April School News
School Newsletter, April 2018
Enrollment - This year we have 79 students K-8 and 50 students in our preschool for a total of 129 students. Currently enrolled for the 2018-2019 school year we have 42 preschool students (maximum we can have is 60) and 74 students in grades K-8. We are still receiving inquiries from families about enrolling at Salem for next year. We are estimating that the K-8 enrollment for next year will be close to this school year’s enrollment numbers and preschool will be higher than this year.
Open House - Visit Salem Day (Open House) will be held on Thursday, April 12 from 9:30-11:00 am. This is an opportunity for families considering enrolling at Salem Lutheran School to visit the school, see the facility, observe how classes work, meet some staff members, and get information to help them make a decision on enrolling. This day is also the same date of Salem’s Fine Arts Gala.
Salem Fine Arts Gala - Salem Lutheran School’s Fine Arts Gala (formerly known as Education Night) will be held on Thursday, April 12, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. The event will start at 6:00 in the church sanctuary with an overview of the evening followed by performances of the Salem School Band and the Jubilate Choir. The rest of the evening attendees will be free to visit their choice of exhibits. Each class chose a featured artist to study. They will display works of art by this artist, information on the artist, and student artwork that was done in the style of their featured artist. These displays will be located in the gym. A display of art projects that students created outside of school will be on display in the Fellowship Hall. Visitors may participate in an art make and take activity for younger students in the gym, or participate in a make a take activity for older students in the 3rd/4th-grade room. Music students that will be participating in the St. Croix Lutheran Fine Arts Festival on April 21 will perform their music selections in the conference room. These performances will include instrumental ensembles, a vocal ensemble, and piano selections. People will be able to move at their own pace to each location.
We are hoping to include art displays from members of the congregation and school families at this Fine Arts Gala. Examples could be, but not limited to, painting, sketches, sculptures, pottery, quilts, stained glass, woodworking, or metal working. If you are interested in displaying your artwork at the Fine Arts Gala, contact the school office (school.office@salemlutheran.org or 651-439-7831). Please tell us what type of artwork you would like to display and its approximate size so that we can plan for space we will need. The artwork may be brought to the Salem after school on Wednesday, April 11 from 3:45-4:45 pm, or Thursday morning between 9:30-11:00 am. Let us know if you need a delivery time other than these times. If you have your own easels or display stands, that would help us set up the artwork. Thank you.
School Academic Calendar for 2018-2019 - The Salem Board of Education approved a calendar for the 2018-2019 school year. The first day of school will be Monday, August 27 and the last day of school will be Friday, May 31. Preschool will have their last day of school on Thursday, May 30. The spring break will align with St. Croix Lutheran’s spring break, March 18-22. You may view the other details of the calendar by visiting the Salem Blog, where a copy of the calendar has been posted.
Athletics - The Salem Bowling team started its season with practice on March 27. Bowling is open to all 5th-8th graders. Practices will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:45 (or when bowlers get to the lanes) to 5:15. If your child will need a snack please send something that is not to messy. There will not be practice on Maundy Thursday. There is a $55 registration fee for this sport. If you have any questions you can contact Mr. Collins or Mrs. Noack. Hope to see you on the lanes!
MAP Testing - Our last round of standardized testing will take place the week of April 23-27.
MLC 2018-2019 Congregational Partner Grant - Martin Luther College is offering matching grants for tuition to freshmen, sophomores, and new this year, juniors at MLC. MLC will match a partner grant between $100 and $1,000. The due date for matching grant applications is June 1, 2018. Salem’s Board of Education would like to sponsor a campaign between now and May 1 of 2018, to raise money for Salem students that are attending MLC. There is a shortage of teachers and pastors in the WELS right now. Our congregation has the first-hand experience of not having a call filled. We know how difficult it is for a school or church to meet its mission without the necessary called workers. It is important for our congregation to do anything we can do to help fund and encourage our young people to become teachers and pastors. Our goal is to raise at least $1,000 for each Salem student at MLC. Envelopes labeled “Scholarship Fund” may be found on the Information Desk for those that wish to contribute to this effort. We will also be scheduling door offerings after selected services for this fund. Another way you can help with this effort is to visit the Salem website (www.salemlutheran.org), click on the “church” picture, scroll down to the bottom of the page (below the map), under the “Resources” column on the far right, click “Donate”. You will have options, one is “other”. Click on that and enter “Scholarship Fund”, and then proceed to make your online donation.
Salem Board of Education/Education Committee Meeting - The Board of Education meets at the same time as the Education Committee. Their next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. People that would like to address the board may request time at the beginning of the meeting by contacting the principal, Roger Zolldan (rzolldan@salemlutheran.org), or the chairman, Karl Paulsen (kvkthethinker@gmail.com). The meeting will go into closed session after the people that signed up to speak are finished with their topic.
SPTO - The Salem Parent Teacher Organization had an organizational meeting on Thursday, March 8. Twelve school parents attended the meeting. They discussed the purpose of the organization, looked at a model of organization bylaws and suggested changes to the model, suggested possible events, and set a date, April 5 at 6:30, for its first regular meeting. This meeting will include acceptance of bylaws, the election of officers, and input on end of year plans and role assignments to implement these plans. Possible projects include a teacher appreciation lunch and an end of year picnic. All school family parents are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting. More details on this meeting and the SPTO will be coming in the Salem Blog.
Stillwater Schools Proposed Change in Start Times: Jane Grobe and Roger Zolldan attended the Stillwater School Board meeting on March 8 to voice Salem’s concerns with the proposal to change school start times to accommodate a later start time for high school students. This proposal would have changed the bus times that would have moved Salem’s start time between 9:15-9:40 and the end time between 3:45-4:10. The board decided to not act on this proposal this year but they will revisit it again in one year.
Band Performance - The Salem Lutheran School Band will give its spring concert on Thursday, April 26, at 6:30 pm. The students will perform a mixture of small ensembles and full band pieces. The band instructor is Julie Balk.
Piano Heroes Recital - The piano students at Salem Lutheran School will be giving their Spring Piano Recital on Thursday, May 3, at 6:30 pm in the church. Students will play their recital pieces. Sharon Ronning is the piano instructor for these students.
Enrollment - This year we have 79 students K-8 and 50 students in our preschool for a total of 129 students. Currently enrolled for the 2018-2019 school year we have 42 preschool students (maximum we can have is 60) and 74 students in grades K-8. We are still receiving inquiries from families about enrolling at Salem for next year. We are estimating that the K-8 enrollment for next year will be close to this school year’s enrollment numbers and preschool will be higher than this year.
Open House - Visit Salem Day (Open House) will be held on Thursday, April 12 from 9:30-11:00 am. This is an opportunity for families considering enrolling at Salem Lutheran School to visit the school, see the facility, observe how classes work, meet some staff members, and get information to help them make a decision on enrolling. This day is also the same date of Salem’s Fine Arts Gala.
Salem Fine Arts Gala - Salem Lutheran School’s Fine Arts Gala (formerly known as Education Night) will be held on Thursday, April 12, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. The event will start at 6:00 in the church sanctuary with an overview of the evening followed by performances of the Salem School Band and the Jubilate Choir. The rest of the evening attendees will be free to visit their choice of exhibits. Each class chose a featured artist to study. They will display works of art by this artist, information on the artist, and student artwork that was done in the style of their featured artist. These displays will be located in the gym. A display of art projects that students created outside of school will be on display in the Fellowship Hall. Visitors may participate in an art make and take activity for younger students in the gym, or participate in a make a take activity for older students in the 3rd/4th-grade room. Music students that will be participating in the St. Croix Lutheran Fine Arts Festival on April 21 will perform their music selections in the conference room. These performances will include instrumental ensembles, a vocal ensemble, and piano selections. People will be able to move at their own pace to each location.
We are hoping to include art displays from members of the congregation and school families at this Fine Arts Gala. Examples could be, but not limited to, painting, sketches, sculptures, pottery, quilts, stained glass, woodworking, or metal working. If you are interested in displaying your artwork at the Fine Arts Gala, contact the school office (school.office@salemlutheran.org or 651-439-7831). Please tell us what type of artwork you would like to display and its approximate size so that we can plan for space we will need. The artwork may be brought to the Salem after school on Wednesday, April 11 from 3:45-4:45 pm, or Thursday morning between 9:30-11:00 am. Let us know if you need a delivery time other than these times. If you have your own easels or display stands, that would help us set up the artwork. Thank you.
School Academic Calendar for 2018-2019 - The Salem Board of Education approved a calendar for the 2018-2019 school year. The first day of school will be Monday, August 27 and the last day of school will be Friday, May 31. Preschool will have their last day of school on Thursday, May 30. The spring break will align with St. Croix Lutheran’s spring break, March 18-22. You may view the other details of the calendar by visiting the Salem Blog, where a copy of the calendar has been posted.
Athletics - The Salem Bowling team started its season with practice on March 27. Bowling is open to all 5th-8th graders. Practices will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:45 (or when bowlers get to the lanes) to 5:15. If your child will need a snack please send something that is not to messy. There will not be practice on Maundy Thursday. There is a $55 registration fee for this sport. If you have any questions you can contact Mr. Collins or Mrs. Noack. Hope to see you on the lanes!
MAP Testing - Our last round of standardized testing will take place the week of April 23-27.
MLC 2018-2019 Congregational Partner Grant - Martin Luther College is offering matching grants for tuition to freshmen, sophomores, and new this year, juniors at MLC. MLC will match a partner grant between $100 and $1,000. The due date for matching grant applications is June 1, 2018. Salem’s Board of Education would like to sponsor a campaign between now and May 1 of 2018, to raise money for Salem students that are attending MLC. There is a shortage of teachers and pastors in the WELS right now. Our congregation has the first-hand experience of not having a call filled. We know how difficult it is for a school or church to meet its mission without the necessary called workers. It is important for our congregation to do anything we can do to help fund and encourage our young people to become teachers and pastors. Our goal is to raise at least $1,000 for each Salem student at MLC. Envelopes labeled “Scholarship Fund” may be found on the Information Desk for those that wish to contribute to this effort. We will also be scheduling door offerings after selected services for this fund. Another way you can help with this effort is to visit the Salem website (www.salemlutheran.org), click on the “church” picture, scroll down to the bottom of the page (below the map), under the “Resources” column on the far right, click “Donate”. You will have options, one is “other”. Click on that and enter “Scholarship Fund”, and then proceed to make your online donation.
Salem Board of Education/Education Committee Meeting - The Board of Education meets at the same time as the Education Committee. Their next scheduled meeting is Tuesday, April 10, at 6:30 p.m. People that would like to address the board may request time at the beginning of the meeting by contacting the principal, Roger Zolldan (rzolldan@salemlutheran.org), or the chairman, Karl Paulsen (kvkthethinker@gmail.com). The meeting will go into closed session after the people that signed up to speak are finished with their topic.
SPTO - The Salem Parent Teacher Organization had an organizational meeting on Thursday, March 8. Twelve school parents attended the meeting. They discussed the purpose of the organization, looked at a model of organization bylaws and suggested changes to the model, suggested possible events, and set a date, April 5 at 6:30, for its first regular meeting. This meeting will include acceptance of bylaws, the election of officers, and input on end of year plans and role assignments to implement these plans. Possible projects include a teacher appreciation lunch and an end of year picnic. All school family parents are invited and encouraged to attend this meeting. More details on this meeting and the SPTO will be coming in the Salem Blog.
Stillwater Schools Proposed Change in Start Times: Jane Grobe and Roger Zolldan attended the Stillwater School Board meeting on March 8 to voice Salem’s concerns with the proposal to change school start times to accommodate a later start time for high school students. This proposal would have changed the bus times that would have moved Salem’s start time between 9:15-9:40 and the end time between 3:45-4:10. The board decided to not act on this proposal this year but they will revisit it again in one year.
Band Performance - The Salem Lutheran School Band will give its spring concert on Thursday, April 26, at 6:30 pm. The students will perform a mixture of small ensembles and full band pieces. The band instructor is Julie Balk.
Piano Heroes Recital - The piano students at Salem Lutheran School will be giving their Spring Piano Recital on Thursday, May 3, at 6:30 pm in the church. Students will play their recital pieces. Sharon Ronning is the piano instructor for these students.