Salem Lutheran School News

More wonderful news for our school! Dear Salem Lutheran Church and School, Psalm 31:3 says, “Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.” God is my rock to lead and guide me. I trust that he works everything out for our good. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” I trust that God’s good purpose is that I accept the call to be a full-time preschool teacher at Salem Lutheran School. I have seen countless blessings in my life and the lives of others around me these last few months at Salem. I cannot wait for what God has planned in the months ahead. I want to use my life honoring my Lord and I cannot think of a better way than to teach His little lambs to know Him better and love Him more. I am honored and humbled to be able to teach God’s saving truth to the little ones in my care. Thank you for this great opportunity. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue serving G

We received this news from Mr. and Mrs. Klatt today. We thank the Lord for leading them to accept our call, and look forward to meeting them. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We pray this letter finds you well as you prepare to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. After many conversations and much prayer, our Lord has led Jessica and I to accept the call as Principal and Kindergarten teacher at Salem Lutheran School. We look forward to working together with you to further God’s kingdom and continue to teach his little lambs the saving truths of God’s Word. Please continue to keep First German and Bethany in your prayers as they now begin the process of calling to fill the positions of Principal and Kindergarten teacher. God’s Blessings on the rest of your school year. In Christ, Ryan and Jessica Klatt

Reminders for the Month of December SCRIP Orders Due Dec. 4 & Dec. 11 Friday, December 1 - Jump Up Day -  All of our students will spend the morning as if they were in their next grade. Each classroom will spend 1/2 of the day in the next grade up.  This is a great opportunity for students to become familiar with the teaching staff here at Salem.  After lunch, classes will resume their regular schedules.  We chose this day because our 8th grade class will be “jumping up” to 9th grade by participating in Crusader for a Day at St. Croix Lutheran High School. Our teachers are excited to meet their future students! Basketball Game - Away Girls play Good Shepherd @ 7:00 pm and boys play @ 8:00 pm Heritage Lutheran, 13401 Johnny Cake Ridge Rd, Apple Valley, MN Saturday, December 2  - Basketball Tournament @ St. Croix Lutheran Middle School 9:00 am (Boys) & 10:00 am (Girls)/ Worship Service 5:00 pm Sunday, December 3 - Worship Services 8:00 & 10:30 am (Education Hour

Winter Reading Coping with Stress Volunteering These are some of the topics in the December issue. Happy reading! December Home and School Connection

From the Principal’s Desk December 2017        A "Sola" Christmas                                                       December is here!  Time to get ready for Christmas - the shopping, the decorating, hearing special music, the special foods, planning family gatherings, hoping you receive the gift you are dreaming about - all these and more occupy our time and energy. It is a very exciting time and a very exhausting time. Notice I have used the word “time” quite a bit. This is something that seems to be in very high demand in December yet it has a limited quantity. How we use the time that God has given us is important. We need to recognize that Christmas is the celebration God’s gift of salvation to us through the birth of his son, Jesus. The November From the Principal’s Desk  focused on the Reformation and its main truths, Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (to t

                                           We would like to introduce you to the great staff we have at Salem! During the 2017-2018 school year, Calla teaches Salem’s Middle School students. Her classes include Spanish, Algebra 1 and Science. Calla’s fondest memories from her school-age years include playing lightening at recess with a big group of students as well as attending horse camp with her sisters. Calla enjoys the Science Museum of Minnesota both with students and without. She feels that the hands-on exhibits really bring God’s amazing creation to life.

On Wednesday, Dec. 6, Pioneer supporters and the Youth Group will serve soup, salad, bread, crackers and dessert between Advent services (4:00 pm & 7:00 pm). If you can help support this meal by making your favorite crockpot of soup , please let the church office know or contact Jodi Otto (651-208-5217) as soon as possible. The free will donation from this meal will be used for the sanctuary roof fund and also to buy gifts for the Caring Committee Tree. Thank you for your support of these two groups!

The 8th graders of Salem Lutheran School are selling Butter Braids to help them fund their 8th-grade class trip to Chicago. If you would like to place an order, please contact an 8th grader or call the school office before December 4th .  651-439-7831 (school.office@salemlutheran.org) They will also be serving taco in a bag and taco salad between Advent services (4:00 pm & 7:00 pm) on  December 13th . Please use either of these opportunities to support the 8th-grade class. Thank you!

The game times for the games against Burnsville will be, girls at 7 pm and the boys will play at 8 pm.

Advent by Candlelight 2017 Please join us this Sunday, December 3rd 2:00 til 4:00 P.M. as we welcome the Advent Season. We invite ladies from Salem Lutheran School (5 years and older) and their friends to join us for an afternoon of fellowship, finger food, and dessert as we prepare our hearts for the true meaning of Christmas. To register your daughter(s) or friends outside of Salem, please specify the number of guests that will be attending in the drop-down section of the form or just contact the church office with information on who is attending. Fill Out Form Here

Sharon Ronning already has the information for her students that will be playing preservice music for the December 20th K - 8 Christmas Program at Salem. She needs to know what other piano students would like to play a piece that evening. The children are limited to one sacred piece no longer than 2 minutes. They would need to be available to play before the 6:00 pm service time (probably starting 5:15 - 5:30pm time frame). If your child would like to play and has a piece that meets that criteria, please email Mrs. Ronning the title, composer and the length NO LATER THAN MONDAY, DEC. 4 . (ronningdesign@yahoo.com) Thank you!

This Friday Salem's basketball teams will be on the road to play against Good Shepherd.  The games will begin at 6 pm for the Girls and 7 pm for the Boys.  Come and cheer on the teams at Heritage Lutheran Church, 13401 Johnny Cake Ridge Rd, Apple Valley, MN 55124.  On Saturday the Saints will travel to St. Croix Lutheran Academy (1200 Oakdale Ave. W. St. Paul, MN 55118)  to participate in a mid season tournament.  The boys will start playing at 9 am and the girls will begin at 10 am.  This will be an exciting day for the teams to bond and have a great time.  Play Hard Saints! 

Reminder!! No school Nov. 22-24 due to Thanksgiving break. If you are staying here for the holiday, please come worship with us! Wednesday, Nov. 22 Worship Service 7:00 pm Thursday, Nov. 23 Worship Service 10:00 am Blessings and safe travels to all!

Here is next month's lunch menu: December Lunch Menu

Last Friday, the Salem girl’s basketball A team faced the Bloomington Eagles, who have always been a tough opponent. All week, the girls practiced on running our plays, man defense, and some of the rules of the game, since we have several players that are new to basketball. Alex and I, along with the team, wanted to make sure we were as prepared as we could be to face this tough opponent. The team came out strong, and Sophia led the team with her enthusiasm and hustle. I could not be more proud or pleased with the effort and hustle the girls had. We only have eight players, and even though the team was tired, and had to play long minutes before getting a break, they never gave up. Due to the Eagle’s size, we were at a huge disadvantage for rebounding. Due to this, we struggled to get defensive rebounds, and Bloomington began to pull away in the second half. Despite the score differential, the girls kept up a positive attitude, and left it all on the court. We ended up losing 1

Saints Lose Hard Fought Battle with Eagles     On Friday, Salem’s boys basketball team took on the Eagles of Bloomington Lutheran in our first home game of the season. Going into the game, our boys were excited for the opportunity to play against such a well-coached Bloomington basketball team. Throughout the entire week of practice, our young team embraced the idea of playing against a team that could compete on the high school level.     Although our boys were at a total size disadvantage, I was very pleased with our effort level throughout the entire game. Bloomington’s tremendous length and athleticism fueled their suffocating team defense, which held the Saints to just two first half points. Despite our first half offensive struggles, I thought our team defense, led by eighth grader Houghton , did an excellent job of matching the physicality of Bloomington, which forced them into many difficult shots.     In the second half, the Saints maintained this solid defense, while a

Salem’s Impressive Second Half Comeback Falls Short On Friday night, our Salem A boys made the long trip to Delano to compete in our first basketball game of the season against the Mt. Olive Crusaders. After three long weeks of hard practice, our boys were excited to finally play our first game of live action. The game opened with a chaotic pace as the Crusaders came out with early defensive pressure, which disrupted our offensive sets. Although I was pleased with our hustle and effort level in the first half, we had far too many turnovers. We trailed at halftime by a score of 21-7. Down by 14 points at halftime against a physical opponent, it would have been easy for our boys to give up. The second half resiliency of our Salem Saints was extraordinary. Through solid team defense and attacking the hoop on offense, we outscored Mt. Olive 14-7 in the second half. Even though our comeback fell just short (final score: 28-21 ), I am so proud of the heart and desire of our boys that

Come and cheer on the Salem Basketball teams this Friday night for their home opener.  The Saints will be playing the Eagles from Bloomington.  The girls game will begin at 6:30 pm and the boys game will follow at 7:30 pm. Go Saints !

The boys and girls basketball teams headed to Delano to play the Crusaders of Mt. Olive. The girls started the night off with a great scrimmage.  The girls showed that they are quickly becoming a team with good passing and rebounding.  The girls shots however were not falling in for them, and they lost this exabhition game. The boys closed out the night with a high energy exciting game.  The boys started off by feeling out the other team with a quick defense and good passing.  As the game went on all the boys settled in and the offense started to come through and the scoring heated up.  Even though this team is young they played a big game.  Sadly the boys lost by just a few points.

Our students in grades 5-8 recently finished the second round of the Martin Luther College Meet Math competition. You can see our school and individual student results and rankings by visiting https://portal.mlc-wels.edu/meetmath/results/view . Our Salem fifth and sixth-grade students are in the B-5 category, and our seventh and eighth-grade students are in the A-4 category. Categories are determined by school size. Other test dates this year are the week of January 14, and February 26. Meet Math is a service club at Martin Luther College that provides mathematics contests for students in grades 5-12 who are enrolled in WELS or ELS schools. This club also maintains school and individual statistics that are the basis for various awards presented at the end of the school year. For more information about Meet Math, visit https://portal.mlc-wels.edu/meetmath/home/about .

We are so proud of the 13 students from grades 5-8 who participated in the Public Speaking Festival at St. Croix Lutheran Academy. They were all very successful and everyone won a ribbon or medal. Congratulations!!

We are proud of all of our students as they work hard to use their God given talents! We also want to congratulate these 6th - 8th grade students who achieved Honor Roll for the 1st quarter of our school year: Ethan Laura Elijah Avery Jonna Sophia David Hannah Meade John Caysie Addison Zachariah Houghton Hannah Dorian

Veterans Day Presentation Salem Lutheran School had a special presentation on Thursday, November 9,  to recognize veterans and pay tribute for their service to our country. The speaker was David Zolldan, a sergeant in the 34th Division of the Minnesota National Guard. David attended Salem Lutheran School from preschool through eighth grade so this presentation was special to him and the staff members that had him as a student. Sergeant Zolldan spoke about the historical significance of Veterans Day and why it is important for us to remember the veterans of our country. He served with 34th Division Military Police Company in Iraq from 2009-2010. His slide presentation of Iraq and other places he has been with the National Guard gave the students an excellent image of what military deployment and service are like. He was joined by Mr. Jeff Ross, who is a former member of the Air Force.  Mr. Ross gave a brief talk to the third and fourth grade students before the all-school presentation

Friday Basketball Games at Delano Please take note that the game times and location to enter have changed to: Girls game 6:30 pm Boys game 7:30 pm Location: Delano Public School                 700 Elm Ave.                 Delano, MN 55328 The main entrance is closed due to construction. Use the Middle School entrance . There will be signs directing you. This is a different location than we have gone to in the past. Thank you! Linda Noack

Plan ahead for these St. Croix Lutheran Academy Events Thurs. November 9    Eighth Grade Parents are Invited to Meet the Principal from 7- 8:30 pm at SCL Sat., November 18     Children's Theatre " Snow White and the Seven Fairy Godmothers " with public                                     performances on Saturday, November 18 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm at SCL Fri., December 1        Crusader for a Day for 8th Graders 8:30 am - 2:00 pm at SCL

Reminder! Parent/Teacher Conferences are this Wednesday evening, Thursday evening and Friday morning. If you do not yet have a conference scheduled please call the school office (651-439-7831) or contact your child's teacher if you need other options. SCHOOL IS NOT IN SESSION ON FRIDAY. Salem Wear! There is a table in the school entrance for you to drop off any Salem wear that your child has outgrown. Please feel free to take something from the table if you do not already have one that fits your child or you. We have plenty of shirts for adults too. No charge! Wear your Salem Saints' shirts with pride!

Advent by Candlelight 2017 Please join us Sunday, December 3rd 2:00 til 4:00 P.M. as we welcome the Advent Season. We invite ladies from Salem Lutheran School (5 years and older) and their friends to join us for an afternoon of fellowship, finger food, and dessert as we prepare our hearts for the true meaning of Christmas. Please use the form below to register by NOVEMBER 26!  *To register your daughter(s) or friends outside of Salem, please specify the number of guests that will be attending in the drop-down section of the form. Fill Out Form Here

Just a reminder there is no bus service tomorrow. School is in session.

There have been some updates to the basketball schedule.  First, both the girls and boys teams will open the season on Nov 10th against Mount Olive. The girls game will start at 7 pm and the boys follow at 8 pm in Delano. Salem's first home game is Nov 17th.  Home games will now start at 6:30 pm with the girls and the boys will follow at 7:30 pm.  Note that this is a time change from what was previously communicated. Information about the St Croix tournament in December and all the times have been updated on the Salem sports calendar, so be sure to check it out.  Go Saints!

Watch Channel 4, 5, or 9 for school closing announcements. Anytime Stillwater Area Schools (District #834) are closed due to bad weather, Salem will also be closed. If we decide to not follow the district and cancel school because of the distances our families and some of our staff drive, watch for the following in the closed school listings: Salem Lutheran - Stillwater or Salem Lutheran - Washington County (WE ARE NOT SALEM, GREENFIELD) If we do close school you will also be able to check the Parent Portal Tab on our website (www.salemlutheran.org/school) where this will be posted as well. If we have a late start due to the weather, there will be NO Morning Care and NO AM Preschool.

Reminders for the Month of November Basketball Practices Begin Tues./Thurs. A-Team Girls 7:30-9:00am, A-Team Boys 3:45 - 5:30 pm Friday, November 3 - No Bus No Bus. School is in session - Report cards sent home. Sunday, November 5 - Reformation Festival St. Croix Lutheran Reformation Service at 4:30 pm. Students participating in the mass concert choir should be there by 3:00 pm. Monday, November 6 - Luther Prep Presentation Luther Preparatory School will give a presentation to grades 3 - 8 in the church sanctuary at 1:30 pm. Visitors are welcome to attend. Wed. & Thurs., November 8th & 9th - Parent/Teacher Conferences Conferences 4 - 7 pm.  Please sign up at our newsletter blog online or contact the school office to sign up for a time to meet with your child’s teacher. Friday, November 10  - No School Parent/Teacher Conferences 8 am - 12 pm. No school this day. Friday, November 10 - Basketball Game - Away  A-Team Girls play Mt. Olive Lutheran @ 6:30pm and

From the Principal’s Desk November, 2017   Our Great Heritage This year we observe the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  In 1517, Martin Luther wanted to debate some questionable practices of the church.  A custom of this time was to use the doors of the church as a “bulletin board” where notices would be posted.  Luther nailed 95 theses, or propositions, to the doors of the Castle Church of Wittenberg to announce his intentions to discuss these issues in an intellectual debate.  The basic themes of his position were Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone, and Christ alone.  It is by God’s grace alone that we receive our forgiveness of sins, not by anything we do.  Through faith alone we are deemed righteous in God’s eyes, even though we continue to be sinners.  All we believe and preach is from Scripture alone, God’s Holy Word, not words of people or societal norms.  There is only one that saves and that is Jesus Christ alone.  Luther taught us to look at the world in G