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 February 26, 2020
CARDINAL CHATTER 2/26 2/27 2/28 3/3 3/6 3/6 3/9 3/9-13
Ash Wednesday; 5:00 p.m. service with Sloppy Joe Supper afterwards; please come! Talent Show Applications due 5th Grade to Wichita 5:30 – 7:00 pm @ Po-Hi Howell Auditorium; 8th grade enroll for Po-Hi - 9th Grade Last Day to sign up for Spring Break Daycare Academic Meet (4th-8th), Broken Arrow Signing Day/Open House, 3:30 – 5:30 (see below) Lutheran Schools’ Week! (List of Dress Up Days attached.)
3/12 3/12 3/13
Deadline for Kids Heart Challenge donations Talent Show, 6:30, Gym End of 3rd Quarter; ½ day of School; Sign-up now for daycare 3/13 11:20 Dismissal 3/16-20 Spring Break – No School; sign up now for daycare 3/29 Great Day of Service; call the office to help 3/30-4/3 Testing Week—see attached 4/3 Fundraising Auction/Dinner/etc. Details below.
ASH WEDNESDAY: We commemorated Ash Wednesday at Chapel today. Pastor talked about our sins and the need for the Savior. Everyone had the opportunity to come up and get a cross smudged on their foreheads with ashes of burnt palm branches. If you missed this opportunity, we will have service tonight at 5:00, with a sloppy joe supper afterwards. Everyone is welcome! OUR LENTEN FOCUS: Lent, the church year season that begins on Ash Wednesday, is a time of penitence and spiritual renewal. Some people give up a luxury or vice during Lent as a form of self-denial; others undertake a project that benefits others. The point isn’t to denigrate ourselves or to see how much we can do without. Instead, Lent helps us to reflect on Jesus’ death. As Timothy Keller writes in The Reason for God: “The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me; yet I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think myself less. SPRING BREAK DAYCARE SIGN-UPS: The sign-up sheet for Friday, March 13th for the half day dismissal is available now. The sign-up sheet is also out for Spring Break daycare, March 16-20. The last day to sign up will be March 6th. RE-ENROLLMENT GIVE-AWAY: Several of you have already brought in your Re-Enrollment papers. If you enroll by the end of February, you will get one entry into a drawing for a $25 Gift Card for each 1/3 of the enrollment fee that you pay by the date of the drawing. (An enrollment fee paid in full = 3 entries for the drawing.) Watch the Chatter on March 4th to see if you won! SIGNING DAY/OPEN HOUSE: We invite you to attend our signing day on March 9 from 3:30 - 5:30. IF you bring a new family on that date and they enroll in our 1st-6th grade in the next six months, you will get a $50 Walmart Card in an addition to the $200 credit on your tuition in January if they remain enrolled through the fall semester. FLS STUDENTS IN K-8 ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE KIDS HEART CHALLENGE: Way to go students collecting money for the Kids Heart Challenge! You all have collected over $1,000 so far. We are still taking donations both online and physical through March 12th. Big prizes will come after Spring Break. IT’S TIME TO SHOW OFF! The Talent Show will be held March 12 at 6:30 in the gym. Teachers’ and the office have applications; interested students should fill out and return their application by TOMORROW! SURVEY NEEDED - Ladies/Gentlemen, every five years our school goes through an accreditation process to maintain State and National Accreditation standings. The survey has questions based on the seven accreditation standards. Please -1-
take time to complete the survey that was attached to last weeks’ chatter, is available in the office, or you may follow the link that was sent via fastdirect to all parents. WE GREATLY APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT!!! GREAT DAYS OF SERVICE are days set aside to perform service acts for others. They are scheduled for Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29. On March 28, we will be assisting the Marshal Island Assembly of God Church with a couple of projects. They participated in our Christmas Market and as a "thank you" we will be assisting them with a couple of church repair projects. To volunteer with that or any of our service projects, please contact the school office. DINNER-ENTERTAINMENT AND AUCTION HERE on Friday, April 3 from 5:30 to 8:00. Paul Schatte BBQ, baked potatoes, BBQ beans, drink, and dessert for $10 prepaid in advance only ($15 at the door). CAMP LUTHERHOMA: Summer Camp for youth and families is just around the corner! If you would like to gather your children and a few friends, or several families with children, and attend a Christian summer camp and/or family camp, the flyer and information is available in the office with color pictures. You do not need to be Lutheran to attend. PRINCIPAL – Mr. Birnbaum: Thank you to the little smiling faces that brightened our church with their beautiful singing on Sunday. Our church prays weekly for the school and provides over half the cost for every child's tuition. Seeing the little children on Sunday morning helps this congregation to want to continue to support this ministry. PRE-SCHOOL – Mrs. Colvin: This week we are learning all about the letter X and the sound it makes. The children are doing great recognizing both uppercase and lowercase. They are also doing a fantastic job practicing writing their names. Have a great week! PRE-KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Gillespie: This week we are learning the letter Y, y and reviewing all the vowels. We welcome our new student, Parker Walk and say Happy Birthday to Emmalee. Next week we will celebrate my Bday and Dr. Seuss' birthday on March 2nd, with a week full of Dr. Seuss activities. It will be a great time of fun. Be sure to check out the info in their folders. PRE-KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Kelly: Happy Birthday Jillian! Thank you for bringing your child to church to sing on Sunday! Book orders are in folders and are due back to me or online by March 6th. Show and Tell will be on THURSDAY, March 5th. Dr. Seuss Week is March 2nd-6th. Dress up days came home last week. Monday will be Dress like your favorite Dr. Seuss character and/or hat day. Our Bible words this week are, Jesus said, Let the little children come to me. Matthew 19:14 We are working on the letters Jj,Qq,Vv and the number 16. Have a Blessed Week! KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Miller: Next week, March 2-6th, is Dr. Seuss week! Monday: Dress like favorite Dr. Seuss Character or hat day! Tuesday: Wear Green! Wednesday: Dress Wacky! Thursday: Crazy sock/mustache day! Friday: Wear red and blue! We will sing in Church on April 5th (Palm Sunday) at 9:00 am service, so please mark your calendar! Have a great week. FIRST GRADE – Mrs. Birnbaum: Memory work for Friday is the 1st Commandment - You shall have no other gods. Class book order forms are due with payment or online payment by Friday. You need to turn in the order form even if you mark no. We will have show and tell on Friday. Our show and tell for this month is to bring your favorite stuffed animal. Mark your calendars - Kindergarten and 1st grade will be singing in church on April 5th, which is Palm Sunday. Happy birthday to Addy on Sunday, March 1! Blessings on your week! SECOND GRADE – Mrs. Powell: Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our Lenten journey as we contemplate Christ's tremendous sacrifice for us. First Lutheran has Wednesday evening Lenten services and you're always invited to join us. Only a few more weeks until spring break. Several students still need to complete AR tests to reach AR goals. Continue to encourage your child to read. Books read at home can be tested on at school. Happy March Birthday to Johnathan, Kaylynn, Roshan, Diya, and William! God's Blessings, Dear Friends! Blessings to you, too! THIRD GRADE – Coach Amanda (f/Mrs. Steichen): 3rd Grade is movin’ and groovin’ through this quarter! We are reading The One and Only Ivan! We have finished the 10 commandments and are beginning the Apostles Creed! Parents, please ask your child about mad minutes and have them practice! We will take our math test on Thursday. On Friday we will do spelling test and vocabulary test. FOURTH GRADE – Mrs. Sibley: I am so thankful that we get to focus on Jesus’ love for us on the cross as he gave the ultimate sacrifice so we may follow Him. It is only through this love that we are able to live with each other. Please join us for church at 5 p.m. tonight to praise Jesus, with supper to follow. Continue to read for AR. Some have made or are really close to making their AR goal. Many have found that without nightly reading at home, it can be difficult to make our AR goal. Since the quarter is winding down, make sure we stay on top of grades and Fast Direct. Keep studying for the West test on March 6th. Blessings as we stay warm! FIFTH GRADE – Mrs. Schatte: Today begins our six week journey of Lent. It's a somber time to reflect on our sinful state and be grateful that God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to redeem us from our sins. First Lutheran 2
Church will hold a special Ash Wednesday service at 5:00 this evening. Our field trip is Friday. We will leave at 8:30 and return by day's end. Thanks to all parents accompanying us on this trip. We couldn't do it without you! Blessings! FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE – Mrs. Hanson: The most important things I need 5th graders to be developing are critical thinking and problem-solving skills. STEM is perfect for enabling these kids to use, practice, and fine-tune these skills that are crucial in EVERY future and ANY content area.
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.
8th graders & parents—Po-Hi Enrollment information: Tuesday, March 3rd @ Po-Hi Assembly Center 5:30-7:00 (Short presentation at 5:45) First Lutheran, St. Mary’s, EPIC, and Home-schooled 8th graders who plan on attending Po-Hi in the Fall of 2020, will have the opportunity to choose classes for next year at Po-Hi and meet their counselor. Registration information will also be provided. Please attend this event at Po-Hi to get your student enrolled for High School. School records and information that you have provided to FLS (such as birth certificates, shot records, etc.), will be automatically transferred to Po-Hi. Please let us know if your 8th grader WILL NOT be transferring to Po-Hi. STUDENT COUNCIL – MRS. HARBESON: Wow! Did we have a great time at the dance last Friday night! I'm so glad that almost all of the middle school students were able to attend. A HUGE thank you is extended to Mr. & Mrs. Hanson, Mr. & Mrs. Covert, and my hubby for chaperoning. I'd also like to thank Mrs. Jackson for creating our awesome photo booth and Ms. Bickford for being the best-ever errand runner! We just couldn't have done it without you!! Lots of supplies were gathered for the Ponca City Humane Society donation. Thank you! The second semester student council and I will be delivering those items and taking a tour of the Humane Society's new facility in the near future. If you would still like to make a donation, please bring it to Mrs. Harbo's room by March 6. Speaking of our new student council, I'd like to introduce them to you. 8th grade representatives are Ava Wilson (president) Kylie Flowers (secretary) and Hudson Haas. 7th grade representatives are Reed Jackson (vice president), Emma Bickford (treasurer), and Braden Barney. 6th grade representatives are Jasmine Sodowsky, Colton Strange, London Pettigrew, and Marshall Blackstar. Congratulations to our new crew! I look forward to working with you this semester. Mrs. Scott: General 6th Grade Math is working with protractors to find the measures of angles. Advanced 6th Grade/General 7th Grade Math is working on proportions. Advanced 7th Grade is reviewing for their Chapter 8 Test on Thursday. 8th Grade Algebra is solving linear systems by combinations. Advanced Algebra has started Chapter 9 on solving quadratic equations by finding square roots. 6th Grade Religion: Memory work due today was the Seventh Commandment and its meaning. Memory work due on 3/4 is the Eighth Commandment and its meaning. Mrs. Hanson: This marks the beginning of lent, the journey to the cross. I personally love the idea of lenten disciplines. I think they help us create that time with God that we all want and try to have, and keeps us accountable, even if only for 40 days, in hopes to create some new, healthy, spiritual habits. The kids and I have been discussing this 3
idea and most have come up with some awesome lenten disciplines they would like to take on. Ask your student what they have adopted, encourage them in it, and maybe adopt one yourself or as a family! 6th grade is putting element knowledge together to build some compound knowledge. (punny and literal) They are creating visual aids and will present information this week as well as quiz by Friday. 7th grade is also piecing tectonic plates together (figuratively and literally) as they create stop motion videos animating the 3 types of boundaries, improving previously done interactive notebook pages, reviewing, and quiz by Friday. 8th grade continues to hop through the vertebrates, transitioning from amphibians to reptiles, writing their next movie review, and quiz by Friday. Mr. Covert: We’re almost to the end of February, and today is the start of Lent! I hope that everyone is doing well as we move into this important season of the church year. Classes are still moving at a fast clip this year. 8th grade will be starting the era of American Imperialism, where America took a bigger stance on the world stage. In 7th grade, we’re going to continue our study of Central Asia. As for 6th grade, we’ll be starting in on the Renaissance this week, as we leave the Middle Ages behind. I pray that God continues to bless our school family as we move into the Lenten season. Blessings on your week! Mrs. Harbeson: Hello, All! I hope you're doing well this week. All classes have taken their lesson 9 spelling and vocabulary tests and will move on in lesson 10 at the end of this week. Everyone has also submitted their persuasive essays. 6th and 7th grades are working on new novels. 6th is reading "The Music of Dolphins" and 7th grade is reading "Freak the Mighty." These are a "read-on-your-own" book at your own pace. Once you finish your book, please take the AR test. You are responsible for taking the AR test on your book by Thursday, March 12. The AR test will be entered as a test grade in Literature. 8th grade is finishing "The Giver" and will move on to our next book next week. All classes are continuing working on grammar lessons as well. That's all I have for now...blessings on the rest of your week! FLY NIGHT: All 6th-12th graders are invited to join us for FLY night 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. WINTERJAM: Join us on Saturday, Feb 29th, for the WinterJam tour! All youth 6th-12th grade are invited to join us for this evening of Christian music and fellowship! The cost is $15 per person, this covers entry to the concert. Dinner will be provided. We will leave First Lutheran at 2:00 and return around midnight. Thanks to our volunteer drivers, we have 20 seats available, but they’re filling up fast! If you’re interested in attending (or driving), please see Jennifer Heitman for more details. Due to the limited number of seats available, seats will NOT be reserved until permission slips and fees have been turned in. This will be a first come, first serve, basis.
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We have outside recess every day, Please send a jacket school EVERY DAY! the jacket. They will have a much are warm, and so will the staff cannot afford a jacket for your we will get you in touch with an
and some days are VERY cold. with your student to Also, please make sure their name is in more enjoyable recess period if they who is supervising them! (If you student, please contact the office, and organization that can help.)
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LUTHERAN SCHOOLS WEEK DRESS UP DAYS! Join us March 9-13 as we celebrate the opportunity to be a part of the Nation of Lutheran Schools! Our dress-up days are as follows: Monday, March 9 Tuesday, March 10 Wednesday, March 11
Thursday, March 12 Friday, March 13
FLS Spirit Day--Wear FLS gear (or red/black/white clothing) Be YOU-NIQUE. Show your individuality that makes you, YOU! The Future You / Red, White, and Blue; Your choice…dress to show us your anticipated hobbies, profession, or passion – OR – dress in red, white, and blue. Character Day (chapel families choose and plan a character theme for your chapel family) All chapel families wear one color from the flag of your country in the upcoming Chapel Family Olympics (for instance, if your country is Canada, your chapel family would choose to wear either red or white)
March 30 - April 2, is ITBS Testing Week for Grades 2-8 in the mornings! Make plans now to be ready for testing week! If you have doctor / dentist / etc. appointments during the morning hours this week, please re-schedule them. It is a tremendous distraction to your student, as well as the others in the class, to have students pulled out during the middle of a test. They should have multiple sharpened pencils with an eraser (not mechanical). It’s near the end of the year; ask your student if their pencils still have erasers and is the pencil more than an inch long? If not, it is time to invest in a couple of new pencils! Testing typically starts at 8:30 a.m. sharp, so your students will need to be on time. Classroom doors open at 8:10 a.m. each morning, and school begins/attendance is taken at 8:20 a.m. Students who arrive tardy will be admitted to their classrooms only after the current test is finished, and that student/parent will need to make up that test at a later point. There will be more information closer to testing week, but for now, just be aware it is coming and, if possible, re-schedule morning appointments during that week. 5
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