Dear Parents/Guardians,
Yesterday we celebrated Ash Wednesday, and our liturgy was led by our third-grade class. They did a wonderful job with the readings. I am so proud of our students in how they are able to get up in front of a whole community and proclaim the word of God. Thanks to Mrs. Mancinetti for preparing the students.
As we begin Lent, the cafeteria staff will not be serving any meat products on Fridays. On Tuesday we had a representative from the Missionary Childhood Association talk with the students about the work they do with children from all over the world. Our school has a tradition of supporting the missions during Lent, and we will continue with that support through Lenten money boxes. The children will receive their money box and a rosary on Monday. The children will have 40 days to fill up the money box and then return to the school. As parents this is a great opportunity to talk to your child about giving to the less fortunate. Thank you for your support.
School Family Mass
Next Sunday we have our school family Mass at 9am. It will be great to see as many parents as possible at this Mass.
Class Reconciliations
During the season of Lent, students from Grades 3 through 8 will have the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Respect for Life Essay Competition
Congratulations to Matthew Ayon for receiving an Honorable Mention in the Respect Life essay contest. Matthew has received a certificate form the Archbishop of San Francisco, The Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone. Thanks to the other students who participated in this easy contest.
WCEA Update
We have reviewed the various WCEA surveys that our shareholders completed in October, and I wish to share with you some of the outcomes. First of all, may I thank those people who completed the surveys. Your input has been valuable as we begin the writing of our Self Study for the visitation that will occur in March of 2021. The surveys indicated the areas where we are doing well as a school community as well as areas to look at further improvements.
- One of the areas for improvements was the re-introduction of Spanish, and I am happy to say that we will be able to offer Spanish class again for the next school year.
- Regarding a counselor, we do have access to counseling services, but we have been in negotiations with USF Counseling division to avail the services of interns. At the moment the USF students do not wish to travel to South San Francisco.
- There were mixed reactions to homework from parents: some say too much and others say not enough. As a result of this we have reviewed ourhomework policy and made slight changes to it. I would ask families to be aware of the homework policy from the Parent Handbook which is in alignment with national standards on homework.
- Other comments related to bullying, and we have assessed our policy on bullying and wish to re-enforce that the teachers and administration act on every case of reported bullying. We also address aspects of bullying through our religion classes and through assemblies.
- Regarding communications: we had families say there was a lack of communication to families saying there was too much communication. We are always trying to find a fine balance in this area. May I remind you that SchoolSpeak delivers an email to each family after 4pm each day. We are fortunate to have such a system that is very easy to use and that it makes it easy for the teachers to communicate with parents.
- There were some families who would like to see more security. This has been addressed by cutting down and trimming the trees around the Annex and replacing the security lights with LED lights. Eighteen more security cameras have been installed in the annex and the main building. As you are aware, security of the children and staff is a number one priority for me.
As a reminder to everyone, I have an open-door policy for students, staff and parents, and I am willing to meet with all when there are concerns that need to be raised and discussed. As a principal of a school there are so many factors that I must to take into consideration when I need to make a decision, and I can assure you that I do not take lightly any concerns that are brought to me. I wish to thank everyone for your support during the past years and into the future.
Retirement
With sad news I must inform everyone that after 40 years of service to the All Souls Community, Miss Johanson will be retiring at the end of this school year. Many of you have known Miss Johanson as the Kindergarten teacher for many of the years and more recently as the Vice Principal. We will all miss her wisdom and expertise in educational matters.
Thanks
I wish to thank the Maranan family for donating 4 new ladders and trash cans to the school. This has been a great saving for our school.
Window Replacement Update
We have received the bids for the windows, and sad to say the cost is increasing each day. We are looking at one million dollars to complete this project, and I am determined to complete this project for the school and parish community. I am asking the school board for their ideas and to plan strategies to raise more monies. Along with this project we will be replacing all the window furnishings, and we have an estimate of $60,000 for roller blinds to replace the current verticals. All donations towards the blinds will be most appreciated. We will be putting the monies raised from the Fun Run towards the blinds. Therefore, if we make $30,000 with the Fun Run, we will still need to raise another $30,000.
Re-Enrollment 2020 – 2021
The re-enrollment process will begin on Monday, March 2nd for two weeks. You will receive information from Mrs. Cierra regarding the re-enrollment process.
Update on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
We are all aware of the Novel Coronavirus, and now San Mateo County has its first case. I have received information from the San Mateo County Office of Education with a link to a statement from Dr. Scott Morrow, the County Health Officer. Please read his statement here.
We are encouraging our students to wash their hands, use sanitizer, and not to use their hands around their faces and mouth. These are normal precautions, but we need to step it up now. We will be purchasing additional sanitizer so that we have enough on hand in case supplies run short. It is better to be prepared than not to be prepared.
I wish to reassure you that we are aware of what is progressing with this virus and are responding to advice from the County Health department and CDC.
ACRE Results – 8th and 5th grades
Each year students from 8th and 5th grade take the ACRE test which focuses on Catholic Knowledge. Our students have performed very well on the test in both 8th and 5th grades, as you can see from the results.
God Bless
Vincent Riener
Principal
