THE EAGLE MESSAGE

419 Jefferson Ave. Sparta, WI 54656 ~ 608-269-6001

Friday, December 14, 2018

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

In God's Word Next Week

Lesson 4A: The Giving of the Law Lesson 4B: The Golden Calf

Next Week at St. John’s

Sunday, December 16 8&10:30am - Children’s Christmas Service

9:15am - Classroom activities

9:30am - Bright Beginnings/Kindergarten

Christmas Service

Monday, December 17 10am - Children’s Christmas Service at

Rolling Hills (Grades 5-8)

3pm - Girls’ Basketball Practice (Gr. 7-8)

No Worship Service Creamy Mac & Cheese or Fruited Yogurt w/Goldfish &Boiled Egg

Tuesday, December 18 Piano Lessons

1:30pm - Bright Beginnings Christmas Party

3pm - Girls’ Basketball Practice (Gr. 4-6)

3:15pm - Faculty Meeting

3:15pm - Spirit Squad Practice Hot Dog/bun or Cheesy Garlic French Bread Dunkers w/sauce

Wednesday, December 19 Piano Lessons

11:30am - Piano Recital during Lunch

3:10pm - Junior Choir Practice

5pm - Advent Supper (Hosted by School Families)

6pm - Junior/Senior Choir Service Popcorn Chicken or BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

Thursday, December 20 1pm - 3-4 Grade “Living Sara Style” Christmas Party

2:30pm - Pep Rally

5pm - Home B-team Basketball Game vs. West Salem Chunk Chicken in Gravy or BBQ Meatballs

Friday, December 21 Ugly Sweater Day

8am - Chapel

12:50pm - Early Release (no afternoon busing or ASC) Pepperoni Pizza Slice or Smucker’s PB& Jelly w/Light String Cheese

Who sings in church this week?

Junior Choir sings in church this

Wednesday, December 19 at 6pm.

They should meet in the 7th-8th

Grade classroom at 5:45pm.

Chapel Next Week

Chapel will be on Friday,

December 21 at 8am.

Please join us!

Girls’ Basketball

The girls’ next game is home on

Thursday, December 20at 5pm.

There will only be one B Team game.

There will be a Pep Rally at 2:30pm, so plan on

coming to cheer on your Eagles!

Children’s Christmas Service

Our 1st-8th graders will present

their Christmas Service, Saints &

Angel Hosts Rejoice, on Sunday,

December 16 at 8 & 10:30am.

Students should meet in their class-

rooms at 7:40am.

Bright Beginnings

and Kindergarten

will present their ser-

vice, The Shepherds’

Christmas at 9:30am.

Students should meet in their class-

rooms at 9:15.

School Families Host Advent Supper

Our school families will be helping to

host Advent Supper on Wednesday,

December 19th. Supper will be served

from 5-6pm. Help will be needed be-

fore the meal and after church, and every school

family is being asked to bring a dessert to share.

Rolling Hills Christmas Service

On Monday,

December 17 at

10:30am, our 5th-8th

grade students will be

going to Rolling Hills

here in Sparta to sing

parts of their Christ-

mas Service for the

residents there.

Between the Christmas Services

If your children are not in Bright

Beginnings, they may go back to their

classrooms after the 8am Children’s

Christmas Service. There will be

activities and snacks for them in their

own classrooms. Parent volunteers are needed to

supervise children. Please let your child’s teacher

or the office know if you can help in this manner.

You may also keep your child with you, but you

will need to have them back in their classroom by

10:15.

Ugly Sweater Day

Friday, December 21st is Ugly Sweater

Day! Wear your “ugliest” Christmas sweater. It isn’t mandatory, but it is fun!

Early Release for Christmas Break

Friday, December 21st is our last

day of school before Christmas

Break, and it is an early release.

There will no afternoon busing

nor will there be After School

Care. You will need to arrange for your child to be

picked up at 12:50pm on December 21.

Calendar

For the most up-to-date schedule for

our church & school, please go to

our website: www.sjsparta.com.

Youth Group Calendars

Beautiful 2019

Calendars are availa-

ble for purchase to

support our St. John’s

Youth Group. They

are $6 and can be purchased at the

Scrip table on Sunday mornings or

in the office during the week.

2018 St. John’s Holiday Schedule (No Monday night services during the month of December)

Sunday, December 16 8&10:30am - Children’s Christmas Service (Gr. 1-8)

9:15am - Classroom Activities for Grades 1-8

9:30am - Bright Beginnings/Kindergarten

Christmas Service

Wednesday, December 19 5pm - Advent Supper (Hosted by School Families)

6pm - Junior/Senior Choir Service

Sunday, December 23 8&10:30am - 4th Sunday in Advent Service w/Communion

Monday, December 24 4&6pm - Christmas Eve Services

Tuesday, December 25 9:30am - Christmas Day Service

Monday, December 31 6pm - New Year’s Eve Service with Communion

Accreditation Help Needed

We are in desperate

need of help in our ac-

creditation process.

Please see the letter attached to the

end of the Eagle Message from our

Board of Child and Family Learn-

ing Chairman, Kevin Raddatz, to

see how you can help!

Lock-down Drill

Dear Parents or Guardians,

The safety and welfare of our students and staff are a high priority for us. We are thankful to

be able to serve you and your children, and we will continually strive to provide a safe learning environ-

ment for them. The Wisconsin Department of Justice

provides guidelines regarding emergency response drills. In order to maintain a safe environment for our

students to study and learn, it is necessary that we prac-tice our emergency and crisis response plans by having

drills designed to exercise our procedures. The goal of any training drill is to improve our ability

to protect students, reduce injuries, and save lives. Drills allow us to evaluate our emergency opera-

tions plan and improve our response skills.

We want to let you know that we will be conducting

these drills in accordance with the DOJ guidelines. We

will do our best to reduce possible student anxiety by preparing them prior to a lockdown or a shelter-in-

place drill.

If you have any questions or need further information,

please do not hesitate to call Pastor Endorf at 269-6001.

Piano Recital Piano Students will present their pieces

on Wednesday, December 19 during the

lunch hour in the Fellowship Hall. All are invited!

Dear members of St. John’s Church and School,

A few months ago, on behalf of the Board of Child and Family Learning, I called for

volunteers to serve on several self study groups for St. John’s School Accreditation. Alt-

hough I got several members to help, I did not get the numbers I needed to complete the

self study. Several groups were formed, and they have almost completed the work as-

signed to them.

However, there are still 4-5 sets of standards to complete. I am calling for 15-20

members to help complete the self study. This is a requirement for our accreditation.

If not completed, St John’s will lose its accreditation. Without accreditation we will not

qualify for the School Choice program. Without School Choice we will lose a source of

funding for our school. Please keep in mind that School Choice funding is not a hand

out. School Choice is YOUR tax dollars at work. We have every right to this funding.

We have until the end of January 2019 to complete the self study. With enough people

this will not be hard to accomplish. After the Christmas season, my plan is to begin meet-

ing with anyone who volunteers to complete the remaining standards. It would greatly

help if we could have 3-4 groups to complete one standard each (a standard being several

questions regarding various requirements for our school).

Please contact me at 608-688-0558 and leave a message saying you would like to help St.

John’s School. I am unable to answer my phone during the day, but I will get back to you.

Thank you and God bless.

Kevin Raddatz

St. John’s Board of Child and Family Learning