Principal's Pennings
Principal's Pennings
1 November 2018
Martin Luther Academy is built around amazing volunteers. I would guess over the course of the last school year, we had over 500 volunteers who served. Our volunteers ranges from future stu-dent families alumni families, student, grandparents, and associa-tion church members. This year has been no different.
In September, we hosted Grandparents’ Day. Volunteers helped set up, clean up, and serve in different roles throughout the day. Volunteers also setup and ran the 2nd Annual Walkathon at MLA to help raise funds for the fine arts program. Shortly after the Walkathon, volunteers helped kick off Butter Braid Sales. This sale helps to raise money for TEAM which pays for Fields Trips, Year-books, and other resources used at MLA. In October, we hosted the Lutheran Athletic League of KC 7th and 8th Volleyball Tourna-ment. The tournament was run by volunteers. In a few days, we will hold our annual Extravaganza where preschool-4th grade stu-dents visit MLA for fun and games. All the games and special guest are volunteers. These are just some of the events at MLA that without you would not be a success. Thank you!
1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:”
Thank you for your willingness to use the gifts God has given to you. Thank you for wanting MLA to be successful. Thank you for the love you have for your children. Thank you!
Real. Present. God.
18October 2018
On Tuesday, October 17th, the Executive Committee had their monthly meeting. This meeting was followed by the Delegates Meeting that is held quarterly. The Executive Committee’s purpose is to oversee financial and policy matters of MLA. The committee is constantly working to keep the Mission and Vision of MLA in mind when making decisions. The Board of Delegated consist of representatives from the four Association Churches that support MLA. The delegates help to communicate information to their churches, communicate information from their churches and provide input on matters pertaining to MLA.
At both meetings, I shared ways that MLA is in the community, and dis-cussed other avenues for sharing MLA with the community. You play a big part in letting the community know about MLA what and the school offers. Your recommendations help to encourage families to visit MLA and see what the excitement is about.
On November 4th from 2-4 pm, MLA will host our annual Extravaganza. KC Wolf, Batman, Iron Man, Disney Princesses and other characters will be present for photos opportunities. Last year, we even had some guest animals join us. The upper grade students will host different games throughout the building. This is a wonderful opportunity to invite your neighbors and friends to a fun filled afternoon. We will even have the Chiefs game playing for your viewing.
Being part of the MLA community is truly a great experience. I have heard many students and their families share about their experience. I enjoyed seeing the wonderful smiling faces of the students when they walk in the door. We have an amazing God which has provide us with everything.
Real. Present. God.
20 September 2018
Monday night was the first TEAM meeting of the year. Some are proba-bly asking what TEAM is. TEAM stands for Together Everyone Achieves More. It is MLA’s form of a parent teacher league. The purpose of TEAM is to “Support MLA, have Fun & make Friendship, Education to Parents, and Financial Assistance for Student Advancements.” Monday night there was information given, decisions made and laughter.
TEAM approved money to be designated for Field Trips, Extravaganza expenses, and covering the cost of year books for each student. Where does the money come from to pay for field trips, year books and other areas of need? TEAM has fundraisers over the course of a school year. One way is through Butter Braid/Cookie Dough sells, an upcoming fundraiser. Butter Braids are a yummy frozen pastry that are baked & served. There are several different flavors. Another is the Cookie Walk that takes place in December. All parents are asked to bake cookies or other yummy treats to be sold by the pound. It is a fun Saturday. Res-taurant Nights are another way. We just had our first one with Papa John’s. Each restaurant has a different percentage of return for MLA, but it’s easy money. Finally, we sell gift cards called Scrip. The cards are sold to MLA at a discount. MLA sells the cards to you at face value, each com-pany has a different percentage of profit.
TEAM will also host events over the course of the year. Last year they had a Movie Night in the gym, a Food Nutrition Night and organized an end of the Year (Indoor) Picnic. TEAM plays a valuable role in helping make MLA a wonderful community. Tuesday, 9/18 was our first restau-rant night at Papa John’s. Our next restaurant night is at Chuck E Cheese on Tuesday, October 9th. Please remember these different fundraisers, during the year, cover the cost of field trips, year books and other re-sources our children.
Mr. Scott Dixon
4 October 2018
Daily, I pray during the announcements that God will work through our children so those around them may know God. We have the joy of teaching and modeling to students the love of Christ and we have many opportunities throughout the day to share about the love of Christ. Part of our Mission Statement is “MLA exist to nurture students spiritually…” Our teachers have faculty devotions together in the morning daily, where we hear words of encouragement based on the Bible. Similar devotions are done in the classroom. We encourage all families to attend worship.
This past weekend, St. Stephen had the pleasure of leading worship outside near the Liberty Courthouse. It was a great worship service with joy filled singing and a wonderful message from Pastor Cal. During the service, I realized what a blessing it was to be able to worship near our civil servants and to be able to pray for them openly. It was a great way to let Christ work through those in attendance and to share about Him.
Also, this past weekend, MLA shared a booth with St. Stephen at the Liberty Fall Festivals where Mrs. Martens and many volunteers shared information about Martin Luther Academy and Christ. Tomorrow, October 5, preschool students from our Association Churches will join us for a “Fire and Ice Show” put on by Mad Science. We are looking forward to welcoming many into our school and sharing with them about MLA and the blessings God provides.
How are you sharing your love of Christ and about MLA?
Real. Present. God.
Scott Dixon
6 September 2018
Grandparents’ Day is tomorrow (if you read this on Thursday) and it is always fun having grandparents join us for the day. The teachers have been planning for this event since June. The day is filled with opportunities for our MLA community to share gifts and talents that God has blessed us with. Old friendships can be renewed & new ones made. The opportunities to serve are numerous at Martin Luther Academy.
When I was speaking with my kids grandmother, she asked if Martin Luther was going to make an appearance. Martin Luther will not be there, but his alter ego will be leading us in chapel. Due to the growth in students and families, we added two more stations to our rotation. I am also excited that Jessy, the Comfort Dog, will be one of the stations. Renee Ravanelli is Jessy’s handler, and she will share about the ministry. Our MLA chapel offering is going toward the support this ministry. Of course, one of the stations is a snack station. 2018 Grandparents’ Day should be filled with a lot of fun and excitement.
Grandparents’ Day is another day, where we can see our, “Real. Present. God.” Pastor Clemens led us in chapel on Wednesday. He reminded us how Grandparents play an important role in our parents’ lives and in our own lives. How they have instilled values and morals in our lives and in many situations expressed the importance of learning about God. We are blessed every day to be able to continue to teach about the importance of being grounded in God, and how our God is present in our lives daily.
Mr. Scott Dixon