Since 1989, St. Francis High School math teacher Jim O'Connor has donated more than 72 gallons of blood and platelets at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. This past week, the Board of Directors at Children's Hospital honored him and invited him to speak at their Board meeting. On behalf of Children's Hospital Los Angeles patients, families and staff, thank you Mr. O'Connor for your faithful and selfless service to those in need! Mr. O'Connor has also volunteered a countless number of hours caring for some of the hospital's youngest patients. Consequently, he is well-known and loved by the staff and nurses that he has worked with over the past 25 years. The Board of Directors also asked Mr. O'Connor to accept a check on behalf of Children's Hospital from the Los Angeles Kings Organization at this Thursday's L.A. Kings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game taking place at the Staples Center.

St. Francis High School would also like to thank Mr. O'Connor for serving as a positive role model to the young men who attend our school. He continues to embody those Franciscan virtues that make a St. Francis education so unique.

Here are a few quotations from his speech to the Children's Hospital Board of Directors:

"It is not difficult to figure out that getting stuck by a needle that doesn't even hurt and sitting in a recliner watching a movie can save or sustain the lives of 2 kids or 3 babies - its definitely worth it." - Mr. O'Connor

"The rewards of working with babies are simple, but powerful. To see an unhappy baby relax and fall asleep, give me a little smile, coo or try to talk to me makes it worth my time and I always want to come back." - Mr. O'Connor

"The connection between Children's and St. Francis allows our students to see the virtues in action and the differences they can make in the lives of others." - Mr. O'Connor

When St. Francis High School freshman Spencer Shackel's Aunt Pam died six years ago after battling pancreatic cancer, the Shackel family started PAM's Run, a 5K/!0K run in her honor (She was the picture of health, an avid runner, and active community member in her hometown of Westlake Village). The family partnered with the Lustgarten Foundation, the nation's largest supporter of pancreatic cancer research (they are funded by Cablevision so 100% of the money raised through their events goes directly to research), and have since helped raise over $600,000 towards their research.  

LA CA�ADA - On the verge of reaching the halfway point in the competitive Mission League, the St. Francis High basketball team sought a trademark league victory.

Backed by a tenacious defensive effort in the second half and some late clutch shooting from its top player, the Golden Knights accomplished that rousing feat Monday.

Kyle Leufroy finished with 19 points and St. Francis yielded just 14 second-half points en route to a 54-46 Mission League home victory against Chaminade, ranked No. 1 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division III-A poll and 10th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

"We watched a ton of film on them and they have some great players," said St. Francis co-Coach Ray O'Brien, whose team improved to 14-6, 3-3 in league and is ranked fourth in the division. "It's definitely our biggest win of the season, let alone in league.

"We kept up our defensive intensity throughout the second half and we also did a better job on the boards. It's a great victory that they worked so hard to get."

Leufroy, a junior guard and a reigning All-Area honoree, paved the way for the Golden Knights in the fourth quarter. He finished with seven points in the final quarter to tame the Eagles (16-3, 4-2).

Leufroy made a big three-pointer with 1:41 remaining to give the Golden Knights a 47-41 advantage. He then made four free throws in the final 27.3 seconds to put the finishing touches on the victory.

"It's a great for us, but we know we can't let down," Leufroy said. "On the three-pointer, I saw the shot clock winding down and had to get a good shot off.

"We didn't play too well in the first half. In the second half, we were able to get to a lot of loose balls and we made some real big shots."

St. Francis, which improved to 4-1 in its last five contests, received 18 points from senior forward Noah Willerford and eight from junior guard Michael Allen. Allen scored on a layup off a nice pass from Leufroy to give the Golden Knights a 42-38 lead with 3:58 left.

  Willerford scored the first nine points of the game for the Golden Knights, who advanced to the quarterfinals last season. Willerford's first two baskets were three-pointers to help cut into an early 14-6 lead by Chaminade.

"I've been shooting well of late and feel like I'm on a hot streak," Willerford said. "We have also been playing much better defensively because that's how you have to win, especially in our league.

"We feel good about this win. We also know that we can do a lot better."

Chaminade, which held a 32-26 halftime lead, received a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds from sophomore forward Jack Williams. The Golden Knights limited the talented Williams to eight second-half points. Chaminade mustered only four third-quarter points.

The Golden Knights and Eagles will meet again Feb. 12 at Chaminade...(read the full article HERE) 

The Student Athlete Leadership Award honors student-athletes who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, sportsmanship, academic performance and volunteerism in their team, school and community.

Last year, a group of high school mountain bikers in Southern California, not all of them racing in the high school league, came together under the leadership of junior classmate, Sebouh Bazikian, and formed a charity called Bikes 4 Orphans to provide better mobility for orphans in Africa. As of November 2013, only a year after launching, this charity has raised more than $22,000.  

Congratulations Sean, NICA 2013 Student Athlete award winner. With fellow St. Francis alum and 2012 volunteer of the year award winner, Nick Gualtieri.

The back story to all this involves Sean Bird, whose family at one time might have believed he was headed for a future in basketball. "Sean was an extremely competitive basketball player, and had reached a high level," said Sean's father, Lee Bird, a former mountain bike racer who joined the SoCal League as a founding board member six years ago and working with Sean's elder brother, Lance, set up a mountain bike team at St Francis High School in La Canada.

Sean got a place on the school basketball team in his freshman year, and continued to participate in several other sports as well. In his earlier youth, he had enjoyed BMX, and with his family connections it seemed natural for him to sign up for the school mountain bike team.

With application and commitment Sean soon enjoyed success as a mountain biker too, and in his sophomore year started to get serious about his racing. But school team basketball and school team mountain biking add up to a lot, and he realized something had to give. "It was difficult to balance the two with a slight overlap in the seasons, but the main reason was simple burnout. At the time it was difficult to give up basketball, but I was supported by my friends, my family and my coaches. That's the kind of school St Francis is, everybody wanted me to do what I thought best, and I'm still friends with the guys on the basketball team. But I am convinced it was the right path to take," said Sean.

According to Lee Bird, Sean has a talent for road cycling as well as mountain biking, and progressed from Cat. 5 to Cat. 3 in just 18 months. His high school mountain bike racing results saw him regularly in the top five of the SoCal League and he is emerging as a precocious talent in 12-hour mountain bike racing - a discipline of the sport typically suited to mature adults with several seasons' racing in their legs.

"He loves the racing, but I think the main thing for Sean is the camaraderie of the team, and this is one of the key things about the NICA system," says Lee Bird.

There's no argument from Sean. "The MTB team is amazing. It's been a wonderful support system for me throughout the years. It's wonderful to see families and friends grow closer during a race weekend," says Sean, who recently experienced the rare joy of competing alongside his father in a race.

"I think there's something about emptying yourself out on the race course that bonds people. I can go out on a group ride and ride with people that are 10 years younger or 50 years older. It doesn't matter, we're all there for the same reason, doing the same thing," he said.

Sean met Sebouh in their Freshman year. Sebouh already rode bikes, but he was inspired by Sean's passion and enthusiasm for cycling. "I have been interested in cycling since freshman year, but it was not until meeting Sean, when I really became committed to this great sport," wrote Sebouh on the Bikes 4 Orphans blog.

Sebouh reached out to Sean in their junior year, a few months after announcing the charity, and asked if he would be the manager and help advocate in the cycling community.

"I was very excited to be asked, and said yes right away," said Sean. "I'm very interested in both cycling and service. The two combined flow extremely well together and none of it is a burden."

The first delivery of 43 bicycles was made in August this year, to Machao Orphanage in Makeuni, Kenya.

"We purchase the bicycles through World Bicycle Relief, they drop them off for us where we ask. World Bicycle Relief gives the best value," he said.

The effort took time to gain momentum, he recalls, "Initially few people knew what the goal was, but since we held a fundraiser in October we've had an overwhelming amount of support. It is touching, and wonderful to see all this generosity. It's not only family and friends. We've been in some newspapers and on TV news, and had some donations from people we don't know. It's great to see that people are willing to help out.

"To be honest I wouldn't say I had extraordinary expectations of the charity. I thought it an intriguing idea, but I can't say I expected to reach this point. And I think there's quite a bit further we can go, and it will continue to go. I am looking forward to the future," says Sean.

Apart from racing bicycles 12 months a year with an eye to a pro contract, and helping manage a successful fledgling charity, Sean is also laying the foundation for what he hopes will be a career in writing. He runs a blog called SeanBirdCycling, which focuses on product reviews.

It is true that cycling has gone through a dark period recently, but with people like Sean smartly positioning himself for a life in the sport is is hard for cyclists not to share his optimism about what the future will bring...(read the full article HERE) 

LA CAŇADA - The St. Francis High soccer team was nothing short of dominating during the first half Monday against Chaminade.

With crisp passing, aggressive play and a stalwart defensive effort, the Golden Knights were able to set the tempo and create a wealth of scoring opportunities.

However, despite the dominance, St. Francis was only able to jump out to a one-goal lead through the first 35 minutes. Lucky for the Golden Knights, they were able to tack on another goal before the first half came to a close.

St. Francis would need that goal, as the Eagles scored early in the second half and the Golden Knights were able to hold on for an all-important 2-1 Mission League home victory at Friedman Field.

"It is a very important three points for us in league," St. Francis Coach Glen Appels said. "Top to bottom, every team in this league can play. Any time you can get a win in the Mission League it's an important win. "Look, [Chaminade] beat Harvard-Westlake earlier this season, and Loyola has three ties already, so you have a take the wins where you can get them."

St. Francis (5-5-2, 2-3-1 in league) came out in the first half motivated and invigorated against Chaminade (3-7, 1-5). The Golden Knights continually beat the Eagles to balls, kept the ball primarily in the Chaminade half and, more importantly, kept their opponent from getting off shots.

The Golden Knights outshot the Eagles, 7-1, in the first half.

It didn't take long for St. Francis to get on the board. In the third minute, Frankie Veiga took a throw-in from the right side and put a perfect ball on net. The ball skidded through the box, nicked off Chaminade goalkeeper Angus Bent and landed at the feet of Griffin O'Brien, who put it in.

The Golden Knights would then create several scoring opportunities over the course of the next 25-plus minutes, but they couldn't add to their lead.

"It's not discouraging that we didn't score more in that first half," Appels said. "It would have been more discouraging if we didn't create the chances. Obviously we'd like to finish the chances, but just the fact that we were creating the good chances is encouraging for us."

St. Francis was finally able to add to its lead in the 36th minute. Veiga did the dirty work to make the goal happen. The senior got the ball in deep on the left side and worked to keep possession against two Chaminade defenders. He was able to keep control, break free of the Eagles and angle a shot toward the goal. Jake Anderson was there to take pass, as he blasted it past Bent to put the Golden Knights ahead, 2-0.

"Any time he has the ball you have to anticipate that you might get a pass out of it," Anderson said of Veiga. "It just kind of landed at my feet and I was able to put it in."

After going into half time with a two-goal deficit, the Eagles stormed out in second half and made a game of in. In fact, Andy Naidu tallied a goal in the first minute of the second half off a throw in to cut the deficit in half,.

St. Francis was then able to dodge a bullet in the 52nd minute. Golden Knights' goalkeeper Mark Garcia came out to cut down the angle of a shot, but when he tried to cover up on the attempt the ball squirted away. With the net empty, Chaminade's J.T. Wilson took a hard shot on goal. Luckily for St. Francis, junior defender Benjamin Gabella was positioned perfectly at the goal line and he was able to head the ball out on what would have been a sure goal.

"We just looked lethargic to start that second half when we gave up that goal," Appels said. "We just have to calm down in front of the goal and hopefully get a few more shots to go in."...(read the full article HERE)