November 7, 2023



Trimester One – Done!

Dear St. Philp Neri Families,

On Thursday of this week we will have completed the First Trimester of the 2023-24 school year. Report Cards will be distributed next Friday, November 17, and it is a wonderful time for teachers and students to reflect on what has been working well and what needs to be adjusted during Trimester 2. 

Our Peer Tutoring Program will begin on Monday, November 27, with specially qualified students in grades 7 and 8 working after school with students needing extra support with Homework or class standards in Reading or Math in grades 1-5. Our Student Leadership Council Vice President, Kaleb Condez, is organizing our Peer Tutoring program, and our 7th and 8th graders are looking forward to working with younger students to feel more confident with schoolwork. Kaleb will be contacting parents who showed interest in Peer Tutoring during the October conferences. If you are interested in your student working with a peer tutor, please contact Kaleb (24kalebc@spnalameda.org) and your child’s teacher for more information.

Please read through this Newsletter for important information about upcoming events and opportunities– Chipotle Dine & Donate Tonight, Annual Fund (last week of Annual Fund Grade Level Competition), Book Fair, Adopt-a-Family, and more. We appreciate everyone’s support and cooperation in making our events and efforts successful this year.

Peace & Blessings,

Ms. Thomas

The Annual Fund Grade Level Competition has just 1 week to go, and a few classes are poised to win Free Dress and a Pizza Party. 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 November 6:

Preschool: 27%

TK: 50%

K: 41%

1: 36%

2: 38%

3: 42%

4: 76%

5: 33%

6: 40%

7: 40%

8: 35%

Now you can use your credit card next time you are at the school office.

There have been three (3) COVID cases since November 1, 2023.

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

November 2023

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 10 - 8th Grade Fundraiser, Elks Lodge, 8:30-11:30 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

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)

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

We have heard from only 38 families so far. 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.

We are still looking for a few more volunteers!

(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 this 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

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!

Dear SPN  Families,

As we are approaching the Christmas season, we hope you will take part in the annual St. Philip Neri tradition of Adopt-a-family.

For many years, our school has sponsored organizations that assist members of our larger community that are in need of help. This year we are sponsoring Building Futures formerly Midway Shelter, Alameda Point Collaborative and Welcome the Stranger. Our hope is that each student will purchase one or two items from the list. Collection boxes will be placed outside each classroom.

• Pre-School-7th grade: please return the unwrapped gifts no later than December 11, 2023.
• 8th Grade: please return you wrapped gifts no later than December 11, 2023.

Thank you for your generosity and support.



Blessings,

Remely R. Laguicao

Adopt a Family Chair

Pre-School, TK and Kindergarten - FOR BUILDING FUTURES

Children (infants to 12 years old, older kids especially need items) 

• Educational toys
• Dolls + action figures - (multiracial preferred)
• Underwear + socks

1st, 2nd and 3rd Grades - FOR BUILDING FUTURES

Teens (ages 13-17, highest need) 

• Body spray, full-sized
• Bath + body kits
• Underwear + socks
• Gift cards to activities: movies, ice cream shop, bowling, Exploratorium, etc. 

4th and 5th Grades - FOR BUILDING FUTURES

Women 

• Full size bath/body kits
• Adult coloring + journals
• Underwear + socks
• Gift cards Target & Walmart (increments of $25 ideally, but $25 or less is important) 

6th and 7th Grades - FOR ALAMEDA POINT COLLABORATIVE

• Target, Safeway, Grocery outlet, Amazon and Kohls gift cards. 

8th Grade - FOR WELCOME THE STRANGER

• Guster (Dad) - either a warm jacket or a rain jacket with liner, size M
• Berliane (Mom) - either a warm jacket or a raincoat with liner, size XL
• Ruth (almost 2 years old little girl) - a warm jacket or raincoat - size 2 yrs, and one toy
• A couple of umbrellas thrown in would be great.

8th Grade, please wrap gifts for your Welcome the Stranger recipients.

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”.