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Parent Newsletter
February 8, 2016
Students involved in the VLHS Winter One Acts practiced on the stage at Peace Lutheran Church this weekend to prepare for their upcoming performances.  Be sure to make plans to attend!  They will be presenting How to Succeed in High School Without Really Trying, a comedy by Jonathon Rand, and Who Calls? a drama by David Campton:
  • February 11th, 12th, and 13th at 7pm
  • Peace Lutheran Church, 3427 Adams Ave., Saginaw
  • Dessert will be served at intermission.

  • Tickets are $7/Adults and $5/Students, available at the door or in the school office.

Devotion
Look What He Started!
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!  The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  Psalms 36:7

Isn't it nice that someone thought of setting aside a day to remember those we love and hold dear in our hearts?  Valentine's Day is, of course, February 14, a day to focus on love, romance, and courtship.  The history of this day supposedly goes back to around 250 A.D. when a young Christian name Valentine, being confined in a Roman prison, wrote his final note to the woman he'd fallen in love with, the jailer's daughter, and signed it, "From your Valentine."  Look what he started!
Isn't it too bad, however, that we need someone to remind us about those we love and hold dear?  Why don't we think of them every day if they are so dear to us?  Isn't it comforting to know God doesn't say, "I love you" just once a year?  Maybe this is why Valentine's Day started in the first place!  The truth is that God has said, "I love you" each and every day since the Garden of Eden.  God saw a need to save His most precious creation, us.  And it cost Him dearly, in the life of His dear Son.  In love, Jesus was willing to pay that price.  In so doing, it was obvious God was saying, "I love you!"  and look what God started!
Because of the mercy and grace present in God's nature, He was able to rescue us from all of sin's dirtiness and darkness when we least deserved it.  When Jesus shed His blood on the cross that was His "love note" to us and He signed it, "From your Savior."  This mercy and grace that flows over us also allows us to then be a light to this dark world, to live a life of love as God would have us, to grow in our faith as we meet life's challenges, and to maintain that hope of eternal life that Jesus' righteousness won for us.  Be assured that every moment God hold us dear, which moves us to say, "I love you, too, Father."
Kurt Hofmeister
News
VLHS Pom Squad Wins State Competition

Congratulations to the Valley Lutheran Pompon Team who competed yesterday in the Mid-American State Wide Pompon Championship in East Lansing and were named the top Class C/D team in the state!
Open House Tomorrow Night
The second of our monthly open houses takes place tomorrow night, Tuesday, Feb. 9th, at 5pm.  Encourage anyone you know who is considering a Valley Lutheran education to come get a tour of the school, meet some of the faculty, and learn more about the opportunities at VLHS.  Attendees will also receive free admission to the JV boys' and girls' home basketball games which begin at 6pm.
Grandparents/Special Friends Days Continue
Grandparents and Special Friends love to visit VLHS, and our students love to share with them first hand what makes Valley Lutheran so special.  This year each Wednesday in February (not Thursdays as in past years) has been set aside to do just that, with each class encouraged to bring guests on the following dates:
  • Juniors - Wednesday, Feb. 10, 8:15am
  • Sophomores - Wednesday, Feb. 17, 8:15am
  • Freshmen - Wednesday, Feb. 24, 8:15am  
Our special guests will take a tour of the school, sit through an entire class with their student host, attend a chapel service, and taste a VLHS lunch if they would like.

For more information contact Doug Guenther at 989-790-1676 or dguenther@vlhs.com.
Parent Organization Needs New Members
Our next Parent Organization Meeting is on Monday, February 15th at 7pm in the Cafeteria.  Please consider joining us!  We will be reviewing our Pork Dinner items.   

We are looking for new members to assist in keeping the organization active next year.  Please consider joining us next week to hear how the organization can use your help. 
Auction News 
Puttin' on the Ritz is the theme for the 13th Annual VLHS Benefit Dinner and Auction at the Apple Mountain Conference Center.  Make plans to participate in this great event:
  • Saturday, February 27, 5pm  
  • Tickets available in the office for $65.  
  • Donations are welcome!  Specifically, $20-25 gift cards to restaurants, stores, or gas stations and certificates for goods and services are being accepted.  Auction items can be dropped off in the school office.

For more information or ways you can help, click here for the auction brochure.

Questions?  Call the school office at 989-790-1676 or the Auction Chairwoman Beth (Lambert) Kaul at 989-754-5918 or kaulfarm@airadv.net.
BBQ Pulled Pork Dinner, Feb. 21st
The Parent Organization is once again hosting the BBQ Pulled Pork Dinner:
  • Menu includes: BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich, Beans, Coleslaw, Chips, and Dessert.
  • Come on in for a sit-down meal or take out a meal "to-go".  
  • Serving times are from 11:00 am - 1:30 pm. 
  • Cost is $8 for a meal with one sandwich, $10 for a meal with two sandwiches, and $3 for just a sandwich.
  • All funds raised go toward the 21st Century Classroom Initiative which includes collaboration, critical thinking, literacy, and technology.
Freshman/Sophomore Parents' Night
All freshmen and sophomore parents are invited to attend the JV girls' and 9th grade & JV boys' basketball games on Thursday, February 25th, beginning at 4:30pm.  Free passes to get into the game will be sent via email today!  Be sure to print and hold on to that email.  Meet us in the Cafeteria between games for some pop and popcorn and the opportunity to mingle with other 9th & 10th grade parents.
Businesses That Support VLHS
A new link highlighting businesses that support the mission of Valley Lutheran has been added to the "Visit Our Website" section at the end of the parent newsletter.  You can also find this page on our website by going to the Giving tab, then Donations, and clicking on Partners in Christian Education. Click here to go directly to that page.  We encourage you to consider these businesses that partner with us in providing a Christian education to students of the Great Lakes Bay Region.
LEAP Update
While news from the Lutheran Education Advancement Plan (LEAP) has been limited the last several months, the activity has been anything but limited.  In November the LEAP Strategic Implementation Team engaged in several intensive strategic planning sessions as it began the transition to a formal organization the LEAP Alliance. With the help of planning consultant Dave Near, a constitution and by-laws were adopted. A new board and committee structure was implemented and legal documentation was filed.

As part of the process LEAP renewed its commitment to its mission to "Build and encourage successful collaboration among all Lutheran Church Missouri Synod congregations to ensure excellent and financially stable PK-12th grade Lutheran Schools."  As the board reviewed the last three years, it noted progress in several areas but identified the importance of a more focused approach moving forward.
Guidance Corner
FAFSA INFORMATION

The FAFSA is now open for the 2016-2017 academic year. All students who plan on receiving any type of financial aid need to apply. You can find the application  here or by going to https://studentaid.ed.gov and clicking the "FAFSA: Applying for Aid" link. The application opened January 1st, 2016, and should be submitted by March 1, 2016 for consideration for state aid as well as federal aid.

Financial Aid experts from Delta, Northwood and SVSU are available on Friday, February 12, 2016, 5-7 p.m., at the Delta College main campus, Library, Computer Labs, for the 12th annual MI College Goal Event.  They will assist new and returning students and parents in completing their initial/renewal 2016-2017 FAFSAs. Students and/or parents are on the computer, and these experts are answering questions and reviewing FAFSA information before final submittal to check for completion and accuracy.
Can't make the MI College Goal Event?  After Feb. 12th, and through June 1st, their offices will be hosting FAFSA events to help parents/students complete and correct FAFSAs and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to upload accurate 2015 Federal tax return information directly from the IRS into the FAFSA. For upcoming hands-on FAFSA assistance session dates, times, locations and what to bring with you to a session, please visit: http://www.delta.edu/financial-aid-office/events.aspx.
Find a map of Delta College campus here.


OTHER GUIDANCE NEWS

Miss the PSAT Results Night? Contact Mrs. Mueller (lmueller@vlhs.com) in the Guidance Office for a copy of your scores and other resources handed out that evening. You can view the presentation at bit.ly/VLPSAT OR you can schedule a time to go over your results personally.

College and Career Resources
You Should Know...
When we introduced this column several parents immediately contacted us about addressing the issue of pornography.  The links below are to the online publication "Cultural Translator" published by Axis, a Christian organization that addresses cultural issues.  These are the first three parts of a five-part series.  The remaining  two links will be included in future parent newsletters:  


Parenting and sexual issues have never been easy.  Unfortunately, pornography is not only an issue for high school students.  It is an issue for all ages and it is quietly invading our homes through the internet.

You can also sign up for a free subscription to "Cultural Translator," which our faculty reviews as well, by clicking here.
Community News
VLHS Touchdown Club Benefit Dinner For Carol Whitney
Carol Whitney, the wife of VLHS football coach Andy Whitney, is battling an aggressive form of Leukemia. Spending her life in the health profession as a nurse helping others, she now finds herself unable to work and is traveling between Michigan and Houston TX to receive treatment. We will hold a spaghetti dinner with door prizes and a "Dessert Walk" on Sunday, March 6th from 12:00-4:00pm in the VLHS Cafeteria.  Please join us to support Carol and the entire Whitney family as we help to cover a portion of the expenses they are incurring during this long two-year treatment process.

If you would like to donate or help with the benefit, you can email the VLHS Touchdown Club at chargers7921@gmail.com. Check out the "Champions for Carol's Cause" Facebook page by clicking here to find out more information on Carol and her journey. 
Upcoming Events
Feb. 9           Open House, 5-6pm
Feb. 10         PEEKS at Valley, 8:15am (Junior invite)
Feb. 11-13    Winter One Acts at Peace Lutheran Church, Saginaw, 7pm
Feb. 13-14    Grade school boys' basketball tournament at VLHS
Feb. 15         NO SCHOOL-President's Day
Feb. 15         Parent Organization meeting, 7pm
Feb. 17         PEEKS at Valley, 8:15am (Sophomore invite)
Feb. 18         Moms in Prayer, 7pm
Feb. 21         Pulled Pork Dinner at VLHS, 11am-1:30pm
Feb. 24         PEEKS at Valley, 8:15am (Freshman invite)
Feb. 24         Midterm grades available online after 5pm
Feb. 25         Freshman/Sophomore Parent Night, 4:30pm
Feb. 27         Benefit Dinner and Auction, at Apple Mountain, 5pm
Click on the image above to view the latest Valley Vision.


Mission Statement
Valley Lutheran High School believes that Christ is the foundation of our school and everything that we do.  We prepare our students as children of God academically, physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually to serve in the world today and tomorrow.
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John Brandt
Valley Lutheran High School

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