Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
Practice is an important life component. While practice of some sort can occur throughout the year, it certainly is a focus of the school year.
Students practice memory tasks like Bible passages, math facts, and spelling words. Manuscript and cursive handwriting, as well as computer keyboarding, require practice. Athletes practice for success in their sports, like the cross country and volleyball we offer in the fall – and the archery that will begin and continue throughout the year. Band, piano, guitar, and choir students practice and rehearse for performances. The list could go on.
Most of the time, we ultimately accept practice as necessary – perhaps not always fun but definitely beneficial. Paul tells us in this month’s ministry theme verse that God’s Word is shared and modeled to be put into practice. When we carry out what we have learned from those who teach us spiritual truths, we have the opportunity to bless others with God’s love and guidance.
Let us be about “learning to tell” in the coming month. Let’s look for opportunities to renew our growth in God’s grace and knowledge – and let us use given opportunities to practice what we have learned. Go with His promised peace!
So what’s happening at RLS?
Welcome, Miss Honebrink, to Redeemer faculty
We welcome Gwen Honebrink as our new music and band instructor. Miss Honebrink is a graduate of Mayer Lutheran High School. She received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Concordia University-Chicago (River Forest) and a Master of Music Education from VanderCook School of Music in Chicago. Miss Honebrink has taught six-and-a-half years in Lutheran schools, including the previous year at Lion’s Gate Christian Academy. While it is unfortunate that Lion’s Gate recently closed its doors, we are blessed to have Miss Honebrink join our faculty.
Parents welcomed to school
Redeemer school parents are invited and encouraged to attend Parents in Partnership Night on Thursday, September 16. A general session will begin with devotion in the auditorium at 6:30 p.m. – followed by two “class periods” for parents to visit their children’s rooms and learn more about how our teachers will partner with them to bring [children] up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). The evening will conclude about 8:00 p.m.
Grandfriends also welcomed
We will host Grandfriends Day on Friday, September 24. Students are encouraged to invite Grandparents, or Grandfriends, to visit their school. Activities begin at 10:00 a.m. with chapel led by Pastor Joel – to be followed by classroom visits. Lunch will be served in the auditorium between 11:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Everybody will return to the sanctuary for a 30-minute program before “school is dismissed” for Grandfriends at 1:30 p.m. Redeemer senior members are also invited to attend this special event. Watch for registration information.
Month ends with assessments
Grades 1-8 will take the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills at the end of September (9/27-10/1). The students will be assessed in the full battery of core subjects taught at Redeemer: Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science – with Sources of Information also included.
Why ITBS? The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were developed at the University of Iowa and have been consistently re-evaluated and re-tooled for reliability over their, now, 75-year history. In addition to the full battery of assessed subjects, the ITBS assess students’ development, providing in-depth measures of important educational objectives and comprehensive and reliable information about the development of students’ skills and their ability to think critically. Students are measured nationally against grade-level peers and also against private school peers. We use the ITBS as a diagnostic tool to help plan learning in the coming year.
How do RLS students perform? For the last three years, Redeemer students have attained a combined composite score of 93% when compared with national school norms.
Prayers welcome
Please pray that what we have learned or received or heard from God, or seen in Him, is put it into practice. Amen.