ST. JOHN LUTHERAN CHURCH
(The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod)
Alma, Kansas
A family united by faith in Christ gathering around God's Word and Sacraments.
To reach out in Christ-like concern and Christ-borne love to each other and to those without Christ!
NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK... 
Our first quarter of the school year is in the books, and it has been a good quarter. We welcomed a new teacher, Mindy Miller, who has been a tremendous addition to our team. Mrs. Kathy Schultz has stepped in and taken over the upper grades music program and is doing a great job. We enjoyed a trip to the Pumpkin Patch (K-3rd) and Steam Boat Arabia in KC (4th-8th). Students grew in their academic classes. Students grew in maturity through the ups and downs. Most importantly, our students have and continue to grow in their faith. We continue to share the love of Jesus EVERYDAY! Thank you for supporting our (your) mission to spread the Word of God to the families of students living in Alma, Paxico, Wamego, and Manhattan.
Enrollment is at 44 with nearly a third of the students riding our bus from Mt. Calvary in Wamego. We have 14 students in K-1, 11 students in 2-3, 11 students in 4-5 and 8 students in 6-8.Mr. Butler
WAMEGO BUS: We are still looking for another bus driver/substitute driver for our bus route to Mt. Calvary in Wamego. Morning routes leave SJLS at 6:30 and return at 7:30. Afternoon routes leave SJLS at 3:30 returning by 4:30. One day a week, one morning, one afternoon, or fill-in as a sub when needed, all drivers are appreciated!
NOVEMBER 4, 2023: The LPTL is hosting the Pork Chop Supper and silent auction. The meal consists of a smoked pork chop, scalloped potatoes, green beans, a roll, dessert, and drink which will be served from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. The cost is $16 for adults and $11 for children. A silent auction will begin at 11:00 a.m. and closes at 6:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY 25, 2024: Observation of the anniversary of the present school building – Worship at church and “school lunch” for everyone at the school gym. This will be a kick off for the fundraising for renovations for our school property. Tours will be given of the school and displays of future projects to renovate the school.
JUNE 2, 2024: 150th Anniversary Celebration Day – Worship and German Dinner to follow with other activities. All Lutheran Schools in Kansas and alumni will be invited specifically to this celebration.
VETERANS’ DAY CHAPEL: We will once again celebrate ALL veterans during our weekly chapel service during the week of Veterans’ Day – this year the chapel service and lunch will be on Friday, November 10th. Chapel is at 10:30 a.m. on this special day and lunch in the gym follows. Please send any pictures of vets from your family or the community to the school office or a teacher – we have a slide show that runs during chapel honoring our veterans. The students LOVE seeing pictures during chapel and LOVE seeing their veterans in chapel and at lunch.
FIRST QUARTER CHAPEL OFFERINGS collected were $581.65 for LAMP (Lutheran Association of Missionary Piolots), a ministry to remote areas of Canada.
NEWS FROM KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE
Dear friends in Christ:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
Have you ever attended a high school reunion? If so, I’m guessing you’ve had a similar experience to mine; the voices are familiar, but the shapes are foreign and unrecognizable.
Kindergarteners and first graders are the same; their voices stay the same, but they are growing and changing so rapidly that sometimes they are hard to recognize. Our students are making significant progress.
Students are:
*learning about plants in science. We will begin a Kansas Corn STEM unit soon.
*exploring early America and Thanksgiving in Social Studies.
*reading Little House in the Big Woods during read aloud.
*practicing their phonemic awareness skills in language arts.
*reading about Jacob in Religion.
*adding, subtracting, counting to 100, and problem solving in math.
*learning rhythms in K-3 music.
We look forward to the pork chop supper on November 4th , please join us. On a final note, if you find yourself with an empty schedule on a Wednesday morning, please consider joining us for chapel from 8:00-9:00 a.m. I promise that you will leave feeling rejuvenated and connected.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Miller
THANKFUL NOVEMBER,
A few things we are thankful for in 2nd and 3rd grades. God has made amazing animals for the earth that we have been reading about in our expository texts in reading. We even had some fun this last month looking up our family genealogies to learn about where we came from and immigration with historical fiction. In some non-fiction works we found out that sometimes real stories are even more unbelievable than made up ones. We will continue this month with some fables and folktales.
There are extraordinary numbers that work together in so many ways. Place value and double-digit subtraction are the focus in 2nd grade with multiplication happening in 3rd grade.
We found interesting plants and bodies as we studied our unit on plant life cycles and have dove into the bones in the human skeleton. This month we will then move these bones with our muscles in PE focusing on different types of muscles which propel the body forward (jumping, running, skipping, pushing scooters, rolling etc.).
We learned outstanding facts about Native Americans in social studies after a brief look into voting and its importance.
The students have unbelievable memorization as we begin working on our school Christmas service. We have gone back into the vaults and are doing the same Christmas service they did in 1990, so if you or someone you know were in that service, please invite them back to see how it compares. The Christmas service will be on Sunday, December 17th.
We will also make our traditional Thanksgiving Pies in 2nd and 3rd grades this month.
Have a blessed, thankful month,
Mrs. Howard
GREETINGS FROM MRS. GREENE’S CLASS
Happy November!
It is so hard to believe that the Holidays are right around the corner. The students enjoyed their first field trip of the year by visiting the Arabia Steamboat Museum where they got to meet one of the founders and learn about how the excavation process works.
In language arts, the 4th-6th grade students are currently working on identifying the difference between singular possessive and plural possessive nouns. The 7th-8th grade students finished up a unit over subject and verb agreement, and the students are learning about pronouns and antecedents.
In reading, the 4th and 5th grade students have been working on identifying the theme in “Fairy Tales” and will be writing a “Fairy Tale” of their own, while the 6th-8th grades are currently reading two short stories that they will write a comparison and contrast paper over.
In writing classes, the students are busy working on improving their penmanship and cursive writing skills. The 4th and 5th grade students are excited to finally get to write their first letter to their Lutheran Pen pals for this year. All of the students have been learning how to use transition words in writing paragraphs and how to create a good “hook” sentence.
In social studies, the 4th-5th grade students are finishing up a unit over the different Native American Tribes in the United States. The 6th-8th grade students are learning about Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Israel in social studies class.
In technology class, the 4th-5th grades are busy learning how to type with correct hand placement, as well as becoming familiar with using Microsoft Power Point. In strategy class, the 6th-8th grade classes are starting a unit over the types of persuasion used in advertising. They will be learning how to create their own commercial using marketing strategies.
All of the 4th-5th grade students are enjoying their time at Reading Club after school on Wednesdays. The students have been reading stories and completing story plot lines.
In art classes, the 4th-5th grades are learning how to draw pictures using illusion techniques, while the 6th-8th grades are exploring using different textures in creating a World Globe for our Ancient Civilization Studies.
In all things, trust the Lord,
Mrs. Greene
SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY: Celebrating 150 Years! The bulletin board in Memorial Hall has some special pictures on it! Throughout the year class pictures from 1961 and beyond will be posted on the board for display. If you know who people are in the pictures, please contact Gayle Grimm so they can be added to the pictures!
FEBRUARY 25, 2024: Observation of the anniversary of the present school building – Worship at church and “school lunch” for everyone at the school gym. This will begin the fundraising phase for renovating the school property. Tours will be given of the school, and plans of future projects for possible renovations of the school will be on display.
June 2, 2024: 150th Anniversary Celebration Day – Worship and German Dinner to follow with other activities. All Lutheran Schools in Kansas and our alumni will be invited specifically to this celebration.
In This Month's
St. John Witness
NOVEMBER WITNESS
The Eagle Cry
