the opportunity to meet and talk with teachers in the classrooms while participating in the classroom activity.

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1 Keeping Christ in High School Education December 2017 Newsletter Friends of Luther This Year s Theme: Safe In God s Hands John 10:28 Bringing School, Church, and Family Together at LHS Fall Family Fest On Sunday, October 22, Luther High School held an open house event called LHS Fall Family Fest. This event gave people a chance to see what is new on the campus, ask questions about the school, and experience what the LHS classrooms are like. Several hundred guests attended! They enjoyed great music, took building tours, and participated in special activities around the school. The activities included games in the gym, making ceramics in the art room, history trivia, a photo booth, and much more. Many of the activities were located in different classrooms throughout the school building. Families said that they enjoyed exploring the different areas of the school, and also appreciated the opportunity to meet and talk with teachers in the classrooms while participating in the classroom activity. In the Chapel Auditorium, choirs from First Lutheran, LaCrosse and St. Paul s Onalaska sang. There were also performances by Luther High music students. The concert opened with all the choirs joining together to sing a medley dedicated to the United States Armed Forces. The day wrapped up with root beer floats, courtesy of Friends of Luther. Fall Family Fest was a great chance for people to learn more about the blessings of Christian education. We hope to see everyone again next year! By Paul Adickes Living the LHS Mission: AGES & STAGES At Luther High, we have the blessing to share our mission with children of many ages and stages! Throughout the school year, students from our Association elementary schools have the opportunity to come to Luther for a variety of activities that are planned just for them. From Kindergarten Fun & Fitness Day all the way through eighth grade Class of 2022 Day, LHS works hard to encourage fellowship, fun, and learning for students of all ages & stages. Many of these young students look forward to meeting friends from other WELS elementary schools at Luther activities. When they grow to reach high school age, students often already have fond memories together even though they did not go to the same elementary school. This helps students as they continue to grow in faith together and further their education in a Christ-centered environment at Luther. By Greg Schibblehut

2 Promoting Christian Fellowship Among LHS Associated Schools What a blessing it is to promote the blessings of Christian education at Luther High School! - Greg Schibbelhut, Promotions Director, LHS Teacher The Luther Promotions Committee has had an active fall. Here s what has occurred through the help of our ten faculty members who serve on this committee: On September 15, LHS welcomed forty 7th graders to our campus for some activities inside and outside the school including: supper and sundaes, a football game, and a bonfire devotion. Several area grade school students from 5th-8th grade also came in for our annual puntpass-kick competition. October 16 the Promotions Committee went out to our Lutheran elementary schools to visit the upper grade classrooms. A fifteen minute Fall Update video was shown while they were there (video produced by Luther s digital video class). At the same time our LES lower grades were at Luther being entertained with our drama department s production of Miss Nelson is Missing. On October 24 the LHS Sound Foundation choir toured three LES schools to promote Luther and share their gift of praising God through music. Many schools even allowed them to join in for a friendly game of kickball and four square. Hey, high schoolers take advantage of getting a recess when they can. The Luther Science Department hosted 150+ LES 5th and 6th graders for the annual science day. Everyone especially enjoyed the new location in the Chapel Auditorium on November 3. Please stay up to date with all the events happening on and off our campus by following us on Facebook (@weloveluther) or watching some of our recent Luther highlight videos on YouTube (luthfilms). What a privilege it is to promote the blessings of Christian education at Luther. By Greg Schibbelhut Please Join Us for These Bible Study Presentations at LHS THEME: CHRISTIANITY IN OUR CONTEMPORARY WORLD JAN. 10 7:15 pm: The Great Doctrine of Justification at the Time of the Reformation and the Church Today JAN. 17 7:15 pm: A Christian View of Gender Identity JAN 24 7:15 pm: Reaching Out With the Gospel in Our Modern World JAN 31 7:15 pm: Understanding Two Puzzling Parables of Jesus 02

3 How are we doing? The Big Knight WRISA Self Study So, how are we doing? That question will be asked 105 times as part of Luther High s current WRISA self-study. WRISA is the Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation. There are 105 indicators of quality education that will be studied as part of a comprehensive review of all aspects of our program of Christcentered education. Sixty members of our Luther High congregations along with all of Luther High s faculty and staff are serving on 12 committees. Those committees will be closely reviewing and evaluating everything from our Mission & Vision to Materials & Resources. After all 105 quality indicators have been examined, after feedback from a variety of surveys has been evaluated, and after many meetings and reports have been finalized, our self-study culminates with an on-site visit from an accreditation visitation team. The visitation team, scheduled to be here in mid-march, is comprised of teachers and administrators from other schools. Having reviewed our reports and documents, they will not only make a determination about our continuing school accreditation, they will also provide a list of commendations and recommendations. The commendations are clearly evidences of God s blessings. The recommendations will offer directives and suggestions as to how we can improve our service to our students, parents, congregations, and most importantly to our Lord. We pray that God blesses the efforts of all who are participating in Luther High s selfstudy, whether serving on a committee, completing the various on-line surveys, or through active interest and prayers. So how are we doing? We await the results of the self-study and look forward to sharing that information with you months from now. May God continue to bless our faithful service in support of Christcentered education. By Paul Wichmann LIGHT UP THE NIGHT Mark your calendars for Friday, April 20, 2018! Once again The Big Knight will take place in the Cargill Room at The Waterfront in La Crosse from 6:00-9:00pm. There will be wonderful silent and live auction items for you to bid on. As in past years, this is a great opportunity to help students attend Luther High School with the majority of money raised going towards tuition assistance. A portion will also go towards purchasing non-budgeted items that will benefit all students. Registration and donation forms will be available soon! By Courtney McCollough Alumni Today Sarah Henrich is a graduate of Luther High School, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Martin Luther College and a Master of Arts in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa. At the University of Iowa, Sarah held a teaching assistantship working as an accompanist and guest conductor for the University Choir and Women s Choir. She was also Vocal Music Director for the University of Iowa s Summer Rep Program. Sarah has directed various youth and adult choirs in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Colorado. In Milwaukee, she works with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music (WCM) where she has held positions as Vocal Department Chair, General Music Teacher, Choral Teacher, and Associate Director of the Milwaukee Children s Choir. At WCM, Sarah organized and started The Art Song Festival, an international festival for student and professional singers. She has also served as a CD reviewer for the Choral Journal, the International Journal of the American Choral Directors Association. A soprano, Sarah has performed recitals in the Milwaukee area and has sung as a chorister with the Professional Core of the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, Canticum Novum, and Denver Symphony Chorus. She freelances as an accompanist, as well as a clinician and conductor for adult and children s choirs; including the 2015 Wisconsin Lutheran High School Junior Choir Festival, and the 2014 WELS National Conference on Music, Worship, and the Arts. 03

4 Thank you for your support! On the Road of Supporting Christ-Centered Education at Luther High School for Today and Generations to Come! This year has been especially exciting at Luther High School as students are able to utilize much of the new construction areas from our recent and ongoing building project. Students and faculty gather daily in the Chapel Auditorium to worship together. The auditorium has also been used for several events including concerts, presentations, and the school s first WELS community drama production. Art students have running water in their new classrooms for washing hands and paintbrushes, and the Applied Home Maintenance and Applied Technology rooms have extra ventilation and needed space. The fire system throughout the school has also been updated. The Building Committee has completed the construction of Phases 1, 2, and a portion of Phase 3. The highlight of the new construction is the Chapel Auditorium along with the two story classroom addition of which four of eight classrooms are completed and being used. The Goal $10.3 M $10 M $9 M $8.6 M $6 M $5 M total cost of the current completed construction is $8.7 million which leaves $2.7 million to be raised for current construction and an additional $1.7 million needed to complete Phase 3 to Finish the Work. $4 M $3 M $2 M $1.5 M Pledges & Gifts From Congregational Members and Supporters Like You! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT It Starts With a Dream of Sustaining the Future of the Mission of Christ-centered Education at Luther High School 04

5 Luther High Scrip Program Eager To Do Good In his letter to Titus, St. Paul reminds all of us that Jesus gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14). All of God s people who are eager to do what is good are invited to become a volunteer at the Good Steward Resale Shop. Here you will find fellow Christians who are working to glorify God, to serve one another in love, and to be a blessing for Luther High School. We have a variety of different tasks for all ages. And we have flexible working hours. For more information or to become a volunteer call and ask for a Store Coordinator. Matching Funds Among the different ways in which the Good Steward Resale Shop helps Luther High School is thru a matching funds program. Gifts which are made to Luther s General Fund are matched by Good Steward up to a total amount of $60, Your gift to Luther s General Fund at this time will be doubled by this program. Scrip sales have been strong this year and we re sure that they ll rise over the holiday season. In an effort to make getting scrip more convenient for you we ve recently introduced a new way to purchase scrip through Luther High School. The program is called ShopWithScrip.com. ShopWithScrip.com allows you to order scrip gift cards and track your scrip rebates online, all in one convenient location. There are so many benefits to having a ShopWithScrip account: Check your account activity Run your own rebate history Create personalized shopping lists Reload gift cards you already own Purchase and print ScripNow ecards Available to use from your phone via MyScripWallet, the new mobile website from ShopWithScrip.com After you ve created a ShopWithScrip account you will need to sign up for Prestopay, an electronic funds transfer system, by logging into your ShopWithScrip account. It s that easy! By Lisa Wassermann Christmas Gift Each year at this time Friends of Luther collects donations for a Christmas gift to the faculty and staff at Luther. Whatever amount of money is received is divided equitably for the faculty and staff. If you would like to make a contribution for this purpose please send it to: Friends of Luther 400 West Avenue South La Crosse, WI Scrip! Check Out the New Website! Luther High School s new website includes a feature that allows the site to automatically format so it can be easily viewed and navigated on multiple types of devices. While there is still updating being done on the website, it is now easier to navigate and includes a fresh new look. Check it out at 05

6 Wisconsin Parental Choice Program Wish List Luther High School will be participating in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, which is a part of the Private School Choice Programs. Schools that participate in the program receive a state aid payment for each eligible student on behalf of the student s parent or guardian. Applied Home Maintenance Sanding Supplies $50.00 period is FEBRUARY 1 APRIL 20, To learn more, $ Athletics Equipment Bag With Wheels (40 x16 x16 ) $ Overseeding for Athletic Fields ($100 ea) $ Bleacher Enclosures w/printing (ACE GYM) ($ ea) $5, Are You Connected? Luther High School now offers the Friends of Luther sign up to receive the Cymbal, as well as building $14, project and alumni updates to go directly to your ! Signing up is easy! Go to On the Drama Flame Effects Machine visit Newsletter to be sent to you via . You can also Auditorium 8 - Wireless Microphones ($1, ea) student application information for the school year available in late January The open application Art 5 - Glass Cutters ($42 ea) Wisconsin Parental Choice Program (WPCP) will have front page there is a link where you can sign up for the $ notifications and newsletters you would like. Fill out the online form and you will be all set! Your s will come to you automatically when they are published. Maintenance Pruning Saw $ You can also keep in touch with what is happening at Luther High School through the following options: Music Choir Folders ($2.00 ea) $ Twitter Promotions 1 year - Commercial-Free Livestreaming DJI Phantom 4 Drone $1, $2, Technology Multimedia Projector & Screen for Commons YouTube = luthfilms UStream = lutherhighlive $5, Facebook = weloveluther By Amber Kaiser, Publications Coordinator 06

7 Fall SPORTS REVIEW KNIGHTS Luther Boys Cross Country completed another successful season, finishing second at the WIAA Sectional Meet and earning its second consecutive appearance at the State Meet. At Sectionals, the Knights had an amazing finish with Juniors David Vannucchi finishing 1st, Sam Larson 3rd and Quaid Handy 4th overall. At the WIAA State Meet David Vannucchi became Luther s first back-to-back individual state champion in school history, as he finished the race almost 30 seconds faster than the second place runner. Also earning a top ten finish was Sam Larson. Vannucchi also earned 1st Team All-State honors from the Wisconsin Cross Country Coaches Association. Vannucchi, Larson and Handy also earned 1st Team All- Conference Awards with Vannucchi named Runner of the Year for the second consecutive season. Luther Girls Cross Country was led early in the season by freshmen, Jessica Kauffman. Unfortunately, injury sidelined her and new leaders in junior Cianna Hoppe and senior Grace Bain emerged. Cianna Hoppe earned Honorable Mention Coulee Conference honors. Tennis continued its reign of the Coulee Conference, winning its thirteenth consecutive championship. This season brought the conference dual-win streak to fifty-one matches over that thirteen-year period! The overall record for the team was Junior Kaitlyn Stratman and sophomore Kaylee Raabe both advanced to WIAA Sectional play, while senior Lizzy Hoffe and sophomores Phoebe Christenson and Jenna Wahl advanced to the WIAA State Tournament in #1 Singles and #1 Doubles respectively. Christenson and Wahl set the school record for most doubles wins in a single season and are the first sophomores in school history to qualify for the state tournament. Earning Conference awards were: Lizzy Hoffe 2nd Team (#1 Singles) and those earning 1st Team All-Conference were: Michaela Harbach (#2 Singles), Kaitlyn Stratman (#3 Singles), Kaylee Raabe (#4 Singles), Christenson and Wahl (#1 Doubles), Abby Botcher and Grace Meyer (#2 Doubles) and Alissa Fruit and Faith Struemke (#3 Doubles). Football opened the season with two convincing wins over Blair-Taylor and Cashton. While fighting hard in every game, the Knights were unable to taste victory in their final games and finished the season at 2-7. Seniors Alex Bolstad (OL and LB), Ben Kutz (DB), and Noah Matzke (LB) all earned Honorable Mention Conference Awards at those positions, while Matzke also earned 2nd Team at Running Back, and 1st Team at Punter. Volleyball worked hard all year and continued to improve as the season progressed. They finished the year with a thrilling, come from behind win in Viroqua and then played well against top-ranked Aquinas in the WIAA playoffs. Leading the Lady Knights were junior Katelyn Kennedy - 2nd Team All-Conference, and senior Emily Dobberstein Honorable Mention. By Joel Babinec, Athletic Director and Teacher 07

8 1501 WILSON STREET ONALASKA, WISCONSIN Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID La Crosse, WI Permit No. 588 ThankYou FOR BEING A FRIEND OF LUTHER! MEET THEStudent: SAMANTHA BUNKE Samantha Bunke is a Junior at Luther High School. I am proud to be in the third generation of my family that shows horses competitively. It s not only a joy to participate in events all over the Midwest with my relatives, but it s a great bonding experience for my family. I ve grown up loving and exhibiting miniature horses and Shetland ponies. From about the age of five, my mom and grandma have nourished a passion for small equine in me. When I was about seven, I attended my first AMHR (American Miniature Horse Registry) National show. Thousands of miniatures and their owners from around the world flock to the fairgrounds for a two-week exhibition once a year. At my first Nationals I was blessed to go into the winners circle for a Reserve National Championship. Nine years and nine Nationals later, I still get an overwhelming feeling from making that victory lap around the arena. At the 2017 AMHR Nationals I earned multiple top ten placings in a class of about 56 horses, competing against adults, youths, and trainers, my horse and I placed second. At his first National show ever, my other horse and I drove to a National Championship in a youth class of thirteen. I m more than blessed to have the opportunities, horses, and family that have been a part of this and other equine experiences year after year. However, there is something more important than ribbons, trophies, or the opportunities that being a part of the equine community has given me. Friends from across the country become family, and each show is like a reunion. We rally together for support inside and outside of the ring. Being a part of such an association also gives me a platform out in the world to share my faith with. God has opened many doors to let my light shine. Building great relationships has helped open up faith-related discussions and it allows me to use my talents & opportunities to glorify Him and spread the gospel. That s an even greater joy than making a victory pass in the big arena!