December School Newsletter

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COVID School Year

Salem has had a few more COVID incidents, but are healthy besides those couple of incidents. We have had two classrooms have to quarantine and both will be back after Thanksgiving Break. We are blessed to have great families who are communicating with Salem’s staff about sickness and helping to keep Salem a safe environment for learning. Please remember that due to the Stillwater School District's plans to switch to distance learning, we will not have bussing available to or from our school starting Nov. 30. Please make sure to have transportation plans for your children by then.

Christmas Charity Giving

Every year instead of a gift exchange, the classes at Salem ask families to give to a charity to help those who may not have as much during the Christmas season. This is our way of sharing the blessings God has given us and like our theme for the school year says Let our Light Shine! More information about the charities and how we plan to donate will be coming home after the Thanksgiving Break.

Christmas Service Change

Typically, Salem has had a wonderfully packed gym for the students to share the story of Jesus’ birth with our families and congregation members. Unfortunately, we are not able to have that big gathering this year. Instead, the students will record some sort of play or retelling of the parts of the Christmas story that will be shown in our church services that are posted every weekend (salemlutheran.org/worship). Below are the dates of the different classes in the services:

12/6/20 John the Baptist is Born-Luke 1:5-23, 57-80 (Gr. 7-8)

12/13/20 God's Special Message for Mary-Luke 1:26-38 (1st grade)

12/20/20 Jesus the Savior is Born-Luke 2:1-20 (Kindergarten)

12/24/20 Believers Worship the Savior-Luke 2:21-38 (2nd Grade)

12/27/20 The Wise Men-Matthew 2:1-12 (Grades 3-4)

1/3/20 God Keeps Jesus Safe From Herod-Matthew 2:13-18 (Gr 5-6)

Preschool Christmas Service

Preschool is excited to present their Christmas service in a different format than years past. Each classroom is learning their parts and recording to put it together along with the message of Jesus’ birth. It will be edited and shared with you on December 10th. We will also share it with our congregation at Salem. This format allows you to share it with friends and family near and far.

Sports Update

The basketball season has been paused due to the Governor’s new restrictions to youth sports. This does not allow our students to practice or play basketball games until we come back from Christmas Break. The School Board will see what the restrictions are at that time as well as assess the COVID situation in our area to see how Salem will return to basketball in January.

No School- Christmas Break

A reminder that there is no school from December 21- January 1 due to Christmas break. Please be mindful as you are traveling over Christmas break. We want you to be able to spend time with family and friends, but we also want to keep school a safe place for Salem students to come and learn. School resumes on January 4th.

Upcoming Events

November 25-27 - No School for Thanksgiving Break

November 29- 2nd Grade sings for Church (Virtually - salemlutheran.org/worship)

December 2 - Midweek Advent Service (salemlutheran.org/devotions)

December 6 - Worship Service - 7 & 8th Gr Christmas message (salemlutheran.org/worship)

December 9 - Midweek Advent Service (salemlutheran.org/devotions)

December 13 - Worship Service - 1st Gr Christmas message (salemlutheran.org/worship)

December 16 - Midweek Advent Service (salemlutheran.org/devotions)

December 20 - Worship Service - Kindergarten Christmas message (salemlutheran.org/worship)

December 21 - Jan 3 - No School for Christmas Break

December 24 - Worship Service - 2nd Gr Christmas message (salemlutheran.org/worship)

3 pm service and 5 pm (Livestream)

December 25 - 10 am Christmas day service (Livestream - salemlutheran.org/worship )

December 27 - Worship Service - 3-4th Gr Christmas message (salemlutheran.org/worship)

December 31 - New Year’s Eve Worship Service 5 pm (Livestream - salemlutheran.org/worship)

January 3 - Worship Service - 5-8th Gr Christmas message (salemlutheran.org/worship)

January 4 - School Resumes

Referral Program

The School Board approved a program that gives an incentive to recruiting new families for our school. If a family who has children enrolled refers a new family to Salem, they will receive a $200 tuition credit at Christmas per family they have referred. A church family who refers a new family will receive a $200 script gift card also at Christmas per family if they so choose. There is no limit to the amount of families you can refer. If you have any more questions about the program, speak to a School Board member or Mr. Klatt.

No More Clipping Boxtops

Boxtops has come up with a more technological way to earn money for Salem Lutheran School. Instead of clipping the box tops and sending them in, you can now scan your receipt through the app on your phone and the points will be awarded to your school. The website to sign up on is https://www.boxtops4education.com or you can download the Box Tops for Education app on your phone.

Thanks to all who have been collecting these labels for us over the years! Boxtops will still honor any non-expired labels you may still see on their products. However, these will be phased out over time as the new products will not have the old label and scanning the receipt will eventually be the only way to collect points for our school. Bring in any non-expired labels you find. Our school can still get credit for these!

We Are Also Collecting Aluminum Cans

Aluminum cans benefit our athletic program and can be bagged up and placed in the wooden bin that is next to the garage on our property. Thanks for helping our school!

SCRIP

Have you checked out the ShopWithSCRIP.com website? You can now order your own SCRIP any time, anywhere you need it. You can also now order with your credit card! All you have to do is login and sign up! If you have students at Salem, the rebates earned can be applied to your child’s tuition. There will be a flat 5% fee on all orders. This will cover the shipping and administrative fees involved in the orders. You can also apply your profits to your child's lunch account as well as tuition. We have also added an option to direct your profits to church. Contact the church office for more information.

Prayer

One way we usually forget about how we can help our school and church is to pray for them throughout the year. Your prayers are always a blessing and it is great to know that you are asking God for his blessings in our school year.

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