October 23, 2025 | Volume 44, Issue 8

THANK YOU!

Pumpkin Palooza Volunteers

A big thank you to Barb Malnar-Styke, Dena Nehme, and Theresa Min for helping out at this year’s Pumpkin Palooza Although it wasn’t a sunny day… We were just glad that it wasn’t raining during the event!

SPREAD THE WORD!

Steppingstone Open House

Do you know of anyone whose child(ren) has been feeling bored at school? Do you know of anyone whose child(ren) might show signs of giftedness? If the following statements sound familiar, then consider RSVPing to our Open House to learn more about who we are and what we do!



• Early talker, early walker
• Keen sense of observation
• Wants to hang out with older children and adults
• Behavior, at times, can seem obsessive or compulsive
• Seems more emotional than other children or sensitive in other ways
• Insatiable curiosity - asks many questions, often more than a parent can answer

🍯 A Taste of Ancient Egypt! 🏺

Hands-On History in Upper Elementary Social Studies

This week, our Upper Elementary students began their exploration of Ancient Egypt in Social Studies with Mr. Roder! To bring history to life, we believe learning should go beyond textbooks—so Mr. Liou joined the class for a special hands-on culinary activity inspired by the flavors of ancient times.

Students learned how to make a simple Ancient Egyptian honey-nut sweet, a dessert similar to what might have been enjoyed thousands of years ago along the Nile! Using wholesome ingredients like dates, nuts, cinnamon, and honey, the students combined history, culture, and cooking in one delicious lesson.



Pictured below (left to right): Finley, Finnley, and Francis mixing and shaping their honey-nut treats!

Ancient Egyptian Honey-Nut Sweets

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh dates, pitted
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Warm honey
• Finely ground almonds

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, mix the pitted dates with a little warm water until they form a sticky paste.
2. Stir in the chopped pecans and cinnamon.
3. Roll the mixture into small balls.
4. Pour some honey into a shallow bowl and roll each ball to coat it completely.
5. Roll the honey-covered balls in ground almonds until fully covered.
6. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

The result? A sweet bite of history that connected our students to Ancient Egyptian culture in the most delicious way possible!

DRESS TO IMPRESS & BOWL!

LITERARY CHARACTER DAY

Fri., Oct. 31

The Power Reading genre for the month of October is

TRADITIONAL CLASSICS

Students will costume as the main character about whom the book was written on Literary Character Day:

FRIDAY

Oct 31, 2025

The project for this month is to make a prop for their costumed character.

TREATS: Thank you to the Styke, Hyun, and Nehme families for volunteering to donate a fruit/veggie tray or cheese/crackers for this event.

At NOON, students will take a walk through the "Scarecrows in the Park" and have an early lunch in Kellogg Park if it is not raining. 

In the AFTERNOON, students will go BOWLING at Super Bowl located in Canton.

PLAYING PÉTANQUE

For our third social studies lesson on Madagascar, students in the Early Elementary class learned about daily life, customs, and culture of the Malagasy people. Luckily it was a sunny day so we were able to go outside and play Pétanque, a very popular game played by all ages. In this game, players stand in a small circle to throw a non-bouncing ball called a "jack." Then teams or individuals take turns throwing slightly larger balls at the jack, attempting to get as close to it as possible. We played several rounds of this game and each student won at least once.

(Above: Jacob throws a ball at the jack while Aliya and Cassie wait their turns)

(Below: Aliya was very serious and concentrated on the jack before throwing)

BEAUTIFUL GREAT BLUE HERON

Aliya suggested that the Early Elementary students build our newest puzzle, the Great Blue Heron. Cassie was quick to piece together the beak and head. Jacob spent time building the tricky green leaf sections with some guidance from Mrs. Dudek. They all worked on it for a couple of weeks and finally finished it up on Friday. Aliya put in the last piece! 

Next up: Pileated Woodpecker!

(Above: Aliya, Jacob, and Cassie with the finished product)

Annual Giving 2025-2026

We would like to thank everyone who made an Annual Giving donation in the 2025-2026 school year.

$5,000 to $9,999

$1,000 to $4,999

Fran Eldis

$500 to $999

$100 to $499

$50 to $99

James & Alicia Phillips

Up to $50

In-Kind

Volunteers

Auction Chair

Barbara Malnar-Styke

Auction Acquisitions

Michelle Belt

Dena Nehme

Brad Styke

SMART Center Chair

Dr. Reef Morse

Marketing

Jorge Contreras