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By Mrs. Ann Arndt

Principal’s Pennings

The end of 1st quarter is coming up soon and with that, parent/teacher conferences. Raising children is quite a task, as is educating them. It’s good for parents to be able to communicate with their child’s teacher. It’s good to compare perspectives between teacher and parent. Imagine a group of children in front of an audience. If you are the parent, where does your attention focus? On that ONE child that is yours! You notice everything - how they stand, their facial expression, everything about that ONE child. Your perspective comes from raising that child, taking care of his/her every need. The teacher’s perspective, slightly different! The teacher has to see that child as an individual, and as part of a whole class – a whole class of special children. The teacher feels pride, too; pride for all his/her children. The perspective is obviously different, as the parent focuses on one, the teacher on many.

It’s hard, sometimes, not being able to see the whole picture. As a parent, do you ever wonder if your child is the only one who can’t spell, the only one who doesn’t get work done, the only one who talks too much in class, or the only one who procrastinates, etc? If your child is having some problems, your teacher can probably assure you that your child is more “normal” than you think! Every child has some area where he/she needs improvement. (Don’t we all?)

Parent/teacher conferences can be very valuable as we work with God’s children. It helps both teachers and parents to see the child from the other’s perspective. That helps both understand the child better, which helps us both in working with that child. The teachers at MLA look forward to the time of conferences when we can visit with you about that ONE special child in your life!

FEATURE A TEACHER (a new addition to Eagle’s Cry to help you know your teachers better)

We begin by featuring Mr. Maas. Mr. Maas was born in Nebraska (Go Big Red), on a farm, and attended a Lutheran elementary school. His favorite subject in school was science. He admitted to getting into a “little” trouble at school, but did not elaborate. (See, teachers are people, too!) He attended a public high school where, besides his studies, he was a member of the choir and the football team. His first car was a ’51 GMC pick-up “chubster.” He doesn’t have any pets, unless you call Maxwell the scooter a pet. In college he met Mrs. Maas at a square dance! His dream vacation is riding on Route 66. (On Maxwell??) Mr. Maas has taught for 34 years. His favorite movie is “Saving Mr. Banks,” and favorite book is “Leanings” by Peter Egan. When asked what he likes best about MLA, his answer is: Mrs. Maas! One little known fact about Mr. Maas is that he put himself through college at Concordia College, Seward, by working on a cattle ranch!

We are blessed to have Mr. Mass here at MLA. He brings joy, interesting ideas, and a whole lot of love to his students! Thank you, Mr. Maas!

Please note calendar change:

Christmas Program – Tuesday, December 20

Christmas Break – School dismisses at NOON on Wednesday, December 21 for Christmas Break!