Happy New Year!

As we welcome 2025, it’s a wonderful time to reflect on the first half of our school year and all that we have accomplished together. It’s also the perfect moment to start planning for the 2025-26 school year.

We are excited to announce that our first Open House will be at the end of this month. We encourage you to spread the word about our amazing, small school to friends, family, and the community. Your support helps us grow and continue to provide an exceptional educational experience.

Additionally, the end of the month marks National Lutheran Schools Week. This is a special time for us to reflect on our blessings, celebrate our successes, and envision what the future holds for our school, students, staff, and families.

Thank you for being a part of our school community. We look forward to another year of growth, learning, and success.

In light of our recent school closing due to high levels of illness during this cold and flu season, it is essential that we work together to keep our school community healthy.

We kindly ask for your support in teaching and reinforcing good hygiene practices at home. School staff will also be reviewing these with students during the upcoming week.

Simple actions like regular handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding close contact with those who are ill can make a significant difference.

Additionally, we would like to remind you of our school’s illness policy as outlined in the handbook:

• If a child becomes ill during the school day, parents will be contacted and requested to pick up their child so they can be taken home.
• An emergency file is kept for each student. Please ensure that this information is current.
• Please keep your child home for at least 24 hours after a fever has subsided or if your child has vomited.

It will take all of us to help everyone healthy in the upcoming months.

Your cooperation is crucial in maintaining a healthy environment for all our students. Thank you for your continued support and understanding.

The next School Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 19th, starting at 6:00 in the Church Library. Parents are always welcome to speak to the School Board at the beginning of each meeting. There is time set aside for public input.

Calling all Parents! We would love for you to consider joining us for our next PTL meeting. It will be on Tuesday, January 21st at 7:00 P.M. PTL is involved in many of the activities that go on at St. John and we could use some more input at the meetings.

ENDURE

2024-25 Lutheran Schools Week Theme

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ​

Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted

Chapel Offering is taken each week

Semester 1 donations supported "Share Your Holiday" Drive.

We raised $460 to support this important Community Fundraiser to help those in need in our community.

We have created a fun, family learning activity to help students make a connection to certain stars/constellations and why God created them.

St. John PK3-8th grade students are well into a year-long "learning journey" focusing on God's creation of the four seasons and how each season is related to the life of Christ.

What is a learning journey? It is project-based learning which provides students hands-on and real-life experiences to connect their classroom learning and their faith.

Connection to Learning: We recently took students to the Wausau West Planetarium and brought a portable "Star Lab" to school to help them make a connection between God's creation of the stars and how the stars provided a guide for people to know when to plant and harvest their crops and how to navigate the land.

Information was sent home with students before Christmas Break.

The activity will be incorporated into a presentation by each student to be shared at the Celebration of Learning.

Our goal is to have these completed by January 21 so we can start working on the presentations in iTech on January 21.

We now have our own St. John School of Wausau YouTube Channel.

We have been posting videos to keep you updated and to celebrate the great things happening here at St. John:

• Daily Announcements
• Weekly Updates from Mrs. Goetsch
• Reflection on School Events
• Music performances by the students (Advent program)

January 26th, 1:00 P.M. at the Wausau Conservatory of Music, 404 Semour St, Wausau. Experience an afternoon of music from WCM’s esteemed faculty at this free recital as we pay tribute to former WCM piano faculty member, Dr. Lily Chia Brissman.

There are SO many parents, families, and church members who answer the call when we have a need at the school.

Each month, we will do our best to acknowledge ALL who choose to give of their time and talents to ensure our students and our school have what they need to grow in their faith in Jesus and in their educational growth here at St. John School:

• Jim Glatczak for promptly getting someone to fix our furnace in the Main School Building and ongoing maintenance to ensure the safety of all our students.
• ALL Families who attended our Family Chapel and Family Feast (pot-luck) on December 20th.
• Donations received at weekly Chapel to support the "Share the Holiday" Fund Drive.
• Teachers for their ongoing efforts to find a balance between academics and providing activities allow students to make connections to their faith, family, and ongoing life-lessons.
• PTL for the things they do behind the scenes to provide students with great learning opportunities - especially the Pizza Fry Fundraiser!
• Cleaning Crews who always make sure our church and school look great for worship and special events.
• Rebecca Renken for her ongoing work to promote our special activities and events on Facebook and other communication work.

THANK YOU to ALL who have been praying for the school, provided financial or volunteer support, or have used God's talents to serve a need here at St. John School. You are all a BLESSING!!!!

• January 4: Prayer Shawl Ministry - 9:00 A.M.
• January 7: Care Ministry Meeting - 6:45 P.M.
• January 10: School Christmas Caroling - Rescheduled
• January 13: School Board Meeting - 6:00 P.M.
• January 13: Board of Christian Ed Meeting - 6:30 P.M.
• January 13: Elders Meeting - 7:00 P.M.
• January 19: Mortgage Celebration - 11:00 A.M.
• January 20: NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• January 20: Council Meeting - 7:00 P.M.
• January 21: P.T.L. Meeting - 7:00 P.M.
• January 26: School students sing in church - 10:15 A.M.
• January 27-31: National Lutheran Schools Week
• January 28: 3K, 4K and Kindergarten Open House - 3:30 P.M.

The "Magic Paper Box" is an easy, cost free method to help support St. John Lutheran School.

The Magic Paper Box container is located in the school parking lot (Blue container on east side of school) It is available 24/7, so bring your recyclable paper anytime.

Items that can be place in the Magic Paper Box are:

• Newspaper (including glossy inserts)
• Magazines and catalogs
• Office and school papers
• Paperback books
• Regular and window envelopes

Please do not place CONFIDENTIAL documents in this box.

IROW pays us for the pounds of paper placed in the dumpster and we help the environment by not placing these items in the landfill.

Students continue a seamless journey from preschool through eighth grade as teachers continue to meet their educational, spiritual, emotional, social, and physical needs.

Email: school.secretary@stjohnofwausau.org
Website: http://stjohnofwausau.org/dir/
Phone: 715-842-5212
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/St-John-Lutheran-School/100063492882403/

YouTube Channel: St. John School of Wausau - YouTube