From the Principal

On Oct. 31, all high school staff in the Diocese of Oakland gathered at the new Cathedral of Light for a Commissioning Ceremony. It was a great opportunity for all of us on the secondary school level to get together and celebrate our commonalities as teaching professionals as well as celebrate the opening of our new cathedral. If you live in the Diocese of Oakland (and even if you do not), I hope you will have a chance to see this magnificent building in downtown Oakland.

November is always an event-filled month. Our fall play, William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, will commence its run starting Nov. 13-16. Earlier in the month, we will celebrate the talents of our students at a schoolwide Visual and Performing Arts Assembly in the gym on Nov. 7, where our students from drama, chorus, visual arts and band will showcase their talents for the entire student body. On Nov. 21, we will hold our annual Proud to be a Pilot Day with our Fall/Winter Sports Rally.

On the technology front, we have been moving forward with many projects funded by the new technology fee. Campus-wide wi-fi access was installed in August and our entire campus is now a wireless environment for internet access. The school received a new phone system in mid-October. You will soon receive a letter from me announcing our new phone system as well as a list of new phone numbers for all school staff, including teachers. Once the system is fully implemented, all teachers will have voicemail access with their own phone number as well as phones in every office and classroom. We will continue to improve our technology this year with additional software for our geometry classes as well as Smart Boards for four classrooms as we work hard to update SJND’s technology infrastructure and hardware.

Finally, I want to address an issue that is beyond our school borders, but certainly impacts all of us. The current economic crisis in America is a challenge for our country. Closer to home, I know that it has affected many of our families in different ways, some big and some small. Know that we continue to work hard to make an SJND education accessible to all those who want one. This year, the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees will be evaluating and revising our tuition-assistance process to ensure that that we are granting aid in the most fair, just, and strategic way to help as many families as possible. We continue to be mindful of our annual tuition increases, balancing the need to keep a Catholic education accessible with our desire to compensate our teachers fairly and competitively so that we can attract and retain the very best teachers for your children. I pray that our country’s leadership will make the right decisions to guide our nation back to economic health.

My best wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving holiday with your family.

Read Principal Simon Chiu's blog.

From the Principal Archive
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008