St. Stephen Mission Statement: As a ministry of the parish, St. Stephen Catholic School inspires academic excellence by the pursuit of Truth, formation of disciples of Jesus Christ, growth in virtue, and service with mercy.

Good afternoon, St. Stephen Families,

Thank you for your incredible support in making our recent Open House a success! Your efforts—whether through Facebook shares, distributing flyers, or word-of-mouth—significantly increased the number of prospective families and students compared to last year. Many attendees shared their enthusiasm about joining our school, inspired by the strong, nurturing community our faculty and staff have built over the years.

Open House Raffle Winners

Congratulations to our raffle winners!

• ABC/CYO Basket – Cat A.
• Young Readers Basket – Catherine T.
• Knights of Columbus Basket – Britt G.
• St. Stephen Basket – Kara S.
• Virtue Girls Basket – Mikaela N.
• SCRIP Voucher – Andrew D.
• Principal for a Day – Sophie O.
• Tuition Voucher – Kim G.
• Five Jeans Days – Cat A.

A Special Visit from Bishop Monforton

On Monday, we had the joy of welcoming Bishop Monforton to St. Stephen Catholic School. He celebrated Mass with Fr. John, visited classrooms, and enjoyed lunch with our faculty. He shared how impressed he was with our students’ thoughtful questions and responses during his homily and classroom visits.

In celebration of our school community, Bishop Monforton has granted St. Stephen a day off on Monday, March 17, 2025! This update will soon be reflected on our school calendar and website.

Re-Enrollment for 2025-2026 Is Now Open

Re-enrollment is now available here . Use District Code SS-MI to complete the process.

To support our families, we are pleased to offer tuition assistance opportunities:

• Last year, we awarded over $40,000 in tuition assistance, including:
  • Nearly $30,000 in AOD Tuition Assistance
  • $12,000 from the St. Stephen Scholarship Fund
  • Additional contributions from the Endowment Fund team and private donors
• Upcoming scholarship opportunities include:
  • St. Anne's Scholars Fund (Opening Soon)
  • St. Martin de Porres Scholarship Fund (Opening Soon)
  • Education for a Brighter Future Endowed Fund (Opening Soon)

Families with multiple Catholic students also receive:

• 17.2% discount per student for families with two Catholic students
• 24.7% discount per student for families with three Catholic students

Early Registration & Tuition Discounts

To encourage early enrollment, families who register by April 1, 2025, will receive a $200 enrollment fee credit, applied to their payment plan. (Please note: This fee is non-refundable.)

Additional early payment incentives:

• $100 tuition discount for full payment by April 1, 2025
• $50 tuition discount for full payment by June 1, 2025

Parish Raffle Ticket Program

To help offset tuition costs, families are required to sell four parish raffle tickets, earning a $50 credit per ticket for a total of $200.

• Tickets will be distributed in May 2025 and must be submitted by October 3, 2025 to receive credit.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to St. Stephen Catholic School. Your dedication strengthens our community and ensures a bright future for our students.

In Christ,

Bradley J. Stalder

Principal

All parents/guardians volunteering in any capacity for St. Stephen are REQUIRED to complete Protecting God’s Children. This includes volunteer drivers. Please read the information here. Use the following link to register here.

Any parent planning to drive for field trips will need to complete the form linked here and submit the required driving information to the front office.

Additionally, volunteers who have not already completed a background check this year should complete this form and return it to the front office OR e-mail to schooloffice@ststephennb.education

During the Month of January, the "Hail Mary" in Latin will be included in our morning school prayer. I encourage you to also pray this simple prayer at home with your child.

2025-2026 AOD Tuition Assistance Application Window

The 2025-2026 AOD Tuition Assistance Application opened on December 16, 2024, and will close on February 28, 2025. Parents may visit the Detroit Catholic Schools Tuition Assistance Page for application information.

• Link to Tuition Assistance Information

Parents should reference the Parent information Document for details regarding the application and contact FACTS Customer Service for individual application questions.

• Parent Information Document:
• English
• Español
• FACTS Customer Service
• 866-315-9262

For Catholic Families only: All awardee families must be current members of a Catholic parish within the Archdiocese of Detroit. Your Pastor’s signature on the form below is required to complete your application. Forms must be turned into your school’s office by February 28, 2025. Non-Catholic Applicants do NOT need to turn in a Pastor Signature Form.

• Pastor's Signature Form

New for the 2025-2026 AOD Tuition Assistance application, the Department of Catholic Schools alongside FACTS Grant & Aide will be hosting three webinars for parents. These webinars will be a chance for applicants to fully understand the application requirements and ask any questions they may have. The dates, times and webinar links are posted below.

Please note: These webinars will be recorded and posted on the Tuition Assistance page of the Detroit Catholic Schools website.

DCS & FACTS Parent Webinar Flyer & Dates:

• Parent Webinar Information
• Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.
• Registration link

• You can submit a question here prior to the webinar.

Please see the link below. Either print and return completed form to school office OR e-mail digital copy to schooloffice@ststephennb.education .

By utilizing Scrip for your regular expenses you can help your family save money. St. Stephen buys the scrip at a discount and sells it to our school families at face value. Each family has the opportunity to buy Scrip to help reduce their tuition for the following school year. If you participate in Scrip, you have until February 15, 2026 to earn a tuition reduction with 50% of your profit being given as a rebate/credit off of your tuition for the following school year For example: For every $100 Meijer card you buy (3% profit), you will accumulate $1.50 towards your tuition for the 2026-2027 school year.

See Mrs. Fluent in the Parish office or call 734-753-5268 for questions about SCRIP.

Most families have turned in this form. Only one form per family should be turned in. If you still need a copy, the digital copy is linked below. There are print copies in the front office. Signed forms can be turned in to the front office or e-mailed to schooloffice@ststephennb.education.

2/2 - Ice Cream Social for prospective Kindergarteners

2/12 - 3rd Quarter Progress Reports

2/14- 2/17 - No School - Winter Break

3/14 - No School

3/17 - No School - Bishop's Day off

The school calendar has changed slightly from earlier this summer. The St. Stephen mid-winter break is now better aligned with Huron School District’s break. Please see the updated school calendar linked here.

Our next Jeans Day Wednesday February 26th -- and then the last Wednesday of the month moving forward. Per the handbook, “Jeans must be blue denim and loose fitting. Gym shoes are to be worn with jeans. Money collected on this day is put into the Technology Fund.”

St. Stephen School celebrates Catholic Schools Week with themes and activities throughout the week.

Students are to bring shirt/ outfit to change into after Mass on Mon/Tues/Thurs/Friday.

Note the following themes:

Monday - Full Uniform Required for Mass with the Bishop. Students may bring their Favorite colored T-Shirt to change into after Mass.

Tuesday - Career Day - To Change into after Mass

Wednesday - Decades (Choose a decade's notable outfit)

Thursday - St. Stephen Spirit OR Sports Day. Jeans/Sweatpants are acceptable; leggings and shorts are not permissible). St. Stephen Spirit Wear is permissible to Mass. Students opting for Sports-wear may change after Mass.

Friday - Comfy Cozy/Pajama Day- Full unform for Mass, then change into school-appropriate pajamas after Mass.

Orders for Spirit Wear are processing and should be ready in approximately 1 week. Thank you for your patience as we receive these items.

The Athletic Booster Club wishes to remind parents that tickets for the Cooler of Cheer Raffle are available in the office.

We are excited to announce that our school will be hosting a book fair on January 26th thru the 31st.

It's a wonderful opportunity for us to come together and celebrate the joy of reading and learning.

The book fair is not just an opportunity to expand your personal library but also a chance to support our School. We will be using Ignatius Book Fairs to be sure that the books offered foster a love of reading and ensure that our community can access literature that aligns with our Christian values.

Let’s discover books that will edify our children’s minds, character & deepen our faith.

We encourage you to share the shopping link https://store.ignatiusbookfairs.com/ with your family, friends, and neighbors to join us in celebrating the joy of reading and discovery. Your participation will make this event truly special.

Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at the book fair!

God Bless!

To create an account to place an order: https://store.ignatiusbookfairs.com/

1. Click “Sign Up”

2. Click “Create an Account” then Choose your role

3. Fill out your information: name, email, create password

4. Add your child’s name

5. Find your school with zip code and/or State. Click “search” and select your school

6. Choose Classroom

7. Confirm

8. Click “Get Started” or click “Add another child”

Dear parents,

School pictures are ready!

To order, log in to your account on mylifetouch.com or create an account using your student's student ID number.

Don't Forget to Order This Year's School Pictures

ENJOY 10% OFF

your order!

CODE: F202410OFF

EXPIRES: July 31, 2025

Redeem Now

Don’t forget to order your FREE Digital SmileSafe card!

More about the Smilesafe program here.

For:

- The Parent Support Group

- The Special Intentions of the Stalder Family

- Fr. John Hedges

- For Sterling as she recovers from her surgery and outcome

- For the Armstrong Family

- For St. Stephen students for their spiritual, social, and academic health

-For the St. Stephen staff

-For the Felton Family

-For the Duran Family

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@StStephenNewBoston

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StStephenNB/

Facebook Parent Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/805655842880562/?ref=share&mibextid=adzO7l

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ststephennb/