Jeremy May, Pastor David Birnbaum, Principal Sunday Services: 8:30, 11:00 School: 580-762-9950 Sunday School: 9:45 a.m. website: flspc.org Church: 580-762-1111 E-mail: lutheransecretary@yahoo.com www.flcspc.com Child Care: 580-762-1124 FastDirect: fastdir.com/flcspc

December 10, 2014

CARDINAL CHATTER 12/10 Advanced Band to Nursing Homes; 12-3:15 12/11 8th Grade to Vo-Tech

Deadline for Elks Essay Contest (5th-8th) 12/12 8:45 a.m. Chapel in the Gym

4th – 8th Christmas Program, 6:30, Gym 12/14 K - 4th Christmas Program, 6:30, Church

12/15 Band Concert @ FLS, 2:30, Gym 12/16 1:30 & 6:30 Band Concert, St. Mary’s 12/19 Last Day before Christmas Break 12/22-1/2 Christmas Break – No School 1/5/15 Classes Resume

CHAPEL MOVED TO FRIDAY THIS WEEK ONLY: There was no chapel service today; it was/is moved to Friday

for this week only, to give our students more time to work on the Christmas Program. It will be presented at chapel this Friday, at 8:45 a.m. in the gym, and again Friday evening at 6:30, also in the gym.

PRINCIPAL – Mr. Birnbaum: 'Tis the season to be celebrating the birth of our Savior King. Do people still acknowledge CHRIST in CHRISTmas? Public Schools even get out for the HOLYdays (misspelling on purpose) but do they even realize that holidays is referring to the HOLY days? The Middle School has been working on a great Christmas Musical to help remind us of the reason for the season. Join us Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the gym. The 4th & 5th grade will lead us in a couple of songs at the beginning of the night. Sunday night at 6:30 our Kindergarten - 4th grade will help with singing for the Sunday School Christmas program in the church. Ple ase help us celebrate Christ this CHRISTMAS.

DAYCARE SIGNUPS FOR CHRISTMAS BREAK: Daycare is currently taking sign-ups for the Christmas Break period, to see if there is enough interest to keep daycare open. They will be closed on December 24, 25, 26, and January 1. If you are interested in having your students attend Daycare December 22, 23, 29, 30, 31, and/or January 2, please sign up in Daycare or call them at 762-1124. The deadline for sign-ups is Monday, December 15. Note that if you sign up for daycare, you will be charged whether you bring your student or not.

CHRISTMAS BREAK OFFICE HOURS: The school office will be closed during the Christmas break, with the exception of the following days: Dec 22, 23, 29, and 30; 9-11 a.m. (Monday & Tuesday, 9-11, each week). I will be checking email and voice mail daily, and will pick up the mail daily (so rest easy if you mail your payments). If you need to visit with me/make a drop off and the above times don’t work for you, please leave me a message at 762-9950 and I will call to set up a time to meet you here.

DAYCARE NEEDS TOY DONATIONS: Daycare is running short on toys for 3-year olds & up. If you have some age-appropriate gently used toys that need new homes, please drop them at daycare or in the school office. Thanks!

ALL-DAY PRESCHOOL: After favorable feedback, we are proceeding with our plans for an all -day pre-school beginning in January 2015. Mrs. Flaherty’s wish list for the new Pre -school class is below; if you have any of these items you would like to donate, or purchase, for the new classroom, we can promise they will be put to good use! Puppets (WalMart $25) Wooden blocks (Lakeshore $50) Carboard blocks (Lakeshore $25) Table blocks (WalMart $20) Gears (Lakeshore $40; WalMart $22) Lacing beads (Lakeshore $35; WalMart $28) Peg boards and pegs (Lakeshore $30; WalMart $42)

Paint brushes Musical instruments CD’s Magnifier Magnets (Lakeshore $50) Microscope ($17)

ESSAY CONTEST FOR 5TH – 8TH GRADE: The Elks Lodge is sponsoring an essay contest on the subject of “What the Pledge of Allegiance Means to Me”. Flyers about the contest details were handed out November 20; additional flyers are available in the school office. Entry essays are due back to the school no later than Thursday, December 11, and there is a cash prize for the winner!

GIFT CARD/SCRIP SALES: If you would like to order scrip/gift cards for Christmas Gifts, we will be placing an order soon. Please drop your orders by the school office as soon as possible!

*STILL* COLLECTING PONCA CITY SANTA BUCKS! – You all are doing an excellent job bringing in your Santa Tickets; we are over 700 tickets now! To donate yours to the school, please drop them by the school on or before December 19; the earlier the better so that we can get them organized for the big night.

CHILDREN’S BOOK DRIVE: My name is Jessica Barnard, and my mission is to make sure that any child who wants to read, gets books to read! I need your help. Do you have any unused children’s books lying around? Please consider donating them to local and surrounding area children. I will be collecting books through Friday, December 12, 2014. Please call or text me @ 580-761-4094 and I will come to you to pick them up. Trini, with The Bag Lady, has also graciously offered to use her business as a drop-off location at 205 E. Grand. You can drop your books there Tuesday’s – Friday’s, 10-6, or Saturday’s, 10-4. The BOOK DISTRIBUTION DATE is set for Saturday, December 13, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the First Lutheran Church & School cafeteria. Thank you to the FLS Cheerleaders who graciously have agreed to help out with this event.

BASKETBALL SEASON PASS: We have season passes available for home basketball games for the 2014-2015 school year! They will be $20 for adults, $15 for Senior Citizens, and $10 for students. These passes will be good for home games only, not including tournaments. If you would like to purchase one, the passes may be purchased in the school office.

CHAPEL OFFERING: Chapel offerings this month go to purchase Angel Tree Gifts. To donate, send your donation with your students on Wednesday’s to donate during Chapel!

CONGRATULATIONS to our Basketball teams that went to the Hope Tournament in Kansas City this past weekend. Since 2005, our girls team has finished in 1st place five times (including the last 2 consecutive years), 2nd place one time, and 3rd place twice. The boys teams have finished in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place each one time. We are thankful for our talented students, for the families that support them, and for their Christian conduct on and off the court.

BAND – Mrs. Jones: : Our Christmas concerts are coming up! We will play at our gym on Monday, Dec. 15, at 2:30 p.m. On Tuesday, we will play at St. Mary's at 1:30 and again at 6:30 p.m. Be sure to return your field trip permission form. We will have our final December classes on Wed 12/17 (Adv) and Thur 12/18 (Beg). If you would like to send a snack for our parties on those days, please let me know. Seventh and Eighth grade students are eligible to audition for the NOC Honor Band in January. Music and information will be sent home soon.

LIBRARY – Mrs. Hamre: Book Fair Report - Thank you to everyone who came to the book fair! An extra-special "thank you" to Rachelle Oswalt, Betty Covey, Morena Fuller, Cheryl Klein, Lori Shepherd, Curtis Holtzen, Bubba Hunt (aka Clifford) as well as the other eighth grade junior crew members. So many things went smoothly because of you. We made nearly $6,000 on our book fair!! From that we received $900 cash, over $1,000 Scholastic Dollars, and lots of new books, too! Look for some other new items in the library very soon.

PRE-SCHOOL – Mrs. Herard: Goodness, the month is going much too quickly! Our little hands have been busy making decorations for our room and ornaments for our tree. The children are having a wonderful time as we learn about the symbols of Christmas. This week we are learning how a star was used by God to guide the wise men on their journey to find the newborn King. Our letter this week is "J" for Jesus. This is our last chance to collect offerings to purchase gifts for the Angel Tree. Many thanks if you are able to help. Next week we will learn about bells and the letter "K". Parties next Th/Fri at 10:15 with gift exchange! You are welcome to join us!

PRE-KINDERGARTEN - Mrs. Kelly: Happy December Birthday to Karryn, Cash, Quinn, Cailyn, and Christian! Our Christmas party will be on Friday the 19th at 2:00. Please remember each child needs to bring a wrapped $5.00 boy or girl gift to class by Thursday the 18th. Our chapel offering this month is to buy gifts for our angel that we picked from the angel tree. Our class picked a 4 year old little boy. You can bring chapel offering any day and we will take it to chapel with us. Donuts with Dads will be on Friday, January 9th. Our Bible words this week are, Unto you is born...a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11. We are learning the letter "N" and number "9" this week. This is the last Chatter before Christmas, so I would like to wish you a Very Merry Christmas! Thank you for sharing your children with me. Until next "year", Have a blessed month!

KINDERGARTEN - Ms. Miller: We will have a combined Church & School Christmas Program on Sunday Evening, December 14th at 6:30 p.m. in the church. Our kindergarten class will help with the singing that evening. Please bring your child to the Church Fellowship Hall at 6:15 p.m. for the program. Our class party will be Friday December 19th at 2:30 p.m. in our room and parents are welcome. Please have your child bring a wrapped gift to school by Wednesday Dec. 17th for the Christmas party on the 19th. We will have a $5.00 limit on the gift exchange and boys will bring a boy gift or if your child is a girl they will bring a girl gift. Also, please tell your child that they will not take home the gift that they bring. I will also be telling them this so no one will have hurt feelings. Happy late

birthday to Rian (12-4)! Have a blessed Christmas season and know that you are always welcome to come to our church for services!

FIRST GRADE – Mrs. Birnbaum: Memory verse for Friday - For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given. Isaiah 9:6. The children's Christmas program is Sunday evening at 6:30 in the church. The children are to meet in the fellowship hall at 6:15. They have been working really hard on learning the songs for the program. I hope to see you all there! Our class Christmas party will be on Friday, Dec. 19 at 2:15. Kristen Zimmerman will send out a note next week. We will have a gift exchange (a $5 gift). Boys bring a boy gift and girls bring a girl gift. On your gift, put to a girl/boy and from your child's name. Happy Birthday to Julian on Dec. 20! Remember the Reason for the Season and have a blessed Christmas!

SECOND GRADE – Mrs. Powell: Merry Christmas! Who can believe that in 8 school days we will be half way through second grade! These children are making amazing progress and I'm very proud of them. Please remember that our snow globe book report is due on December 17. Our class party is Friday, December 19. Mrs. Harland will be contacting you to remind you of what you signed up to bring. As always, all parents are invited. We're considering having the second graders purchase toys for the day care in lieu of having our regular gift exchange. Please give me feedback regarding this alternate plan ASAP. Mr. Birnbaum is asking the second graders to sing at the Christmas program Sunday evening. Please have your child come to the Fellowship Hall of the church at 6:15. I pray that your Christmas is blessed and your time off with your precious children is memorable. Be sure to include worship in your plans. JOY!

THIRD GRADE - Mrs. Steichen: Thank you everyone for coming to chapel last week. The kids did amazing! I am so proud of all the hard work they put in. This week: test in Reading, Spelling, Memory, and Math this week. Social Studies: Look for a test next week as we are finishing up a chapter on communities. Science: Look for a test also next week as we are finishing up a chapter on weather. Chapel: Chapel has been moved to Friday this week, we will get to see the middle schools Christmas program. Thursday: remember at 8:30 we are going to WalMart to go shopping for the angels off the angel tree. Friday, after noon, we will be wrapping gifts, so please come join us. Book Reports: Everyone did a great job - thank you for all your hard work! If you want to see what everyone did, they are on display in the administration building. End of Quarter: we only have a week and a half left of this quarter. Keep working hard and looking at our grades. We are doing great and we are almost done. A.R. I have about a handful of students who have yet to make their goal; we are cheering them on and helping in any way. Please ask your child if they have met their goal. Elf: Our elf Jingle is causing trouble all around our room. Please ask your child what she is up to. Christmas Party: we will be having our party next Friday, December 19th at 2. We will be doing an ornament exchange. Please be on the look out for more information. Sunday School Program: Mr. Birnbaum has ask our kids to sing for the Sunday School Program this Sunday. The program starts at 6:30 pm; we would like the kids to be there at 6:15 pm in the Fellowship Hall. Have a great Christmas and a very happy New Year!!

FOURTH GRADE - Mrs. Sibley: I apologize for not wishing a Happy Birthday to Bryant last Wednesday. I know that you had a wonderful time celebrating the gifts that God has given you. Please continue to send in your chapel offering for the Angel Tree. Let’s share with those that do not have. Please do not forget your family picture that cannot be returned, so we can make our special project by Friday the 12th. For our Christmas Gift Exchange, we will exchange gifts with students in the classroom. The cost of gifts should not exceed $5.00. We also need a family picture by the 12th for a special project. Children cannot be complete this project without this family picture. We have all been practicing for our Christmas Program in music, and it is really coming along. Please come Friday at 6:15 to sing with the middle school; and Sunday at 6:15 to sing for the CHRISTmas program.

FIFTH GRADE - Mrs. Schatte: What a very exciting time of the year this is, especially for children! Our second quarter is almost finished. I'd like all 5th graders to finish strong. Some of us are having a really hard time concentrating and tending to our work. We just need to hang in there one more week and do the very best we can. Please encourage your child along these lines. I can't do it without your encouragement and support at home. I really do want the very best for each of these children. It takes all of us working as a team to see that it happens. Mr. Birnbaum requests that 4th & 5th graders attend the Middle School Christmas program on Friday evening to sing the first verse of two songs at the beginning of the program. Please meet in the gym at 6:15 Friday evening. May you find peace and joy as we carry on during this Advent season. Blessings!

MIDDLE SCHOOL 12/11 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; Newkirk @ FLS 12/15 5:30, 6:30, 7:30; Saints @ FLS 12/18 4 & 5; St. Mary’s @ FLS (5th girls/6th boys)

12/18 6 & 7; Ponca West @ FLS (8th girls/8th boys) 1/5 5, 6, 7, 8; FLS @ Woodlands 1/8 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30; @ Wesleyan Christian 1/9 Middle School Dance, Gymnasium

Mrs. Harbeson: Hi, All! I just got back from the Kansas City Hope Tournament and am just thinking back on

the past few days. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is how well all our First Lutheran students represented themselves, their school, and God. I'm so proud of them all! Our boys' team was the only team that had any 6th graders playing, and they did really well. Trust me when I say that we played some extremely tall opponents, and our boys held their own. They won their last game this morning (Sunday) for 7th place. Our girls, of course, completely ruled the competition and finished in first place. (They also won first last year!) Our cheerleaders rocked the house at all the games. I know all the players, both boys and girls, appreciate your hard work and dedication. Thank you, Coach Redwine and Mrs. Hanson, for your dedication and the time that you give to our athletes!

The sixth grade class will be celebrating Christmas with a party at 2:30 on Friday, December 19. If your student would like to take place in a Christmas gift exchange game, then he or she needs to bring a wrapped gift of $10 or less. Boys bring boy's gift. Girls bring girl's gift. There's no need to address it to anyone. You may bring gift anytime between now and next Friday, and put it under my Christmas tree.

We once again have a busy week at school! The 6th graders have the Braman tournament this week, and all our middle school teams are hosting Newkirk at home on Thursday. Don't forget that the middle school musical is this Friday. With all our activities this week, please work hard (especially at school) to get all assignments handed in , and handed in on time. We just have two weeks left until Christmas Break, so it is crucial to buckle down and do your best. I know you can do it! That's all for now. Blessings on the rest of your week...and oh, by the way...GO POKES!

Mrs. Hanson: First things first. THIS FRIDAY at 6:30 p.m. the middle school presents “Christmas Cross”, our Christmas musical. The kids need to be in the gym in their places at 6:15 p.m. Any actors need to be there by 5:45 p.m. We will also perform for chapel that morning at 8:30 a.m. Kids need to be in the gym by 8:15 a.m.; actors at 8:00 a.m. All kids need to be dressed in red or green church clothes. No jeans or shorts. Second, all science classes will have a science final next Friday, December 19. This is a cumulative and will include all chapters we have studied this SEMESTER. We will review every day in class next week to prepare, but studying needs to occur at home as well.

Mrs. Goll: Wow! Just a week and a half until this quarter is over. This is the time of the year when keeping up with everything is particularly challenging. Remind your student to take charge of his own education by asking for help as needed and by being thoughtful about coming to class prepared and doing quality work. Algebra students continue to work on linear equations; sixth graders are working with fractions; most other students are working on solving multi-step equations that include fractions. I hope, in spite of the busy-ness, that you are enjoying Advent and Christmas preparations. We look forward to seeing you at the middle school musical on Friday (Mrs. Hanson and the kids are doing a great job preparing for that). God bless you as you continue to Seek Him First and that you find Him, at Christmas, and always.

Mr. Covert: I am attending the 35th Oklahoma Council for Indian Education Conference in Tulsa yesterday and today; many thanks to Mrs. Lorenz for filling in for me in my absence. We will be making plans for our class Christmas party, which will be held on Friday afternoon, December 19. Please ask your student for details later in the week. If you are willing/able to bring a snack/goodie for the Christmas Party, please call or text Michele Jean, room mother, and let her know what you will be bringing. Her number is 763-0208.

First Lutheran Church & School—Growing up into Jesus, Reaching out with

Jesus, Walking together in Jesus