SPN Weekly Newsletter #4

September 22, 2020

Above all, clothe yourselves with love

which binds us together in perfect unity

~ Colossians 3:14

Principal's Message

Dear Families,

It was wonderful to see so many families during the Chalk Walk activity! Since we have been in a distance learning platform since March of last year, it is always remarkable to see how much the students have grown. I hope your family had a chance to walk this spectacular gallery over the weekend. Thank you to our SPN Building Community Committee for this uplifting event, and a special shout out to Gemma Holmes and Sonia Dominguez for their extensive contributions to the chalk magic on our sidewalks!

Thanks also to the Escobar family for their help with the event- including putting together the movie below for everyone's enjoyment.

A reminder of our 2020-21 school theme - CONNECTION!

SPN alumna, Cooper, staying connected with her SPN family!

For more Chalk Walk photos, follow this link and enjoy! Also, take a look at our next Community Building activity under the "Making Connections" section below.

Wacky Wednesday: Tomorrow is our first spirit day - Wacky Wednesday!! How Wacky can you be? Remember to send photos to the office for our next week’s newsletter.

Scrip: Our scrip program and your commitment continue this year. Tuition covers about two thirds of the cost to educate your student. Scrip is one of our four main fundraisers to fill in the gap. We have an inventory of cards available to purchase in the office or you may place your order online for payment and pick up via the office. This program does not cost anything extra to our families - the cards you purchase are used for their full value.

Feast of Saint Francis: Our next All School Mass will be on Monday, October 5th at 8:30a.m. for the Feast of Saint Francis. Similar to our first All School Mass, students will be provided the live stream link and are required to attend Mass. We invite all families to participate in Mass together. Because this is the Feast of Saint Francis, Father Joseph will give a virtual blessing to your animals after the Mass. He will invite all of you to have your animals with you as he gives the blessing. We will definitely miss gathering all together on the yard!

Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences: We are changing the format of our PTS conferences due to the virtual environment and distance learning. All teachers have been scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with students and families this year. We felt it essential to have connection during our distance learning platform. As such, we are leaving our conference time for students and families who are struggling, need an extra check in, or may need more support to be successful with our online platforms. Your teacher will reach out to schedule a conference with you and your child for October 8th and 9th. Conversely, should you want a conference with your child’s teacher, please reach out directly to the teacher.

STAR + Progress Reports: The first standardized benchmark assessment for reading and math for grades 2nd-8th, will be complete by September 25th. These assessment results will be mailed home to all families with progress reports. All students will receive a progress report.

Waiver Process: We submitted our Waiver Application and our reopening plan is posted on the home page of our website. We have been approved for “completeness” by the ACOE (Alameda County of Education) and are now in the “review for content” process with the Alameda County for Public Health. If we pass this review, our Waiver Application will be sent to the California Department of Public Health. I will keep you posted on developments during the process.

Reminder - no school this Friday: This Friday, September 25th, is an elementary school staff day for our Diocese. There will be no school.

It is nice to have clear weather, blue skies and the opportunity to be outside again. Be well and be safe.

Abundant blessings,

Jessica Murray

Principal

Making connections: Virtual Family Introductions

Dear Families,

As we start off this school year with distance learning, it is important that our students and their families build and maintain a strong sense of community. We understand that a virtual environment may seem like a barrier to getting to know one another, but we are committed to exploring new ways to ensure that both new and continuing families feel connected. One way that we hope to achieve this is with a new opportunity that provides families with an opportunity to introduce themselves to the SPN community through a short video that will be shared as part of the weekly newsletter.

We invite you to please sign your family up to submit a 2-minute video using this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oXgUfMNQRcM4sEZQn1QJtNGCmrFfkoXBAVx8ViRK-eA/edit?usp=sharing. The linked document also includes suggested prompts for your family and instructions for how to submit your video.

Thank you in advance for participating!

To kick things off, here is a video from the Escobar family, which includes Phoenix (1st grade) and Orion (TK), as well as their parents, Daniel and Justine.

Sincerely,

The SPN Building Community Committee

School Happenings

Preschoolers learning in the SPN garden

2nd grade scientists learning to ask questions about everyday objects

4th grade scientist builds a finger that bends in his human anatomy unit

5th graders artfully depict food chains - can you guess the animals/food?

Community Happenings

Interested in Scouts?

Join us at St. Philip Neri’s Cub Scout Pack information night on Tuesday, October 29th. Cub Scouts is open to boys and girls Kindergarten - 5th grade. Cub Scouts is a fun and educational introduction to the outdoors, service and citizenship. The SPN pack (pack 78) is a welcoming and inclusive group for kids of all interests.

When:7pm Tuesday, October 29th

Where: Zoom

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77628736778?pwd=UFdHY1BmUWkxWGNwVHFQYy96MTFWUT09

Meeting ID: 776 2873 6778

Passcode: 0PLCa3

Three offerings from SJND

1. For Middle School & Faculty/Staff:We are excited to invite you to join us on Zoom for SJND Theater's fall production of Language of Angels! This play is a haunted ghost story about a young woman's tragic passing and its impact on the town and her friends.

The show will be performed live on Zoom tonight, Tuesday September 22nd & Wednesday, September 23rd @ 7:30pm. The show runs 90 minutes with no intermission and is appropriate for an audience of 11+.

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83437346998?pwd=NEJTUmpKa1phUVpuY0VkRC82RnRrUT09

Passcode: 115213

2. For Middle School parents: SJND's Live with Admissions series continues Mondays at 10:00 a.m. and you are welcome to view and share our latest discussion about SJND Athletics. Next week, we dive into the SJND student experience.

Live with Admissions

Mondays at 10AM

Live with Admissions is a weekly series connecting prospective families to the SJND Admission Office and members of the SJND community. Join the Admission Team in open format Q&A sessions, meet special guests from the administration, faculty/staff, current parent and school community, and dive into some frequently asked question topics.

3. For 8th Grade: SJND will host a second, online and proctored Practice High School Placement Test (HSPT) on Saturday, October 3.

Practice High School Placement Test (HSPT)

Saturday, October 3, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

SJND invites 8th graders interested in learning more about SJND and the admission process to take the Practice High School Placement Test (HSPT) proctored online by SJND on Saturday, October 3, 2020. The HSPT is a required component of the Catholic high school admission process; students take the official test in January of their 8th grade year. Register for the Practice HSPT

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M.U.S.E. is now also offering Guitar/Ukulele grades 3-8 and piano grades 2-8 in both an online class setting and privately. For more information go to their website at www.museband.com or email info@museband.com. Space is limited.