Notes from the Principal… - St. Peter`s Lutheran School

April 2011
Vol. XVIII, No.4
“St. Peter’s Lutheran School exists to glorify God through Christian Nurture, Mission
Outreach, Quality Academic and Religious Education.” — Mission Statement
Notes from the Principal…
Recently I asked a group of eighth graders two
questions. First, how do you define neighbor? Second,
what are some situations where you must decide who
your neighbor is and how to love them? To the first
question the answer was either the person who lives
in the house next to you or everyone! (no in-between
for this group.) The answer for the second question
was a little more challenging, but their answers were
based on situations. How that person acted toward you
would determine if they were your neighbor. A boss at
work who was mean wasn’t your neighbor, an abusive
parent might not be your neighbor and someone on
the playground or at school who didn’t do it your way
wasn’t your neighbor.
Our theme for this year is from Mark 12:30, “Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strength. The
second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself”. In the
verses before this, a young scribe asks Jesus, “Which is
the greatest commandment?” and Jesus answered that
there are no commandments greater than these.
In the book of Luke the young scribe asks, “And who
is my neighbor?” Jesus then goes on to tell the story
about three different men who see a hurt and injured
man. He had been robbed, and beaten. The first two
men walk around and away from him, ignoring his
needs. The third man, who has the least reason to stop,
stops, puts the man on his donkey and takes him to an
STAFF
Ann Cunningham
Principal
Kristin Puccinelli
ECC Administrator
and Bookkeeper
Bonnie Walters
Christine Hellem
Secretaries
Maria Yearwood
Francia Davis
Phyllis McGuire
Kim Rowland
Nan Yaw
Preschool Teachers
Dawn Storm
Robin Burnette
Kindergarten
Charlene Caudle
Virginia Baldwin
First Grade
Traci Wacker
Estelle Tom
Second Grade
Mary Mitchell
Theresa Rowley
Third Grade
Doris Dahle
Fourth Grade
inn to be cared for. The traveler even comes back and
offers more money for the innkeeper to continue his
keep of the injured man until he is better. Then Jesus
asks the question, “Which of these three do you think
was a neighbor to the man who was robbed? “ The
answer was, “The one who had mercy on him.” And
Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
From this story we know that our neighbor is not
necessarily someone we know, or someone we will even
see again or be in a relationship with. It is someone
who sees our need and meets it, without regard for
personal cost or the situation. It is someone who shows
mercy, which is undeserved kindness, compassion and
forgiveness!
The second part of that commandment is that once
we define neighbor, then to love them as we love
ourself. This is also the golden rule. “Do to others as
you would like them to do to you.” Matt. 7:12. I find it
interesting that all of the major world religions have
this as a core concept or belief. Don’t do as others do
to you, but do what you would like others to do to you.
Revenge or ‘they did it first’ mentality is not a highly
held belief.
So as you walk through your day, ask yourself who
your neighbor is, and how can you, “Go and do likewise.”
– Grace and Peace,
Ann L. Cunningham
Naomi Kennicutt
Fifth Grade
Michael Yount
Sixth Grade
Molly Stewart
Seventh Grade
Carol Adams
Eighth Grade
Lynn Stender
Librarian
Peggy Bunting
P.E. / Day Care
Athletic Director
Bruce Oliver
Mathematics
Theresa Rowley
Elementary Science
Dominick Lucca
Computer Teacher
Celia Nicolos
Physical Education
Amanda Ball
Caroline Biggs
Jazzie Burns
Day Care
Eric Luke
John Olson
Custodians
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April 2011
Kindergarten News
The Kindergarten class took a field trip to the Build a
Bear Workshop. It was an exciting trip for them. They
got to pick out a bear, stuff the bear, put a small little
heart into the bear, sew it up, and then give it a wash
and dry.
The students learned a lot about stuffing a bear, and
they also realized that bears do have hearts inside of
them. At the end of the tour the students got to name
their bears. They received an adoption paper along
with the bear’s name.
Then a week later the bears got to come to school and
spend the night in Kindergarten. The students brought
small bear sleeping bags, a book, and a flashlight for
the sleepover. When the students left for the night the
bears were all tucked in next to our classroom library.
The next morning Mrs. Storm & Mrs. Burnette came
into the classroom to discover that the room was a total
mess and that the bears, toys, chairs, and trash were
all over the room (we of course left the mess for the
students to see). A little while later the students came
into the classroom to discover the same thing. Mrs.
Storm & Mrs. Burnette told the students that the bears
were up all night playing and they must have fallen
asleep during their play time. The students were, as you
can imagine, quite shocked. Parents were on hand to
take lots of pictures. So the moral of the bear story is, if
you put a heart into a teddy bear he might come to life
at night when no one is around.
– Mrs. Storm
– Mrs. Burnette
Third Graders Step Back In Time
On February 10, Third Graders were able to step back
in time at Rhoads School to experience one day in the
lives of 1890’s students. Designed to be a part of the
Elk Grove Living History Program, the children became
students in this authentic one-room school, wearing
the clothing style, using the manners, doing a few
chores, having schoolroom lessons, and partaking in
recreational activities.
In class, a week before our trip, the students were
given a KWL chart which included these 3 components:
what they already know, what they want to learn, and
what they did learn. The K and W sections were filled
out at that point. After their trip, the L section was done.
Comments included the enjoyment of a spelling bee,
dressing up, writing with a quill pen, and boys wearing
suspenders.
The students learned about the old classroom rules,
how to use hoops, walk on stilts, and play marbles. The
children loved their ‘old–time names.’
Overall, Rhoads School was a fantastic field trip!
– In His Name, Mrs. Mary Mitchell
Welcome ToLibrary News
Frog Creek, Pennsylvania may seem like any other
small, quiet town…but when Jack and Annie stumble
upon a magical tree house, their exciting adventures
begin. In one of their most recent adventures, the
children travel to long ago Ireland in the hopes of
helping a young girl, Augusta (Lady Gregory). Will the
angry king let Augusta return to her family? Will the
Irish Leprechaun help them or lead them astray? Find
the answers in one of the newest books in the Magic
Tree House series, Leprechaun in Late Winter. The
Magic Tree House is just one of the many adventure
series we have available in the school library. Come visit
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us and check out other titles including The 39 Clues,
Hank Zipzer by Henry Winkler (The Fonz), and The
Incredible Worlds of Wally McDoogle.
Our Accelerator Reader program continues to be a
huge success. Sixty super students have received their
250 point AR Star T-shirt, thirty-three talented book
lovers have earned their 500 point Eagle medal and
fourteen fantastic readers have been awarded their
1000 point Super Lanyard. Congratulations to our
newest Super Lanyard recipients Alex Bacon, Zachary
Caudle, Faith Diwata, Christopher Fong, Sarah
Gonzales, and Jana Sun. Keep Reading!!!!
– Your Librarian, Lynn Stender
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Sixth Grade and Geometric Pinball Machines!
This month, the Sixth Grade class learned about
angles, shapes, and transformations of objects. To show
off their new knowledge, each sixth grade student built
their own working “Pinball” machine. Each project had
to have a minimum of 2 angles (supplementary, vertical,
acute, etc…); 2 triangles (isosceles, scalene, or right);
3 quadrilaterals (trapezoid, rectangle, parallelogram);
and several transformations of shapes (translations,
rotations, or reflections). The class then labeled each
section of their project and presented it to the class.
Needless to say, their projects were FANTASTIC!!! It is
always amazing how brilliant our students are.
News Bytes
We use a software program called
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. The
program is designed to guide students
through the process of learning to type.
It creates lessons and drills tailored
specifically to each student’s individual
needs. It is an interactive program that monitors each
student’s progress over time and enables students to
improve their typing skills and speed. Our Second
through Eighth Grade Students use the program to
improve their typing skills and speed.
Our Second and Third Grade Students begin using
Mavis Beacon twice a week during the fall and winter.
They use the computer lab where each student is
assigned a specific computer. They do not receive a
grade but gain valuable experience learning to type
with a keyboard. We feel the earlier our students begin
to type the better prepared they will be when they
begin fourth grade where they will receive a letter
grade for typing.
Our Fourth through Eighth Grade Students are
assigned a specific computer and given a typing goal
for the school year. The fourth grade goal is to reach 25
words-per-minute (WPM) by the end of the school year.
The fifth grade goal is 30 WPM, sixth grade is expected
to reach 35 WPM, seventh grade strives for 40 WPM, and
eighth grade seeks to master 45 WPM. We encourage
students to increase their typing speed by 20% over the
course of a year. For instance, if Billy begins typing 15
WPM he is expected to type 18-19 WPM by the end of
the school year.
Do our students improve their typing skills and speed
by using Mavis Beacon? Yes. We have many examples
of students who reach their 20% goal and beyond. Our
fourth grade class has some students who have already
obtained their 20% goal. For instance, one student
began the year typing 11 WPM. The same student is
currently typing 24 WPM. Another student started
the year at 13 WPM and is currently at 23 WPM. Most
students are near or at their 20% goal.
The fifth grade goal is set at 30 WPM. One student
began typing 4 WPM in fourth grade and now as a fifth
grader is currently typing 28 WPM. Another fifth grade
student began typing 7 WPM in fourth grade and is
now typing 36 WPM. One student began fifth grade
typing 29 WPM and is presently typing 40 WPM. Fifth
grade is on target to achieve their 20% goal. Several
students will reach far beyond their expected goal.
Our Middle school students have similar goals and
stories of achievement. For instance, a sixth grade
student last year began typing 19 WPM and this year
is currently at 57 WPM. Another sixth grade student
began the year typing 23 WPM and is now at 31 WPM.
Nine seventh grade students are typing over 40 WPM,
and sixteen eighth grade students are typing more
than 45 WPM. Our seventh and eighth grade students
are on target to reach their 20% goal. Many will reach
40 or 45 WPM by the end of the year.
I consider typing an important component to
computer class. It is a building block to becoming
efficient with a word processing application like
Microsoft Word. Typing and learning the keyboard will
prove to be a beneficial skill throughout our student’s
education process. Those who choose to attend a
high school within the Elk Grove School District will
be expected to type 25 WPM per their technology
requirement. So, encourage your children to practice
typing at school and home.
The computer lab is open Tuesday and Thursday after
school from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Students are welcome to use
the lab to practice typing.
– Domenick Lucca
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April 2011
Track & Field
The track program is growing and has a major change this year. The league
meet will be locally at Sheldon High School and on an ARTIFICIAL SURFACE.
You will truly feel like you are flying like an eagle!
Parents, track is a wonderful way for your child to be on a team in high school. This event offers great camaraderie
and a lifetime experience. There will also be an expanded event schedule for the May 21 league meet.
Meet Schedule:
Fri., Apr. 8
Thurs., Apr. 21
Fri., Apr. 29
Sat., May 21
* Not an official St. Peter’s event. Participation is done through your family. The 800 and/or 1600 meter races only held at
Carnivals and a small entry fee. Smedburg meet will have all standard track & field events.
Bronco Invitational Distance Carnival*
Smedburg Meet @ Sheldon HS*
Sheldon Distance Carnival*
CVLSAC Meet @ Sheldon HS
7-8th Grade
7-8th Grade
7-8th Grade
K-8th Grade
Parent Meetings:
1st day of each new practice session.
5th-8th Grade March Practices (for those participating in April Meets):
At St. Peter’s, 3:30-4:15 p.m., March 29, 30; April 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, and 21.
Extra practices are TBA or on your own. Training will include runs in the park next door.
K-4th Grade Practices:
At St. Peter’s, 3:15-4:30 p.m. Mondays & Thursdays: May 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19.
Sports Corner
This year, the “A” Girls Basketball Team placed 6th
in the season-ending tournament out of thirteen
teams, which is better than they have done in a while.
The eighth graders on the team this year were Hope
Diwata, Sarah Gonzales, Juanita Washington, and
Allison Wilbanks. The seventh graders were Maria
Pearson and Mackenzie Stender. We would like to
thank Katie Andrews for participating and showing
support for our team after an injury rendering her
unable to play. The sixth graders this year were
Madison Neola and Melina Cesarini, and the fifth
graders were Marlee Nicolas and Abigail McInnis.
Even though there weren’t enough seventh and eighth
graders to form a team, the fifth and sixth graders
graciously stepped up to the job.
We want to thank Coach Erias (Manny) and Assistant
Coach Nicolas for doing such a great job helping
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us through the season and teaching us more about
the joys of basketball. Even though we may have
complained about all that running, we are truly grateful
to you for everything.
And lastly we would like to thank all the parents
who have driven us to and from the games and
cheered us on the whole entire time. They showed
great enthusiasm and we hope they enjoyed the
suspense of all the games as much as we did. Most
importantly, thank you to Mrs. Bunting for making
this team possible by organizing everything, including
the tournament. Also, we very much appreciate the
pom-poms that were handed out to the parents for
the last few and most important games. Thank you to
our cheerleaders; you entertained us greatly with your
dancing and hoots and hollers while we were on the
court.
– Allison Wilbanks and Sarah Gonzales
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Sports Corner continued
This year’s (2010-2011) Boys “A” Basketball Team has
had an exciting year. They finished with an 8-2 season
and are proud of their work. This year they had some of
the Gloria Dei students come over to their team along
with some new basketball players and the team had
an astounding fourteen players total! With this team,
they had an incredible season. They battled epically for
their place and intend to do just that in the Redwood
City Tournament. The team consists of mostly eighth
graders along with three brave seventh graders. Along
with our team, there were many outside supporters:
our parents and our coaches. The coaches taught
us well. The skill level of each and every player has
increased because of their methods. They made us run,
shoot, and scrimmage. Our fantastic coaches were the
infamous Coach Lucca and Coach Gavia. Coach Lucca
was the head of defense and Coach Gavia was the head
of offense. We proved to our coaches that we could
play basketball, though, not always.  Our parents
supported us and drove us to the games. During
the game, there was no parent that wasn’t yelling or
cheering us on to greater things.
Our team was a fun-loving team that played hard.
Christian Dennis was our main scorer. He would get
us started and we would build off of that enormous
amount of points, giving us the lead. He had a beautiful
shot and was an all around player. Our super-fast
buddy, Paul Herscowitz, could never be beat with
speed. He would fly by anybody and would always
steal the ball and get those lay-ups. Next, Nathaniel
McInnes – me – was our main rebounder and scored
baskets down low and prevented the other team from
rebounding the ball; most of the time. Our next big
guy was Joshua Midthun. He was a clown, yet was an
animal on the center spot. His efforts helped us to win
games. Our point guard, Ben Konvalin, was in there
and ready, placing the ball in good places, and hands,
he knew where to go. The twins, Andrew and Zachary
Caudle, were all smiles, they would be ready to go in,
and would always go up for the basket. They increased
their skills immensely and would usually never let us
down. Daniel Pearson, probably the smallest guy on
our team, would be zipping up and down the court,
knowing where to place the ball with the second string.
He has an impeccable free-throw shot that gave us
points…..he also has the ability to weave through traffic
and nobody sees him until its too late. Justin Vaughn
and Thirsten Stockton helped out on the wings,
catching the ball, driving in, and shooting those threes.
Excited, both of them, for playing time, they were ready
every time they got in. Brennan Reed was a tough
guy, not one to be messed with. When he made a shot,
everybody new! Last, and not least, our seventh graders:
Steven Hellem, Jonathan Hicks, and Christopher Fong.
They all braved the eighth graders and proved that they
could play with us, and sometimes, way better than us.
Full of energy and ready to learn, they will lead next
year’s team and will do a good job of it.
Overall, this is a good year and will always be my
favorite year in basketball with St. Peter’s.
– Nathaniel McInnes
Join St. Peter’s Lutheran School
and the FISH Radio (103.9)
for our annual
OPEN HOUSE
April 8, 2011 t 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
8701 Elk Grove-Florin Rd., Elk Grove
(corner of Sheldon & Elk Grove-Florin next to Jan Rau park)
First 25 visitors to St. Peter’s who
come up to FISH radio remote will
receive a FREE Soar CD!
Visitors who meet the principal,
Mrs. Cunningham, will receive a
coupon for a FREE hot dog!
We will celebrate with a jump house and free cotton candy.
St. Peter’s has been providing quality academic and
religious education since 1993 for preschool - 8th grades.
For more information see our website at www.splseagles.org.
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April Calendar
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April 2011
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May Calendar
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April 2011
- Save the Date -
St. Peter’s Lutheran School Annual Golf Tournament
St. Peter’s will hold its’ annual golf tournament October 10, 2011
at Wildhawk Golf Club. There are several opportunities to support this Tuition
Assistance Fundraiser. Volunteer for the day and earn double parent hours, donate,
sponsor and play golf. Watch for more news or for more information contact
Bev Hottman at kbhottman@surewest.net or call (916) 686-5667.
It’s all about the kids!
Thrivent Choice Program
Thrivent Financial has a new program called Thrivent Choice. It is designed to allow eligible Thrivent Members
(those who own Thrivent Financial products) to help direct where their charitable funds are distributed.
St. Peter’s Lutheran School is enrolled in this program.
This means that you can direct your charitable dollars to St. Peter’s.
Go to: thrivent.com and select St. Peter’s Lutheran School for receiving your donations.
Thank You!
Time value material change service requested
8701 Elk Grove-Florin Road
Elk Grove, CA 95624
phone
916 689-3050/school
916 689-7300/church
fax
916 689-3462
www.splseagles.org
SCHOOL BOARD
Carol Adams
Scott Babb
Peggy Forseth-Andrews
Michelle Leyva
Jeff McGuire
Becky McInnes
Barb Sloan
Bob Westphal
Ramona Wold
Non profit
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PAID
Permit No. 2
Elk Grove, CA