Salem Lutheran School News

Information on St. Croix Summer Camps is now available in the school office. You can also view and register online. Please see link below! 2018 St. Croix Summer Camps

Dear Salem Parents, If you have not already done so, please return the registration form and fee for enrollment for next school year. After THIS FRIDAY, March 2, the registration fee will increase from $75 to $150 for each preschooler and from $150 to $250 for each K-8 student. If you are seeking tuition assistance, please come to the school office for the form needed by Friday as well. Thank you! Intent to Attend Letter Intent to Attend Registration Form

The Raasch Family (their children are alumni of Salem) will be traveling to Jamaica to the Robin’s Nest Children’s Home.  They will be working with the kids and will also be doing painting and road work at the orphanage.  They were asked to bring items with them to help the orphanage.  They are asking you if you would like to help by donating some of the items needed.  They are asking for the following items: paint brushes, 2" & 3" trim brushes, some angled & straight    4" brushes roller covers and sandpaper                          Diapers - size 2, 3, 4 Pull-ups sizes 4 & 5                          Swimmer diapers – size 2, 3, 4 & 5 Baby oil                                          Vaseline Baby powder                                  Baby lotion Body Wash – baby and regular                    Shampoo - baby and regular Bar Soap                                          Wipes, wipes wipes! Medical Gloves -

We are looking for volunteers to help our 5th and 6th grade math classes. Volunteers would help supervise and assist students as they work on their homework assignments while the other part of the class is receiving the daily math instruction. This class meets daily from 10:00-11:00 am. Please contact the school office if you can help (651-439-7831 or school.office@salemlutheran.org). Thank you!

Here is the yummy lunch calendar for March! March Lunch Calendar

Dear parents, we are keeping an eye on the weather for tomorrow. In case our school day is canceled or we have a late start due to inclement weather, we will postpone the ski trip and try to reschedule with Afton Alps for a later date. We will let our chaperones know as soon as possible so they can make plans. Refunds can be issued if a rescheduled date does not work for chaperones. If we are unable to reschedule, refunds will be issued. In the event of a late start, our middle school students will have a regular day of school (beginning later, of course). https://salemsaintsmn.blogspot.com/2018/01/bad-weather-closing-reminder.html

The Salem Parent Teacher Organization (SPTO) has traditionally held a spring event, usually a carnival. The school calendar shows the event taking place on Saturday, March 10, this school year.  After meetings with the principal and some interested parents, it has been decided that the event will be canceled for this year. The number of families involved with SPTO has declined, meaning fewer people are left to try and do the work necessary for a big event like a carnival.  Other events for this date were discussed, but the realization that we don’t have a strong and active organization meant that any event would be difficult to plan.  Reorganizing the SPTO was recognized as a necessary step to any successful future plans.  An organizational meeting for the SPTO has been scheduled for Thursday, March 8, at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room.  We are looking to have at least 10 Salem families at this meeting so we can formally reorganize, elect officers, and generate ideas for events

Dear Salem Parents, If you have not already done so, please return the registration form and fee for enrollment for next school year. After March 2, the registration fee will increase from $75 to $150 for each preschooler and from $150 to $250 for each K-8 student. Thank you! Intent to Attend Letter Intent to Attend Registration Form

Rental and waiver forms were sent home with students today. Please ask your student for them. Mr. Scharf would appreciate them completed and returned to school. Chaperone information was also sent to those who will serve as chaperones. Please let me know if you have any questions. We're looking forward to a great day on the slopes!

As a reminder, our middle school students have a field trip planned for this coming Friday: Salem’s middle school students will be traveling to Afton Alps—Meadows Chalet on Friday, February 23 for a great day of skiing and snowboarding! (Students in grades 5 and 6 will ski. Students in grades 7 and 8 have the option of skiing or snowboarding.) We plan to leave school by 9 AM and return by 3:20 PM.  We need parent drivers and/or chaperones for this trip. Students will participate in the Learn to Ski/Snowboard program offered by Afton Alps:  Build your confidence & control while learning to safely ski or ride down the slopes. Taught in a station format, progressing at an individual pace from equipment fitting to turning & stopping. Experienced students pass through stations and ski independently. A fee of $21 per student includes lift ticket, equipment rental, and lesson. Helmet rentals are included but not mandatory. For safety reasons, poles are not rented to students in

Reminder! There is no school tomorrow, 2/16 and Monday, 2/19. Best wishes to all our basketball players as they play in the MLC Tournament in New Ulm, MN. Safe travels to our families whether it is to New Ulm or another destination for fun and family time.

This is the last night the Rose Floral coupon books will be available. The Salem Youth Group thanks you for your support!

Midweek Lenten Worship begins Ash Wednesday, February 14. We will have services at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. for six Wednesdays during Lent. Our theme for this year is Jesus is our Great High Priest. Meals will be served between services. Here is the Lenten Meal Schedule: Feb 14 - Pioneers & Salem Parent Organization - Assorted Egg Bakes & Muffins Feb 21 - Women’s Guild - Ham & Scalloped Potatoes Feb 28 - Youth - Tacos March 7 - Fellowship - Something delicious March 14 - Caring Committee - Sloppy Joes Don't forget Jubilate will sing at the 4:00 p.m. service for Ash Wednesday.

Sign up now to participate in the Winter Camp-out on February 23-25 . Anyone can Attend! Please see  Pioneer Winter Camp-out  and  Camp-out Registration  for more information. Ask anyone who has gone in the past and they will tell you this is a great event you won't want to miss!

This week Salem Lutheran School is having fun observing “Spirit Week” as we prepare to play in the final basketball tournament of the school year this weekend in New Ulm, MN. The start of the week the children of our school participated in Pajama Day and Blast from the Past Day. Tomorrow is Favorite Character Day and Thursday is School Spirit Day. Don't forget the all-school pep rally at 2:30 pm on Thursday. All are welcome to come! Blessings to all of our families who are traveling to New Ulm this weekend. May you all enjoy safe travels and a fun weekend of sports and good fellowship! Go Saints Go!! Please remember there is no school on Friday, February 16  or on Monday, February 19 (Presidents' Day).

Even though Headmaster, our online grading system, has been in use for several years here at Salem, we've discovered that some parents may need some instructions on accessing this very valuable tool. Thanks to the assistance of Mr. Nate Goplin, we've assembled some instructions that can get you in quickly. You can  view the Parent Login Instructions here . Parents have also shared that logging into Headmaster on a desktop, laptop, or Chromebook provides much more information than the Headmaster phone app. Doing so will be well worth your time. If you have any questions about using Headmaster, please contact Mr. Scharf .

Please meet in Mrs. Hasselquist's room for your next meeting on Friday, February 9 @ 7:45 am. Bring your assignment - three people pics. Plan to leave your photos with Mrs. H to be displayed in April at Fine Arts Gala.

Dear Salem Parents, Our 5 - 8th grade students (also 4th-grade Band and Jubilate students) are invited to participate in the 2018 Twin Cities Fine Arts Festival on April 21. This event takes place at St. Croix Lutheran Academy in West St. Paul and is a full day of music and art with a concert at 4:00 pm to end the day. Please talk with your student about how they would like to participate. Mrs. Raasch, Mrs. Ronning and Mrs. Balk will be happy to help with any music selections. Please talk about this at home now and register your child by March 12th! Forms are also being sent home with students this week. Twin Cities Fine Arts Festival Registration

Next week Salem Lutheran School will observe “Spirit Week” as we prepare to play in the final basketball tournament of the school year the weekend of February 16 - 18 in New Ulm, MN. Each day that week the children of our school are encouraged to participate with the theme of the day. Any parents that are interested may come to the gym at 10 am Monday - Wednesday when students will enjoy seeing each other and at 2:30 pm on Thursday when we will have an All School Pep Rally. Please note there is no school on Friday, February 16 (tournament start day) or on Monday, February 19 (Presidents' Day). Here is the schedule for the week:

The brackets for the the league Tournament have been set!  The players should be bringing home a copy today. On the boys side, we play the Kennedy athletic complex on Friday night.  The boys will play Mt. Olive at 6:15pm on court 4.  If they win they play again at 8:15pm on court 3 against Pilgrim.  If they loose they will play on Saturday at 10:15am at West Lutheran High school. On the girls side, we play at the Kennedy athletic complex on Friday night.  The girls will play Good Shepherd at 7:15pm on court 1.  The girls will play on Saturday at St. Croix Academy if they win at 3pm. If they loose they play at 12:30pm. Have a great tournament.  Go Saints!

Saints Fight Hard in Loss to Pacers in Season Finale           On Friday evening, our Salem A boys took on the Pilgrim Pacers who made the trip to Stillwater from Minneapolis. The Pacers, an extremely athletic and experienced team with four eighth graders, came into this game with an impressive conference record of 9-1. Leading up to this regular season finale, the focus in practice all week was taking better care of the basketball when facing aggressive defensive pressure. Throughout the week, our practices had both a fast-paced nature as always and a unique optimistic and enthusiastic environment. It was easy to tell our boys were pumped up to play in front of the home crowd one last time this season!             Even though the Pacers were obviously the more experienced, bigger, faster, and stronger basketball team, the remarkable resolve and togetherness of our Salem Saints enabled us put on one of our best performances yet this season. Although Pilgrim caused their fair share

Salem’s middle school students will be traveling to Afton Alps—Meadows Chalet on Friday, February 23 for a great day of skiing and snowboarding! (Students in grades 5 and 6 will ski. Students in grades 7 and 8 have the option of skiing or snowboarding.) We plan to leave school by 9 AM and return by 3:20 PM. We need parent drivers and/or chaperones for this trip. Students will participate in the Learn to Ski/Snowboard program offered by Afton Alps: Build your confidence & control while learning to safely ski or ride down the slopes. Taught in a station format, progressing at an individual pace from equipment fitting to turning & stopping. Experienced students pass through stations and ski independently. A fee of $21 per student includes lift ticket, equipment rental, and lesson. Helmet rentals are included but not mandatory. For safety reasons, poles are not rented to students in this program. There is no cost for those who have a season pass and their own equipment. Chap

Dear Salem Families, We are happy to share with you a video (see link below) to help you meet our kindergarten teacher for next year, Mrs. Jessica Klatt. Please share this with any families you know may be looking for kindergarten for their child. Since she will not be with us until this summer, we thought this may help some of you get to know her. Registrations for the 2018-2019 school year can be picked up in the school office. Meet Mrs. Klatt

From the Principal’s Desk February, 2018 When you think of the month of February, what special day comes to mind?  Maybe it’s Presidents’ Day (February 19), a holiday commemorating our past presidents (and a day off from school!)  Once in every four years you might say Leap Day, the extra day added on to February to make it twenty-nine days long instead of the normal twenty-eight days.  Leap Day, according to some traditions, is a day a woman may propose marriage to a man.  If he refuses the proposal, he must give the woman some money or buy her a new dress.  In Aurora, Illinois, single women can be deputized on Leap Day and arrest single men, subjecting them to a four dollar fine.  These tidbits of information lead us to a very popular day in February, Valentine’s Day, which is February 14.  This is a day that is characterized as a day for people to express their affection to their valentine, or their boyfriend or girlfriend.  Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine,

Here are some of the topics of interest for this month: Olympic Learning Inspired by Art Making Mistakes We hope you enjoy the February Home and School Connection !

SCRIP  Orders Due Feb. 12 & Feb. 26 Thursday, February 1 - 6:30 pm Board of Education/Education Committee Meeting, in Conference Room Friday, February 2 - Home Game (Boys only) Pilgrim Lutheran 6:30 pm Friday - Sunday,  February 9-11 - Basketball League Tournament (Times TBD) February 12-15 - SPIRIT WEEK SCHEDULE     Monday - Pajama Day     Tuesday - Blast from the Past Day    Wednesday - Movie/Character Day     Thursday - School Color/Spirit Day! Pepfest in the afternoon - All are invited to come! Wednesday, February 14 - Ash Wednesday, Service @ 4 & 7, Meal @ 5 Jubilate Choir sings at 4:00 Friday, February 16 -  NO SCHOOL , New Ulm Basketball Tournament (through Saturday & Sunday) Monday, February 19 - NO SCHOOL , Presidents’ Day Wednesday, February 21 - Lenten Service @ 4 & 7, Meal @ 5 Grades 1-4 sing @ 4:00 Friday, February 23 - Grades 5-8 Ski Outing at Afton Alps Friday - Sunday, February 23-25 - Winter Campout at Camp Croix