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Curricular & Spiritual Connections 1-21-22

All in Mentoring
Some form of mentoring students has been in place in Waverly since 1988 when the Waterloo Big Brothers, Big Sisters opened an office in Waverly. Due to a loss of funding, this mentor support program ceased to operate in 2020. Seeing a need, our Waverly Exchange Club formed a Steering Committee and formulated AIM (All In Mentoring). AIM is a school-based one-on-one mentoring non-profit which began operating this year. Their mission (or their “AIM”) is to “invest in intergenerational mentoring relationships that create confident & compassionate individuals.”
There are three ways you can help:
  • Become a Mentor
  • Become a Donor
  • Become an Advocate
St. Paul’s is working with AIM and will provide the space and time for mentors to work with our students who are matched with a mentor. To nominate a child or learn more about the program visit the AIM webpage. If you have further questions, please contact  Kori Chamberlin at director@allinmentoring.org.

Social Emotional Lessons
This month’s social emotional competency is on “Responsible Decision Making” which refers to considering the well-being of self and others; recognizing one’s responsibility to behave ethically; basing decisions on safety, social and ethical considerations; evaluating realistic consequences of various actions; and making constructive, safe choices for self, relationships and school. There are four (4) Learning Targets within this competency: Identifying Problems, Analyzing Situations & Solving Problems, Evaluating & Reflecting and Ethical Responsibility.

On Jan. 11, our lessons were canceled due to illness. Tuesday, Jan. 25 is our next social emotional learning lesson with Kate and Shelby. In Tuesday’s 4-6th grade lesson, Shelby will be doing a fun kids “Would You Rather?” game with them. They will focus on how each child may “rather” do something different but we can evaluate & reflect on our decisions & choices, positive & negative consequences of those choices, etc. Kate will read the story “What Do You Do With A Problem” and discuss the theme of seeing your problem as an opportunity to make a decision.

We are connecting the concept of responsible decision making with the bible verse: “And now, my children, listen to me: happy are those who keep my ways.”  — Proverbs 7:24.

School Offering
As LSI welcomes and resettles families from across the globe to Iowa, St. Paul’s Lutheran School wants to show them how welcome they are in Iowa by coming together to make Welcome Kits. Many of our refugee families arrive in Iowa with few possessions or supplies. We can help them as they begin to rebuild new lives here and make a home in Iowa. As we are collecting our school offering, we will put together as many Welcome Kits as we are able. Please help support our church and school ministry work by contributing to our school offering or by joining together with friends or relatives to create a kit. CLICK HERE to learn more about the different types of kits. We will have the kits on display here at the school throughout the semester.

Registering for 2022-23 School Year
It is always so hard to believe that we are already thinking about ‘next’ school year. Registration for St. Paul’s opens on Feb 7 at 7:30 a.m. If tuition costs are a concern for you and are preventing you from keeping your child(ren) at St. Paul’s, please have a conversation with Principal Johnson. We have several avenues to help you. One being for you to apply for STO tuition support, we also have a St. Paul’s scholarship fund and we can also work to line you up with a donor to help you support your child’s tuition costs.
  • STO: The FACTS online application for STO tuition support is open and the deadline is April 15. In addition to completing the application, parents will need to upload their 2021 federal tax return along with any other required schedules or tax documentation. Families who applied last year should receive an email that the 22-23 application has opened. The online FACTS application for STO award consideration can be found at https://online.factsmgt.com/aid. Family awards are released in mid May.
  • St. Paul’s Scholarships: As soon as the STO awards are out, we put together your tuition contract and send you a form to apply for our St. Paul’s scholarships.
You can always register your child and then apply for tuition support and then by early summer, you should be able to determine if the financial aid is enough to be able to continue with your child’s enrollment. We love having you and your child as a part of our St. Paul’s family and hope and pray that you can stay with us and be able to say that your child is a St. Paul’s graduate!