The Gauntlet

16/08/2024

StuCo Fashion Show Puts New Dress Code Policy on Display
Story by Al Lombardi and Laila Yavalar

There’s a new policy in town, folks, and during assembly today, StuCo held a Fashion Show to help students visualize this year’s changes to the Dress Code.

The changes, and the way the policy will be enforced, is likely a result of fashion faux pas on campus over the last couple of years.

According to the policy, the purpose of the dress code is “to maintain an atmosphere conducive to our educational, professional, and school spirit goals.” So this summer, admin met with members of the Student Council to come up with guidelines and consequences that would work effectively in the 2024-25 school year.

StuCo President Victoria Neiva shared that in her view, the new code works well for students as well as the school.

“We are allowed to show our personalities more, while also being presentable,” Neiva said.

The changes in reality aren’t very severe— in fact, in some ways, they are more relaxed. Some changes include the ability to wear solid colored crew neck shirts, leggings, crocs, and sandals. Rather, the kicker to this year’s switch will be enforcement of the prohibited items that were most abused in previous years, including shirts with no midriff showing, leggings and shirts with unapproved designs, shorter-than-mid-thigh shorts, slippers, and pajama pants.

Administration has already shown they’ll be taking the code more seriously through a variety of all school announcements, along with today’s fashion show. And most importantly, they have already implemented a new reporting and tracking system for infractions. When a student encounters an infraction, the consequences faced will be as follows:

1st offense: verbal warning
2nd offense: verbal warning + parent notification
3rd offense: after- school detention + parent notification
4th offense: Parent meeting

The scale of consequences seen here is clearly a big shift from last year, and it remains to be seen how the new tracking system will pan out.

Photos by Laila Yavalar and Al Lombardi

16/08/2024

'Falcon Football Season to Kick-Off Tonight at the MAC'
Story by Sawyer Girgis, Edited by Andrei Black

Summer has come to a close, students are back in classes, and the varsity football team, who has been eagerly preparing, will kick off their first home game tonight at 7pm against Oasis of Cape Coral.

Oasis finished last season 6-4, having fallen to the Falcons in last year’s semi-final game in overtime.

According to players and coaches, the team has been hard at work this off-season, and they're ready for the challenge the new year brings.

The Falcons are led by a new Head Coach this season in Chris Valcarcel and a new quarterback, junior Harry Jones. Jones is certain that tonight will be an entertaining kick-off.

“It’ll be awesome,” Jones said. “The guys can’t wait to get this win!”

Playing against Oasis the first week is a big ask for a first-year quarterback, but sophomore Brody Redmon has confidence that the team is ready.

Jones isn't the only one with faith in his team.

“We’ve had a good training camp and we’ve been working hard,” Redmon said. “I know we do can do this.”

The theme for tonight’s game will be Green and Gold, so be sure to sport your spirit attire. See you out at the MAC!

Photo courtesy of Chris Valcarcel

13/08/2024

2024-25 School Year Kicks Off With ‘Senior Sunrise’

Tuesday morning at the MAC, the senior class gathered for breakfast, bonding and reflecting during the senior Sunrise tradition, in order to usher in their final year as Saint Stephen’s Falcons.

Here are some photos of the event. It’s going to be a great year! Photos by Mrs. Conn

09/08/2024

Let's go! SNN covers the exciting new staff, players, and outlook for Falcon football this year. Opening night is Friday @ the MAC against Oasis. See you there!

BRADENTON, Fla., (WSNN) — The Saint Stephen’s Falcons have been prepping for the upcoming season on their beautiful brand new turf. The Falcons have had great numbers this offseason under the…

08/08/2024

The Clock Is Ticking!

2024-25 is going to be a big year for The Gauntlet staff, and if you were thinking about signing up for the class-- now is the time!

The Gauntlet is looking for fresh voices and writers, interested videographers and photographers, and savvy digital artists to join our acclaimed high school news site.

Last year, we earned the prestigious SNO Distinguished Site recognition and a First-Class rating from the National Scholastic Press Association, and there will be more hardware to come.

If you're interested in starting your high school journalism career with The Gauntlet and learning real-world skills, see Mrs. Conn or Mr. Moore ASAP to sign up for the course.

See you all next week, and we look forward to covering the life and times of the Saint Stephen's community in 2024.

08/08/2024

Retreat!!! Yesterday at the Manatee Garden Center, incoming freshmen and their advisors gathered for the first-ever Freshman Retreat.

The event was modeled on the beloved Senior Retreat, and was hosted with the intention of building culture and relationships for the incoming upper school Falcons.

Activities were run by English teacher David Johnson and his wife, Emily, and Reverend Cori. The students took part in games and icebreaker discussions in order to introduce themselves to their peers and advisors before beginning school on Monday.

Let's go 2024!

10/05/2024

"On March 29th, the Saint Stephen’s track athletes headed to the New Balance-sponsored track event, The Archer Invitational, at Archer High School in Georgia."

It was the furthest the track team has ever traveled, and the purpose: To put the select athletes up against the best competition in the nation.

Kavi Riedi's sports story "SSES Track Heads Out of State" profiles the journey of our athletes in search of the next level competition, and what they took away from it. Follow the link for the story.

On March 29th, Saint Stephen’s track athletes headed to the New Balance-sponsored track event, The Archer Invitational, at Archer High School in Georgia. This meet is very well-known in the running industry. Teams from the surrounding states come to compete in front of college scouts, an opportuni...

10/05/2024

In "Chris Valcarcel Tapped as New Head Football Coach," sports writer Bode LaBelle profiles the new Falcon head.

LaBelle sits down with Valcarcel to discuss his coaching history and philosophy, his plans for the 24-25 season, and what brought him back to the turf after a hiatus away from the game.

Follow the link to get to know our new coach.

Saint Stephen’s named sixth-grade World Cultures teacher and former SSES football coach, Chris Valcarcel, as the new head coach of the football team. Valcarcel’s predecessor Coach A.J. Brown, who will remain a P.E. teacher and Track head coach, brought the program success with an SSAC state titl...

09/05/2024

Becoming an Eagle Scout involves earning 21 merit badges, in arenas such as citizenship, camping, personal, fitness, first aid, and much more.

And this year, senior Jake Clulow earned this honor, something only 6% of scouts go on to do.

Jackson Pakbaz profiles Clulow's journey to becoming an Eagle Scout, and all of the life-skills and knowledge that came with it.

Would you spend the night in the wilderness alone with nothing but leaves to protect you? Senior Jake Clulow did that as part of his journey to becoming an Eagle Scout. From pitching tents as a young cub scout to leading his service project, Jake has demonstrated leadership, service, and personal gr...

09/05/2024

“State-bound girls lacrosse team look to make history this weekend.” Story by Savannah Hrubar

The 18-1 varsity girl’s lacrosse team, ranked 5th in the state of Florida, came out of last Friday night's Regional Championship game victorious. The girls will travel to Naples to compete in the State Final Four on Friday.

The Falcons will square off against Lake Highland Prep in Naples at 12pm.

The girls are led by Sienna Cassella, who averages almost 5 goals a game and 93 on the year. Cassella was nameda 3-time All American and USA player, and she’ll play for Rutgers University next year.

The assist leader is Ashling Marshall with 2.9 assists per game, who was also named ALL American and USA for the second time.

Good luck to the Lady Falcons. Bring home the hardware!

Photo credit to

08/05/2024

Are you a digital artist? If so, The Gauntlet needs you.

Original artwork compliments storytelling and draws people to our site, and as a result we need artists for next year.

So if you’re good on the iPad, with a knowledge of Procreate or Ibis Paint or the like, we want you to join our team. Working on the staff will build your skills, challenge your creativity, and stock your portfolio of digital art.

Speak with Creative Director Sarabeth Wester ASAP if you’re interested in joining the team next year.

Art for this post created by freshman Ari Chapman.

08/05/2024

Quizzes be poppin'! On the bottom left of The Gauntlet homepage, we now have a full section dedicated to quizzes.

Head there to test your knowledge on a variety of trivia, like the "Mother's Day Quiz" or the "Memorial Day Quiz" or "Guess the Cartoon from the Quote."

The quizzes were created by Ari Chapman, with original art.

08/05/2024

"A friend of mine was recently affected by a comment about a car he’d spent months saving up to buy.

He didn’t even know the commenter and you would think that it wouldn’t bother him, but it did. For days, the comments consumed him."

So writes Jackson Pakbaz in his "Open Letter to Hate Comments," where he addresses the impact of negative comments online, both through the student perspective and beyond. He explores the way negativity on social has even upended careers and passions for celebs.

Head to the Opinion section for this one.

Have you ever posted a pic you and your buds chilling at a gas station, showing off the new Chevy Camaro you just bought with your own money? Within minutes, the comments start popping up and one catches your eye— “Why’d you spend your money on that?!? That car sucks!” Within seconds, your e...

07/05/2024

Junior weightlifter Mark Seklitov finished 7th in the state in his weight class, and he's got the plans, and the dedication, to take it to the next level.

In Derek Aroyan's new sports feature on Seklitov, he dives into the past, present, and future of this standout lifter.

There is no easy beginning for someone who has to move halfway across the world with his family to start a new life in the United States from Russia. When junior weightlifter Mark Seklitov turned seven years old, this was his reality. Seklitov has been attending Saint Stephen’s since pre-k, and hi...

06/05/2024

The Gauntlet earns the SNO Distinguished Site recognition for the second straight year!

Each year, School Newspapers Online (SNO) offers the opportunity to apply to become a SNO Distinguished Site. To do so, The Gauntlet had to earn online digital badges in the areas of site excellence, story page design, writing, multimedia, coverage and audience engagement.

These badges, and the rigorous criteria needed to fulfill each, represent the major components of a modern news website of the highest standards of excellence.

Thus far, The Gauntlet is one of only 45 schools nationwide to have earned the honor (SNO has thousands of member programs).

Congratulations to the staff and leadership, who worked very hard to earn the distinction. And thank you to our readers and supporters who keep us motivated! We can't wait to do it all over again in 2024-25!

06/05/2024

"Publications Chapel a huge success; 23-24 Yearbooks revealed." Story by Sarah Black

Last Friday, the annual all-school Publications Chapel took place in Hoagland Arena, an event focused on celebrating our school publications (The Gauntlet, The View, and The Yearbook Staff) and revealing the Yearbook.

This year’s yearbook theme this year is “Changing Tides,” and according to many students the design and content is a huge success.

Every year the yearbook is dedicated to a teacher or teachers who have had storied careers at Saint Stephen’s. During Publications Chapel, the yearbook editors announce these recipients, whose families are often in attendance to see their loved one’s hard work celebrated.

Middle school history teacher Mr. Huff and upper school science teacher Mrs. Misiewicz both were chosen as this year’s recipients.

Mr. Huff has worked at Saint Stephen’s for 14 years and has been an impactful figure in many of his students’ lives.

Mrs. Misiewicz has worked at Saint Stephen’s for 18 years and it’s safe to say she has not only left her mark on her students, but on the Marine Science program as a whole.

The ceremony also featured a special video, dedicated to Mr. Holt called “Planet Earth: Saint Stephen’s,” which was produced by The Gauntlet.

04/05/2024

Regional Champions! The varsity girls won an exciting battle tonight, edging out the Community School of Naples by the score of 10-9 in the Regional Championship match at the MAC.

The team will now move to the State Final Four.

Let's go! Congratulations to the Lady Falcons.

03/05/2024

By popular demand, here is the 'Planet Earth: Saint Stephen's' video, shown today during the Publications Chapel.

Video credits go to Patrick Collins, Danny Dodaj, Dylan Kinder, Kieran Cloutier, and George Frano. Edited by Patrick Collins. Voice over by Mr. Holt.

The video is dedicated to Mr. Holt.

In the coming weeks, be on the look out for a full-length version of Planet Earth: Saint Stephen's!

02/05/2024

Tomorrow is the big day! Publications Chapel will be held at 8:15 in the Hoagland Arena on Friday morning.

This particular chapel is always hype, and it will feature the unveiling of the Yearbook, and a celebration of the school's three publications: Yearbook, The Gauntlet, and the literary magazine The View.

Cade Walters and Grey Klein interview publication classes to find out what this chapel means to them.

See you all tomorrow!

01/05/2024

Oh the places they'll go! Today was the College Pennant Ceremony in the US Commons, in which seniors "put a pin" on the college they intend to attend next year.

Other grade levels, including the 8th grade, were present to celebrate our seniors as they head out on their next adventure.

Photos by Dylan Kinder.

01/05/2024

Philosophers and English teachers alike emphasize the imaginative “search for self” in just about every class you’ve taken...

From Paolo Cuehlo’s 'The Alchemist' to Friedrich Nietzsche’s works, this focus has been taught to younger audiences since grade school.

What does finding yourself really mean, though? And why is it important to our human experience?

These are the questions Editor-in-Chief Alex McLemore tackles in his latest reflection piece “To Be or Become.”

McLemore explores the idea that finding yourself is journey of becoming, rather than an individual destination, and the ability and mindfulness of living in a state of becoming is what will make us curious, “multifaceted, ever-evolving individuals.”

Read the rest of his article to learn how you can “become” rather than “be.”

I have found myself more times than any other high school student. Now, I don’t consider myself lost or in need of an identity; I am not wafting through life in hopes of finding something to assemble or define my character; however, it seems as if every month or two, I am presented with a...

30/04/2024

R.I.S.E. and shine again! Today, the 6th grade visited the Research and Independent Study Exposition participants to get a preview of what types of research and learning takes place in the Upper School.

The Gauntlet had it's own presentation booth, in order to share the aspects of the student-run news site with the upcoming Falcons. Videographer Danny Dodaj and Ed-in-Chief Alex McLemore shared what it means to be part of the high school journalism program.

30/04/2024

In recent months, a number of colleges have been going back on their “test optional” agenda, deciding to bring back the required SAT and ACT’s.

In Savannah Hrubar’s “Test-optional doesn’t really mean test-optional,” she makes the case that with the rising competition, even for state schools, you really NEED to take and submit your ACT / SAT scores to get into your dream school, even if they claim to be “test-optional.”

So if you’ve been wondering whether or not to send those scores, you may want to read up on Hrubar’s argument to make the best decision.

Every Senior anticipates the day they get the letter from their “dream college” that says, “Congratulations on your acceptance.” Leading up to this exciting day, Seniors have a large list of requirements to complete to graduate to help ensure acceptance into their special school. At Saint St...

30/04/2024

If you were head of school for a day, what is one change you would make?

That's what interviewer Yara Nimer asked students and staff... and there were some interesting answers.

From Slurpee machines to escalators to extended breaks, she heard it all. Enjoy this vid by Nimer and her cohort, Lexi Vega.

29/04/2024

In “The College Pod: E1” host Finn Kemp sits down with seniors Alex Long and Sam Mascera to discuss the question: ‘How do you choose the right college for you?’

This is episode 1 in a 3-part series exploring key questions about the college process. Head to the site to hear the full episode.

29/04/2024

Prom Photo Gallery is up! Head to The Gauntlet now to see 25 glam-shots of the “Lovely Night" at Art Ovation, captured by George Frano.

26/04/2024

The Research and Independent Study Exposition (“R.I.S.E.") took place today in Sunshine Library.

Students involved in independent research and studies showed off their year-long projects with peers, families, and teachers.

Participants included researchers in the Ocean Academy, Arts Conservatory, Capstone Scholars, Global Scholars, Tech internship, and Independent Study classes.

R.I.S.E coordinator and Dean of Research and Curriculum Mrs. Christina Pommer said the event highlights the diversity of interests and studies on campus.

“One of the things I like about it is that there’s not just one way to be a Saint Stephen’s student,” Pommer said. “It shows the different ways our independent study students have been able to share their passions.”

This year, a bustling crowed milled through the rows of presenters, hearing the different areas of study that students took part in. Here are some shots from the day's activities.

26/04/2024

Elaborate Promposals: Are you for, or against them?

In "The case for the private promposal," Yara Nimer assumes the hot-take that Promposals are best done in private. She considers the tradition from multiple angles and sources, and comes to quite the unexpected conclusion.

Head to the Gauntlet for this Opinion, and more news of today, now.

For a moment, let’s imagine what a promposal looks like. You walk through the halls, or you’re ambushed in class, friends and acquaintances are filming, and your proposer walks closer with a giant poster, carrying balloons and flowers, too. The crowd starts to form, pushing you closer to this sp...

25/04/2024

“R.I.S.E. to Roll this Friday.” Story by Sarah Black

The annual Research and Independent Study Exposition, aka “R.I.S.E.” will take place in the Upper School Sunshine Library this Friday, April 26, from 12:50 to 1:20p.m.

RISE is an annual exhibition of work completed by students involved in independent research and studies. At the event, which is open to everyone, the Falcons will present their year-long projects with peers, families, and teachers.

Participants will include researchers involved in SSES’s programs such as the Ocean Academy, Arts Conservatory, Capstone Scholars, Global Scholars, Tech internship, and Independent Study classes.

Last year, Aquiles Gonzalez’s video (showcased in this post) showcased the Expo, and highlighted the work of the presenting students.

R.I.S.E coordinator and Dean of Research and Curriculum Mrs. Christina Pommer said the event highlights the diversity of interests and studies on campus.

“One of the things I like about it is that there’s not just one way to be a Saint Stephen’s student,” Pommer said. “It shows the different ways our independent study students have been able to share their passions.”

Students are encouraged to attend the event at 12:50 tomorrow, in order to to explore the array of research and projects.

24/04/2024

A Very Special Arts Day in the Middle School!

Today during break time, MS Falcons hosted lower school students in arts, crafts, snacks and games under the Middle School Sails.

Here are some photos from the events of the day, from Savannah Hrubar.