Back to School – On Monday, August 20, our school faculty and
staff came back to work and began a new semester with a Retreat.
The theme was “Nurturing Yourself and Your Vocation.”
Presented by Bret Allen, Associate Superintendent of Catholic
Schools, the retreat was very well received by the faculty.
Then on Wednesday, August 22, the much anticipated first
day of school finally arrived. I heard from many Kindergarten
parents that their children were looking forward to this day.
Having purchased new uniforms, backpacks and school supplies,
they were eager to begin their first day of school at St. Brendan.
And many incoming first graders were both looking forward and
nervous about starting school in the BIG school. To all our new
and returning students and their parents, welcome back.
It will be a great year!!!
Maintenance Around Our Facility – As many of you who were
around during the Summer have noticed, we have done some
maintenance work around our campus. The big tree between the
school and the gym had to be, regrettably, cut down. In an
inspection around our parish facility done by the Archdiocese’s
Real Property Support Corporation (RPSC), they noticed that
the tree was damaging the foundation of the school building and
gym’s retaining wall. So their advice was to have the tree removed.
We also had to repair the sidewalks around the school, church
and rectory, as people passing through our facility had reported
tripping and falling. A flat roof over the rectory was fixed as
water would drip into my living room during a rain storm.
Over at the gym, we had to close the gym for maintenance.
Normally, Legarza Basketball Camp would operate into
mid-August, but this year we informed them that we
needed to refinish the gym floor. We took this opportunity
to also address some leaks. Steve Kalpakoff from the
Archdiocese’s RPSC had a roofer check on the condition of
the roof. It was fine, but Steve recommended that the entire
building be painted with elastomeric paint that fills cracks and
holes and makes the structure waterproof. No work has
begun on the tiled roofs yet, which was part of the Capital
Campaign project. As the tiled roofs seem to be holding
out the rain, we will wait for the pledges to come in so we
maintenance work around our campus. The big tree between the
school and the gym had to be, regrettably, cut down. In an
inspection around our parish facility done by the Archdiocese’s
Real Property Support Corporation (RPSC), they noticed that
the tree was damaging the foundation of the school building and
gym’s retaining wall. So their advice was to have the tree removed.
We also had to repair the sidewalks around the school, church
and rectory, as people passing through our facility had reported
tripping and falling. A flat roof over the rectory was fixed as
water would drip into my living room during a rain storm.
Over at the gym, we had to close the gym for maintenance.
Normally, Legarza Basketball Camp would operate into
mid-August, but this year we informed them that we
needed to refinish the gym floor. We took this opportunity
to also address some leaks. Steve Kalpakoff from the
Archdiocese’s RPSC had a roofer check on the condition of
the roof. It was fine, but Steve recommended that the entire
building be painted with elastomeric paint that fills cracks and
holes and makes the structure waterproof. No work has
begun on the tiled roofs yet, which was part of the Capital
Campaign project. As the tiled roofs seem to be holding
out the rain, we will wait for the pledges to come in so we
won’t have to take out a loan.
Back to Work – I returned back to work on Saturday,
August 18. I enjoyed my time away and felt a deepening
of my relationships with family, friends and with our Lord.
On my first day of my time away, I was down in Carmel
at a Chinese restaurant and read a fortune cookie saying
that “Soon, I will have a new best friend.” I chuckled at it,
but 3 days later, as I found myself drawn closer to the Lord,
I thought to myself that my new best friend is the Lord.
I was delighted. During my vacation, I stayed mostly
local in the Bay Area,ending my last week with a
classmate who has a parish near South Lake Tahoe.
I enjoyed hiking, taking my nephews and niece on
bicycle rides, rafting and other outings with my family.
I’ve grown to enjoy my friendship with my parents.
I pray that you had a good and refreshing Summer too.
August 18. I enjoyed my time away and felt a deepening
of my relationships with family, friends and with our Lord.
On my first day of my time away, I was down in Carmel
at a Chinese restaurant and read a fortune cookie saying
that “Soon, I will have a new best friend.” I chuckled at it,
but 3 days later, as I found myself drawn closer to the Lord,
I thought to myself that my new best friend is the Lord.
I was delighted. During my vacation, I stayed mostly
local in the Bay Area,ending my last week with a
classmate who has a parish near South Lake Tahoe.
I enjoyed hiking, taking my nephews and niece on
bicycle rides, rafting and other outings with my family.
I’ve grown to enjoy my friendship with my parents.
I pray that you had a good and refreshing Summer too.
Fr. Dan
