"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6,7. What great things God shares with us and it's really quite simple: Don't worry about anything-pray about everything.
As always, things are quite busy at the school. The Kindergarten and First Grade classroom has been enjoying learning about some of the interesting people in the Bible. One of our favorite stories is about Zacchaeus. What a great difference Jesus made in his life! We also like it because Mrs. Williams lets us climb on our desk as we sing the song about Zacchaeus climbing up a tree! The First Graders finished their Basic Skills Tests. If you want to learn how to fill in a circle perfectly on a test, just ask Trenten to help!
Grade K-6 enjoyed a special Chapel at Bethany Lutheran School on Feb. 11th. The Christian band, Captive Free, was there and shared their faith through puppets and songs.
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders are having a lot of chocolate fun in the classroom this month. We finished reading The Chocolate Touch and are reading Chocolate Fever. We're trying to guess how many kisses are in the jar and predicting and graphing m&m's in a package. We finished our study of Old Testament stories and will now begin the ministry of Jesus. We're looking forward to spring and spring break!
February has gone really fast for the 5th & 6th graders! Each Wednesday we have been participating in the Battle of the Books competitions. The team has done very well at each meet so far. Hopefully we will do equally as well at the tournament on Feb 25th. We just started a unit on ecosystems in Science, so we're hoping for some nice weather to be able to examine some local ecosystems! Social Studies has brought us to the end of the American Revolution. We are our own country now and are learning about a document that is very important for each of us, the Constitution of the United States. The month is ending in a flurry and March is going to continue to keep us running with many activities; Spring Break will be a definite necessity.
The basketball teams competed in the Valley Nine Tournament the week of Feb. 9th. The girls lost in the first round and the boys lost a close game to get second in the tournament. They finished first in league play. Justin and Becca were the contestants from our school for the free throw competition. We also celebrated Spirit Week. Days and winners of dress-up days are: Monday-Favorite Sport Team Day, winners: Kaylee, Tell and Locke, Kristina; Tuesday-Nerd Day, winners: Olivia, Jared and Chase; Wednesday-Career Day, winners: Jason and Emma; Thursday-Fake an Injury Day, winners: Jessica and Trent; and Friday-Spirit Day, winners: Becca and Marshall.
The seventh and eighth graders are wrapping up our study of the body by studying the nervous system. We are learning about the causes of the Civil War. In English we wrote stories based on the pictures in the book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. They are in the school hallway, stop and read them sometime.
FROM THE PRINCIPAL:
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
I normally don't include the date I write my article, but it will become clear why I need to as you read. Several events have not happened yet. Today is Thursday, February 19th.
It is with a heavy heart that I approach the writing of this article. As many of you know, This week we have lost a member of our St. Paul's family, Mrs. Teresa Burdorf. Teresa was a servant of the Lord here at St. Paul's who not only directed our Reaching, Educating, and Loving Kids program, but also served as bookkeeper for REAL Kids and Preschool. Her years of dedicated service were a blessing to the School Ministries of St. Paul's. Our staff and children have missed her, and their prayers for her and her family are a demonstration of the faith of the children in our School Ministries and the love that they have for her. The legacy she leaves in the REAL Kids program, and in her own children, are a testament to her dedication and enthusiasm for raising children in the nurture and knowledge of our Lord. Though I didn't know her well, I've gotten to know her through her children, our staff, and children. Tomorrow, we will celebrate her victory of life eternal through Christ Jesus and mourn our loss of a friend. We will miss Teresa, but we rejoice with all of Heaven that she has reached her eternal home.
In our School Ministries, we have had many exciting events this month! Our basketball teams have finished up their regular season games and our boys' team won Second Place in the Valley 9 League Tournament. Both teams will head to Topeka tomorrow to play in a tournament at Topeka Lutheran School. Our Kindergarten through 6th Grade students went to Bethany Lutheran School in Wichita to attend a chapel service with students from Bethany and Faith Lutheran School in Derby. The worship was led by Captive Free, a traveling ministry through Youth Encounter, Inc. Our Preschoolers had Valentine's Day parties and our Grade School had a Valentine's Day dance. Our 5th and 6th Graders have been competing in the Battle of the Books. They are doing very well! Their tournament is next week. Our Music Festival, Spelling Bee and Forensics event, and our Jump Rope for Heart event will also have taken place by the end of the month. Our REAL Kids Mystery Guest this month was Pastor Ken. Pastor gave our REAL Kids a tour of the sanctuary. Thanks, Pastor Ken!
National Lutheran Schools week will be celebrated March 1st-8th. Lutheran Schools across the country will be having special events to celebrate our schools. St. Paul's will have an all school chapel on March 4th, and our Science Fair will be held March 6th. We will also have special devotions during the week and special involvement in our worship services, as well.
May God's Peace and Blessings be with you all.
Jonathan Kamin
