St. Stephen Catholic School
March 23, 2023
Important updates in this week's Tidbits
PTCO Leadership Nominations
Lent Food Drive
Volunteer Opportunities
March Madness Raffle
CSTAG Application in FACTS
PTCO Book Exchange
Rice Bowls
Lenten Fish Fry
Summer Sports Camps
Spirit Night
Personalize Yearbook
Vacation Summer Bible Study Signup
Principal's Points
Good Afternoon St. Stephen Families,
You may have noticed a new face on campus. That is Mrs. Kate Neal, our new Guidance Counselor!
She comes to us with a wealth of experience in behavior interventions and counseling, as well as lesson planning and classroom guidance lessons. Her collaborative spirit is already showing as she meets with teachers and students to learn all she can about our community.
We are so blessed to have her with us full-time. Please welcome Mrs. Neal to our St. Stephen family!
Please also pay special attention to the PTCO notice below. We have a number of opportunities to serve our school by becoming a member of the PTCO.
Peace,
Mary Gurley
IT'S THAT TIME! PTCO LEADERSHIP NOMINATIONS
It’s time to think about the Executive Committee PTCO leadership for next school year 2023-2024. Please consider what you can contribute to St. Stephen’s PTCO. Are you interested in holding a position as a PTCO executive committee officer? Please contact Nicki Gallagher directly. Click HERE for the PTCO Board Positions- Role and Responsibilities
Upcoming Events
March 26 - Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 30 - Dads vs. Students Basketball Game @3:15pm
March 30 - March Madness Spirit Raffle Ends
March 31 - Marvelous Mustang
April 2 - Palm Sunday
April 6 - Holy Thursday
April 6 - Noon Dismissal/ No Extended Day Care
April 7 - Good Friday
April 7 -14 - No School/Easter Break
April 9 - Easter Sunday
April 10 - Easter Monday
LENT FOOD DRIVE - MARCH 29th
The Lent Food Drive will be on Wednesday, March 29. Students will bring the food with them to church that morning. The items listed below are requests that were in the church bulletin.
pasta and pasta sauce
peanut butter and jelly
pancake mix and syrup
canned vegetables
peanut butter and jelly
pancake mix and syrup
canned vegetables
mac and cheese
rice
canned meats
mashed potatoes
rice
canned meats
mashed potatoes
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.
Any parents/families that still need service hours and would like to volunteer at Field Day, Wednesday, April 5, please contact Coach Green as soon as possible. Parents can earn two volunteer hours per session. Coach Green needs volunteers for both sessions. We need help supervising the classes for the K-4 session. The 8th graders supervise the activity stations for K-4. There aren't many volunteers signed up as of now, and help is especially needed running the activity stations and supervising the classes for the 5th-8th grade session from 1:00-2:30. Coach Green really needs volunteers so if you are interested in volunteering at Field Day 2023 please contact him ASAP.
Thank you.
March Madness Continues
Thank you to all our students who enthusiastically submitted their drawings for March Madness. PreK-3 and 4 as well as K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades all had participation over 75%. PTCO appreciates the help from parents, teachers and the volunteers(Janice and Jackie). The drawings were displayed in the center hall for all our students to enjoy(see the picture below.
Join us on Thursday in the FLC for the Dads vs Mustangs Basketball Challenge. The final raffle winner will be selected at the end of the game. Raffle tickets will be sold at the game and the concession stand will be open(cash only). Who do you think will win? Come for the game, fun, and to support the PTCO.
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 here.
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 recently. Rice bowls are due back at school by Monday, April 3. Please click here for more information. Thank you for encouraging them to live our faith.
Click the attachment below to know the information about the inside servers.
Mustang Sports
MUSTANG SPORTS: The girls track team has a couple more weeks of practice before the first meet. The first meet is the Field Events on Tuesday, April 4, at Christ the King at 4:00. The Mustang flag football team has a few more practices until their first game Wednesday, March 29, against Corpus Christi here at St. Stephen at 4:15. The complete St. Stephen boys flag football game and girls track meet schedules are available on the school website under Athletics.
St. Stephen Field Day 2023 is less than 2 weeks away on Wednesday, April 5. K-4th will participate in the morning after Mass from 9:30-11:00 and 5th-8th will attend in the afternoon from 1:00-2:30. There will be fun and competitive activity stations for the students. Any parents/families that still need service hours and 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 volunteers for both sessions. We need help supervising the classes for the K-4 session. The 8th graders supervise the activity stations for K-4. There aren't many volunteers signed up as of now, and help is especially needed running the activity stations and supervising the classes for the 5th-8th grade session from 1:00-2:30. Coach Green really needs volunteers so if you are interested in volunteering at Field Day 2023 please contact him ASAP. Thank you.
The St. Stephen sports camps are the weeks of July 10-14 and 17-21. Basketball camp is July 10-14 and volleyball camp is July 17-21. Please see the camp flyers and registration info in this week's Tidbits about signing up.
The new St. Stephen soccer coach for 2023, Mr. Heaberlin, will be hosting a half day soccer camp the week of July 17-21. Soccer camp registration and more information will be posted next week's Tidbits Mustang Sports.
Go Mustangs!
Coach Green
Angels Look Ahead
The Angels plans are already starting for another exciting Gala on 2/10/24. If you would like to be part of the excitement from day one, please consider joining the Angel Planning Team. Parents who are interested in helping with the planning of Angels 2024, please contact ngallagher@sssfl.org.
Please note this is not a request for help with set up, help decorating, help with programs etc. Those volunteer positions are requested closer to the event date.
Thanks again to all who volunteered to help with Angels 2023 and contributed to its success.
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.
Registration Now Open!
St. Stephen Catholic Church
Vacation Bible School -
Date: June 12-16, 2023
Vacation Bible School -
Date: June 12-16, 2023
Time: 9:30 – 12:30 pm
·Location: Family Life Center
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 here 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 here for more information about ecards.
To get started today, review the RaiseRight Enrollment using the link here 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 here 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
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 here 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 here regarding fingerprints. Click for the live link here. For the safe environment click here for the live link .
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Mustang News morning show!
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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.