October 20, 2022


Important updates in this week's Tidbits


Boo Gram Sale


Afterschool Programs


Family Movie Night


Trunk or Treat


Christmas Card Contest


Veterans Day Ceremony


Walk-A-Thon Fundraiser



Principal's Points

Good afternoon St. Stephen Families,


I hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather.  Please remember that students may only wear school uniform sweaters/sweatshirts in the building and to Mass.  On very cold days, they may wear other outerwear over their uniform when they are outside.  Please check the handbook for cold weather options.


Having trouble reading Tidbits on your phone?  If the text is not readable on your phone, one suggestion we found that works is to turn your phone sideways.  That resolves most issues.  Remember to scroll all the way down and click the link for more as all of Tidbits will not automatically show.  The only other solution is to read it on a desktop, chromebook, or tablet.  


Don't forget tomorrow is Movie night, we hope to see you there.  Please check your emails for notifications from teachers regarding the upcoming Parent/teacher conference day.  It is important that you bring your child to these conferences as they will be leading the meeting.  This is their opportunity to tell you what they are learning and what their goals are for the year.  


All school families and Parishioners are invited to join us for our Veteran's Day Ceremony. School students will be present and participate in the ceremony as we come together to pray, remember, and honor those who served and are currently serving our country.  The Knights of Columbus will also be present to present their flag folding ceremony. Students will wear their Make a Difference t-shirt with their PE shorts. They may also add patriotic accessories (red, white, and blue hair accessories, socks, jewelry, hats, shoes, nail polish, etc.) but no face painting or hair dye. We will begin our annual Walkathon right after the ceremony.  


There are a great many events happening over the next few weeks. Please take the time to read all of Tidbits to learn more. Tidbits is your best source of information for what is happening at school.  


Peace,


Linda Umoh

Upcoming Events

October 10-21 - Boo Gram Sale

October 21 - Family Movie night

October 28 - Marvelous Mustang

October 28 - Trunk or Treat

October 28 - Christmas Card Contest Entry Deadline

October 28 - 12pm Dismissal

October 31 - Jean Day and Halloween Shirt

November 1 - All Saints Day

November 4 - End of Trimester 1

November 10 - Report Card Day

November 11 - Veterans Day Ceremony

November 11 - Walk-a-thon Fundraiser

November 11 - 12pm Dismissal

November 12 - Tampa Catholic High School Placement Test

November 12-13 - Holy Card Uniform Weekend

November 14 - Holy Card Free Dress Day

THERE IS STILL ROOM AVAILABLE!


Bricks 4 Kidz wants everyone to know just how AWESOME LEGO® can be! In our NEW After School LEGO® class, your child will learn science, technology, engineering, math and the arts with a different LEGO® model build theme each week, such as Outer Space, LEGO® City, Architecture, Animals, Dinosaurs, and much more! Your Master Builder will have a chance to create motorized models, 3D color brick builds and our LEGO® Mosaics! Have fun building LEGO® skyscrapers, a 3-D LEGO® T-Rex, or a LEGO® space shuttle, all out of LEGO® bricks! Can't decide which you like more!?! Join us for this AWESOME After School class and try them ALL! Anything is possible in a Bricks 4 Kidz class...DON’T MISS THE FUN!


DATE: September 13th – December 13th (Tuesdays)

WHERE: St. Stephen’s Catholic School


Grades: 4th – 8th

TIME: 3:00PM – 4:00PM

COST: $12.50 per week


Register Today at

www.bricks4kidz.com/Florida-Tampa


Bricks4Kidz - 4th thru 8th graders

Click here to register Girls with Confidence


The 2022 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. 28. Drawings sent in after that date/time will not be considered.

Important Information regarding volunteering


This is a reminder that when you sign up to come into the school for volunteer hours your Safe Environment and Fingerprints must be complete. Please note that it may take some time to get an appointment for your fingerprints. Please call the front office if you have any questions.


Please remember, when you come to school to volunteer, siblings of your student or other children may not be with you.  It is difficult to give your attention to the task at hand with young children present.  Thank you for understanding. 

Hillsborough County Public Schools is having a PPPSS Consulting Meeting

Inviting All Private School Administrators & Representatives And Parents of Parentally - Placed Private School Students with Disabilities


When : Tuesday, October 25, 2022 9-11am

Where: Via Microsoft Teams


Please Click Here for more information

 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 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. 

Raise Right Enrollment

VETERANS DAY CEREMONY


Friday, November 11

8 am - 8:30 am

Family Life Center



All school families and Parishioners are invited to join us for our Veterans Day Ceremony. School students will be present and participate in the ceremony. Please join us as we come together to pray, remember, and honor those who served and are currently serving our country. 


Family members and parishioners are invited to:


Wear your service uniform

Wave an American Flag

Carry a photo of a hero


Students will wear their Make a Difference t-shirt and PE shorts. They may also accessorize with red, white, and blue.


Get the kids sneakers ready as they are going to be walking to raise money this year in the Make a Difference – Red Walk and Blue Walk- a-thon! Each student will have an opportunity to walk as many laps as they can during their allotted time to participate. We recommend students to set their goal to complete 10 laps at $10 a lap.


The Walk-a-thon will be on November 11th, and it will begin immediately following the Veteran’s Day Ceremony in the school’s field across from the FLC. All Family and Friends are welcome to come watch the students walk.


This year every child will have their own fundraising page where parents can add a photo and share on social media along with friends and family. Families will receive an email with directions, or anyone can use the link below and search for a child’s name or make a general donation.


https://app.99pledges.com/fund/redwalkblue


We will be donating 10% of the proceeds to My Warriors Place in Ruskin, FL. We are witness this is a wonderful organization as our Middle School students have done service projects there for many years. Thank you for helping us support My Warriors Place.

Please continue to watch for more updates over the next few weeks.

Mustang Sports


COED SOCCER:  The soccer team lost to Christ the King, 3-1, to end the regular season. The Mustang goal was scored by Colin D. The Mustangs finished the regular season the 5th seed and played Mother Teresa on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. They lost 6-1, to end the season. The Mustang goal was scored by Colin D. THANK YOU SO MUCH to parent volunteer coach, Mrs Riker for coaching the soccer team the past six seasons. Thank you for your hard work, time, and commitment to the kids the past six years.


Girls basketball tryouts were this week. JV tryouts were yesterday and varsity tryouts are today from 3:00-5:00. The teams have practice for a few weeks before the games start the week of November 7.


Boys track practice starts next Tuesday. Any boy in 5th-8th grade interested in participating should sign up with Coach Green by Monday. Practice next week will be Tuesday-Thursday from 3:00-4:30. The track season runs from October 25 until December 3 and is a 3-4 day per week commitment.


Congratulations to St Stephen alumnus (class of 2019), Angelina Ricciardi, for signing a scholarship to play softball at Furman University.  



GO MUSTANGS!


Coach Green

Or you can use the QR code below for the St. Stephen Men's Club Golf Scramble






Please join us for BINGO nights!
Click here for Risse Brothers uniform store.
Own the Avenue
2022-2023

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 you to keep or to reuse for another week in the future!

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 link below 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 Maria Ayala at own.the.avenue.sscs@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 9-4-22 thru 9-10-22, 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.



Sign-Up Genius Own the Avenue

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 here for information regarding fingerprints. Click here for more information on safe environment.

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.
Join Amazon Smile and help
support SSCS!
It's simple to give money back to SSCS when you shop on Amazon, and now is the perfect time to sign up!
Here's how:
1. Visit https://smile.amazon.com
2. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials.
3. Choose a charitable organization to receive donations, or search for the charity of your choice.
4. Select your charity.
5. Start shopping!
6. Add a bookmark https://smile.amazon.com make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.
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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.