June 8, 2012

Dear San Felipe de Neri Families,

I pray that you are enjoying the Summer Break.

We are still all trying to recover from the excitement and work of our Fiesta here at the Parish and at our School.  I am grateful to so many of you who came out to help with set-up and take-down, worked in the funnel cake booth, and who helped in other capacities. 

School is out for the Summer, but there is still a lot of activity at our School with the Summer Fun Program and Mrs. Annabel Griego and Mrs. Michelle Montoya are at the office on a daily basis to serve you while they prepare for the next school year.  Bernard and a new custodian (Gabriel) are busy cleaning and polishing our buildings.

I have been busy with hiring.  We have filled all but one of the teaching positions that were open, and we will inform you about who the new teachers will be once we fill the last position and contracts are signed.  I did not want to wait to find a new principal before filling the teaching positions since this is the time that teachers are looking for employment for the next school year.  We currently have 27 students enrolled in 6^th grade and I have not made a final decision about whether or not we will have two sixth grade classes.  That may be a decision that we wait to make until we have a new principal.

The search process for a new principal has begun.  Last night the Superintendant of Catholic Schools met with our search committee comprised of four parents and one grandparent from our School.  At our meeting we reviewed the interview process and established questions for the interviews.  The first interview is scheduled to take place, Monday June 11, 2012.  We have three applicants at this time and expect more to apply.  The goal is to have a principal hired by July 1, however, the committee and I discussed last night that our biggest concern will be to find the right person and we will continue the search through the Summer if needed.

Mrs. Griego and Mrs. Montoya are on top of everything at the school and have been a tremendous help to me in this time of transition.  I am grateful to them for their help, competencies, and for the manner in which they work for our school.  It is out of love and respect for our school that they serve our school community. 

Please continue to use Sycamore to communicate with the school office and to stay informed.  This is an excellent tool of communication for all of us.

For those of you who have applied for a subsidy from the Parish, please know that I have not yet approved or disapproved any of the applications.  They are all on a stack behind my desk.  Please know that I going to have to be much more conservative this year in approving subsidies since we currently have a half of a million dollar debt in our Parish as we complete the Renovation Project.

Enjoy the rest of the Summer.  I look forward to seeing you at Mass on Sunday or perhaps at the Bible Camp.  If you have not registered for our Bible Camp June 18 – 22, do so right away.  Please be advised that Bible Camp will be held at San Jose de Duranes, located at 2110 Los Luceros Rd. NW.  (North on Rio Grande past Indian School (1/2 Block), West on Zickert about 3 blocks, North on Los Luceros Rd., San Jose is located on the East.) More information on the Bible Camp and registration forms can be found on the Parish website www.sanfelipedeneri.org or you can register at the School and Parish Office.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dennis M. García

Pastor