St. Stephen Celebrates Decade of Inspiring Students

St. Stephen Catholic School, 10424 St. Stephen Circle, Riverview, will celebrate a decade of inspiring young minds during Catholic Schools Week Jan. 29 to Feb. 4.

The celebration to mark the school’s 10-year anniversary will kick off  Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 29 and 30, at all six Masses at St. Stephen Catholic Church during which school alumni, parents and students will talk about what the school has meant to them, according to seventh-grade teacher Caryl Nolan, who has chaired the Catholic Schools Week celebration for six years.

Parents Scott Huetteman and Al Larson have put together a video about the school that will be shown before each service.

Choir members, ushers, readers, greeters and altar servers at the Masses will all be St. Stephen Catholic School students. All students are encouraged to wear their red uniform shirts with the yellow mustangs emblem on it, the mascot of St. Stephen Catholic School, to Mass.

The celebration will continue on Jan. 31 with the theme, Inspiration Leads to Service. The students will raise funds for Metropolitan Ministries throughout the day by dropping their loose change into containers, which the National Junior Honor Society will use to purchase gift cards for needy people.

A representative from Metropolitan Ministries will be on hand to speak to the students about the nonprofit and how it aids impoverished residents throughout the county.

“We’re trying to get the students involved in service at an early age,” said Nolan. “We hope to develop a lifetime of givers.”

The theme for Feb. 1 is Students Inspire Us to Reach for the Stars. This is a teacher and staff appreciation day. The Parent-Teacher-Community Organization will provide a luncheon for staff members and teachers.

Feb. 2’s theme is Priests Inspire Us to Lead a Faithful Life. There will be a special Mass at the school at which the priests who serve St. Stephen Catholic Church will be honored.

The theme for Thursday, Feb. 3, is Students Inspire Us All to be Role Models. Earlier, students were asked to write essays based on the theme, “Walk in Footsteps,” in which they described the people who have inspired them personally. The essays will be judged and ribbons distributed to winners Feb. 3.

“This is a great project,” said Nolan. “You do things for kids out of love and you don’t think about getting thanks, but to hear them say they admire you is so rewarding. The students write about their parents, grandparents, Scout leaders, teachers…anyone who inspires them.”

Students are also encouraged to wear their Catholic Schools Week T-shirts bearing this year’s logo created by school art teacher Julianne Gonzalez. The logo depicts a multi-colored mustang representing the school’s diversity.

The week will conclude with the theme, Grandparents Inspire Us to Connect the Past to the Future, Feb. 4. Family and grandparents are invited to the school for breakfast and for visits to the classrooms. There also will be a special musical presentation for grandparents.

In addition, as part of the year-long 10-year anniversary celebration, the school is recognizing eighth-grade students who started at the school as EC3 students. Special days will be named in honor of staff members Laura Ortiz, Ken Hillyard, Maria Hoffman, Vice Principal Jennisica Sifferman and Julie Pollock, who have been with the school since it opened.

On April 6, at 1:30 p.m., there will be a special rededication ceremony to mark the anniversary, featuring Bishop Robert Lynch, bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, at an all-school Mass and reception. Former students and their families will be invited to attend. St. Stephen’s pastor, the Rev. Bill Swengros, will bless each classroom of the school, and students will provide items to be buried in a time capsule.

St. Stephen Catholic School opened in August 2001 under the leadership of the Rev. Patrick Irwin and Principal Mary Liddy. Therese Jackson became vice principal in 2002 and principal in 2006. The school currently has 386 students.

“We’re really an example of a 21st-century school,” said Jackson. “We’ve managed to provide innovative educational opportunities while maintaining strong faith.”

The anniversary committee is made up of founding families, parishioners, school board members and students.

St. Stephen offers classes for early childhood age 3 through eighth grade. For information about enrolling your child, call (813) 741-9203 or visit www.stephencatholicschool.org.

An open house for prospective parents will take place Jan. 26 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Open enrollment for parishioners begins Jan. 31.