St. John Church

Thank you to everyone that joined us for our annual back-to-school picnic. We had a great evening sharing a meal and swimming into the evening. This year we have 51 students in Kindergarten - 8th grade. We have a knowledgeable and eager staff. We are working every day to build solid foundations in Jesus Christ. Our next family event will be singing in church.

We are in need of some volunteers. If you are interested in reading to a student, running a small group, driving a FUN bus, or helping a teacher, please let me know. We need approximately three sub bus drivers to add to our group. Bus Drivers do not have to have a CDL, only a pleasant attitude and the desire to support our school mission.

Mark your calendars for September 11, 2026! In honor of Grandparents Day, September 13th, we invite grandparents and friends to join us for our first of the year “Lunch on the Lawn.” Bring your sack lunch and have a seat on the courthouse lawn (north of our school). We will join our friends and family from 11:30-12:15 p.m. On Sunday, we are encouraging everyone to go to church with their grandparents. Grandparent’s Day is a great way to connect generations.

Thank you for your continued support of St. John Lutheran School.

Blessings,

Mrs. Mindy Miller

mmillerstjohnalma@gmail.com

(785) 787-0388

THRIVENT CHOICE DOLLARS: Thank you to the following people for their support of St. John Lutheran School through their designation of their Thrivent Choice Dollars. The financial support you provide allows us to provide a foundation in Jesus Christ for our students now and in the future. Thank you to: Dale Gier, Joni Wenderott, Janet Wertzberger, Carol White, Elaine Becker, Terry L. De Giovanni, Gayle Grimm, James Johnston, Brenda Meseke, Kip Meseke, Karen Pickett, and Carolynn Stutzman.

Thank you,

Mindy

SALUTATIONS FROM MRS. MILLER’S 6TH, 7TH, AND 8TH GRADE CLASSROOM!

What a fantastic start to the year! Nine students in grades 6-8 and 13 in grades 4-5 are embarking upon the process of learning and growing in Math, Science, and P.E.

Math: Students are exploring rational numbers, fractions, and place value. This year we are using a new curriculum resource called Savvas. The work is new and challenging. Students have responded to the challenge well. In the first two days, students started their first unit of learning and completed several difficult tasks. I am impressed by the way the students have embraced the challenge.

Science: Some of the topics we will cover this year include, but are not limited to, God’s design for chemistry & ecology (matter, ecosystems, atoms, and molecules) and God’s design for the physical world (heat and energy, inventions and technology). We hope to begin the Future City competition this fall as well as spend some time learning about aviation and drone technologies.

We appreciate your support as we learn and grow as a group of believers. Thank you for your help in building our foundation in Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Mrs. Mindy Miller

Principal

Math/Science/PE (4th-8th grades)

KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE

We have been busy learning and growing in Kindergarten and First Grade! It has been wonderful to see the students working hard and building their skills each day.

Kindergarten: We are practicing number formation and beginning our journey into addition. The students are using hands-on manipulatives to help them understand what addition means and how numbers can be put together.

First Grade: We are working on addition sentences and learning to find and record the correct answers. The students are practicing their addition skills and gaining confidence as they solve problems.

Religion: In Religion, we are learning about creation and all of God's wonderful handiwork. We are discovering how God created the world and everything in it, and we are talking about how we can appreciate and care for the beautiful world He has given us.

It is a joy to watch the children learn, explore, and grow each day. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn alongside them and to help them discover their God-given gifts and talents!

Blessings,

Mrs. Christa Kraus

Kindergarten/First Grade Teacher

SEPTEMBER GREETINGS!

School is off to a great start in 2nd and 3rd grades. We have been busy learning about our founding in social studies and have even begun working on songs for our Veterans' Day Musical! The children were amazed to learn that even though our country is 250 years old, it is still relatively young compared to other countries in our world, like Egypt!

In religion, we have learned about creation, the fall into sin, and the flood, and how in all of this God still promises salvation through his Son, our Savior, Jesus! We will continue working through the Old Testament stories and by learning how God worked in Moses this month.

Reading has begun, and the students are working on reading fiction stories and learning how to pick out the main idea, problem in the story, and the solution to it.

In art, we began with pointillism and will move on to some leaf collage art this month.

All the students love PE, and we started with the basics of listening and following directions in games like Red Light, Green Light, and Simeon Says.

We have new math and science curriculum! The students are starting to get the hang of math with 2nd grade focusing on fluency facts in both addition and subtraction and 3rd grade is working on the foundations of multiplying and dividing.

We will begin this month with life cycles and food webs in science and end it with our first field trip to the Milford Nature Center in October. We also hope to meet our Discovery Dairy Adopt-a-Cow calf this month and begin learning about the importance of all food groups, but especially dairy in our diets.

In Christ,

Mrs. Howard

GREETINGS FROM MRS. GREENE

Wow! It’s so hard to believe that Summer Break is over and a new school year has already begun. The students are adjusting to new routines and new learning. I am looking forward to another year of learning and praising God with my students at St. John Lutheran School.

In language arts, the fourth and fifth grade students will be working on identifying fragments and different types of sentences, while the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students will be reviewing the parts of speech with an emphasis on the different types of nouns and pronouns.

In reading class, the students will be focusing on main idea and details, visualization, and narrative elements. In writing students will be reviewing the narrative writing process, working on penmanship skills, and cursive writing.

The fourth and fifth grade classes will be learning about the Westward Movement in social studies class, while the sixth-eighth grade students take a dive into the Ancient Civilization and world geography. The fourth and fifth grade students are looking forward to an early field trip to the Eisenhower Museum in Abilene, Kansas, on September 17th for Constitution Day.

In Art class, the fourth and fifth grade students will be creating their version of a ‘cow town’ using toothpicks and craft sticks, while the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade classes start the process in creating a globe of the world using paper mache.

I am looking forward to another fun-filled, faith-growing year with students at St. John Lutheran School.

In all things, trust the Lord,

Mrs. Greene

ST. JOHN LPTL NEWSLETTER

LPTL: We are so excited to be back as we continue to support this year’s school mission of being rooted in Christ. Things to look forward to are WAMEGO Match Day on October 1st. Funds this year will focus on bus updates and repairs. This paired with our slush fund are two of our major projects we’re looking forward to this year. Our slush fund will be focused on remodeling current bathrooms. Some identified much needed updates include but are not limited to more student friendly lighting, more accessible stalls, and better space for growing students to store needed hygiene items. We look forward to any and all participation in WAMEGO Match Day so that we can keep our bus up and running!

Here is some more information on how to support our bus fund:

Wamego Community Foundation Match Day is a special event where the community can support local nonprofits and charitable causes. Thanks to matching funds from generous benefactors, your donation will have an even greater impact.

All eligible donations up to $5,000 per donor per organization will receive a prorated match. The matching dollars will be distributed based on the total amount raised during Match Day, ensuring that every contribution counts.

How to Participate:

+ In-person: Thursday, October 1, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Iron Clad, 427 Lincoln Ave, Wamego. Meet nonprofit representatives and participate in hourly raffle drawings. Starting at 4:00 p.m., join us for Match Day Happy Hour with drinks and appetizers.

+ Online: Donate anytime from 12:01 a.m. on October 1 to 11:59 p.m. on October 4 at WamegoMatchDay.com.

+ By Mail: Send donations to Wamego Community Foundation, P.O. Box 248, Wamego, KS 66547.

+ Donations must include a donation form and must be postmarked by October 4, 2026, and received by October 7, 2026.

+ Drop Off: Drop off your donation (marked for WCF):

+ in the red door mail slot at Iron Clad Coworking at 427 Lincoln Ave, Wamego, KS 66547 by October 4th

+ in the drop-box located at our office in the parking lot of 514 Lincoln Ave.

Make your gift go further by participating in Wamego Match Day and help local nonprofits thrive!

***All checks must be written to Wamego Community Foundation***

DILLON’S COMMUNITY REWARDS: We encourage anyone who is a Dillon’s PLUS card shopper to please take a couple of minutes to sign up for the rewards program. This is a program offered by Dillon’s to give back to local schools. Each time you make a purchase using your PLUS card, a percentage of your sales is donated back to SJLS in the form of cash. There is no extra charge to you, it is simply a donation by the Dillon’s company. Please use the following link to add your PLUS card to the rewards program: www.dillons.com/communityrewards and use the code AU093 to support SJLS.

STOP TO SHOP: St. John Lutheran School now has a Kickback Card at Stop 2 Shop! When you check out, just tell them you would like to use the SJLS Kickback card and then key in 7-8-5-7-6-5-3-9-1-4 (the school’s phone number). It’s so easy…be sure to participate all year long!

In This Month's

St. John Witness

SEPTEMBER WITNESS

The Eagle Cry