October 12, 2022

Our Rosary Prayer team: Scarlett (5th), Clara (5th), Romeo (4th), Ava (7th), Clara (7th), Ann (6th), Shalom (7th), Adelaide (6th)

Principal's Message

Dear SPN families,

Thank you all for attending and participating in Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences last week. The overwhelming response from faculty was that the meetings were productive and cooperative. Remember to nurture this partnership by reaching out to teachers with questions and clarifications, as they will with you, in order to best support and guide your students in having a successful school year.

I attended an administrators’ retreat last week in Santa Cruz. It was wonderful to collaborate as well as reflect with fellow colleagues. The highlight of the retreat was when each principal was presented with thank you notes from our school communities. I thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one of the “love notes” from our students. Each student wrote a few lines of appreciation for me: it was truly “awe-some” as I read what matters to our students and how they truly see me. Our students appreciate being heard and seen, kindness, encouragement, and justice. (Apparently many of them also appreciate my sense of style!) The profound and positive impact of a sincere handwritten thank you note cannot be overstated.

Please check out the calendar of events as we have many engaging activities scheduled for October and November. We will have our first Family Mass this weekend on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. hosted by our 7th and 8th grades. Our students will serve as lectors, altar servers, and choir members to make this a very special Mass. Please join us.

Warmly,

Ms. Thomas

Focus on FAITH: “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23

Information and Updates

Make-up Picture Day this Friday: For students who missed picture day or who want a re-do, this Friday, October 14th is make-up picture day. No need to sign up. Each class will send any students needing to take a picture during their allotted time. For order questions please contact Kurt Burton Photography.
Family Math and Game Night Needs Volunteers!: Volunteering families will get extra raffle tickets for the SPN Preschool - 8th Grade Family Math and Game Night! Sign up here to volunteer. See flier below for details for this event happening on Nov. 8th from 5-7p.m. in O’Brien Hall.
SPN Family Directory: The 2022-23 Family Directory will be coming out soon. All student and parent names and parent emails are automatically included. If you DO NOT want your address and/or phone number listed in the directory, please fill out this OPT-OUT FORM by this Friday. This directory is only used internally and family information is not shared with outside organizations. Please note: if you have changed any of your contact information since registration, please email the change to Mrs. Schmitz, jschmitz@csdo.org.
All Family Mass This Saturday at 5:15p.m.: SPN 7th and 8th grades will host this weekend's All School Mass at St. Philip Neri.
Candy Donations for Halloween: The SLC is collecting candy donations for this year's Halloween carnival. Please bring INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED candy with NO NUTS to the candy collection box in the office. Collection ends on October 21st.
New Math Club: Please see the flier and information below on a new math club for interested 1st - 8th graders!
Volunteering at SPN: Interested in volunteering? Need to log your hours? Here's what you'll need for the 2022-23 school year. View the SPN Volunteer Requirements here. After volunteering, log your hours using the Volunteer Hours Log Sheet. Thanks for your time!
Looking for a past newsletter? Check out our Newsletter Archives on our website.
COVID Update: There have been no new COVID cases at SPN since September 12, 2022!

School Happenings

New Math Club!

The SPN Math Club is inviting all students from 1st through 8th grade to the fantastic world of problem solving!

Our team will enter the international Math Competition - Math Kangaroo 2023.

We are looking for parent volunteers to organize monthly fun meets and/or preparing students for the 2023 competition.

Competition Date: March 16th 2023

Registration Deadline: Dec 15th 2022

Please register for Math Club here.

For more information please contact SPNmathclub@gmail.com

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”.

Community Happenings

Dear Prospective Families,

You are invited to Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School's Open House on Sunday, October 23rd from 3:00pm - 5:00pm. Come tour our beautiful campus and learn about the outstanding academics and dynamic co-curricular experiences for students at SJND. This event offers a great opportunity to chat with our students, meet faculty members and administrators, and enjoy student performances and spotlights by our Visual and Performing Arts program, the Athletic department, and many more! RSVP today here or learn more by contacting us at skellman@sjnd.org or sfreitas@sjnd.org. We look forward to seeing you at Open House!

~The Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School Admission Team

Go Pilots!

Holy Names in collaboration with Classroom Matters is offering a HSPT Prep Course Class on Saturday, December 10 from 1-4 pm.

During this session, you can expect to receive an overview of the test, including scoring, question types, and timing. We will review test-taking strategies and practice problems, and provide a workbook with additional practice problems to take home. Register Today!

$95 workshop only

$150 workshop + online practice test from Test Innovators

$260 workshop + two online practice tests and targeted practice problems from Test Innovators

Calendar

October/November 2022

Oct 12 - Athletic Board Meeting, 7pm on Zoom

Oct 14 - Make-up Picture Day

Oct 14 - Otter pop sale

Oct 15 - All Family Mass at SPN

Oct 18 - Free dress for October bdays

Oct 24-28 - Caritas 8th grade retreat

Oct 31 - Noon dismissal - Halloween, Share & Care open