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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 March 3, 2021

CARDINAL CHATTER Elementary A/R Reward trip to Guthrie Open House, 3:30 – 5:15—Invite a family new to FLS! Lutheran Schools Week Talent Show; 2:00 & 5:15 (time change) Staff versus 8th Grade Volleyball Game, 10:15 End of 3rd Quarter; 11:20 dismissal

3/14 Daylight Savings Time Begins (Spring Forward!) 3/15-19 Spring Break – No School SIGN UP NOW FOR DAYCARE! 3/29 Picture Day! Watch for flyers coming home later 4/24 FLCS “Best Friend Happening” (see below)

COVID UPDAT E

3/4 3/8 3/8-12 3/11 3/12 3/12

Covid Update - We have a couple of families out this week because of possible exposure from their High School siblings but a BIG THANKS to Phillips66 for giving our teachers the opportunity to take their first Covid shot last Wednesday and second one over Spring Break. HALLELUJAH!

LOCAL NEWS: Do you take the newspaper? If so, if there are pictures or articles about First Lutheran Students, and you aren’t keeping it for yourself, would you send the articles in to the office? We would love to keep extra copies in our scrapbook. Thanks! 5TH – 8TH GRADE TRACK: If your 5th – 8th grade student is interested in signing up for track, please contact Coach Amanda by FastDirect. Practices will be starting no later than the week following spring break. OPEN HOUSE is Monday, March 8, from 3:30 – 5:15. If you know anyone who is considering moving their children to First Lutheran School, please invite them to come Monday, take a look around, and meet the staff! TEACHER SEARCH - Mrs. Schatte (5th) and Mrs. Powell (2nd) have decided to retire this summer after teaching here for 41 and 36 years, respectfully. Mrs. Harbeson (Language Arts) and Mrs. Hanson (Science) have served here 13.5 and 10 years respectfully and feel that God is moving them on from here also. Ms. Tane Kester will be taking the Language Arts position. We have several great prospects for all of these positions, but if you have someone for us to consider for 2nd grade, 5th grade, science, and social studies, PLEASE let Mr. Birnbaum know ASAP. STUDENT COUNCIL – MRS. HARBESON: Hello, Everyone! The second semester student council representatives have been busy planning for National Lutheran Schools Week March 8 - 12! We hope you will join us in celebrating NLSW with these fun dress-up days:     

Remember! Next Thursday (the 11th) is the Talent Show and next Friday (the 12th) is our annual volleyball game. Student council will be selling snacks and drinks at both events so bring some extra cash! PICTURE DAY — Picture day is scheduled for March 29. New flyers will be sent home closer to that date.

DUE TO COVID, we will NOT be awarding Perfect Attendance awards this semester. (1)

A BEST FRIEND HAPPENING is scheduled for Saturday, April 24, 2021, 8am-11:30am for all the mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and friends. This event is sponsored by LWML. MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND WATCH FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

RE-ENROLLMENT REMINDER: Are you coming back in August?! We need to know! Enrollment is now open to the public for next school year! Attached to a prior Chatter were your enrollment papers for the 2021/2022 school year; you can print an additional copy from the “links” tab on FastDirect, or stop by the office to get a new one. To hold your students’ spot for next school year, be sure to return your enrollment forms and 1/3 of the enrollment fee (if applicable). We are still limiting class sizes due to COVID, and some classes were already full this year, so please don’t wait until the last minute to let us know if you plan to return next year. If you know a family new to First Lutheran School that is interested in enrolling, have them call the school office for enrollment information. If they have a student in 1st – 6th grades, make sure to ask them to list you as a referring family on their enrollment sheet. If they remain enrolled through the first semester, in January of 2022 you will receive a $200 credit towards your tuition account! ELEVEN families earned credit last month just by referring friends! Can I have your grocery receipts instead of trashing them?? Since the BoxTop program has gone virtual, we are missing out on BoxTop Rewards. If you are willing, after you go shopping for groceries, home, or office, could you (*) put your receipt in the black box in front of the office, (*) bring them to Connie in the office and I can scan it and give it right back, or (*) put them in an envelope addressed to “Connie – office” and put it in your child’s backpack / take home folder / have them give it to their teacher? I’ll scan them with the BoxTop App, and then I will trash them or return them via your child (if you write your name on the receipt). Don’t worry about checking to see if there are any applicable products in your cart—it just takes a second to scan it, and if we get nothing, at least we tried. BUT…sometimes there are BoxTop Rewards associated with non-food items like Ziploc, Hefty, Paper Mate, etc. You just never know, so it’s worth a shot! Of course, you can download the app yourself and scan the receipts if you would rather. Thank you! OH! We always would like to use the numbers on the bottom of your Staples receipts to get extra Staples rewards for the school. In addition to you putting the receipt in for your own rewards; they’ll apply the Rewards to both your account and to a registered school! I just need the barcode and total spent. SCHOOL OFFICE—TAX STATEMENTS: If you would like a printout of your payments to First Lutheran during 2020 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 (it’s 73-6083110). Alternatively, you can request a tax statement from the office by calling 580-762-9950 or sending a FastDirect email to Connie Erickson. This will include school-related expenses only; summer daycare tax 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. PRINCIPAL – Mr. Birnbaum: We cannot praise God enough for the LONG, WONDERFUL careers of Mrs. Powell and Mrs. Schatte and the blessing that they and Mrs. Harbeson and Mrs. Hanson have been to our school. We pray God's blessing on their new adventures. PRE-SCHOOL – Mrs. Colvin: I hope everyone is having a great Dr. Seuss week! Thursday will be crazy sock day/ Mustache Day, and Friday is wear red and blue day! This week we are learning all about the letter F and the sound it makes. Blessings! PRE-KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Kelly: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! We collected and counted 101 cans for our 100th day food drive! Thank you for your help in stocking the food pantry! We have had a fun time celebrating reading and Dr. Seuss' birthday this week! Tomorrow is Crazy sock and/or Mustache day and Friday will be red and blue day. Friday is show and tell. March book orders are also due to me or online by Friday. Our Bible words this week are Jesus said, "Let

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the little children come to me." Matthew 19:14 We are continuing learning the letters Vv,Jj,Qq and the number 15. Have a Blessed Week! KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Miller: This Friday, March 5th, will be show and tell. Please have your child bring something that will fit in their backpack (thanks). We are having a great Dr. Seuss week (Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss)! Mr. Birnbaum came to see us as the Cat in the Hat! On Monday we got to crack our own egg and cook "Green Eggs and Ham". Lola, our class would like to wish you a happy birthday today, March 3rd. I hope everyone has a wonderful week! FIRST GRADE – Mrs. Birnbaum: Happy March and hopefully some warmer weather! Memory for Friday is the 2nd Commandment - You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Please turn in February reading logs this week. March will be the last month for the Book-It program. Class book information and order forms were sent home last week. PLEASE turn in your order form and payment in the envelope provided by FRIDAY!! We welcome Isabella Chapman back to our class! Blessings on your week! SECOND GRADE – Mrs. Powell: Happy March! Signs of spring are all around and I can hardly wait. We're excited for our trip to Level Up Arcade on Thursday. We are making excellent strides in reading. Keep working on Memory Work. This week we're saying the 9th Commandment and meaning. The children could use extra practice with spelling words. Several of our friends need additional math fact practice. We're nearly third graders and really need to work on study skills. Thanks, in advance, to those of you who are able to join us on Thursday. We couldn't do what we do without your support. Happy March birthday to Addy and Lilly. God's blessings, dear friends! Blessings to you, also! THIRD GRADE – Mrs. Steichen: TWO WEEKS!! We have two weeks till the end of the quarter. All grades are caught up and corrections have been done. If you see any issues please let me know. This Week: Memory- The Fruit of the Spirit; due by Friday. Reading: We are finishing How to Eat Fried Worms on Friday. We will test over it and watch the movie. The kids are able to bring pillows, blankets, snacks, and a drink with a screw on lid. Social Studies: We will use the next two weeks to finish our papers and finish up Black History Month. When we get back we will start a unit on Economy. Science: We have started our unit on Motion and Forces. This unit comes with a lot of hands-on fun! Test Prep: You will be starting to see test prep papers coming home. The IOWA test is just around the corner and I want the kids to be as ready as possible. This will also help with the stress level. If you are your child have any questions please let me know. We have two weeks till a break! WE GOT THIS!!! FOURTH GRADE – Mrs. Sibley: Thank you SO MUCH to those that were able to help drive for our rescheduled field trip to celebrate our hard work for reading. Keep reading to make current AR goals. The year is winding down very quickly. We are being 5th graders in training. This is a challenge that some are really stepping up to the plate for, and others need more guidance from their support system. Keep up the great work to get the word out! West region test is around the bend. Blessings as we focus on Christ’s love. FIFTH GRADE – Mrs. Schatte: And here we are in another full week of school...it's too good to be true! :) See my FD Planner for upcoming tests and quizzes. Tomorrow, Thursday, we leave for Guthrie at 10. Your child will need lunch money for that day. Happy birthday in March to Peyton, (3-10)! Just a reminder...state report test booklets are due NEXT Friday, March 12, the Friday before Spring Break. They may certainly be handed in at any time. Many have finished them. I look forward to grading them and once again learning new things about our awesome states of the U.S. Blessings!

MIDDLE SCHOOL F.L.Y. – Mrs. Heitman: FLY (First Lutheran Youth) Wednesday night in the gym! All students 6th grade and older are invited to join us for devotions, food, and fellowship! During Lent, F.L.Y. will run from 5:30 – 7:15 p.m. Mrs. Scott: 5th Grade Math has wrapped up Investigation 6 and has moved on to Lesson 61, 62, and 63 this week. 6R Math is quickly approaching the Chapter 8 Test. We will wrap up the lessons in the chapter and will begin reviewing early next week. We will have our Chapter 8 Test NEXT Thursday or Friday. 6A/7R Math will have their Chapter 9 Test early next week. We will begin reviewing the end of this week. 7A Math is working through Chapter 7. We will start reviewing for our next test mid-week next week. The test is scheduled for NEXT Thursday. (3)

8R Math took their Chapter 7 Test today and will start on Chapter 8 on Thursday. 8A Math began reviewing for their Chapter 7 Test yesterday. Their test will be THIS Thursday. Mrs. Hanson: We are nearing the end of the quarter. Let's end on a good note with all work in and done well, fully understanding concepts, and with a positive attitude. 6th grade is soaring through atoms and the periodic table. We will have a quiz this Friday. 7th grade has started their project-based assessment on Earth's Waters. This is an inquiry project meaning students are exploring the unknown, asking questions, doing research, and organizing ideas to come to some conclusions. So far we have brainstormed and come up with a "Big Idea". Students then, asked a "Big Question", these questions are not simple enough to be answered by a Google search, but not completely impossible to answer. Students have had conversations with other people that should have given them a little more info, advice, and more questions. Most recently, they have found one single piece of research over which they wrote a one page reflection and application to our question. This process is a cycle. We will do similar things to take us one step closer each time to our final conclusion. The end product will be a presentation in any style of the students' choosing. Most will be done in class, but some work will need to be done at home. Each step will be guided and assisted by me, but it would be extremely beneficial for students to talk things through with you, the guardian. 8th grade is working through the book to learn about animals and body systems. We will quiz Friday. Ms. Kester: It's March! And, notetaking is keeping us busy in History as we near next week's testing date. Between then and now, students will engage in a focus/foci session, teacher's review, and a quiz over all Lesson Reviews. A big THANK YOU to Rabbi Michael McCann for being G6's guest speaker for the Israelite Nation unit. The students thoroughly enjoyed you and learned a lot! In Religion, we are keeping our creative juices flowing as popular Bible stories are getting a middle-school makeover. Your children have been assigned playwright groups in which they will reimagine one of the narratives with all plays set to be read on Friday as table-reads. God only knows what I'm in store for, as you all have some imaginative kids!! French kept us cultured ones active playing Simone Says! with verbs like voyager, chanter, and danser, and Friday rings in our last learning section that promises to be tasty. Thank you to all the parents who contributed to the class' success! Lastly, our Valentine’s Day outing has officially been rescheduled for March 12; please meet us at 11:30 at the bowling alley! Our awesome room parent has sent information through Fast Direct. Get your monies in asap! And, don't forget to send your child with lunch money so we can get our grub on. In the meantime, reach out if you have questions or concerns as we approach the end of Quarter 3. Mrs. Harbeson: Hello, Everyone! Isn't it beautiful outside? What a gift this past week has been, especially after those frigid temperatures! I hope you all are doing well. Everything is winding down in language for the 3rd quarter. In literature, all classes have been reading short stories. We've been practicing reading out loud (inflection, pausing, emphasis, and tempo). We've discovered that reading is more enjoyable when we put some effort into our stories! In grammar, all classes will have one more grammar test before next Friday. 8th and 7th tests will be this Friday, and 6th grade's test will be at the beginning of next week. Also, 3rd quarter folders will be due next Thursday. Folders are purely extra credit and is a nice little boost to either your literature or language grade. If you do not hand in a folder, it will not hurt your grade. That's all I have for now! I hope you are able to enjoy this beautiful weather! Blessings to you all!

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

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ARE WE HAVING A SNOW DAY?! IS SCHOOL OR DAYCARE CLOSED? It’s only March, so it’s still a real possibility! Right now, before the next weather event, please make sure that you have your FastDirect Login I.D. and password. In the event that school may be cancelled due to inclement weather, we will send a message on FastDirect. It will email and text you the message also, if you have chosen that option; however, FastDirect is limited in how many characters will be sent, so PLEASE…if you don’t know your login i.d. and password, contact the office at 580-762-9950 to get set up and get the whole message. FastDirect is also useful for checking grades, viewing missing assignments, emailing staff, printing tax statements, accessing forms, seeing what’s for lunch, etc.; if you haven’t tried it, and are curious, stop by Connie’s office and I’ll show you some of its’ many features!

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 work to find one for your child(ren).)

Well, some of it! First Lutheran collects and earns credit for recycling ink and toner cartridges (full or empty) and electronic devices like old phones and tablets! (No monitors or desktops, please.) Please bring them to the office or pull up out front and call us, and we’ll come get them. Please help us keep our costs down!

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Monday, March 8: Meme Monday (Dress to represent your favorite meme!) Tuesday, March 9: Totally Tubular Tuesday (Dress in your favorite 80's gear!) Wednesday, March 10: P.J. Day (Be comfy all day!) Thursday, March 11: Mismatch Day (No matching today!) Friday, March 12: Hat Day (Wear your favorite hat!) Remember! Next Thursday (March 11) is the Talent Show and next Friday (March 12) is our annual volleyball game. Student council will be selling snacks and drinks at both events so bring some extra cash!

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