Happy Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week! Even the President says so...

 "NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 4, 2021, as National Teacher Appreciation Day and May 2 through May 8, 2021, as National Teacher Appreciation Week.  I call upon all Americans to recognize the hard work and dedication of our Nation's teachers.  

Please know that you are very much appreciated, this year more than ever.  I know how hard everyone has worked this year and the end is almost in sight.  

I heard some good news at my principal's meeting on Friday.  Next year, all students will be expected to attend school in person.  If some cannot attend temporarily with documented good reason, there will be a virtual option available for them through the Diocese of Miami that will allow the student to remain a student of St. Stephen yet it will require no work from our teachers.  The program has also been approved for scholarship students.  The superintendent is planning to create another committee like last year to develop a reopening plan for August.  If anyone is interested in serving on the committee, please let me know and I will forward your name.  The plan is for the committee to meet early in June.  

For now, if anyone asks about next year, here is what to say, "Our goal is to return to normal as soon as possible while keeping students and employees safe.  Decisions about masks and our reopening plan will be made in the summer.  Please do not say anything about in-person learning.  I have been mentioning it in Tidbits and in emails to FLP parents and I will continue to let parents know our plan.  You may direct parents to me with questions.  

At Wednesday's Mass, the 8th Graders will be crowning Mary.  I will be taking the entire 8th-grade class to church during FLEX time on Tuesday in order to practice with them.  If you went to church this weekend you saw how beautiful the new Mary statue looks on the altar.  Something else that was beautiful in church this weekend was our 2nd-grade class receiving First Holy Communion.  Everyone looked beautiful and Fr. Dermot gave a very beautiful homily to all the Communicants.  Thank you to Krista C. for taking pictures!

Tomorrow is a STREAM Faculty Meeting.  All teachers should attend as we have two important pieces of business to complete.  

Have an extra fabulous week everyone!  

Prayer to St. John of God

 

This year has brought us many challenges, but none great as the physical sufferings of those who work here and their families.  Today we keep Flo in our prayers.  I am grateful to her guardian angel who made sure that what was to occur happened before she got in her car to drive home.  I am grateful to the EMS personnel who quickly brought her to the hospital and to the doctor who met her there and provided immediate care.  All these things kept her with us.  Flo will be in the hospital for a few more days as she heals.  Her family did give me permission to share what happened so that we may all pray for her.  It was an extensive heart attack that has caused much damage to the heart muscle.  They put in 3 stents so that blood will flow to her heart and she will continue under the cardiologist's care when she is released from the hospital.  As things progress I will keep everyone updated.  I am going to try to see her after school on Monday.  

Thursday we will have visitors from many different schools to learn from us about our successes with Wit and Wisdom.  Teachers involved have been notified.  

I will be at the Bethany Center on Friday at a Principal's meeting.  

Have a wonderful week.  

Happy Earth Day

 If you missed the Facebook post from the 7th grade trip to Nature's Classroom, take a look.  I was so happy to see all those smiling faces outside having fun.  Thank you Christine and Timothy for going with the class on their adventure.  I'm looking forward to hearing stories tomorrow!

Please see last week's blog for upcoming events this month.  I'm excited to view the science fair projects and all the other student work that will be on display on Friday.  

Every time I go visit another school, I'm grateful for everyone here and how committed you are to our students and our school.  Have a wonderful week!

Happy Easter

 

Happy Easter!  I hope everyone enjoyed their break and feels refreshed and ready to embrace these last 8 weeks of school.  As you may have heard through Facebook or at Mass this weekend, Fr. Tim will soon be leaving us for another parish and the next step in his journey toward becoming a pastor.  He will be moving to St. Paul's parish in Tampa and will be working with Fr. Bill Swengros.  I know I speak for all of us when I say he will truly be missed.  A newly ordained priest (next month) will be joining us, Deacon Israel "Izzy" Hernandez, and as soon as immigration cooperates, Fr. Brian Whelan from Ireland will also arrive, hopefully in August.  5th-grade students should be excited as Deacon Izzy is the seminarian they have been praying for the past two years.  Please keep all our clergy in your prayers through these transitions.

While we are heading toward the end of the year, things will move quickly and there are many events to keep up with.  Here are some dates to keep in mind for the rest of this month:

April 12 - Holy Card Free Dress Day

April 16 - 7th Grade at Nature's Classroom

April 12-13 - Petition forms for Student Council will be made available

April 15 - Petition forms are due (since I will be out of town, Mrs. Robles will give the final approval)

April 16 - Primary elections announced if needed

If we have a primary election:

April 20-21 - Speeches on the Morning Show

April 21 - primary election (grades 3-7)

General election:

April 26-28 - Campaigning and speeches

April 29 - general election (grades 3-7)

April 23 - Marvelous Mustang

April 23 - Science/Earth Day Fair in the FLC

April 26 - Wit and Wisdom presentation and visitors from other schools

April 30 - Jean Day

And then the fun really begins in May!

I will be leaving Tuesday after lunch for St. Anastasia School in Ft. Pierce to do their 7-year Accreditation Review.  I leave you all in good hands with Gina and I will be back the following Monday.  

Have a wonderful week!  

Blessings on Palm Sunday

 Many Congratulations to our 7th graders who did an amazing job Friday night.  You will all be in for a treat on Thursday when they present the Stations of the Cross to the school.  My thanks go out to Lisa M. for the countless hours of practice, to Timothy for teaching them how to project their voices and embrace their roles, to Gina for assisting with costumes and running the PowerPoint Friday night, to Deacon Mike Ryba for taking pictures, and to Lisa R for helping to get things set up.  It was truly a team effort!  There were many well-deserved words of praise that night both in-person and online.  

Teacher, please remember to prepare for the retreat on Thursday and be in your seats by 10:45 so we can start the Stations on time  I believe it runs about 30-40 minutes so you will have time to return to class and finish up the retreat.  Please also be sure you leave your classrooms neat and clean before you leave.  I would suggest having students clean out lockers and desks this week during Tuesday flex time and take home papers and items no longer needed at school.  

Everyone may leave on Thursday after carline and I hope you all have a wonderful Holy Week, Easter, and Easter Break!

Happy Spring

 

Happy Spring!  Yesterday was the Spring Equinox marking the first day of spring even though the weather this weekend certainly didn't feel that way.  Don't worry, it's Florida and next weekend will be in the '90s.  For me, growing up in the north, daffodils were a sign that Spring has arrived, and hopefully, there would be no more snow.  In Florida, Spring-break crowds at the beach seem to be the sign.  Either way, Spring is a time of new life and knowing that we are closer to the Resurrection.  

A couple of weeks ago, I sent an email to parents, faculty, and staff, asking that everyone take a few minutes to write a review about St. Stephen Catholic School.  So far, only one new review from a parent is showing.  I am asking everyone's help in soliciting reviews.  If you are talking with a parent and they happen to say something positive about the school, ask them to write a review on Google.  There is a QR code in the lobby by the reception window that they can scan and it will take them right to the link to write a review.  You can direct them to that or they can simply Google us.  It would also be helpful for employees to write about their experience working here.  Most of our reviews are very old and we are trying to improve our web presence.  I recently received a report from Google telling me how many people viewed our site in a month and I was very surprised how high the number was.  Promoting our school is everyone's responsibility and we all benefit from it.  More students mean more funds to purchase the things we want and have the staff to support students.  

Monday you may see a woman walking around the school and visiting classrooms.  Teachers were notified if she will be coming into your room.  Her name is Carol Macedonia and she is a representative from John Hopkins School of Education.  They are studying Wit and Wisdom and we may be able to benefit by receiving products (i.e., the phonics program) by speaking with her and allowing other schools to see the success we have had with the curriculum.  Carol will be spending the morning with us.  

I sent everyone a Google form and I ask that you complete it once you are fully vaccinated.  This will help with contract tracing and deciding who needs to quarantine.  

I will be out on Friday and please consider coming to Stations of the Cross Friday evening at 7 pm to see our 7th graders present Living Stations.  

Thank you all for everything you do for our students.  Have a wonderful week! 

Bringing Student Back

This is the mindset we need to help bring our students back to school!  I understand that teachers are struggling with in-person and online students.  I understand it brings extra stress and responsibilities.  Let's work together to make a change.  Gina and I already laid the foundation by sending home a letter to FLP families encouraging them to bring the students back to school.  For some, the letter was enough and the students have returned.  Others may need more help understanding the importance of sending their children to school.  We shared with parents the statistics of how in-person students are making more progress.  I believe it would help if they hear from their child's teacher exactly what the struggles are and how much better they will progress if they come to school.  Many parents may feel like the cow and we just need to give them a nudge over the fence.  

I suggest that teachers make FLP students a priority for Parent/Teacher conferences and talk about what we are doing to keep everyone safe and why their child needs to be at school and begin to make the transition for next school year.  Unless there is a change with Covid over the summer, FLP will not be offered next year.  Most other schools have very few students on flexible learning.  These students have been gone from the classroom for a year now and the longer they stay out, the more difficult the transition will be.  Bring ideas to share at our faculty meeting of how we can make this happen. 

We don't want this to happen!

Some reminders...  5th and 7th grade have Reconciliation this week after Mass.  Please be sure the students are prepared.  Some students (particularly 7th-grade students) will be finishing up the Terra Nova this week.  Friday is a noon dismissal for students.  Teachers should remain at school for remote parent/teacher conferences.  I will be out on Friday at the Bethany Center.  Finally, this coming weekend is a uniform/holy card weekend.  Please remind the students to wear their uniforms to Mass.  

Have a fabulous week!