Good Afternoon St. Stephen Families,
Tomorrow is our school-wide Blue and Yellow Free Dress Day in support of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. If you wish for your child(ren) to participate, please send them in with $1 to participate in the blue and yellow day. All money collected will be sent to Catholic Relief Services to support refugees from Ukraine.
We are down to the final days for selling raffle tickets. However, many families still have not met their fundraising obligation. The balance due will be billed to your FACTS account on May 1. Some of you may be planning to meet the obligation that way but it makes sense to buy raffle tickets with the possibility of winning $2000! Consider buying raffle tickets rather than paying the $200 through FACTS. This is a reminder that all students' report cards, transcripts, diplomas, etc. will be held at the end of the year if there are any outstanding financial obligations. Next week I will be sharing how we are spending the money we raised this year through our Gala and PTCO fundraising efforts.
Typically, I announce faculty/staff changes at the end of the year, but this year we have been blessed to have most of our open positions for next year filled earlier than usual. At present, our remaining positions to fill are music and an instructional assistant to replace Ms. Ryba, who is leaving us to take a position as Pastoral Assistant at St. Stephen Church. The church is very blessed to be able to welcome her to their staff.
Here is the list of new hires for the 2022-23 school year:
Mrs. Mary Gurley, Assistant Principal. Mrs. Gurley has a master's degree in school leadership and experience in the Diocese of Venice as a teacher, assistant principal, and interim principal. She also has experience in the Florida Catholic Conference reaccreditation process, which will be an asset to the school as we head into our self-study next year. Mrs. Gurley is looking forward to stepping into this role next year and will be working with Mrs. Robles during the months of May and June to allow for a smooth transition. Mrs. Gurley is also a mom of one of our students in the Pre-K 3 program.
Mrs. Yesenia Dieringer, Media Specialist. Mrs. Dieringer has many years of experience in elementary education and as an ESE teacher. She is excited to transition from the public school system to St. Stephen, where both of her boys are enrolled. Mrs. Dieringer will teach technology, oversee the library, and develop our STREAM program.
Mr. Connor Brozak, Middle School Social Studies and Religion. Mr. Brozak is a graduate of Nativity Catholic School and Jesuit High School. In college, he studied both history and religion and completed a teacher preparation program. He has had experience teaching at the middle school level and is looking forward to working in a Catholic School where he can share his faith with our students.
Ms. Amanda Abbott (soon to be Mrs. Steiner), ESE Teacher. Ms. Abbott has a degree in special education and is making her way to Florida from Nevada, where she has had many years of experience as a middle school teacher and an ESE teacher in a faith-based school. She is looking forward to moving to Florida and working in a Catholic school.
Mrs. Mari Lamia, 4th grade teacher. Mrs. Lamia has a master’s degree in education and has been teaching in a public elementary school in Pennsylvania since 2007. She is looking forward to teaching in a Catholic school where her children will also attend. We are looking forward to the benefit our students will receive from her many years of experience as a teacher.
Mrs. Laura Dautzenberg, 1st grade teacher. Mrs. Dautzenberg is moving into the Riverview area this summer from the east coast of Florida. She has degrees in both special education and early childhood education and has many years of experience teaching in 1st and 3rd grade. Her background and experience make her a great addition to our school, and she also plans to enroll her 3-year-old in our PreK program.
Other changes for next year are Mrs. Hoffmann moving to third grade and Ms. Muyres teaching 5th grade along with Mrs. Stanley.
Please join me in welcoming all our new teachers!
Peace,
Linda Umoh
