February 27, 2024



Supremely Grateful

Dear St. Philip Neri Family and Friends,

Gratitude abounds at St. Philip Neri School as a result of a superbly planned, well attended, celebratory Auction held Saturday night at the Elks Lodge. Not only did we all enjoy a fun evening of gambling, eating and drinking, and dancing, but we had some exciting and very generous bidding going on. The event’s success was palpable on Saturday, and we’ll be eager to share with y’all our plans for the funds for security upgrades as soon as we get the final numbers. Thank you all for your support of the Auction and SPN School.

Monday night at the School Advisory Board Meeting, the Finance Committee proposed the tuition scale and fees based on the salary increases as well as other projected increases in expenses for the 2024-25 school year. As you are well aware, tuition barely covers the cost of salaries and related benefits or about 80% of the total budget; everything else from utility bills, to textbooks, technology, capital improvements and repairs as well as tuition assistance makes up the additional 20% of the budget that we cover with fees and fundraising.  

The Diocese has committed to bringing our salary scales up to par with the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Diocese of San Jose. The salary scale for 2024-25 is narrowing the discrepancy which makes retaining our quality teachers much easier in today’s market that has a teacher and substitute shortage. To put it another way, please remember that our teaching staff has a minimum of five years experience but more likely over 10 and up to 30 years experience teaching, and for many of them that experience has been predominantly at St. Philip Neri. Additionally, many of our teachers hold Masters Degrees in Education or in the specific subject they teach. This strong retention of experienced teachers is a testament to this community’s commitment to academic excellence but also a tremendous asset for our school in general. 

As we prepare for registration for the 2024-25 school year, please understand that the administration with the Finance Committee and the Advisory Board consider the tuition scale and fees with you, our consumer, and your students’ best interest in mind. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the tuition or fees increase, please contact me to set up an appointment to meet. Here are links to the Tuition Rate and Fees for the 2024-25 school year: registration will open March 22, 2024 (we will send you a link) and the deadline for registration is May 1, 2024.

Many thanks to parents for entrusting us with educating their children, thanks to our faculty and staff for loving and caring about the education we provide our students, and thanks to our students for giving us hope for our future.

Please read through this Newsletter completely for information that you need to know.

Peace & Blessings,

Ms. Thomas

We have had 0 COVID cases since January 12, 2024.

March 2024

Mar 1 - End of 2nd Trimester

Mar 3 - Family Mass Hosted by Grades 1 & 2, 9:00 a.m.

Mar 6 - Middle School Info Night, 6:30-7:30 p.m. on Zoom

Mar 7 - T2 Drama Performance, 1:45 p.m.

Mar 8 - Report Card Day

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

Mar 15 - Noon Dismissal

Mar 18 - SAB Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Mar 19 - Free Dress for March Birthdays

Mar 22 - School Spirit Day - Disney Day

Mar 25 - Stations of the Cross

Mar 26 - Tenebrae, 1:00-2:00 p.m.

Mar 27 - Seder Meal, 11:00 a.m., Noon dismissal

Mar 28 - NO SCHOOL: Holy Thursday, No Share and Care (Cesar Chavez Day Observed)

Mar 29 - NO SCHOOL: Good Friday, No Share and Care

April 2024

Apr 1 - 5 - NO SCHOOL - Easter Break, No Share and Care

Apr 8 - Classes Resume

Apr 9 - PTG meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Apr 16 - AB Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Apr 15 - 17 - Nature Bridge Overnight Trip for 6th Grade

Apr 20 - Celebration of the Arts, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Apr 22 SAB Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Apr 23 - Free Dress for April Birthdays

Apr 24 - Noon Dismissal / Professional Development Day

Apr 26 - School Spirit Day - Sports Day

Apr 27 - First Communion Retreat, 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Apr 30 - 8th Grade Retreat

Check it out!

 Hello Spartan Sports fans!

We would love to extend an enormous amount of congratulations to our 8th grade volleyball team who captured the title of Champions as they beat St. Joseph's of Fremont in a tight match on Monday night. This is the first time in school history that an 8th grade team has won the title and we could not be more proud of them for all of their hard work and dedication!

Our Spring Sports picture day will be held on March 15, like last time the athletes who play a sport in the spring can wear their sports uniforms to school and will be taken out of classes for pictures. If you have any questions please let me know.

Go Spartans!

Jeff Croft

PE Teacher and Athletic Director

Saint Philip Neri Catholic School

(510) 219-0773

Go Spartans!

Photo credits: Tomas Pineda

Hello SPN Community!

At our January SAB meeting, the Board unanimously approved a new committee, set to start next year: The Climate Consciousness Committee (working title, actual name TBD). The goal of this committee is to continue to develop and foster SPN’s commitment to the environment and social justice, as well as to sustainability. Pope Francis has called on Catholic schools to take a major lead in helping equip our students to prepare for the ever growing climate crisis. He outlined this need in his encyclical, Laudato Si’. The simplest way to distill what the Pope’s message is: Catholic educators need to equip the students with the skills and knowledge to effectively fight the climate change fight. 

This spring, we would like to hold two meetings: one virtual and one in person. The goal of these two meetings is to establish a community of parents interested in this aspect of Catholic education, as well as develop a three-year strategic plan towards the committee’s first major goal: to become a Green Ribbon School by Fall of 2027. If you are interested, please fill out this FORM. Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you, 

SPN SAB

Please contact Carlos Trujillo, Board President with any questions.

FACE (Family Aid Catholic Education) grant applications are accepted January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024. More information can be found on the Diocese of Oakland's website.  Contact Gina Trujillo for the FACE application timeline and questions.

The BASIC Fund is now accepting applications through March 29, 2024.  

Did you know that you can purchase Scrip online to be picked up in the front office? Enter group ID 510521SPN when you register a new account.

Each family is required to purchase $2,000 in Scrip by March 30th. 

Order yours today!

Dear SPN Community,

We are excited to invite you to join Konstella if you haven't already! It is a web-and-mobile-based app service with various tools that help parent organizations streamline communications, centralize information, and build engaging parent communities. You can create sign ups, share photos, post alerts, and see what's happening in our SPN community with a handy red bubble on your phone. Currently, about half of the parents are on the platform and we would love to get more signed up to really start to use it as a centralized system. Please use THIS LINK to sign up and get an introduction. We will then follow up with an invitation link to join.

Sincerely,

The PTA and SAB

Lunch Servers Needed!

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

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

Don't forget to complete your volunteer hours! 20 hours/family (if participating in sports, 5 additional hours in the sports program) required.  $50 per unfulfilled hour will be charged prior to registration for the new school year. 

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

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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”.