The Brave News

by William Reynolds

Throughout the Feast Day of St. John Bosco and in honor of Catholic School’s Week, St. John Bosco High School highlighted the four models of the Oratory.

Don Bosco, was born August 16, 1815 in the city of Turin, Italy, where he had a famous dream at the age of nine. He dreamt that he was near his home in a playing field where a crowd of young children were having fun, laughing and playing.  But unfortunately, many started to curse and when he tried to stop them, Jesus appeared and told Bosco that he will have to lead the boys with kindness instead of hate.

The result of this dream was Don Bosco having the ambition saving the souls of many young men and helping them grow in life to become good strong men through the power of faith and brotherhood that unites us all for life through the Oratory.

Don Bosco explains through the Oratory that the four pillars of Salesian education are home, school, church and playground. These are the same pillars on which St. John Bosco High School was founded.

Our school represents the home aspect of the oratory, as a second home where the Braves learn, worship, laugh and play, and throughout the week, St. John Bosco High School honored and reflected on the Oratory mission.

Last Tuesday the Brave community came together to honor the church aspect of the Oratory at St. Dominic Savio Parish and to celebrate the Feast Day of Don Bosco as well as his life and accomplishments. The community celebrated Mass with the honor of having the Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Bishop Marc Trudeau, perform the Feast Day Mass of our patron saint. In his homily he talked about the importance of family and how “we have a very special thing with our brothers here.”

The mission and message of St. John Bosco has influenced people all over the world, but has greatly affected our fellow students and faculty, such as Ricardo Rodriguez, a senior who has been a part of the Campus Ministry Team for all four years of his high school career, as well as the leader of the campus ministry team, Mr. Kris Tran.

“Taking the time out of my day to celebrate St. John Bosco’s history and his impact at this moment serves as an opportunity to gather together and remember. Remember who we are, remember that we are not alone, and remember the mission we are made for,” said Ricardo.

“I have always liked Don Bosco, he has been my inspiration when it comes to working with good young men. And in the month of January when we celebrate a lot of our Salesian saints and leaders, and it’s a good reminder of the spirits, work and life of the man who’s name we take for our school,” said Mr. Tran.

On Wednesday, the Brave community celebrated the school aspect of the Oratory, as students, faculty, staff and parents came together at St. Dominic Savio Parish to honor all students based on their academic achievements.

As the week of celebrating came to an end, on Friday, the Faith Families came together to reflect the playground aspect of Don Bosco and had a field day where students had the opportunity to win points for their Faith Families from games such as basketball, tug-o-war, ultimate frisbee, soccer, volleyball and football. This was one final hurrah in a week where the entire student body shared in laughter and fun, just like Don Bosco wanted. 

by Isaac Mays, Sports Editor

At St. John Bosco High School’s very own Thunderdome, St. Joseph’s Associated Student Body (ASB) revealed the Winter Formal Dance King, Phansidilang “King” Dina, who is the first ever international student elected King.

Anticipation arose leading up to Friday, January 20th, where the court and King was celebrated. During halftime of the Bosco Basketball Homecoming Game, all nominees lined up for the reveal. Much of the study body gathered to watch the Braves face off against the Servite Friars, as they also cheered on their classmates in the race for Formal King. 

One senior would be crowned as the King, while the others would serve on the Winter Formal Court. The 2023 senior nominees included Alex Palmer, Ryan Gutierrez and King (Phansidilang) Dina. Additionally, junior princes Max Abrahamson and Grant Hidalgo-Villanueva were given the opportunity to serve on the court after winning their respective elections.

During halftime, candidates were escorted by Saint Joseph’s ASB onto the gym floor. Senior Grace Maxwell crowned King Dina as the official 2023 Winter Formal King. The crowd erupted into applause as the King, King, would now be supported by Ryan, Alex, Max and Grant as his Formal Court.

“I feel like I belong somewhere. I am also representing Asian communities out there, not just Saint John Bosco or Saint Joseph’s,” King said.

King is an international student from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and is a member of the Bosco’s International Exchange Program. King has become the first exchange student to win the title of Formal King in school history. King participates in extracurricular activities, such as Kairos, and also maintains a job as a barista at a local boba shop.

“I just want to say thank you to Bosco and Joseph’s for voting me on as Formal King.” 

Spectators were also very impressed with the overall preparation that the Bosco administration had put into the event. All of the pairs walking up to the gym floor were dressed in formal attire as they processed in perfect fashion.

“I think [the court] all looked very good…I think [Bosco Student Life] did a really good job planning,” said senior Ryan Cirrincione.

King Dina would later go on to perform his duties as the Formal King, the most significant of which being leading the slow dance Saturday evening at the Winter Formal Dance. King and his St. Joseph’s dance partner, Emma Persi, danced to “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin.

King and the rest of the formal court saw themselves as the stars of the evening, as this election played a significant role in the course of the evening. Held at The MODERN in Long Beach, near the Long Beach Airport, Winter Formal was a smashing success.

After the festivities, the Bosco Braves executed a dominating victory against the Friars, 73-45, solidifying the night for the Bosco community.

By: Brett Baligad, Senior Editor

During Winter Homecoming week, the Braves hosted their second annual Intramural Basketball Tournament. The finals took place last Friday in St. John Bosco’s Thunderdome during the Winter Sports Rally.

Basketball is in full swing on St. John Bosco’s campus. Despite the excitement surrounding the Braves’ varsity basketball team’s eight-game winning streak, it seems that Bosco’s second annual intramural basketball tournament has garnered the focus of the entire student body, who were fixated about who would come out on top. Founded in 2022 as the proverbial successor to “Bosco NBA,” the inaugural tournament featured the teachers, “The L.B. Dawgs,” winning it all, as they knocked off “Wavy Navy” in the finals.

In order to join, teams registered their three person roster, an alternate and a team name. From there, the bracket and game schedule were created. Executive Board Co-President Tyler Baligad was a major contributor to organizing the rosters.

“I know the student body really well and I wanted to make sure there were exciting first round matchups. By doing so, it would attract a lot of viewership over the two weeks, and I believe that was achieved. I also [felt] like we [had] a pretty solid group of teams heading into the Final Four,” Tyler said.

The tournament has taken place over two weeks leading up to the finals this Friday. With four rounds, the finals will take place in front of the student body at the Winter Sports Rally. The games are single elimination with all baskets being worth one point up until the finals where three pointers are awarded two points. Lastly, games are played with a fifteen minute game clock.

The Final Four teams included “Chadwell (Linda),” “Top 2 Not 2,” “Fantastic 3” and “The Teachers.”

“There have been a lot of close matchups and upsets coming into the final days of the tournament,” Tyler said. “Gutta Ave. vs. Teachers was decided by a buzz beater.”

Chadwell (Linda), an all senior team, included Joaquin Ramirez, Anthony Rodriguez and Lanson DeGuia. Formerly known as “Smoothmobile,” the team entered in the inaugural tournament last year and made it to the Elite 8. Coached by varsity basketball senior Victor “Smooth” Murillo, Chadwell (Linda) lived and died shooting from behind the arc. Even with their relative lack in size going into the Final Four, the senior squad put on a show.

“I’m really excited that we went to the Final Four,” said senior Anthony Rodriguez of Chadwell (Linda). “My team was in the tournament last year, and I am happy we came back for another run.”

Top 2 Not 2 was another upperclassmen team in the Final Four. Featuring Bosco Football varsity quarterback Caleb Sanchez, as well as Dillon Rickenbacker and Jack Nyman, size was a huge advantage for the squad. Top 2 Not 2 came in hot with an impressive victory over “Only Wins” and would defeat Chadwell (Linda) in the Final Four on Thursday.

The Teachers, the third team in the Final Four, went on a notable but heartbreaking run. Coming into the tournament as the reigning champions, the Teachers had a lot of pressure to go back-to-back. The squad featured Dean of Students Mr. Jon-Paul Masciel, Entrepreneurship Pathway Coordinator Mr. Shane Beatty and Religion Teacher Mr. Juan-Pedro Garcia-Esparza.

The Teachers were battle tested coming into the Final Four after defeating the notorious “Gutta Ave.” with a buzzer beater on Wednesday. Unfortunately, they fell short to the red hot Fantastic 3 in the Final Four, which some attributed to the injury Mr. Masciel sustained in Wednesday’s game against Gutta Ave.

The Fantastic 3 was the final team that was in the Final Four. The team was not one to take lightly, as they produced convincing wins against the “Chess Club” and the “Robotic’s Drive Team” coming into the semifinals. Fronted by juniors Will Mckissick, Corey McFarland and Xzavion Elder, The Fantastic 3 went on a deep run, but ultimately they fell short in the finals against Top 2 Not 2 after defeating the Teachers in the Final Four on Thursday.

Friday’s game did not disappoint. With a dominating interior performance by Caleb Sanchez and Top 2 Not 2, they routed The Fantastic 3. With a 15-8 victory for the squad, Dillon Rickenbacker felt that the tournament was “too easy for him.”

With plenty of action and highlights, the Oratory’s playground was in full effect with the competitive spirit of the tournament bringing the Brave community together.