April 3, 2025 | Volume 43, Issue 29

🌿 Bid to Balance:

Win a Holistic Retreat Night

with Yuliya’s Naturals! 🌿

Looking to relax, recharge, and reconnect—with yourself and your community? Don’t miss your chance to bid on a soul-soothing experience at this year’s live auction! One lucky winner (and up to seven guests) will receive an exclusive Holistic Retreat Evening hosted by Yuliya’s Naturals—a transformative, immersive workshop filled with hands-on healing and holistic wellness.

You and your group will enjoy:

✨ Herbalism & Candle Making – Create your own body butter, skincare products, and a custom, chemical-free candle.

🌸 Essential Oil Exploration – Learn about over 200 essential oils and their unique healing properties.

👐 Hand & Foot Acupressure Massage – Feel the stress melt away with these rejuvenating techniques.

🔮 Vibrational Healing Session – A meditative journey blending crystal energy, plant medicine, and chakra activation.

🌿 DIY Herbal Remedies – Make your own tinctures and herbal teas from backyard-friendly healing plants.

🍷 Food, Wine & Dessert – Enjoy a spread of delicious treats throughout the evening.

Whether you’re a curious beginner or an experienced wellness warrior, this experience is for you. It’s the perfect night for friends, family, or a much-needed self-care celebration.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, create, and heal from the inside out.

Bid high, breathe deep—and let nature do the rest. 🌿

👉 Register Now for an Opportunity to Bid! 👈

NO SCHOOL

Teacher Workday

Fri., April 4th

There will be no school tomorrow.

⚡️ Thunder, Lightning Strike… and More!

Time’s Running Out to Adopt Your Salmon!

Our Salmon in the Classroom Adopt-a-Salmon Program is bursting with excitement as more students dive in to support our fishy friends!

🎉 Welcome to our newest adopters:

• Finnley Schiff adopted two salmon, naming them Lightning Strike and Thunder—a dynamic duo!

• Cassie Schiff also adopted two salmon—named Shimmer and Rainbow—a beautiful, colorful addition to our growing salmon family!

They join salmon siblings Lightning (adopted by Francis) and Torpedo & Speedo (adopted by Finley Styke). It’s shaping up to be the most exciting salmon crew we’ve ever had!

But here’s the catch:

🎣 We usually release the salmon in May, so there’s only about a month left to adopt!

For just $10, you’ll:

• Adopt and name your very own baby salmon

• Receive an adoption certificate and a photo with your salmon on “release” day

• Get the chance to feed your salmon (they LOVE feeding time!)

• Personally release your salmon into a local river or lake (TBD)

Help support the care of our tortoise, saltwater, and salmon tanks

🐟 Don’t Let This Opportunity Swim By!

To adopt, contact Jason at jroder@steppingstoneschool.org or call 248-957-8200.

Make a splash—adopt your salmon today before time runs out!

💥 Real-World Learning, Real-Time Fun:

Inside Our Kids' Pre-Auction Party! 💥

At Steppingstone School, we believe learning should be exciting, meaningful—and sometimes filled with friendly bidding wars! Last Thursday, our students took part in a beloved tradition: the Kids’ Pre-Auction Party—a celebration of hard work, hands-on learning, and tons of fun! 🎉💸

Throughout the year, students earn “auction money” by staying organized, hitting academic goals, and demonstrating positive behavior. From planner check-ins to math mastery, every good habit pays off!

🛍️ The big reward? A student-only auction where they use their hard-earned dollars to compete for fun prizes and experiences—complete with a high-energy auctioneer (thank you, Mrs. Dudek!) and a checkout station run by Dr. Morse to simulate real-life spending and budgeting.

But it’s not just about who gets the coolest toy or certificate. Our auction party is a clever classroom in disguise:

💡 Students learn financial literacy by accessing only 25% of their earnings, while the rest goes toward “real world” expenses—like taxes, savings, and groceries. It’s a brilliant, age-appropriate way to teach money management that sticks. 

📸 Want to see more pictures from the Pre-Auction Party or check out what the kids bought? Head over to our Facebook page and take a peek at all the excitement!

Once the bidding wrapped up, students enjoyed enrichment games and a surprise glo-golf field trip—capping off a day of learning, laughter, and celebration.

🎉 Special thanks to the Styke and Engerer families for fueling our fun with snacks, and to all the amazing parents who joined us as chaperones. Your support makes these moments possible!

👉 Want to see more of what makes Steppingstone School so special? Follow us on social media (https://www.facebook.com/SteppingstoneSchoolPARC/ | https://www.instagram.com/steppingstone_school/), or schedule a visit to experience our hands-on, whole-child approach to gifted education.

Newest Donors

Frances Eldis

For a full list of donors, see the Annual Giving page on our website.

Volunteers

Auction Chair

Chris Isberg

Auction Acquisitions

Michelle Belt, Chair

Dena Nehme

Brad Styke

SMART Center Chair

Robert Schiff

SPARC Chair

Michelle Tan

Marketing

Jorge Contreras

Yearbook & Keepsake Editor

Barbara Malnar-Styke