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