The Weekend After Spirit Week

Spirit Week Hightlights:

1. Check the photos on the SmileBoxes™ below.
2. Our class collected over 9000 pennies! That's over $90 towards this quarter's mission project: The Central African Medical Mission. A sincere thanks to parents for going out-of-their-way to provide pennies! 
3. The next highest group had somewhere in the 3000's.
4. We went into the last Pep Rally event tied for 1st place with the 8th graders. They won. But that's fitting, since it's their last year in grade school.

This week:

1. We're getting ready for the worldwide "Maths Day" and "Spelling Day." The actual competition isn't until the first full week of March, but we've been to the computer lab a few times already for "practice." 
2. If they know their passwords and user names, they may play at home also.
3. The 4th graders have a science test on Tuesday.
4. The 5th graders have a math test on Wednesday.
5. Everyone has a spelling test on Friday.
6. As I write this they're predicting a snow storm Tuesday night. If there's no class on Wednesday, the math test would be on Thursday. The spelling test will remain on Friday.

God bless.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Black & Gold Day

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Class Color Day

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Character Day

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Spirit Week - Pajama Day

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Spirit Week

Each week has its own ups and downs. After 5 days of class last week I think everyone was a bit worn out! That was probably a down. One of the ups was singing praises to our LORD in worship on Saturday night. Another up: The students built bridges using one sheet of standard line paper and 5 paper clips. It was supposed to hold up 100 pennies. Some of them figured it out! Some...well :)

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This coming week may only be 4 days, but with the excitement of dressing up for Spirit Week, I'm pretty sure we'll all be worn out again come Friday. Being tired might be a down; Dressing up, bringing pennies... those will be ups.

God bless you and yours.

Romans 8:35,37

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

News/Notes

This past Thursday and Friday when the students were home, the faculty was busy at the Northern Wisconsin District Teachers' Convention. The opening service is always a highlight for me. The voices praising God, hearing the Word, receiving the Lord's Supper…it doesn't get any better than that!

Most years I am a "listener" as teachers from around our district present various topics. This year I was a presenter. The topic: enrichment...the educational and fun things we do in our classroom that may or may not have ties to core subjects. The teachers that came to my sectional took home many URLs as resources for:

• Our worm investigation
• Bucket Buddies
• Paper bridges
• Speed Stacks
• Juggling
• Chopsticks
• Origami
• Stamps Teach
• Balloon Animals
• Tinikling
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Others that at this moment I can't remember :)

If you are interested in any of the URLs that I use in class for our enrichment activities, it's on the front page of the classroom website. It's called February Convention Document.

This week we'll be watching When Freedom Comes. It is the monthly electronic field trip from Colonial Williamsburg. Anyone can watch the hour-long presentation. It is on WPNE at 9am on Thursday, February 16. The EFT deals with slavery, the Civil War, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

But as we head closer to Ash Wednesday, the title of that presentation takes on a different meaning: Our freedom comes from and through our Lord Jesus. Praise and thanks to the Father for sending His one and only Son to rescue me from the slavery of sin.

God Bless your week.

Psalm 103:1-2

Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Happy February

Noteworthy details from the past week:

• 4th graders finished writing a tall tale. Most of the students then "relearned" how to log-in to their accounts on the computers. They then typed their stories and added a picture.
• 5th graders gave their inventor presentations. They picked out some very cool inventors and some very useful inventions. While all of the reports were good; the one that made us all appreciative: Kate's report on toilet paper. I never thought of the camera, which sits on my desk, until after the presentations were over!
• On Thursday a group of FVL students lead by Mr. Dave Payne came to Emanuel and gave a presentation to the 3-5 graders on "A day at FVL". It gives the grade school students a peak at high school life.

Notes for the upcoming week:

• On Wednesday we will have part 1 of our AR reward from 2nd quarter.
• The movie will be Jumanji.
• We get part 2, the second movie, because the students let me pick the movies. The second movie day will be sometime in the future. That movie will be From the Mix-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.
• It's a short week: Teachers' Convention in GB on Thursday and Friday.

Other info:

• We sing with the 3rd graders on Saturday, February 18.
• I know that's the day of 2 different basketball tourneys.
• As long as everyone shows up, we'll be fine.

God's blessings, today and always.

Psalm 59:16

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.