Fall Fundraiser...

Did someone say COFFEE????

Take a break from Christmas shopping on Tuesday December 6th and treat yourself at Stonehome brewery and restaurant. A percentage of your tab will be donated to Martin Luther School!

Stonehome is located at

1601 N 12th St, Bismarck, ND.

Pokemon Update

As we all know, there has been a "Pokemon Revival," and sharing these cards has become once again, all the rage. I've been in ongoing conversation with the teachers and ABC Care providers about how it has played out in the classroom and/or ABC Care. We are at the point where we have observed that strong interest in the game has some gotten in the way of regular school activities. In the best interest of our students and their property, we are now at the point where we are going to discontinue allowing Pokemon cards not only during the school day, but also in before and after school care.



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.

Come with us to Chapel!

Come and worship with us! It is such a joy to hear our kids sing during chapel and take part in the worship service! We recently included the two full-day preschool classes in our chapel service led by Pastor Marcis. 

What a joy it is to see them watch and listen as the message is presented. Our students in grades K-6 are paired with a "chapel buddy," an older with a younger. The older students help their chapel buddies by helping them navigate their way through the hymnal and setting a good example by participating respectfully during the service.

You are more than welcome to join us for chapel! Many parents like to sit with their child, and we only ask that if your child chooses to sit with you that you both join us with the rest of the students and teachers. Let your child be your "chapel buddy" and show you how "everything is done," where we are in they hymnal, or when to fold your hands for prayer, etc.

If you feel more comfortable sitting back away from the crowd and letting your child be up with the rest of the crew, that is fine, too. (We know that some kids prefer that, especially as they get older!) At any rate, we welcome you to our chapel services, and we love seeing our children grow in the Lord!