St. Stephen Catholic School
April 10, 2025
Important updates in this week's Tidbits
Volunteer Opportunities
Scholarship Renewal Begins February 1st
PTCO General Meeting
Spring Concert May 9
Spirit Nights
Summer Reading Program
Summer Sport Camps
Summer Camps
Principal's Points
Good Afternoon St. Stephen Families!
Only one more week before our long Easter weekend, but much is happening before then. Thank you to Coach Green for sponsoring field day today. All the students enjoyed the activities and challenges. Tomorrow night our 7th graders will be presenting the Living Stations of the Cross in the church at 7 pm. Please join us for the last fish fry this year and this moving presentation from our students.
Thank you to all the parents who volunteered to run for office for the PTCO Executive Board. Now it's your time to vote. Please use the link right below my message to vote for your choices. Directions and more details are on the form.
Here are some reminders. Rice bowls are due tomorrow and this weekend is Holy Card weekend. Please have your child wear his/her uniform to Mass in order to have free dress on Monday. Tuesday evening, April 15, is our final General PTCO meeting. File your taxes early and join us as we introduce our new PTCO, talk about this year's successes, and look ahead to what is coming next year. It's also an opportunity to earn a volunteer hour and a free dress pass for your children. Finally, next Thursday is a noon dismissal. Please remember there is NO EXTENDED DAY as it is Holy Thursday.
It's almost time for our Spring Concert. Keep scrolling to see the theme of the concert. All students PK through 8th will participate. It will be in the church starting at 6:30 pm. Students should arrive between 6:00-6:15 pm and sit with their class. All students will wear Sunday Best/Spring Outfits.
Have a great rest of the week and keep scrolling to see what is happening at school, learn about volunteer opportunities, and find out about Summer Sports Camps.
Peace,
Linda Umoh
PTCO EXECUTIVE BOARD BALLOT
Please vote for the candidate of your choice. Their Bios can be found on the election ballot. Each parent may vote one time as well as each faculty/staff member.
Thank you for voting!
2025-26 SCHOOL YEAR DATES
First Day of School August 11 Spring Break March 16-20
Thanksgiving Break Nov. 24-28 Easter April 3-6
Christmas Break Dec. 22 - Jan. 2 Last Day of School May 28
Upcoming Events
April 10 - Field Day
April 11 - Rice Bowls Due
April 11 - Living Stations 7pm
April 12-13 - Holy Card Uniform Weekend
April 14 - Holy Card Free Dress
April 15 - PTCO General Meeting 6pm
April 17 - Holy Thursday
April 17 - Living Stations 10:30am
April 17 - Living Stations 10:30am
April 17 - Noon Dismissal
April 17 - NO EXTENDED DAY
April 18 - Good Friday
April 18-22 - Easter Break/NO SCHOOL
April 25 - Jean Day
May 1 - Art Show
May 2 - Middle School Social 6:30pm
Rice Bowls
Rice Bowls
As 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 on Ash Wednesday.
Rice bowls are due back at school by April 11.
Thank you for encouraging your child to live our faith.
Palm Sunday is April 13th! Be sure to bring your own Palms! The palms are sacramentals, objects blessed by a priest and are meant to draw us closer to God. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to fold your palm into a cross after Mass. ✝️ To properly dispose of these blessed palms, we are asked to burn or bury them.
Joke of the Week!
Why can April jump so high?
A Note of Thanks from SVDP to Mustang Families
Thank you again for your support! We picked up 338 lbs of food today! We had 73 families just last week and the numbers continue to grow so this will be a great help as we serve this Friday.
Thank you again for all the support!
When Catholics follow the Church's teachings on social justice, their faith matures, needs are met, and God is honored. Our Spring Concert this year will present music that our music teacher, Jeff Daignault, and our classes wrote or developed to express this idea, and we hope that all the families and friends of St. Stephen will come to enjoy and be inspired by the work our children have done to be ready for this evening.
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
School Year 25-26
Step Up for Students applications for renewal and new students will be available on Saturday, February 1. EVERYONE MUST REAPPLY!
Here is some helpful information to be aware of, including a new step that families will need to complete this year:
- Application checklist: For a list of documents that may be needed when a family applies, please click here.
- Priority deadline: To ensure renewing students receive priority for the Private School Scholarship and the Unique Abilities Scholarship, families must submit their application by Wednesday, April 30. After this date, all students will be processed as "new students" due to legislative changes for this year.
- New step for families: Once a student is found eligible, the family will be asked to "Accept" or "Decline" the scholarship. Once accepted, the student's status will be updated to "Awarded." Please monitor your email for future updates about enrollment.
- Once you receive your AWARD ID Number, please send the number(s) to Gail Leung at gleung@sscsfl.org.
Make sure to keep an eye on your email and Step Ups social media for updates. If you haven't followed Step Up, please do so now so you can have the latest news.
BrainTracks Presentation and Wednesday Presentations
In case you missed last weeks Wednesday BrainTracks Presentation, you can access it here, Presentation. Then use this Passcode W%6JfVQf when opening it up.
Or you can join Wednesdays Presentation, below describes the presentation and the link for the Wednesday Presentations.
Contact our office at: 813-935-0232
RSVP to: mpetrofsky@morningstartampa.org
Mustang Sports
MUSTANG SPORTS:
Boys Flag Football: The Mustangs had their first game of the season yesterday against Mother Teresa, and they lost, 14-6. The Mustangs scored on a touchdown pass from QB Kellan B. to wide receiver Benjamin B. The defense was led by Justyn L .with an interception. The Mustangs are back on the field Wednesday, against Christ the King, at Christ the King, at 4:00 pm.
Girls Track: The Mustangs have their first running and relay meet on Saturday, at Tampa Catholic, from 8:00-11:30 am. The results will be posted in next week's Mustang Sports. The girls also have their first Field Event meet on Tuesday, at Christ the King, from 4:00-5:30 pm. They will be competing in the long jump, high jump, discus, and varsity shot put.
Girls Track: The Mustangs have their first running and relay meet on Saturday, at Tampa Catholic, from 8:00-11:30 am. The results will be posted in next week's Mustang Sports. The girls also have their first Field Event meet on Tuesday, at Christ the King, from 4:00-5:30 pm. They will be competing in the long jump, high jump, discus, and varsity shot put.
It was a beautiful day today for Field Day. Thank you to the parent volunteers and 8th graders for making it a fun and exciting day for all of the students.
St Stephen Summer Sports Camp Info and registration links are in Tidbits. Please see the flyers with info about basketball, volleyball, and two weeks of soccer camp.
GO MUSTANGS!
Coach Green
PK3 Needs
PK3 Needs large clean prescription bottles again. Please bring them to the office.
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 14084
Knights of Columbus Council 14084 invite all men of St. Stephen parish to Cor meetings. The name “Cor” is inspired by Saint John Henry Newman’s words, “Consume my heart (“cor”) with that burning fire with which Your Heart is ever inflamed.”
COR offers an opportunity for parish men to increase their heart to heart relationship with Jesus Christ through a brotherhood committed to prayer, formation, fraternity and the mission of evangelization for their families and communities. All meetings include prayer and open discussion while exploring and embracing the rich teachings and traditions of the Catholic Church.
Meetings are held every third Wednesday of the month from 7:15 to 8:30 PM in the Saint Stephens Room inside the Church.
Young Adult Ministry at SSCC
St. Stephen Parish Community welcomes young adults ages, 18-35 to participate in community, worship, and fellowship. This ministry invites young adults in the area to come together to pray, make connections, and grow in their faith with one another.
For more information about all Young Adult Ministry has to offer, please contact the Faith Formation Office at 813-671-4434 or Stephanie Gallegos at the Parish Office, 813-689-4900.
We offer a Young Adults Bible Study on Monday evenings beginning at 7:15 PM at the Faith Formation Office. To Register please contact Rene Bonetti at the Faith Formation Office at rene@ststephencatholic.org.
We are always looking for Adult Core Team members to minister to the youth of our parish! Do you feel called to help bring teens closer to Christ? Join Core Team!
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 12th grade and College. 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.
Students entering Middle School, this program will expand vocabulary and learn note-taking, test-taking strategies, leading to better exam scores and higher grades.
For more information,call 1-800-499-8557 or visit https://readingprograms.org/usf. Click HERE for the Flyer or the flyer can also be found outside the school office.
Answer to the Joke!
It's Spring!!
Homeroom Mom Emails
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.