September 29, 2020

Waiver Process + Alameda County in Tier 2-Red: Our waiver application is currently being reviewed by the Alameda Department of Public Health. As reported last week, Alameda County’s COVID-19 rates place the county in the “substantial” Tier 2-Red, which means that schools may eventually be permitted to reopen for in-person learning with a measured and phased approach to reopening. It is important to note that any reopening will be subject to restrictions to protect the health and safety of students and staff. Any school that reopens must have a reopening plan and follow the guidance of the Alameda Department of Public Health, the California Department of Public Health and the Alameda Department of Education. You can find version 11 of this guidance here. We remain in the midst of a global pandemic.

Town Hall: We have scheduled a Town Hall for Thursday, October 8, from 7:00-7:45p.m. to discuss our phased reopening plan and review the Hybrid model. Our phased reopening plan will focus on bringing the youngest students to campus first. The reopening date will be contingent upon the waiver process, Alameda County’s phased approach to allowing schools to open, and the updates to our facilities and testing protocols as noted in our reopening document. Please pre-submit any questions here. 

October - Month of the Rosary: The month of October is dedicated to the holy Rosary and includes the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7th. At Saint Philip Neri, traditionally we celebrate this month by praying the Rosary together on the school yard. This year, our SLC (Student Leadership Council) will lead us virtually in the Rosary as part of our daily morning prayer. We invite you to have your Rosary ready to join us in this prayer experience. We begin this prayer experience on Thursday, October 1st. 

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!

STAR Assessments: We completed the benchmark STAR assessments and will send home the individual STAR reports next week. More information on the STAR assessments can be found here.

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.

Picture Day(s): This year, school photos will be happening on Tuesday, October 13th and Thursday, October 15th from 3p.m. to 6p.m. Due to COVID-19, please be advised that a caregiver will need to be present with the student/s for picture day. Pictures will take place in O’Brien Hall. There will be two cameras and two separate entrances. Only one student per camera will be allowed in the hall at one time. Masks and social distancing are required. We are scheduling photos between 3pm and 6pm and will let you know your student's time slot as soon as possible. Please see the Kurt Burton Photography flyer here for information on ordering photos.

8th grade Portraits: This year the 8th grade portraits will be taken at the studio of Kurt Burton Photography at 20416 San Miguel Ave, Castro Valley. Portrait appointments will be scheduled for Tuesday, November 3rd, Wednesday, November 4th, and Thursday November 5th. Parents, you will need to call the studio weekdays between 10am and 4pm at (510) 582-1092 to schedule your appointment. The deadline for making portrait appointments is October 16th.

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 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.

Meet the Hofmanns!

Enjoy our latest SPN Virtual Family Introduction

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.

Did you get Wacky last Wednesday? These Spartans sure showed some spirit!

When:7pm Tuesday, October 29th

Where: Zoom

Hello families! Brighten your child's distance learning schedule with Galileo Anywhere online classes. Social interaction and joyful exploration taught by skilled, enthusiastic instructors kids love. Add a welcome structure to the after-school schedule with rewarding STEAM-based enrichment proven to spark innovation and build a growth mindset. Enroll at: galileo-camps.com/galileo-anywhere

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 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.

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

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

Thanks to all who joined us for the annual Fun Fair last Sunday. Over 130 to-go dinners were served, and some lucky winners drove away with raffle prizes!