PSD School Ministries
Connections
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Please join us in praying and thanking God for the following schools this week:
St. James Lutheran Preschool and Kindergarten, Imperial Beach, CA
St. John’s Lutheran Preschool, Montebello, CA
iRemnant Preschool, Fullerton, CA
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PSD All Workers Conference 2020! |
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It's not too late to sign up for the All Workers Conference (AWC) on Monday-Tuesday, November 23-24! Click here to register for the conference.
We are thrilled to be able to share with you that our conference hub is now available for you to view. Take a look at the welcome, exhibit hall, workshops (more have been added, so take a look!), presenters, schedule, and a big thank you to our tier sponsors.
Passwords for Monday’s live-stream events and Tuesday’s workshops will be sent out to all paid attendees after next week. If your church and/or school hasn’t yet paid, please mail in your check, log in with your credit card, or be sure School Ministries is sent your USD purchase order confirming title fund payment.
AWC may look different this year, but we are excited about all that is in store for you! The excellence and commitment to supporting and equipping you for ministry while also resourcing our congregations and schools for making the Great Commission REAL remains our highest priority!
AWC Worship Service Offering
At LEC 2019, participants voted that the Pacific Southwest District Disaster Relief Fund would be the recipient of the worship offering collected at this year’s All Workers Conference. Since we won’t be meeting in person to receive your gifts and offerings this year, we encourage you to designate the month of November’s chapel offerings for this offering, or take a special offering at a worship service or two this month. You can send your contributions directly to the district office any time through December 15. Please do not send cash to the office. We are also finalizing an electronic giving option and will share more details on that next week. Thank you so much for considering giving to this worthy recipient.
AWC Host Sites
We hope that groups of pastors, educators, DCEs, music directors, and more will safely gather for AWC at host sites, providing participants with the opportunity to engage around content, enjoy the fellowship of others and worship together. Larger church/school staffs may want to stay on campus and become their own host site, inviting others in their area to join them per their county's guidelines.
#awclcms
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Synod Statistics - Thank You! |
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Thank you to all of our schools who submitted their statistics within the reporting period of time. We are so grateful and thankful that you recognize and understand the importance of submitting this data each year. While the information that is collected from schools in previous years is always put to good use at the district and national levels of Synod, this year’s data will be extremely important in guiding the decision-making process at many levels in the years to come. The impacts of COVID-19 on Lutheran education and the data showing these changes will enable us to provide better service to schools. We encourage you now to be sure to bookmark the LISN website and save your user names and passwords. You can log into this website throughout the year to upload any staff changes or contact changes. You will also now have everything you need when you get the email from Synod to report your statistics in September of 2021. Again, thank you so much for your partnership!
PSD Reporting from Synod: 99.1% Reported
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November Devotion on Website |
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Our November devotion is now up on our website. It is written by Joanne Krafft from Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School in Las Vegas, NV, and titled He Sees Me. Click here to read it. Thank you, Joanne, for reminding us that we are never unseen by God.
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NLSA Pandemic Extension Application Form |
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From LCMS School Ministry:
The NLSA Pandemic Extension Application Form is now available on LuthEd.org for schools to download and complete. The form can be found in the same location as all of the other NLSA “applications” on the NLSA Application page at the end of the left column of dark grey buttons. At this time the form is a simple PDF but we anticipate being able to make a fillable PDF available shortly.
Please note that the Pandemic Extension Application process looks very similar to the previous general NLSA Extension in that it is processed by the district office prior to being sent to the national office. However, the Pandemic Extension requires schools to submit the following two documents alongside of the district’s written endorsement of the application:
- A written rationale of the extenuating circumstances resulting in the request
- A written report of the school’s current progress with NLSA
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Admissions Directors of PSD Schools |
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You are invited to our (almost) monthly meetings of our Admissions Directors in the district! Our next meeting will be via Zoom on Tuesday, November 10, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. I am excited to let you know that our special guest will again be Peter Brakke, Owner and Operator of The District’s Chick-fil-A, a Tustin, CA, location which Peter has grown to be the region's highest ranking location per sales and customer service. Peter presented to us in September with a terrific presentation on “Second Mile Service.” Please join us for another wonderful presentation by Peter followed by time for Q & A next Tuesday. A Zoom link will be sent to you a day or two in advance of the meeting. God’s blessings! ~Rachel
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Early Childhood Directors Conference |
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Registration is now open for the EC Directors Conference on Thursday, January 21, 2021! The conference will be a one day event held live at Abiding Savior Lutheran Preschool in Lake Forest, CA, and live-streamed to Desert Foothills Lutheran Preschool in Scottsdale, AZ, and Faith Lutheran Preschool in Las Vegas, NV. For more information, please go to our website: https://www.psd-schools.org/events.
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Early Childhood Resources |
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The PSD Early Childhood Cabinet is happy to share with you these resources to help you support the social and emotional well-being of the students in your EC centers. All of this is stored on the Early Childhood tab under Resources on our School Ministries.
COVID Specific Resources
Additionally, this children’s book can be printed out and used to help discuss COVID realities at an age- appropriate level to reduce fear and anxiety and create safety and connection.
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The TEC21 Workshop Program |
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Your teachers are unimaginably stretched as they manage a variety of teaching and learning scenarios in this unprecedented time. The TEC21 Workshop Program boosts the mental and spiritual health of teachers, while equipping them for a new educational frontier. We recently heard this from Joel Wahlers, former principal at St. John’s Lutheran School in Napa, California, now serving as the District Education Executive in the California-Nevada-Hawaii District: “I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank you for TEC21. We have three individuals who have gone through TEC21 (including a facilitator, Kari Perna) who are now our technology coaches for the rest of our staff. Each of our grade-level groups (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8) have one TEC21 teacher helping the others, and I cannot tell you what a blessing that has been in our conversion process to online or virtual teaching and learning!”
2021/2022 cohorts are forming now! Register with your name to save spots for one or more of your teachers. To register, click here. To learn more, click here to download the TEC21 flyer.
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LeadaChild Virtual Celebration |
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Our 2020-2021Hearts for Jesus recipient, LeadaChild, is hosting their annual Celebration and shared the information below with us! They have some great things planned and welcome you to be a part of their week-long celebration of all that God is doing for children in 3rd world countries through Lutheran education.
Schedule of Events:
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November 6-13 Online Auction - starting today, you can click on the link below, which will navigate you to our Virtual Celebration site. You can sign up for the auction so that you are ready to bid when everything goes live on the 6th.
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Sunday, November 8, at 7pm CST - Kahoot Party! - Join Pastor Micah Steiner and DCE Hannah Lang as they host a fun game of Kahoot! There are prizes! And a generous donor is contributing $5 for every person who signs up to play. Sign up is going on now. Simply click on the link below!
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Tuesday, November 10, at 7pm CST - Cooking & Conversation with Nury! Join Lisa Hellyer as she hosts this special time with Nury DeMillian, LeadaChild's Director of Latin America. Nury is known and loved by so many across our church body. During this time together, Nury will teach us step by step how to make her delicious Guatemalan Guacamole. Sign up is going on now. Simply click on the link below. The cost to participate is $25 and all proceeds go directly to LeadaChild's ministry.
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Thursday, November 12, at 7pm CST - Private Concert with Lost & Found! Michael and George are dusting off their guitar, keyboards and slinkies for this private concert. They will also be available for questions and conversation. You don't want to miss it. Sign up is going on now. Simply click on the link below to get started. The cost to participate is $15 and all proceeds go directly to LeadaChild's ministry.
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Friday, November 13, at 7pm CST - Virtual Celebration! We'll hear from Jim Jorns, LeadaChild's founder. Dr. Rich Bimler and LEA Executive Director, Jon Laabs, will also drop in to share from their hearts about all the Lord is doing through this ministry. We'll also hear from Executive Director, Dr. Phil Frusti, and Pastor Nicholas Salifu from Ghana, West Africa. It's going to be a great night!
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Two LCEF Webinars for Educators |
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LCEF has created a series of webinars to support educators and education in our Lutheran schools. We are happy to share these two recent webinars with you and pray they will be a blessing and support to you and your school community.
Mental Health Webinar: Teaching Educators to Care for Self – During this difficult school year, it is very important for our educators to take care of themselves - especially mentally. Megan Miessler shares practical tips for a quick way to pause and reflect. https://www.psd-lcms.org/covid-19-self-care
TEC21: Ministry for Such a Time as This – In the midst of this school year, being equipped for technology uses in the classroom is very important, and TEC 21 is an investment for the future of education. https://www.psd-schools.org/curriculum
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From Alliance Defending Freedom:
Elections Day is a big day and there is a lot at stake in this election – for the future of America and generations to come. Regardless of the outcome, we know God is faithful. In Psalm 20:7, we’re reminded that our trust should never be in chariots or horses – the things of this world. Our confidence is in God and he knows exactly what is going to happen. He has a plan and future carved out for each one of us.
God has equipped Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to be ready to fight for freedom no matter the outcome of the election (John 15:5). ADF will be hosting a webinar to discuss the state of religious freedom in America, how the election may impact it, and what we see on the horizon for the next four years. We will also share current court cases that affect religious organizations and actionable steps you can take to protect your church.
Free Webinar
The State of Religious Freedom After the Election
Thursday, November 12
Space is limited – register today!
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Mission Training Center Information |
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Mission Training Center (MTC) is excited to announce the release of their newly updated website — missiontrainingcenter.com. It provides information on the mission of MTC, as well as it’s courses, partnerships, and resources. Most importantly, it provides the means to register for upcoming classes. Check it out! Contact mtc@missiontrainingcenter.com if you have any questions.
Mission Training Center develops people for God’s mission through training opportunities centered in the Bible and taught through the lens of God’s mission. Participants confidently and competently reach into the community with appropriate and contextual proclamation and disciple-making ministry, as well as train and develop other apostolic disciples for God’s mission.
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Manufacturing Camp Grant: Summer manufacturing camp program for girls and boys ages 12-16. Summer camps have been a successful way of introducing middle- and high-school students to the fascinating, high-tech career choices available to them in today’s automated manufacturing industry. Deadline: December 1. More Information
Hunt Transport Services, Inc. Corporate Giving Program: J.B. Hunt makes charitable contributions to nonprofit organizations involved with K-12 education (public, parochial and private schools) and youth. Support is given primarily in areas of company operations. Deadline: December 1. More Information
2021 Youth Garden Grant: The Youth Garden Grant is open to any nonprofit organization, public or private school, or youth program in the United States or US Territories planning a new garden program or expanding an established one. If your program serves at least 15 youth between the ages of 3 and 18, you are encouraged to apply. Deadline: December 18. More Information
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5th Graders Free Access to National Parks |
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Good news for current 5th graders! The Trump Administration is providing 5th grade students with free entrance to National Parks, Refuges and other Public Lands due to missing out on using it as 4th graders due to COVID-19. This allows the special National Parks pass for 4th AND 5th grades students AND families. Click here for more information. Thanks to Principal Kris Schneider at Mountain View Lutheran School, Las Vegas, NV, for sharing this information with us.
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A Free Lutheran Middle School Gathering |
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The Florida/Georgia District is hosting a free virtual Middle School Gathering this Saturday, November 7, from 6-9 p.m. Eastern Time. The event will be about three hours total, including a live meet ‘n greet with the band, Bread of Stone. The Florida/Georgia District has worked with Bread of Stone for about five years, and have found them to be just about perfect for their youth events. The speaker is Dr. Jacob Youmans, along with his daughters Maile and Leilani. Jake served in the PSD and is currently serving at Concordia University Texas. We are excited that the FL/GA District has invited our participation in the PSD! Click here for more information, including an awesome promo video about the event. Invite your Middle Schoolers to be a part of this! |
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- For yesterday's election and the ongoing election process. Father, we plead for your mercy and blessing for our nation in light of the elections. We pray for peace and wisdom, and for those newly elected or re-elected. Enable them to diligently seek Your will and lead with the righteousness that exalts a nation while shunning sin that is a reproach to any people. Help us in Your Church to always remember that as Your dear children, our citizenship is in Your Kingdom. Grant us diligence, wisdom and grace to continually work to fulfill Your mission in our communities, our nation and our world.
- For all those who were affected by the fires in Orange County. We thank you, Lord, for protecting our schools and churches in the fire areas, as well as those who evacuated and were affected. We continue to pray for the injured firefighters and those who lost their homes due to the fires.
- For Richard Grice, who is hospitalized due to complications from a recent stroke and a positive COVID-19 test. May God in His mercy grant Richard full and complete healing. Prayers of peace for his family and wisdom for his medical team.
Schools we are praying for the week of November 8:
First Lutheran Preschool, Monrovia, CA
Christ the King Lutheran Child Care Center, Redlands, CA
Shield of Faith Christian School, El Monte, CA
Each week, prayers of thanksgiving and prayers for teachers, administrators, support staff, pastors, students, and families of the Lutheran schools, early childhood centers, and churches of the Pacific Southwest District are listed. To include names on the list, please send information to anna.preus@psd-lcms.org by noon on Tuesday of each week.
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School Ministries, Pacific Southwest District-LCMS
1540 Concordia Drive East, Irvine, CA 92612
Phone 949-854-3232 | Fax 949-854-8140
Rachel Klitzing, Executive Director of School Ministries
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