October 1, 2024



Unity Through Faith and Love

Dear St. Philip Neri School Families and Friends,

In the Catholic Church, October is the month of the Holy Rosary. Dating back to 1571, St. Pope Pius V urged Europeans to pray the rosary for Mary’s intercession on the invasion of Europe that threatened the Church. The European victory led to Pope Pius V declaring October 7 as the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary to acknowledge the blessings of Mary through the victory of Europe.

As a school community, we will pray the Rosary together during Morning Assembly in October. Each day we will pray one decade of the Rosary, ten Hail Mary’s, as well as the Our Father and The Glory Be that begin and end each decade. Our Commissioners of Religious Affairs, 7th Graders Katelyn Condez and Izzy Niu, will lead us in these prayers and announce the specific Mystery or event of Jesus’ life that we will remember as we pray. We invite students to bring their own rosaries to use during our prayer at Morning Assembly in October.

Friday, October 4 is The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, and therefore The Blessing of the Animals. Students are invited to bring photos or a stuffed animal to represent their pets at Morning Assembly when we will have a special prayer service for Blessing the Animals. (Live pets are invited to stand just outside the fence of the big school to receive their blessings.)



This Sunday, October 6 is our first Family Mass at 9:00 a.m. hosted by the 7th and 8th graders. We look forward to a large gathering of our school families coming together for the greatest of all celebrations, The Eucharistic Celebration. Our eldest students will lector, altar serve and present the gifts at this Mass devoted to all families. The Knights of Columbus will offer donuts after Mass. Please join us.

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.

https://bit.ly/3AzWbN7

https://bit.ly/3yZXbJI

https://bit.ly/3MTGSlg

October 2024

Oct 4 Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Prayer Service Blessing of Animals, 8:00 a.m.

Oct 4 T1 Progress Reports

Oct 6 Family Mass, 9:00 a.m. Hosted by grades 7 & 8th

Oct 7 PTG Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Oct 8-11 Noon Dismissal Days, Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences

Oct 14 NO SCHOOL: Indigenous Peoples day

Oct 15 Free dress for Oct B-days

Oct 16 - Nov 10 Annual Fund Drive

Oct 22 Re-take pictures

Oct 25 8th Grade Bingo Fundraiser

Oct 28 School Board Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Oct 31 Noon Dismissal. Halloween Parade 8:15 a.m.

November 2024

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

Nov 3 Family Mass, 9:00 a.m., Hosted by grades 5 & 6th

Nov 4 PTG Meeting, 6:30 p.m.

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 12 - Dec 11 Adopt-a-Family

Nov 15 Minion & Friends Day

Nov 15 T1 Report Cards Distributed

Nov 17-22 Book Fair

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

The Rosary is still one of the most popular of our Catholic devotions. The four Mysteries of the Rosary– the Joyful, the Luminous, the Sorrowful and the Glorious Mysteries– focus on major events of Jesus’ life. “The repetition in the Rosary is meant to lead one into restful and contemplative prayer related to each Mystery. The gentle repetition of the words helps us to enter into the silence of our hearts, where Christ's spirit dwells. The Rosary can be said privately or with a group.” Many cultures that practice Catholicism have traditions of saying the rosary together as a family for various purposes, and many Catholics include a recitation of the Holy Rosary as part of the funeral ritual. Members of our parish pray the rosary once a week as a congregation after 8:30 a.m. Mass on Wednesdays. The rosary is a prayer that brings us closer to Mary and closer to Jesus while it brings us calm, peace and hope. 



Friday, October 18, O’Brien Hall, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Discover God’s plan as it is expressed through the Bible and the Mass. Built around three of Dr. Scott Hahn’s foundational talks: “The Lamb’s Supper,” The Fourth Cup,” and “Consuming the Word.” The Eucharist in Scripture examines the biblical foundations of the Eucharist and explores the Church’s liturgy as the original context for the books of the Bible. Presented by OCIA and Fr. Joseph. Registration Information at the Parish Office with Lee Romero (510-373-5200)



Thank you for taking the time to fill out the family directory. Your contact information will be shared with the St. Philip Neri School community. Please ONLY include information you want shared.  



https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScFZuqDufq6bZKe5p_X-Vjp99_lY-Z8CAP27N8J2G_gpGWKDg/viewform?usp=sharing



The SPN PTG needs your support. We are selling delicious See's candies for our latest fundraiser. A portion of your purchase from our virtual storefront, will go to the SPN PTG, for more fun events throughout the year. 

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!

This year, we are running two virtual stores. 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

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGSRgfwiIE/rxJAn6op8-mGLWI9hzd6AA/edit?utm_content=DAGSRgfwiIE&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

The PTG meeting is going virtual in October. Please use the information above to join us online. This meeting will focus primarily on the upcoming winter activities, and we need your help to make them happen. We are in need of volunteers for Breakfast with Santa, come see how to join in the fun. Hope to see you there!

Lifetouch will take make up school photos on Tuesday, October 22 for any students that missed the original photos or are not pleased with the photos taken. 

Don't Forget to Order This Year's School Pictures

ENJOY 10% OFF

your order!

CODE: F202410OFF

EXPIRES: July 31, 2025

Redeem Now

Don’t forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card!

More about the Smilesafe program here.

You're Invited!

Prospective families are warmly invited to Moreau Catholic's Open House on Saturday, November 2, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Explore our vibrant community, meet dedicated faculty, staff, coaches, and discover the outstanding academic, athletic, and extracurricular opportunities await your student. This is a perfect opportunity to ask questions, tour our campus, and see firsthand what makes Moreau Catholic the best choice for your child's future.

We look forward to welcoming you!



RSVP Today!

Our Volleyball and Boys Basketball teams have started practice with much anticipation for the upcoming season. Our Spirit Store is open 24/7 for your convenience and we have our first hosting date set for the opening weekend of games. For our hosting dates we have three games being played every hour with both teams from our school and teams from our league. Two Volleyball and one Basketball game happen at the same time and as you can imagine it takes a lot of help to have these days be a success.

We are asking parents to please volunteer for pen shifts to work. Jobs include, running a scoreboard, keeping score, selling entrance tickets, snack bar and set up/clean up. We really can not pull off these hosting days without the help of our community. It is a fantastic way to show our Spartan Spirit, see our teams in action and knock off some of those parent volunteer hours! Let's not forget families involved with sports have an additional FIVE hours to complete. So please sign up and we will see you out there! As always, any questions I am happy to help!

SPN Athletics Hosting Nov 2nd, 2024

volunteersignup.org

Spartan Spirit Store

Go Spartans!

Jeff Croft

jcroft@csdo.org

Last week's cross country meeting was our runner's favorite course at Joaquin Miller Park. This is where the runners ran all through the hills. Everyone did great, especially the 3rd-5th grade boys who really made their presence known with 4 people placing in the top 30 runners. 

The girls who placed were Brynn DeGolia in 12th (K-2), Zara Ravichandran in 18th (K-2), Annamarie Patterson in 24th and Clara Castelaz in 1st (6th-8th). The boys who placed were Rory Castelaz in 2nd (K-2), Cole Castelaz in 2nd (3rd-5th), Hudson Patterson in 9th (3rd-5th), Zeke Mendes in 21st (3rd-5th) and Franco Barbella in 26th (3rd-5th). 

I want to give a big shout out to Joaquin Ramos who finished the race even though falling and having his hand and leg all scraped up. That is one tough kid. Also a shout out to Yusuf James who despite not making his race still brought everyone snacks, cheered everyone else on and happily ran in the fun run at the end of the day. 

This Friday's race will be a relay race at Crown Memorial Park and we invite you to come out and cheer us on. Parking is tight so whether you are a spectator or in the race please if you can try to walk or bike so those coming from out of town can park. Racers are to be there at 4:30pm for warm ups and the race starts at 5:30pm. Look forward to seeing everyone there! Parents please post photos on SportsEngine and LET'S GO SPARTANS!!! 

Coach Elaine Mendes

Learn life skills! Experience nature! Go camping! Have fun in Cub Scouts! email spncubscouts@gmail.com for more information, or join us on Monday, September 16th at 6:00PM for our first pack meeting! 

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

Upcoming Events

On behalf of some SPN Alumni (Class of 2022 - Sydney, Livia, Katie. Class of 2023 - Hannah, Anabelle, Kiana, Mia, Giana and Class of 2024 - Clara, Kayla, Wendy) we'd love to extend this invite to SPN students and their families to watch the annual St. Joseph Notre Dame High School Dig Pink volleyball scrimmage versus Encinal High School on Friday, October 5th at SJND Kelly Gym. Times: Frosh at 4p, JV at 5:30pm, and Varsity at 7:00pm. Students are free to attend. 

The Frosh, JV and Varsity volleyball players raise awareness for Breast Cancer and the Side-Out Foundation, an American non-profit breast cancer charity for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. 

The SJND volleyball teams are also fundraising by selling Dig Pink t-shirts, and a portion of the proceeds go to the Side-out Foundation. 

Plus, it's some great volleyball! :) 

We hope to see you there!

Annual Auction + Gala

Math Kangaroo Competition 2025

Celebration of the Arts

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 

Pay Your Tuition Online

Welcome back St. Philip Neri families!

We are now using Curacubby for online payments and Share & Care attendance. Please take a moment to make sure your profile is up to date and add anyone who is authorized to pick up your child from Share & Care (works best on a computer). Follow the instructions on this flier to access your parent portal. You will need to reset your password before you can sign in.  

To sign your child out of Share & Care you will use our kiosk or scan the posted QR code with your phone.  Enter your mobile number and pin 0000. Your pin can be updated on your Curacubby profile. 

Please reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns. 

Gina Trujillo

Let's Celebrate!

Congratulations to Saint Philip Neri as Winner in Parent's Press "Best Of." Saint Philip Neri won in two categories Best Faith-Based Preschool and Best Faith-Based Elementary School, and placed in the Top 5 of Best Faith-Based Middle School. We are proud of our school, faculty and staff, students and families for this honor. Thank you to all of those who voted for us, and we will continue to do our best to support our students in educating the whole child and promote respectful, responsible long-life learners.

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”.