A Message from Mrs. Perrault, Principal
Dear families.
Thank you so much for all of your support throughout the first quarter. As the year continues, we know that health guidelines and recommendations may change, and we must be willing to adapt at any time in order to keep our students, staff, and families healthy. We will continue working together to do what is best for our everyone at St. Stephen the Martyr school.
As we begin the second quarter, the school administration is working with various committees to prepare for our AdvancEd Accreditation (Cognia) review that is scheduled for November 17-19. Many of you participated in surveys and inventories last year that have helped to guide our continuous improvement process. Thank you for all of your feedback. We will continue to survey our students, staff, and families each year. The next survey is scheduled for the spring of 2021. During the review, we will be sharing data and feedback, having formal and informal conversations, and also receiving recommendations from the engagement team so we can continue to grow as a school community. Once the review is completed, I will share more with all of our families.
Please look for Sunday emails, as I try to provide updates weekly regarding school activities and pertinent information. As always, you are encouraged to visit our website and the Google calendar.
Enjoy a few extra days with family. I continue to keep all of you in my prayers,
Mrs. Perrault
In this issue of Martyr Messenger you will find information about:
- Updates from Home and School
- Picture Retake Day
- Liturgical Living at Home
- PAL Basket Ball
- Continue Improvement Update
- Important Dates Coming Up
- .. and more
Updates from Home and School
Thank you again for everyone's support of the Martyr Marathon!
Grand Total Raised: $102,009!
- Art to Remember packets went home this past week. Be sure to get online orders in by November 3rd.
- Thank you to all those who attended the outing at Skinny Bones. It was a beautiful day and so fun to see so many SSM faces out there!
- Turn in Box Tops by October 30th.
Continuous Improvement Update
Every year, the Continuous Improvement Team, Catholic Identity Committee, and the School Advisory Board review the school mission statement, academic goals, and Catholic Identity goals as part of the strategic planning process. These goals are changed and/ or amended in response to data and feedback from stakeholders. Below are the 2020-2021 Academic and Catholic Identity Goals:
Goal I: Academic Excellence (NCBECS Standards 7,8,9)
Overall Goal: To enable every student to achieve his or her full academic potential in a high performing school.
1. By May of 2021 St. Stephen the Martyr School will implement strategies to support the staff in order to strengthen academic programs measured by performance objectives aligned with The National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary Schools rubric (Standard 7.6) and student engagement inventories.
2. By May of 2024 students will improve literacy (reading, language arts, and writing) and math skills (computation and problem solving) as measured by:
- Consistent growth pattern evidenced by standardized tests, benchmarking, and summative assessments
- a yearly increase of 3% on mean scaled score (grades K-8)
- a yearly increase of 3% in writing proficiency scores as evidenced by grade-level writing assessment
3. By May of 2024 all teachers will implement Blended Learning with cross-curricular integration measured by performance data and professional growth plans.
Goal II: Mission & Catholic Identity (NCBECS Standards 1,2,3,4)
Overall Goal: To fully form the minds and hearts of Catholic children in their faith, promote family engagement and practice of the faith, and instill virtues essential to responsible participation in society in all students regardless of their religious background.
1. By May of 2022 students’ Catholic identity will improve as measured by an increase in the percent of students strongly agreeing to items on the Catholic Identity Program Effectiveness Survey.
2. St. Stephen the Martyr School will Increase the collaboration and connection among parish, school, and home.
STAR Assessment Information
You should have received STAR reports with report cards on Wednesday. Since these are the first STAR assessments, you will not see a growth pattern. The scores are used for instructional purposes and allow the teachers to plan instruction to ensure growth. Attached below is some helpful information that should help you better understand the reports. Please remember this is a “snapshot” of where your child was upon entering the new school year.
Congratulations to the St. Stephen the Martyr Students who have been selected for the Archdiocese of Omaha Honor Band!
Flute: Felicity Ferrante, Cecilia Rickett
Trombone: David Schmitz
Liturgical Living at Home
Feast of Saint Pope John Paul II
Today is the feast of Saint Pope John Paul II, the famous pope who wrote plays, spoke 15 languages and loved to climb mountains. He grew up in Poland during World War II and even managed to escape the Germans when they tried to make him join their army! Instead, John Paul II decided to become a priest and fight for God. He later became Pope and traveled the world preaching that God wants everybody to a saint, no matter what. God even wants you to be a saint! Today, think of something that you can do for God, just like John Paul II did. Read the bible, visit the church to pray, or perform an act of kindness. God sees all the good that you do! Saint John Paul II, pray for us!
All Hallows Eve
Halloween is traditionally called "All Hallows Eve" and it is actually the pre-celebration of "All Hallows Day" (kind of like how we celebrate Christmas Eve) which we call All Saints Day! And yes, the saints are dead! Which is why there are skeletons and spooky things about. As Catholics, we celebrate them because they remind us death is not something to be feared because Jesus defeated death - we will live forever with Him in Heaven! So this Halloween when you're eating candy, celebrate the promise of Heaven and thank Jesus for defeating evil forever!
Sunset Living Rosary
As part of the month of the Rosary, our school’s Parish and Alumni Outreach Committee would like to invite all our parishioners to pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary (mysteries of light) in a special Living Rosary on Sunday, October 25th. PLEASE NOTE: The time and location has changed to 5:15 PM and in the Worship Space. Please consider coming earlier to join us for Adoration & Vespers from 4 to 5 PM, also in the Worship Space.
Halloween Party Info: Friday, Oct. 30
SSM in the News!
Do you read the Catholic Voice? St. Stephen the Martyr School was featured in their most recent issue.
Check it out here:
Important Dates Coming Up
- Thursday, October 22: No School / Teacher Conferences
- Friday, October 23: No School (Fall Break)
- Monday, October 26: No School (Teacher In-Service)
- Friday, October 30: Halloween Parties
- Sunday, November 1: Daylight Savings Time Ends (turn your clock back)
