Week 7

Walk-a-thon SUCCESS!
Friday's walk-a-thon was a beautiful success!  The 7th graders walked a total of 447 laps=149 miles...incredible!!  Collection of pledges happens now; once all donations have been collected have you child bring in their walk-a-thon envelope to school.  I wrote my $74.50 check to the class for pledging $0.50/mile they walked :)  GREAT WORK 7th GRADE!!!  I can't wait to hear the totals for the entire jr. high.

Sam M. broke the jr. high record (32) for most laps with 37 laps!!

Parent-Teacher Conferences:
You should have received an invitation to sign up for a conference time "chunk" which best works for you and your family.  If you haven't submitted the times that best work for you please take the time to do so; this information is very helpful when I make our conference schedule.  A link ("parent teacher conference scheduling") can be found on Sycamore Education's site under "Highlighted News."  I will be scheduling conference times this Wednesday, you will receive a letter via your child Friday with your given conference time.  If there is any important information regarding conference scheduling please notify me ASAP.  Thank you!

Dates to Remember:
10/2 AR points are due (18/quarter)
10/2 Zion Appreciation Night at LHS (*see previous blog post for more information)
10/9 End of 1st Quarter (can you believe it?!)
10/9 7th Grade Field Trip to Fitz's & the St. Louis Seminary
10/9 Trunk or Treat
10/13 Picture Retakes
10/15 Parent-Teacher Conferences
10/15-16 NO SCHOOL
10/24 Bobcat Shuffle
10/26-30 Red Ribbon Week

Midweek Reminders

A few reminders for upcoming events:

Walk-a-thon 9/25

• Dress down day --> Spirit wear tops w/ athletic shorts (careful with the length girls) and shoes
• We will be eating lunch in the classrooms early; hot lunch WILL still be available (bosco sticks)
• Pledges are not due this Friday, we are encouraging students to gather pledges now and then collect money after the event.  Pledges = asking for $$/per mile or lap (3 laps = 1 mile).
• Our goal is supporting two refugee students at Word of Life through tuition assistance.

Camp Wartburg (High Ropes) 9/26

• A reminder sheet was sent home today (Tuesday) with important information and a schedule for those who have signed up to participate in this event.

Zion Appreciation Night at LHS 10/2

• Please join us at the Cougar Stadium on Friday, October 2nd before the football game! Together with our current LHS football parents, we invite all Zion Jr High students and families for a fun night food, fellowship, and football! There will be a free tailgate BBQ before the game located in the upper Parking lot near the West End Zone. Game time is 7pm, against the Crusaders of St. Dominic.   --Lisa Gnade

Week 6

Sycamore Education:

Continue to be aware of your child's grades via Sycamore Education:

https://app.sycamoreeducation.com/index.php?task=newlogin&schoolid=2648

I also would love to hear feedback about this new online system.  What works for you as a parent?  What are features you wish were different?

Walk-a-thon:

The Jr. High walk-a-thon is THIS FRIDAY 9/25.  Students will be allowed to wear Zion/Christian t-shirts and athletic bottoms this day of school (yes, all day!).  Students should also wear comfortable athletic shoes for walking/running.  Continue encouraging your child to collect pledges to help us reach our goal...adopting two students from Word of Life, paying for their tuition so that they can continue to learn about Jesus!

Pastor Clausing:

Pastor Clausing (LHS campus pastor/theology teacher) led worship at Wednesday's chapel service.  He stopped by our classroom to talk about his call to teach & preach in Africa this upcoming January.  He and his family (wife and 9 kids) are moving to Africa as missionaries. The 7th graders had a chance to ask him questions about the upcoming journey.  

 Color Wheels:
The 7th graders learned about the 7 elements of art last week and made beautiful color wheels using ONLY red, blue, and yellow colored pencils.  Very impressive!

 Science:
Bacteria cells drawn by the 7th graders turned out excellent!

 Literature Point of View Posters:
Our class spent a week learning about first person, second person, third person limited, third person omniscient, and third person objective points of view.  They wrote creative stories to show their knowledge of each point of view.

 Recycling:
The 7th graders LOVE collecting recycling from around campus!

May God bless another week in 7th grade,

Week 5

Jr. High Walk-a-thon:

This year the Jr. High will be walking/running to raise money for "Christian Friends of New Americans."  Our goal is to raise enough money to pay two students' tuition at Word Of Life Lutheran School in St. Louis.  The two students came to America from Nepal and Yeman and are currently in 8th grade.  We are BLESSED TO SERVE and can't wait to see how our actions can affect those in our community!  Please take time to help your  7th grader collect pledges for our walk-a-thon (9/25/15).  This is NOT a time collecting money, but pledges to encourage your child to walk/run many miles!!

Find more information at CFNA's website: http://www.cfna-stl.org/.

Jr. High Social Event --- Camp Wartburg High Ropes Course:

All jr. high students are invited to attend a social event at Camp Wartburg Saturday September 26th.  Students will spend the day enjoying the High Ropes course at beautiful Camp Wartburg and have the opportunity to participate in a service project. We will be leaving Zion at 8am and returning around 5pm.  We do NEED parent drivers for this event.  Please contact Micah Braddy (mbraddy@zionharvester.org) if available for the day and let him know how many students you can fit in your vehicle. Two forms & $25 are due September 17th.

September 11:
The class and I had a great discussion today about September 11th.  It is amazing to me that these students were not alive on that fateful day in history.  It also is interesting to hear what they know and the questions they have.  I hope you continue the discussion with them at home.  I have two links below to sites I shared with the class today.

Scholastic 9/11

9/11 Summary

Study Habits:

Please continue to encourage your child to study (history, science, English, etc.) even when they do not have homework.  Reviewing notes/key terms for 5-10 minutes can make a huge difference in storing information in their long term memory.  These study habits will benefit them as 8th graders, high schoolers, and beyond.

Feudal Skittles:

We started learning about Feudalism in World History this week.  Friday, every student became one social role (monarch, lord/lady, knight, peasant).  Everyone had to pay their taxes in the form of skittles.  Maddie was a very generous Queen to her loyal subjects!

 End of the day Shenanigans:
Emma & Taylor wanted to take a nice picture together...their friends were not allowing it :)

REMINDER: NO SCHOOL FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18th

Blessings on the rest of your weekend!

As always, you are welcome to worship at Zion Saturday 5pm or Sunday 8 & 10:30am.

I hope to see you in there,

Week 4

Study CAN BE FUN :)

God's Work Our Hands Art Project

Last week's art project reflected our school year theme "Blessed to Serve"; we are God's children using our hands, feet, and voices to do His work here on earth.

What's Your Name? Art Project

We got to know each other a little more through this art project which shows each our interests while spelling out our names. 

World History "Legacy of the Roman Empire" Presentations:

Students learned all about how we see so many aspects of the Roman Empire in our culture today; Art, Architecture, Engineering, Language, Law, Citizenship, etc.  Students presented their findings in the form of pictures and summary writing in a google presentation.

Homeroom Fun

 Chari & Julie LOVED reading old letters from an American soldier to his girlfriend during World War II.  Thanks Ellie (8th grade) for bringing in such a sentimental family treasure!!

Intense game playing around the room; Old Maid, Chess, Sorry, and Apples to Apples.  This looks like a Fun Friday to me :)

The Jr. High Students gathered this morning for the Walk-a-thon Kick-off!

This year the Jr. High will be walking/running to raise money for "Christian Friends of New Americans."  Our goal is to raise enough money to pay two students' tuition at Word Of Life Lutheran School in St. Louis.  The two students came to America from Nepal and Yeman and are currently in 8th grade.  We are BLESSED TO SERVE and can't wait to see how our actions can affect those in our community!  Please take time to help your  7th grader collect pledges for our walk-a-thon (9/25/15).  This is NOT a time collecting money, but pledges to encourage your child to walk/run many miles!!

Find more information at CFNA's website: http://www.cfna-stl.org/.

Jr. High Social Event --- Camp Wartburg High Ropes Course

All jr. high students are invited to attend a social event at Camp Wartburg Saturday September 26th.  Students will spend the day enjoying the High Ropes course at beautiful Camp Wartburg and have the opportunity to participate in a service project. We will be leaving Zion at 8am and returning around 5pm.  We do NEED parent drivers for this event.  Please contact Micah Braddy (mbraddy@zionharvester.org) if available for the day and let him know how many students you can fit in your vehicle. Two forms & $25 are due September 17th. Blessings on your Labor Day weekend,