October 31, 2023



Happy Halloween!

Dear St. Philip Neri Families,

We have so much to celebrate and be grateful for here at SPN. First, our 8th Grade class enjoyed an inspiring week at Caritas Camp, where they learned more about themselves while growing closer to God and to one another. This experience will stay with them and enhance their 8th grade year together as well as inform their future choices and experiences. Thank you to Ms. Taylor who supported them throughout the week as well as the parent volunteers who chaperoned: we truly could not make this happen without you.

Halloween is a fun-filled day for our SPN community, beginning with our parade around the neighborhood, classroom parties, and of course the Carnival hosted by our Student Leadership Council (SLC). Please have a safe and enjoyable time Trick-or-Treating tonight.

Halloween’s origins go back to medieval Christianity, marking the day before All Saints Day or All Hallows’ Day (hallow meaning holy or saint), November 1, thus making October 31 “All Hallows’ Eve,” that eventually became Halloween. November 2 is All Souls Day on our Christian calendar, and eventually these 3 days became known as Hallowtide. We will celebrate All Saints Day with an all school Mass at 9:30 a.m. hosted by our 7th grade on Wednesday, and all are welcome. Students may dress as saints on November 1. 

We also commemorate All Souls Day with our Ofrenda or Altar dedicated to remembering our loved ones who have gone to heaven. The Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, traditions originated in Mexico have become very popular in other regions including California. Pagan origins of Halloween from around the world focused on the change of season and gratitude for the harvest while marking the beginning of winter, a time of dormancy and death. Thus the need to “ward off evil spirits,” the traditions of dressing up in costumes or carving jack-o-lanterns started in order to scare away “ghosts” associated with death. Many thanks to our Belonging & Inclusion Committee for setting up our Ofrenda in the front office this year.

Finally, a big thank you to our teachers of Kindergarten through Fifth Grade – Mrs. Foster, Mrs. Russi, Mrs. Suer, Mrs. Costy, Ms. Turner, and Ms. Soong– for sharing their collective wisdom with parents at our Town Hall Meeting last Thursday. Many thanks, too, to our parents (including teachers Mr. Toner, Mrs. Sturlini, and school counselor, Ms. Gwire) for attending and participating in our discussion on how to support all of our students to be successful in school. Click here for highlights from the evening’s discussion.

Please join us on Sunday, November 5 at 9:00 a.m. for Family Mass hosted by our 5th and 6th Grades, and please carefully read through this Newsletter for important information.

Peace & Blessings,

Ms. Thomas

The Annual Fund Grade Level Competition has just 2 weeks to go, and this past week each and every grade level boosted their percentages considerably. Awesome job!! Our goal is 100% participation at each grade level, and those grade levels that reach 100% by November 15 will get Free Dress and a Pizza Party on Friday, November 17.  Thank you for all of your support.

As of October 31:

Preschool: 18%

TK: 44%

K: 32%

1: 32%

2: 33%

3: 33%

4: 66%

5: 27%

6: 30%

7: 37%

8: 23%

Thank you to student volunteers for their help preparing donation envelopes for mailing.

There have been one (1) COVID cases since October 25, 2023.

Please continue to conduct Daily Health Screenings and inform the school office of any exposure or positive cases.

November 2023

November 1 - All School Mass: All Saints Day, 9:30 a.m.

November 2 - Mini Maker's Fair, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

November 5 - Rite of Enrollment - Family Mass Hosted by Grades 5 & 6, 9:00 a.m.

November 7 - Chipotle Fundraising

November 7 - PTG Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

November 9 - End of First Trimester

November 9 - Middle School Play, 1:30 p.m.

November 10 - NO SCHOOL: Veterans Day Observed - No Share and Care

November 12 - Scholastic Book Fair First Day

November 14 - Free Dress for Nov Birthdays

November 14 - AB Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

November 15 - Noon Dismissal / Professional Development Day

November 16 - Catholic School Principal Appreciation Day

November 17 - Report Card Day

November 20-24 Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL - No Share and Care

November 27 - SAB Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

November 30 - School Spirit Day - Pajama Day

December 2023

December 8 - All School Mass: Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 9:30 a.m.

December 12 - Free Dress for December Birthdays

December 12 - AB Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

December 14 - Christmas Concert, 7:00 p.m. Students' Attendance Required

December 20 - Christmas Free Dress

December 20 - Noon Dismissal - No Share and Care

December 21 - January 3 - Christmas Break: NO SCHOOL - No Share and Care

Please join us for Family Mass on Sunday, November 5, 9:00 a.m. hosted by 5th and 6th Grades.

Please read Ms. Smeal's October Enrichment Newsletter here.

PTG and the school are planning to release our paper copies of our annual Family Directory.

Please let us know below if you would like to receive a hard copy of the directory or if you prefer a digital one. Also, please let us know if you can help with creating it.

Please watch our broadcasting elective class' Halloween video here.

Thank you, Mr. Croft!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

(Great way to get parent hours)

Hello Families,

Our Boys Basketball and Girls Volleyball season are right around the corner. Part of our commitment to having a great season for our students is hosting days at our "home gym", Alameda Point Gym, where we have a whole day's worth of games, both basketball and volleyball. Families that sign up for Athletics have an added five hours commitment for volunteering and this is a great way to knock those out! We also do not only take families of athletes, any and all that are willing and able to volunteer are welcome (if signing up for a scoring job please have some basic knowledge of the sports). Our First hosting day is Saturday November 11th, it is a full day starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 3 p.m., shifts are two hours each. Link to sign up is below, thank you all for your time. Any questions please let me know.

https://volunteersignup.org/CLKLC

Go Spartans!

Jeff Croft

PE Teacher and Athletic Director

SPN's annual Mini Makers' Faire will be on Thursday Nov 2nd from 5-7pm at O'Brien Hall. 

Please sign up to volunteer here and donate supplies here.

We are also collecting gently used toys for up-cycling and small household appliances for electronics take apart. Please bring your donations to the school office.

Please contact Helen Wang (Alexandra, K and Maxwell, 2) or Elaine Mendes (Zeke, 3) with any questions.

Families can now get volunteer hours for buying items from Grade Level and Department Amazon Wishlists. You will get 1 volunteer hour for every $20 spent. If the class does not have any items available on their list, Amazon gift cards are welcome, too!

Please include a gift receipt so we know who to thank!

Please contact Ms. Trujillo with any questions.

Preschool

TK

Kindergarten 

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

6th Grade

7th Grade

8th Grade

Art/Spanish

Library

MakerSpace

Music

Office/Shared Areas

PE

Resource

Share & Care

Lunch Servers Needed

Help serve lunch. Please contact Janelle Sheets with any questions.

Log your volunteers hours HERE! Please contact Ms. Trujillo for help.

Preschool Service Learning Project

Veterans Sock Drive

The preschoolers are collecting NEW socks for men and women who have served

in our military. We will be collecting socks October 30th through November 8th.

There is a box in the school lobby to place your donations.

The donations will be delivered to the Palo Alto/Menlo Park VA for distribution to

the veterans in need. Thank you for your generosity!

Mark Your Calendar!

8th Grade Fundraiser at Alameda Elks Lodge breakfast on December. 10, 8:30 am to 11:30 am.

Dear SPN Families:

I’m excited to announce that our school will be hosting our Annual Fall Scholastic Book Fair, which will take place from NOVEMBER 13 through NOVEMBER 17 at O’BRIEN HALL.

For students, it’s one of the most anticipated events of the school year—but we need volunteers to make it happen. We hope that you can offer your time and talents to help students experience Bookjoy firsthand! And every purchase at the Fair directly benefits our school. So, it’s a win-win!

If you’re available to lend a hand at this upcoming event, please visit the sign-up page at: https://bit.ly/3RnJ7ka or scan the QR code below:

Opportunities to assist include:

• Setup/Decorating the Fair
• Helping shoppers at the Fair
• Checkout
• Strike Down/Packing up the Fair



I look forward to hearing from you.

Gratefully,

Benjamin Yee

(Joshua, 4)

Please contact Mariem Lambert at mlambert@csdo.org if you know of a candidate who would be a good fit for our school.

About the organization:

St. Philip Neri’s mission is to educate children in the Catholic faith and nurture their

minds, body, and soul. We aim to inspire them to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

achieve their highest academic and creative potential, and actively serve and enrich the

community.

About the program:

“Share and Care” is St. Philip Neri’s play-based extended care program that reinforces

the school’s philosophy of educating the whole child and encouraging students to be

responsible, reverent, respectful lifelong learners. Activities are directed to encourage a

sense of community, positive-self image, independence, and global citizenship.

While Share and Care takes place outdoors 90% of the time, students can still expect to

do crafts, get help with homework, and have storytime. Additionally, we offer special

activities like American Sign Language, Taste Test Tuesday, and cooking class.

About the position:

The extended care assistant works under the Director of Extended Care to provide

supervision for children in grades TK thru 8th.

Who we are looking for:

● Motivated self-starters who can follow a diverse daily schedule without

supervision

● Positive and energetic mentors who can make each student feel like a superstar

● Team players who work to ensure procedures are followed and goals are met

● Problem solvers who can come up with creative solutions for students and staff

● Efficient multitaskers who can complete assigned tasks while managing student

groups

Examples of duties and responsibilities:

● Preparing and cleaning up snack for up to 50 students

● Resolving conflicts between students

● Cleaning tables and washing dishes

● Monitoring the playground, structured activities, and bathroom usage

● Attending and participating in weekly team meetings

● Helping students in 1st-8th grade with homework

● Implementing behavior management schemes created by the Share and Care

team

● Leading students in group activities, games, and projects

Expected Hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 2:30-5:00

Wednesday: 1:30-5:00

Noon dismissals: 11:50-5:00 (There are about 19 noon dismissals in a school year)

There are opportunities to gain more hours during school events and as a substitute for yard duties and lunch supervision.

Compensation:

$18/per hour

Please send cover letter and resumé to Mariem Lambert at mlambert@csdo.org

Have you joined SPN on social media? 

We would love to have you as a part of our social media community.

It only takes a few seconds to join.

Check us out on Instagram at “spnalameda”.