The Gauntlet

05/09/2025

Girls volleyball is cruisin'... Check out Lucy Preston's latest photo gallery, covering last night's 3-0 win over Sarasota Christian. The Lady Falcons are now 5-1, and they're steadily proving themselves to be a team to watch.

05/09/2025

“Falcon Football Looks to Recover in Tonight’s Headmaster’s Cup.” Full story by George Frano up on the site NOW.

In his coverage, Frano overviews the season so far, and he interviews senior defensive end Nick Pagnotta and senior quarterback Harry Jones about how the team is approaching tonight’s rivalry match.

Click here for the full story. Photos by Mr. Haley

Tonight at 7:00 p.m., the Saint Stephen’s football team will take on The Out-of-Door Academy in what many regard as the most important game of the season. The ODA Thunder is the Falcons’ biggest football rival, and they’ll be seeking to win back-to-back tonight on their home field. Last season...

04/09/2025

That’s awkward! And so are these photos from last Friday’s Gauntlet Media Day, where staffers took their staff profile photos. The students also had to pick an Awkward Family Photo to reenact. Head to the site for new stories from today (and new staff profiles!). Building that team!

03/09/2025

"The Legacy of Dr. Pullen Cemented in the New S.T.E.A.M. Center."

On Thursday Aug. 14, the ribbon-cutting for the Janet. S. Pullen S.T.E.A.M. Center brought the community together to celebrate the new building and our former head of school, whose vision brought the facility into being.

Video produced by Sawyer Girgis, Annette Logan, Carter Hasbrouck, Luke Ribeiro de Sa, and Lark Rippy.

Edited by Sawyer Girgis and Annette Logan

29/08/2025

Do you mind if I record that? Gauntlet writers practiced INTERVIEWS this week, in preparation for covering the people, places, and happenings at Saint Stephen's.

Students interviewed peers on the angle-- "What's something one wouldn't know about you at first glance?" Staffers worked on generating questions, setting a vibe, following up, recording and transcribing, body language, and more.

Looking forward to an ELITE year of journalism-- see you soon!

27/08/2025

This morning during break, the annual Club Fair took place in the Russell, Turner, and Holmes Buildings of the upper school. The fair is an event where leaders advertise their clubs, with a building their membership. From “Hot takes and Hall Passes Club” (a student run podcast) to the Entrepreneur Club, there is a wide variety of options.

Junior Karlah Benzan was impressed with the new groups that were offered this year.

“Well, first of all, the Entrepreneurship Club definitely stuck out with me because of the food and how colorful the stands and posters were.”

Check back later with The Gauntlet for a video montage of the fair.

27/08/2025

Sister School Visitor from Barcarotta, Spain, Visits Campus. Story by Associate Editor Kavi Riedi

Adriana Rubio Triguero, a former “pen pal” to SSES students, from our sister school in Barcarrota, Spain, will spend the day today touring Saint Stephen’s.

SSES Upper School Ambassadors Isabelle Mills and Kavi Riedi welcomed Adriana Rubio Triguero, a 22-year-old engineering student from Bradenton’s sister city, Barcarrota, Spain.

Adriana first connected with SSES as a virtual pen pal as part of the Global Initiative when she was in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Now, years later, Triguero is visiting in person and touring the campus.

The visit is part of an ongoing partnership between SSES and Barcarrota, which began nine years ago and has included both virtual exchanges and a student homestay trip abroad.

During her visit, Adriana joined our Mr. Cotton’s Engineering class, where she shared her passion for the field and learned about what projects the students are working on.

“I’m very organized,” Adriana said. “I loved that engineering combines mechanical, electrical, and organizational work all in one.”

Adriana also reflected on her experience growing up in Barcarrota in the Spanish 5 honors class.

“In Barcarrota, my town, all kids went to music school, ” Adriana said. “My mom brought me there and I liked it so much that I’ve played the flute since I was nine.”

If you see Adriana walking around campus today, make sure to say hola.

27/08/2025

Picking up sticks! The Gauntlet Media team was out yesterday on a Video Scavenger Hunt, practicing using the cameras and tripods ("sticks") and learning different shot types, angles, and composition that will be key to future productions. Let's go!

25/08/2025

Falcons home opener postponed at halftime due to severe weather, full story by Jackson Pakbaz and Kavi Riedi. Photos by Lucy Preston.

On Friday Aug. 22, the first home football game of the year was postponed due to poor weather. The Falcons led by a score of 13-7 over Cambridge Christian at halftime, when the Thorguard lightning detection system went off due to severe weather in the area.

The Falcons struck first with a touchdown run by Luke Ziegler. But Cambridge hit back with a touchdown of their own. That was followed by a pair of field goals by kicker Kieran Cloutier, putting the Falcons back on top.

After an attempt to wait the weather out, the game was postponed until Monday.

Tonight, the teams will play the “second half” of the game out at the Moore Athletic Complex at Turner Field at 6:30pm. Make sure to be there and support the team. Go Falcons!

22/08/2025

On Aug. 14th, at the grand opening of the S.T.E.A.M Center, the Gauntlet team went out to interview and photograph the gathering. Check out a teaser of the photo gallery by George Frano, and head to the site for the collection.

In “The Dr. Janet S Pullen S.T.E.A.M Center is full steam ahead”, Co-Editor in Chief Grace Baxendale and Social Media Manager Julie Harris covered what it meant to all to have the facility finally opened.

“We are literally living the legacy of all the people who came before”, stated Head of School Mr. Peter Kraft.

Head to the site to see what parents and other administrators had to see about the event, and for a video covering the grand opening coming soon next week.

Link in bio for more news from today.

22/08/2025

This morning marked one of the most beloved traditions of the school year, the All School Chapel.

Though the assembly started as normal in the gym, this year took a twist. Every single falcon got to go and walk through the Steam Center, a special moment for all.

Mrs. Anna Conn, Head of the Upper School truly was taken aback by the greatness of the moment.

“We’ve been waiting for this day for a really long time, and I think just the cheers and loudness of the little ones made my heart so happy”, said Conn.

Check out some photos from today’s chapel, taken by Photographer Lucy Preston.

Link in bio for more news from today.

20/08/2025

We’re getting ready… to cover the stories that matter to you.

Today, the Gauntlet staff did the Marshmallow Challenge. Staffers used 20 sticks of spaghetti and one yard of yarn and tape in order to build a tower that would support a marshmallow.

Why? Well, why not? Building a team that works together, does hard things, and develops chemistry is the secret to a strong program.

If you are still interested in joining The Gauntlet (3rd or 4th period), it’s not too late. Reach out to administration pronto. After Journalism Bootcamp, the news and media teams will be back to covering the news you like to see. https://www.ssesgauntlet.org/