God Is

In my frustration, God remains patient.

In my discomfort, God remains kind.

In my waiting, God remains present.

In my wondering, God remains good.

In my anger, God remains loving.

In my doubt, God remains faithful.

We welcome these new administrators into the Pacific Southwest District:

Early Childhood Directors

Shepherd of the Desert, Scottsdale, AZ – Jen Marmaduke

St Paul’s, Orange, CA – Heidi de la Motte

Christ the King, Redlands, CA – Sheri Coe

Immanuel, Riverside, CA – Valerie Thompson

Saving Grace, Queen Creek, AZ – Cora Nash

Concordia, Chula Vista, CA – Rexanna Blas

Community, Escondido, CA – Lori Haskell

Grace, Escondido, CA – Darlene Beebe

Mt. Olive, Poway, CA – Heather Fangon

Bethlehem, Santa Clarita, CA – Marsha MacIntyre

Children of Our Savior, Westchester, CA – Chisela Tembo

Child of Faith, Huntington Beach, CA – Alicia Barajas

St. James, Imperial Beach, CA – Kristina Barraza-Santillan

St. John’s, Montebello, CA – Bernadette Galindo

Emmaus, Alhambra - Monica Echaury

Principals

Christ, Brea, CA – Amy Blain

Christ, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA – Charlene Soon

Emmaus, Alhambra, CA – Cynthia Spiva

Faith Middle School & High School, Las Vegas, NV – Kat Stokes (HS)

Hephatha, Anaheim, CA – Jennifer Glicker

Prince of Peace, Anaheim, CA – Jim Violette

St Paul’s, Orange, CA – Jackson Thiesfeldt

Valley Lutheran High School, Phoenix, AZ – Timothy Gast

Please let us know if we missed anyone. God's richest blessings to these new leaders in the PSD!

Click here to view the 2022-2023 PSD School Ministries calendar. We will continue to update the calendar as the year goes on.

Make plans now for your staff to attend LEC 2022! This year LEC will be held November 20-22 at the Hilton Bayfront in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, CA. Our theme this year is Salt & Light based on Matthew 5:13-16.  Registration will be $170 per person and the hotel rooms will be $112+ per night. Your LEC Committee continues to work on your behalf to craft an exceptional conference filled with Spiritual Nurture, Professional Learning, and Homecoming! We are pleased to announce that Matt Miller, author of Ditch That Textbook; Donalyn Miller, the Book Whisperer (ECE focus); national author Matt de la Pena; and Dr. Becky Peters, Emeritus educator and CUI professor, will be our Keynote speakers! We are also working on a series of breakout sessions as well as Ed Camps for more informal discussions. We will continue to share more information with you as details continue to be finalized. Registration will open right after Labor Day! 

Our August devotion is up on the website. It is written by Jenny Jordan, teacher at Christ, Costa Mesa, CA, and titled Seasons of Life. Click here to read it. Thank you, Jenny, for reminding us that as a new school year begins, to take a deep breath, thank the Lord, and live each day to the fullest!

Are you looking for some new suggestions on where to direct your school’s chapel offering donations? We have a new link on our School Ministries website with information to answer that question! Please go to www.psd-schools.org and toward the bottom of the homepage under Popular Links you will see a NEW button that will direct you to a page with six different organizations for you to consider as recipients of your chapel offering!

During the school year, our School Ministries staff commits to praying for two or three schools in the Pacific Southwest District each week. A prayer card is sent to each school for that week, and we also share the names of the schools here in Connections. In addition, we will share photos from the schools scheduled each week in Connections under the title Spotlight on Our Schools, so be sure to look for an email with details from Anna Preus the week before your school is scheduled.

In two weeks, we will share photos from our first group of schools. We can't wait to give you a glimpse into all our amazing schools in the PSD!

Click here to be directed to the Prayer page on our website, where you'll find the schedule as well as what is prayed for specifically each day. The list has been reorganized, so you may be receiving your card at a different time of the year than in years past.

Administrators, you should be receiving an email this week from Rosters and Statistics in St. Louis. This is requesting you to complete your annual school profile and staff lists. It is important to complete this request by the August 31 deadline, especially if you have had changes with rostered workers on your staff. You will use your school’s LISN site to complete this request. Your LISN site is the same site you have used the past few years to complete your school statistic submission. (Rosters and Statistics will send you information on School Statistics next month.) If you are a new administrator, please contact [email protected] or the LCMS Church Information Center at

1-888-843-5267 to request assistance to log into the LISN site for your school. Please include your school name and address when leaving a message or sending an email to assist them in providing the appropriate login information to you within two business days. Please note – the LISN site is now open for statistical information, so please feel free to start entering that data now to stay ahead of the September/October request!

Are you reading any great books on leadership, education, innovation, or a great devotional book this summer? If so, please submit your book title(s) and a two-three sentence synopsis of the book to enter into a drawing for a chance to win a $50 gift card! Each book review is an entry. Email [email protected] to enter. The deadline for entry is THIS FRIDAY, August 5. Thank you to those who have submitted already!

The PSD is pleased to share with you a life-changing discipleship resource called Rooted-Lutheran Edition! Rooted isn’t simply a Bible study or a book. Through Rooted, people will learn to practice seven rhythms essential to a healthy relationship with Jesus. Individuals will establish firm roots in the truth of God’s Word through personal study and then come together to discuss and practice what they’re learning in a space where they are safe and known. Rachel and President Gibson shared details of this resource at the recent Administrators Leadership Conference. For more information, please use this link to be directed to the Rooted page on the PSD website. If you are interested in ordering Rooted materials and are in the Southern California/Orange County area, please contact Jon Niederbrach for delivery or pick up information. 

Attention: Administrators

The website, username and password has changed for downloading a new Commissioned Call Document. Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] for the new information. If your church or school already has version 4.9.3 downloaded, you may continue to use that version at this time. This update is not changing the version which is still 4.9.3, but only the access to the website and sign-in information. Please share with anyone who prepares Commissioned Call Documents at your church or school. Thank you!

Our first School Counselor Network meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 7^th. This will be a Zoom meeting from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. We are excited to welcome Jill Dodge as our guest speaker. Jill is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been a therapist for over 40 years. She has worked in a variety of settings, including a Mental Health Clinic and Psychiatric Hospital. She has been in private practice in San Diego for the past 30 years. Jill has a heart for missionaries and church professionals, having led multiple retreats and trainings both nationally and internationally on various topics such as Forgiveness, Burnout, Anxiety, Boundaries, Prayer Therapy and Personality Disorders. If you are a new School Counselor this year or if your contact information has changed from last year, please email [email protected] to be sure you are on our distribution list.

Our first LARS (Lutheran Area Resource Specialists) meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13^th, 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the Pacific Southwest District Office. Dr. Cari Chittick from Concordia University Irvine will be our featured presenter. If you are a new resource teacher this year or if your contact information has changed from last year, please email [email protected] to be sure you are on our distribution list.

Our first Admissions Director Network meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 20^th, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Pacific Southwest District Office. More details will be shared soon, but please make plans to attend now! If you are a new Admissions Director this year or if your contact information has changed from last year, please email [email protected] to be sure you are on our distribution list.

Thank you to those who have already nominated outstanding educators! You have just over a month left to nominate!

Each year, we wish to honor exemplary educators in the Pacific Southwest District who exhibit exceptional leadership, teaching skills, and total commitment to Christ and the ministry of our Lutheran schools. We are asking for your help in identifying those who represent this spirit of dedication, commitment, and excellence. The 2022 Educators of the Year will be recognized at the Lutheran Educators Conference (LEC) in San Diego, CA, in November.

Below are the links to the nomination forms for the 2022 PSD Educators of the Year. This is an open nomination system. You may nominate in any or all of these four categories. The deadline for submitting nominations is August 31, 2022. 

Process:

May- August 31: Nomination period

September: Educator of the Year committees meet to determine finalists in each of the four categories

September/October: Evaluations/interviews completed regarding the finalists

Late October/Early November: Committees select winners

Monday, November 21: Honorees are recognized at LEC

Nomination Forms:

Administrator

ECE Educator/Director

Elementary (K-8) Educator

Jr/Sr High School Educator      

Thank you for your participation in honoring our outstanding educators in the PSD!

On June 30, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) provided updated guidance to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in K-12 schools for the 2022-2023 school year. This guidance became effective July 1, 2022.

Liebert Cassidy Whitmore attorneys are available to assist with any questions about the application of the new CDPH guidance. To view this in its entirety, please click here.

We have been made aware of a new product that sanitizes the air and removes odors as well. To give you more information on this product, two Zoom presentations will be hosted – Thursday, August 11^th and Wednesday, August 17^th – both at 11 a.m. PDT. If you are interested in hearing about this product, please send your email address to [email protected] and we will send you the link to the presentation.

• We pray for our schools that have reported for meetings this week or soon will. We pray for a great 2022-23 for all of our educators, students, and families!
• We pray for peaceful release into the arms of Jesus for Rev. Dr. Jack Preus, former President at Concordia University Irvine. We pray for Jack's family during this difficult time.
• We pray for the family and friends of Kathie Perkins. Kathie, Emeritus educator at Christ, La Mesa, CA, recently went to be with Jesus. Her memorial will be Monday, August 8, at 11:00 a.m.. 
• We pray for students to enroll at LuTEC (Lutheran Technology, Education and Career High Schools) a cutting edge, technology-based, Lutheran high school network, providing an individualized and flexible education to all learners, focusing on relevant knowledge and skills for work or advanced studies in preparation for a career and life in service to their communities.

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 Tuesdays.