October 2017 Newsletter The Principal s Corner Dear Friends of St. Stephen School, St. Stephen School Mission Statement A pre-kindergarten through 8 th grade Catholic parochial school, St. Stephen School is dedicated to the ideals of educating children in an environment that surrounds them with Christian values. The school strives to educate the whole child spiritually, academically, physically, socially, and emotionally. Every effort is made to cultivate within each child a positive self-image and to heighten his/her awareness of the dignity and worth of others. In a world that has become increasingly violent and chaotic, I turn to the Prayer of St. Francis Make me an Instrument of your Peace. We celebrate his Feast Day with a school Mass on Wednesday, October 4 th. Please join us in praying for Love, Pardon, Harmony, Faith, Hope, Light, and Joy. In the interest of continuing to welcome new families and celebrating our wonderful community, we will have several Spirit Wear Days incorporated into our school calendar. On Friday, October 6 th, students can wear St. Stephen Spirit Wear or St. Stephen team uniforms instead of their uniform. The Parish Master Planning Committee will be meeting this evening to finalize the Master Plan that will be presented to the Archbishop for approval later in the month. We are hopeful that we can move forward with the replacement of the Portable Classroom with a Middle School building that will meet the needs of our students and allow us to advance our STEM initiatives. We have begun our journey toward STEM Certification by starting the process for Green School Recognition. If there is a parent or grandparent with a passion for preserving our school environment, please join our committee. At the end of the month, we will have a kick off for our Annual Campaign. The Halloween/Character Race will be held on October 31 st. Prizes will be awarded for the costumes that best depict a favorite storybook character. More details to come. The second collection at Masses this weekend is for our Catholic School. Our Student Council representatives will be speaking briefly at each Mass. They will be thanking our Parishioners for their support so that we can continue to serve our families by providing Faith, Values, and Education at St. Stephen School. God Bless, Mary Patrick Principal
Page 2 Dates to Remember Please check the website frequently for the most current information and event dates. Soccer: 2-1-4 October 2-5: Book Fair Begins October 4: Mass 10:15 AM; Hot Dog Lunch October 6: Spirit Wear Day October 7: Fall Festival October 9: School Closed October 11: High School Fair at St. Stephen October 16: Regular Uniforms required October 18: Hot Dog Lunch October 21: Wine Tasting October 23: Challenge for Kids Annual Appeal Launch; ATP Meeting 7:00 PM in the Conference Room October 28: Trunk or Treat October 31: Halloween Race; Canned Food Drive Begins Volleyball A: 6-2 & 2 nd Place in the MIAC Conference Volleyball B: 5-1-4 Cross Country meets begin this month! Robotics Club begins Oct. 4 th! It s not too late to register! Volunteer Training (through www.shieldthevulnerable.org) Any parent who wishes to volunteer in the classroom or chaperone a class field trip must complete the Archdiocesan program through shieldthevulnerable.org. This training is mandatory for all parents, grandparents, and friends in order to volunteer/work at St. Stephen. If you are compliant with the program through shieldthevulnerable.org, you may volunteer. If you wish to volunteer at St. Stephen School and have not completed the training, please contact Mrs. Kathy Arbutus at 410-592-7617 during school hours.
Page 3 Thank you to the Home and School Association and the St. Stephen School Fathers Club for an $1,800 joint contribution to help reduce the cost of one field trip per homeroom. Book Fair The Book Fair will run from October 2 nd through October 5 th this year. Students will visit the book fair during the day and it will be open from 3-4 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for after school sales. Wine Tasting Save the Date for the annual Wine Tasting on October 21st. Information can be found here: https://ssschool.org/annual-wine-tasting SOAR Weekly Winners: Christian Brooks-4th Grade; Nolan Prouse-7 th Grade Thanks to Faculty, Staff, and Students, we were able to make a donation of $2,120.16 to NCEA Student to Student a Catholic School response for Hurricane Relief 2017!
Page 4 Alumni News We would love to hear from all of our graduates about their academic and athletic successes in high school. Unfortunately, we do not always get information from High Schools. Parents please send us your alumni news! We are very proud of our alumni and their accomplishments, and we would love to share information with our St. Stephen community! Grades 4-8 will be praying the Angelus at 12:00 PM when the Church bells ring! THE ANGELUS The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. Hail Mary... And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary... Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Page 5 Congratulations to our Student Council Officers and Class Representatives: Student Council Officers President: Reilly Riemer Vice President: Olivia Myers Secretary: Ryan Buddenbohn Treasurer: Charlie Henry Historian: Talia Maria Class Representatives Pre-K4: Lucy Crowe/Kelsey Stelmack Kindergarten: Victor Michel/Ronan Sennett 1st Grade: Anna Grabowski/Reagan Riemer 2nd Grade: Giuliana Caltabiano/Kaitlyn Hall 3rd Grade: Mitchell Kuta/Drew Regulski 4th Grade: Eve Berk 5th Grade: Eliana Pearce 6th Grade: Rosalee Kuta 7th Grade: Aiden Sabo 8th Grade: Zachary Rand Service Project: Weinberg Center Lunches Our Students are engaged in a school-wide, year-long project to provide lunches to the homeless through the Weinberg Housing and Resource Center. Each month, a class purchases the food and makes 150 lunches for the homeless in Baltimore. In September, our students in 6th Grade participated. Thank you to teachers and parents for providing the resources for our students to help the homeless. We are now implementing monthly Spirit Wear Days to show our St. Stephen Eagle Pride! To order Spirit Wear, please visit https://ssschool.org/resources/school-store
Page 6
Page 7