NID School Newsletter

Filled with living hope in Christ,

Confessing, Praising, and

Advancing His Kingdom.

School Newsletter: November 5, 2020

This Is the Day the LORD Has Made

“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

We see evidence that the seasons are changing. The temperatures are a little cooler, it gets dark a little earlier, vegetation is drying up, yet, the glory of God reigns and is evident all around us! Through God’s creative majesty, we are blessed by Him each day. Each new day holds many opportunities to serve Him and those placed in our path along the way. How will you serve?

Sinners as we are, we prefer to serve ourselves and an agenda. Christ served as the Perfect Servant for you! You are Baptized into Him and into His Lifegiving life. Through the blood of Jesus and the waters of Baptism, we are cleansed and made new creations. What a reason to rejoice and be glad!

The seasons change, the vegetation dries up, but the love of God never dries. Let us always stand firm in the faith and follow where God leads us to serve and share His love with others.

As we place our faith and trust in God (no matter the stresses we face), we can all be thankful that God holds us in the palm of His hand and gives us what He knows is best for us. So, when trials come (including the stresses of COVID19, keeping your school safe, or taking care of those in need), step back and know God’s plan is perfect. Stay in the Word. Take care of yourself to be Well. Use your words and life as a Witness.

Remember each day – Christ loves you and holds you close. May you all be blessed this Thanksgiving.

Serving the Master Teacher,

Lois Stewart

LCMS National Office of Education

School administrators, please make sure that you have submitted your annual Statistical Report to Rosters, Statistics, and Research.

We are also working hard at both the National and District levels to ensure that school information (staffing of Rostered Workers) is accurate. I encourage you to take a few minutes and do the following:

· Access the LCMS Locator at locator.lcms.org.

· Do a search for your school and click on the tab for Rostered Staff.

· Check the list of names that appears on your school page.

· If there are Rostered Workers missing from your list OR that are on the list and shouldn’t be, contact the NID office (sue.green@nidlcms.org). Be prepared to let her know what corrections need to be made.

The LISN website is open all year, so you may access your information at any time to do updates. If you have any questions about the LISN website, contact Sue Green. Keep in mind that we are not given access information for each school. Please find time to complete and submit your report.

COVID19

I am so proud of our schools and the way you are all stepping up to care for your students in a safe, loving, and Christ-like way!! To God be the glory.

We pray that this pandemic will come to an end.

If you have questions about contact tracing, you may want to consider phoning 312-777-1999. Several schools are finding answers to simple questions.

This attached flier is from the Illinois Department of Public Health. It covers some FAQs.

IDPH Isolation/Quarantine Release Guide

IDPH FAQ for Schools

NID Website Updates

Please continue to be encouraged to visit www.nidlcms.org website for updates in the Coronavirus block.

TEC21

Enrollment is open for next school year, which is earlier than in past years.

TEC21 Workshop Program

Illinois Coalition for Nonpublic Schools

The ICNS works very hard so that nonpublic schools in Illinois receive valuable and timely information from the state. ICNS has two lobbyists in Springfield that regularly communicate back to us. In the past, each school joined on their own. They have changed that. Rather than each school paying $125.00 for a yearly membership, the NID (along with all other nonpublic districts) is invoiced for $1,000.00. They invoice according to the number of schools the district has. So that all of our elementary and high schools receive this information, the NID will assess each school $25.00 per year. That is quite a savings. Please see the attached invoice. You are being asked to print the invoice and send a copy of that to Lois Stewart’s attention at the NID office with a contribution of $25.00. Thank you so much (in advance) for continuing to support the work of your Education Office.

ICNS Invoice

Professional Development Credits

As the school year begins, please know, once again, that professional development credit is available through Concordia University Chicago. Administrators are asked to contact Catherine Nessling at Catherine.Nessling@cuchicago.edu. She is the person that will process the request. All professional development sessions that are directed to student growth, curriculum development, etc. related to state standards may count.

2020-2021 Hearts for Jesus

The ‘Hearts for Jesus’ mission project this school year will be the new NID Belize Mission Project. Please plan to share the attached video with your students and plan to support this mission. Watch for other resources to follow. See the attachment of the mission project information.