of 1994 returns to campus

The Class of 1994 got together to celebrate their 15th reunion on Aug. 15 for dinner at Izzy’s Steaks and Chops in San Ramon. The following day, a group of alums from the class enjoyed a wine and cheese reception on campus at Saint Joseph Notre Dame and took a tour of the new science center. Retired principal Tony Aiello, for whom the science center is named, joined the group at their reception.

“The science center is really amazing,” said Catherine Ordinario ’94, a labor and delivery nurse with Kaiser in Hayward. She and her husband, Ian Ordinario ’94, are sending their daughter, Akaela, to SJND this year. Akaela ’13 is a SJND Presidential Scholar.

Class of 1999 Parties Like it's 1999

About 40 SJND alumni came from all over the country -- New York City, Seattle, Florida and Southern California, as well as from the Bay Area – to get together for the Class of 1999’s 10th Reunion at the Gravity Room in San Francisco on July 11.
It was a really great party, and people got a chance to catch up with each other. A lot of people pitched in to make the event a success. Leah Manuel found the venue and coordinated the appetizers. Jennifer Rubio designed the invitation and coordinated check-in with Mia Rivas. Ryan Garcia was the DJ, and Nicha Kittitanaphan organized a host committee effort. Alex Mason, Andrew Agbay, Chris Mercado, Vanessa KoneffKlatt, and Cindy Suen helped to reach out to classmates via phone, text, IMs and social networking. The organizers used MySpace, Facebook and created an evite to track attendance.

Reunions: Your Alumni Office is Here to Help
The SJND Alumni Relations office can help with the details of planning a reunion. Whether you need a suggestion for a venue or help contacting former classmates, feel free to contact Mary McInerney at 510-995-9457 or mmcinerney@sjnd.org.