Lamentations 3:22-23

Schedules, planning, meetings, phone calls, emails, zooms, remote learning, and the list can go on and on. The busyness of each day has a way of making us (at times) feel like we are being consumed by ‘things’ and expectations.

The temptations that we face each day can also seem to consume us as we face the challenges before us due to our sinfulness. We do give in to temptation and sin. It is a serious matter. Because we are redeemed by the blood Jesus shed for us and his victory over the grave, we can celebrate the promise of life. Baptismal life means new life. Our sin is totally laid on Jesus. We are baptized. We have died with Christ and raised with Him.

As we encourage one another to focus on the love God has for us, let’s remember that his mercy is new each day. We have a fresh start to serve, share, and sing of the great mercies given us out of Jesus’ love for us. May we focus on the wellness of ourselves and each other through encouragement, prayer, and being in the Word each day.

As educators, it is a blessing to have the privilege of sharing the hope in Christ each and every day with students and their families. Especially, during these challenging times of COVID19, reminding fellow believers how very much they are loved by the Savior can be very uplifting. May we all flourish together as we focus on the compassion that Christ has for us. Have the attitude of Jesus going into each day. Do your role trusting you are not alone. You have Christ and we have each other.

Serving the Master Teacher,

Lois Stewart

The National Office of Education in St. Louis works tirelessly to support all of the LCMS schools and offer support, programs, and resources to assist in the success and ministry of our schools. Here are a few things for you to be aware of:

1.  The information for administrators (Early Childhood Directors, Elementary Principals, and High School Principals) to submit their annual statistical report will be sent out in the very near future. PLEASE watch for this to arrive. When you get that information, be encouraged to complete it and submit it in a timely manner. Last year we were VERY CLOSE to 100% completion. Let’s get 100% this year! Please note that my office does not have access to your login items. Make sure you keep that handy.

2.  There will be a COVID19 survey also sent to schools from the National Office for you to complete with feedback.

3.  The annual school fees were once again paid by the NID for you and your school. This fee allows schools access to:

a.   Luthed.org site

b.  better technology access to LCMS items

c.   continued development of resources and mailings

If you have not received your email, please make sure that the email you are using is the one that is on file in LISN.

PLEASE NOTE:

1.  All enrollment numbers should include all students currently enrolled, regardless if they are in-person or online.

2.  “Total School Enrollment and Capacity” should be completed as if there were NO current COVID restrictions.

3.  “Number of Children who applied but could not be admitted this fall due to space limitations” should be completed taking into account the COVID restrictions as affected students are not enrolled due to the COVID restrictions.

The annual fee for the 2020-2021 school year will remain at $650.00. This has been extended due to the pandemic. PLEASE NOTE the freeze is for one year and will increase to $700.00 for the 2021-2022 school year.

We know that the process of NLSA has been an additional challenge during this COVID19 time. Please review the attached documents from the National Lutheran School Accreditation Commission.

Congratulations to St. John’s, Lombard for being reaccredited through the National Lutheran Schools Accreditation process. We give thanks to God for the ministry at St. John’s and pray God’s continued blessing upon them.

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.

On Wednesday, September 16, Dr. Yahnke presented a webinar focusing on the social and emotional health of children: “Social/Emotional Need of Children During COVID19: What Teachers Want to Know”.

The LCMS Northern Illinois District is launching a webinar series, addressing opportunities related to ministry in our District, providing thought-provoking insights that will help us strengthen our work together.

The series will launch October 17, 2020, with It’s a great time to be the Church! Dr. Dale Meyer will be speaking candidly about how and why we can say “It’s a great time.”

We know that you are being kept very busy in your school this fall. Prayers are uplifted that God will bring us through this pandemic in a timely way so we are once again able to gather in fellowship and learning. We pray that everyone is remaining healthy.

In discussion and prayer, we feel it is in the best interest of everyone to cancel the fall leadership conference on September 28 at St. John’s, LaGrange. We know there are quite a few people that do not feel comfortable being away from their building and we certainly respect that. Others are currently picking up more teaching responsibilities. Safety and health protocols are the main thing.

We remain prayerful that we will be able to gather in February. Details and registration will certainly follow. Watch for information as it is available through the School Newsletters.

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.

LEA has some new, exciting programs to launch this school year. Visit the LEA website for more information.

If you have never used Mission InSite to do demographic studies for your school and/or congregation, please visit www.missioninsite.com. This demographic study service is available to all of our NID congregations thanks to our LCEF Vice President, Vanda Toner. She feels so strongly that this tool can be a big benefit to you.

Mission InSite contains many helpful details, including but not limited to: PeopleView System, enhanced maps, and user tools.

Please contact Sue Green (708-223-3116 or sue.green@nidlcms.org) for information or assistance.

Visit the LCMS website to download the 2021 National Lutheran Schools Week resources and the 2021 chapel talks.

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