Chatter 1.22.2020

First Lutheran Church Sunday Services: 9:00 Sunday School: 10:15 a.m.

Church: 580-762-1111 www.flcspc.com

David Birnbaum, Principal School: 580-762-9950 website: flcspc.com E-mail: lutheransecretary@yahoo.com Child Care: 580-762-1124 FastDirect: fastdir.com/flcspc January 22, 2020

CARDINAL CHATTER 1/23 1/23-25 1/27 1/28 1/30 1/31 2/1 2/3

FLS @ Shidler; 4:30, 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 FLS 5th Grade Tournament; workers needed!

Hillsdale @ FLS; 5:00 & 6:00; 8th Grade Night!

8th Grade Washington D.C. Meeting, 6:00 p.m.

100th day of school - ECE 100 Cans Drive due Deadline for 2nd half tuition payment 4th Grade to Orff Music Festival FLS @ Woodland, 5, 6, & 7:00

2/5 2/6-8 2/14 2/14 2/14 2/17 2/20 2/26

Mid-Quarter Reports FLS 6th Grade Tournament; workers needed!

Topeka Varsity Tournament

FLCS Valentine Salad Luncheon  NO SCHOOL – Curriculum Writing NO SCHOOL – President’s Day Spring Pictures and Classroom Pictures Ash Wednesday

2-PAYMENT TUITION REMINDER: If you opted to pay your tuition for the year in two payments, the second half payment is due on or before January 31. If you need to switch to a monthly plan for the second semester, please contact the office and let us know.

DAYCARE SIGN-UPS, FEBRUARY 14 AND 17: School will be closed February 14 for Curriculum Writing and February 17 for President’s Day. Sign-up sheets will be in the daycare lobby beginning Monday, January 27; if you think you will need daycare those days, please sign-up so that we will have enough staff on hand for all of the kiddo’s!

FLS STUDENTS IN K8 ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE KIDS HEART CHALLENGE: In backpacks today are flyers for the Kids Heart Challenge along with a make it yourself sticker-face heart. The sticker and the flyer both have instructions on how to download the app and/or visit the web page, and the flyer shows some activities you can find online or on the app. Additionally, the kids can collect donations for the Kids Heart Challenge and earn online badges. The funds that the kids raise will go to help kids with heart defects, will help make communities healthier, and our school can earn money for PE equipment.

DAYCARE 2 YEARS OLD AND YOUNGER: If your student is 2 or under, please remember that they need to have a change of clothes in their backpack Every. Single. Day. Thank you!

SCHOOL RE-EVALUATION: Every five years we go thru a thorough self-evaluation of our entire school program and then a visiting team of six professionals will come in October to verify our findings. If you would like to help serve on this process, please contact Principal Birnbaum.

8TH GRADE NIGHT: All 8th grade athletes will be recognized during our 8th grade night celebration NEXT MONDAY, JANUARY 27TH at 5:00 p.m. This will be our last home game for the season. Plan to attend and cheer on our Cardinals one last time this season!

100 DAYS OF SCHOOL: The ECE Classes are celebrating the 100th day of school with a can drive, trying to collect 100 cans or non-perishable food items for the church pantry. ECE classes please bring your donations to school on or before the 31st of January.

SPIRIT GEAR: Have you seen the really cool First Lutheran ball caps? First Lutheran Cheerleaders have a few extra FLS Cardinals hats for sale for $20 each (limited sizes and quantities). To see them up close & in person, or to purchase a couple, stop by the school office or contact Jennifer Heitman via FastDirect. All proceeds go directly to the FLS Cheerleading fund.

Po-Hi Mini-Steppers: Did you miss sign-ups on Jan 21st? Po-Hi mini stepper registrations can still be dropped off at Tyndall Dentistry for the remainder of this week! Don't miss your opportunity!

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Y’ALL: Young-ish Adults Living Life! (20 something’s and older) Are you looking for a group of parents like yourself, navigating your way through life? Join us on Thursday evenings at 7:00 in the Youth House as we discover this journey together! Schedules are flexible, as most of us have kids with crazy schedules! This week we're wrapping up a video series on Lutheranism, next week we'll be serving at the Friendship Feast!

TAX WRITE-OFF: Businesses (and individuals) can get a BIG state and federal tax write off by contributing to the Oklahoma Scholarship Fund. Check it out at www.osfkids.org. Please pick us and we can help A LOT of kids!!!

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Do you want to make some extra money? Help be a Ponca City Census Taker in April & May. Must be 18 years or older with a vehicle and email. $14 with flexible evening and weekend hours plus $0.58 per mile in your neighborhood and even paid training. Apply online at 2020census.gov/jobs.

SCHOOL OFFICE—TAX STATEMENTS: If you would like a printout of your payments to First Lutheran during 2017 for tax purposes, you can print them off by logging into your FastDirect account, click on the “finances” button on the top, click on “tax report” on the left-hand side, then choose the year you want and click on “Tax Year Printout”. It will bring up a page to print with your payments to First Lutheran categorized and totaled, and it will have our Federal Tax I.D. number on the top.

Alternatively, you can request a tax statement from the office by calling 580-762-9950 or sending a FastDirect email to Connie Erickson. This includes school-related expenses only; summer daycare statements must be requested from daycare by sending a FastDirect email to Heidi Daley or calling daycare at 580-762-1124. Not all payments to FLS are tax deductible, and you should contact a tax advisor to find out what can be written off, and what cannot.

SNOW DAY NOTIFICATION: In the event that school may be cancelled due to inclement weather, we follow Ponca City Public Schools schedule FOR WEATHER-RELATED CANCELLATIONS ONLY. Listen to your radio during the cancellation announcements, and if Ponca City Schools are cancelled, First Lutheran will be out, also; however, there will NOT be a separate announcement for First Lutheran. This applies ONLY to weather-related cancellations; at all other times, follow the First Lutheran School Calendar. If you need a new calendar, go to www.fastdir.com/flcspc, click on the “links” tab on the left, and then click on “2017-2018 Calendar”, or stop by the school office for a new one.

PRINCIPAL – Mr. Birnbaum: What are you waiting for? "Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16) Pastor Moerbe talked about baptism in Chapel last Wednesday. If you would like more information about our beliefs, please ask. If we can't answer your questions, we will send you to Pastor. He has been an amazing asset during our vacancy.

PRE-SCHOOL – Mrs. Colvin: This week we are learning all about the letter P and the sound it makes. If you would like, please send cans of food for the food drive, it is such a great cause. Thank you to those who have already done so. Have a great week!

PRE-KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Gillespie: This week we are learning the letters R,r and F,f. We are busy reviewing all letters, numbers and sounds learned so far, as well as counting yummy treats and practicing writing our names.

PRE-KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Kelly: Happy Birthday Calvin! Great Job Mini cheer! We enjoyed watching you perform. We are trying to collect 100 cans/boxes of food for our church pantry as part of our 100 th day of school celebrations. Please bring those by Friday January 31st. We will count them together that morning. Thank you for returning your report cards! I still have a couple that have not been returned. Please get those back to me soon. Our Bible words this week are, I trust in you, O Lord. Psalm 31:14 We are learning the letters Ll,Kk,and Uu this week. Have a Blessed Week!

KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Miller: I hope everyone had a restful long weekend with the extra day on Monday! This week we are talking about Martin Luther King Jr. and doing letter Oo. Congratulations to the mini cheer girls for a job well done (Kennedy, Isabella, Aspyn, and Gracie)! Next week on Friday the 31st our class will celebrate the 100th day of school and if your child would like to they can dress like they are 100 years old on that day! We are also collecting cans or non-perishable food items to count to 100! We will give these to the church food pantry. Have a great week!

FIRST GRADE – Mrs. Birnbaum: Memory verse for Friday is Mark 10:14 - Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for such belongs the kingdom of God. Our 100th day of school is next Thursday, January 30. We will also be celebrating on Friday, Jan 31 with the other ECE classes. All the classes are collecting canned goods and our goal is to have 100 cans. Each child just needs to bring in 1 can of food for the Food Pantry at our Church. We will also be making a trail mix. Each child can bring 100 items for our mix (any kind of cereal, marshmallows, M&M's, raisin, pretzels, anything you can think of). These items can start being brought in next week - we will have our trail mix on Thursday, Jan. 30. I want to encourage you parents to make sure that you keep working with your child with their reading. Each 2

week, new phonic skills are introduced. Please make sure that you are doing the reading homework each night to help ensure their success. Thank you! Blessings on your week!

SECOND GRADE – Mrs. Powell: Happy Winter! All is well in 2nd grade. Thank you for your continued help with memory work. If we've had help at home, our confidence is amazing. Book orders are due January 29. Blessings!

THIRD GRADE – Coach Amanda (for Mrs. Steichen): We have our Unit Three spelling test coming up on Friday! We are starting Charlotte’s Web! In math we are focusing on rectangles, length and width and multiplication as a repeated pattern! We are learning and having a blast together!

Elle Turner in 3rd grade took her reading to real life! She made a unicorn treat for the class! She got the recipe from the book she checked out from library!

FOURTH GRADE – Mrs. Sibley: Make sure to dress appropriately for the weather as we are in full winter mode. Keep up the good work reading for AR & Book It. It is very rewarding when you stay on track of your goal as the quarter goes on. Log on to see current progress! Make sure that you read the Friday Letter about our Valentine’s Day Box Decorating Contest. You don’t want to miss out on the great fun & prizes. We are back into the swing of school. Remember to show all work on your math assignments, especially with long division. We never get results we are happy with when we rush & give half effort for anything. This is true for any task in life…sports or academics. Mid terms are around the corner. Continue to work on being amazing 4th graders & giving the prep for 5th grade as we ramp into routine. Blessings!

FIFTH GRADE – Mrs. Schatte: I hope you are all doing well. We continue to work hard in 5th grade. Some of us are more in tune to doing our best than others. Please check FD to take a peek at your child's grades if you haven't in a while. Six people did not know their memory work on time last week. That is not acceptable. Memory due tomorrow is Matthew 28: 16-20. This assignment has been on the board for two weeks. I have reminded students to work on it.

Please listen to your child say these verses to be sure he/she knows it. I have posted memory work grades on FD. Thanks and blessings!

FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE – Mrs. Hanson: We are working through the engineering process, trying to make modeling clay and pennies float.

If you or someone you know is any kind of engineer and would be willing to talk to our class, please let me know; we would love it!

Late slips for work have been going home to inform parents of missing work. These need to be returned, signed by parents with the work that was missing by the next class. This is not to be viewed at a punishment, but a form of communication from teacher to parent.

MIDDLE SCHOOL FUTURE WASHINGTON D.C. ATTENDEES: If you need to make payments to your D.C. account, please note that you cannot make payments with a credit card. We will, however, accept checks, cash, money orders, etc. Thank you.

FLY: All 6th-12th graders are invited to join us for FLY every Wednesday from 5:30-7:00. We meet in the youth house for dinner and devotions, then head to the gym for games! Please have a ride available to pick you up at 7:00 pm.

8TH GRADE NIGHT: All 8th grade athletes will be recognized during our 8th grade night celebration. This will be our last home game for the season. Plan to attend and cheer on our Cardinals one last time this season! Next Monday, January27th @ 5:00 pm.

Mrs. Scott: General 6th Grade Math is working with percents. Chapter 7 review will be today and Thursday and Chapter 7 Test on Friday. Advanced 6th Grade/General 7th Grade Math is working with cross multiplication. Chapter 8 review will be on Thursday and Chapter 8 Test will be on Friday. Advanced 7th Grade Math is working with percents. 8th Grade Algebra is working with absolute values. Chapter 6 Test will be on Tuesday, 1/28. Advanced Algebra will begin Chapter 8 later this week with exponents and exponential functions.

6th Grade Religion: Memory work due today was the Second Commandment and its meaning. Memory work due on 1/29 is the Third Commandment and its meaning.

Mrs. Hanson: 6th grade will be learning how gasses behave by better understanding the 3 gas laws of Boyles, Charles, and Amonton. There is a great digital interactive we will use to display these. Have your student pull this up on their Chromebook and demonstrate the laws to you.

7th grade has finished up soils and will be reviewing this week to prepare for a test early next week.

8th grade will also be reviewing invertebrates getting ready for a test early next week.

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Mr. Covert: I hope everybody enjoyed the extra day off! I also hope everybody is ready to hit the ground running!

Classes are going along as usual. 8th grade is focusing on the westward expansion of our country. In 7th grade, we’re shifting our focus south to Southeast Asia. As for 6th grade, we’re focusing on the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and eventually into Europe.

8th grade parents, we will be having a meeting regarding Washington DC on TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 at 6:00 PM in my classroom. This is a very important meeting to attend. Since we changed the date of the trip, we have some deadlines approaching very quickly, so please do your best to make it!

I pray that God continues to bless our school family as we move through this first month of 2020. Blessings on your week!

Mrs. Harbeson: Greetings! I hope you enjoyed your 3-day weekend and are having a great week so far! We are certainly busy around middle school. Second semester student council representative permission slips are being sent home today. If your child wants to serve, please sign the slip and have him or her return it to me by Monday, Jan. 27.

The classes will be voting on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

In language class, everyone took their lesson 8 spelling and vocabulary tests and are working on persuasive essays. We are also all reading our 3rd quarter novels. I'm looking forward to having some really meaningful discussions in class. All classes will also begin their new grammar units this week, as well. That's all for now. Blessings on the rest of your week!

First Lutheran Church & School—Growing up into Jesus, Reaching out with Jesus, Walking together in Jesus * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -* - * - * - * - * -* - * - * - * - * -* - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * -* - * - * - * - * - *

First Lutheran earns credit for recycling ink and toner cartridges (full or empty) AND electronic devices! Please save your used (or new and unwanted) ink or toner cartridges and electronic devices, and bring them to the office.

In addition, we also collect BoxTops. You can turn them in anytime, to the office or your homeroom teacher. You can also download the app and scan receipts for BoxTop Points, or bring your receipt to the office and Connie will scan it and give it right back!

We have outside recess every day, and some days are VERY cold.

Please send a jacket with your student to school EVERY DAY! Also, please make sure their name is in the

jacket. They will have a much more enjoyable recess period if they are warm, and so will the staff who is supervising them! (If you cannot afford a jacket for your student, please contact the office, and we will get you in touch with an organization that can help.)

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