December 9, 2021

Important updates in this week's Tidbits:

Science Fair
Spirit Night
Spring Ice Cream
Polar Express
Mustang Sports
Principal's Points
Good Afternoon St. Stephen Families,

Advent is here and it feels very festive this week at St. Stephen Catholic School! After our Advent retreat last Friday, we are all preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ in many ways. Our pre-k 4 students have been sharing little moments of kindness throughout the school (see the picture above of them surprising 5th grade with a special treat). Many dedicated volunteers have been here all week helping with the Gingerbread Shop, and our younger students were visited by St. Nicholas earlier this week on his feast day. It is so uplifting to see the many ways Christ touches our lives each day.

Next Thursday evening is our annual Christmas concert. Our pre-k through 5th grade classes will all be performing, and many of our older students will be starring in the show as well. Please have your child wear their Sunday best for the performance. Students should arrive by 6 PM at the church and be seated with their class.

With only one week left before Christmas break, many classes will be finishing up units of study and having summative tests and projects due next week. Please help your child to remember to get to bed early so they are rested for school each day. This time of year can quickly become exhausting if we are not careful. We encourage you to take a moment with your child each day to prepare for Christmas with a prayer, an Advent wreath, or an Advent calendar. Let's remember that Advent is about more than fun events and parties.

Peace,

Linda Umoh
Upcoming Events
Dec. 10 - Gingerbread Shop
Dec. 10 - Marvelous Mustang
Dec. 10 - Middle School Science Fair
Dec. 11-12 - Holy Card weekend
Dec. 13 - Holy Card Free Dress
Dec. 16 - Christmas Show
Des. 17 - Jean Day/Christmas Shirt
Dec. 17 - Half day NO EXTENDED DAY
Dec. 18 - Jan. 2 - Christmas Break

There will be NO AFTER CARE on FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17th. We have a NOON dismissal and you must be here no later than NOON to pick up your child. Please remember to pick up your child on time. Thank you!
REMINDER!!
LAST CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN SPRING ICE CREAM FRIDAYS!!
 Payment MUST be received by December 27th, or your student CANNOT participate!!!
NO LATE PAYMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED!!
Important information regarding Ice Cream Payments which are due for the second half of the school year. The Cost is $28.50 for PK through 7th grade and $27 for 8th grade. Payments are due by December 27th. PLEASE pay attention to the deadline! Payments must be prepaid in order for your student to receive ice cream!

Sign up for Spring Ice Cream Fridays using the link below:
Great Stocking Stuffer
SSCS aluminum water bottles are available for purchase in the school office for $10.00 each, cash or check will be accepted.

The Gingerbread Holiday Shop
LAST CHANCE TO SHOP!

The PTCO has been working hard to keep our tradition of a Christmas gift shopping experience for the students. The Gingerbread Holiday Shop will be open until December 10th for students to shop for family and friends. 

New this year, parents will have the option to pay for their child(ren)’s shopping through FACTS. A budget envelope will be sent home this week, so parents may help students decide whom to purchase gifts for and how much to spend. Only students who return the budget envelope to school will be allowed to shop.  Please return it on or before his/her class's shopping day. See the class shopping schedule in the link below for more information and it will also be sent home. PLEASE DO NOT SEND MONEY BACK IN THE ENVELOPE. Payment will be collected either via FACTS or check made out to PTCO SSCS after your child's shopping day. 

Click here for the Parent Information Letter.

Click here for the Class Schedule and Payment Option Form.


Thank you for your support of this fun Christmas tradition for our students! And thank you to all who volunteered to help with Gingerbread Holiday Shop next week!

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Cloete at marycloete@yahoo.com or Nicki Gallagher in the school office. 
MUSTANG SPORTS
BOYS TRACK:  The boy's track team had their first field event meet Friday at Christ the King and running and relay meet on Saturday at Jesuit High School. All of the Mustangs did a great job. The JV finished 5th overall and the varsity 6th.  
Here are the runners and relay teams that placed and earned points for the team.

JV
John Michael R-1st/400, 1st/100, 1st/Long Jump, 2nd/High Jump
Ethan D-6th/400
400 Relay/2nd
800 Relay/7th

Varsity 
Alex V-1st/400
Aurelio M-2nd/Mile
Dylan B-5th/200
400 Relay/4th

The Mustangs have their second meet this week. The field events are tomorrow at Christ the King at 3:45. The running and relay meet is Saturday at Jesuit High School from 1:30-4:00. The cross country meet is next Wednesday at Mary Help. The JV runs at 4:00 and the varsity at 4:30.

GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL:  The girl's flag football season got off to a great start beating Corpus Christi, 27-0. The Mustangs were led by Jessica L who had a 40-yard touchdown run and a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown. Quarterback Jayden O had an amazing touchdown run where she ran 60 yards side to side to finally score from 5 yards out. Jayden also had an interception return for a touchdown. The Mustangs are back on the field today against local rival Nativity here at St Stephen at 4:00. They also play Christ the King on Tuesday here at St Stephen at 4:00.  

Coach Green is looking for parent volunteers to help coach during the girl's basketball season. Girls basketball season starts at the end of January and runs through the beginning of March. Service hours will be credited. Please contact Coach Green if you're interested in coaching.

GO MUSTANGS
Coach Green   
Club Mustang (Aftercare) is looking for parents who would like to volunteer after school to earn their volunteer hours for an hour or two a day. Responsibilities would include hanging out with a great group of middle school students in our media center and taking them outside to have some fun after a long day of school. If you are available for a day or on a regular basis, please contact the school office for more information.
Everyone needs to be updated with their safe environment 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 813-741-9203 ext. 1100. Click the link here for information regarding fingerprints. Click here for more information on safe environment.

  Need Babysitting for Angels?

Many parents have asked Angels to help with watching their children while they attend the Gala.
We heard the requests and are happy to announce sitting will be available for the 2/12 Gala.
Angels Among Us will make sitting available for any SSCS students while parents attend the Gala. The children will be watched in our school building.
There will be a nominal charge to compensate the school employees who have agreed to attend to the children.
Additional information will be available closer to the Gala. Please be sure and save the date so you can enjoy the evening knowing your children are close by. 
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.
Volunteers are needed for our parish to go back to regular pew collections. St. Stephen Catholic Church's Hospitality Volunteers need more volunteers.  If you'd like to volunteer, sign up cards will be available behind the Calming Room in the church.
Black Friday is coming!
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 before you do all of your holiday shopping!
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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Public Library Haal Pass
The Haal Pass allows our students to access public library resources with just their student ID number and Pin. Students will use their student ID number (from FACTS) and their password of 4321 to log into the HCPLC.org site. This allows them to check out physical copies of books as well as digital books, audiobooks, and any other materials available from the public library. Students can also use this account to check out ebooks on Overdrive or Libby, the digital reader programs used by the public library.
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