NID School Newsletter

Filled with living hope in Christ,

Confessing, Praising, and

Advancing His Kingdom.

School Newsletter: March 14, 2024

The Joy of Serving by Dreaming Small

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the LORD. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:11-12

I find great joy in serving others. My parents were wonderful examples of service as they raised me and my three siblings. They led by example and never made us feel it was our "duty" to serve. We followed their loving way of stepping out and assisting when someone needed a hand or help with something. I was blessed to grow up in a home and school where this was modeled by faithful Christians. As a young child, I always dreamed of ways I would be able to serve others. No matter what, we are encouraged to serve with enthusiasm.

Jesus is the greatest servant of all, even on His way to the cross. We never outserve Him, and unlike us, He gave His all! Because Jesus loves us, we are encouraged and led to serve in His name. We were first loved by God, so we love as God loves us. Sometimes that means stepping out in service when we have other things on our agenda. Opening up our heart and giving our time for others shows our love for God. We don’t have to (and aren’t able to) do it all. We are called to be in ministry together and serve, using the gifts God has given us.

I encourage you to listen to the song by “Dream Small" by Josh Wilson. It speaks clearly about how we can serve by dreaming small and not trying to do it all.

SHINE! 2024 is right around the corner. How will you serve? No matter our age, we can serve. There are so many opportunities each and every day. All we need to do is open our eyes and hearts. God will provide the opportunity. As we serve with a willing heart, we are also WITNESSING our faith.

Here in the NID, we focus on Word, Wellness, and Witness. What better way to do all three, as you share your love for Christ as you serve.

Serving the Master Teacher,

Lois Stewart

Mission Facilitator for Schools

National Lutheran School Accreditation Deadlines

All accredited school should have received an invoice for the Annual District Accreditation Fee which is due April 15, 2024. Checks should be made payable to "LCMS Northern Illinois District" in the amount of $150. Failure to submit this fee jeopardizes school accreditation.

DO NOT SEND THE CHECK TO THE DISTRICT!

Send all payments to:

Keith Wilharm

NLSA Coordinator - NID

207 N. Walnut St.

Elmhurst, IL 60126

Also, Cumulative Annual Reports are due April 15, 2024. No report is due from schools hosting a Validation Team visit in 2023-2024. Reports must be mailed to Keith.Wilharm@nidlcms.org. Failure to submit the report may lead to revocation of accreditation.

Please contact Keith with any questions.

Learn More

Are You Planning Ahead? SHINE! 2024

We're getting ready to SHINE! again this year, and we invite you to join us. Start planning how your group will serve this year from April 12-21, 2024. Registration and information - including a Bible study - are now available on our website. We can't wait to see how the love of Jesus shines through community acts of service throughout the District!

Bible Study

Retirements

Administrators: If you have a Rostered Worker planning to retire at the end of the current school year, please inform me (lois.stewart@nidlcms.org) so that we may process roster status change paperwork. Please make sure to let your workers know they must also contact the Education Office. Informing Concordia Plans does not take care of roster paperwork. We would also like to know if contracted teachers are retiring.

Time to Update

It is that time of year! If you are a Rostered Worker in the NID, please access your Commissioned Minister Information Form (CMIF) and review it for updates. You may access the form at https://cwu.lcms.org. If you need your Worker ID#, please reach out to lois.stewart@nidlcms.org or sue.green@nidlcms.org. Thank you in advance for helping us with this important duty!

Complete Form

From Walcamp

Walcamp Outdoor Ministries, your NID Camp, has many opportunities to help your Youth Ministry. One of their goals is to provide Christ-centered, Lutheran-based programming which enhances your Youth Ministry while taking some of the execution and planning off of your plate. They have many new programs they would like to share with you. They would also like to discuss other opprotunities to support your Youth Ministry. Please let them know the contact information for your youth leader, whether on staff or volunteer, by filling out the attached form.

In the next months, they will be hosting a Zoom meeting to share more information and answer any questions. They look forward to serving you and your youth group!

Save the Date - "Hustle with Heart"

It might be early, but planning begins. Save the date for the August Back-to-School Worship and Keynote. On Wednesday, August 7, 2024, we will meet at St. Peter in Schaumburg for our gathering. This is a great opportunity to worship, reconnect, and be inspired as the new school year begins. Our speaker will be Dr. Bernard Bull. He serves as the president of Concordia University Nebraska and will energize us with his keynote titled, “Hustle with Heart."

Save the Date - 2024 NID Educators' Conference

The 2024 NID Educators’ Conference will be held at Concordia University Chicago on Friday, October 18, 2024. Watch for details in the future.

2024-2025 LCMS Theme

Announcing the theme for Lutheran Schools Week 2024-2025: ENDURE based on Hebrews 12:1-3.

CPDUs

Concordia University Chicago has developed a new process for receiving continuing education credits if your school does staff development/professional development. Please access Professional Development - College of Education: Office of Field Experience - LibGuides at Concordia University Chicago (cuchicago.edu) to request forms. You may also email Katie Pece at katie.pece@cuchicago.edu.

Early Childhood, Elementary and High School Administrators

On Monday, February 26, 2024, elementary administrators, high school administrators, and early childhood directors gathered for devotion, fellowship, and a lot of learning.

Thank you to President Allan Buss for leading us in worship. Our topic for this gathering was "Maintaining Lutheran Identity in Your School." Thank you to our two presenters, Rev. Dr. Chad Kendall (Condordia University Assistant Vice President for Mission and Identity) and Mr. Joel Landskroener (Executive Director of Mayer Lutheran High School in Mayer, MN). It was a wonderful day of learning!

The next gatherings will be as follows:

Saturday, March 16, 2024 - Early Childhood Zoom, starting at 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, April 13, 2024 - Early Childhood in-person gathering, starting at 9:00 a.m.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 Elementary and High School Administrators at CUC, starting at 9:00 a.m.

Watch for upcoming details!

TEC21 March Update

TEC21 Information

If you have a teacher in your school that has not attended the TEC21 training cohort, now would be a great time to have them connect.

Hearts for Jesus

The "Hearts for Jesus" focus this school year will be the expansion of the feeding program into the community of Georgetown. The students in the school will get well prepared meals each day. Prayerfully consider what your part will be in blessing this work in Belize. These pictures were taken recently under Miss Nikisha’s home. She has graciously opened up her home to feed the children every day. The beauty behind this is to save on cost of the take away containers and also trash in the country. The students now stay and eat before returning back to school. What a blessing Miss Nikisha is to the students.