Dear Christian Parents:

Each week we look for meaningful things to share with you in the Crusader Chronicle. I hope that you’re finding the information useful; however, it just seems challenging sometimes to find things that are going to grab your interest or that you absolutely need to know because so many things are not happening or are happening differently this year. It can be so easy to complain that things aren’t the way that we wish they were. But as I watch all that IS happening at St. John’s, I’m thankful for everything that we are able to do.

We have completed a full semester of classes without interruption! Praise God! We have teachers who work tirelessly to serve students in the classroom as well as online! Praise God! We have amazing support staff and volunteers serving as administrative assistant, hot lunch servers, classroom aids, coaches, etc.! Praise God! Basketball teams are competing against other schools! Praise God! We are able to allow some fans to attend games and live-stream the games for others! Praise God! Students are able to have in-person band, piano and other instrument lessons! Praise God! We are able to lead precious little (and big!) children to Jesus and on the road to heaven using God’s Word every day! Praise God!

There are things that we miss, and there are plenty of things that are just not the same, but remember to praise God for what we do have. He gives us far more than we deserve! He gives us life and hope for eternity!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise him, all creatures here below;

Praise him above, ye heav’nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Green and Gold - Packer Day

We’re encouraging our students to wear green and gold or Packer gear on Friday, January 22. We’re showing our support for the Green Bay Packers as they face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend for the NFC Championship and a trip to the Super Bowl!

Gradelink

All of our current families in seventh grade or younger should have received an email last week inviting you to re-enroll for the 2021-2022 school year. This re-enrollment process will replace any paper registration next August. Preschool and Kindergarten families are encouraged to re-enroll their children by February 1. Grades 1-8 re-enrollment should be completed by March 1. If you have any trouble, please contact the school office, Miss Wendland, or me, and we’ll provide or get the help that you need!

In order to complete the enrollment process for preschool and kindergarten, there is a $75 registration fee. Those charges will be processed through Gradelink. We’re working on getting those charges submitted today or tomorrow. Check the billing tab on Gradelink after you log-in. You will be able to pay with an electronic bank payment, credit card, or you may pay with cash or check at school and we will credit your account on Gradelink.

Divine Call News

We were pleased to hear that Mrs. Rindfleisch has returned her call to St. Andrew’s in Middleton. She will be continuing to serve as our Middle School English/Language Arts teacher! Pastor Schroeder continues to deliberate his Call to Martin Luther College. We were also informed this week that Miss Treder has received a call to serve as second grade teacher as well as church/school musician at St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Beverly Hills, FL. Please continue to keep all of these calling bodies and our own called workers in your prayers! If you have counsel for Miss Treder or Pastor Schroeder, please share that with them!

Geography Bee

National Geographic suspended its Geography Bee this year, but we will be having our own next week! Students in grades 5-8 have been testing in the classrooms over the last couple of weeks, and the finals will be held next Friday afternoon, January 29. Good luck to this year’s contestants!

Open House

Our school open house will be on Sunday, February 7, from 11:30-1:00. If you know of someone looking for a preschool or kindergarten, please direct them to our website where they will be able to register for the open house. Click here to register. Tours are also available for those looking for a school for their older children. Please direct those families to email me directly – dan.markgraf@sjtosa.org.

Blessings,
Dan

Dear Christian Parents,

Gradelink

The roll-out of our new Student Information System (Gradelink) is just days away. We will be using Gradelink in the next couple of months to re-enroll current students who will be returning to St. John’s next year as well as enroll new students for next year. While we have generally had an early re-enrollment for preschool and kindergarten, this year we will also be asking students in grades 1-7 to re-enroll over the next couple of months. To help ease into this, let me try to explain a little bit about how this is going to work.

In the next few days, all families eligible to return (currently 7^th grade or younger) should receive an email from Gradelink. This email will contain a link to the re-enrollment page on Gradelink. It will also contain your unique username and password to be used with Gradelink. Once you log in, you should be able to begin the re-enrollment process. We have already entered some information about our students and their families. Please check that for accuracy and add any other required information. Your information will be saved so that in future years all you will need to do is review the information for changes.

You will also be asked to sign some online forms. These are forms that have traditionally been submitted at the time of Registration in August. We’re hoping that you enjoy the convenience of doing all of this online this year. It may feel a little odd filling these forms out in January rather than August, but hopefully it will be painless!

Another big change will be receiving charges and making payments. All charges and payments for tuition, hot lunch, extended care, etc. will be made through Gradelink. You will be able to set up automatic payments from your bank account, and you will also have the opportunity to make payments with a credit card. Please note that there will be a fee that you will need to pay if you decide to use a credit card. Your Gradelink account will also show you the balance in your account. You should be able to see a record of each charge and each payment that you have made.

If you do not receive an email from Gradelink in the next week or so, please let me know, and I’ll be sure to send you the necessary information to get logged in. As with any new process, there will be issues. Please be patient with us as we work through those issues. From what we’ve seen and heard about Gradelink, I think you’re going to like it!

Open House

Our annual open house is scheduled from about 11:30 – 1:00 on Sunday, February 7. If you know someone who is looking for a school or preschool for their children, please encourage them to attend! Due to COVID restrictions, there is a sign-up for families to visit our K2, K3, K4 and K5 classrooms. Click here to find that sign-up page.

Please also remember that it’s important for our current families to get registered for K2, K3, K4 and K5 especially, so that we know how much space is available for new students.

End of Second Quarter

Tomorrow is the end of the second quarter of this school year. First of all, let’s give thanks to God for answering our prayers – allowing us to meet with our students in person five days per week for this first semester! Also, look for report cards to be coming home next week Thursday. Remember, you have access to your child’s grades on PowerSchool at any time. We pray for God’s continued blessings on St. John’s and our families for the second semester!

Divine Call News

Please continue to keep Mrs. Rindfleisch and Pastor Schroeder in your prayers as they consider the calls that are before them. Mrs. Rindfleisch has been called to Westside Christian in Middleton and Pastor Schroeder has been called to Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. If you have thoughts about their ministries at St. John’s, please feel free to contact them!

Blessings,

Dan

Dear Christian Parents:

Welcome back! It was nice to have a little break, but it’s also nice to be back at school and return to a routine. I hope that you feel the same way.

Thank You

On behalf of the faculty and staff, thanks so much for the Christmas gifts and treats that were showered on us last month! Your gratitude and thoughtfulness are much appreciated!

Gradelink

For the 2021-2022 school year, we will be using a new program called “Gradelink.” This will be our new online gradebook, but we hope to use it in many other ways. One of the ways that we plan to use Gradelink is for re-enrolling and enrolling students for the new year. Gradelink will be open for you to re-enroll your child for 2021-2022 school year. You should be receiving an email from Gradelink with instructions on how to proceed in the next week or two. The email will provide our school code and your unique username and password. If you follow the step-by-step instructions, you will enter all of your information and then re-enroll your child. This will replace most, if not all, of the paperwork that has been required at registration.

We are asking all of our current students who will be returning to St. John’s to complete the re-enrollment process through Gradelink by March 1, 2021.This will help us to make our best plans for the 2021-2022 school year. If you know that your child will not be returning to St. John’s next August, please let us know that as soon as you have made your decision. It could impact our ability to accept additional students who wish to enroll.

Pick-Up

The piles of snow have provided a new challenge for our drop-off and pick-up procedures as we’ve lost some parking spots and a bit of the traffic lane. Thanks for your patience during these times. It can be a stressful time, but your careful, courteous driving is amazing! We move a lot of cars through the lot in 10 minutes or so. Here are a few reminders that will hopefully help us to keep things moving reasonably well. Please remember to keep moving. If your child isn’t ready, and you’re in the line, please circle around again or park your vehicle. Second, please remember to keep two lanes of traffic moving when you’re along the building. That way those who do not need to stop by the front door may keep moving and make room for others. We’ll keep working on getting the kids outside as soon as possible after the 3:00 dismissal. Encourage them to be watching for you to come around so that they can be ready when you get to the pick-up point so that you don’t have to wait.

Divine Call News

Mrs. Rindfleisch has received a divine call to serve as middle school ELA teacher at Westside Christian School in Middleton. Pastor Schroeder has received a divine call to serve as professor of theology and history at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN. Please keep Mrs. Rindfleisch, Pastor Schroeder, their families, and these calling bodies in your prayers as they consider their gifts and the ministries at St. John’s and these new places. May God provide them both with wisdom and peace as they deliberate. I’m sure they would both appreciate any encouragement that you would like to share.

Singing in Church

The third grade classes will be singing in church this weekend. We are still pre-recording the songs that our children are singing for worship. If you can’t join us in person, be sure to watch the live-stream at 8:00 on Sunday morning, or watch the recorded version in the archive. It’s a great blessing for our children to be able to continue to contribute to our worship services. Thanks to all who are making that possible!

End of Second Quarter

Next Friday, January 15, is the end of the second quarter of this school year. Please encourage your students to have all of their work completed and submitted so that it may be included in the report of their progress on this quarter’s report card. Report cards will be sent home on Thursday, January 20.

Have a great 2021!

Blessings,

Dan

Dear Christian Parents:

One of my relatives (who will be unnamed!) is a planner. She (whoops!) likes to know what is happening and when it is happening. She doesn’t want to be unprepared. In many ways I get that. Years like this drive people like that nuts! Are you one of those people? In my family, we’ve gotten used to always adding a disclaimer to any plan that is made. “This is what we’re planning to do…. but plans could change.” The closer we get to the event, the more certain our plan becomes, but it’s never certain until it actually happens!

How different that is from God’s plan. From eternity, God planned our salvation. It involved his one and only Son, Jesus Christ. That plan never changed. God made a promise in Genesis chapter 3 that he would send his Son to be the Savior of all mankind. He repeated that promise again and again throughout the Old Testament. We celebrate the fulfillment of that plan/promise on Christmas. And now, with our sins completely forgiven, we wait for him to return and take us home. As you celebrate Christmas with your family this year, praise God for keeping his plan and fulfilling his promises!

Let us all with gladsome voice

Praise the God of heaven,

Who, to bid our hearts rejoice,

His own Son has given.

To this vale of tears he comes,

Here to serve in sadness,

That with him in heav’n’s fair homes

We may reign in gladness.

We are rich, for he was poor;

Is not this a wonder?

Therefore praise God evermore

Here on earth and yonder.

O Lord Christ, our Savior dear,

Bless us and be near us.

Grant us now a glad new year.

Amen, Jesus, hear us! (CW 64)

Last Day Before Christmas

Our final day of classes before the Christmas break will be on Wednesday, December 23. Classes will begin as normal at 8:00. Classrooms will be having Christmas parties and finishing things up before the Christmas break. Our students will be watching the Children’s Christmas service which has been recorded for their Wednesday morning chapel service. We’re asking families to also watch it together sometime next week. It will be available “live” on our website – www.sjtosa.org – at 1:00 on Wednesday, December 23, but it will archived there for later viewing as well. All students will be dismissed at 11:45 AM. Please plan to arrange for your child to be picked up between 11:45 and 12:00 unless they will be going to child care. Classes will resume on Wednesday, January 6.

Christmas Worship

Like most everything these days, our Christmas worship will look a little different this year, but we will still be praising God with wonderful music and messages from his Word! Attendance at in-person worship is still being restricted to about 85 people at St. John’s. In order to accommodate as many people as possible, services are being added on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The 3:00 and 4:30 services on Christmas Eve are full, but as of this writing there is still room at the 6:00 and 7:30 services. Also at this time, there is still room in all three services on Christmas Day – 8:30, 9:45 or 11:00. Click here for online registration. If you plan to attend one of the services in person, please be sure to register your family. If you are not able to attend in person, please celebrate the birth of our Savior with your family by watching together online. Note that the service will be livestreamed at 3:00 on Christmas Eve and at 8:30 on Christmas Day. After that, the services will be archived to be watched at any time.

Thank You!

I have said it before, but I don’t think I can say it enough. Thanks to all of the St. John’s family for your prayers and support this school year. We’ve faced some real challenges, but your prayers, cooperation and support have been blessed by our gracious God! Join me in boldly praying that God will continue to bless us at St. John’s in 2021! May we continue face-to-face instruction, may our school families be kept safe and healthy, and if it is your will, may this pandemic be wiped from the earth!

On behalf of the entire faculty and staff at St. John’s Lutheran School, I wish you a very blessed, merry Christmas!

Blessings,
Dan

Dear Christian Parents,

What beautiful December weather we are enjoying this week! The fifth through eighth graders enjoyed a walk to Wisconsin Lutheran High School yesterday afternoon, and God blessed us with almost perfect weather for that walk! The forecast, though, is for that to change in another day or two! As we prepare for the potential of our first major snow of the year, please keep in mind to send your child to school with appropriate clothing! Most classes will continue to have recesses outside, and children should have boots, hats, and mittens or gloves to keep warm! I haven’t been at St. John’s when there’s snow in the parking lot, but I can only imagine that we might have some new challenges during drop-off and pick-up of students. Please continue to be careful and patient, especially during those times, as we all navigate around snow piles and icy spots!

Also, be sure to see below for the best way to receive notification about school closing due to bad weather. Note that we will not likely close for cold temperatures, but we could close our school because of poor road conditions. Because we have people coming to St. John’s from many different distances and directions, please know that we will respect your decision to keep your child home if the conditions in your part of town are too dangerous to travel. We just ask that you please let us know if that situation does happen.

Basketball Live-Stream

Since we are limiting attendance at our basketball games to 2 fans per family, we’re offering live-streaming of as many games as we are able. Tomorrow night we will have 4 games with St. Marcus beginning at 4:30 with the Girls’ B Team. You can watch on FaceBook. Just use this link or the link that’s on the Athletics’ Page. The Girls’ A Team will be in a tournament this weekend at Good Shepherd in West Bend. They plan to have their own live stream on YouTube here.

New Quarantine Guidelines

The City of Wauwatosa Health Department has followed the lead of the state Department of Health as well as the CDC in adopting new quarantine guidelines for people with no symptoms of the virus. The new guidelines are for the length of quarantine after being a close contact to someone with the virus as long as the individual has no symptoms. Students are allowed to return 7 days after close contact if they test negative after the sixth day and 10 days after close contact if they have no symptoms. There’s a document which has more details attached (click here).

Christmas Break

The Christmas break will begin for all students on Wednesday, December 23, at 11:45 AM. Please plan to arrange for your child to be picked up between 11:45 and 12:00 unless they will be going to child care. Classes will resume on Wednesday, January 6.

School Closings

School Closings for weather is different this year.  We will not always close when MPS or WISCO close.  When cold weather causes the closings, we may choose to stay open.  We have no students standing in the cold waiting for buses, so we have changed our past practice.  We will send emails, announce on TV, and will text school closings.

Here are the instructions to sign-up for text messages. This will be your most efficient way to be notified if there are any announcements about school closing. Please let me know if you need assistance with this!
 
(last names A-G): text @sjtosaa-g to the number 81010
You’ll receive a welcome text from Remind.
If you have trouble with 81010, try texting @sjtosaa-g to (618) 987-4082.
 
(last names H-N): text @sjtosah-n to the number 81010
You’ll receive a welcome text from Remind.
If you have trouble with 81010, try texting @sjtosah-n to (618) 987-4082.
 
(last names O-Z): text @sjtosao-z to the number 81010
You’ll receive a welcome text from Remind.
If you have trouble with 81010, try texting @sjtosao-z to (618) 987-4082.

Blessings,

Dan

Dear Christian Parents:

Are you putting up more Christmas lights and decorations this year than normal? I’ve heard anecdotal reports that stores are running out of Christmas decorations, and I’ve heard a few people talking about how much more decorating they are doing this year. Why is that? I think some would say that this Christmas season just isn’t as busy as it would be in a “normal” year. Fewer Christmas parties. Fewer Christmas concerts. Reduced travel. Fewer in-person trips to the store for Christmas present shopping. And the list goes on. Or maybe decorating is just a comforting diversion from the craziness of 2020!

Is that you? Are you finding yourself with more time that you would normally have at this time of year or in need of a diversion? Whether it is or not, I want to encourage you to use your time to work on your relationships – especially your relationship with your Savior. It’s been almost 9 months since the coronavirus shut down church and school last March. Over those 9 months church was either only virtual or mostly virtual as we’ve limited the number of people who can attend. While the number of people who can attend any given service may not change for a while, St. John’s is trying to accommodate as many as possible – especially this Christmas. In another week or two, there will be an announcement about how many Christmas services there will be and at what time they will be held. If you are comfortable doing so, take advantage of that opportunity to be with your brothers and sisters in Christ to worship our Savior! And if you are not comfortable doing that yet, make time with your family to gather around the broadcasts of our services. It’s one great way that all of us can work on our relationship with our God!

Mid-Terms

Tomorrow, December 4, marks the mid-way point of the second quarter. Mid-term reports will be sent home next Thursday, December 10. Please look for them! Remember, you may monitor your child’s grades daily by going to wels.powerschool.com/public or installing the PowerSchool app on your phone or tablet. If you need help with that, please let me or Mr. Duncan know.

Advent Services

We began our mid-week Advent worship services at St. John’s this week. They will continue for the next two Wednesdays. Worship services are at 1:00 and 6:45 on December 9 and December 16. The 1:00 service is live-streamed, and it is also archived to be watched at any time. If you plan to attend in person, please register online as we are limiting the number of people who can be in the sanctuary. For those who are members at Grace, the services are 12:10 and 6:30. The 6:30 service is live-streamed. These additional mid-week worship services are a great way to prepare your hearts and lives for the coming of our Savior as we celebrate his birth and as we look forward to his return!

Christmas Service

As we announced in November, our K5 – eighth grade Children’s Christmas Service will not be held live as it has always been. This year’s service has been recorded and will be shared on Wednesday, December 23. The service will also be archived so that it can be viewed at any time. We would like to include pictures of the students, and the 8^th graders have been video-recorded. In order to include your child’s photo or video in the service, we need you to sign a “permission to use” form. The form (click here) is included with this Crusader Chronicle or you may pick one up in the office if you need a copy. Thanks to most of you who have returned yours. If you haven’t done so, please get that to us at your early convenience.

Basketball Games

The first basketball games of the 2020-2021 season will be tomorrow night, Friday, December 4, against St. Paul’s, Muskego, beginning at 4:30. There are some restrictions about how many can attend the games this year. Passes will be required for most games. Each player’s family has 2 passes which must be presented at the door for admission. Fans and players are asked to arrive no more than 20 minutes before the scheduled start time of their game. Thanks for your cooperation as we navigate this season!

WISCO Play

On Wednesday afternoon, December 9, our fifth through eighth graders will be treated to a private performance of two one-act plays, Drop Dead, Juliet! and The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet at Wisconsin Lutheran High School. The students will be walking to WISCO after an early lunch on Wednesday.

Blessings,
Dan

Dear Christian Parents,

It’s almost impossible to turn on the news without hearing more bad news. Positive COVID tests are up. Hospitalizations are up. Some states are shutting down schools again. Some areas around us are shutting down sports. So what are we doing at St. John’s? That’s a great question!

My first response to that is that we’re doing what we’ve always done. We’re sharing a life-saving message with our students and their families. It’s an eternal message of God’s love and forgiveness which he gives freely to all believers! This message is shared in our religion classes and devotions, but it really permeates everything that we do at St. John’s.

My second response would be that we are continuing to implement our plan to be able to have face-to-face instruction. We invested in air purifiers for our entire building. We have gone through bottle after bottle of anti-virus spray, hand sanitizer, many containers of wipes and rolls of paper towels. We continue to require and encourage and remind all of our students over five years old to wear a face covering. We try as much as possible to maintain our classroom “bubbles.” We encourage parents to keep their kids home when they are sick, and we cooperate with health departments when there are positive cases among our school or our school families. As a reminder, I’m sharing a document from the Wauwatosa Health Department which hopefully answers a lot of questions about isolation, quarantining and returning to school. Please look that over for guidance! You can find it here. We’re so thankful that we’ve been able to continue face-to-face instruction for almost 1/3 of this school year so far. We also realize that this could change at any time, so we remain appropriately flexible!

Finally, we give thanks. If you know the hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God,” but you don’t know the story behind it, you should look it up. In the 1600’s, the author, Pastor Martin Rinkart, performed over 4000 funerals in one year – including his own wife’s funeral. Yet, he was able to write this hymn about being thankful for God’s love and blessings. Some of us have experienced sickness this year. Some of us have even experienced loss. But none of that compares to the love that our God showed by taking care of our biggest need – payment for our sins through Jesus! So, we do have reason to give thanks this year and always! Happy Thanksgiving!

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore. (Christian Worship, hymnal 610)

School Pictures

Some were not able to be at school for either the picture day or picture retake day. If your child is in that situation, we’d love for you to contact the photographer and have your child’s picture taken at their studio in New Berlin so that we can have all of our children in the yearbook. Please contact the studio directly. The photographer is School and Sports Pics, at 2020 S Calhoun Rd, New Berlin. The phone number to schedule an appointment is 262-780-2901. You can also call if you have questions about ordering pictures.

Call Updates

We are very thankful that Miss Treder announced that she will remain at St. John’s! She has returned the call that she had to Crown of Life in West St. Paul, MN. We’re also thankful that Mrs. Buske’s husband Jim has returned his call to Trinity in Jenera, OH. Mrs. Henning continues to deliberate the call that she and her husband are considering to Trinity, Belle Plaine, MN. Continue to pray for these workers and the congregations that are waiting for God to provide the workers that they need!

Thanksgiving Vacation

There will be no school on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, November 25-27, for our Thanksgiving vacation. Classes will resume on Monday, November 30.

Third Grade Quarantine

Third grade students who have been in isolation/quarantine for almost two weeks may return to school next Monday, November 23, as long as they have not had additional contacts with the virus or symptoms of their own. We’re so thankful for those who have had to adjust their busy schedules to accommodate their kids at home during quarantines for this class and every other situation where that has been necessary!

Thanksgiving Worship

Our Thanksgiving worship services will be next week Wednesday evening at 6:45 or Thursday morning at 10:00. The Wednesday evening service will also be broadcast online and archived to view anytime at www.sjtosa.org/video. To register for in-person worship, visit https://reopen.church/r/foRFlH12. Whether online or in the sanctuary, I hope that you and your family have an opportunity to join your fellow believers in giving thanks to God!

Blessings,
Dan

Dear Christian Parents:

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Every school has parent-teacher conferences, right? Some are mandatory; some are voluntary. Some teachers dread them; some parents dread them. Some students are concerned about what might be revealed in them. I’m thankful for them. I hope that you are, too!

We had about half of our families show up for parent-teacher conferences last night. We’ll have about the same number tonight. Other families need to reschedule due to the virus or some other scheduling conflict. The reason that I’m thankful for parent-teacher conferences at St. John’s is the partnership that we share. It’s a unique partnership. The reason that it’s unique is because it extends beyond the classroom. Parents and teachers may discuss math or reading or handwriting, but at St. John’s, everything that we do has an eternal purpose. Every class, every day is taught be a teacher who is interested not only in your child’s academic performance, but her spiritual eternity.

I really hope that you find your parent-teacher conferences to be an encouragement. There might be difficult issues to address, but know that we’re going to address those issues together! It’s a joy and a privilege for us to be your partners in the Christian education of all of the students at St. John’s. May God continue to bless us as we work together to show our students the only way to an eternity in heaven – faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior!

COVID19

As noted in a special note last Sunday, we quarantined one of our third grade classrooms. Unfortunately, we received news that there was a positive test in that classroom. So those who were in class on Thursday or Friday, November 5-6, could have been exposed. The good news is that our contact tracing revealed that no other teachers or students needed to quarantine because they were not considered close contacts. The students in that classroom may return to school on Monday, November 23 as long as they have no symptoms. During the next week, students in that third grade classroom should continue to communicate with Mrs. Pastorek as she coordinates virtual instruction for them.

Click here to access some documents from the Wauwatosa Health Department that might help those of you who are trying to understand when your child may return to school. Please let me know if you need help, and I’ll share your case with the Health Department.

We have a couple of other students who have tested positive for the coronavirus, but we don’t believe these cases provided any exposure to any of our students or staff. These are cases when students were kept home because a parent or other relative tested positive, and then during quarantine, our student became positive.

Continue to pray for our school families and communities as so many are dealing with this terrible illness in one way or another. Thank God for the opportunity that we have to continue to meet in person with those who don’t need to quarantine or have finished their quarantine!

Singing in Church

Our 5th grade class has pre-recorded an Anthem for this weekend's services.  A special note about their song, All is Well, is that it is one of the new hymns that will be in the new hymnal our synod is working on and Lord-willing will be released in December 2021.  May the Lord use their song to edify our congregation's worship on this Saints' Triumphant Sunday!

Call News

Two of our teachers are currently considering calls from other congregations. Miss Treder has a call to serve as first grade teacher at Crown of Life in West St. Paul, MN. Mrs. Henning has a call to serve as preschool teacher at Trinity in Belle Plaine, MN, where her husband Mike has also been called to be principal and 7th-8th grade teacher. Mrs. Buske's husband, Pastor Jim Buske, has a call to serve as pastor at Trinity in Jenera, OH. Please keep these teachers and their families in your prayers as they consider their gifts and the needs at St. John's and these other congregations. Also, feel free to reach out to these teachers if you have counsel about their calls for them to consider.

No School

There will be no school tomorrow, Friday, November 13. Pray for some productive, but relaxing, down time for our teachers as they recover from a couple of very long days! Be safe everyone!

Thanksgiving Vacation

There will be no school on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, November 25-27, for our Thanksgiving vacation. Classes will resume on Monday, November 30.

K5-8^th Grade Children’s Christmas Service

This year we are not able to have our regular live school Christmas service at WLHS this year due to COVID regulations. While that’s a disappointment, we’ve worked hard over the last couple of weeks to record a service of recitations and songs that will shared on Wednesday, December 23. More details will be coming about how and exactly when you will be able to enjoy it.  We are thankful that we are able to learn and share the Christmas Gospel message- just in a different way this year.  Our prayer is that many people will be reached with the Gospel message our children recite and sing!

Blessings,

Dan

Dear Christian Parents:

Please join me in praying for the parents and family members of our students who have tested positive for the coronavirus. We thank God for the health of those who have already fully recovered, and we ask that God be with those who are still either suffering or recovering from their bout with the virus. 

Virtual Classes

As the numbers of positive cases have been going up in Wisconsin, the numbers in and around our school families have been going up as well. Because of that, we've had a higher number of students needing to quarantine for a time. Due to the increase in the numbers, I just want to take a minute to remind you of a few things about our virtual education offering.

First of all, please communicate with us! I've been thankful because you have let us know when your child needs to be quarantined. If you can share some details with us about testing and exposure, that would be helpful as we work with the health department to get advice about when kids may return to school. You can also communicate with your local health department about quarantining and returning to school. Health Departments were providing back to school letters when there was a positive case in the home, but I think they're getting overwhelmed and may not be doing that consistently. 

Second, please be patient as teachers adjust your child to virtual learning. Remember, if your child is sick, we'd like him or her to focus on rest and healing. Our virtual option is for those who are required to quarantine and feel well enough to participate. Please realize that the teachers will need some time to get work together for your child when they need to quarantine. Please give them a day to re-organize before expecting them to have that work for your quarantined student. That's also why students who are just home sick should not automatically expect to attend school virtually. Remember, teachers in K5 through 4th grade are using SeeSaw and Zoom for their classes. Students in grades 5-8 will find everything that they need in Google Classroom. 

Finally, if your child is going to be attending school virtually, please cooperate with each of the teachers to follow the schedule. Most classrooms are offering most classes synchronously (live) while some work is being done by recorded videos. This will look different depending on the age of your child. The teachers should be able to let you know how and when to log in to each class. 

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Our parent teacher conference schedule for next week is filling up! If you have not signed up for a time slot, please do so at your early convenience. First quarter parent-teacher conferences are required for all parents. Please remember, our teacher's schedules will be quite full with just home room students. Please be respectful of the teachers' time. If you would like to visit with a teacher who is not your child's homeroom teacher, please schedule a conference at another time - not next Wednesday or Thursday. Also, please limit your conference time to 15 minutes. That will allow for us to keep our schedule for the next conferences and also allow for quick cleaning. If you need more than 15 minutes, please schedule another time to continue your conference. 

Picture Retake Day

Picture retakes will be next Thursday, November 12. If you missed the first picture day, this is a great opportunity to get your picture taken. If the first picture didn't turn out, please return the original pictures and have it retaken next Thursday. 

Call News

Our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod has over 250 Lutheran Elementary Schools around the United States. When there are teacher vacancies in our schools, the Synod provides congregations with a list of teachers qualified for these open positions. Some of our teachers are currently considering calls from other congregations. Miss Treder has a call to serve as first grade teacher at Crown of Life in West St. Paul, MN. Mrs. Buske's husband, Pastor Jim Buske, has a call to serve as pastor at Trinity in Jenera, OH. Mrs. Henning has a call to serve as preschool teacher at Trinity in Belle Plaine, MN, where her husband Mike has also been called to be principal and 7th-8th grade teacher. Please keep these teachers and their families in your prayers as they consider their gifts and the needs at St. John's and these other congregations. Also, feel free to reach out to these teachers if you have counsel for them to consider about their calls.

Shorts Allowed

With near record breaking warm weather, we've decided to allow the students to wear shorts one more time this year! Shorts will be allowed on Friday, November 6! A light jacket may be needed in the morning, but by recess time, we're hoping for warm weather!

No School

There will be no school next Friday, November 13. There will be a couple of very busy nights next week for Parent-Teacher Conferences, so it will be nice to have a little break. Also remember that our Thanksgiving vacation will be Wednesday through Friday, November 25-27.

K5-8^th Grade Children’s Christmas Eve Service

This year we are not able to have our regular live school Christmas Eve service at WLHS this year due to COVID regulations.  We are hard at work recording our recitations and songs.  Over the next weeks, we will be putting the recordings together and creating a school Christmas service video.  Please watch for the details of the date and time for when the service video will be released.  We are thankful that we are able to learn and share the Christmas Gospel message- just in a different way this year.  Our prayer is that many people will be reached with the Gospel message our children recite and sing!

Blessings,

Dan

Dear Christian Parents:

This weekend at St. John's we'll be celebrating Reformation Day. October 31,1517, was a very important day in the life of Martin Luther. He posted 95 statements for debate on the door of his church in Wittenberg, Germany. Many didn't like it. Many wanted him dead. But God kept him safe because he had a plan to use Martin Luther to turn people back to the truth. Luther would preach salvation by God's grace alone, through faith alone, based on Christ alone, revealed through the Scriptures alone. Here we stand about 500 years later, and none of that has changed. The message of the pure Gospel which we proclaim at St. John's still changes hearts, offers forgiveness and promises eternal life in heaven! I hope that you can join us either in person or online this week as we worship the God who provided the message that Martin Luther preached and the message that we share each day with your children at St. John's! Happy Reformation Day!

God’s Word is our great heritage and shall be ours forever.

To spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavor.

Through life it guides our way. In death it is our stay.

Lord grant while worlds endure we keep its teachings pure.

Throughout all generations. (Christian Worship Hymn 293)

The end of the first quarter is next Wednesday, October 28. What a blessing that God has allowed us to meet in person for the first two months of this school year! Thanks to parents who have been extra careful with their children when there was concern about sickness or exposure to the virus. I encourage all of you to be considerate of others as you determine whether your child is healthy enough to send to school each day. We are so thankful that we've been able to stay in school, and we pray that God would allow us to continue face to face as he determines! First quarter report cards will be sent home on Thursday, November 5. MAP test results for students in grades two through eight will also be sent home on November 5.

As I mentioned last week, there will be no school on Thursday and Friday, October 29-30. The Wisconsin State Teachers' Conference had been scheduled for those two days. While the conference has been cancelled, our teachers will still gather on Thursday morning for professional development. Child care will remain open for those two days. Please be sure to let Miss Wendland (childcare@sjtosa.org) know, if you haven't already, whether you will need child care on those two days so that we can staff accordingly. Have a safe and healthy break!

There is a link to a schedule for Parent-Teacher Conferences, which will be held on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, November 11-12. First semester parent-teacher conferences are mandatory! Please help us to reach 100% of our families for these conferences. Please plan to limit your conversation with each teacher to 15 minutes or less. There may be another family waiting to see that teacher, and other schedules may be upset if we make them wait. If you feel like you need more than 15 minutes, please schedule more time when there's not someone waiting! Thanks for your cooperation!

Congratulations to our soccer, volleyball, and cross country teams who competed in tournaments last weekend. The soccer team took second place in the conference tournament. In volleyball, the A team took second place and the B team took first place in the conference. The girls' cross country team won the state championship! Boys' cross country came in fourth place in the state. Great job Crusaders! Thanks to our wonderful coaches and parents for making these seasons successful! God is good! All the time! To him be the glory!

Blessings!

Dan