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EAGLE UPDATES
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We would like to thank our St. John’s families for getting their paperwork turned in this year in a timely manner. This year St. John’s Lutheran Church and School is awarding over $122 thousand in scholarships, above the amount Indiana provides through the Choice program.
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I know our restructuring of tuition and scholarships was confusing this year for many families, but let me provide you with a few numbers to appreciate. Last school year the cost to educate a student at St. John’s was approximately $15,000. That is far more than our current tuition. Choice helps, but is FAR less than it actually costs to educate our students. Last year St. John’s Lutheran Church covered the balance, after Choice and tuition payments, to the tune of over $550,000. The Church cannot afford this bill forever. We are celebrating 170 years as a school this year, and praying for another 170 years, but we need to close the gap to a sustainable amount of support from the church.
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In the near future we will be organizing a campaign to educate our families how they can help fund these scholarships and receive a State tax credit by donating to the Lutheran SGO (Scholarship Granting Organization) of Indiana, or through the new Lutheran Federal SGO (essentially the same organization) and taking advantage of the new Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) starting in 2027. I will share more information in the coming months.
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October Events:
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10/2 - Family Night 5:30-7:30pm CANCELED
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10/11 - Pastor Appreciation Day
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10/14 - Symphony Field Trip
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10/15 - Parent Teacher Conferences
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10/21 - Unity Day (anti-bullying assembly) Wear Orange
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10/26-30 - Red Ribbon Week
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10/27 - ILEARN practice testing
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Save the Dates:
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11/6, 11/16-20 - Operation Christmas Child
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12/4 - Christmas Craft Day
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12/4 - Family Movie Night, 5:30-7:30pm (12/11 make-up)
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12/10 - Christmas Concert (12/17 make-up)
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1/8 - Family Game Night 5:30-7pm
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1/24 - National Lutheran Schools Week Service
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2/19 - Family Sock Hop, 5:30-7:30pm
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Past Events:
Chapel - on 9/9, The church gave Bibles to the 3rd grade students and Martin Luther’s Small Catechisms to the 5th grade students.
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Scholastic Book Fair - This year we are hosting two different book fairs, rather than the same one twice. It has been a few years since Scholastic has been at St. John’s, and I hope everyone enjoyed it.
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Grandparent’s Day - We had an amazing turn out for grandparents day. We strive to improve the program each year, and thanks to the hard work of our staff and volunteers, it was a great day to have so many of our grandparents in our building.
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School Carnival - Our school carnival was a great success, thank you to Lisa Vaillancourt spearheading that with NEST, our teachers, and many volunteers. Thanks to God that the weather cleared up for us and we were able to enjoy much of the carnival outdoors. We had many donations come in to help keep the cost down for the event, and I want to give a special thank you to the Lutheran Scholarship Granting Organization for their generous donation.
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Eagle Treat Day - 9/25 our second Eagle Treat Day, students were treated with a rice krispie square from NEST. It was PJ day for College Go Week, so we did not charge a dollar to wear pjs, but donations to the chapel offering were gladly accepted for those who chose to donate.
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Worship on Saturdays in the Sanctuary: @ 6pm
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Worship on Sundays in the Sanctuary: @ 8am (also livestreamed to our Facebook page)
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Worship on Sundays in the school cafeteria, Connect service (more contemporary): @ 9:30am
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During the Connect service, kids are invited to a devotion and craft time during the sermon!
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All adults: Sundays at 10:45am we are studying the book of Romans in the Ladies Lounge.
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All ladies: Tuesdays at 10am in the Chapel we are reading a book about emotions and how God gave them to us to be a blessing for our lives.
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The Eagles Volleyball team has had one game as of this writing. They will play their second game on September 22. They have improved each time they practice and play. “You can see the improvement each time they take the floor”, states Coach Stelter. “We have some first time players and they are improving! Some could barely get their serves over or didn’t move to receive the serves. Now, they are getting their serves over a little more often, moving for the ball and working together to try and get three hits. The older girls are learning to be a little more aggressive at the net! It’s fun seeing them improve.”
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They have not won yet. The volleyball teams will finish their season toward the end of October. Their next home game will be Monday September 28 at 5:00 with the younger followed by the older girls team against Queen of All Saints.
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Basketball permission slips will be going out the first week of November for grades 4 through 8. If you are interested in volunteering to be a basketball coach, contact Julie Stelter at the school. Permission slips will be due back before Thanksgiving break. The number of teams St. John’s will have depends on the number of interested participants. All athletes must have a physical on file in the office in order to participate.
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Athletic Director: Julie Stelter - julie.stelter@stjohns-laporte.com
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NEST would like to send a heartfelt THANK YOU to all the volunteers who have helped throughout the month of September! We have had a busy month with Grandparents Day, Bookfair, School Carnival, and Port-A-Pit Fundraiser & Bake Sale! WOW! You have all helped these events run smoothly and we are very thankful to have a school community that supports our students and families!
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A special Thank You to Lisa Vaillancourt for leading our School Carnival! She worked tirelessly organizing, planning, getting donations, etc. for our families to enjoy. As well as all of the teachers for coming up with fun games and fundraiser baskets!!
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The proceeds from our fundraisers go towards school clubs, Family Nights, school dances, and much more!
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The month of September rounds out with our MUM Sale! Thank you for participating and don't forget to pick up your mums on Sept 30th!
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We hope to see you at our next NEST Meeting on Wednesday Oct 21st at 4:00pm
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Thank you for all of the continued support!
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Katie Geise ktgeise@gmail.com
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Sarah Kautz sjohns1512@gmail.com
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We are thrilled to announce this year's Student Council members! Please join us in congratulating Niviia Wilkie, Maisie Cowgill, Hunter Crostreet, Marcela Espinoza, Finnley Schultz, Natalie Collins, Sarah Pera, and Carmen Collins on this outstanding achievement! These dedicated students earned their positions through a rigorous election process, securing signatures from three peers and two teachers who recognized their exceptional character, crafting thoughtful essays, and delivering compelling speeches before their classmates.
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The Student Council has already hit the ground running! At their inaugural meeting this month, members voted on exciting themes for this year's Red Ribbon Week observance and selected their first service initiative: supporting the Port-a-Pit chicken sale by promoting sales by making signs and waiving them along Monroe Street. Student Council representatives also served with grace during the Grandparents' Day chapel service, warmly distributing carnations to attending grandparents.
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Looking ahead, members will gather again later this month to begin creating heartfelt cards for homebound community members. We are so proud of these student leaders and the positive impact they are already making in our school and community!
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October is Anti-bullying month. St. John’s will have their assembly on October 21st, and everyone is encouraged to wear orange. Our tip this month comes from the National Bullying Prevention Center; https://www.pacer.org/bullying/info/questions-answered/how-is-bullying-defined/ There is a link in the top row of this page for parents with additional resources if you feel your student may be being bullied or exhibiting bullying behavior. We want St. John’s to be a loving family, but none of us are perfect, and we need to do our best to teach our students how to treat each other with Christ’s love.
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Bullying is when someone aggressively uses their “power” to target another individual with repeated, unwanted words or actions. Those targeted are hurt either physically or emotionally and have a hard time stopping what is happening to them. Students often describe bullying as when “someone makes you feel less about who you are as a person.” Note: Definitions vary greatly. These are not legal definitions. Find your state’s law and definition at StopBullying.gov
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What is bullying? At first glance, it might appear that this behavior is easy to define. A common image of bullying might be of a physically intimidating teen beating up a smaller classmate or one child shoving another inside a hallway locker. While these examples are still considered bullying, it’s important to know that bullying behavior can be much more complex and varied than historical stereotypes. For example, while some bullying is physical and easy to recognize, it can also be social-emotional, occurring quietly and covertly through face-to-face gossip, on a phone, or the internet, causing emotional harm. As a starting point, there are common elements included in most definitions of bullying. Although definitions vary from source to source, most agree that an act is defined as bullying when:
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the behavior is aggressive, unwanted and
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hurts or harms another person physically or emotionally,
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those targeted by the behavior have difficulty stopping the action directed at them and struggle to defend themselves, and
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there is a real or perceived “imbalance of power” which is used to control or harm others; and
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the student demonstrating the bullying behavior can have more “power” in ways such as higher social status, is physically larger, has access to embarrassing information, or is emotionally intimidating, and
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the behavior is repeated or has the potential to be repeated
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It’s important to note that bullying issues are complex, and there are several important factors to consider when looking at behavior. Definitions of bullying might also include or address the following:
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The types of bullying: The behavior can be overt and direct, with physical behaviors such as fighting, hitting, or name calling, or it can be covert with emotional-social interactions such as gossiping or leaving someone out on purpose. Bullying can also happen in person or through technology on digital devices like phones, computers, and tablets; and in apps, texts, social media, or gaming.
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Distinction about amount and duration: Many definitions indicate that bullying is repeated or chronic with the behavior directed at an individual over a period of time. However, the reality is that bullying can also be circumstantial, the result of a single situation, such as a social media post reaching thousands.
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Perception of aggression: Aggressive behavior can be defined as forceful words or actions. For bullying, it is important to note not all bullying behavior will be immediately evaluated as “aggressive.” Acts such as physical fighting and name calling are easy to recognize while acts that exhibit more covert and subtle behaviors are often difficult to assess but no less aggressive in their impact on the target (e.g., manipulation of how someone is perceived, damaging someone’s reputation or status, or spreading false information).
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Intent versus impact: Some definitions may include that behavior is considered bullying if the intent is to willfully and knowingly cause hurt or harm. However, in some instances intent can be difficult to identify and assess by those involved in the situation: the person doing the bullying, the target, the witnesses, or even adults who receive the reports of bullying. While it is important to address the intention or purpose behind the bullying behavior, it is equally important to look at the impact of the behavior on the target. Focusing on impact verses intent can be useful in situations where the person bullying indicates that, for example, “it was just a joke” or that the target “took it the wrong way.”
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The implications for all students: It’s important to note that bullying is not just about the implications for those targeted by the behaviors, but is also about the behavior’s impact on all students in the school including those who witness the behavior and those that engage in the behavior.
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Additional factors: These can include the differentiation between bullying and harassment, enumeration of protected classes, statements around the use of technology, how the behavior impacts educational performance, and the physical locations that would fall under the jurisdiction of school sanctions.
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Students often describe bullying as when “someone makes you feel less about who you are as a person.” Note: This is not a legal definition, but rather a way to help understand and identify bullying. For your school’s definition, check the district’s bullying prevention policies. For a legal definition, consult your state’s law on bullying at StopBullying.gov.
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