The mission of St. Sebastian Parish’s Socials is to create and provide a Christian-based community through RADICAL HOSPITALITY by fostering friendship and family values.
What is a Social?
A big bash, a party, a simple gathering, a competitive game – whatever the Social Hosts want it to be! A social could be for kids only, parents only, the entire school, or just your child’s grade. This is an opportunity to foster relationships within our school community while supporting our teachers! For past social ideas, check out the link below “view recent socials.”
Who and How Do You Host a Social?
Anyone can host! Once you decide to be a social host (or co-host with 2 or more friends), create and send out the invite asking for RSVP and payment. Promote your Social with help from HASA, school website, teachers and texting your friends! The hosts need to be prepared to cover all expenses so that 100% of ticket price supports our teachers! Please contact one of the Socials Committee Members listed on this site to get started today.
Where Does the Money Go?
All funds raised during Social events goes straight to the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness fund administered by the St. Sebastian Parish Foundation. All of this money is then spent on our amazing teachers and staff! The specific projects, events, and gifts are determined by the members of the Socials Committee in consultation with the school teachers, staff, and the administration. Here are a few recent examples:
- 5 Days of Christmas: 5 days of gifts and goodies for all staff, administration, aides, and teachers, including Christmas Bonuses
- Parent/Teacher Conferences: Dinner provided for staff
- Teacher Appreciation Gift: Celebration to end a successful year
- End of Quarter Treats: Provided in the staff lounge to celebrate each wonderful school quarter
- Retirement Recognition: Purchased commemorative bricks for the Z-Hall walkway for retiring faculty
- Team Building: Fund activities for the teachers/staff
- Staff Lounge Remodel: Contributed funding for a major remodel of the lounge, including new cabinets & countertops, fresh paint, a new refridgerator, and new furniture (2019-2020)
* List is reflective of the past few years and funding is modified yearly based on needs communicated by the principal and staff
2023 Spring Socials Newsletter
2022 Winter Socials' Newsletter
How Do I Attend a Social Event?
Fill out the RSVP form or contact one of the Social hosts listed on the invitation.
Then, mail in a check (or send via backpack express) to the school. If you want to attend more than one social, just combine your money into one check. Make checks payable to St. Sebastian Parish Foundation. No cash will be accepted. Feel free to send in your money at any time. You can sign up for one party at a time and then at a later date signup for another one. Please keep in mind that parties are limited.
If a Social has a maximum number of guests, tickets are on a first-come, first-served bases. Once your check is received, your spot is reserved. There are no refunds, but tickets are transferable to other guests.
If you are interested in hosting a Social or have questions regarding Social Committee please feel free to contact us at stsebastiansocials@gmail.com or reach out individually to:
Laura Chapin: laurajchapin@gmail.com, 330-328-2190
Emily Fernandez: emilyfernandez11@gmail.com, 330-256-5530.
Ashley Lawson: Ashley@woodfordco.com, 330-990-5294
Becky Whitney: bwhitney44@gmail.com, (330) 519-4836
Recent Socials
8th Grade Pool Party
The St. Sebastian Social tradition continues! The evening before the first day of school, the 8th grade students came together at Fairlawn Country Club for a pool party. What a great way to start their 8th grade year! Thank you to the Huckabee, Jopperi, Lawson, Leffler and Taray families for hosting this Social event. #stsebastianclassof2024
Trunk or Treat
The cool weather arrived just in time for our annual Trunk or Treat social! On Friday, October 14th, 40 families provided treats from their decorated trunks for the 165 participating families. The award-winning trunk was Yellowstone-themed, featuring 2 live horses from the Paxton Family farm, which was a huge hit with the kids and parents alike! A fun new addition this year was a chili contest for which families were able to taste and vote on their favorite chili recipe. 16 delicious chilies were entered, and taking home the prize as the Best Chili of the night was the Clark Family. Congratulations to the Clark & Paxton families and thank you to all the St. Sebastian families who participated to make this our most successful Trunk or Treat Social yet! The event, hosted by the Knauer and Buehner families, raised $3,300. 100% of the money raised goes to the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund, which provides Christmas bonuses, gifts, catered lunches and so much more to the teachers and entire school faculty.
Celebrity Night
Congratulations to this year’s bartending team Molly Burns, Kristin DeKatch, Mary Heffern, and Sue Vernon, who raised the most tips during their shift at Celebrity Night. Thank you to all who came out to support this event. This was our most successful Celebrity Night, raising over $2,600 for the Teacher Appreciation & Wellness Fund. A special thanks to the hosts Larry & Sarah Chuba, Nick & Emily Fernandez, Tom & Diane Haller, Tim & Melissa Tober, and Ben & Becky Whitney.
Seventh Grade Social
Storms couldn’t keep these summer-loving 7th-graders away on Saturday, July 23rd! Soon-to-be 7th graders came out for a day full of swimming, water football, great friends, and delicious food. Fun was had all around with many parents and siblings also in attendance. A very special thank you to Dan and Amanda Leffler for hosting this wonderful Pool Party Social at their beautiful home. Thank you to our generous hosts, the Brdarski’s, Buehner’s, Huckabee’s, Knauer’s, and Taray’s, who also helped make this day such a fun gathering. This Social raised $250 for the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund.
Sixth Grade Social
Saturday evening 6th-grade families got together for live Rock-N-Roll with local favorite band Freez-R-Burn. Pizza was provided by the Wilkerson family. Special thanks for the Buehner and Knauer families for hosting and providing the live band. All monies raised from ticket sales will go to the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund.
Second Grade Social
An astonishing 27+ 2nd-grade families showed up on Sunday afternoon for a day full of fun family field events and Kona Ice! What a great way for everyone to get to know each other and have fun! Thank you to the host families: Gibson, Kormushoff, Ryan, MacDougall, and Wilgus. All monies raised from ticket sales will go directly to the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund.
Kindergarten Carnival Social
Kindergarten families gathered together for a Carnival Social. The kids enjoyed face painting, games, balloon animals, and a bounce house, and they ended the evening with a magic show! Thank you to all the families who attended. A special thank you to the host families: Knauer, Kilker, Pozsgay, Fernandez, Lee, Beck, Kovarik, Cutlip, Krutschnitt, Hawke, Bodnar, Maghes, Kormushoff, Carro, Myers, Newlon, Marino, Tschantz, Ryan, Gibson, and Booher. The Carnival raised $840 for the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund.
1st and 3rd Grade HiHo Brewery Social
1st and 3rd grade parents gathered Thursday evening for a Social Event at HiHO Brewery. Parents enjoyed good conversation, laughs, and getting to know one another while in the beautiful open atmosphere at HiHO. Thank you to all the parents that stopped out. A special thank you to the host families: Brdarski, Kinney and Taray. All monies raised will go directly to the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund.
4th Grade Eggstravaganza
On the first weekend in April, the fourth graders and their siblings celebrated spring with an Eggstravaganza! The sun was shining as the kids and their siblings participated in an egg hunt, sack races, egg dying, crafts, sweet treats and games. There was even a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny to help us celebrate. Thank you to the Childers, Coates, Deagan, Kilker, and Taffi families for hosting such a great social that raised $520 for our wonderful teachers! It was great to be together again!
Ladies Christmas Boutique and Luncheon
We had a wonderful time celebrating the kickoff to the holiday season with our 8th Annual Ladies Christmas Boutique and Luncheon at beautiful Portage Country Club. We were even gifted with a festive snow! Thank you to all our wonderful attendees for a lovely time. Special thank you to the Socials Committee and our event hosts Bernadette Gibson, Natalie Griffen-Kinney and Carrie Pezzaniti for all your hard work in planning this year's event! And a big thank you to our student volunteers who joined us for the day. We had some unique, fun vendors join us as well as some favorites from past years. Lots of shopping bags went home and Christmas gifts were checked off. Please continue to shop local this holiday season and support these small businesses who helped support our school! Save the Date for Next Years Boutique and Luncheon - Sunday November 13, 2022!
5th and 6th Grade HiHO Brewery Social
5th and 6th parents gathered at HiHO Brewery for an adult-only Social event last Thursday evening. It was a fun evening of catching up, with lots of laughs and conversation, while raising money for the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund. Thank you to the Gupta, Kinney, Taray and Trenor families for the fun, themed raffle baskets. Thank you to the event hosts, the Bitecofer, Griffith, Gupta, Lawson, Llewellyn, and Taray families.
8th Grade Welcome Back Pool Party
The new incoming 8th graders kicked-off the school year with a SPLASH! Twenty-three kids attended Portage Country Club on a gorgeous summer evening of August 19th to celebrate their last year together. Thank you to the Bordenkircher, Burgoyne, de Boer, Krohn and Rothkopf families for hosting. The class raised $420 for the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund.
3rd Grade Cafe Arnone Truck Class Social
The 3rd grade families celebrated a wonderful school year and kicked off summer on Saturday morning with a Cafe Arnone Food Truck Social! Everyone was treated to gelato, pastries, and coffee while enjoying some summer fun at Forest Lodge Park. Thanks to all the families who joined us! All the funds raised from the event will go to the St. Sebastian Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund. Thank you to the Chapin, Clymire, Petit, Pozsgay, and Whitney Families for sponsoring this event.
5th Grade Cafe Arnone Truck Class Social
Immediately following the last day of school 5th grade families were invited to a Cafe Arnone Food Truck Social. Everyone enjoyed yummy gelato, a pastry and drink. All while parents were able to spend some time catching up and the children played kickball and tag. Thank you to all families who attended. All funds raised will go directly to the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund. Thank you to the host families; the Hagenbush family, the Lawson Family and the McDonald family.
4th grade Cafe Arnone Truck Social
We were so glad to come together on Friday, June 4, 2021. It was a time to celebrate the end of a crazy year. We celebrated being outside at Forest Lodge enjoying cookies, gelato, coffee and Italian sodas provided by Cafe Arnone. We couldn’t of asked for better weather all while watching the kids be kids. The parents also got to catch up with one another after a long year of not really seeing everyone. Looking back on this evening and catching up with one another reminded us of what we love about our school: the families that make it so great! With that being said, this event brought in $400 for our awesome teachers and a big thank you to our DJ Greg Llewellyn as well as the Chuba, Griffin-Kinney, Pezzaniti, Rae and Trenor families for hosting! Once again this was another successful event.
Fall Family Photo Scavenger Hunt All School Social
Over 40 families participated in the first Fall Family Photo Scavenger Hunt, raising $1,000 for the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund. Everyone enjoyed fall family fun while competing for some amazing prizes donated by St. Sebastian Community businesses. Families were taken all over town from Schneider Park to their favorite restaurants, and along the Akron Marathon Blue Line. Thank you to all the host families for supporting and planning this event: the Chapin, Lawson, Milan, Najeway, Pezzaniti, Taray, Trenor, Vaccaro & Whitney families.
4th and 5th Grade Beer Tasting
On Saturday, February 29, 2020, parents of 4th and 5th graders joined together for an evening of beer tasting, good food and a bonfire at Forest Lodge. Fr. Valencheck stopped by and joined in the fun. Everyone enjoyed the laid back evening out with friends and together raised $407! Thank you to the Chuba, Hatridge, Lawson, Kenny, Tober, Trenor, and Whitney Families for hosting this event.
3rd Grade Wine Tasting Event at the Lodge
What a wonderful night we had on November 15th. The 3rd Grade class parents gathered on this chilly night and enjoyed socializing at Forest Lodge with a warm bon fire, wine, beer and great food. We also got a wonderful visit from our 3rd Grade teachers and were even joined by both Father Valencheck and Father Simone. We can’t thank our hosts enough for throwing this awesome event, which who knows, may become an annual event for our class in the future. That is coarse, if Greg vows to be the awesome DJ for all the events to come in the future. Thanks again for all who joined us this past Friday, we raised a total of $395.00 for our awesome teachers!
Celebrity Night
Thank you for stopping by and supporting the 8th Annual Celebrity Bartending Social at Tangier’s! Our St. Sebastian celebrities served fine spirits with a smile and raised $1,006 for the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund. A special thank you to Tim Beringer Sr., Linda Beringer, Ana Borges, Steve Bordenkircher and Tony Burgoyne for being special guest celebrities this year. This year’s successful event was sponsored by Burgoyne, Jopperi & Paxton Families. Winner, Winner, winner!!!! Congratulations to the “Dream Team” who continues to hold the winning title; Miss Karg, Miss Heffern and Mrs. Smee won the 8:30 PM shift with $263 in tips. Each winning celebrity will receive a $25 gift card to Target and of course bragging rights for this title. Congrats bartenders ~ Cheers until next time!
Ladies Christmas Boutique
On Sunday, November 17, the 7th Annual Ladies Christmas Boutique and Luncheon was held at Portage Country Club. There were 202 women in attendance this record-breaking year, and 25 vendors were selling their goods in order to jump-start the Christmas Spirit. The event was planned by Anita Calleri, Elizabeth Khayyat, Missy Knauer, and Kathy Huckabee. We were able to raise $5050.00 for the St. Sebastian Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund. Mark your calendars for the same time next year, and don't miss this lovely event!
2nd Grade Fall Fest Social
The 2nd Grade Fall Fest Social was held in Z-Hall on Sunday, September 29th. It was a fun-filled evening full of fall activities such as pumpkin decorating and crafts, hoe-down musical chairs, a photo station, and a scarecrow dash relay race for the whole family. There were 24 families who helped raise $500 for our Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund. A special thank you to the Chapin, Coleman, Pozsgay, Whitney, and Wojnicz families for hosting this fun Social and evening with family and friends.
Welcome Back Pool Party
The new incoming 8th graders started their year with a splash! Twenty-six 8th graders gathered at Portage Country Club on a gorgeous summer evening on August 19th to celebrate the incoming school year. It was great to reunite with old friends and get ready to start their last year at St. Sebastian. The class raised $480.00 for the Teacher Appreciation and Wellness Fund.