Week 31 (4/28) Good Friday

 

Jesus Completes Our Salvation

Our Religion unit is not merely the focal point of all of our studies of our Christian faith this year; it is also the focus of the entire Bible. And by God’s grace, it is also the focus of our entire lives! Our studies in math and science and social studies are essential for daily life; but it is in our study of Scripture that all these blessings find their true purpose and meaning through life in Christ.

This week we walked the road with Jesus to the cross, to the tomb and who then gloriously rose in victory over sin, death and the devil to complete our salvation. It is finished! He offers us the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life through His loving grace and mercy. May God bless your family time this EASTER SEASON with the assurance from Jesus that...

In my Father's house are many rooms.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where i am, you may be also.  John 14:2-3

Mrs. Riemenschneider 

Have a Blessed Easter!

IMPORTANT THINGS COMING SOON...

**Easter Break - No School 3/29-4/5

 

**Solar Eclipse 4/8  6th grade will enjoy the eclipse and some related activities in the afternoon

 

**LHS play 4/12

 

**Shine Servant Event 4/19 We have enough drivers - thank you!!

 

**Zion Auction 4/19 

 

**Bobcat Shuffle 5/4 Fun 5K or 1 mile fundraiser and social time.  Check out the link on Sycamore to sign up!

 

Week 30 (3/22) As we enter Holy Week...

We have begun the walk to the cross in our Bible studies.  Please consider adding these worship opportunities to your family plans:

On Palm Sunday, we see Jesus declaring himself not only our King, but the promised Messiah. 

On Maundy Thursday we see the remarkable transformation of the Passover into Holy Communion - Jesus himself became our saving Lamb of sacrifice.   

Honor the Good Friday on which Christ died for our sins and the temple veil was torn in two - the separation that sin had caused between us and our Lord is no more.  

And finally the glorious day of resurrection, EASTER, when we celebrate our victory in Christ over sin, death and the devil.  There is nothing we could ever do to deserve this love.  What a wonderful opportunity we have before us to learn and grow in our faith - to praise and thank God for this glorious gift!!, 

 

To see a clip from The Gospel of Matthew which we are using in Religion, click this link.  Palm Sunday begins at about 5 min 20 sec.

  

 

 Reminder - Zion's Easter break starts Friday, March 29-April 5 - NO SCHOOL

 

 

 

 

From the class blogger:

 

We had a good week this week. We are finishing up our cross art for this week. We had 2 tests and 1 quiz this week. The dodgeball games are still going on and championship games are coming up soon. Next Thursday is our last day (at school) before spring break. Our English paper is due next Thursday. We are also having our publishing party on Thursday too. 

-Zoey

 

 

 FIELD TRIP PERMISSIONS CAME HOME TODAY 

 - please return by Tuesday

April 12 - LHS play Beauty and the Beast  - teacher chaperoned trip

 

Note - other classes at Zion are attending on Thursday or in the afternoon.  6th grade will leave at 8:00 a.m. and return by 10:30ish.  (We are staggering the bus rides)

April 19 - Shine servant event:  Breeze Park and Frontier Park  Depart 8:40 a.m. Return by 2:30 p.m. (see details on permission form).  Parents needed to drive and chaperone!!

 

 

 

Students have been learning coding with Mrs. Donner in the STEAM lab to create their own board games.  Check it out!

Week 29 4th Quarter Begins

                                              Acting out 3 Men in the Fiery Furnace

New reporters on the scene

Bowing down to the golden statue of Nebuchadnezzar

Getting into our novel discussion

Following the king's orderes

Ordering the 3 men into the furnace!

Report cards and A.R. reports came home today

The first week of 4th quarter is under our belts. I am so proud of your children and their hard work this year.  Tremendous growth is taking place!  Please contact me or Miss Dubberke (Science, English, Spelling) if you have any questions about your child's progress. 

 

A word about AR. This year's Literature is a heavy genre study.  I know some parents have questions when they see the AOTS book level of their child's AR choices below a 6th grade level.  Literature class provides our instructional and challenging reading this year, which is why we maintain a 16 point AR goal and don't increase that.  AR is now intended for fun, enjoyable reads, and it's acceptable to read lower than a 6.0 AOTS level.  This is a shift from 4th and 5th grades, as novels were the bulk of the reading curriculum at those levels.  Remember, too, that the book level is only one gauge of the complexity of a read.  I conference with students about their book selections at the beginning of the quarter and encourage those who may need to stretch themselves to explore other genres or topic areas.

Looking forward to partnering with you in this final stretch! 

 

Novel Unit:  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 

 

This week we started our Literature study of fantasy with this classic novel by C.S. Lewis.  We have climbed into the wardrobe and are discovering Narnia with Lucy, Susan, Peter, and Edmund.  In our study we are exploring conflict, characterization, motive, themes like good vs. evil, and LOTS of vocabulary (it's British after all).   We will also learn about how the Christian faith "bubbles up" through the interactions with the characters and the climax of the story. The kids are excited about another novel!

 

 

 

SAVE THE DATES - Servant event and Field Trips

More detailed information will be coming soon about our April events.  Please mark your calendars.  

 

Friday April 12 -   LHS play Beauty and the Beast   This will be a teacher chaperoned event to see the musical in the morning.  We will be back before lunch.  **No parents needed

Friday, April 19  - SHINE servant event.  Times are approximate - details being finalized

       Leave Zion 8:30 a.m.  for Breeze Park, 

       We will be involved in some campus clean up and then visit with our penpals

       11:30 - Head to Frontier Park for Jr. High picnic lunch and park clean up 

                   (Kids will need work gloves.  Looking for a donation of large trash bags)

       2:15 return to Zion for end of the day.

 

**Parent drivers and chaperones needed.  Please email homeroom teachers.  (If needed, we may be able to do morning only or afternoon only chaperones.)

Friday, May 3  -Lutheran Heritage Field Trip  6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

          Our last field trip will be an extended day trip to Perry County, Missouri.  We will have an opportunity to learn the history of some of the earliest Lutherans to settle in America and how Veterans are honored. Our trip will take us to:

 Missouri National Veteran’s Memorial.

  This is an exact replica of the D.C. Vietnam Memorial.  Students will learn about honoring veterans of all U.S. military branches. Families - if you have a loved one who lost their life in the Vietnam war, please send their name on to Mrs. Riemenschneider by April 21.   We would like to honor them by locating their name on the wall. 

Lutheran Heritage Center Museum

 Here we hear the history and examine artifacts of early Lutheran immigrants, see a Lutheran church from the 1800s and the first seminary in the country.

 Saxon Lutheran Memorial

  This is an historic homestead where will have an opportunity to not only learn about colonial life, but also try typical chores of the early pioneers.  Some possibilities are churning butter, laundry, grinding corn, and trying carpentry tools.

On FRIDAY MAY 3 -   Plan on...

 Arrival at Zion between 6:30-6:40 AM            YES, THAT’S EARLY!!

A comfy charter bus ride, graciously sponsored by our PTL!!!

*An historical tour learning about the earliest Lutherans in America.

*Active participation on the farm (wear Red Zion shirt, athletic bottoms or jeans, shoes/boots, jacket)  rain or shine.  

*Optional: pillow & book for bus

LUNCH: TBD -  Most likely a cold lunch.  (snacks and water provided)

Return to Zion at 5:30 P.M.  (plan accordingly)

**FUN AND FELLOWSHIP as we learn about honoring our veterans and  the spread of the Christian faith in America!!     

Parents: We are limited by bus size, so please email homeroom teachers if you are interested in chaperoning this event.  We may draw names if more parents volunteer than are needed. Thank you for understanding!

Week 28 (3/10) Grandparents Day

Thanks to all of our Grandparents and Special Friends who came to spend time with us on Friday.  We had a blast playing games and showing off our school.  You hold such an important role in shaping our young people - we honor that role and cherish the memories you create together!  I'm sorry I missed getting a few of your photos - it got pretty busy in our room.

Our 7th grade led chapel showing how God our Heavenly Father restores our relationship after we "broke" our gift of faith, and how he calls us back through the forgiveness of His Son to be his princes and princesses in the kingdom.  Be sure to check out their sign language message below.  Next year your child will be part of that tradition of leading worship for GP day.

Friday marked the end of the 3rd quarter.  I feel so blessed to be a part of your child's life and look forward to this last quarter of learning and growing together.  Teachers will be processing grades this week and report cards come home on Friday.   If your child has been absent, remind them to check in with each teacher to be sure they know what needs to be made up.  Sometimes lessons and notes need more explanation that our online assignment sheet.

 

Zion's Spring Break aligns with Easter this year.  We have a full day of school on Thursday, March 28. No School Good Friday 3/29-April 5.  

Achievement test week is April 15-19.  Please avoid scheduling appointments if possible this week.

Week 27 (3/1) A full week!

From the class bloggers 

 

We had a good week this week, we started tree art. The book fair is next week. We had 2 tests this week, grandparents day is next friday. We have a literature test next week. 5th and 6th grade have basketball tournaments this weekend . We are learning about autobiographies and biographies.

~Finn, Owen 

 

 From Mrs. R -   And don't forget to ask about genetics!!  Students have learned all kinds of cool facts about how God designed each one of us through heredity -  dominant and recessive traits.  Check out those earlobes?  Can YOU curl your tongue?

 

Important news for next week:

Wed - Friday is the Scholastic Book Fair!  See the flyer that came home about setting up a digital wallet.  Can you volunteer?  Click this link.

WED. and THURSDAY will be lunch in the classrooms.  Hot lunch is available, but please keep cold lunches peanut free.

FRIDAY is GP day for 1-8.  Students will travel with their Grandparent "Open House" style and end in the church with a special chapel service let by our 7th graders.

 

 

Occassionally I'll snap photos of students problem solving in math to project different strategies

Reviewing how to use a ratio table for comparison

Contrasting tables and "tape" diagrams

Geography Bee contestants

 

Headed outside to introduce art

Studying winter trees

2nd step -  Learning about bullying 

In our social-emotional discussion today we were identifying what bullying looks like and what it is not.  We ended with this fun video equipping kids to build confidence and assertiveness in response to mean behavior.  

 

As sinners, we all mess up sometimes.  We have the best gift of all in repentance and forgiveness.  We talked about how if someone says I'm sorry, don't respond "It's OK" (cuz it really wasn't!!) but we can say "I forgive you." and the healing in the relationship begins. Praise God that Jesus came to heal our sinfulness and help restore our relationships.