February 5, 2026 | Volume 44, Issue 20

🌌 Auction Item of the Week:

Be the Winning Bidder to Build the Ultimate Pop Culture Multiverse

Calling all superheroes, time travelers, and pop-culture collectors! This Auction Item of the Week is an epic crossover bundle packed with iconic characters from across movies, comics, and gaming. Whether you’re a serious collector or a casual fan, this set brings bold style and nostalgic flair straight to your shelf.

✨ This fandom-packed bundle includes:

• Q-Pop Batman (Classic TV Series)
• Funko Pop! Aguilar (Assassin’s Creed)
• Funko Pop! Dr. Emmett Brown (Back to the Future)
• Funko Pop! The Joker (Batman)
• Q-Fig Doctor Strange
• Q-Fig Harley Quinn
• Q-Fig Deadpool

📍 Event Details:

• Sat., May 2nd | 6:00 PM
• $85 Individual | $850 Table of Ten
• St. Mary’s Cultural Center

Buy Your Auction Tickets Now for Your Chance to Bid on This and Other Items!

🐟 Make a Splash—Adopt a Salmon Today!

Our Adopt-A-Salmon Program is officially underway, and we’re excited to share that we’ve already received three adoptions—thank you for supporting this hands-on science experience for our students!

A special shout-out to our early adopters:

• Dorothy Linzell adopted Fin & Barb
• Aliya adopted Summer & Aggro
• Donna Coffin adopted Angela, Ray, Nick, & George
• Reef & Kiyo Morse adopted Isabella, Harrison, Sawyer, Rory, Oliver, Jax, Colette, Nadia, & Sophie

Salmon adoptions are just $10 per salmon, making it an easy and meaningful way to support our live science tank and ongoing maintenance. Each adopter will receive an official adoption certificate featuring their salmon’s name.

Even better—on release day (around May), adopters will have the special opportunity to release their own salmon into the Detroit River, celebrating the culmination of this incredible life-cycle journey.

Adoptions are still open, and every salmon helps make this program possible. If you are interested in adopting, please contact Jason Roder at jroder@steppingstoneschool.org. 

👉 Adopt a salmon today and be part of the journey from tank to river!

JOIN US to CELEBRATE

January Achievements at Spirit Day!

Fri., Feb. 6th

Our next Spirit Day is just around the corner! Join us on Friday, February 6th as we come together to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our students during the month of January.

Lunch Invitation for Parents and Special Guests



Parents, we warmly welcome you and any special guests to join us for lunch on this special day. Sharing a meal together adds to the sense of community and makes the celebration even more meaningful. If you plan to attend, please inform Mr. Liou or Mrs. Dudek.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKI DAY

Kensington Golf Course

Mon., Feb. 9th

CLASSROOM and/or TEACHER: Whole school

ACTIVITIES & HOW THEY ENRICH THE CURRICULUM: To round out the P.E. program, Steppingstone students participate in several recreational sports activities. Cross-country skiing is a fun way to get physical activity in the winter months.

DATE: Monday, February 9, 2026

SITE ARRIVAL TIME: 9:45 am

SITE DEPARTURE TIME: 2:30 pm

ADDRESS: Kensington Golf Course

DIRECTIONS: LEFT onto Adams St. from parking lot

• CONTINUE STRAIGHT onto Church St.
• LEFT onto Main St. and continue out of town
• LEFT onto Haggerty up to Six Mile Rd.
• RIGHT onto Six Mile Rd.
• Entrance ramp on RIGHT to 275N/96W
• Take 275N to 96W
• Take 96 WEST (towards Lansing) to Exit 151 at Kensington Rd. (back entrance)
• Follow signs to Kensington Metro Park and, once inside, follow signs to the Golf Course

APPAREL: Layered warm clothing, gloves, hats, snow pants, jackets.

MEAL ARRANGEMENTS: DISPOSABLE bag lunches - please do not send in lunch boxes (they will get lost).

OTHER NEEDS:

• Please have students arrive in cold weather wear to save time in the morning

PRE-TRIP ACTIVITIES: Reviewing differences between cross-country and downhill skiing.

TRIP ACTIVITIES: Cross-Country skiing

NO SCHOOL

Fri., Feb. 13th - Mon., Feb. 16th

Mid-Winter Break

We will be closed next Friday, February 13th and Monday, February 16th for our mid-winter break and President’s Day.

FABULOUS FOSSILS

Last Friday, the Early Elementary finished their Science unit on Geology. We talked about fossils, saw some videos of people finding fossils in shale and sandstone, and examine some fossils found right here in Michigan. We used water and paintbrushes to bring out the details in our state's stone, the petosky.

As a bonus, we also looked at Yooperlites! These rocks are all the rage with local rockhounds. Using a UV blacklight, you can see bits of sodalite glowing a coral-orange color. It's pretty cool!

A KIWI FAVORITE

On Monday, the Early Elementary class wrapped up their unit on New Zealand.  As always, we were able to cook and enjoy some tastiness from the country.  This time, we made zucchini and corn fritters (pictured below).  Try some at home!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 410g/15 ounce can whole kernel sweetcorn, or two cooked cobs of sweetcorn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
• 3/4 cup self-raising (or all-purpose) flour
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 small red or green pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup grated cheese (I use mozzarella but you can use any)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
• 1 grated zucchini
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves (optional)

1. In a bowl add the eggs and whisk lightly with the salt, black pepper, and chopped cilantro to combine.
2. Add the flour, bit by bit, beating lightly with a whisk till you have a smooth batter with no lumps with a similar consistency to a pancake batter. You may not need to use all the flour to get this consistency, if it is too thick you can add another egg or a small amount of milk or soy milk.
3. Sauté chopped onions, peppers, and zucchini in oil or butter for a few minutes. Add baby spinach and crushed garlic and cook till the spinach is wilted.
4. Drain can of corn or cut off kernels if using corn cobs and add to the batter along with grated cheese and sautéed vegetables. Combine.
5. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat, and add a drizzle of oil or butter. Place around two tablespoons of the corn fritter batter into the pan. Lightly press the batter outwards evenly to form a fritter. You can cook two to three fritters at a time.
6. Let the fritters cook in the oil for about 3-4 minutes, you will see the edges starting to turn golden. Then carefully using a spatula flip the corn and zucchini fritters over to cook the other side.
7. Once both sides are golden brown then remove from the pan and set on a tray lined with a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.
8. Serve the fritters warm.

ANCIENT CHINA

The Upper Elementary dove into the geography of early China and how it affected where people settled.  Students created a 3D relief map of the region and evaluated the benefits and disadvantages of settling in different landscapes and climates.

Here, the students stand proudly with their informational map.

WISHLIST ITEM: Microscope Camera

Dr. Morse has made a request for a donation of an OMAX 1.3MP USB 2.0 C-Mount Microscope Camera for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux:

Whenever students use microscopes in science, it's helpful to be able to show them what they are seeing through a camera projected onto a screen. The camera we had is broken and was out of date. This would help the Upper Elementary students with this year's MicroWorld studies.

This item has a list price of $118.00, and can be found at:

https://omaxmicroscope.com/products/a3513u

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

Chong & Yong Son

Dorothea Coffin

Fran Eldis

Shuh Yuan Liou & Shau Ching Tang

Yong Pan

$500 to $999

David Liou

Hedy Zablocki

Michelle Belt

Stepping Stones Wellness Center

$100 to $499

Chris Isberg

Joanne Chang

Joyce Li

Liqun Yang

Minghung Hsu

Simon Margules

$50 to $99

James & Alicia Phillips

Kroger's

Up to $50

Jason Roder

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

WISHLIST



A subscription to Highlights Children's Magazine

https://shop.highlights.com/

Donated by Barbara Malnar-Styke

OMAX 1.3MP USB 2.0 C-Mount Microscope Camrea for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux

https://omaxmicroscope.com/products/a3513u

ADOPT-A-SALMON

Thank you to our Adopt-A-Salmon donors ($10 per adopted salmon):

Dorothy Linzell -- adopted Fin & Barb

Aliya -- adopted Summer & Aggro

Mrs. Coffin -- adopted Angela, Ray, Nick & George

Dr. & Mrs. Morse -- adopted Isabella, Harrison, Sawyer, Rory, Oliver, Jax, Colette, Nadia & Sophie