ST. JOHN LUTHERAN CHURCH
(The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod)
Alma, Kansas
A family united by faith in Christ gathering around God's Word and Sacraments.
To reach out in Christ-like concern and Christ-borne love to each other and to those without Christ!
NEWS FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK
“Endure” Hebrews 12:1-3
“Providing a foundation in Jesus Christ and developing the God-given talents of learning.”
The journey continues! We started the year on a huge high. Opening chapel was led by pastor and very uplifting. Many parents joined us AND we have 60 students! There will be other highs and undoubtedly some lows throughout the year, but with God’s guiding hand we look forward to an awesome year.
2025-2026 THEME: Let’s Make A Joyful Noise from Psalm 98:4. We are going to have some fun with this theme in chapel and throughout the whole school year – even in the upper grades where it isn’t always cool to act silly and excited about school.
ARK AND CREATION MUSEUM TRIP: Plans are continuing for a Spring Break 2026 trip to see the Ark and Creation Museum (more details coming in September).
GREENHOUSE: The greenhouse has arrived! We will keep you updated with news of plans to incorporate this awesome resource into our curriculum. Thank you for your support!
ENROLLMENT: We opened the year with 60 students (31 families) on the first day! 21 students in K and 1, 15 students in 2nd and 3rd, 12 students in 4th and 5th, and 12 students in 6th thru 8th .
CHAPEL OFFERINGS: Our first quarter offerings are being designated for a group called Forged by Fire. They are a Lutheran organization that provides meals after disasters (floods, hurricanes, etc.) and other big events (youth gathering, etc.).
DATES:
Principal’s Conference - September 4 and 5
School Yard Sale - September 12
In-Service NO SCHOOL - September 19
LEA/Dist. Teachers Conf. - October 1-3
Mr. Butler, SJLS Principal
MRS. MILLER, KINDERGARTEN & FIRST GRADE
“…casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
Kindergarten has been learning and exploring the skill of reading letters and sounds. We’ve explored numbers 1-9 and have started to write letters. First graders are working on reading fluency, writing sentences, and adding single digits.
We are excited to invite you to our book fair and reading night in September. Please watch for more information to come! We will also be requesting help from book fairies this year. Please consider donating to our fund. The book fairy program allows us to give each K-3 grader a FREE book each month.
Thank you for your support and gifts.
Blessings,
Mrs. Mindy Miller
SEPTEMBER GREETINGS!
We have been off to a joyful start in second and third grade with fifteen amazing children. Making a joyful noise is something at which all my students excel. We are looking forward to a great year of praising God with our voices and actions while growing in knowledge, skills, and faith.
We started this year by reviewing both reading and math from last year. This month, we will be looking at author Eric Carle and doing an author study on him. In math, second grade will work on adding and subtracting, while third grade focuses on place value and rounding.
In social studies, we learned about the continents and oceans, and we will focus on landforms this month. For science, we will be looking at the life cycles of animals and plants. We will focus on frogs and corn specifically.
Thank you for all your congratulations as I completer my Masters of Education. I appreciate your support. While the students are looking forward to a break at the beginning of October, I am very excited for the opportunity to attend the LEA (Lutheran Educators Conference) in St. Louis and learn even more about the best practices and new things available to keep our students learning!
In Christ,
Mrs. Howard
MRS. GREENE'S CLASS NEWS
Summer Break sure flew by, and now we are off to our next exciting school year. I’m thrilled to be back at St. John Lutheran School where the students and I can build new relationships while strengthening our relationships with God.
In Language Arts, the 4th-6th grade students will start learning how to identify the difference between a complete sentence and a fragment. The students will be learning how to write declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences. The 7th and 8th grade students will be taking a deeper dive into identifying the different types of nouns and identifying pronouns in sentences.
All of the students will begin their reading journey with predictions, sequencing, context clues to identify unknown words, and using textual evidence to understand what they read.
In writing classes, the students will be working diligently on their penmanship and cursive writing. The 4th and 5th grade students will be participating in the Lutheran Pen Pal writing program. Currently all of the writing classes will be learning about the different elements in narrative writing. The students will start by learning about characters in a story, character traits, and the setting of a story.
In social studies, the 4th-5th grade students will be learning how to use maps, identifying longitude and latitude, and researching the different continents and landforms. The 6th-8th grade students will be studying U.S. History this school term.
I want to thank St. John Lutheran Church for the new floors in my classroom, they look great. I am very excited to see the growth of our string music program flourishing. It will be a fun and exciting year with the addition of the 4th and 5th grade ukulele program. I look forward to a year of making joyful music together to celebrate our loving God.
In all things, trust the Lord
Mrs. Greene
ST. JOHN LUTHERAN SCHOOL
MISSION AND ACCREDITATION
We are accredited by the NLSA (National Lutheran Schools Accreditation) commission and by the KSDE (Kansas Department of Education). Our teachers are highly qualified and meet certification standards for the State of Kansas. The dedication and love, which comes from this staff, show in every area of our instructional and social programs – making St. John Lutheran School a respected and nurturing environment from which children learn and grow into leaders.
We have the great pleasure and honor of emphasizing Christian teachings and activities that develop in our students a strong, secure, and independent child who knows the importance of a faith walk with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This allows Christ’s teachings to guide them in their daily lives.
The academic program at St. John Lutheran School concentrates on allowing children to reach their full academic potential. We continually evaluate our educational programs and will make changes, as needed, to keep our students performing at levels above grade level expectation.
If you would like more information about St. John Lutheran School, please contact us by phone at 785-765-3914 or schoolofficestjohnalma@gmail.com.
LUTHERAN PARENT TEACHER LEAGUE
WAYS TO SUPPORT
ST. JOHN LUTHERAN SCHOOL
GARAGE SALE: We are excited for the 3rd annual SJLS Garage Sales! In the next couple of weeks, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Help us promote on social media to your friends and families that we are accepting donations of all things, except televisions. The “Fabulous Finds of Hwy 99” bring people from all over, and they are looking for a variety of unique pieces. Additionally, we have the opportunity to send leftover items to those in need through a couple of different organizations. If you have questions or you know someone that needs help getting their items to St. John, please text or call Stephanie Maike at (785) 313-2991.
STOP TO SHOP: St. John Lutheran School now has a Kickback Card at Stop 2 Shop! When you check out, just tell them you would like to use the SJLS Kickback card and then key in 7-8-5-7-6-5-3-9-1-4 (the school’s phone number). It’s so easy…be sure to participate all year long!
DILLON’S COMMUNITY REWARDS: We encourage anyone who is a Dillon’s PLUS card shopper to please take a couple of minutes to sign up for the rewards program. This is a program offered by Dillon’s to give back to local schools. Each time you make a purchase using your PLUS card, a percentage of your sales is donated back to SJLS in the form of cash. There is no extra charge to you, it is simply a donation by the Dillon’s company. Please use the following link to add your PLUS card to the rewards program: www.dillons.com/communityrewards and use the code AU093 to support SJLS.
In This Month's
St. John Witness
SEPTEMBER WITNESS
The Eagle Cry
