St. Stephen Catholic School
April 11, 2024
Important updates in this week's Tidbits
PTCO Executive Board Nominee Bios
PTCO Book Exchange
Spirit Nights
Yearbook Custom Pages and Recognition Ads Information
Volunteer Opportunities
SSCS Basketball, Volleyball Camp Registration
Tampa Catholic Lacrosse Summer Camp
Principal's Points
Hello St. Stephen Families!
One of the defining characteristics of a Catholic School is service to the community. Our students have shown great empathy and generosity toward others through their Rice Bowl donations and 2nd-grade food purchases for St. Vincent de Paul made during their field trip to Publix. Thank you all for your donations.
Monday, all parents received an email from me asking that you complete the School Culture Survey. Please take the time to complete this. Your responses are anonymous and are of great value in planning for the future.
The Step Up Scholarship renewal window has opened. Step Up is sending out notifications in batches, so not everyone will have received an email yet. Continue to monitor your email letting you know when you can renew. Please forward your award ID number to Gail Leung as soon as you receive it.
Be sure to mark your calendars for April 25, our last PTCO General Meeting of the year. There will be free dress passes, a raffle for a Risse Brothers gift card, child care, and an earned volunteer hour. Follow Tidbits for more information in the coming weeks.
Peace,
Linda Umoh
Upcoming Events
April 12 - PTCO Book Exchange
April 12 - NOON Dismissal
April 13-14 - Holy Card Uniform Weekend
April 15 - Holy Card Free Dress
April 18 - Field Day
April 25 - PTCO General Meeting
April 29-30 - Spring i-Ready - MATH
May 3 - NO SCHOOL
May 6-7 - Spring i-Ready READING
May 6-10 - Teacher/Staff Appreciation Week
May 7 - School Council Inauguration/NJHS Induction
May 8 - May Crowning
May 8-9 - 8th Grade Math Final Exam
May 9 - Ascension of Jesus
May 9 - Festival of the Arts
May 10 - Middle School Social
2024-25 School Calendar Dates
First Day of School August 12
Thanksgiving Break November 25 - 29
Christmas Break December 23 - January 3
Lent Pause March 17-21
Easter Break April 18 - 22
Joke of the week
What is the best way to know that flowers are friendly?
See below for the answer.
Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl
Thank you SSCS families for your generous donations to the Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl collection to aid families in poverty stricken countries. Thank you for encouraging your children to participate in the Lenten practice of almsgiving. The alms that your children collected and donated this year to CRS totaled $1045.99.
PTCO Book Exchange
April 12, 2024
Book donations will still be accepted Friday morning.
Please donate books to the PTCO Book Exchange. Books will be accepted in the school office for the entire month of March. You will receive credit for every book you donate, and your student can use the credit to purchase a book(s) on 4/12. Books can be purchased for 25 cents each or credit from donated books can be used.
All proceeds will be used by the PTCO for events and activities for our students.
All proceeds will be used by the PTCO for events and activities for our students.
Surprise Your Mustang with a Message Sign on "Own the Avenue"
Great for Birthdays, Congratulations, Job Well Done, Thank you, Proud of You
Easy to do.... use the link below or call the school office with any questions
Information about Own the Avenue
IMPORTANT: Please note, this is a yearly fundraiser that is on a first-come 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.
Lunch Program Off to a Great Start
The lunch program began on Monday and received great reviews. The chicken tenders were tasty and who doesn't like mac and cheese. Students are looking forward to enjoying the specialties that our chef will prepare for Wednesday and Friday.
If you have not yet seriously considered the school lunch program, order now for May. If you have any questions regarding the program, call the school office.
If you have not yet seriously considered the school lunch program, order now for May. If you have any questions regarding the program, call the school office.
Angels Auction Winner
The Moretuzzo Family won with the highest bid for the Angels silent auction opportunity for a student of their choice to assist in the front office. The prize also included a special lunch for the student and a friend. Special thanks to Nolan for doing a great job and sincere appreciation to the Moretuzzo family for their support of Angels Among Us.
TALENT SHOW
The SSCS Talent Show will be held this year in the FLC on Thursday, May 23rd at 1:00 PM. Auditions for the talent show will be held on Tuesday, April 30th after school in Mrs. Stanley's classroom until 4:30 pm. If you would like to audition, please fill out the Google Form: Talent Show Application and submit it to Mrs. Stanley by Monday, April 29th. Pick up after auditions on April 30th will be at the Angel's Wing gate at 4:30. Any students still remaining will be taken to aftercare. Please bring any props or music you need to the audition or email your music to Mrs. Stanley at hstanley@sscsfl.org. She will need a digital copy of your music for you to perform. We have Amazon Music, so anything that can be found on Amazon Music can be easily pulled up and used. Thank you and we are looking forward to a successful talent show! Please email Mrs. Stanley if you have any questions.
Items Needed for PreK3
PreK3 needs large cleaned prescription bottles. If you have any please drop them off at the Office.
Yearbook Custom pages and Recognition Ads available.
Please see below.
Mustang Sports
MUSTANG SPORTS:
Boys Flag Football: The boys flag football team lost to Christ the King, 35-6. John Michael R had a long catch and run from QB Kellan B for the lone Mustang touchdown. The boys played Corpus Christi yesterday and the result and score will be reported in next week's sports. The Mustangs are back on the field next week on Tuesday against St Lawrence at St Lawrence and Wednesday against Villa Madonna here at St Stephen. Both games start at 4:00.
Girls Track: The girls' track meets get started today with the field events at Christ the King at 4:15. Girls will be competing in the long and high jump, discus, and shot put. The second field event meet is next Thursday, April 18, at Nativity at 4:15, and the first running and relay meet is Saturday, April 20 at Tampa Catholic from 8:00-11:30.
Girls Track: The girls' track meets get started today with the field events at Christ the King at 4:15. Girls will be competing in the long and high jump, discus, and shot put. The second field event meet is next Thursday, April 18, at Nativity at 4:15, and the first running and relay meet is Saturday, April 20 at Tampa Catholic from 8:00-11:30.
Field Day: Field Day 2024 is next Thursday, April 18. K-4th will participate in the morning from 9:00-10:30, and 5th-8th will attend in the afternoon from 1:00-2:30. There will be fun activity stations and a sports-based bouncy house with target games for the students. PTCO has created a Field Day volunteer signup genius link for any parents/families who still need volunteer service hours and that would like to volunteer at Field Day. Parents can earn two volunteer hours per session. Most of the slots have been filled for class supervision for the K-4th morning session. The 8th graders supervise the activity stations for that session. There are still A LOT of spots available for the afternoon session running the activity stations AND supervising the classes for the 5th-8th timeframe. Please see the Field Day flyer and signup genius link in Tidbits for more details and the time slots available for each Field Day session. Thank you for your support.
Awards Night: The St Stephen Sports Awards Night is Wednesday, May 15, from 5:00-7:00 in the FLC. We will celebrate and acknowledge all of the hard work and accomplishments of our student-athletes and coaches for the 2023-24 sports year. The flyer and RSVP will be sent out to the families of the student-athletes next week.
Summer Sports Camps: St. Stephen summer sports camps are accepting registrations. Parent volunteer soccer coach, Sean Heaberlin, is hosting half-day soccer camps again this summer. Soccer camp for students in grades 5-8 for the 2024-25 school year is June 17-21 and for grades 1-4 for the 2024-25 school year is July 22-26. Camp is from 8:00-noon each day.
Basketball camp is July 15-19 from 9:00-3:00, and volleyball camp is July 22-26 from 9:00-1:00.
All of the St Stephen summer sports camp info flyers and registration links are in this week's Tidbits.
GO MUSTANGS
Coach Green
Coach Green
Summer Reading Skills Program
The University of South Florida Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education will be offering a series of summer reading skills programs taught by instructors from the Institute of Reading Development. The programs start for 4-year-olds entering Kindergarten and go up to students entering the 10th grade. Families can choose between classes offered in Brandon at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church or on campus at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
For more information, call 1-800-499-8557 or visit https://readingprograms.org/. Click HERE for the Flyer or the flyer can also be found outside the school office.
ANSWER to the Joke of the Week:
Flowers always have a lot of new buds.
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.