A note from Mrs. Gunderson...
Dear Parents,
Our school Marathon is on Sunday, October 9! As you know, this is one of St. Stephen’s main annual fundraisers. On October 9, students will wear their school uniform to mass and afterwards they will walk a mile around the outside of the church and school to complete the marathon. Please help motivate your children to ask for pledges from relatives, neighbors, and friends of the family! If you make a pledge, please take a moment to check with your employer as many employers make company matches for employee donations to nonprofit fundraisers. Last year, we were extremely blessed to receive $20,000 in company matches! Spread the news and encourage relatives and friends to check with their employer for company matches too! Our marathon fundraising goal this year is to raise $30,000 and with everyone’s help we can reach our goal and possibly exceed it!
Every Monday we have Pep Assemblies to encourage and motivate students to ask for pledges. We also name the weekly fundraiser winners. See pictures below of one of our Marathon Pep Assemblies.
On Monday, September 26 at 7 PM, you can watch a live webinar entitled: “Back to School”. Parenting in 2022 and beyond presents specific challenges not seen before in the field of psychology and child development. In this session we will talk about some concrete tips to make your back-to-school transition smoother and offer some helpful insights into how to parent in 2022 and beyond. Here is the link to register to sign up to watch the September 26 webinar:
On Tuesday, October 11 at 7 PM you can watch a webinar entitled Psychological Wellness Begins at Home. Our children are more stressed and anxious than any time in modern history. How we parent and manage emotions at home can protect our children and bolster their emotional resilience, or it can hinder development and make things worse. This webinar session will focus on parenting strategies that promote healthy psychological development. The influences of technology, pressures of modern life, and common parenting mistakes will be discussed. Parents will leave with concrete strategies to help their children thrive. Here is the registration link to sign up to watch the October 11 webinar:
These webinars are provided to us by Phoenix School Counseling as part of our 3-year grant.
We are looking for substitute aides for our afterschool B.A.S.E. program. B.A.S.E. stands for “Best After School Enrichment”. If you would like to help on occasion and care for students who are in our after-school program, we would love to have you. This is a paid position. As a B.A.S.E. substitute teacher’s aide, you will supervise children as they do homework, play, do arts and crafts, etc. You will receive training. B.A.S.E. hours are Monday-Friday from 2:00-6:00pm but your shift may start later and end earlier depending on the number of students on a given day. If you are interested in learning more, or being on call as a substitute aid for B.A.S.E., please email Mary Schaeppi at: mschaeppi@ststephenchurch.org
In Christ,
Theresa Gunderson, Principal
St. Stephen's School Marathon
REMINDER: Marathon money is due on Fridays!!
We are having class competitions, individual family awards, and weekly winners so sending in money each week is encouraged! We have a class goal of $2,022, and a school-wide goal of $30,000. If your company does donation matching, this could really help us reach or exceed our goal. Can you help?? We have only 2 more weeks to raise funds and reach our goal. We encourage everyone to participate so that we can continue providing excellent service to your children by ensuring our school’s financial success. Thank you!!
Food, fun, and festivities are happening at St. Stephen's Catholic Community on Saturday, October 22 from 5 pm - 10 pm in the School Parking Lots (506 Jackson St. Anoka, MN 55303). This is a family-friendly event so come join us and bring the kids!
Details of the event include:
- Enjoy Anoka Halloween Light Up the Night Parade with us at 7 pm on 5th and Main St.
- Warm up by the fire pit and make s'mores!
- Bring the kids in costume to Trunk or Treat, a fun and safe way for children to trick-or-treat. Please remember a bag to collect goodies in! Trunk or Treat will take place from 6 pm until 7 pm in the southeast school parking lot.
- If you would like to decorate your vehicle trunk and hand out candy, please email Kristen by Friday, October 14.
- Trunk decorating will open at 4 pm inside the gated parking lot.
- Purchase festive food and drinks for the whole family. Hot dogs, chips, hot chocolate, coffee, apple cider, and beer!
- Participate in The Great Anoka Pumpkin Fest Raffle that supports the many ministries offered at St. Stephen’s. All CASH prizes with SEVEN lucky winners. $5,000 for the grand prize winner!
- Raffle packets for parishioners are available in alphabetical order in the Gathering Space starting September 17. If you do not see an envelope with your name on it, please let a staff member know.
- If you would like to purchase a $10 raffle ticket, please stop in at the Parish Office.
- Raffle tickets must be turned in to St. Stephen's by 11:30 am on Sunday, October 23, 2022. Must be 18 years older to win. Drawing is held at 12:30 pm on October 23 at the St. Stephen's Faith Community Center.
Discover the Magic of SPANISH
HOLA! Now is the time to sign up for Spanish class after school! This class is open to students in Kindergarten - 5th Grade and appropriate for students with or without previous Spanish experience. Click on the link below to register, or view more information in the document below.
Volunteer at St. Stephen's School
Hello SS Volunteer Community-
First and foremost, thank you for all of your time already given to our school. We cannot do this without your help! Below are the links to click and sign up for volunteer needs. Please prayerfully take a spot or two! YOU can make a difference!
We have a GREAT volunteer need EVERYDAY to assist students and an adult has to be present at every shift . See details below. This opportunity is of great need and everyday has a different time commitment. Please consider giving your time.
Daily lunchroom needs – every day we are in need of up to 3 volunteers to help in the lunchroom.
ART ADVENTURE OPPORTUNITIES!
We are looking for interested Picture People for the Art Adventure Program through Minnesota Institute of Arts (Grades K-4, 1 volunteer for each teacher). This awesome program begins in December (approx. 5 hours TOTAL), which includes training and in-person/virtual classroom discussion with students. Connecting with teachers on what best suits their class needs. Each volunteer would receive a booklet of the art pieces and run with it however it would be appropriate for that age group. Please reach out to our Art Adventure Coordinator, Jackie Mjolhus, jtoulouse@hotmail.com
Please reach out to me if you have any questions!
DID YOU KNOW?
There are many corporations (both small & large), that offer to pay and/or allow their employees to Volunteer within their community! Reach OUT and ask your employer! What a win/win for our school! Please reach out to your place of employment, to see if they have a plan, or will offer!
An evening Volunteer Opportunity!
We are in need of 4 chaperones from 5:45pm to 8:15pm for the Middle School dance. Duties include: set up, monitoring students, pop/popcorn station and clean up. Click on the link below to sign up. Thanks SO much!
Picture Day is Coming!
Picture Day TOMORROW, Friday, September 23. Picture forms were sent home on Monday. Please make sure your child returns the picture form with your desired settings indicated on the form. You can either order on-line following the directions, OR you can send in money and order directly from Lifetouch. If you have any questions, please call the school office at (763) 421-3236.
Uniform Updates
Please make sure your child is dressed in the correct uniform each day, following our school guidelines. Uniform shirts MUST be tucked in every day for school. For a complete list of our guidelines, please visit our website at ststephenschool.org, and look in the handbook. For quick access, please click the link below:
Raise Money for more Playground Equipment
with BoxTops for Education
You can help us raise money for new playground equipment by simply downloading the BoxTops App, buying products that have the BoxTop brand logo, and scanning your receipt! Just follow the easy directions indicated on the flyer below. Since the beginning of the year, we have already raised $53.00! Thank you families!
Coats for Kids Drive
Back for another year, the Anoka Knights of Columbus will host their Coats for Kids Drive at St. Stephen's this fall.
Please consider donating a new or gently used winter coat for a child or teen in need. Collection boxes will be placed in the Gathering Space, near FCC 10, and by the Parish Office from October 8-23.
Coats will be distributed first to those in need within the St. Stephen’s Catholic Community, and then out to the greater Anoka area.
There is no need to sign up to receive a coat. Coats will be distributed Sunday, November 6 after the 10:30 am and 12:30 pm Spanish Masses. Distribution will take place in FCC 10.
For questions, please contact Dan at cdknapek@msn.com.
Educate: Parents How-to Guide
Are you new to St. Stephen's? Would you like a better understanding of how Educate, our school communications system, works? Here is an Introduction Guide to give you some help and direct you to your child's grades, lunch money account, school schedule and attendance. Just simply click the link below:
Anoka Halloween Buttons for Sale
September 26 - October 7
It is that time of year again and we are excited to be celebrating our 102nd year! Anoka Halloween™ is a non-profit organization that promotes our many free family friendly events and donations to elementary school media centers, plus high school scholarships. The only way that we can continue to offer these benefits to our community is with the help of you and your student.
Every year, we encourage families and students to support not only Anoka Halloween™, but your child’s school by selling this year’s Anoka Halloween™ button as pictured above. The buttons may be purchased for just $3 per button. Anoka Halloween™ will give back 50% PROFIT to your child’s school. That’s $1.50 per button sold! No other fundraiser offers half of the sale! What a great and simple way to easily earn money for your school! The button also offers many local store discounts and entrance to several of our festival events.
In the past years, the kids have enjoyed participating in the button sales, as well as the “prize” they can earn. The student that sells the most buttons will receive a $25 check to do with what they want, in addition to receiving a plaque with their name and a ride on our Anoka Halloween™ vehicle during the Big Parade of Little People parade, on October 29th . Also, the one classroom that sells the most
buttons will win a pizza party! Super exciting for the kids!
If you would like more information about Anoka Halloween™, a list of the many events offered, fundraising, or merchandise, please visit Anokahalloween.com. Thank you so much for supporting Anoka Halloween™ and your child’s school.
Recipe Contest with Chef Faith
Chef Faith is recreating 3 top recipes turned in by students before September 23. The forms are below. Fill out the recipe and your child will be entered into a contest. If your child's recipe is one of the top three participants, he/she will spend a Saturday morning with Chef Faith recreating the recipe to use for our school lunch program!
St. Stephen's Lunch Program
We are so excited to start this year's lunch program! The meals will be so delicious and cooked in our kitchen every day! Please take a peek at our menu by clicking on the link below. To add lunch money to your account, click here:
What is coming up...
September:
23 - Picture Day
26-28 - 6th Graders to Wolf Ridge
30 - Olweus Kick-Off, Movie Night in the Parking Lot!
October:
8 - Middle School Dance
9 - Marathon after 10:30 Mass
22 - PumpkinFest
COVID and St. Stephen's School
As the school year is just beginning, we want to be transparent about our expectations of COVID and our students. IF your child tests positive for COVID, we will continue to stick with the policy that your child will stay home for 5 days from the symptom start date. After 5 days, if the child is symptom free, and off all medicines, he/she may return to school full-time. If you have any questions regarding COVID and your child, please do not hesitate to call Heidi in the school office at 763-421-3236.