St. Stephen Catholic School
March 2, 2023
Important updates in this week's Tidbits
CSTAG Application in FACTS
Rice Bowls
Lenten Fish Fry
March Madness Raffle
Volunteer Opportunities
Personalize Yearbook
Principal's Points
Good afternoon St. Stephen Families,
Welcome to March Madness. Our annual Spirit Raffle is about to begin. Please join us tomorrow (Friday, Mar. 3) at 11:30 am in the FLC for our kick-off pep rally. Students will be dismissed from the FLC at approximately 11:50 am to go back to their classrooms and parents in attendance may follow and pick them up there. We will have classroom pickup for all grades tomorrow.
Please remember that each family is required to fundraise $200 from our two fundraising events (Walkathon and Raffle). If you did not meet the minimum with the Walkathon, you are required to meet the goal with the Spirit Raffle. If you did meet your goal already, we ask that you still participate. Funds earned from this raffle will support updates to our Morning Show equipment and the playground.
As you may have noticed during morning carline, some students walk across the parking lot instead of going through the carline. These are our 5th-grade Safety Patrol students. We ask parents to park and walk them across so that they can quickly get to their posts to assist with opening doors.
Some parents have asked about volunteer hours related to the Fish Fry. St. Stephen students in grades 7 and 8 may work at the fish fry, but their hours do not count toward parent volunteer hours. If another adult family member (parents, aunt, grandfather) or older sibling not attending St. Stephen works the fish fry, those hours will count.
Finally, thank you to Winfosoft, Inc. located in Pennsylvania, for their very generous donation in memory of Mr. John Ross. We pray for the loss suffered by the family and we are grateful that they considered making a donation to our school in his name.
Remember to read Tidbits every week to keep up-to-date on happenings at school.
Peace,
Linda Umoh
Key dates
2023-24
School Year
Aug. 9
First day of school
Nov. 20-24
Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 25 - Jan. 5
Christmas Break
Mar. 29 - Apr. 5
Easter Break
May 24
Last Day of School
Upcoming Events
March 3 - March Madness Spirit Raffle Starts
March 3 - Marvelous Mustang
March 3 - 12 pm Dismissal
March 5 - Second Sunday of Lent
March 11-12 - Holy Card Uniform Weekend
March 12 - Third Sunday of Lent
March 13-14 - No School
March 15 - Holy Card Free Dress Day
March 17 - Jean Day/Green Shirt
March 19 - Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 21 - Spring Pictures
March 26 - Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 30 - Dads vs. Students Basketball Game @3:15pm
March 30 - March Madness Spirit Raffle Ends
Tune in to Facebook LIVE to watch the Student PEP RALLY Celebration
March 3, 2023 at 11:30am
Noon Dismissal - March 3, 2023
Friday is noon dismissal and if you are planning to pick your student up early they will need to be picked up by 11:15. After that time the students will be in the FLC for the Pep Rally and will not be able to be dismissed until 12.
Volunteer Hours ALERT
Volunteer hours will be billed in early May at the rate of $50 per hour for those who have not completed the required 20 hours per school year 2022-2023. Please contact Karen Biase, kbiase@sscsfl.org, with concerns or questions on the number of volunteer hours.
FACTS (CSTAG/Heart to Heart) Applications
2023-2024 School Year
The FACTS Application for financial assistance from the school and Diocese is open for the 2023-2024 school year. Applications and documents must be received no later than April 30, 2023, for initial consideration. Please log into your FACTS account to complete the application.
Important note: Diocesan aid is limited. Applications received after the initial consideration deadline of April 30, 2023, for the 23-24 school year maybe be subject to a reduced rate.
For information regarding all financial assistance opportunities, please click below.
REMINDER
Rice Bowls
As the students continue their Lenten journey, hopefully they are reminded to practice almsgiving, prayer, and fasting (from things like sweets and electronics). They can practice almsgiving by donating part of their allowance or money earned from chores to the Catholic Relief Services rice bowls they brought home last week. Rice bowls are due back at school by Monday, April 3.
Thank you for encouraging them to live our faith.
Click the attachment below to know the information about the inside servers.
Mustang Sports
Girls Flag Football: The girls flag football team had an exciting last minute comeback win to beat Villa Madonna in the quarterfinals. The Mustangs won 7-6, with a 60 yard catch and run by Leah M. in the last two minutes of the 4th quarter. The defense played well and were led by Morgan C. with 2 interceptions. The Mustangs played Mother Teresa in the semifinals and they lost, 33-0 to end the season. Thank you to Coach McRae and Coach Eddie for all of their hard work and commitment coaching the girls this season.
Boys Basketball: The boys varsity basketball team lost in the 8/9 opening round game to Incarnation, 26-17. The Mustangs were led in scoring by John Michael R. with 7 points and Dylan B. with 6 points. The boys basketball season is over.
Girls Track: Girls track season starts next Tuesday, March 7 from 3:00-4:30. Girls in 5th-8th grade interested in participating should sign up with Coach Green by Monday, March 6. Girls can sign up at lunch or PE/Health. Parent volunteer, Jenn Daoud, will be coaching the team again this season. She coached the girls team last year. Practices each week will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3:00-4:30. Practice next week will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3:00-4:30 each day.
The meet dates are as follows:
Tuesday, April 4-Field Event Meet 1 at Christ the King at 4:00
Thursday, April 20-Field Event Meet 2 at Christ the King at 4:00
Saturday, April 22-Running & Relay Meet 1 at Tampa Catholic at 8:00am
April 25 or 26-Cross Country Meet at Mary Help at 4:00. Date still being finalized.
Saturday, April 29-Running & Relay Meet 2 at Tampa Catholic at 8:00am
Boys Flag Football: Boys flag football tryouts are Tuesday, March 7 and Wednesday, March 8 from 3:00-5:00. Students trying out are expected to attend both days. Boys in grades 6-8 are eligible to try out and those interested in trying out should sign up with Coach Green by Monday, March 6. The boys flag football season runs from March 7 through the first week of May and is a 3-4 day per week commitment.
Other News: Field Day 2023 is a month away on Wednesday, April 5. K-4 will participate in the morning from 9:30-11:00 and 5-8 will attend in the afternoon from 1:00-2:30. There will be fun and competitive activity stations for the students. If any parents/families still need service hours or you would like to volunteer at Field Day please contact Coach Green as soon as possible. Parents can earn two volunteer hours per session. Coach Green needs help supervising the classes for the K-4 session. The 8th graders supervise the activity stations for the younger classes. Help is needed running the activity stations and supervising the classes for the 5th-8th grade group. Please contact Coach Green if you are interested in volunteering at Field Day 2023. Thank you.
Go Mustangs!
Coach Green
SSCS families:
It’s time to personalize your yearbook!
Remember, each student will receive a yearbook.
You DO NOT need to purchase a yearbook through Treering unless you would like an additional copy. See the directions below.
PTCO Mustang Book Exchange
The Mustang Book Exchange will be held on Friday, 3/31 from 1 to 3:15 in the East Hall. You are welcome to bring into the school office the books you would like to donate and you will receive a credit that can be used the day of the book exchange. Both students and parents are welcome to visit the exchange on 3/31. If your child does not have a credit, they can purchase a donated book for 25 cents.
Summer Camp
Nature's Classroom Institute.
Summer is right around the corner, and Nature's Classroom is excited to announce that they are officially launching an NCI Summer Camp for ages 10-14.
Campers will splash, explore, and learn through hands-on experiences for a full week, June 12th- June 16th, 2023, at their Brooksville site. Details, prices, etc., can be found at: https://www.discovernci.org/florida-summer-camp
For questions, reach out to:
Britta Wood
Education Director-Florida
Nature’s Classroom Institute
682.804.2483
PTCO Now Offers Scrip
Help PTCO earn cash back from gift card purchases.
A simple and easy way to purchase gift cards!
How does it work?
Use the Raise Right App to buy an electronic or physical gift card for hundreds of stores! The school receives a percentage of the gift card purchase! Click below for more information about the program.
Many of your favorite stores and restaurants are included – Target, Walmart, Publix, Outback, Panera, and more!
Going shopping? Buy an electronic gift card for the approximate amount and use it at the check-out line! Click below for more information about ecards.
To get started today, review the RaiseRight Enrollment using the link below and if you have questions, please contact ngallagher@sscsf.org
Thank you for your continued support of SSCS! We hope you find this to be an easy way to make a difference for our school.
Please watch the video below to see how easy it is to purchase scrip from Raise Right.
Easy way to support the PTCO and get your Holiday Gift Cards.
Alumni Updates
Attention: Current School families who have children that are SSCS Alumni
Please help us follow the success of our former students. Kindly share with us updates on how your SSCS graduate is doing in school, in their profession or in pursuing their dreams. We want to be able to congratulate our alumni when they achieve amazing
things and wish them well when they venture into something new and exciting.
A few lines providing name, year graduated from SSCS and update should be sent to ngallagher@sscsfl.org
Please join us for Bingo Nights!
COVID 19 Decision Tree
Click below to review the COVID 19 Decision Tree
Safe Environment Training and Fingerprints
Everyone needs updated safe environment training and fingerprints in order to volunteer in the school or to chaperone a field trip. Safe environment and fingerprints are good for 5 years. Attached below are the instructions on how to get your safe environment certificate and to have your fingerprints done. If you have any questions please contact Karen Biase at kbiase@sscsfl.org or call the front office at ext. 1100. Click the link for information below regarding fingerprints. Click for the live link here. Click below for more information on safe environment and click here for the link.
Check out our
Mustang News morning show!
You can join our Mustang News team each morning at 7:50 as we stream live on YouTube to begin the day with prayers, the pledge of allegiance, and news. Subscribe to our channel here.
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Mission Statement
St. Stephen Catholic School is devoted to inspiring students to achieve their full academic potential while demonstrating a desire to continue Jesus' mission by applying Catholic morals, beliefs, values, and practices in their everyday lives. We are committed to motivating students to sustain a lifelong love of learning.