Christmas Movie Theater Day!

While we realize that, with the recent three snow days, your kiddos may have seen all the classic kid's Christmas movies. However, we truly enjoy giving our students that final send off before Christmas break by creating Martin Luther Christmas multi-plex cinematic experience! One Tuesday afternoon, we will have different rooms playing different movies from which your child may choose. Of course, fresh popcorn will be provided to complete the experience.

Our movie selection will include:

• The Star
• Elf
• Home Alone
• A Muppet Christmas Carol (Far and beyond the best Christmas movie ever!)

We will send home a "ticket" for you to sign as approval for the movies you prefer your child to watch.

We need your totals!

Our Coffee fundraiser has had several parts...in person (sold from the office, at the churches, pie social, etc.), orders you took on paper and online.  

We are giving class and family prizes based on how many bags of coffee & other items were sold. We've got the data from those who sold using the order forms.

If you ordered online, know of others who ordered online or if you purchased coffee the school had on hand, please let us know how many were purchased. Honor system -- take your best guess on the total.  

Please submit this form by the end of the day on Sunday, December 18 in order to be counted for prizes.

For those who took orders using the paper order form -- we are working with Mighty MO to get these orders and send home with you Monday or Tuesday before we dismiss for Christmas vacation. This week's blizzard kept Mighty MO from being able to work last week!  Sorry for any inconvenience!

Click the link below to share you coffee totals.

https://bit.ly/MLSMightyMo

PTL Update from the

Our last meeting included the following topics:

Discussion and goals for the Mighty Missouri Coffee fundraiser

• January 12th, 6:30 Brain Core Presentation by Dr. Allen Rudolph
• January 24th, Buffalo Wings and Rings again!!
• January 27th Family White Elephant Bingo Night

Lots of great stuff going on!! Our next meeting will be Monday, December 5th 5:00

Considering Kindergarten?

If you have a child ready to start Kindergarten next fall, we invite you to have your child come and get a taste of Kindergarten at Martin Luther School!

Kindergarten Visitation Days:

Tuesday, January 10 9:30-11:00

Thursday, January 12 9:30-11:00

Please contact the school office at (701) 224-9070 or office@lutherschools.org to reserve a time for you child to participate in the kindergarten classroom and learn more about the blessings of the classical education model!

4-H Parents:

If you have signed up for 4-H you should have received an email from Markelle Dockter, our advisor, regarding dues that need to be submitted as official members. If you submit the requested dues to the office, Markelle will direct those where they should go. We look forward to having more intentional meetings after the first of the year. If you have not received the email contact Mrs.Wolfgram and we'll make sure that you are contacted.

Seated and Ready by 8:10

As we return from Thanksgiving break, parents, please remember the importance of our 8:10 start time.

Being on time for class is such an important habit to cultivate in our students. We value the time that we have with your child, and from 8:10 is when we begin our day.



Here are some of the skills that they practice during the start of the day:

They practice independence and responsibility by

• managing their materials-outerwear, books, assignments, etc. (without assistance from parents).

• complete classroom tasks that set things in order for the rest of the day.

• Many of our classes hold their devotion time and prayer at the beginning of the day. If a child is late, they miss out on this great opportunity.

If arriving tardy, it is an opportunity for students to learn the social skill of how to enter the room quietly, complete what they need to do without disrupting what is already taking place in the classroom and to show respect to the class and others.

A Plan for the Future

Results from our strategic planning meeting

We were pleased with the input that was shared from not only the people present at the meeting, but also through the survey sent out prior to the meeting. Below is a summary of what was gathered as our strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threat.

Strengths

·       Christ-Centered   This is first and foremost our mission as a Lutheran School. It is our privilege and joy to have Christ as our focus.

·       Classical education  We received overwhelming appreciation for the new model of classical education. 

Other areas of strength that were noted

o  Staff trained, like minded, teaching staff community

o  Lutheran Ed/ practice/ religion woven throughout

o  Preschool options

Weaknesses

·       Enrollment,

o   Targeting our LCMS families. We realized that increasing enrollment was the key to helping us meet many of the other goals or strengthen some of our weaknesses.

·       Marketing

o  We have a great product, but we need to find a way to let others know about it

·       Facility

o  We are somewhat land-locked at this time, but before we can move forward to add to or change our facility, the enrollment needs to increase.

·       Middle school

o  Suspending the middle school grades did not help with our enrollment. We know that many parents want to have their children continue on through the middle, if not even through high school. Bring back the middle school is crucial to our growth, as well as continuing the classical model.

Opportunities

·       Marketing –

o  While labeled as a weakness, it also is a great opportunity as we haven’t truly developed an intentional marketing plan. Think of what could happen if we did!

·       Tuition assistance-

o  Developing a tuition assistance scholarship model based on models that have been successful at other schools.

·       Facility needs,

o  Again, a weakness, but if we consider what could happen if our numbers increase, additional space could become a real and feasible possibility.

·       Current direction of education

o  Many parents are looking for an alternative to public education due to our current culture, as well as what is being taught and how.

Threats:

·       Funding/tuition

o  Tuition will always be an issue and we need look at different ways to supplement it

·       Our current post-Christian culture

o  Christianity is not always well received in society

·       Prioritization of Christian education

o  Parents often don’t understand the blessing of Classical Lutheran education, and that it is worth investing in for their children

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Main areas of focus determined

After much discussion evaluate what goals we would like to achieve and how we would reach them, we came up with the following key result areas of focus for the next 1-3 years.

I cannot emphasize in importance of parental involvement in helping MLS reach these important goals. Just as we came together to look for solutions, we will need to come together and share the gifts and talents that God has given us to in order to make these dreams become reality.

Increase Enrollment

We realize that reaching any other the other goals mentioned hinged on increasing enrollment, so that was one of our first steps. 

Sharing the blessing and opportunities of MLS with

·       our own LCMS families

·       other churches in our Bismarck/Mandan communities

·       the community at large

Marketing:

One of the biggest missed opportunities we realize is that we need to let people know we are here and who we are!

·       Invest in and develop an intentional marketing plan

·       Rebranding to fit the new identity as we delve into classical Lutheran education and to assist with name recognition

Tuition assistance

The added cost of tuition for many families is truly a burden. We will plan a more secure and efficient tuition assistance model which will explore an endowment or foundation that will help establish a more secure form of` tuition assistance

·       Grants

·       Online giving

·       Having our congregations be more involved

·       Private businesses be sponsors

·       Multi-child discounts

Opportunities will be made available in the coming weeks for volunteers to come forward and take on some of the tasks needed for these key areas. If there is an area that you have a particular interest in addressing, please contact Mrs. Wolfgram at wolfgram@lutherschools.org or talk with Julie at the school office 224-9070, and we will include you in the action that will be taking place.

What a joy to know we have a plan to help us all move forward in the same direction! I believe that the Lord has great things in store for Martin Luther School, and I KNOW that the desire to help us take action has been fanned into flame.