A Message from Mrs. Perrault, Principal
Dear Families,
Martyr Marathon is next Friday! I am not sure I can SURVIVE waiting a whole week before the fun and excitement. Please carefully read the Martyr Marathon details included in this email. I hope to see many of you at the event. There are still many opportunities for volunteers - sign up today!
I am continuously inspired and humbled by your generosity. If you haven’t yet seen our new office, it is absolutely beautiful. This project was funded by our Home and School Association. Photos are posted on social media. Take a peek or stop in.
Next Thursday, Sept. 14, we have Curriculum Night. This is an evening when our families can learn a bit about their child’s current curriculum and upcoming grade-level events. Details about session times and locations are included below.
Thanks for all of your continued support and dedication to our school.
Blessings,
Mrs. Perrault
Mrs. Perrault
In this issue of Martyr Messenger:
- Admin Updates: Curriculum Night Details, Upcoming Lockdown Drill, St. Stephen the Martyr Monthly Saint Character Award, Martyr Mondays, Join Robotics, Family Handbook Quiz Winner
- Home & School Updates: Martyr Marathon Details & Volunteer Sign-ups
- Parish Updates: Parish Census, Altar Server Training, Welcome. Weekends in October
- Community Updates: Duchesne Admissions Events
Administration Updates
Curriculum Night Details
This event informs families of the curriculum covered in our classrooms.
- Get tips on how you can support your child's learning at home
- Students do not attend curriculum night - just parents/guardians
- Curriculum Night is for TK-8th Grade only (no preschool/PreK)
TK-5th Grade: Please select one session to attend and meet in the classrooms indicated below.
- Session 1: 5:45-6:10 PM
- Session 2: 6:20-6:50 PM
- Session 3: 7:00- 7:25 PM
TK-5th Grade Meeting Locations:
- TK: Meet in your child's classroom (South Portable)
- Kindergarten: Mrs. Rezac's Room 101 (all Kindergarten)
- 1st Grade: Meet in your child's classroom (Keller Room 105, Heidrick Room 108, Fitch Room 109)
- 2nd Grade: Meet in your child's classroom (O'Leary Room 119, Gill Room 118, Schweers Room 117)
- 3rd Grade: Mrs. Lowry's Room 110 (All 3rd Grade)
- 4th Grade: Mrs. Haack's Room 202 (All 4th Grade)
- 5th Grade: Miss Freeman's Room 218 (All 5th Grade)
6th, 7th & 8th Grade: Please select one session to attend and meet in the Dining Room. All 6th-8th grade teachers will present to parents/guardians.
- Session 1: 5:30-6:10 PM
- Session 2: 6:15-6:50 PM
- Session 3: 6:55- 7:30 PM
Specialists: All specialists will be in the Library and parents are welcome to attend one of the below sessions, in addition to your child's grade-level session.
- Session 1: 5:45-6:10 PM
- Session 2: 6:20-6:50 PM
- Session 3: 7:00- 7:25 PM
Upcoming Lockdown Drill
As part of our commitment to emergency preparedness, we will have a Lockdown Drill next Tuesday, September 12th. Teachers will begin discussing the drill with students on Monday. We want parents/guardians to be aware and you are welcome to discuss the drill with your students. All students, preschool-8th grade, will participate if they are on campus during the designated time. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact Mrs. Perrault or Mr. Verraneault.
Lockdown Drill Overview - Tuesday, September 12th at 2 PM
- Students are trained to move away from sight and maintain silence.
- Teachers are trained to lock classroom doors, turn lights off, move out of sight, maintain silence, not to unlock/open doors except to first responders, and take roll call of students.
- Beginning on Monday, September 11, teachers will inform students that the drill will be done on Tuesday. They will discuss with children that this drill is for very rare situations in which we need an added layer of protection for the safety of our students and staff within our own building.
- During the drill, K-8 students can expect that administration will be walking halls and verifying that doors are locked and teachers do not open the door when someone approaches.
Monthly Saint Character Award
Yesterday, we began a new monthly award program to recognize the efforts and achievements of our students. Recognition of the Monthly Saint Character Award encourages our students to model their lives around the teachings of the Catholic Church and exhibit values of hard work, respect, safety, kindness, leadership, and responsibility. We have many extraordinary students who deserve to be recognized for all the great things they do every day.
At the beginning of each month, we will introduce & discuss our “Saint of the Month” in the morning announcements. Saints were selected based on the month of their Feast Day. Classroom teachers are encouraged to focus on this saint in their classrooms and recognize the character/behaviors that would be exhibited by that saint. On the last Monday of the month, teachers will select one student from their class to be recognized for exhibiting the traits of the saint and the student will be acknowledged on the announcements, get their picture taken, and earn a certificate from the office on the last day of the month. The first award will be given at the end of September.
The September Saint of the Month is St. Teresa of Calcutta whose Feast Day was this past Tuesday, September 5th. St. Teresa of Calcutta is well-known and well-loved for her burning passion for the poorest of the poor. Many admired her for her charity work and her heart for serving others. This month our teachers will be watching for students who pride themselves on serving others and following the PRAY model. Click the button below to learn more about the new monthly program.
Martyr Mondays Begin Sept. 11th
Beginning next Monday, September 11th, most Mondays throughout the school year will be “Martyr Mondays”. On these days, students can wear a “spirit” sweatshirt/T-shirt purchased through the 8th grade fundraiser or another approved SSM spirit top (including Martyr Marathon t-shirts, SSM sports camps/team shirts/jerseys, VBS shirts, etc.). Students will wear uniform bottoms, socks and shoes.
Join Robotics
Have you been wondering about this year’s Robotics program? The St. Stephen the Martyr Robotics program is open to middle-school students (6th-8th grade) who have an interest in designing and building a wirelessly controlled robot to compete in skill challenges. We meet weekly on Sunday afternoons from 4 to 6 PM at the school. The season runs from September to February and the teams will participate in local competitions against other schools. If you are interested in signing up or learning more please contact Jason Brown at ssmrobotics@gmail.com.
Family Handbook Quiz Winner
Thank you to everyone who took the Family Handbook Quiz in our last Martyr Messenger! Thirty-eight individuals answered all questions correctly and we randomly selected our winner, Paige Henderson, mother of Kindergartner, Piper! If you have not yet signed your Family Handbook Agreement Form, please do so as soon as possible as it was due August 23rd. The form can be completed from within our school app or online via your FACTS Family Portal.
Home & School Updates
Martyr Marathon - Details You Need to Know
Martyr Marathon is NEXT week - keep those dollars coming in! Don't forget these important notes:
- Monday - Food Drive Help Our Community Survive: Bring an item (or more than one) to donate to the St. Stephen Food Pantry (no assigned categories, but most needed items right now are: deodorant, laundry detergent, dish soap, bar soap, cleaning supplies, canned meat). Note: The grade with the most items collected gets the highest points for the Sole Survivor Competition!
- Wednesday - Survivor Spare Change Challenge: Students should bring in their spare change for a fun grade-level competition! Note: The contest goes by weight not value - so save your cash for another day and bring in as many coins as possible. Pro Tip: quarters, half dollars and dollar coins weigh the most!
- Thursday - Survivor Color War: Students should dress in their class colors! Follow Dress Down Day guidelines found on page 45 of the Family Handbook. Mrs. Perrault and Mr. Verraneault will visit classrooms and determine the winning grade!
- PreK & TK - Yellow
- Kindergarten - Pink
- 1st grade - Red
- 2nd grade - Blue
- 3rd Grade - White
- 4th grade - Purple
- 5th grade - Orange
- 6th grade - Black
- 7th grade - Green
- 8th grade - Gray
- Friday - Martyr Marathon
- 8:15-9:15 AM: All School Mass (1st - 8th grade)
- 9:15 AM: Kickoff Pep Rally in gym
- 9:45 AM: Martyr Marathon begins! View the map online. We stagger the class start times with the first class beginning at 9:45 AM. K-2nd will start in the Dining Room and 3rd-8th start in the gym.
- 11:30 AM: Post-walk Dance Party in the East parking lot. K-2 students will be on the south side of the barricades. Grades 3 - 8 will be on the north side.
- 11:45 AM: Students return to classrooms
- Noon: School dismissal (no staggered dismissal)
Parking Notes for Friday:
- At 8:15 AM, the row of parking nearest the church in the south parking lot and north parking lot, as well as the east parking lot and the road around the west side of the church, will be blocked off.
- The south entrance will be closed from 9:45 to 11:45 AM. Additionally, the roundabout and the first row of parking on the North side of the school (drop-off lane) will be blocked. Any cars in the South lot after 9:45 AM will be blocked in until 11:45 AM.
Preschool, PreK & TK do not have school on Friday and have Dance Parties instead of walking the marathon route. Dance Parties will be on the following dates:
- Preschool (Gentile) & PreK (Tabaka): Monday, September 11th at 10:15 AM (morning classes) and 2:40 PM (afternoon classes)
- TK (Ferrante & Foster): Thursday, September 14th at 2:10 PM
To Survive Martyr Marathon...We NEED Your Help!
Martyr Marathon Volunteer Meeting
Join us for the Volunteer Informational Meeting the night before the event, Thursday, September 14th from 7:30- 8 PM in the Gonderinger Parish Center (GPC). We will stuff popcorn bags following the meeting at 8 PM.
Don't forget: The grade with the highest percentage of parent/guardian volunteers (volunteering includes leading up to, day of and post-event activities), wins an outdoor party with Spectrum Snoballs! Sign up today using the buttons below.
Parish Updates
Please complete the 2023 Parish Census!
Altar Server Training on Saturday, September 16th
We will hold training for any 5th-12th Grader interested in being an Altar Server at St. Stephen the Martyr this Saturday, September 16th, from 1:30 - 3:00 PM in the Worship Space. Current Altar Servers are also welcome to join and receive a refresher course! Questions? Contact Sam Jizba, Liturgy Coordinator, at s.jizba@stephen.org.
Welcome. Weekends in October
Community Updates
Duchesne Admissions Events
Important Upcoming Dates
- September 11:
- Martyr Mondays Begin
- Sole Survivor Challenge: Food Drive - Bring any item for SSM Food Pantry
- Preschool (Gentille) & PreK (Tabaka) Martyr Marathon Dance Parties at 10:15 AM (morning classes) and 2:40 PM (afternoon classes)
- September 12:
- Lockdown Drill - 2 PM (see Admin Updates above for more details)
- Sole Survivor Challenge: Survivor Estimation - Guess the Number of Survivor Items in Jar
- September 13:
- Sole Survivor Challenge: Survivor Spare Change Challenge – Bring in Your Spare Change!
- September 14:
- Martyr Marathon Permission Slips Due
- Sole Survivor Challenge: Survivor Color War – Wear Your Class Color:
- Preschool, PreK & TK - Yellow
- Kinder - Pink
- 1st grade - Red
- 2nd grade - Blue
- 3rd Grade - White
- 4th grade - Purple
- 5th grade - Orange
- 6th grade - Black
- 7th grade - Green
- 8th grade - Gray
- TK (Ferrante & Foster) Martyr Marathon Dance Parties at 2:10 PM
- Curriculum Night, 5:30 - 7:30 PM (see Admin Updates above for more details)
- Martyr Marathon Volunteer Meeting, 7:30 PM, Parish Center
- September 15:
- Martyr Marathon for K-8
- Noon Early Dismissal
- All Students (including KidZone) Dismiss at Noon
- No Hot Lunch Service
- No School for Preschool, PreK, and TK
- September 20: 2 PM Early Dismissal
- TK & Kidzone Dismiss at 1:50 PM
- K-8 Dismiss at 2 PM
- Preschool & PreK Class Times
- Morning Classes: 8 - 10:15 AM
- Afternoon Classes: 11:30 AM - 1:45 PM
- September 22: Progress Reports
- October 6: No School
- October 9: No School
- October 10:
- No School
- Home & School Fall Family Event at Vala’s