SPN Weekly Newsletter #21

February 2, 2021

A prayer for Catholic Schools

Almighty God,

You sent forth your Son as a beacon of hope for all people. As Teacher, he has given us the prime example of the importance of education. As disciples, we look to him for inspiration and strength.

Thank you for the many people who have dedicated their lives in service to our Catholic schools. Thank you for the teachers and administrators who sustain our schools. Thank you for the parents who have given support and witness to the importance of Catholic education. Thank you for the students who work hard to further their education.

Bless our school communities and the many people who advance our mission. May our schools be a home for those who seek to grow in openness, faith, love, intellect and commitment to justice. In your name, we pray.

Amen

Principal's Message

Dear Families,

We are so grateful for our amazing community and are blessed with our SPN family. Our Auction (aka Crab Feed) is coming up! You will have received a notification from your room parent regarding class baskets. The theme of these baskets is Alameda Strong and we are looking to support our local businesses. All items are due by next Friday the 12th.

The auction, although remote, will feature a live band, class art, vacation homes, free tuition-for-a-year raffle, raise your paddle, etc. The great thing about our auction is that there is NO LIMIT to the number of people who can participate. Get that social bubble together, invite grandparents and special friends to help contribute to SPN’s most important fundraiser of the year. Be sure to read the note below from the Auction Committee.

Happy Catholic Schools Week! As we celebrate our Catholic schools, I am honored to work with all our SPN staff and am grateful for their love, dedication and support of all our students and the ministry of Catholic education.

Monday: Thank you to our community

We are so grateful for the community in which we live! Each grade is reaching out with a thank you to special members of our community:

Office Staff: School Board and Athletic Board
Preschool: Office Staff
TK: Trader Joe’s
Kindergarten: Parish Staff
1st grade: Postal Letter Carriers
2nd grade: Alameda County Food Bank
3rd grade: Firefighters
4th grade: Caretakers for Senior Resident Facilities
5th grade: Doctors/Nurses
6th grade: UPS, Fed Ex
7th grade: Police
8th grade: PTG

Tuesday: Student Appreciation

Thank you PTG for helping to make this distance learning Catholic Schools Week special. Student Appreciation is today and the students are having fun in their free dress, watching Cirque du Soleil together and enjoying animal crackers!

Wednesday: Faith Families

We are going to have our first Faith Family event! A Faith Family consists of one student from each grade K-8. The 8th graders are the head of their family and will lead their family in a Time Capsule activity. Look for a zoom link and information on Faith Families from your classroom teachers. Please note TK and Preschool do not attend Faith families, but will have the opportunity to be part of the time capsule through their classroom teachers.

Thursday: Oratorical Fest

Our traditional Oratorical Fest goes virtual this year! The presentations are in two different viewing times with different students in each group. There is a 10:00a.m. presentation group and a 1:00p.m. presentation group. This allows us to accommodate in-person learning cohorts and our distance learners. Both presentations will be recorded and anyone with the link will be able to see our wonderful presenters.

The Youtube links for the presentations are as follows:

Friday: Teacher + Staff Appreciation Day

Thank you PTG and room parents for preparing special appreciations for our amazing teachers and staff. Thank you also to the class of 2020 (last year's 8th grade) for supplying the teachers with a grab and go lunch from Grains and Greens.

Service Learning: School-wide

~ Building Futures Service Project: Thank you for all your donations so far! We will continue accepting donations through Friday morning at 10am in the office.

Preschool/TK: Deodorant and soap
Kindergarten: Shampoo and conditioner
First: Ramen noodles and canned goods
Second and Fifth: Hand sanitizer
Third: Gloves
Fourth: Hand wipes
Sixth: Toothpaste and toothbrushes
Seventh: Lotions
Eighth: Hats and scarves
Faculty: Pads/tampons and disposable masks

~ Saint Philip Neri Staff Service Project: As in previous years, the SPN staff and advisory boards are supporting the Alameda Warming Shelter. We delivered our first brunch bags this week, and received the following note from one of the recipients. It is truly special to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

Your Survey - Important: We do not yet have enough responses to the surveys. If you have not yet taken the survey, please take a few minutes to do so. Your partnership is essential! TK-2 Hybrid Learning Survey, TK-2 Remote Learning Survey and 3rd-8th grade Remote Learning Survey.

Spirit Wear: Is back! The store will open February 5, 2021 and will close on February 28, 2021. The link for the updated store is: https://stphilipneriathletics2021.itemorder.com/sale

Return to School: It has been great having the 3rd and 4th graders back on campus for in-person instruction. We will welcome back our 5th graders on February 9th!

Abundant blessings,

Jessica Murray

Principal

A special message from our SPN Auction 2021 Committee

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SPN Auction 2021

We have some great items for you, your family, and friends to bid on. The silver lining of having a virtual event this year is that we do not have space constraints of a venue so everyone can be included in the main event!

We will still need you to register in advance of the event so that your account is up and running for you to bid and we can send you the log in details for the March 5 evening event. Registration will open on Monday, February 8 and the online auction will start on Monday, March 1 and end on Monday, March 8. Feel free to send this information out to your friends and family so that they have a chance to bid on items as well.

Please continue to reach out to your networks to see if they would be willing to make a tax-deductible donation. The full event details and how to make a donation can be found on the 2021 Auction Website.

Thank you!

Allison Grant & Bryan Thomas

SPN Auction Co-Chairs

Counselor's Corner

This Thursday , 2/4, at 10a.m. UCSF is hosting a free webinar entitled "The State of Play, Keeping Kids Active in A Changing World". This event will be great for parents with kids of all ages and activity levels and will include a dynamic conversation about the state of play in these COVID times and offer recommendations for safe activities, exercise, and re-entering competitive sports. Click below to register.