by Jesus Biag, co-Editor-in-Chief

Last Friday on the Feast Day of St. John Bosco, St. John Bosco and St. Joseph’s High Schools celebrated ‘Unity Day,’ an event designed to bring the sibling schools closer and recognize their respective histories. 

The Braves are celebrating their 85th anniversary this year, while the Jesters celebrated their 60th this past year. These two key milestones were part of why the schools came together to bring back this event, which last took place a decade ago.

The last time Unity Day was celebrated, Mr. Sergio Esparza, theology instructor and Campus Minister, was just starting his teaching career at St. Joseph’s High School. While he wasn’t directly involved in coordinating  2015’s Unity Day, which took place on our campus, he learned a lot and enjoyed watching the shared energy between Bosco and SJ.

“It was crazy. There was a lot going on,” said Mr. Esparza. “There were so many students interacting with one another, and it was such a fun time for students to hang out with one another.”

Ten years later, as Bosco’s Campus Minister, Mr. Esparza had to figure out how to combine faith and fun during Mass, the first activity of 2025’s Unity Day, which started after students checked in. 

Fr. Mel Trinidad, Provincial and President of St. John Bosco, presided over Mass. Classes sat together and celebrated in the Flynn Center, St. Joseph’s gymnasium. 

Before Mass started, however, the presidents from St. John Bosco and St. Joseph’s class boards brought up a flower to honor St. John Bosco on his feast day. Senior Board President, Josh Samonte, found the moment to be a particularly powerful one.

“Bringing up the flower alongside one of my SJ sisters resonated with me,” Josh said. “Being able to celebrate Mass with one another was extremely powerful, and [to me], that’s what Unity Day was all about.”

At the end of Mass, before everyone was dismissed, members of Bosco’s Youth Ministry came up to ask Father Mel for the day off. Instead of directly asking, they presented a pre-recorded video that was played to enormous laughter. Fr. Mel obliged, granting the Braves a day off on Monday, February 10th.

After being dismissed from the gym, the true festivities started. While Mr. Esparza was behind the “Church” aspect of Unity Day, Dr. Francesca Po, Bosco’s Coordinator of Youth Ministry, wanted to focus more on a different part of the Oratory Model: the “playground” aspect.

“We wanted to [have] a field day to celebrate the playground aspect of a Salesian school,” said Dr. Po. “[St. John Bosco] is one of the only schools that hasn’t been having a field day to acknowledge [the playground aspect].”

In Dr. Po’s opinion, Unity Day truly embodies the spirit of St. John Bosco. 

“[St. John Bosco] was a magician. He would do magic as he taught his students to show how playful he was,” said Dr. Po. “A huge part of Unity Day was to focus on that part of his character and personality.”

To embody the playground spirit, the Jesters and Braves gathered on SJ’s field to play games, engage in conversation and enjoy one another’s company. There were carnival games and a jumper castle, as well as an ice cream truck for students to enjoy some sweet treats.

After that, everyone returned back to the gym for a rally. St. Joseph’s is famous for their rallies, which was reinforced by Mr. Esparza, who taught at SJ before coming to Bosco.

“There’s nothing like [a St. Joseph’s rally],” Mr. Esparza said. “The girls come with so much energy, and you can feel the youthful spirit of someone like St. John Bosco when you’re there.”

Unity Day’s rally parodied Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie, with members of SJ and Bosco’s executive boards leading the way. They led games where different classes competed against one another and introduced the Winter Formal court, headlined by As’ad Kashim, the Winter Formal King.

After lunch concluded, signaling the end of the day, As’ad remembered what he enjoyed most about Unity Day.

“I was very happy to connect with my Bosco brothers and SJ sisters,” As’ad said. “I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever forget.”

As’ad’s statements were reiterated by Jolynn Hallum, St. Joseph’s Senior Board President who also competes as a member of their highly competitive cheer team. 

“With an emphasis on inclusivity throughout Unity Day, I feel we were able to mend [the gap between our two schools], building lasting bonds that will last a lifetime,” Jolynn said.

The leaders of Campus Ministry don’t want to let another ten years pass before they hold this event again.

“We plan on making this an annual thing, with both schools alternating who hosts,” said Dr. Po.

By continuing efforts to unite St. John Bosco and St. Joseph’s together, both schools hope to make the bonds between brothers and sisters even stronger.