Called to be Holy

Tomorrow begins a new quarter and Catholic Schools Week. It is hard to separate academics from our growth as God's people. For as we seek holy living, we also realize that we are called to do our best in all areas. This means doing our best at school, and doing our best outside of school. As we join with Catholic students to celebrate this special week, may we remember that it is God who calls us to be holy... and it is God who empowers us for holy living. We celebrate our school, our faith and our God. Happy Catholic Schools Week.

Tomorrow Grades 6, 7, and 8 will practice spelling words for this week. Our words are mainly focused on our celebration of Catholic Schools Week. Also tomorrow right after lunch, OLL will host the in-house spelling bee.

Other assignments will include: Grade 7 reading Walk Two Moons and also PAVESO autobiography grid due. Grade 8 will read The Giver and also work on Letter of Intent regarding research project. Grade 6 will be working on storyboards and then writing and illustrating their fairy tales.

Geography 7/8 will be working on Antarctica research stations. This assignment will also include a written report about the research they are doing in this "global laboratory."

I hope you were able to read The Press regarding special activities this week. Also Grades 5 - 8 will go bowling Thursday after lunch. Be sure to return permission slips.

Yes, these are busy days with academics and school celebration. Grades will be available on Feb. 6th. Alumni are invited to join us this Wednesday for Mass and to visit classes.

Embedded in our full calendar and our busy lives is our call to holy living. May we be found faithful in our service to God and others.

Bright Stripes and Bright Stars

Today students gathered together at OLL to witness the inauguration of the 44th president- Barack Obama. We felt connected to people all over the world watching this historic event. We even joined the choir singing the "National Athem". May God bless and keep our new President and our country.

Tomorrow we travel to Superior for a Catholic Schools gathering for Mass led by Bishop Christiansen. Hopefully your student has shared information about this event. We will return by the end of the school day.

Thursday the junior high will go to Valhalla at 9:30 a.m. for a day in the snow. Each student is asked to bring food to share with the group. Also dress warm...and bring sleds, etc.

Friday is a normal school day with scheduled classes. This is the last day of second quarter. All work for this quarter MUST be turned in. For 6,7, and 8th grade this means the spelling for this week. Grade 7 students will be turning in PAVESO grid now on Wednesday Jan. 28th. Also 28th for 8th grader and rough draft of Letter of Intent. 6th graders need to turn in fairy tale storyboards on Tuesday January 27th. These deadlines have shifted because of losing two school days last week.

Please know that we are very excited about the new technology being set up in our school. This generous gift is the result of a memorial gift to our school. It is truly top-of-the-line equipment and will support our students' learning. We are extremely grateful to the donor and to Mr. Bell for all he and others are doing to install this computer equipment for the use of staff and students.

Monday, January 29th is a non-school day for students... professional day for teachers. This week is Catholic Schools' week. There will be some regular classes and some special events. Ask your student to keep you posted. Grades 5 - 8 will be bowling for a PE/fun activity on Thursday January 29th.

Thank you parents and others for your support for many activities that build the character and academic wealth of our students. We are in this journey of faith-learning together. "Whose bright stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight...." America's song goes on. Let us praise and pray for the well-being of our country.

Jesus said, Follow Me

As we move forward in this New Year we are reminded how long our list of goals and responsibilities are for this year. Jr. High students made posters to consider a resolution for 2009. Some said: be more careful with money, do better at basketball, help at home, shovel snow, eat a more healthy diet, do my paper route cheerfully...etc. Jesus walks with us this new year and in Him, we gain direction and power to be transformed. May we daily say yes to His invitation to follow Him.

Vocabulary this week for Grades 6, 7, and 8 will be centered on inauguration words. Next week the world will witness the swearing in of the new USA president. Responsible citizenship is part of our mandate to follow Jesus.

Grades 7/8 in Geography are studying Antarctica. A warm day at the bottom of the world is minus ten degrees F. This helps us to appreciate that we are NOT so cold in the winter. In geography we are gaining knowledge as we work towards building model research stations on this frozen continent. (We also will take one day to review the events of the inauguration.)

Grade 6 in writing will be working on creating a fairytale. We will identify the elements of this genre and then create characters and a plot for each tale. We have watched a little of the movie "Enchanted" to see the effect of shifting a fairytale from animation to real human characters in NYC.

Weather Alert: Yes, we are expecting COLD temps this week. Please dress students appropriately. Also be sure if students are waiting for a bus that they are not out very long. Watch the weather channels for school closures. We do not want any students to suffer frostbite or other weather-related injuries.

Grade 8 students: You need to turn in parent signatures for your 8th grade project by THIS Thursday. Also schedules for classes and emergency information forms at AHS are due by Friday. I will drop this off for you. If you are late, it is your responsibility to get them to the high school. I am grateful for Mr. Reader coming to OLL to walk students through the schedule process and answer our questions.

Grade 7 students will be getting parent letters tomorrow for autobiography work. They MUST be returned and signed by Friday.

Have a good and safe week everyone. Stay warm... and stay close to Jesus. He walks with us.

Seen His Star

Hello Students, Families and Friends of OLL,
What a wonderful Christmas season this is as we continue celebration up through next Sunday. I was blessed with many good wishes and gifts from so many OLL supporters; thank you everyone. Also holiday time with my family was special and I hope this is true for you also. Now we have entered a new year. We have made some resolutions and we share many hopes and dreams. I hope that all students will have a safe and healthy 2009 and that we will all pitch in to share the joy and hard work of learning together.

Tuesday this week is the celebration of the Epiphany: the coming of the Magi. The Bethlehem star is also our story as we carry the Light of Jesus in our hearts. I hope that Christmas recharged your candle of faith and you like me, dream of doing great God-things in 2009. We have seen His star... and come together to worship Him.

The nitty gritty of the coming week is:

Vocabulary assignments will resume for Grades 6, 7 and 8. Geography studies will shift to Antarctica as we explore why this continent is a global laboratory to study planet issues.

We will start talking about writing autobiographies in Grade 7, and Grade 8 will start to consider research topics. Students also need to keep reading books "outside" of class.

Grade 6 will read a fairytale and consider what elements compose this genre of literature. This sets the course for each student to write his/her own fairytale.

I am ready to get back on the academic path... and I hope this is true for your student(s). We do not leave Christmas at Bethlehem, but God goes with us... to school, to our homes, and other places that we set up camp. We are part of His cast of "stars." May He empower you to shine brightly!

Happy New Year. With prayer and gratitude, Mrs. Alice Ellis