The impact of the 95 Theses, written by Martin Luther, is well known, as well as his impact on education. Martin Luther proposed the idea of school in Europe. He suggested that monasteries be turned into schools. Martin sought to teach and convince parents that the spiritual well being of their children was more important than their physical comfort. His view of education, like his theology, was grounded in Holy Scripture. Martin Luther cites Psalm 78:5-7 to point out that God has placed this responsibility on parents.

“God decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.”

Luther continues by stating that not all parents are able or in some cases willing to follow God’s commands thus establishing the need for schools that are run by the godly men that He has appointed to govern society. He argues that it is the duty of the government to ensure decency and good order in society. He continues that this is best achieved through a Christian education, which would train up children as disciples for Christ and as “able, learned, wise, honorable, and well-educated citizens.” Luther proposed a system that would benefit all members of society, boys and girls, wealthy and poor and that it would operate in harmony with the church. In this way, Luther taught that education could serve to reform the church and society. This model, as we know, became the foundation for the public school system, which was successful for centuries throughout Europe and America. Unfortunately the concept of public education working in harmony with Christian principles, teachings and morality no longer exists in our country. No longer do we “seek first the kingdom of God and

His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). But God has chosen to protect this vision of education through the raising up of Lutheran and Christian schools throughout our country. He has blessed St. John Lutheran Church with the establishment of our parochial day school to assist in the spiritual training of the children of this congregation and community. Our students are daily nourished by reading scripture and by studying everything in light of God’s Word. For Luther, knowledge of Scripture is both the basis and goal of education. He taught and confessed in accordance with scripture that all men are sinful, yet the Grace of God through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ saves believers. It is from the perspective of this gospel that education must be valued. On the basis of the Bible, all youth should pursue education as a means to becoming responsible men and women who can govern churches, countries, people, and households. May our congregation faithfully uphold the vision of education which centers and is grounded in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior in our own Lutheran school.

In His Service,

Mrs. Kosmerchock

October 2018

St. John Lutheran School Newsletter

• 10/2 EC Chapel 9:15 a.m. • 10/4 Picture Retake 9 a.m. • 10/11 BCDS Mtg. 7:00 p.m.. • 10/12 Teacher Workday No School/Tigers

Den Open • 10/15 No School/Tigers Den Open • 10/18 3 & 4 Grandparent/Visitor Chapel • 10/26 End of 1st Quarter • 10/30 2 Hour delay/Faculty Mtg

Preschool Classrooms Mrs. Wagner’s 4 year olds: October is upon us and we have already learned so much! We have settled into our classroom routines and schedules and are now beginning to study the letters in our Alphafriends curriculum. As we have finished our “Welcome To School” unit and are learning about the many kinds of families, we are experiencing much more about our world! We will also learn about the many people who help in our community and will dress up as a variety of community helpers. Later in October, we will study our “Five Senses” and enjoy the season of Fall with the miraculous senses that God has blessed us with. Mrs. Cavin’s 3 year olds: We have enjoyed learning about how God made everything. We have thanked home for creating us. We have had lots of fun learning about dinosaurs, and working on our dinosaur books. We are looking forward to learning about bugs and the season of fall. We have started working on name recognition, tracing our names, and learning the letters of our names. We will be having fun with colors and counting as well. Kindergarten Happenings – Mrs. Stottlemyer Fall is my favorite time to teach. I see my students settling into our schedule and I am amazed with all the progress that they are making. It is so great to see how proud they are of themselves when they discover that they can read and it’s not that difficult. I also love the themes that go with the Fall; apples, leaves, pumpkins they are all so much fun to mix into our regular curriculum. Right now in Jesus Time we are studying the stories of the Old Testament and learning about the amazing things God did then. It’s never boring in kindergarten!

First Grade News – Mrs. McGhee It’s great to open the windows and let the cool Fall air come in. The class welcomed a new student mid September. Her name is Peanut Sparkles McGhee. She is an adult guinea pig who loves to eat. The children enjoy finding dandelions in the grass area of the

playground to feed to Peanut. We’ve been learning the Hunks and Chunks chants for the Phonics Dance. We’ve also learned the Doubles Rap, 10 Commandments, and lots of Math, Science, and Social Studies facts. The children really enjoy learning about our past Presidents. Fall also lends itself to so many great art projects.

Second Grade News – Mrs. Yoder Fall is a wonderfully exciting time to be a second grader. We will soon begin learning about plant life cycles, which leads into pumpkin math. Pumpkin math is always a favorite activity where we get to explore pumpkins inside and out in a mathematical way. It’s so fun to see how the individual students react to the pumpkin experiments. We are also glad to finally feel cool air through the windows and enjoy our recess times without so much heat. Some of the kids are already all set for winter!

Third Grade News – Mrs. Scheurich It is hard to believe that October is upon us! We have already had a very busy school year!! We have finished one chapter in both math and social studies and will be starting our first ever science unit for grade 3, which the students are super, excited about!!! We got two new fish in our classroom tank! Students have been working hard this year and most are already halfway to their AR goals!!! Students did a great job at their first church singing of the year! We will be starting Book It!, in October. I can’t wait to see all the reading they will do over the course of the six-month event! Students have been busy learning computer skills this year. We have reviewed how to work through Microsoft Word functions and have started work using the home keys on the keyboard. I look forward to what the month of October will bring!

Fourth Grade News – Miss Rossow Greetings and Salutations! Did you get a chance to hear the students sing in church? They really worked hard and did a great job! Last month I asked if you knew what is the state beverage of Ohio was. Well, the answer is TOMATO JUICE! This month I’m wondering if you know what the highest point in Ohio is… As part of our Ohio Studies, the students are reporting on Ohio current events. Last month saw several articles about football. You can check out this month’s batch hanging in the hallway outside the

classroom. Art class has been focusing on several projects involving optical illusions. Up next we be working together to use shadows for a few projects including a silhouette of our heads. Have you read Julie Andrew’s novel “The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles” ? The fourth graders are ready to stretch their imaginations as we begin reading it. In Creative Writing, we’ve been focusing on Ideas & Voice as we begin several weeks of writing poetry. Each student will be submitting an entry to Appelley Publishing’s Student Poetry Contest next month! 6th Grade Math: Decimals, Fractions, and Percents: Oh My!!! Multiplication and Division -Hear we come! At the end of the month the students will be breaking up into teams to do their first in depth study 21st Century Careers involving Math. 5th/6th Religion: We’re working through the Old Testament. We just finished creating our own book of the 10 Commandments complete with illustrations. Now we’re heading to the Promised Land. What happened as the Israelites wandered around for 40 years? Water at Meribah… Balaam… What about those plagues back in Egypt… This and more! We even took a challenge to see how long we could hold up our arms like Moses did when the Israelites met up with the Amalekites at Rephidim in the wilderness. Stay tuned to learn who was able to do it the longest. Mrs. Perchikoff News 4-8th Grade Science All sciences are working on learning about the scientific method towards middle/end of September. Then, as we work our way into October they will be studying the following: 4th and 5th graders will be learning about the engineering method followed by an exploration of our solar system. 6th and 8th graders will be jumping into Earth sciences. 7th graders will learn about Earth’s waters and atmosphere. 7th Math 7th graders voted to start the year off with integers and learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide with positive and negative numbers. Then we will be delving into fractions.

5/6th Grade Reading/English Students are reading different kinds of genres in their Reading Street. After we finish Unit 1 (6 weeks - give or take a few days due to scheduling), we will be starting our first novel together! We are reading the first book of one of my favorite series. I’m trying to keep it a surprise, but I think the protagonist fits right in with the brave characters we have already been reading about. In English, we will be taking a break from nouns and learning about verbs. Seventh & Eighth Grade News – Miss Marshall Looking at October, I realize how fast the school year goes once it starts! September was fun with the entire new curriculum, especially 5-8 Social Studies, volleyball games, new faces and new schedules. October now brings an end to the volleyball season with tournament play here at St. John on Saturday, October 20. It is fun and exciting to see our gym filled with fellow Lutheran schools and some other faiths too. Can’t you just smell the popcorn and pretzels, etc.? One of the themes I am focusing on in Religion this year is how in this present time there are so many discoveries and documentation (even from the world view) that give evidence that certain Bible events really did occur (i.e. the Flood, the city of Jericho with an unexplained fallen wall, etc.) We know this and believe it without the proof, but we are excited to have the rest of the world see it too. The students and I really enjoy studying these things. Already, the end of the first quarter comes this month on the 26th. Report cards will soon follow! October’s Party by George Cooper October gave a party; the leaves by hundreds came. The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples and leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, and everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band. The Chestnuts came in yellow, the oaks in crimson dressed; The lovely Misses maple in scarlet looked their best. All balanced to their partners, and gaily fluttered by; The sight was like a rainbow new fallen from the sky.

SCRIP NEWS…Do you need to go shopping at Meijers or Walmart? Perhaps Menards or Lowes? Are you going to be eating out next week? Well, purchase your gift cards through the school and the school will earn money. Also, you can designate your part to scholarships or another family. The website is Shopwithscrip.com and our enrollment code is BC3E32CD2355. Thank you for planning your time around town using our SCRIP program!

ATHLETIC NEWS… Please help us earn more money at our Volleyball tournament on October 20th. We are asking for donations to reduce the amount of money we spend. Our goal is to purchase new basketball uniforms this year and with your help we will be able to accomplish this. Thank you. Jeff Buchhop AD

VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT CONCESSION DONATIONS NEEDED

The following donations are needed: 96 bun size hotdogs 12 pkg. Hotdog buns 2 cases canned chicken 12 pkg Hamburger buns 20 lbs Hamburger 12 bags frito chips 12 oz bottles – 8 Pks 4 – Pepsi 4 – Mountain Dew 4 – Diet Dew 4 – Diet Pepsi 2 – Sierra Mist 4 – Dr. Pepper 6 – Blue Gatorade 6 – Red Gatorade 6 – Purple Gatorade 3 cases Water

Kindergarten Learning