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Parent Newsletter
February 6, 2017
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Valley Lutheran Executive Director Dr. John Brandt speaks with some of the grandparents who visited the high school on February 2. Grandparents Days continue each Thursday through February. See the details below.
Grandparents/Special Friends Day Coming in February
Grandparents and Special Friends love to visit Valley Lutheran, and our students love to share with them, first hand, what makes Valley so special. Last week, the seniors were able to bring in their loved ones. This week, it's juniors. The remainder of the schedule is below.
- Juniors - Feb. 9 at 9:15am
- Sophomores - Feb. 16 at 9:15am
- Freshmen - Feb. 23 at 9:15am
Special guests will take a tour of the the school, sit in on a class with their student host, attend chapel, and, if they'd like, stay for lunch. For more information and to RSVP, contact Doug Guenther at 989-790-1676 or
dguenther@vlhs.com.
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Who Are You Following These Days?
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." - John 10:27
In this "age of social media," a marvelously powerful online tool allows users to "follow" their favorite celebrities, sports stars, politicians, relatives, friends, or just about anyone!. It is known as Twitter. Users choose who they want to follow. Additionally, the people being followed have just 140 characters to say and write what they think their followers would love to read. These are known as tweets. They might even link the followers to interesting, funny, or useful websites. It can get a bit more complicated with retweets, hashtags, and direct messaging, but most people have heard a lot about Twitter and use it profusely, including our president!
Believe it or not, Jesus invented Twitter. Well, that's a bit of a stretch, but He is the first person in history who invited people to follow Him. These two simple words moved His disciples to drop everything, such as their occupations, their dead, their possessions, their families, or themselves, to follow Him and listen to what He had to say. These two words changed their lives. Fortunately, Jesus spoke in tweets larger than 140 characters and none of them were frivolous. Every one of His messages were important enough to the disciples that they followed Him, even to the point of death -theirs and His. There was something about this God-man, Savior, Shepherd and carpenter's son that found the disciples wanting more ... more of His life-saving and life-giving words. The promises that He made, if they just followed Him, were more precious than any job, friend, or earthly treasure. Jesus promised that eternal life was theirs if they followed Him.
But following Jesus came with a price. He asked them to deny themselves and take up their crosses daily. Certainly, this was no easy task given the sacrifice Jesus was asking of them. But they were willing to do just that. They knew what the Shepherd's voice sounded like, loved getting His "tweets," and set out to follow Him and only Him.
Today, Jesus is still the only one we should be following. He still speaks those two simple words to our hearts: follow Me. He still has plenty to say that's relevant to our lives and our eternity. He still asks us to take up our crosses and follow Him and only Him. He still promises precious, heavenly treasures to those who listen to His voice and only His voice. He still promises to make us fishers of men, essentially asking us to retweet His all-important life-saving and life-giving message of love to whomever our lives touch. So, let's get tweeting!
- Kurt Hofmeister
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Dinner Auction Tickets Now Available
Bringing Back the '80s is the theme for the 14th Annual VLHS Benefit Dinner Auction at the Apple Mountain Conference Center on
Saturday, February 25. Tickets are available in the office for $65. Don't delay. Come enjoy a fun-filled evening and support VLHS. For more details, view the auction brochure
here.
Donations are also welcome. Consider offering merchandise, tickets, services, vacation homes, or gift cards to area establishments. Auction items can be dropped off at the school office.
Questions? Call the school office at 989-790-1676 or the Auction Chairwoman
Beth (Lambert) Kaul at 989-754-5918 or
bkaul@vlhs.com.
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Dessert Maker Needed For Auction Prize
One popular auction item has been the Dessert of the Month. We need one more person to volunteer to provide a dessert of his or her choice to the winning bidder at a mutually agreeable date. Right now March is open, but the November volunteer is willing to switch. Please contact Lori Milroy at
lorimilroy@charter.net or 989-412-3666 if you can help.
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2017 Open Houses Continue Tomorrow, Feb. 7
Valley's annual Open House series continues
this Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 5-6pm. Faculty members will be on hand to show prospective families around the school, as well as to answer questions about VLHS. You don't need to make a reservation, just show up! Feel free to let friends and neighbors know about the opportunity to check out all VLHS has to offer. Those who stay after the open house can watch the Chargers' varsity basketball teams play St. Louis for free.
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Par
ent Organization Pulled Pork Dinner This Sunday, Feb. 12
The Parent Organization is once again hosting the BBQ Pulled Pork Dinner:
- Menu includes: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, Beans, Coleslaw, Chips, and Dessert.
- Come on in for a sit-down meal or take out a meal "to-go".
- Serving times are from 11am - 1:30pm.
- Cost is $8 for a meal with one sandwich, $10 for a meal with two sandwiches, and $3 for just a sandwich.
- All funds raised go toward the 21st Century Classroom Initiative which includes collaboration, critical thinking, literacy, and technology.
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Parents in Prayer Seeking Requests, Meets Monday, Feb. 13
The next Parents in Prayer meeting will be held Monday, February 13, at 8am at the high school. Please send any requests to
parentsinprayer@vlhs.com by Friday, February 10, to be certain it makes it in time for the meeting.
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Dessert Theater Set for Feb. 16-18
Join the Valley Lutheran High School Drama Department at Peace Lutheran Church, 3427 Adams Ave., Saginaw, as they present the winter one-act plays,
Cheaters and
Bedtime Stories, on
February 16-18 at 7pm.
Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and are available in the school office or at the door prior to each performance. Prices include dessert during intermission.
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VLHS Students' Creations at Saginaw Art Museum
Five Valley Lutheran students had their artwork submitted by instructor Karla Stahlecker for the Region 11 Art Show hosted at the Saginaw Art Museum.
The exhibit runs through February 19. There is also a closing ceremony that day from 1-3pm with awards given out at 2pm.
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Summer Internship Opportunity
Growing Leaders is a non-profit organization in Atlanta, Georgia, committed to emerging leaders. Its mission is to turn ordinary students into growing leaders who will transform society. Growing Leaders offers internship opportunities for college-aged students that provide both personal and professional development. Interns gain valuable experience while serving alongside Growing Leaders staff members. Positions are available during the spring, summer and fall semesters.
Currently, applications are being accepted for the summer semester. Growing Leaders is looking for those who have a wide range of talent and skills, but most importantly a servant's heart, so all applications are welcome. Applications, available here, are due Feb. 15. For more information, visit GrowingLeaders.com. For more information, c
ontact
Clari Mercier at clari@growingleaders.com.
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Saginaw Antique Society Show March 11
The Parent Organization will host the annual Saginaw Antique Society Show on
Saturday, March 11 from 9am to 4pm at Valley Lutheran. There is a $4 admission fee that covers two free appraisals.
Luncheon available 11am-1:30pm
- Homemade Chicken Salad on a Croissant
- BBQ Beef Sandwich
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- Bake Sale
Parent help is needed. Please contact Amy Schrank at 989-488-7439.
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Host Families Needed
Host families are needed for future international students at VLHS. These students are attracted to our school because of its academic reputation, but they also give us, as Christians, a unique opportunity to share the gospel. Host families do receive a monthly stipend. If you are interested in hosting an international student for the 2017-2018 school year, please contact Debbie Davis at 790-1676 or
ddavis@vlhs.com for more information.
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Sporting Event, Drama Production Photos Available
Alumni parent, Dr. Bill Holden, has continued to take pictures of numerous Valley sporting events and drama productions. For a look at the latest photos, click
here. Holden requests a donation to Valley Lutheran High School for those interested in copies of his work.
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Global Awareness Club holding Fleece Drive
The Valley Lutheran Global Awareness Club is having a fleece drive to make blankets for foster children in our area. Each blanket requires two 1.5-yard pieces of fleece. It can be given to any Valley student or dropped off in the school office. Donations will be accepted through February.
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SOCIAL MEDIA & MENTAL HEALTH
It is no secret that social media has changed the way we interact with one another, especially for our students. But what impact does that have on our mental health? Take a look at the link below for some thoughts regarding the way social media has impacted our students' generation.
YOU MIGHT NEED TO KNOW...
While we pray that you and your family will never need use of resources on drug-use, we do want to make you aware of what is available to parents and families. The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids has a website dedicated to providing resources for families at no cost. Check them out at
www.drugfree.org.
CLASS OF 2017 - SCHOLARSHIPS
If you're headed off to college in the Fall, now is the time to be working on scholarship applications. A few hours of your time in preparing quality applications can pay off in thousands of dollars of aid! Check out our
VL Scholarship Page -
http://bit.ly/VLScholarships2017 - for the most up-to-date scholarship information that we receive.
7TH SEMESTER or MID-YEAR TRANSCRIPTS
Transcripts that include your student's first semester of their senior year will be available once grades are released. Some colleges request these as an update on their applicants. VLHS uses a program called
Parchment to send documents electronically and securely directly from the school. Please submit all document requests through Parchment.
CAREER DAY SPEAKERS
Do you have an interesting job? Would you be willing to answer questions from students regarding your career and how you got there? We are looking for parents and community members who might be willing to talk with our students for a few hours on Career Day -
April 7, 2017. If you are interested, or know of someone who might be willing to help, please contact Mrs. Mueller at
lmueller@vlhs.com.
IMPORTANT LINKS
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Feb. 7 Open House, 5pm
Feb. 9 Grandparents/Special Friends Day - Juniors, 9:15am
Feb. 9 Peeks at Valley, 9:15am
Feb. 11 ACT Testing, 8am
Feb. 12 Parent Organization Pulled Pork Dinner, 11am
Feb. 13 National Honor Society Blood Drive, 7:30am
Feb. 13 Parents in Prayer, 8am
Feb. 16 Grandparents/Special Friends Day - Sophomores, 9:15am
Feb. 16 Peeks at Valley, 9:15am
Feb. 20 No School, Presidents' Day
Feb. 22 Third Quarter Midterm Grades Available, 5pm
Feb. 23 Grandparents/Special Friends Day - Freshmen, 9:15am
Feb. 23 Peeks at Valley, 9:15am
Feb. 25 14th Annual Benefit Dinner Auction at Apple Mountain, 5pm
Feb. 27 Parents in Prayer, 8am
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Click on the image above to view the latest Valley Vision. |
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Mission Statement
Valley Lutheran High School believes that Christ is the foundation of our school and everything that we do. We prepare our students as children of God academically, physically, socially, emotionally and spiritually to serve in the world today and tomorrow.
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John Brandt
Valley Lutheran High School
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