The Principal’s Corner

St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

Dear Parents, Thank you for taking the opportunity to participate in conferences last week. Due to calendar restraints we held conferences earlier than in previous years. The first trimester Progress Reports will be sent home on Wednesday, December 7th. After reviewing the Progress Report, if you are concerned about an issue not addressed at the previous conference, please call to schedule another time to meet with teachers. At our faculty meeting in January we will evaluate the conferencing process. We celebrated All Saints Day with Father Larry at Mass in the Church. Mrs. Tobias and our third grade class prepared the liturgy for us and sang a beautiful rendition of Saints of God for the meditation. At the conclusion of Mass the entire school visited the new statue of St. Stephen which had just been erected. Hopefully you might join the parish at the Thanksgiving Mass when the statue will be blessed. Our school has been selected to participate in the Re-accreditation process for the Department of Catholic Schools by hosting evaluators on Tuesday, November 15th from 7:45-11:15. We are very excited for this opportunity to showcase our students and the educational programs that our school offers. As we approach the holiday season, wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and a Blessed Advent season! God Bless,

St. Stephen School Mission

Statement

A pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade Catholic parochial school, St. Stephen School is dedicated to the ideals of educating children in an environment that surrounds them with Christian values. The school strives to educate the whole child spiritually, academically, physically, socially, and emotionally. Every effort is made to cultivate within each child a positive self-image and to heighten his/her awareness of the dignity and worth of others.

St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

Dates to Remember

Please check the website frequently for the most current information and

event dates.

Reminders

1.) We will celebrate Mass on November 1st at 10:15 AM.

November 1st: FACTS Grant & Aid Applications open.

2.) Joe Corbi’s fundraiser items will be delivered on

November 3rd.

3.) We will hold an Admissions Information Session from 6:00-8:00 PM on

November 7th.

4.) November 8th is Open House for Prospective Families:

PreK-8th Grade from 8:30-11:30 AM and 12:30-2:30 PM;

On January 31st, during Catholic Schools Week, we will have an Open House

for Parents: 8:30-11:30 AM and 12:30-2:30 PM.

5.) November 7th-10th Dale Carnegie Training Videos shown in homeroom.

6.) November 11th 7:30 AM Morning Mass at Drop-off.

7.) Grandparents’ Day will be held on November 18th (PreK 3 T/Th will be

held on Thursday). We will have a 12:15 PM dismissal. We will also have a Chick-fil-

A fundraiser at the Perry Hall location from 12:30 to 3:30 PM. More information to

follow. Don’t forget to send addresses for invitations by Wednesday, Nov. 2nd.

8.) Our Thanksgiving Prayer Service will be held on November 22nd at 10:15

AM. Our Color Race will also be held on November 22nd. Please see our

website for details.

9.) School will be closed for the Thanksgiving

Holiday on November 23rd, 24th, and 25th.

10.) November 27th 1st Trimester ends.

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Very Important Announcement

St. Stephen Parish & School will follow the weather directives of the Baltimore

County Public School System. Should there be a weather event that requires early

dismissal, late arrival, or closure for the day, we will follow Baltimore County

announcements.

Please Note: St. Stephen School will continue to contact parents to repeat or

revise the announcement from Baltimore County as is our policy.

St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

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Volunteer Training (through www.shieldthevulnerable.org)

Any parent who wishes to volunteer in the classroom or

chaperone a class field trip must complete the Archdiocesan

program through shieldthevulnerable.org. This training is mandatory

for all parents, grandparents, and friends in order to volunteer/work

at St. Stephen.

If you are compliant with the program through shieldthevulnerable.org,

you may volunteer. If you wish to volunteer at St. Stephen School and have not

completed the training, please contact Mrs. Kathy Arbutus at 410-592-7617

during school hours.

Service Project: Weinberg Center Lunches

Our Students are engaged in a school-wide, year-long

project to provide lunches to the homeless through the

Weinberg Housing and Resource Center. Each month, a class

purchases the food and makes 150 lunches for the homeless in

Baltimore. In October, our students in 5th Grade participated.

Thank you to teachers and parents for providing the

resources for our students to help the homeless.

Congratulations to…

SOAR Weekly Winners:

Brady Fischer-1st Grade; Tony Libertino-5th Grade; Rocco Pastore-5th Grade

The following St. Stephen graduates were recognized at the Calvert Hall College Honors Convocation on October 11th: Travis Fruhling, Domenico Maria, Brendan McCarron, Jacob Snyder, Michael Cala, Dennis Regulski, Vincent Maria, Luke Bowen, William Lochte. Congratulations, gentlemen!

Sports Records…

Volleyball: 9-7

Soccer: Undefeated & winner of

MIAC Championship

Go Eagles!

There are 21 days until the Color Race! Our Students have

already raised $5,880 for our school!! Our goal is $10,000. Don’t forget to register your child at challenge4kids.com

Prizes will be announced at the Color Race.

St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

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St. Stephen Sports

Canned Food Drive!

The National Junior Honor Society will be having a canned food

drive for Thanksgiving from October 31st through November 21st.

Students are encouraged to donate canned goods and nonperishable

foods for Beans and Bread. The homeroom that collects the most

canned goods will win the opportunity to “Pie Face” members of the NJHS

as well as several guest teachers! The NJHS will also be competing

against other area Catholic Schools to win a trophy for donating the

most canned goods! Good Luck, NJHS!

Pink Day

Thanks to our Faculty, Staff, and students, we were able to make a donation of

$581.30 to the Mercy Medical Center’s Breast Center from our Annual “Pink and

Jeans Day” held at our school!

The Student Council sponsored their annual Candy Corn Count

again this year. They raised $196.80! Grace Taylor in 4th grade won

the Candy Corn Count.

Thanks to the alumni from the Class of 2013 who are helping our school during

their Archbishop Curley Service week: Joe Ampil, Nick Holland, James Martin, and

Michael Wann.

St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

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ATP NEWS-October 2016

The Administrators, Teachers & Parents (ATP) team asks parents to help identify opportunities and ideas to enhance the student and family experience at St. Stephen. The ATP met in October to discuss

parent submissions as well as several ATP agenda items.

PARENT SUBMISSIONS The ATP committee asks parents to identify ways we can help improve our school. Send us your issues,

concerns and ideas throughout the year, and we will discuss them at our next meeting with school

administration. Following is a summary of our most recent submissions.

Fundraisers: A parent raised concern that the school participates in too many fundraisers. They sug-

gested fundraisers be combined, new fundraisers replace those that have been used for a few years, or have some of them eliminated. Mrs. Patrick agreed to present this concern to the HSA and the Fathers’

Club for their consideration. She also wants families to know they are not expected to participate in all fundraisers, and they should choose those that work best individually. The school offers a variety of

fundraising events that appeal to different audiences and to help create a vibrant school community. Many of the fundraisers are event driven which provide a sense of community.

Middle School Dances and Cell Phones: A parent suggested that students should not be permitted to use cell phones at school dances because the phones are a distraction from socializing. They suggest

having students check cell phones at the door. Mrs. Patrick will present this concern to the HSA as they sponsor the dances. Although the school will not collect phones at the door, it is possible to require

students to stay off mobile devices during middle school dances. Additional information will follow.

Talent Show: A parent suggested that the talent show be held every year as opposed to every other

year. Mrs. Patrick and Mrs. Ullmann advised the ATP that in the past, it took a lot of volunteer faculty resources to organize the talent show. The school now has support outside of faculty to present the

talent show. The administration supports this idea, and will look into the possibility of having an annual

talent show.

Timing of Masses and Assemblies: A parent raised concern that Masses and assemblies are held at times that make it difficult for parents to attend. Mrs. Patrick advised that the Mass schedule is set by

the priests and is based on their availability. The school cannot influence the Mass schedule. Currently, on the second Friday of each month, students and parents can gather at the church for 7:30 a.m. Mass

with school administration. During Lent, this changes to every Friday. Currently, the school attempts to host most assemblies at 2:00 p.m. in an effort to include interested parents. Assemblies held any later

may interfere with dismissal. Some assemblies, like the Spelling Bee and Student Council speeches, are

held at 8:30 a.m. after morning arrival.

St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

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ATP NEWS-October 2016 continued

Middle School Class Sizes: A parent commented on the number of new sixth graders entering school this year, and inquired about plans to increase the middle school to two classes per grade. The

administration advised that at this time there are no plans to increase the middle school to two classes

per grade due to space restrictions. The school assists with larger class sizes by creating smaller

instructional groups for ELA (English Language Arts) and math.

ATP AGENDA ITEMS

Social Media: Last May, based on past survey responses, the ATP sponsored a pilot program for the outgoing 8th grade class about safe use of social media, privacy and online citizenship. The ATP would

like to thank Sergeant Robert Stelmack, from the Baltimore County Police Department’s Community Relations division, for helping us develop this program and for presenting it to the students. Currently,

the ATP is working with school administration to present this program to each middle school class, tailoring the information to be appropriate per grade level. Also, the ATP discussed a school-wide par-ent program to help parents navigate the ever-changing world of social media. Look for more infor-

mation in the coming months.

Drug Awareness Program: Based on responses from student and parent exit surveys, the ATP dis-cussed a drug awareness program for middle school students. Mrs. Patrick and Mrs. Ullmann suggested

this could become a part of the science and health curriculum starting in 5th grade. This would not only explain to students the effects of drug use on their health, but also the ramifications of doing drugs and

getting caught. Mrs. Patrick will discuss this concept with faculty.

Alumni Survey: The ATP will brainstorm on a survey for recent alumni. The goal of the survey is to

collect data about how their academic and spiritual experience at St. Stephen benefited them in high

school.

Share Your Ideas! Join Us!

The ATP meets with Mrs. Patrick and Mrs. Ullmann to help find solutions to parent concerns, suggest and develop student programs, and implement ideas from the administration. If you would like to share

your ideas or concerns with the ATP, please visit our page on the school web site and fill out a submis-

sion form. Every submission is presented. If you prefer, you can remain anonymous.

We always welcome new members. Our next meeting is November 28 at 7 p.m. in the Library.

St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

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St. Stephen School

Newsletter November 2016 www.ssschool.org

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