SSPP Principal's Letters

Dear Parents,
It is official! The kids are on count down to summer break. There is a great deal of energy in the building, and we have quite a few activities that are on the horizon. The teachers and I will continue to remind the children that they have to make every effort to finish up the year in a good way. We remind them that they started the year with excellent focus and that they need to wind the year down with the same positive intentions. We would greatly appreciate your teamwork on this topic. Please have a sit down with your children and remind them that we are still in school until June 8th.

Prayers
Please keep Sr. Debbie in your prayers. She will be undergoing minor surgery on Tuesday, May 8th. Sr. Debbie is expected to be out of school for about a week. I know that she will appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Deepest Gratitude to all involved in the Spring Fundraiser
Thank you on behalf of the children. Under the guidance of our very own Deb Filimon another mini miracle transpired at SSPP School. The gym was transformed into a wonderful Roaring 20’s party. The spirit of fun and giving was very much in the air. Thank you lists are always such tricky business because there is the risk of leaving someone off; however, I must thank the following folks for their efforts. If I have left a team player off, know that it is simply a clerical error and the support means the world to our school. Of course, I also thank those of you who attended the event and made the evening so joyful.

Deb Filimon- Chair
Sharon Fong
Stephanie Santander
Mike Terrigno
Martha White
Tanya Colli
Mary Macpherson
Tony Williams
Ronaldo Colli
Andi Conte
Macy Fischer
Judy Najera
Audrey Kelly
Bill and Cheri Gotch
Angel McDonald
Kathleen DiGrande
Rebecca Miles
Frances Emmons
Chris O’Connell
Bill Forbes
Jeff Filimon
Ed Milestone
Claudia and Leandro Fernando
Elaine Yee

Financial Obligations

This is the time of the year when all financial obligations must be met. We are fully aware of the great sacrifices that are made in the name of Catholic Education; owever, as is true with all businesses, we must have complete compliance from our clients in order to meet our very real expenses. Please be mindful of the deadlines and please meet all financial deadlines. It is very labor intensive for us to contact individual families and verbally remind them about payment. All student educational fees are due on Friday, May 4, 2012.

Saturday, May 5th – First Holy Communion at SSPP

All are welcome to join with us in the celebration of the Sacrament of First Holy Communion this Saturday at 11:00 AM. There will be a reception following the liturgy.

Sunday, May 6th- Confirmation Meeting at SSPP at 10:00 AM

Sponsors, Parents, and Confirmandi should attend the scheduled meeting in the Gym at 10:00 AM.

Reminders:

Please remember to calendar Brother Thien’s ordination on May 24th at 5:00 PM in the Church. If you would like to contribute towards a community gift, please send in your donation as soon as possible.

New 2You Sale in the cafeteria May 7 & 8 beginning at 7:45 AM

Grade 5 Parent Meeting May 10th at 8:30 in the Gym

Graduation Ticket orders due on May 11th

Get those dance show tickets for May 12th 7:00 PM

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Warm Regards,
Dr. Lisa Harris

Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have arrived at Holy Thursday, which is the end of our Lenten journey. We are now three days from Easter. The Easter Triduum is devoted to prayer and observance. During these most sacred days we must reflect on all that Jesus taught us about love, compassion, and forgiveness. Know that you and your families are in our prayers during these most holy days.

School Reminders:

Have a wonderful Easter holiday!

School resumes on Monday, April 16th.

Monday, April 23rd, Minimum Day 12:30 Dismissal

Please be sure that you are all set to support our Spring Fundraiser on April 28th. All financial obligations for this event are now due.

Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes you sent my way. I appreciate all of your cards and goodies.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We hope that you had a great Saint Patrick’s Day weekend. It is hard to believe, but tomorrow is the First Day of Spring!!! Time is certainly marching forward. The April and May calendar is filled with many events. Remember to check the monthly calendar and School Speak.

Please note the following reminders…..

March 20, 2012: PTO Meeting at 6:00 P.M.

Please join us to hear about plans for the Fund Raiser and information about how you can join Deb Filimon’s team for the event.

There will also be an introduction to a new fund raising opportunity for next year called Champion Events.

Finally, we will share our plans for the 2012-2013 School Year.

There will be several openings on the PTO Advisory Parent Board. If you are interested in serving on this board please drop me a line. Elections for the openings will be held in May.

We hope you can all make it to the PTO Meeting tomorrow evening.

Donation Reminder:

The Spring Fund Raising Committee has asked me to remind participating parents to please get those donations in. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact Sharon Fong or Deb Filimon.

High School Acceptances are here:

Congratulations to our 8th Graders! Our students did very well this year and are blessed with choices about where to attend high school. As soon as all of our students have made their choices we will publish the results.

March 26th: Minimum Day 12:30 Dismissal- Teacher Staff Development Curriculum Mapping

8th Grade Play: March 30th at 7:00 PM

Please join us for the Annual 8th Grade Play. This is always a great opportunity to watch our 8th graders shine.

Report Cards will be sent home on March 30, 2012.

Have a lovely week!

Lisa Harris

Principal

2-29-12
Dear School Families,

The season of Lent will take us from the end of winter right through to the beginning of spring. We will begin honoring the many traditions of Lent such as putting away the “alleluia” during liturgy. We will not sing “alleluia” until Easter when we rejoice in the Resurrection of Jesus.

As we walk our Lenten Journey, let us take time to remember prayer and alms giving. The word alms means “compassion.” Our sacrifices during Lent are offered in order to make our lives simpler, and to share what we have with those who are in need. Let us help one another to make good plans for Lent.

A big thank you to all who helped to plan and facilitate our Faculty sponsored fashion show. It was well attended and well supported. The proceeds of the event will assist us in the completion of our Library Project that has been guided by Audrey Kelly.

Academic School Year 2012-2013 – What is on the horizon?

This is the time of year that we begin to prepare for the new academic school year.
As you know, we have a School Leadership Team, a Parent Board, and a School Board that serve as advisory counsel to our school. We have identified several areas that the administration and faculty will be working on for the new school year. Our targeted areas are:

1. Continued growth in the area of differentiated instruction. It is the goal of our school to meet the specific needs of all of our students. We have plans for continued professional development in order to assist our faculty in meeting the needs of our diverse learners. We have worked very hard to create our reading resource program and we hope to now grow our challenge program for students who are moving at a faster pace. We will meet the challenges of addressing the specific needs of our students by creating more individualized instruction and more small group opportunities during the academic school day. Teachers will receive professional development to encourage best practices and techniques in this area. Our faculty and staff are always searching for strategies that move all of our learners forward at the pace that best suits them.

2. Reading and Writing: We have purchased an adjunct program to our current
reading program called Medallian Reading from Houghton Mifflin publishers.
This new addition to our K-5 program will continue to place emphasis on reading and
writing skills with enhanced resources and assessment tools for the teachers. We will
continue to use our Archdiocesan mandated writing program called “Step -Up To
Writing.” The Medallian program is an additional resource which will support and
enhance our reading and writing programs. This additional resource, in conjunction
with our efforts to differentiate and provide for more small group and individualized
instruction, will assist us in meeting the needs of all of our learners.

3. Spanish and Music: K-5 Under review: We are in the midst of a review of the
programs that we are currently using. Both materials and teaching
strategies are being examined and the Leadership Team and the faculty will
be evaluating curriculum that will enhance our programs and create high levels
of interest for our students. We are hoping to encourage a more academic approach to both subjects. Ms. Konstin will be assisting us in creating a more academically challenging and productive environment where the students will be more accountable for homework and the completion of tasks. Increased parent communication regarding themes and student progress will be in place. We will work to make students understand that these co-curricular classes are academically important and that students will be more accountable for learning material that is presented even though it is a class that is graded with Participate/Non-Participate. Music and Spanish are important classes in our program and we will be meeting with each grade to discuss student participation and behavioral expectations when participating in these subjects. Historically, the work -load in these classes has been lighter than with other academic classes because they are classes that meet either once or twice a week. The emphasis has been on class participation and working as partners and in groups. Due to the many requests for a more academically rigorous program we will be reviewing curriculum and instruction.

As we look forward to March there are many exciting activities on the horizon:

March 2 Read Across America

March 3 Academic Decathlon at St. Pius Good Luck Team SSPP

Week of March 5 Mindful Schools Program begins

March 15 Dance Pictures

March 16 Choral Festival at Riordan

March 17 Happy Saint Patrick’s Day and Happy 90th Birthday
Fr. Malloy

March 20 PTO Meeting 6:00 PM / First Day of Spring

March 23 Junior High Silent Auction Party 6-10

March 24 Warrior Game – Get your tickets now!

March 26 12:30 Dismissal (Staff Development)

March 30 Report Cards / 8th Grade Spring Play at 7:00 PM

As always, we thank you for your support of Saints Peter and Paul School. We are here to serve the children.

***** Keep our 8th graders in your thoughts and prayers as we await their high school acceptances this month.

Have a wonderful month.

Warmest Regards,
Dr. Lisa Harris

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Mindful Schools
I would like thank you for attending the Mindful Schools presentation on January 19th. We understand that it is always difficult to manage meetings during the weeknights, but I received a great deal of positive feedback about welcoming this program to our community. We are currently working with the program director to set a date for our school to begin our sessions. I will forward the dates to you when they are set. I am sending home a copy of the handouts that were given to those who attended the meeting. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this program at greater length. We would like to thank the Orenstil Family for making us aware of this program.

Services for Father Jack
As you know, Wednesday Grades 5-8 will attend Father Jack’s funeral at 10:30 AM. All students in Grades 5-8 should be in Formal Uniform. Students in Grades K-4 will dress in their regular uniforms for the day, as they are not going to the funeral.

PTO Meeting/Open House Parents and Children
We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, January 26th for the PTO Meeting and Open House at 6:00 PM.
We will gather in the gym for a brief but important meeting and then everyone will be free to go upstairs to the classrooms and visit.

Report Cards
Report Cards will be handed out to the children on Friday, January 27th. Please be sure to ask your children for their cards and take some time to go over the information that is given to you regarding their progress. This is a good opportunity to check in with your child and determine how things are going at school. Again, we are always available to answer questions and discuss your child’s progress. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Grandparent’s Day
We will host Grandparent’s Day on Friday, January 27th.
All R.S.V.P.’s must be in by Wednesday, January 25th so that our caterer will be given a correct number for our lunch service.

Catholic School’s Week will take place January 30th through February 2nd. Sr. Debbie will be sending out a schedule of events shortly. This is a National Celebration to recognize the excellent job that Catholic Schools do on behalf of our young people.

Friday, February 3- Student Holiday- No School in Session. Teachers will be at a professional development day.

Dr. Harris

1-12-12
Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2012 will be a year filled with all good things. It was fun to chat with the children and hear about all of the activities that they did over the break. When I asked them what the best part of being on vacation was, the answer was almost always — that they loved hanging out with their families and getting a chance to be at home. I think that speaks volumes about how much they love you and enjoy their time with you.

Our 8th graders just took their HSPT exams on January 7th and are completing last minute applications to some of their high school choices. For the most part, their applications are completed and sent off. Keep the eighth graders in your thoughts and prayers as they wait to hear about their high school outcomes. March can’t come soon enough for our soon to be graduates.

Today we held our Safety Drill in the afternoon. All went well and our students knew just what to do. This might be a good time to discuss your family disaster plan with your children.

Friday, January 13, is Free Dress in 49’er colors or attire. We want to cheer our team on for the play off game this weekend.
(Don’t talk to Sr. Debbie; she is a Saints fan) She even wears Saints logo items!!!!!!!

January is always a really hectic month because we celebrate Catholic Schools Week at the end of the month and we spend the beginning of the month preparing for the wide variety of activities that will take place. In a few days you will receive a calendar with the up coming Catholic Schools Week activities. Catholic Schools Week is a good time for us all to be reminded of the sense of community we have at our school. We are also very blessed to have so many devoted educators. The children of Saints Peter and Paul School are also very fortunate to have so many outstanding programs offered to them at our school.
We receive many email contacts from our Alumni and we are so proud of the excellent colleges our students are attending. Saints Peter and Paul graduates aspire to a wide variety of careers and professions. Please keep an eye open for the calendar for Catholic Schools Week celebration.

Kinder Testing:
We are in the midst of screening our 2012 Kindergartners. The students we have met are just delightful and are going to make wonderful Salesian Students. If you have a child who will be entering Kindergarten next year and is not in our Laura Vicuna Pre-Kinder, please contact the school office to receive an application. We also encourage you to share our school name with friends and family who may be looking for a school for their children. Word of mouth is the best advertisement we can ask for.

Free Dress Passes:
Due to the great success of the Free Dress Fundraiser that was sponsored on Tuesday, January 10, we have opted to open sales again for those who missed out. The passes will be sold again on January 18, prior to morning assembly. The cost of one pass is $5.00. They may be worn for free dress on any Friday that we do not have Mass.

Please check your calendar for upcoming events… Here are a few high lights for the month.

Sunday, January 15th- S.F. Food Bank 12:30. Please contact Ms. Schatz if you are interested in attending.

Monday, January 16th – School Holiday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Thursday, January 19th – Mindful Schools Presentation 6:00-7:00 PM in the Gym. We are very interested in learning more about the Mindful Schools Program. Join us for a parent meeting and come to understand the goals and techniques that will be used to assist our students in developing more focus, more self-control, and a more serene sense of being. Parents will receive 1 Service Hour for attending this very important meeting and 1 free dress pass for each of their children.

Monday, January 23rd – 12:30 Dismissal for the Students. Teachers have a scheduled Archdiocesan Professional Development Day.

Thursday, January 26th- Please remember to join us for our PTO Open House and Meeting. Join us in the gym at 6:00 PM.

Friday, January 27th – Grandparents’ Day 10:00 am.
Please note that Report Cards will be sent home today.

Monday, January 30th – Beginning of Catholic Schools Week.
Sr. Patricia King, the Provincial for the sisters, will be coming to visit our school today.

Tuesday, January 31st – 9:00 AM Liturgy celebrating our Salesian Priests, Brothers and Sisters. We will also be participating in Saint John Bosco Fun Day !

I hope you have a wonderful month, and know that we are all eager to continue our work with your children.

Warm Regards,

Lisa Harris
Principal

Dear Saints Peter and Paul School Families,

On behalf of our entire faculty we wish you a very Merry Christmas and abundant blessings in the New Year!

We hope that you enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation during this very exciting season.

Our Christmas Show will begin tonight at 7:00 PM in the Church. There are a few rows of reserved seating for those who have secured seats through the Silent Auction process. All other seats are not assigned.

At the end of the show tonight please follow the directives that are given regarding dismissal of the students. Grades Pre-K, Kinder and First are going to be dismissed first and will head down stairs to the Pre-K room and the gym. Parents will be directed to pick their children up from those locations.

Grades 2-8 will be dismissed from the Church once their teachers have collected costume items, etc. It should be a smooth system as long as we all follow along with the announcements.

We will resume school on January 9, 2012.

January 10th Graduation Photos for our 8th Graders

January 13th 8:30 AM Meeting and Tour for our

Current Pre-Kinder Parents. Please

Join us for your Kinder Tour!

January 16th School Holiday- Martin Luther King Jr.

January 19th Mandatory Parent Meeting- Mindful Schools

6:00 PM in our Gym

January 23rd Minimum Day Dismissal 12:30 Prof. Dev.

January 26th PTO Open House All Are Welcome: 6:00 PM

Pre-Kinder will be open please stop by and pick-up an application for your Pre-Kinder siblings.

January 27th Grandparent’s Day Celebration

More Information to follow.

Catholic School’s Week January 30th

May I take this moment to thank my wonderful faculty and staff for all of the work that they do so lovingly.

Warmest Regards,

Dr. Lisa Harris

Dear Parents and Guardians:

We are heading towards the Holidays!! Be assured that during Advent your families will be in our prayers. Advent is a period of simple living and extra prayer. The simple living is sometimes complicated by the many gifts that are advertised to our children. Let us remember that this is a time to prepare for a new coming of Jesus our Savior. During this Advent Season, let us try to prepare our homes and our lives for Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

E-mail Issues:

You may have noticed that our e-mail service has been inconsistent over the last few days. The company that hosts our service has been experiencing technical difficulties. Hopefully the problem has been resolved.

See’s Candies:

If you placed an order for See’s Candies, it will be distributed to your child today at the end of the school day.

Progress Reports:

Friday, December 2nd is the official Progress Report posting. Please make sure that you log on to Schoolspeak by 3:15 on Friday to approve your child’s Progress Report. Once you have reviewed the report, make sure that you click the button to demonstrate that you have signed off on it.

Christmas Program:

The children have begun to practice for our Christmas Program. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for December 20th at 7:00 p.m. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Each class has been assigned specific costume items. We ask that you provide the following items for your child:

Kindergarten: navy blue or black pants/skirt, Christmas colored top and black shoes
Grade 1: Festive Christmas attire (fancy if possible)
Grade 2: navy blue or black pants/skirt, Christmas themed or Christmas colored top and black shoes
Grade 3: navy blue or black pants/skirt, Christmas themed or Christmas colored top and black shoes
Grade 4: navy blue or black pants/skirt, white formal uniform shirt and black shoes
Grade 5: navy blue or black pants/skirt, Christmas themed or Christmas colored top and black shoes

-OVER-
Grade 6: navy blue or black pants/skirt, Christmas themed or Christmas colored top and black shoes
Grade 7: navy blue or black pants/skirt, Christmas themed or Christmas colored top and black shoes
Grade 8: navy blue or black pants/skirt, solid red colored tops and black shoes

All students must report to the gymnasium no later than 6:30 p.m. The Christmas show is free of charge as this is our gift to the parent community.

Geography Bee:

We will be holding our annual Geography Bee on Friday, December 2nd at 8:30 in the gym. One and all are welcome.

Spelling Bee:

Our Spelling Bee will take place on Friday, December 9th at 10:00 a.m. in the gym. Once again, all are welcome.

School Mass:

On December 8th at 9:00 a.m. we will celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Students who have scheduled P.E. classes should wear their P.E. uniform. All other students should wear their formal uniform.

Christmas Break:

Please be aware that our Christmas break begins on Thursday, 12/22, and we resume classes on January 9, 2012. In addition, there is a 12:30 dismissal on Wednesday, 12/21.

Regards,

Lisa Harris

November 16, 2011

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Welcome back to our newly renovated gymnasium! It feels good to be back home. We would like to thank our neighbor, Mr. Russell Gumina, for his generosity and hospitality for the use of the Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club gymnasium.

The School’s first event in our gym was the San Francisco Opera Guild’s joint production of the Elixir of Love on Monday, November 14th. A big thank you to Mrs. Wayne who prepared the 8th grade student actors and to Mr. Charles Corum, our Choir Director.

The faculty of SSPP was delighted to share time with all of you during the Parent/Teacher conferences. It looks as though we are off to a good start and we look forward to the continued collaboration between home and school.

Thank you to all that attended our PTO meeting last night. Thanks to Mrs. Garthwaite for presenting our IOWA test results. As you can see our students and faculty work very hard to maintain our high level of academic excellence.

Our Thanksgiving Food Drive in under way. Please refer to the flyer that was sent home on Tuesday. All of our donations will help the homeless in our immediate area. Donations should be brought to the gym and placed in the designated area.

A reminder that our Thanksgiving Holiday will begin on Wednesday, November 23rd and school will resume on Monday, November 28th. Our Christmas Concert will be held on Tuesday, December 20th at 7:00 p.m. in our Church.

May this Harvest Season fill us with an abundance of God’s graces and blessings.

Regards,

Dr. Lisa Harris

November 2, 2011

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Hope your Halloween was festive. It’s hard to imagine but we are already in the month of November. Don’t forget that you need set your clocks back before you go to bed on Saturday, November 5th. Saints Peter and Paul Report Card Conferences will be held on Monday, November 7th through Thursday, November 10th. Please make sure that you are prompt for your scheduled appointment. Please note that it will be a 12:30 dismissal on conference days and therefore, no lunch will be served. On Friday, November 11th we will observe Veteran’s Day Holiday.

On November 14th, the San Francisco Opera Guild will be sponsoring a co-production of The Elixir of Love. We hope to be performing in our renovated gymnasium. We invite all of you to attend the performance at 10:00 a.m.

Our next PTO meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 15th. At 5:30 p.m. we will have our Columbus Day Bazaar wrap-up and at 6:00 p.m. we will begin our meeting which will highlight the IOWA results.

On Tuesday, November 22nd, we will have our Thanksgiving Prayer Service at morning assembly. You are all welcome to join us. November 23rd, 24th and 25th will be school holidays.

Finally, don’t forget that on November 28th we have a 12:30 dismissal for teacher staff development.

Warmest regards,

Dr. Lisa Harris
Principal