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Report Online

Superintendent’s note

Growing up I sang a gospel song with these words: “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” I thought of these words often this past month as I became aware of positive happenings on our campuses. Writing about all of them would require a longer note than space allows. Instead, I encourage you to read about student achievements and some of the many other positive happenings found in this monthly newsletter as well as on the LMS Website and in Bridges.

At LMS we celebrate a winning basketball team and the many students whose art work was selected for the Lancaster County Young Artists Program. These achievements grow out of our focus: a holistically excellent education that calls students to growth in Christian discipleship.

I recently celebrated a student making a first-time commitment to Jesus Christ and a grandfather committing his life to Christ while accompanying international students who were visiting the school. The grandfather shared that he experienced Christ in the home that hosted him and in the LMH atmosphere—that was all he needed, he said, to decide to become a Christian. I also celebrated the growth in discipleship in middle school students as a result of the spiritual life weeks at the Kraybill and Locust Grove campuses.

Please join me in counting the blessings you are experiencing; I know that you, too, will be surprised at what God is doing. During this time when the media has so much focus on the negative, let’s count our blessings and celebrate God at work.

Shalom!
J. Richard Thomas

Looking Ahead - All Campuses

March 15 Beyond Ourselves Concert, 3 p.m., Fine Arts Center
March 20 No classes/Staff Development Day
March 22 Campus Chorale at Conestoga Mennonite, 10:30 a.m.
March 26 Prospective Student Day
March 26–27

Lanc. MS drama, The Mark Twain Show, 7 p.m.
March 27 End of Third Quarter
March 29 Campus Chorale at Hershey Mennonite, 10 a.m.
April 2 All-school MS Fine Arts Festival at Lanc. 6:30 p.m.
April 3 Report cards go home
Jan. 25 All-Middle School Spelling Bee at Lancaster Campus, 9:45 a.m
April 5 Campus Chorale at Community Menn. Ch. of Lanc., 8:30/11 a.m.
April 10 Good Friday, No Classes, School Offices Closed
April 13 School in session/Snow Make-up
April 17 ND Country Auction, 4:00 p.m.
April 24 LG Barbecue & Benefit Auction
April 26 Campus Chorale at Strasburg Mennonite Church, 7 p.m.
April 29 LMS Golf Tournament at Lancaster Host
April 30–May 2 HS Arts Festival, Titanic
May 2 LMS Dinner Theatre: 5:00 appetizers, 5:45 dinner

Looking Ahead for:


ALL CAMPUSES


Prospective Student Day
March 26 is a Prospective Student Day at all campuses. This is a day for prospective students to experience the opportunities of an excellent education at LMS. Times are 8:05–3:05 a.m. for the high school and morning only for other grades. To register, call Kraybill at (717) 653-5236; Lancaster at (717) 299-0436, ext. 312; Locust Grove at (717) 394-7107; and New Danville at (717) 872-2506. Parents should arrange transportation.

 

Please encourage potential students for 2009-10
This is a good time to encourage potential students to consider LMS for next year. There is room at all grade levels. If there are prospective students we should be in conversation with, please call Curtis Edwards, system admissions counselor, at (717) 299-0436, ext. 721.


Applications for scholarships and financial aid
Applications for scholarships and financial aid must be renewed each year. Applications were sent to each family that received the 2009-10 registration form. Those who do not have an application can get one from the school offices or from the school website, www.lancastermennonite.org/forms. Current families should apply no later than April 17.

Please note that your 2008 federal tax form (Form 1040) is the one that is needed for this year’s application. If you sent us your 2007 federal tax form, please send us your 2008 form as soon as it is completed. The 2008 Form 1040 is required before financial aid can be awarded.

The purpose of financial aid is to make attendance at LMS available to all families, regardless of income. Call Janet Kreider at (717) 653-5236, ext. 201, if you have questions about financial aid paperwork.


Snow make-up day
Monday, April 13, will be a snow make-up day for the day missed on March 2.


Mennonite Sports Organization (MSO)
This fall the MSO will again offer two sports: boys soccer (grades PreK–6) and girls field hockey (grades 1–6). Registration will begin in April for fall soccer and field hockey (look for registration forms at our four campuses). For more information, please go to our website at www.mennonitesports.org or call Jeff Shank at (717) 299-0436, ext. 706.


Seventh Grade Retreat
The Seventh Grade Retreat will include students from Kraybill, Locust Grove, and Lancaster campuses May 26–28 at Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp in the Poconos. The goals are to grow spiritually, experience outdoor education, and learn to know students from other campuses. The cost is $85 for transportation, food, activities, and lodging.

Starting next year, the Seventh Grade Retreat moves to the fall. Parents of present sixth graders, please put September 15–17, 2009, on your calendar now! The location will be Refreshing Mountain Camp near Stephens, north of the Turnpike. The first day will mostly be experienced at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. The basic format will otherwise follow the Spruce Lake trip.


Upcoming drama performances

  • LMMS will perform The Mark Twain Show, Thursday and Friday, March 26 & 27, at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center. Tickets at the door will be $3.00 for students and $5.00 for adults. This is an artful array of Twain’s most humorous writings, wittiest quotes and most gripping drama—a great show for children and adults alike. Come early for the best seats.
  • High school students will perform the musical, Titanic, during the school’s 30th annual Arts Festival Thursday through Saturday, April 30–May 2. Times are 7:30 each evening and 2 p.m. Saturday. Yeston and Stone’s Titanic examines the causes, conditions and characters involved in this ever-fascinating drama. This factual story—of her officers, crew and passengers—gives a porthole into the hopes and dreams of a few of the 2,200 souls who boarded the Titanic for her maiden voyage in 1912.

Tickets, on sale now (if exact payment is included) are $8.00 for students and $10.00 for adults except for Saturday’s matinee when they will be $1.00 off. For tickets call (717) 299-0436, ext. 340, or send payment and a self-addressed stamped envelope to LMH Musical, 2176 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, Pa., 17602. Reserved tickets need to be claimed at least 30 minutes before the performance.


Titanic dinner theatre—order tickets today
You are invited to the LMS Dinner Theatre sponsored by the Alumni Association on Saturday, May 2. The evening includes appetizers at 5:00 in the dining hall gathering area, dinner at 5:45 in Alumni Dining Hall, browsing through the Arts and Crafts Festival, and reserved seating for the 7:30 performance of Titanic. Please include payment and meal selections with your order ($40.00 each). Parties who wish to dine together should register at the same time and list all guests. Meal options include braised boneless pork cutlet with mushroom sauce and stuffed boneless chicken breast. Persons who prefer vegetarian should call Deborah Sprunger at (717) 299-0436, ext. 701.


Golf tournament—fun way to help students
This year’s LMS Golf Tournament (morning and afternoon rounds) will be held at the Lancaster Host Golf Resort on Wednesday, April 29. The fee of $85 per golfer includes a light snack before round, greens fee, cart, meal following round, and prizes (both skill and door). In addition, non-golfers are invited to attend the meals following the rounds. For more information, contact Deborah Sprunger at (717) 299-0436, ext. 701, or sprungerdl@lancastermennonite.org.


Campus Chorale—Choir Festival
On April 17–19 Campus Chorale will participate in the Mennonite Schools Council (MSC) Regional High School Choir Festival at Shalom Christian Academy in Chambersburg, Pa.


Middle School Fine Arts Festival
On Thursday, April 2, middle school students from the Kraybill, Locust Grove, New Danville, and Lancaster campuses will combine for a Fine Arts Festival that will include artists and musicians. Musical performances will begin at 6:30 and continue throughout the evening at various locations in the Fine Arts Center. Musicians will receive Superior, Excellent, and Good ratings. The art students will have an art show during this evening, and their work will remain on display for several weeks in the Fine Arts Center lobby.


Two April auctions to help our students!

  • The New Danville Campus will hold its 33rd Country Auction Friday, April 17. The evening will include food starting at 4:00 and a general auction at 5:00 that will feature tools, toys, plants & shrubbery, furniture, artwork, quilts, gift certificates and more. For more information call (717) 872-2506.
  • The Locust Grove Campus will hold its 35th Barbecue and Benefit Auction on Friday, April 24. The barbecue is set for 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The benefit auction, beginning at 4:30, will feature specialty items, art and handcrafted items, lawn and garden items, gift certificates, collectibles, and more. See page 5 for recently-received items. Call (717) 394-7107 for more information.


Mennonite Children’s Choir (MCCL), April concerts

  • Thursday, April 16, 7 p.m.. - Landisville Church of God
  • Sunday, April 19, 6 p.m. - East Chestnut Street Mennonite Ch.
  • Sunday, April 26, 7 p.m. - Hershey Mennonite Church


Mennonite Middle School Choir Festival

Members of our middle school choirs will join other Mennonite middle school choirs on Friday, May 8, at the Lancaster Campus. Students will practice during the day in the Fine Arts Center and give a concert at 7 p.m., open to the public.

   

Eighth Grade Recognition Night:
On Tuesday, June 2, at 7 p.m. the Lancaster and Locust Grove campuses will honor eighth grade students for their completion of middle school. The celebrations will occur at the individual campuses. Promotion at the Kraybill Cmpus will be held Wednesday, June 3, at 8:45 a.m.


First day of school
The first day of school for the 2009-10 school year will be Tuesday, August 25.


Report cards
Report cards will go home/be distributed April 3.


Student achievements

  • The HS girls basketball team won their section title, league championship, and were runner-ups in districts before advancing to the state tournament. The boys finished second in their section and advanced to league and district playoffs.
  • LMMS 8th grader Aaron Blakeley qualified for the National Geographic Society state competition which will be held at Penn State University on April 3.
  • Senior Eric Umble was recently accepted to represent the United States in the International Youth Wind Orchestra. This is a group of musicians ages 18–25 from all over the world. The group will perform at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (or WASBE) Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, July 5-11.
  • Junior Taylor Wenger has been named Paradise Rotary Club Student-of-the-Month for April.
  • LMS 9th grader Aaron Eckman placed 9th in both the 200 and 500 freestyle at the District 3 swim meet last month.
  • In February the LMS chess team won their 10th Lancaster Scholastic Chess League Championship. The team was led by Peter Weida, grade 10, who went undefeated for the season and for the fourth consecutive year has been the top player in the league. In state play, Jung Kwan Kim finished as the second place unrated player in his category with four wins and one loss, Kyle Siegfried finished in fourth place in his category with four wins and a draw, and Tommy Wanner won the trophy for the second highest unrated player in the K-8 State Chess tournament.
  • Katelyn Vanderhoff was named the Lancaster Newspapers Teen of the Week in February.
  • Seventy-five LMS students have received art awards in the Lancaster County Young Artists Program. Their work will be exhibited at the Lancaster Museum of Art at 135 North Lime Street and the Lancaster Museum Satellite Facility at 215 North Queen Street through March 29: 10:00–4:00 Monday through Saturday and 12:00–4:00 Sundays.
    • At Kraybill: Sam Aungst, Exhibition Award; Gordon Dimmig, Gold Award, Silver Award, 2 Exhibition Awards; Heather Fry, 2 Silver Awards, 2 Exhibition Awards; Rebekah Good, 2 Exhibition Awards; Emily Hess, Exhibition Award; Kaitlin Jordan, Exhibition Award; Chris Milligan, 2 Exhibition Awards; Heidi Newswanger, Silver Award; Jonathan Sauder, Exhibition Award; Lauren Sweigart, Gold Award, Exhibition Award, Merit Award; Josh Brubaker, 2 Exhibition Awards; Nicole Drawbaugh, Silver Award; Kailah Ginder, Exhibition Award; Aria Hess, Exhibition Award; Manny Horst, Exhibition Award; Rebecca Keener, Exhibition Award; Phillip Hess, Exhibition Award; Olivia Rohrer, Silver Award; Jesse Schatz, Exhibition Award; and Colin Wolgemth, Silver Award.
    • At Locust Grove: Sara Schlosser, Gold Award; Marshall Horst, Silver Award; and Emely D’oleo, Silver Award.
    • At the high school: Lesley Andricks, 2 Exhibition Awards; Joe Bomberger, Silver Award, Exhibition Award; Elizabeth Cleaves, Exhibition Award; Emily Clouser, 2 Exhibition Awards; Andrew Cousar, Exhibition Award; David Denlinger, Exhibition Award; Erica Engle, Silver Award; Caitlin Erb, Exhibition Award; Chance Glover, Exhibition Award; Kristen Gochnauer, Exhibition Award; Kate Grosh, Exhibition Award; Ale Hartzler, Exhibition Award; Natasha Hartzler, Exhibition Award; Julie Heinly, Exhibition Award; Meghan Hershey, 2 Exhibition Awards; Dana Hiestand, Silver Award, 2 Exhibition Awards; Sung Ho Kim, Exhibition Award; William Hoffer, Exhibition Award; Lindsay King, Exhibition Award; Molly Kraybill, Gold Award, Silver Award; Logan Kreider, Exhibition Award; Carrie Lambert, Exhibition Award; Peter Landis, Silver Award, Exhibition Award; Emma Lindsey, Gold Award; Heidi Long, Silver Award, 2 Exhibition Awards; Nathan Longenecker, Exhibition Award; Andrea Mast, Silver Award; Olivia Mast, Exhibition Award; Amanda McCoy, Exhibition Award; Jennifer Mellinger, Silver Award; Rebecca Noll, Exhibition Award; Hannah Norman, Silver Award; Jess Rheinheimer, Silver Award, Exhibition Award; Brittany Rohrer, Exhibition Award; Lily Santos, Exhibition Award; John David Satriale, Exhibition Award; McKenzie Sauder, Silver Award; Brittany Sehenuk, 2 Exhibition Awards; Emily Shank, Silver Award; Jamila Shenk, Exhibition Award Jennifer Shenk, Exhibition Award; Nathaniel Shuman, Exhibition Award; Nicole Simpson, Gold Award; Taylor Smith, Exhibition Award; Allen Stoltzfus, Silver Award; Lena Strickler, 3 Exhibition Awards; Ethel-Ruth Tawe, Exhibition Award; Jonathan D. Temple, 2 Silver Awards, Exhibition Award; Leo Valmonte, Silver Award; Jannelle Weaver, 2 Exhibition Awards; Andrew Whittaker, Exhibition Award; Becca Yoder, 4 Exhibition Awards.
    • At LMMS: Amy Brown, Exhibition Award, and Mitchell Kauffman, Exhibition Award.


From Heidi Stoltzfus, director of advancement
We’ve all heard stories of how faith has increased in times of struggle and while we may celebrate this growth, we secretly hope we never have to experience the struggle.

Economic changes are impacting us at LMS. Because of the decline in the stock market we do not have endowment earnings to help balance the operating budget, and at the same time there is need for increased aid for families. Our mission becomes more crystallized under this pressure, though, and I realize daily the immense need there is for emissaries of Christ’s love in our world.

In these strange times God has blessed LMS with our largest single Annual Fund gift ever, and increased giving for scholarships through the Pennsylvania tax credit program. Both of these enable us to continue to provide our children with this wonderful community of learning.

Giving to our Annual Fund is running behind what we need, however. Please consider what you as a parent can do to help keep our school strong. Send in a monetary gift or come in and volunteer. There are many volunteer opportunities available—from auction committees to golf tournament to helping with mailings. Every gift of dollars or time strengthens our school and our community. Thank you for sharing as together we grow our faith.


LMS summer sports camps & enrichment revised since the school calendar was printed!
Basketball

  • Girls basketball, grades 5–10 July 6–10
  • Boys basketball, grades 5–10 July 20–24
Field hockey
  • Jr. high field hockey, grades 6–8 June 8–12
  • Sr. high field hockey, grades 9–12 August 10–14
Boys Lacrosse, grades 5–12 June 22-26
Phila. Eagles Football, ages 6–14 July 13–17
Soccer
  • Elem. coed soccer, grades 1–5 June 15–19
  • Jr. high boys soccer, grades 6–8 July 6–10
  • Girls soccer, grades 6–12 July 27–31
  • Sr. high boys soccer, grades 9–12 August 10–14
Jr. High Girls Volleyball, grades 6–9 July 13–17


Other camp opportunities

  • Spiritual Fitness, grades 10–12 June 12–14
  • Intro. to Digital Photography, grades 6–10 June 15 & 16
  • Digital Video Editing, grades 6–12 June 17–19
  • Coed Culinary Arts, grades 4–9 July 20–24
  • Sewing/Crafts, grades 4–9 July 20–24
  • Youth Choir, grades 4–8 July 20–24
  • Middle School Drama, grades 6–8 July 27–31
Other camps being planned are computer, environmental science, language and tennis. More information will be added to the website in a day or two, as it becomes available. Please check back under "Summer Camps" at www.lancastermennonite.org!

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Lancaster Mennonite School – 2176 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, PA 17602, tel: (717-299-0436) fax: (717-299-0823)
Lancaster Mennonite School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
and a member of Mennonite School Council, Mennonite Church USA