December School News
We have quite a few families with COVID right now. Many are not the students, but we are seeing more students out quarantining. We continue to document the cases and quarantining as needed.
St. Croix Joint Ministry with Salem
Due to the Council looking into the financial situation of the church and school, this joint ministry has been put on hold for a year. We will have more updates like the one at the previous voters meeting as we start up next school year. The one page update is attached below if you would like to view it. If you want a printed copy, please reach out to Mr. Klatt or the church office.
Update Document: Joint Ministry Update
Jump Up Day - December 3
On December 3rd, 8th grade students will be going to St. Croix to experience life as a high school student. They will attend classes, have lunch, and get to go bowling. On the Salem campus, the students will get to experience what life will be like next year. They will “jump up” to the next grade level and have an hour with their teacher for next school year. The teachers are excited to have the students in their classroom and see what the future holds for them.
Christmas Games - December 17
December 17th is the Friday right before Christmas Break. Since there can’t be a lot of homework given on this day, the students get to participate in group Minute to Win it games in the gym. These games are Christmas themed and the students have a lot of fun participating in the events.
No School December 20-31
There will be no school on December 20-31 for Christmas Break.
Christmas Services in December
Instead of the K-8 students having one service on December 15th for sharing the story of our Savior’s birth, we will be having the Christmas story spread out over our three midweek Advent services. These services will be held as follows:
5-8: Wednesday, December 1st @ 4pm in the church sanctuary
K-1: Wednesday, December 8th @ 4pm in the church sanctuary
2-4: Wednesday, December 15th @ 4pm in the church sanctuary
These services will be live-streamed and posted on Youtube for family members who can’t make it or would like to rewatch it. Meals will be served following each service and all are welcome to stay for food & fellowship!
The Preschool Christmas Service will be held as originally scheduled on December 9th at 6:00 pm. We are asking that only immediate family attend this service. It will be Live-streamed and posted on Youtube as well.
SPTO Bake Sale
Are you going to be doing some Christmas baking these next few weeks? If so, please consider making just a few extra to donate for Salem's Bake Sale at each Christmas service! All proceeds will go toward the PA system.
Because the kid's Christmas programs are spread throughout Advent, we will need some goodies each week! If you are able, please put the cookies on the cart near the school office prior to each Christmas service. We would love to have items available for each service on December 1st, 8th, 9th, and 15th.
Not into baking but still would like to help out? There are two options:
1) We are accepting store-purchased goodies.
2) We need 1-2 volunteers for each service to collect money "work" at the station. With each service being right after school, it makes it easy to volunteer and you could even do it for your child's service!
Please sign up to volunteer here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C054AAEAC29A0FD0-salem5)
Salem School Helping Out Those In Need
Salem will once again be helping out Children’s hospital in Minnesota by providing gifts for families with sick children this Christmas. Each class will either purchase gifts and bring them in or bring in money to purchase gifts for these families. Please look for a message from your child’s teacher about how your child’s classroom is helping to support Children’s Hospital of Minnesota.
Sports Update
We are excited to have a girl’s B-team and a boy’s B-team at Salem this year. Practices have been underway since the beginning of November.
The boy’s B-team played their first game and lost a nail-biter by one point. We look forward to seeing them grow and to see how the girl’s do in their first game on December 10th.
If you would like a schedule of the games, you can look online on the Salem Sports calendar or you can email Tom Stob (tstob@salemlutheran.org) for the game schedule.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, December 1 - Advent Service @ 4:00 pm, Grades 5-8, Meal served after
Friday, December 3 - Jump Up Day
Wednesday, December 8 - Advent Service @ 4:00 pm, Grades K-1, Meal served after
Thursday, December 9 - Preschool Christmas Service @ 6:00 pm
Friday, December 10 - B-Team games, Home against KOG
Monday, December 13 - SPTO Meeting 6:30 pm
Wednesday, December 15 - Advent Service @ 4:00 pm, Grades 2-4, Meal served after
Thursday, December 16 - B-Team games, Away against Bloomington
Monday, December 20 - Friday, December 31 - No School - Christmas Break
Friday, December 24, Christmas Eve Services at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm
Saturday, December 25, Christmas Day Service @ 10:00 am
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 number 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 Box Tops
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 facing Panama Ave. 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.
