Please join us in praying and thanking God for the following schools this week:

Light of Christ Lutheran Preschool, Irvine, CA

St. Paul’s Lutheran Preschool, Long Beach, CA

Our Redeemer Lutheran Preschool, Winnetka, CA

Below are photos from St. Paul’s Lutheran Preschool, Long Beach, CA:

Below are photos from Our Redeemer Lutheran Preschool,

Winnetka, CA:

This is the last issue of Connections for 2019. We will take a two week break and resume on Wednesday, January 8, 2020. Have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year!  

Included in our Hearts for Jesus: Mission India project this year is the opportunity to “Experience India – Step into the Great Commission” in 3-D! Also important for our Hearts for Jesus project this year is the opportunity for your students' families to get involved and experience India in 360 degrees via a set of videos of the lives of four children in India. Each has a unique and heart-warming story to tell! PLEASE get involved! The people in India need to hear about Jesus and experience His love! They need to learn to read and write and so many other things! I urge you to please go to the links below and familiarize yourself with the awesome resources, including the virtual reality headsets, which we have prepared for you to use with your students and their families!

The start date of the project is NOW – and officially the first release of Video One will be in early January, sent directly to you once you sign up! School leaders and teachers, I encourage you to take some prayerful time during the Christmas break to familiarize yourself with our Hearts for Jesus project in a very real way via these links below. Sign up and log in to receive all you need and more! The site is password protected because of the sensitive nature of sharing Jesus in India and persecution of Christians, which is on the rise. To promote this project, we have a promo video, a promo postcard to send home, a promo poster for your classrooms, a letter to parents, chapel offering labels for blank envelopes or coin banks, puzzles, a coloring book, and more! This mission project is for you – early childhood educators, elementary educators and high school educators!

Here are the important links you will need:

 

As a quick reminder, here are the landing pages for administrators, teachers, and pastors:

This missional project is a great way to strengthen your church/school partnership and connection as you selflessly give out of the abundance with which God has blessed us here in the Pacific Southwest District! If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected] or Ellen Pratt at [email protected]. Thank you for getting involved!

The TLC Grant application is now open for January 2020. This grant is an educational grant on behalf of the Trinity Lutheran Church Educational Endowment Fund (Reseda, CA). This grant has been established as a gift to the Church for the continuing of excellent Lutheran education in the Pacific Southwest District.

This will be a competitive grant based on the strength of the application. It is open to all PSD schools, K-12. Since the inception of this grant in January 2016, over $202,802 has been granted to 43 different schools in our district. Please click here for more information and the link to the grant’s application. The deadline to submit your grant application is January 31. Recipients will be announced in February with the grants awarded immediately.

Are you or someone you know in  #LuthEd  interested in moving into school administration but don't have the knowledge or skills? Are you a new administrator that would like to learn from seasoned leaders? Applications for the next cohort in the LCMS School Leadership Development (SLED) program are now open. Only District Education Executives are able to nominate, so check out the SLED information on  LuthEd.org  and connect with Rachel Klitzing to know more!  http://www.luthed.org/school-leadership-development-sled/

If you are a Called worker on the Roster of Synod, Christmas Break is a great time to log into the  Church Worker Update website  and update your Commissioned Minister Information Form (CMIF) . Because the CMIF is used as your professional record of Lutheran service, each year we request that you log into your form, confirm, and update the Ministry/Teaching experience section with each organization name, city, and state where you have served. Please also review and, if needed, edit or complete the Ministry Philosophy questions. Finally, be sure to add references. Our suggested best practice is to complete all 14 questions and have at least three references – pastor, administrator, and peer/professional.  If you are open, please indicate Would Consider or Seeking as either an Active or Candidate Commissioned Minister. This is especially important and helpful since this is the professional record that will be shared with Call Committees. Please also be sure that your contact information is correct and be sure to agree to submit to a background check. Thank you in advance for completing this important task.

Thank you to Art teachers Kimberly Gilman and Beth Buchholz at Faith Lutheran Middle School, Las Vegas, NV , for sending some very unique artwork for the District Art Gallery this month. The display includes creative pen and ink drawings as well as beautiful photos from the middle school photography class. Thank you for sharing these unique and creative pieces for our display!

If you are participating in the district's group purchase of Microsoft Licenses, now is the time to place your order for 2020. Please  click here  to view the document with all the ordering information and links.  

 

If you are not currently purchasing Microsoft Licenses through the district and would like more information to see if the group purchase option will save you money, please contact Aaron Lucas for more information -  [email protected] . Thank you!

Click here to read the December edition of CAPE (Council for American Private Education) Outlook.

Click here to read the most recent CAPSO Midweek E-Mailer.

The California Department of Education is hosting a Private Schools Conference in Los Angeles on August 13-14, 2020. Click here for more information!

We have compiled a complete PDF booklet of all of the devotions submitted for our School Ministries website over the past 10 years. Please use this as you see fit! You can download it and keep a copy in your faculty lounge, administrators could print it out and give to their staff, or individual teachers could save it on their computers. We are happy to share this with you!

PSD School Ministries Devotional Booklet - A collection of devotions written by educators and friends of the Pacific Southwest District

This year’s conference is on Thursday, January 23, 2020 . It will be a one-day event for all EC Directors and their PASTORS! The topic is  INTENTIONAL OUTREACH TO PRESCHOOL FAMILIES  with a keynote presentation from President Mike Gibson and an afternoon session highlighting  SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES  that several of our churches and preschools are using. 

 

Additionally, we are implementing a  NEW FORMAT  for this year’s conference to facilitate the attendance of ALL our directors and pastors! The conference will be hosted at  Christ Lutheran in Costa Mesa   for our CALIFORNIA participants.  The keynote presentation and afternoon sessions will be  LIVE-STREAMED  to Shepherd of the Desert in SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA for those serving in Arizona  and to Faith Preschool in LAS VEGAS, NEVADA for those serving in Nevada!

 

PLEASE be sure to register for the appropriate conference for your area! Special Note – the AZ conference schedule will begin one hour later than the CA and NV conferences, due to the differing time zones! 

 

The conference schedule and costs are outlined on the registration site. Click here to register and for all the details!

We are excited to welcome the POLS Conference (Principals of Large Schools) to the Pacific Southwest District and specifically to Orange County January 15-17, 2020! This year, Early Childhood Directors are welcome to attend as well! If the enrollment of your school is 300 (combined preschool through eighth grade), your Preschool Directors and Principals are welcome to attend!  Please click here for more information and to register to attend. Let’s have a great PSD attendance for this national conference!

Join us for the Children & Family Ministry Conference June 16-18, 2020, on the campus of Concordia University Irvine and hear from keynote speaker David Kinnaman of the Barna Group and others on the theme of "Rally Together." 

 

Early Registration: $110 - Deadline: March 2, 2020

Early Group Rate (4+): $90 - Deadline: March 2, 2020

Late Registration: $140 - Deadline: June 2, 2020

 

Housing is available at Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, John Wayne Airport as well as on the Concordia University campus.

 

Hotel Rates: King (1-2 per room) - $119/night; Double (2-4 per room) - $129/night

CUI Rates: Double Occupancy - $45 for 2 nights; Single Occupancy - $65 for 2 nights (No air conditioning in dorms)

 

For more information and to register, click here .

Below is a message for school administrators from the Director of LCMS Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services:

Greetings in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Earlier this year you received login information for the new  LCMS Information Support Network (LISN) for Schools , through which you are able to enter your annual statistics and to review and edit your school’s profile and contact information.

The latest feature is now available – Current Staff.

Please log into  LISN for Schools  using the ID and password previously provided, and click on the “Staff” section to review and update your faculty and staff records for the 2019-2020 school year. As this is a busy time of year for most congregations and schools, we are asking that you review your records by January 31, 2020.

If you have not yet submitted your 2019-2020 yearly statistics, you may also do that while logged in.

If you need your ID and password, or if you have questions about using the site, please use the online help options, contact  [email protected]  or contact the LCMS Church Information Center at 888-843-5267.

Blessings!

D. Scott Kostencki

Director of LCMS Rosters, Statistics, and Research Services

Have you thought about sending a teacher or two through the TEC21 Workshop Program in the 2020/2021 school year? Season 12 will be an exciting one and registration is right around the corner! There is nothing quite like the TEC21 experience to train, equip, encourage, and support teachers to effectively integrate technology to enrich the teaching and learning in their classrooms. 

Registration at 34 Innovation Centers - 4 right here in the PSD - opens January 2, 2020! Now is the time to talk to your teachers and start conversations about TEC21. Cohorts cap at 10 teachers and seats fill up quickly so start your conversations soon!

Contact Brent Dieckhoff at [email protected] with any questions you may have about the program. He will be happy to talk with you about how to receive District scholarship or title money to help pay for the registration and share how this innovative professional development program can positively impact your teachers and the students in their classrooms!

 

Register your teachers HERE !



Click here to download the TEC21 flyer.

Click here for the link to the PSD TEC21 scholarship application. The deadline is 3/1/20.

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 [email protected] by noon on Wednesday of each week. This week we pray for:

Schools we are praying for the week of January 5, 2020:

Victory Christian Academy, Chula Vista, CA

Christ Lutheran School and Preschool, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Preschool & Kindergarten, Moreno Valley, CA