SSPP Principal's Letters

Welcome to the first full week of school. There is still a great deal of excitement in the building. It does take some time for everyone to adjust to the early hours and all of the hustle bustle. September is a very busy month here at Saints Peter and Paul School so please keep your calendars handy. Remember to look at your child’s Wednesday folder and to check out our website and our new School Speak Program. We want you to be informed. Here are a few important reminders for the week ahead.

• Please fill out all of the paperwork that has been sent home. We really need all of your forms returned to school as soon as possible.

• Back to School Night. Please join us at 6:00 PM for our

Back to School Night event. We will begin with a welcome back meeting and then we will send grades 1-5 upstairs to the classrooms. Grade 6-8 will meet downstairs in the gym with a panel presentation from the Junior High teachers.  We invite Kinder parents to attend the general meeting and  then you are free to go home because you have already had Kinder Night with Mrs. Soracco.

• Topics to be discussed at the general meeting will include:

State of the School Address

SmartBoards

School Speak

Choice Lunch

Columbus Bazaar- We need your help. Please sign-up!

Service Hours

Salesian Mother’s Club

The Relic

• The Relic of Saint John Bosco- Please review the attached Flier that will give you all of the events and dates surrounding the arrival and presence of the Relic.

We are asking parents and students to make a special effort to attend the Sunday, September 12th, 12:00 noon mass. We would love to see our whole school community present. The children should be wearing their full dress uniform for this event. The school is sponsoring a reception immediately following the event. Please make this a priority on your calendar.

• If you are planning to purchase Tupperware, please be aware that orders are due on September 8.

I doubt that you need to be reminded, but enjoy the Monday holiday.

God Bless,

Dr. Lisa Harris

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

Welcome back to school! I have had the pleasure of bumping into some of you over the summer and in the last few days. I have heard about some of your great summer adventures. It will be fun for you to share your adventures with your classmates and teachers as well. The one thing that we have all agreed upon is that it has been a cold summer in San Francisco and the time has gone by too quickly. In keeping with the San Francisco weather pattern it looks like our first week of school will be sunny and warm.
North Beach is such a lovely place to be, especially when the weather is so beautiful.

Our faculty, staff and administration are eager to begin the school year and they have all planned great lessons and activities for the children. We have also added some new attractions to Saints Peter and Paul School. SmartBoards have been installed in the Junior High classes and in the Science Lab. Due to the wonderful fund raising efforts of our school community we have been able to implement the use of these interactive teaching tools. We have also adopted a new internal communication site called SchoolSpeak. This program will allow us to communicate grades, progress reports, reminders, calendars, etc. Those of you who have not sent Mr. Tom Boles your email address will be unable to access the program. Please email Mr. Boles as soon as possible at tboles@sspeterpaulsf.org in order to be included in our new communication site. Some time in the next two days, you will be receiving a very important e-mail from SchoolSpeak. This is your log-on information for our new internal communication site. Please open the e-mail and follow the instructions to log on. Once you have logged on you will be able to enjoy exploring the various areas and menus within the site. Please be aware that this is a work in progress and will take several weeks to be up and running smoothly. We will be most happy to assist you in utilizing this program once it has been fully launched.

SchoolSpeak will be our communication avenue for sending you the weekly bulletin, posting all school announcements, and offering all necessary day-to-day information. Please familiarize yourself with it by trying things out; you can’t break it! We ask that all parents log on before next Thursday, September 2, which is Back to School Night. Mr. Boles will be available to give a brief overview of the new program during back to school night. It is our hope that this new program will enhance communication between home and school and the collaboration between parents and teachers.

Choice Lunch is our new hot lunch program. After a thorough review of several lunch programs a parent committee selected Choice Lunch / Formerly Children’s Choice. You will note a postcard in your Wednesday packet that is from Choice Lunch. There is a login code on the postcard. If you would like your child to have a lunch on Monday, August 30, 2010, you must have your information in by Friday. As you review the information on-line, you will become familiar with the policies and menu choices for your family. Mr. and Mrs. Machi will be facilitating the distribution of the lunches when they arrive. We are delighted to have the Machi family working with us for another school year. They will also be continuing the snack program.

Saints Peter and Paul School is very fortunate to have a staff that is devoted to the vocation of educating youth. We are also very fortunate to have the presence of the Salesian Sisters, Priests and Brothers on our campus. Sr. Ann was given a new assignment in Colorado and we wish her every joy and much success in her new ministry. Our new Assistant Principal is Sr. Debbie Walker. She is joining us from her last post which was Louisiana. Sr. Debbie is a highly qualified educator and administrator with a great deal of experience in Catholic School Education. I know that you will all make her feel right at home here in San Francisco. We are also welcoming a new P.E. Teacher Nole Lingad to our faculty. Ms. Annie Konstin will be at Saints Peter and Paul School full time this year. Along with her Spanish and Music classes, Ms. Konstin will be assisting us with our math program and our Grade 6 Literary Terms program. The rest of the faculty and staff has remained the same so you will be seeing those old familiar faces.

Request for Prayers

Mrs. Maria Gunter is currently on medical leave until mid September. Mrs. Gunter’s family received quite a scare this summer when she suffered a cardiac incident. While in the hospital, the doctors were able to diagnose her illness and the prognosis is good. Mrs. Gunter is optimistic about her recovery. At this time Mrs. Gunter has doctor’s orders to get plenty of rest and to find ways to relieve daily stress in her life. We have assured Mrs. Gunter that she will be in our prayers and that we hope she will make a speedy and full recovery.

Many of you know Sherri Hughston from her work with the Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club. What some of you may not know is that Sherri is a highly qualified and experienced teacher as well. Ms. Hughston will be substituting for Mrs. Gunter while she is out on medical leave. Mrs. Gunter is grateful to have her classes in such good hands, but is also looking forward to returning to work as soon as her doctor will allow her to do so.

The Relic

Save the date for Sunday, September 12th. A Relic of Saint John Bosco will be making its way to Saints Peter and Paul Church. There are a number of celebrations and events surrounding the arrival of the Relic. We would like our entire Salesian School Community to be present at a School Family Mass at 12:00 on Sunday, September 12th, 2010. Watch for more information to follow in the next few days. You may also go to the Saints Peter and Paul Church website and find more information on the Relic.

Your Wednesday envelope is filled with very important paperwork. We ask that you fill out and return the work as soon as possible. The information is very important for us to have in our school office.

Welcome Back To School! We wish you all a very productive and fun filled academic year. On behalf of the faculty and staff we wish you a very blessed year.

Warm Regards,

Dr. Lisa Harris and Sr. Debbie Walker, FMA

June 3, 2010
Happy Summer!

Dear Salesian School Family,

I really can’t believe the year is coming to a close! It has been a year that has been packed with so many activities. Each and every monthI look at the calendar and am shocked to see how many events and programs the school has orchestrated. So, if you are all feeling a bit tired, you have certainly earned it through all of your service to our community. On behalf of our faculty and staff we wish to thank you for supporting our school. You are indeed the primary educators of your children and we are honored to join you in the very important task of educating and molding these fine young people. Keep up the good work and we promise to do the same.

We are most fortunate to have very few changes to our list of faculty and staff members. It is rare for schools to experience such longevity and low turn over with regard to the faculty. Saints Peter and Paul School is blessed with educators who are truly committed to the vocation of educating the young. There are currently three changes that will take place next year.

Ms. Konstin will be joining our faculty full time. In addition to her Spanish and Music classes, Ms. Konstin will work with grades 1-5 in the area of Math intervention strategies. We are excited to have the resources to address the needs of our young mathematicians.

Our dear Sr. Ann will be moving on to a new position in Colorado Springs. Sr. Ann’s stay at Saints Peter and Paul School has been brief, and she will be missed. As always, the sisters accept their new assignments with grace and ease. It is difficult for we lay folks to accept the changes with ease. I encourage our young people to be good pen pals and keep Sister Ann in prayer. Her new ministry will be very blessed to have her joining their ranks.

Mr. and Mrs. Machi will be retiring this year from the school lunch program. They have served our community for decades and they embody the essence of Salesian Spirit. It will be difficult for us to move forward with a new lunch program. With any luck we will still see Frank and Linda at snack time and during the many functions here at Saints Peter and Paul School and Church. It has been our privilege to have the Machi family here at Saints Peter and Paul School and it is time for them to pamper themselves and enjoy their free time. My deepest gratitude for all that you have done for Saints Peter and Paul School and Church.

Here are a few things that you might need to know.

KRON 4 Best of the Bay: Saints Peter and Paul School will be featured on Best of the Bay on the following dates:
June 10, at 1:30 PM and June 13, at 5:30 PM
Liz Diaz: Our PTO President is featured on the clip and she did an awesome job! The best form of advertising is “word of mouth,” so please spread the word that SSPP is still accepting applications. National trends for Catholic School enrollment are down quite significantly. San Francisco’s declining enrollment may be even higher than the National percentages. It would be great to have you all out there looking for new families to join our community. We will certainly appreciate your assistance. We will also pray for this economy to perk up.

The Simply Uniforms Company will hold the summer uniform sale at Saints Peter and Paul School on July 17, 2010. They will be set up in the Cafeteria and will be open from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. There will be a 10% discount on all purchases and orders made on this day. * There will be an annual summer sale at the Store from June 22-July 2, 2010.

Please purchase the correct shoes:
Black shoes with laces ….
White tennis shoes may be worn on P.E. Days.

Kindergarten Back to School Night: Please note there is a correction to the calendar.
August 23rd- Kinder Back to School Night.
A reception for the new Kinder parents will be held on the second floor of the school from 5:30-6:00 PM. The meeting will begin at 6:00 PM.

School starts on August 25, 2010. Please refer to the Annual School Calendar that has already been sent home. Our website is also a wonderful resource. www.sspeterpaulsf.org

SSPP will be using a supplementary math program called Mathletics. It comes to us through the Department of Catholic Schools. Each student will be receiving his or her own username and password. This will be sent home shortly. Students can work on various topics for their grade level. The program can be utilized, both at home, or at school. We encourage students to spend at least 15 minutes a day, over the summer, using Mathletics to improve their skills and retain the concepts learned throughout the school year. Parents can also set up their own login to see how well the students are doing and which topics they may need help with. The program has worked wonders with students around the world and we are eager to see our students reap the same benefits. We hope this to be the first of many resources to support learning at home for the students and parents who are, of course, the primary educators. Go SSPP Mathletes!

Thomas Boles
Technology Coordinator for SSPP

Our new lunch program is called Children’s Choice. A committee of parents at Saints Peter and Paul School headed by Macy Ciriaco- Fisher have agreed upon the Children’s Choice program after an exhaustive investigation into several lunch companies. Children’s Choice has come to our campus and the search committee members sampled a variety of the lunches provided by the company. All members were pleased by the lunches. The program will be facilitated on-line. The company will be forwarding information for us to send out to you. You will follow the simple instructions about how to access the lunch program and you will place your orders directly on-line. Watch the mail for the Children’s Choice flier.

Eighth Grade Graduation will take place Friday, June 4 at 5:00 PM.
Kinder Graduation will take place Monday, June 7 at 11:00 AM.
The final liturgy of the year will be on Monday, June 7, at 9:00AM. You are all welcome to join us for the Mass. As you know, Mrs. Simons and her daughter will be going to Haiti to assist the Sisters with their work. If you would like to make a donation for Haiti you are welcome to have your child deposit the donation during the school liturgy on Monday. If you write a check please have it made out to Saints Peter and Paul School and we will be sure that the funds go with Barbara. If you would like to provide school supplies to be carried to Haiti you are welcome to bring them to school on Monday.

The last day of school is Tuesday, June 8. Students will receive their report cards and will be dismissed at 10:15. Please be sure to pick up the children promptly.

We wish you and your families a fun and safe summer. May your adventures be abundant and may your time with family and friends be a source of joy. You will be in our prayers and we ask for you to keep us in yours.

Warmest Regards,
Dr. Lisa Harris
Principal

May 3, 2010

Dear Parents and Guardians,

During recruiting tours, one of the most commonly asked questions is, “ What makes Saints Peter and Paul special?” This question is one of my favorites because it is easy to answer. I always answer with this response…. “Why the parents of course!” This answer leads us into great conversations about the sense of community here at Saints Peter and Paul School. It is our belief that Saints Peter and Paul School is a unique place because you all form such a tightly knit community. There is a sense that we all believe that “it takes a village” to raise these young people well. We witness all of you working together to make our school strong and equipped to lead our students into the future.

The Mardi Gras was a great example of all of you working together toward a common fund raising goal. As I began to try and make a list of everyone to thank, I realized there were just too many people involved in making this event a success. My list went on for days. We must thank Miriam Baltazar for being the chair of this event. Her team was hard working and laser focused. You all know who you are and I thank you on behalf of every child at our school today and in the future. This was of course one of our major fundraisers, but it also achieved the “Fun Raising” goal as well. The funds raised from this event will go toward funding the purchase of interactive smart boards. The P.T.O. Board and parent surveys indicated that technology was an area for continued growth. Congratulations on a job well done!

Thank you to those who have turned in the Re-Admission forms. For those of you who have not met the deadline we urge you to get the paperwork in as soon as possible. As with all businesses, we must have our finances in good order so that we can effectively manage our expenses. We are very aware of the sacrifices that you make in order to provide your children with a Catholic School education. These are difficult and uncertain economic times and we have made every attempt to keep tuition reasonable for the 2010-2011 academic school year. While almost every line item of our budget had an increase, we were able to keep tuition to a $20.00 dollar a month increase for the coming year. This was feasible due to the Archdiocesan directive that mandated a pay freeze for all of our faculty, staff and administration. We hope and pray that in the coming year all of our families who have suffered economic hardships and job losses will find great improvements to their situations.

Attached to this memo you will find paper work that explains the three options regarding participation or non-participation in our fund raising and service hour program. If you have any questions after reviewing the guidelines, do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Louisa Toy. Our office will be happy to assist you in making your enrollment decisions.

First Holy Communion was a beautiful event and we thank Sr. Jean, Brother Thien, Sr. Ann, and Mr. Te for preparing the children for this sacrament. The First Grade hosted a lovely reception following the liturgy and we are very appreciative of this lovely tradition.

May is a very busy month indeed. As we look ahead we see that there are very few empty squares on the calendar.

May 7 Annual Walk-a-thon at Marina Greens

May 9 Happy Mother’s Day to all!

May 14 Fine Arts/Dance Show at 7:00 pm in the Gym/Theatre

May 16 Confirmation of our 8th Graders- St. Mary’s Cathedral 3:30

May 21 May Crowning at our 9:00 Liturgy

May 24 12:30 Dismissal- Teacher Professional Development Day

May 26 Grade 8 Picinic at Saratoga Springs

May 28 Junior High Science Fair

We wish you a wonderful month.

Dr. Harris

Principal

PROVINCE DAY: SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010

Dear Salesian Family,

As you know, this Saturday we will celebrate Province Day with the Salesian Sisters. You have all received a letter inviting you to join with the Sisters in this special celebration.

We are now finalizing the numbers for our caterer. A reception will follow the liturgy and we need to know how many of you will be attending.

The day beings at 11:00 AM with a program in the gymnasium.
Mass will begin at 12:30 PM in the Church.
Immediately following the liturgy a reception will follow back in the gymnasium.

Please be sure to return this letter tomorrow.

Name of Oldest Child ________________________________________________

Grade of Oldest Child _______________________________________________

Number of People who will be attending _________________________

__________________ We will not be attending

THANK YOU
Dr. Harris

April 1, 2010

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As you know we have been selected to be featured on a segment of KRON’s Best of the Bay. They will be on campus on Tuesday, April 13th to film. You have all received notice and have been given the option to opt your child out of filming if you so desire. We hope that everyone will participate in this great marketing opportunity. Because we want our students to shine as the stars they are, we are requiring FORMAL DRESS UNIFORM for Tuesday, April 13th.

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your participation in our Self Study WCEA/WASC process. The visiting committee had many positive observations about our school community. The final report that was shared with the faculty and staff validated our curriculum and the programs we offer. We have identified three action plans: (1) Step Up To Writing Portfolios (moving forward all students will graduate from SSPP with a file documenting their writing progress through the years); (2) Meeting the needs of our diverse learners (we have spent a great deal of time and energy on creating our wonderful resource program currently serving 40 students and now we hope to investigate programs for our accelerated learners); and (3) Parent Involvement (SSPP hopes to create opportunities for parents to attend programs featuring such topics as current educational practices and social and behavioral topics). We are happy to have completed the WCEA/WASC process and we are pleased to have a roadmap to guide us through the next six years.

On behalf of the faculty, staff and administration at SSPP we wish you a very blessed Easter filled with peace and joy.

Regards,

Dr. Lisa Harris

Building our Community of Faith
Province Day Celebration
Please join us

3-4-10
Dear Salesian School Family,

Our entire school family has an opportunity to share in a program, liturgy and a reception with our wonderful Salesian Sisters on April 17, 2010. The Salesian Sisters will be celebrating Province Day on the 17th. There will be a program at 11:00 am in the Gym and mass at 12:30 pm in Saints Peter and Paul Church.

We are giving each of you advance notice because it would be a truly moving experience if we could all join together for this liturgy to pray with and support our Salesian Sisters.

As you know, the Salesian Sisters have worked tirelessly with youth since their arrival at Saints Peter and Paul School in 1950. It would be very meaningful for the Sisters to have the Salesian School Family joined together to celebrate liturgy on April 17th.

We invite you to join us for mass and then to adjourn to the gymnasium for a light snack and good company. Please mark your calendar now so that you can keep the date free. As we draw closer to the event we will send out a response sheet so that we will know how many of us will be here representing our Salesian Sisters.

The Sisters have chosen to devote their good works to youth. It would be very respectful of our community to share in their celebration on April 17th. We know that weekends are sacred, but this would be a weekend that would be giving back to those who have shared so much.

Thank you for planning to attend this event.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lisa Harris
Principal

3-3-10

Dear Salesian School Family,

Slapped Cheek virus is in our school building.

We have just been informed that several of our school children have come down with Fifth Disease, better known as “Slapped Cheek” disease. If your child has very red cheeks and or a rash on his or her body, he or she may have the virus. This is a very common virus among children. Please consult your physician if your child presents with symptoms.

*** Pregnant women should consult their physician if they come into contact with this virus.

Dr. Seuss we wish you a happy birthday!

Read Across America will be taking place Friday, March 5 at Saints Peter and Paul School. Thank you in advance to all of the parents and friends who will be readers for our celebration. A special thank you to Mrs. Garthwaite as she is the coordinator of this event.

Decathlon team members we support you.

Our junior high students are participating in the Academic Decathlon this Saturday, March 6th at Saint Pius School. Thanks to Mrs. Gunter for coordinating this event and to all of the teachers and parents who served as coaches. We wish you luck at the event.

Warm Regards,
Dr. Harris

2-24-10
Dear Parents and Guardians,

Fashion Show

What a wonderful day we shared on Saturday! On behalf of the faculty and staff of Saints Peter and Paul School we thank you for supporting the second annual fashion show, silent auction, luncheon. My gratitude to the faculty and staff for their donation of time and talent. A special thank you to Mrs. Claudia Fernando who chaired this event. Thumbs up to our amazing Chef Mr. Paul Riley and of course a standing ovation to Ms. Abby Herget for setting the ambiance for the event. The proceeds from the event will go toward our technology goal of acquiring smart boards for our classrooms. Special thanks to our models, especially that mom with the fabulous red hair! ( You had to be there to understand. )

Haiti Donation

The P.T.O. has presented the Salesian Sisters with a $500.00 check for Haiti relief efforts. Once again you have all demonstrated that Saints Peter and Paul School families have “heart.” Sr. Ann is very touched by your generosity.

Read Across America

We look forward to celebrating our annual Read Across America event on Friday, March 5. Thank you to all of our volunteer readers who will be joining us for the event. Our thanks to Mrs. Garthwaite for orchestrating this great event at Saints Peter and Paul School.

S.F. Food Bank

Ms. Schatz is offering another opportunity for our students to work at the S.F. Food Bank. March 7th is the next S.F. Food Bank opportunity. Return the paperwork to Ms. Schatz if you would like to join in on this service project.

Academic Decathlon

Team Decathlon is cruising down the home stretch! You are all welcome to come and cheer them on at Saint Pius School on Saturday, March 6th from 9:00-1:30.
Our thanks to Mrs.Gunter for organizing and strategizing with the team. Once again my deep gratitude to all of the teachers and parent volunteers who donated their free time to be coaches for this event.

Dramatic Presentation

We will be hosting a performance of Jesus of Nazareth at Saints Peter and Paul School on Friday, March 19th at 12:30. Parents are welcome to join us for this performance which will be held in the gym.

Minimum Day

Please note that we have a 12:30 dismissal on Monday, March 22. This is a professional development day for our faculty. Students who will be waiting for the Club to open must be seated in the gym until 1:00 when the Club opens.

WASC

Our long awaited WASC visit will take place on March 23,24, and 25th. We have met our Chairperson and the WASC team and we are very pleased to have such a professional and warm group of visitors to host.

Student Holiday

Please note that there is a student holiday on Friday, March 26th.

Best Regards,

Dr. Harris

1-28-10

Dear Salesian School Family,

If you have invited a grandparent to our celebration on Tuesday, February 2nd, Please be sure that we have their RSVP by tomorrow. We must have a solid number for our caterer.

OPEN HOUSE
Please join us for our Open House this Sunday, January 31, from 9:30-11:30. This is a great opportunity to allow your child to walk you through his or her school day. The school will have student work samples displayed in grades Pre-K through 8. Open House is also a great time to chat with the teachers and catch up with school families.

Although we know that most of you are in and out of SSPP quite often, Open House is a special day where we want to highlight our students and their progress. We encourage you to bring along family and friends so that they will come to know more about SSPP School and community. Word of mouth is the best form of marketing around. It takes an extra effort to visit school on Open House, but this extra effort also sends a strong message to your children that school is very important. We are proud of our students and we know that you are too!

SALESIAN APPRECIATION LITURGY 9:00- TOMORROW
We are Celebrating Salesian Appreciation Mass tomorrow, January 29th, at the 9:00 A.M. Liturgy. We invite you to join us for the mass if you are free. This is the day that we offer our special gratitude for the good works of our Salesian Sisters, Brothers, and Priests.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS ‘ WEEK
Next week is a very active week for the school. We will be joining Catholic Schools across the United States in the celebration of Catholic Schools’ Week. The following activities have been planned for SSPP….

Monday, February 1- School Spirit Day! Students may wear Green, Yellow, and White Free Dress.

Tuesday, February 2-Teacher Appreciation- Parents have volunteered to supervise the classes from 12:00-1:30 so that the faculty may share a luncheon together. The students have volunteered to be on super, excellent behavior for this event.

***************************************************************
Must have all RSVP’s By Tomorrow/Friday.
Wednesday, February 3- Grandparent Day
10:00 Show
10:30 Class Visits
11:30 Lunch with your
Grandparents
12:30 Visit Ends

Thursday, February 4- Saint John Bosco Fun Day
Our P.E. Teacher Ms. Randazzo has planned a field day for our students. We will begin our Field Day at 1:30. You are most welcome to come and join in the FUN!

REMINDER: NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, FEB. 5
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY.

God Bless,
Dr. Harris