St. Stephen Catholic School
October 5, 2023
Important updates in this week's Tidbits
Pumpkin Patch
Boo-Grams
Christmas Card Contest
Spirit Nights
Trunk or Treat Signup
Father-Daughter Dance
Ladies Tea
30th Annual Men's Club Golf Scramble
Principal's Points
Hello St. Stephen Families!
October brings with it many exciting events for our families. Please be sure to read all of Tidbits to learn more about the events. I hope to see many of you after school tomorrow at our Pumpkin Patch!
Last Friday was Grandparents/friends Day and many of the visitors told me how much fun they had. It was a great opportunity for many to see our wonderful school and spend time with the students. Thank you to everyone who made the day a success.
I will be sending home two surveys this week. One, to provide feedback for the book fair and the other in regard to the upcoming PTCO General meeting. Please look for them and take a moment to complete the short surveys.
Thank you for your support and for trusting us with your beautiful children. Have a wonderful rest of your week!
Peace,
Linda Umoh
Upcoming Events
October 3-15 - Boo Gram Sales
October 6 - Pumpkin Patch
October 7-8 - Holy Card Uniform Weekend
October 9 - Holy Card Free Dress
October 16 - No School
October 20 - Movie Night
October 27 - Marvelous Mustang
October 27 - Noon Dismissal
October 27 - Trunk or Treat
October 27 - Christmas Card Contest Entry Deadline
October 28 - Feast Day of St. Jude
October 31 - Halloween Shirt and Jean Day
November 1 - All Saints Day
November 3 - End of Trimester 1
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
PTCO EVENTS for OCTOBER
GET READY TO BE AMAZED
Week of 10/6 Pumpkin Patch 3PM
10/20 Movie Night 6PM
10/26 PTCO General Meeting 5:30PM
10/27 Trunk or Treat 6PM
Watch Tidbits for event details and volunteer opportunities
PUMPKIN PATCH 2023
Sharing Good Times
Book Fair week was exceptionally special this school year. Over 1000 books were purchased, families enjoyed spending time chatting with both new and old friends and grandparents were awed with songs, stories and crafts.The event would not have been possible without the help of many volunteers. It was a labor of love shared by many wonderful school parents. Special thanks to Vylam, Pam, Anahi and Cindy for sharing their time and talents.
Sincere appreciation to Dunkin' Donuts and Hungry Howies for their generosity. Thanks to the support of our school families, our school library will soon have many new books for our students to enjoy!
PTCO Appreciates Support
PTCO has been selling treats at home games thanks to the kind efforts of Julie, Mom of a fourth grader and Jean a parishioner and longtime supporter of SSCS. Thank you, Jean for offering to bake the cookies that are sold at our home games. Jean's contribution to PTCO expresses the true sense of community that is visible at all school events and activities.
Our sincere appreciation to Julie, Jean and all the school families, parishioners and members of our community who consistently volunteer their time, talent and generosity to support the PTCO.
Jean!
The 2023 SSCS Christmas Card Contest is Here!
Calling all student artists:
All students are invited to participate in the annual SSCS Christmas Card Contest. Card designs should reflect the seasons of Advent or Christmas and the birth of our Lord. Students should use a plain white 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. The winning design will be printed on Christmas cards sent out by the school to individuals and schools throughout the Diocese. The student will also receive a set of 25 cards with their design to send to family and friends. All submissions should be students' original artwork and should include the student’s name and grade written on the back in pencil. Designs must be submitted to the front office by Friday, Oct. 27. Drawings sent in after that date/time will not be considered.
If you have never tried Duck Donuts, now is the perfect time ! Duck Donuts is supporting our PTCO with a Spirit Day on 10/5 from 6am to 7pm.
Mention SSCS and a portion of the sales will be donated back to the PTCO
821 East Bloomingdale Ave This Thursday!
Mustang Trunk or Treat
Join us for a Spooktacular night!
Friday, October 27 from 6 to 7:30 pm. Below is the sign up if you decide to come as a decorated car.
Click Here! for signup. Please sign up with your name only if you plan on attending with a parked decorated car offering treats to our students. The list is to get an approximate number of cars that will be parked and offer treats.
Decorated cars can start to park at 5pm. No cars can park after 5:45 pm. Trunk or Treaters please arrive at 6 pm. We will have our DJ, food trucks, and the best decorated car and costume contest. Please bring and show your SSCS car tag.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
Spirit Store Reopen
Guaranteed For Christmas Delivery!
The reaction to the spirit wear has been so positive, PTCO is offering the online store to help with your Christmas Shopping. Surprise your Mustang on Christmas morning with a Mustang sweatshirt or a new water bottle. The online store will open Sunday, October 15, at midnight for two weeks only. It will close on Sunday, October 29, at midnight in order to insure before Christmas delivery. Mark your calendar. The link to the store will be in Tidbits next week. PTCO thanks all families, friends and teachers for their support!
Mustang Sports
MUSTANG SPORTS:
Girls Volleyball: The girls varsity volleyball team beat St. Joseph two games to zero to finish the regular season with 3 wins and 4 losses and the 5th seed for the playoffs. The Mustangs lost in the quarterfinals to Corpus Christi two games to zero to end the season. The JV beat St. Joseph two games to zero to finish the regular season with a record of 5 wins and 2 losses and the third seed for the JV tournament. The Mustangs went 3-2 in the end of the season JV tournament and finished 4th overall. Thank you to Mr. Brozak for helping coach the JV team this season.
Coed Soccer: The soccer team played well, but lost to local rival Nativity, 3-2, and their goals were scored by Joseph D. and Ethan D. The Mustangs are back on the field for their last regular season game today against Christ the King at St. Stephen at 4:00 pm. The playoffs start Tuesday with the opponent and game site still to be determined.
Sign ups for girls JV and varsity basketball and boys JV and varsity track are this week and next. The first week of boys track practice will be Tuesday, October 17-Thursday, October 19 from 3:00-4:30 pm. Girls basketball tryouts will be the week of October 16-20. The varsity and JV dates will be posted in next week’s Tidbits and Coach Green will email them to 5th-8th grade.
Coed Soccer: The soccer team played well, but lost to local rival Nativity, 3-2, and their goals were scored by Joseph D. and Ethan D. The Mustangs are back on the field for their last regular season game today against Christ the King at St. Stephen at 4:00 pm. The playoffs start Tuesday with the opponent and game site still to be determined.
Sign ups for girls JV and varsity basketball and boys JV and varsity track are this week and next. The first week of boys track practice will be Tuesday, October 17-Thursday, October 19 from 3:00-4:30 pm. Girls basketball tryouts will be the week of October 16-20. The varsity and JV dates will be posted in next week’s Tidbits and Coach Green will email them to 5th-8th grade.
GO MUSTANGS!
Coach Green
The Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge
Date: Saturday, October 21st 2023
Time: 9:30 am to 1:00pm
Location: St Stephen Soccer Field
The Knights of Columbus Council 14084 invites ALL Boys and Girls, Ages 9 to 14 to come out and participate in the 2023 Soccer Challenge. Parents, please pick up the Participant/Entry Form from the School Office or see below the Link to the Form.
Request you please turn in entry forms no later than Wednesday, October 11th to the School Office. This allows time to complete compiling the certificates for those who compete and set up rosters.
There will be water and snacks available during the event.
Parking: Park in front of the Family Life Center and check in at the table at the front entry. We warmly welcome you to this year’s event and hope to see a good turnout from each age group!!
Own The Avenue is a year-round fundraiser for the PTCO and gives you a great way to give your child a shout out for the school community to see! Birthdays, achievements, any positive vibes and kudos are welcome, and they certainly make your student feel special!!
The sign is located on the corner of our school parking lot and will be viewed and celebrated for the entire week. A PTCO member will be responsible for putting up the sign and after the week is done, the sign will be sent home with your student for yours to keep or to reuse for a future week!
In a nutshell here’s how it works:
If you have an existing sign, the cost is $30 for the week. If we need to order a new sign, the cost is $50 for the week. Please make payments through the school’s front office. To sign up, please use the following link and more details will follow. Please note, new signs take up to 2 weeks to process and receive from our vendor. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Nicole Rodriguez at nicrodriguez0722@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your support!
IMPORTANT: Please note, this is a yearly fundraiser that is on a first come, first served basis (via SignUpGenius). For example, if you purchase a sign this year for a specific week 9-17-23 thru 9-23-23, that same week is not guaranteed to you for future years. It is required that you sign up each school year if you
wish to participate.
POSTER CONTEST
The Knights of Columbus are offering all students from K through 8th grades an opportunity to enter their annual Christmas Poster contest. Please see the fact sheet and entry form. All entries (student name on back) must be submitted to the school office no later than 12/15.
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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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.