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Curricular & Spiritual Connections Third Trimester Updates

By: Principal Tamela Johnson

End of Year Note from the Principal

This is a historic time at St. Paul’s as we celebrate 150 years of ministry in Waverly and the graduation of the 6th grade class of 2022. It has been a privilege and honor to have served as principal at St. Paul’s and witness the accomplishments of all of our young Christians. Thank you to all of our alumni for the faith and trust you have in our school. Our students receive the education today because of your commitment, support and prayers.  Please accept our heartfelt thanks.

Our students become leaders through the lessons they learn in and out of the classroom, which helped them build a strong foundation in leadership. Through positive decision making and through standing on the promises of God, they have grown tremendously. God bless all of our families who choose St. Paul’s as their school of choice.

Best wishes for a blessed and safe summer and we look forward to the 2022-23 school year. May the Lord bless all of you as we end the year in celebration of what God has done in our lives and the lives of our students. Remember what is truly important-family, friends, your health, your school, church and your community and to always live by the words of the fruits of the spirit-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

As alumni, you are forever in our hearts as members of our St. Paul’s school family.

Blessings,
Principal Tamela Johnson

150th Celebration Continues

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School will celebrate the 150th Anniversary throughout the summer and into the fall. Visit our 150th Anniversary webpage: https://www.stpaulswaverly.org/150th-anniversary/

We are also inviting school families and alumni to walk with our 150th Anniversary float. Please let the school office know if you would be interested in walking in any of the following parades!

  • 4th of July Parade in Shell Rock

  • July 16: Heritage Day Parade

  • October 15-16: Wartburg Homecoming Parade

  • October 29: Fall Festival, School Open House

Summer 2022 Bible Reading Challenge

Join St. Paul’s Lutheran Church & School as we read through the book of Luke this summer! We are encouraging every member and alumni of St. Paul’s (youth through adult) to read through the book of Luke together. Kids and youth will have their own books to follow along with and they will be available from Ms. Deb Bachman, director of faith formation at St. Paul’s, all summer long! At the end of the summer (August 21), kids and youth will be asked to bring their completed books to our Back to School Bash. Everyone who shows their completed book will receive a prize and an entry to win larger prizes. There are two prizes for each of the following age groups: Preschool—1st grade, 2nd—6th grade and 7th—12th grade. Those prizes will be drawn at the Back to School Bash and you must be present to win! There will be a video each week on our YouTube channel  or Facebook page if you prefer to listen to the readings.

For the younger kids who use the Story Bible, Deb Bachman will post videos to the Faith Formation Facebook group reading the stories if you would like to use that. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Deb at deb.bachman@stpaulswaverly.org. Follow the St. Paul’s Faith Formation page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/664153864578795

School Musical

On May 4, our K-6th grade students performed in St. Paul’s annual school musical. If you were unable to attend the musical in person, the performances were live streamed via Knight Vision, Wartburg College’s streaming service. The musical can be viewed at https://livestream.com/wartburgknightvision/stpauls.

School Fund Update

The St. Paul’s School Fund Committee is completing another successful year of fundraising for St. Paul’s Lutheran School. The volunteers who serve on this committee are charged with raising $90,000 a year to provide for school needs not covered by tuition and annual support from the church. This includes technology, classroom equipment and curricular materials.

The Spring Social, chaired for the past few years by Stephanie Mummelthei Whitcome, a school alum and current school parent, has become our biggest fundraiser. We are pleased to report that this year’s event brought in $22,000—a gratifying total for 2022, the church and school’s 150th year—and plans are already underway for next year.

Beyond the Spring Social, this year’s fundraising totals included:

  • Annual year-end appeal to school alumni, parents and congregation members, $18,152

  • Gifts to the School Fund currently totaling $28,895

  • Memorials to the School Fund currently totaling $3,739

  • Fun Walk organized by the school faculty and staff, $4,281

  • McTeacher night at McDonald’s organized by the school faculty and staff, $916

  • Scrip card sales throughout the year, $6,143 and counting

  • Thrivent Choice dollars from Thrivent policyholders, $3,812 and counting

The School Fund also benefits from:

For their incredible job in raising $22,000, we thank the Spring Social Committee members, Stephanie Whitcome, Shaina Anderegg, Bridget Bollman, Emily Callahan, Tricia Coleman Waterbury, Katie Tiedt, Hannah Djoumessi, Kari Jansen, Adam Folkerts and Ryan Rasmussen.

For their enthusiastic work throughout the year, we thank the School Fund Committee members, Tamela Johnson, Eliza Boots, Adam Folkerts, Mary Graeser, Jo Groth, Linda Moeller and Ryan Rasmussen.

For their ongoing support of School Fund endeavors, thanks to St. Paul’s staff, including Pastor Mark Anderson, Ron Zelle, Becky McRobie, Devin Wipperman, Deb Bachman and Katie Hirv.

Watch for our announcement of the final School Fund total after the fiscal year ends on June 30! If you would like to contribute to the 2021-22 School Fund, there’s still time. If you have suggestions for our fundraising efforts or would like to join the School Fund or Spring Social committees, please contact Principal Tamela Johnson.

Linda Moeller, Chair of St. Paul’s School Fund Committee

Giving

Throughout the year, many little gifts are presented to the church and school.  As we moved to streaming our church worship services, we have seen generous donations being sent to us from new friends that have found us on the web.  Just recently, Frieda Chyn from the state of Texas sent us $1,000 as a result of seeing our children so involved in the church services. Thanks to all our friends who think of us and help financially support our church and school!

Seeking Staff for 2022-23 Academic Year

St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Waverly, Iowa has openings for a .25 Art Teacher and a Full-Time Preschool Associate for the 2022-23 school year. If you know of someone that can help fill these positions, please reach out to Principal Johnson. Letters of application, resume, & references can be sent to Tamela Johnson, St. Paul’s Lutheran School, 301 1st. St. NW, Waverly, IA 50677 or to tamela.johnson@stpaulswaverly.org (319.352.1484) Positions open until filled. Visit https://www.stpaulswaverly.org/job-opportunities/ for more information.

Hilda Fedeler Estate Announcement

Dan Graeser, nephew of Hilda Fedeler, presented St. Paul’s Lutheran Church & School with checks from the Hilda Fedeler estate. Hilda was a vital member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church & School, receiving the beginning of her formal education in St. Paul’s Lutheran School. Hilda was also a teacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran School during her professional career. Even in her death, Hilda continues to share her kindness and generosity. We are so incredibly grateful for this financial support. With this estate gift, we will be able to complete a school remodel and provide air conditioning, as well as update the Parish Hall.

Capstone Update

Lisa Alexander, our Capstone coordinator at St. Paul’s, continues to do amazing work, as she has ensured that all of our 6th grade classes have had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. This past fall, the classes of 2020 and 2021 finally had the opportunity to take their trips after the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays. Due to some continued COVID restrictions, parents of the 6th grade class of 2022 asked that their trip be postponed and they have scheduled their trip for September 2022.

As we celebrate over a decade of our Capstone Legacy project, we are in the process of redesigning the study of our nation’s capital to include our Kindergarten through 6th grade students, making this a true St. Paul’s School Capstone. This past year, the teachers have taken a look at their social studies standards and curriculum. Each of the grade level teachers are writing units, selecting books about Washington D.C. and finding ways to engage all of our students in learning about our nation’s capital. As a result of this study and our trips to Washington D.C. in the fall of 2021, it was decided to move the annual trip to November each year. Fundraising for the trip will now begin in 5th grade with hopes to have an annual fundraiser starting as early as third grade. Our students continue to gain the skills of servitude and a connection and understanding of veterans.

Classroom Features

Each week in our school newsletter we share grade level features. In our last alumni newsletter, we shared features from fifth and sixth grade. To read the columns from the kindergarten through 4th grade teachers, please visit stpaulswaverly.org/category/blogs/. We hope these features stir up some fond memories of St. Paul’s!

Follow Us All Year Round

We hope you have enjoyed the alumni newsletters this past year. If you have some ideas of features to include in future newsletters, please contact Principal Johnson.  Be sure to sign up for weekly school newsletters by scrolling to the bottom of our church and school website at https://www.stpaulswaverly.org. You can also review our St. Paul’s Curriculum and Spiritual Connections, our weekly blog, at https://www.stpaulswaverly.org/category/blogs/.

Join our School Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stpaulswaverlyschool

Learn more about us on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/stpaulswaverly

St. Paul’s Lutheran School webpage:. https://www.stpaulswaverly.org/school/

Support Our Ministries: https://www.stpaulswaverly.org/give/