November 5, 2024



Unity is Love

Dear St. Philip Neri Catholic School Families and Friends,

We have enjoyed two beautiful  Eucharistic celebrations as a faith community in the past four days. Friday’s All Saints Mass was hosted by the 7th Grade and supported by our Children’s Choir and Middle School Elective Choir along with several students dressed as saints: Sunday's Family Mass was hosted by the 5th and 6th Grades and again supported by our Children’s Choir. We also welcomed at Sunday’s Rite of Enrollment our class of Second Graders who will receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion this year. While Friday’s Mass reminded us how we are all called to be saints because we are called to follow Jesus, Sunday’s Gospel provided us directions on how to do just that: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. … You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In his homily on Sunday, Fr. Joseph called these two commandments “the summary of the Ten Commandments.” Indeed, what is more important? Yet, how easy is it to be distracted from these directives? The first part of this Gospel message is to love God fully. How can we fully love God? We can attend Mass, we can receive the Sacraments, and we can pray. Do we acknowledge God’s hand in all we encounter? Do we praise God for His blessings? Do we thank God for our struggles, knowing that they bring us closer to Him? Do we have faith in God’s plan for us? Our modern society values independence and self-reliance, but we must remember that God makes all things possible.

The second part of Jesus’ message, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, requires that we love ourselves first in order to love our neighbor. We love ourselves by acknowledging that we are all made in God’s image, we are all God’s children, and therefore we care for ourselves by protecting God’s creation and reflecting our Creator. We cannot truly love others if we do not first love ourselves. 

Our Eighth Graders will have an opportunity to be less distracted by social media and school and sports schedules this week as they experience the value of an overnight Retreat at Caritas Creek CYO Camp in Occidental. St. Philip Neri Catholic School has been sending students to Caritas Creek for over 30 years, and the students’ experience is always memorable and valuable. We pray for them, their teacher, Ms. Taylor, and their parent chaperones as they enjoy this opportunity to find God in Nature, in themselves and in one another. We will welcome them back on Friday afternoon. 

Peace & Blessings,

Ms. Thomas

This is a reminder to stay vigilant in keeping sick students home and informing the Office of symptoms so we can guide a safe return to school. We have had 0 cases of COVID since September 4, 2024.

November 2024

Nov 4-8 Caritas Creek, 8th Grade

Nov 8 End of 1st Trimester

Nov 11 NO SCHOOL: Veterans Day Observed - No Share and Care

Nov 12 Trimester 2 begins

Nov 15 Minion & Friends Day

Nov 15 T1 Report Cards Distributed

Nov 18 - Dec 13 Adopt-a-Family

Nov 18 School Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Nov 19 Free Dress for November B-days

Nov 20 Noon Dismissal / Professional Development Day

Nov 21 National Catholic School Principal Appreciation Day

Nov 25-29 Thanksgiving Break - NO SCHOOL/ No Share and Care

December 2024

Dec 2-6 Book Fair

Dec 6 St. Nicholas' Feast Day

Dec 10 Free Dress for December B-days

Dec 19 Christmas Concert, 7:00 p.m. Students' Attendance Required

Dec 20 Noon Dismissal/ Share & Care Closed after school - Christmas Free Dress

Dec 21 - Jan 3 Christmas Break: NO SCHOOL / No Share and Care

We are looking for 100% participation from our school families in

supporting our Annual Fund Campaign this year. Remember, you can have a friend or family member donate on your family’s behalf using this link onecau.se/spartanfund, and all of your students will be credited in the Class Competition. Here is the ranking as of Tuesday, November 5, 2024. The first class to reach 100% will get pizza lunch and free dress on November 19: all other classes that reach 100% will get free dress on November 19.

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, November 8th through November

18th. “On any given night, there are roughly 40,000 Veterans experiencing

homelessness in our nation,” (Veterans Health Administration). Socks are the

number one most requested item at homeless shelters. 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

veterans in need. Thank you for your generosity!

Please continue to follow parking and traffic rules– NO PARKING IN RED ZONES, NO JAYWALKING, NO DOUBLE-PARKING– during morning drop off and afternoon pick up to maintain safety for our students as well as to not be cited by law enforcement.

https://bit.ly/3AzWbN7

The SPN PTG is selling delicious See's candies as an on-going fundraiser. To help support the PTG, simply visit one of our two virtual stores, make your purchases, and your orders will be shipped directly to you. It’s that easy! Our main store is open for orders now, and will remain open until the end of the year.

See's Candies Yum-Raising - Saint Philip Neri School - St. Philip Neri PTG

yumraising.com

This year, we will also feature a Winter Store. This storefront will feature some additional items to choose from. Items from this store can be purchased now and will be available to ship from 11/11/2024 to 12/06/2024. Items will be sent directly to the customer. Please use this link for the Winter Store. 

See's Candies Yum-Raising - Saint Philip Neri School - St. Philip Neri PTG Winter

yumraising.com

The PTG thanks you in advance for your support! If you have any questions, please reach out to spn.ptg@csdo.org

Our seasons are off and running with online hosting day in the books on opening weekend. We do have another hosting day coming up in two weeks on Saturday 11/16. Once again this is a great opportunity to get your parents hours in as well as be a part of our sports community. Just a reminder that those with students participating in a sports program at the school need to do an additional FIVE hours of volunteer work. Come out to help and contribute to our Spartan Spirit!

Link to sign up is below.

https://volunteersignup.org/J8DA4?classic

Spartan Spirit Store

Go Spartans!

Jeff Croft

jcroft@csdo.org

!Saint Philip Neri Golf Club!

Calling all golfers! We are looking to start a golf club for the students here at Saint Philip Neri. We are still in the beginning phase but want to get the ball rolling ASAP. Please if you are interested fill out the questionnaire to help us gather the info needed to get going.

Golf Form

As always, any questions please reach out, thank you and Go Spartans!

Jeff Croft

jcroft@csdo.org

Earn Volunteer Hours & Link to Log Hours

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.

Log your Volunteer hours Here

https://forms.gle/3VhHDCEhxiPa5YXg9

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

Garden

Science

Choice Lunch Calendar for Volunteer

Thank you so much to Needlyn D'Mello for creating the calendar this year.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1O9RBOBiRFZ-ngev5lHPL0nL718i0_IakbZwIL0t2i4w/edit?usp=sharing

PTG - Sign Up Form

https://bit.ly/3MTGSlg

Annual Auction + Gala

Math Kangaroo Competition 2025

A Better Way to Buy Scrip

Do you want to get a head start on your Scrip purchases for the 2024-2025 school year? We now have an easier way to start earning!  Order your gift cards to be delivered to the school or your home. Raise Right also features an app that allows you to purchase egift cards delivered to your ewallet within seconds. There are hundreds of stores available including gas stations, grocery stores, clothing & shoe stores, hotels and more. Check it out today!

Enter enrollment code 432BQIZ543ML at RaiseRight.com/Enroll 

Saint Philip Neri Social Media

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”.