December 16, 2021

Important updates in this week's Tidbits:

NO Extended Day Friday
Spring Ice Cream
Polar Express
Mustang Sports
Principal's Points
Good Afternoon St. Stephen Families,

Thank you to everyone who helped set up for the Polar Express tonight and will be helping tonight and tomorrow with all the activities. It has been so nice bringing back these events this year and we truly appreciate everyone's help.

Tonight is our annual Christmas concert. Our pre-k through 4th-grade classes will all be singing, some of the 5th graders will be in our living Nativity, and some of our older students will be 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. Please be sure to join us before and after the show behind the Family Life Center for the Polar Express.

I wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please enjoy this special time with friends and family and I look forward to seeing everyone in 2022!

Peace,

Linda Umoh
Upcoming Events
Dec. 16 - Christmas Show
Des. 17 - Jean Day/Christmas Shirt
Dec. 17 - Half day NO EXTENDED DAY
Dec. 18 - Jan. 2 - Christmas Break
Jan. 3 - Return To School
Jan. 7 - Spelling Bee
Jan. 7 - Noon Dismissal
Jan. 8-9 - Holy Card/Uniform Weekend
Jan. 10 - Holy Card Free Dress Pass
Jan. 17 - No School
Jan. 28 - Jean Day/ Marvelous Mustang

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!
Angels Among Us is pleased to announce the parishioner who has been selected to receive the Angel 2022 recognition for his extraordinary ministry work. Carl Alerta was nominated by several parishioners for his service with Faith Formation, Boy Scouts, St Vincent DePaul, Knights of Columbus, Lawn Ministry @St Stephen, and various other projects, ministries, and activities for both the Church and the School. Carl is best described as a selfless servant who is a leader, a role model, a hard worker.

Please join Angels in thanking Carl for all he does for our community. Carl will be recognized at the Angels Among Us Gala and Fundraiser in the Family Life Center on February 12. Seat reservations and additional information are available on the school website, sscsfl.org.

Angels continues to recognize the good works of parishioners who have received the Angel Recognition in prior years:

Carol Nolan Kit Moretuzzo Jan Goldonowicz   Joan Donahue         
Mark Lovejoy Marty Diebold Steve and Luann La Varta  
       
Spreading Christmas Cheer!
Our PreK3, PreK4, and Kindergarten students are doing good deeds by putting smiles on peoples faces and spreading Christmas cheer! They made Christmas cards for the elderly and personally delivered them to the nursing home!
SPECIAL THANKS
Special thanks to Joanna and David McLaughlin, and Mark and Stephanie Coffie for working for hours to create a Christmas Wonderland for the children. The wonderland could not have been finished in time for Santa's visit without the efforts of many volunteers who joined in to help out and the support of the PTCO. 
SANTA IS COMING TODAY
Santa has left the North Pole and will arrive behind the FLC at 5 tonight. He will meet with children from 5 - 6 pm and again after the Christmas concert. There will be snow, the Mustang Polar Express Train, and goodies for all Mustang Families to enjoy. Be sure and come to the back of the FLC after the concert and join in the Christmas merriment. Holiday music will be provided outside by our Mustang DJ, Mr. Medina.

REMINDER!!
TODAY 11/16/21 is the cut off date to sign up for spring ice cream!
IT IS YOUR 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.
MUSTANG SPORTS
GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL:   The girl's flag football team beat local rival Nativity, 14-6. The Mustangs scored on a touchdown catch by Karina P from QB Jayden O and a touchdown run by Jessica L. The Mustangs also lost to Christ the King,34-0. The girls head into the Christmas break with a record of 2-1. The next game is Thursday, January 6 against Mother Teresa at St Stephen at 4:00.   

BOYS TRACK: The boy's track team had their second field event and running and relay meet on Friday and Saturday. All of the Mustangs did a great job. Here are the boys that finished in the top 8 of their event and scored points for the team.  
John Michael R-1st in the JV Long Jump, Tied for 4th in the JV High Jump, 1st in the JV 100 and 400
JV 400 Relay 7th
JV 800 Relay 7th 
Dylan B 6th in the varsity 200
John S 8th in the varsity 400
Aurelio M 4th in the varsity Mile
Varsity 400 Relay 6th
The JV finished 6th and the varsity 7th overall.
The boy's cross country meet was yesterday at Mary Help of Christians and all of the Mustangs great did well.  
JV-John Michael R 3rd, Ethan D 6th, Benjamin B 14th, and Diego M 19th.
Varsity-A Martinez 11th, Gabriel D 13th, and Johann C 14th.
Boy's track season is finished.

Boys flag football tryout sign-ups are the week of January 3-7. Tryouts are Thursday, January 13 from 3:00-5:30. Boys in grades 6-8 are eligible to try out.   

Have a blessed and very Merry Christmas.

GO MUSTANGS
Coach Green

This year we are working with TreeRing to give each child a personalized yearbook experience.

Each student has the opportunity to create 2 free custom pages for their yearbook. This gives your student the chance to memorialize their best moments, memories, and photos from throughout the year. These pages will only be printed in your student's unique copy of the yearbook.  

If you would like to give your student special recognition, you also have the option to purchase an ad. This is a great way to tell your student(s) how proud you are and also support our school. These ads will appear in every single copy of the yearbook and are an excellent way to celebrate your student. 

Please note, the school will provide each student with their own yearbook. You DO NOT need to purchase a yearbook unless you would like an additional copy.
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 atext. 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.
Christmas 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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