Tiger Talk
Trinity Lutheran School Weekly Newsletter
From Mr. Klug:
LOVE and HOPE
"13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another."
A world that seems so divided right now is difficult to live with Hope. We are told to use our freedom from sin and its chains to love our neighbor. Many people need that right this moment. There is not a need for us and them, as God desires all to know the love of his redeeming grace. Christ's LOVE is the fulfillment of the law to reach the promise of salvation in the ressurection of his Son.
This LOVE is the thing that can differentiate us in this world. We should LOVE our neighbor as our self. The LOVE we have should show our HOPE in our savlation even in this very dark world. Do not fight each other, even if we disagree about things in this life, as we have been chosen to be saved through his ultimate LOVE.
Memory Verse for Next Week
Romans 10:17
“So faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the message about Christ.”
(Remember to follow the lead of your classroom teacher, as some may shorten or modify how it is being completed.)
The Next Week At Trinity
Calendar - September 5th - September 12
Saturday:
Worship 5:30 at Parish Hall
Worship 8:00 and 10:30 at church
Monday:
Cross Country Practice 3:15
Tuesday:
Cross Country Practice 3:15
Wednesday: Chapel in the classroom
Cross Country Practice 3:15
Thursday:
Cross Country Practice 3:15
Friday:
Cross Country Practice 3:15
Saturday:
Worship 5:30pm at Parish Hall
Cross Country Meet at Centennial Park at 9:00 am with Christ the King and Blessed Sacrament/St. Agnes
LUNCH NEXT WEEK
Tuesday: Chicken Patty with Bun, Vegetable, Fruit, Milk
Wednesday: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Vegetable, Fruit, Milk
Thursday: Popcorn Chicken, Vegetable, Fruit, Milk
Friday: Hot Dog with Bun, Vegetable, Fruit, Milk
Announcements
Sycamore Login
You should have received an invitation to login to Sycamore this past Friday. Please setup your password, as we do not control this function. We are still working to input all database information. In Sycamore, you will be able to check grades, financial information, order lunches, etc. In order to communicate with your teacher, please email them at the address that is listed below.
Carline
Please continue to be careful when driving through the parking lot at drop-off and pick-up. You should have received yellow signs for drivers to pick-up your child.
Absences
If your child will be absent from school, you may contact the school via the app and the absence form, a phone call, or emailing the school office at school@trinity-lutheran.com
Uniform Dress Code
Please make sure that your child is wearing appropriate tops to school. We know that some families have not received all of their items yet, and will not worry about it too much until the second quarter. Trinity Spirit Wear tshirts must contain the new logos, either the academic one with the three intersecting circles or the new athletic logos with Triumph the Tiger or the nesting TL logos. The old Trinity logos with the tiger paws, etc are not part of the uniform dress code.
Fifth Grade Maternity Leave Substitute
Mrs. Heather Daniel will be subbing for Mrs. Wendy Boehme as she takes time away from school with the coming of her new baby. Mrs. Daniel can be reached at admissions@trinity-lutheran.com
Wish List
Trinity teachers in preschool - eighth grade have been updating the wish list. Take a minute, look at the list, and see if you are able to help purchase something for the classroom!
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/WKJ3H6S2ODIV?ref_=wl_share
Trinity School Application
In order to stay informed with the most recent events and news at Trinity, please go to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to download the application for your device. Search TrinitySpfld.
Late Drop-Off
Please try to have your student to school on time. This is helpful for all the students in the classroom to minimize interruptions. If you are late, please check-in in the school office where Mrs. Poorman will do a screening check. This will occur if you return from an appointment, as well.
Birthday Treats
If you are wanting to bring treats to celebrate your child's birthday, please bring individual pre-packaged items. Students will not be able to deliver them to other teachers in the building as in the past.
Spirit/Dress Down Days
We will be having two a month. If a student does not participate on Spirit days, they must wear school uniforms as normal.
Change in Plans
If there is a change in plans during the day for pick-up or a need to go to extended care, please contact the school office prior to 2:30. Do not send that to the teacher, as it is possible they will not see it prior to the end of the day.
Faculty Directory
Below is a list of the teachers and their email addresses.
Two-Year-Old Town
Julia Manninen : jmanninen@trinity-lutheran.com
Yellow Room (Preschool)
Rebecca Logan: rlogan@trinity-lutheran.com
Green Room (Pre-Kindergarten)
Michelle McWilliam: mmcwilliams@trinity-lutheran.com
Blue Room (Pre-Kindergarten)
Dara Merino: dmerino@trinity-lutheran.com
Kindergarten
Caitlin Reichert: creichert@trinity-lutheran.com
1st Grade
Jill Schaefer: jschaefer@trinity-lutheran.com
2nd Grade
Sue Rodgers: srodgers@trinity-lutheran.com
3rd Grade
Brett Moll: bmoll@trinity-lutheran.com
4th Grade
Melissa Boehme: mboehme@trinity-lutheran.com
Middle School
5th Grade Homeroom, 5th English and Literature, 6th English, 7 English
Wendy Boehme: wboehme@trinity-lutheran.com
6th Grade Homeroom, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Math
Pam Sausaman: psausaman@trinity-lutheran.com
7th Grade Homeroom, 6th Literature, 7th Literature, 8th English and Literature
Kimberly Garvue: kgarvue@trinity-lutheran.com
8th Grade Homeroom, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th Social Studies
Morgan Grillot: mgrillot@trinity-lutheran.com
5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade Science
Cindy Good: cgood@trinity-lutheran.com
7th Grade Pre-Algebra, 8th Grade Algebra
Zack Klug: zklug@trinity-lutheran.com
Love & Logic at Home
The Amazing Power of Empathy
By Dr. Charles Fay
Here’s a story that really hits home with me. It proves that empathy works with all of us. It’s also a good reminder that a little empathy can go a long way, whether we use it with kids or adults.
I went to my local hardware store and bought the latest gizmo. When I got home, I tried to use it but it didn’t work. I thought to myself, “Oh man! I couldn’t wait to use this thing! Now it won’t even work.” I was so frustrated that all I wanted to do was go back to the store, confront the clerk, and demand to know what he was going to do about it!
Before I go further with this story, we should talk about how the brain works. There are several parts of the brain, including the frontal cortex where thinking takes place. Another part is the brain stem where the “fight or flight” response resides. That’s our defensive mode. We also have a little switch somewhere in the brain that reacts to stimuli. This switch focuses brain energy either into the frontal cortex or the brain stem, depending on what’s needed at the moment. This “brain switch” is a threat receptor. When it activates the brain stem, what happens to the thinking process? It shuts down so we can either fight quicker or flee quicker.
Back to my story. There I am at the store with this great gizmo that doesn’t work. My frustration level is pretty high and I say, “This gizmo doesn’t work!” Which part of my brain is activated if the clerk says the following?
“Of course it didn’t work! I bet you didn’t read the instructions, did you? You guys take this stuff home and start messing with it before reading the instructions. Then it gets all messed up and you come here thinking that you can just return it. I’m sick and tired of this and I won’t….”
What part of my brain is operational? A clerk behaving this way would surely turn me into a brain stem. How long would it be before I said something that turned the clerk into a brain stem, too? Then we’d have two walking, talking brain stems trying to solve a problem. Not good! Would I ever shop at this store again? Not a chance! Do you think I’d tell all my friends, neighbors, and anyone who’d listen? You bet—I’d tell everyone not to shop there!
Has something like this ever happened to you? How much does it take to get the average person into brain stem mode? Will a little criticism do? How about some threats? How about some anger on our part? All of these can put us into brain stem, fighting mode!
Let’s play it over again, because in reality I was dealing with a highly skilled clerk who’d been to customer service training. I went back and said, “This gizmo doesn’t work!” With care and sincerity, he responded, “Oh, that’s never good.” What part of my brain was activated? The frontal cortex—the thinking mode.
The clerk took the gizmo, apologized for my inconvenience, and offered to refund my money. Now he had a customer for life. And whenever I go to that store, you know which clerk I’m looking for. Do you think I’ll ever shop at that store again? You bet I will! Do you think I’ll tell all of my friends and neighbors about that store and that clerk? You bet.
We have discovered that people who get children to see themselves as the source of their problem provide sincere empathy before describing any consequences—they always use empathy before consequences.
Do you have an empathetic response ready when your kid does something really upsetting? Most people don’t. I’ve learned over the years that people who replace anger with empathy all have limited vocabularies when it comes to disciplining. They use very few words. In fact, people who are able to start with empathy and do it consistently have only one empathetic response—a response that is unique to them, feels comfortable, and doesn’t sound phony. They keep it on the tip of their tongue and use it every single time they need to discipline their kids.
I’ve met people who use simple responses by saying things like, “How sad” or “What a bummer.” Although these are quite different responses, both provide a strong message of empathy if delivered with sincerity. We met a guy who ran a boy’s ranch in Nebraska. When any of the kids talked to him about something they’d done wrong, he’d scuff one of his boots back and forth in the dust and sadly say, “Dang.” How much energy do you need to use that one? Will “dang” put a kid into frontal cortex mode? Said with sincere sadness, it sure can!
Listed below are a few empathetic statements we’ve heard people use:
- “Bless your heart.”
- “That’s sad.”
- “Oh, that’s never good.”
- “Oh, honey.”
- “That stinks.”
- “How sad.”
- “What a bummer.”
Here’s a way you can get an empathetic response ready and on the tip of your tongue. First, get three sets of Post-It notes and write your one empathetic response on every single one, such as, “What a bummer.” Second, post them around your house. When you open up a cupboard, there it is, “What a bummer.” When you pull out a drawer, inside it says, “What a bummer.” When you look in the mirror, there it is, “What a bummer.”
Run some quick experiments to find out for yourself the amazing power of empathy. Can it change your life? You bet!
Find, Follow, Contact
Email: school@trinity-lutheran.com
Website: trinity-lutheran.com
Location: 515 South MacArthur Boulevard, Springfield, IL, USA
Phone: (217)787-2323
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trinitylutheranspfld/