Principal's Pennings
Principal's Pennings
And just like that, we are back in school and next week we will be celebrating National Lutheran Schools Week. NLSW is filled with learning, special dress days, and service projects. Many thanks to the four association churches that support MLA. This year’s NLSW theme is “It’s Still All About Jesus.” What a blessing it is to be able to celebrate with over 2000 Lutheran early childhood, elementary and high schools across the world. Lutheran schools have about 18,000 teachers who are able to touch the lives of about 200,000 students.
There are many reasons why families have chosen Lutheran schools. Listed below are some from this site - https://www.lcms.org/school-ministry
- Are driven by a commitment to the Gospel and focused on a mission of bringing hope and healing to students and families.
- Meet or exceed state and national academic standards at all grade levels.
- Have educators who model visionary leadership.
- Have educators who model servant leadership.
- Have educators who model spiritual leadership.
At MLA, we are blessed to be able to put these reasons into practice as well. Everyday, the gospel is shared with our students, families and between the faculty and staff. The faculty gathers daily for devotions in the morning. We open and closes the school day with prayer and there are many other examples. We continually strive to exceed academic standards as well as the standards of the world. All of our teachers had the opportunity to share with me what they see for MLA in the future, and it is being used to help develop a stronger vision. They also know what needs to be learned by their students each year, so they may be successful in the next grade. Our faculty and staff continue to surprise me with the effort they show in different events over the course of the year. MLA is truly blessed to have such a loving, caring and knowledgeable staff.
So why MLA? Because, daily we have the opportunity to share with all, the love of our Lord and savior Jesus. We praise Jesus for being “the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Mr. Scott Dixon
The MLA Extravaganza was, OUT OF THIS WORLD, incredible. We had over 200 children, parents, and friends in the building. Thank you to the 53 volunteers from the churches, preschools, and MLA families that donated their time to help make this a successful event.
NO SCHOOL- MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 2018, MLK DAY!
TADS Enrollment
Please check your email inbox for an email titled “Martin Luther Academy Fall 2018 - Spring 2019 Re-Enrollment for student name (Grade: level).” If you did not receive this email check your spam folder, and if you still haven’t received the email please let us know. We are using TADS for enrollment, billing and tuition. In the past there were multiple forms that needed to be completed for enrollment. TADS covers most of the forms needed now. Early enrollment helps us plan for the upcoming school year. As of right now, 43% of the 1st grade class and 28% of the kindergarten class have enrolled for the upcoming school year. We would love to see all classes at 100% retention. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Dixon or Mrs. Martens.
Mr. Scott Dixon
Enrollment Dead Lines:
New Student Enrollment Fee: $150 per student
Re-Enrollment fee in January - $150/ student
Re-Enrollment fee in February - $200/student
Re-Enrollment fee from 1 March & after - $300/student
21 December 2017
I don’t know about you, but I still do not have all my Christmas shopping completed. I realized I haven’t even slowed down long enough to finalize my gifting thoughts. There are groceries that need to be bought, laundry to be done and other normal household items. We still need to find our stockings, because they are packed somewhere…. I think I know where they are. There are parties to attend and maybe even parties to host. It’s a time a of year, where you can easily get wrapped up in a task oriented frame of mind. When everything can seem overwhelming and sometime unsurmountable.
When times are crazy, the Lord always seems to put on my heart Psalm 46:10, “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” It is easy to forget, that the harder we try, the harder it is to complete a task. We have the perfect model in Christ as to how we should react. We can read stories of how Jesus went into the wilderness and fasted, remained calm in the storm, raised Jarius daughter from the dead, prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and many more. Jesus did not live a life of ease. He lived a life knowing what he was sent to earth to do. He never put his trust in His disciples but always in our Father. He never took his eyes off His Father. During advent season, don’t forget to “Be still, and know that I am God.” He is the only person who can provide true peace and calm. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Scrip
Scrip is a lot more than just gift cards. There are some businesses that allow you to reload the Scrip cards you currently have, and you can even order digital scrip. I recently was at Target, I logged into myscripwallet.com using my family’s scrip information and placed an order for a rounded amount needed, submitted the request, and it was available for scanning at checkout. It was that easy. Remember scrip is easy money for MLA and the more you use Scrip the more the school benefits financially. E-Scrip and ScripReload, at times, will provide a higher rebate on the cards, and there is no charge for shipping because it is all digital!
EXTRAVAGANZA/CARNIVAL FUN DAY!!! Is this SUNDAY, 7 January 2018 from 2:00 pm—4:00 pm. Everyone is welcome! Please see page 3 for more details, and bring a friend.
TADS Enrollment
Friday, January 5th, everyone should receive an email from TADS with a link for enrollment in the 2018-19 school year. We have switched from a paper copy to digital in hopes to provide easier enrollment access for you. Using enrollment through TADS will also help provide contact information for our new student information system called Educate. There will no longer be the need to complete much of the paperwork that comes along with enrollment and almost everything will be completed through TADS. Early enrollment helps us with planning for the upcoming school year. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Dixon.
Scrip
Just because the holidays are over don’t stop using scrip. From November 1, 2016 to November 1 2017, we raised about $500 for TEAM. From November 2, 2017 to date we raised about $650. In two months’ time, we were able to raise $150 more than the previous year combined. Don’t forget, you can sign up online to order and sign up to pay online. When you shop at Target, Walmart and many other places, you can place your eScrip order right in the store and use at check. If you need help getting set up to pay online, please contact Mr. Dixon.
Grant Update
Special thank you to Susan Thompson-Wright for completing a financial grant in October that we were approved for this new year!
14 December
I just finished watching the students practice the Christmas service for Friday night. The kids are moving to their places, singing with joy and happiness and standing proud. The faculty and staff are very excited about the opportunity for the students to lead worship for our newborn King.
There is one area the middle school needs to perfect, that is their speaking parts. It isn't that they do not know their parts, or what to do, it’s that they are speaking too quickly and not speaking loudly. There are students who are saying their parts in a voice that is quieter than their normal voice. I understand that nerves often interfere with their confidence. Mr. Maas and Mrs. Haase spent extra time working with them.
This reminds me of myself at times, and maybe you too. We are in an environment where the common response used to be “MERRY CHRISTMAS!” has changed to “happy holidays.” Where “Christmas blessings” has turned into, well “happy holidays.” What used to be a bold proclamation of the true meaning of the season has turned into a quiet response in public. I am looking forward to Friday night because God always goes to work on the hearts and bodies of the students. Areas they have struggled with, since day one, will be completed with great confidence the night of the service. The quiet voices are no longer quiet, but they are boldly proclaiming the love of our one True God! Like our children, go into the world proclaiming with joy and delight, that “Jesus is the reason for the season!” and “MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Scrip
Scrip is easy to use. Remember we purchase gift cards at a reduced priced and then sell them at the normal retail price. Did you know that you can order your Scrip online and have it shipped to the school?
First, go to shopwithscrip.com and register. You will create an account and input MLA’s enrollment code. The Enrollment Code is: 5L4ECL6A15658. Once you have created an account, you can log in and create your own shopping list.
You can select Scrip from over 700 vendors nationwide including restaurants, retail, travel, most major airlines and hotels. If you are going on a vacation, check scrip first and order scrip for your airline ticket, car rental, gas cards, and hotels. While you are on vacation, you will be supporting MLA. “But my family is on the Dave Ramsey plan for budgeting.” That works perfectly, because you know how much money you are spending on budgeted items, you know how much to buy, and you are being a great steward with your money, supporting MLA.