St. Stephen’s Weekly News 5/4/2025

CHRIST IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!

God Word– impressed on the move.
“Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20 

Encouragement Passage:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8

Singing/Worship Schedule:
Grades K-8 will sing during Ascension/Graduation service on Thursday, May 29, starting at 6:30.  Children’s Choir, Jr. Choir and 8th grade students will need to be here early that evening.  Please keep an eye out for the details. 

Confirmation:
Lord’s blessings to the 8th grade students were confirmed today and also to the 8th grade students from Good Shepherd who will be confirmed on the 18th of May.  May you always walk with your Lord.

Mission Collection:
Quarter 4 brings us to supporting the WELS college of Ministry, MLC.  This past week’s collection was $76.50.  We are at 58.0% of our $500.00 goal.  We have 3 weeks of collection during our chapel service between now and the end of the school year to get there. 

Good Shepherd Culvers Shares night:
Thank you to all who came to support Good Shepherd at Culver’s Last Monday.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Fun Run Update:
A huge thank you to all who supported and came out and enjoyed St. Stephen’s first Fun Run!  491 laps were walked/ran with 62 people participating.  $5,297 was raised for the Playground fund!  Special thank you to Principal Schulz and the many helpers of the PTS for such a successful event.  To God be the Glory!

Fundraising update:
For our fundraisers this year so far we have raised the following through gifts and activities:
Bleachers:  $16247.06 (54% of our goal)
Playground:  $60216.41 (80% of our goal for stage 1)
We are well on our way to possibly getting these items in place before the start of the 2025-2026 school year if donations fall correctly in the next few weeks.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us along in this journey.

Teacher appreciation week:
This week, May 5-May 9 is Teacher Appreciation week.  Take some time this week to thank your teachers.  They have worked diligently throughout this year to provide a Christ Centered Education for the students.  There was a note that came home last week with ideas for this week.

Jerry’s BP Spirit Pump Supports St. Stephen’s:
Jerry’s Automotive/BP, 700 N Spring St.  (Across from The Market in Beaver Dam) has a Spirit pump.  When patrons use this pump for gas, Jerry’s donates 2 cents per gallon to schools in Beaver Dam.  The owners of Jerry’s have again decided to give the proceeds from this pump to St. Stephen’s during the month of MAY.  Please consider filling your tank in the month of May at Jerry’s at the Spirit pump. 

St. Stephen’s Rummage Sale:
Donations are being accepted at the church office for a rummage sale that will be held in the gym at St. Stephen’s June 12th-14th.  The funds raised will support the following projects:  the playground, the bleachers in the gym, and St. Stephen’s attendees of the 2026 WELS Youth Rally in Bowling Green, Ohio.  Donations will be accepted from now until June 10th.  We ask that no large furniture, mattresses, or TV’s be donated.  All donations should be in good, clean, working conditions.  Please attach an approximate value to items, especially collectibles or antiques (if able).  All donations will be sent to Twice Is Nice after the sale if it is not sold at St. Stephen’s.  

2025-2026 School year:
If you have seen the bulletin the last few week, it was mentioned that Mr. Barnett’s call will be reduced to a ½ time call starting next year.  He will maintain the Music Coordinator Role, he will be responsible for teaching 5-8 Social Studies, 5-8 Music, some 5-8 technology, and 5-6 Science.  The rest of the courses for all of 5-8 will be taught by Mr. Schulz and Mr. Zuberbier.  A more formal schedule will be distributed as the summer progresses. 

Odds and ends:
-Please visit https://ssl.fastdir.com/saintstephens/ and fill out the registration for next year.  If you currently have students enrolled, you would need to log in and fill out the information for the new child.  Any questions, do not hesitate to contact the school.  This allows us to accurately prepare for the 2025-2026 school year.

-5/12: Piano Recital–Held in church proper at 2 different times based on family sign up.

-5/19: School Family Night 6:00-8:00.  All are invited.  This is the evening we celebrate all our accomplishments at school.  Band and choir will perform.  We will honor our students in various ways throughout the evening.

-5/29 End of year picnic starts at 11:00 at Tahoe Park.  A sign-up genius will be sent home soon for help.  The picnic only succeeds with help from the parents.   

St. Stephen’s School Mission:
St. Stephen’s Lutheran School will offer a Christ-centered education to all students. We will instruct them in the Word of God, educate them in secular subjects, train them to become responsible citizens in our community, and prepare them for their eternal victory in heaven when they die. We will do this by holding Jesus and his love before them each day by appropriately using law and gospel as we instruct and discipline.

Please remember that if you need assistance with anything that you can reach out to the teachers and leaders of St. Stephen’s.  You can also find answers to some questions on the website: www.ssbdwels.com

Blessings on your week.