NOVEMBER 2020| VOLUME XXI | NUMBER 4

Principal’s Message Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18

What will you be thankful for this Thanksgiving? Is it easy for you to count your blessings or will this be a year when you respond, “Well, I’m thankful for…, but…” Perhaps there have been enough challenges in your life in the last year that this Thanksgiving deserves an asterisk* next to it.

I don’t believe that I’m living in my own little bubble of naivety, but I can think of numerous blessings at MVL for which I am so thankful:

 Each day, I get to come to school and work with a faculty and staff of Christians who love their Lord and our students. They put that love on display every day and it shows. TABLE OF CONTENTS  Even though this year (and the last quarter of last year) has been a challenge, our students have demonstrated such resiliency and adaptability with all the changes. Smiling faces? I seem them every day. Our students love their Lord 2 Weather Policy and it shows.  You, as parents of our students. With all three of these groups of people I’ve already mentioned, there’s a recurring theme. What a blessing each of them is. 3 Virtual Spirit of MVL You, as parents, are no different. You have entrusted your students into our care. You support your students as best as you are able. You communicate 4 Counselor Connection with us with notes or phone calls of commendation or concern.  Our association, Board of Directors and friends of MVL continue to support MVL 5 Booster Club through their prayers and well wishes of encouragement and financial support. Again, what an awesome reflection of their love for our Lord. 6 AD Corner It’s often said that one’s true colors show through in times of crisis or challenge. These last months have been challenging – of that there is no doubt. But we have a 7 Lunch Menu great deal for which we can be thankful.

8 Calendar If I stopped the article here, one could be satisfied with the content. However, there’s a blessing that is missing: the foundation of the Christ-centered education we offer here at MVL. It centers around a God who loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to this earth to live the perfect life for us and die an innocent death. That’s why those four groups of people are such a blessing to MVL. They recognize and appreciate what our Lord has done for us.

COVID – 19, social unrest, highly contested elections, unemployment and uncertain- ty… The challenges are all around us. Yet, as Christians, we can look at the fourth Thursday of November with such thankful hearts. No matter what happens in the world around us, we have Jesus. What a blessing! On behalf of all of us at MVL, have a blessed Thanksgiving! Training students for Christian lives

45638 561st Ave., New Ulm, MN 56073 Phone: 507.354.6851 mvl.org Scrip News Start thinking about using SCRIP for Christmas gifts. The Holiday Office Hours last week to order for Christmas will be the week of November 26-27 - Closed November 30th. Orders placed after December 7th will December 24-25 - Closed not be guaranteed to be filled. Check out all the vendors January 1 - Closed at glscrip.com and scrippro.com

Inclement Weather Policy Amazon Smile With the coming of cold weather it may happen that we Amazon Smile is a website will decide to start school late, close school for the day or operated by Amazon with dismiss early. In such cases, the decision will be the same products, prices announced through our Infinite Campus Emergency and shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference is Messenger. You can customize the phone numbers and that when you shop on Amazon Smile, the Amazon Smile ways you will receive notification in your parent portal. Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eli- gible products to the charitable organization of your It is our intention to have a decision by 6:00 a.m. on those choice. Follow the link below to check some items off of mornings when we will be starting late or closing for the your Christmas list! day. At times, something could force a later decision and, smile.amazon.com/ch/41-1351315 in such cases, we would try to do that as soon as possible. We will continue utilizing the following radio and television stations: KNUJ-AM (860) and SAM-FM (107.3), MVL Giving Tuesday WCCO-AM (830), KEEZ-FM (99.1), KRBI-AM (1310) and Mark your calendar now for national #GivingTuesday KRBI-FM (105.5), KTOE-AM (1420), KXAC (100.5), KRRW on December 1! (101.5), KYSM (FAN-1230), KLGR-AM (1490) and Mix 97.7 FM, WCCO (4), KSTP (5), KMSP (9), KARE (11), and KEYC Stay tuned to mvl.org and facebook.com/mvlhs for more (12). details about how you can partner with MVL for this special day of giving. Parents have the final decision on questionable weather days. A student absent will be marked absent, but if MVL Wreath Sales parents contact us with their decision to send their child The annual Christmas wreath and greenery later, or keep them home due to the weather, those sales are going digital this year. absences are considered ‘weather-related’ and will not Visit mvlwreaths.givesmart.com to place count toward the eight allowed absences before losing your order, or call the MVL office at credit. 507-354-6851. Orders must be placed by Sunday, November 15 in order to pick-up Parents, we ask that you have a plan of action with your at your church before Thanksgiving. Not only will you get student if the weather is expected to turn bad during the to enjoy the scents of Christmas, but you'll also be helping course of the day. It is difficult to get messages to fund the purchase of new hymnals for students to students during the school day when we are trying to use in chapel! notify the media and other entities. Thanks in advance for your cooperation! New Ulm Optimist Club Donation MVL was very blessed to receive two separate donations to MVL activities in the last few weeks. The Optimist Club Student Teachers of New Ulm gifted our Trap and Skeet team with a $500 We welcome to MVL Alexandria Schmidt and gifts and gave the music department $3000 to purchase Sofia Spiegelberg. Both Alexandria and Sofia guitars for our students to learn how to play as part of are Seniors at MLC and will be student teaching Freshman music class. here with us this semester.

We sincerely thank the good people at the New Ulm Op- We wish them well while they are here. Keep timist Club for their generosity! them in their prayers as they finish up their Senior years at MLC!

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A Heartfelt and Sincere THANK YOU! Thank you to all the freshmen, sophomore, and junior students and to the faculty for your effort and attend- Parent-Teacher Conferences ance on the testing day. Parents/Guardians of these stu- On November 9th and 10th we have Parent-Teacher dents, thank you for understanding the importance of Conferences scheduled. If you did not get a chance to this day and for working family plans/vacations around sign up for conferences, please contact the teacher(s) you this day. For those students who were absent or unable would like to meet with directly to set up a time outside to be at school, a January exam will be offered for those of the parent-teacher conference days. who choose to participate. More information will be

forthcoming for those students and families that fall into Be sure to note that on the days of Parent-Teacher this group. Thanks! Conferences, students will be dismissed from classes at – Mr. Smith noon. The MVL buses will run right away after school.

Veterans’ Recognition Program We expect that it comes as no surprise that we will not Resources, Resources, and more Resources… be hosting our annual Veterans’ Recognition Program at Preparing for the ACT or SAT should be a gradual and Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School this year. That continuous task, rather than just cramming for the day is certainly one of the highlights of the year for respective test. However, cramming is still better than students, faculty, and staff, and we know that you and doing nothing at all. I just want to remind all students of your family members appreciate it, too. the resources that are readily available to them.

As we look forward to another Veterans’ Day, we In my office (224), I have: certainly thank God for our veterans and active-duty  Test preparation books that can be checked out military and the service that they are given for our  An unlimited number of ACT prep guides (can be country and for each of us. We hope that you are doing printed as needed) well during this pandemic, and we pray that God would  A limited number of SAT prep guides bless and keep you in the coming year and look forward to reconnecting with you next year. There are also some great online resources that can be accessed. These include:  ACT Academy https://academy.act.org/  Khan Academy (SAT) https://www.khanacademy.org/signup  Learning Express Library https://www- learningexpres shub.com.proxy.elm4you.org/productengine/ LELIndex.html#/learningexpresslibrary/libraryhome

Lastly, I have a collection other college exploration guides, books, and resources available for checkout.

As always, if I can be of any assistance, please don’t Junior Class History Tour & After Prom Meetings hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or via Postponed until the new year. telephone at 507.233.8685. Thank you!

4 Homecoming Recap Even though Covid has affected the “normalcy” of high school, we still found ways to celebrate MVL’s 2020 Homecoming! Opportunities to show school spirit were evident as students dressed up for Camo Day, Tie-Dye Day, Hawaiian Day, and Animal Print Day. Some activities Did you show us how you do became more digital, like daily trivia questions through blue? Although we can't all be to- email, and a mystery photo scavenger hunt. Students gether at events these days, the gathered, albeit socially distant and with masks, for a Ka- Booster Club continues to look for hoot Trivia Night in the gym. Contestants in groups went ways to keep our Charger family through the five rounds of play, naming a winner in each connected like the recent Show Us round. All five winners then competed in the champion- How You Do Blue. Show your ship round to declare a Trivia Champ. Congratulations to Charger pride by purchasing clothing Jonah Kramer, who took home first place and a gift card and more from the MVL apparel site (please link), and as well! The Powder Puff tradition was carried out this follow the Booster Club's Facebook page for activities, year as well, even in the windy and very chilly temps. Con- live games and events, and more. Also, save the date for gratulations to the Junior class, who is the reigning cham- March 27, 2021, for the annual Booster Club Auc- pion for the third year in a row! Fridays brings lots of blue tion. We don't know what it will look like yet, but it's and white Charger apparel, and the fight for the Spirit sure to be a fun time raising funds for our students' co- Award goes to the class who showed the most spirit curricular needs. Stay tuned for details. throughout the week. We also showcase our Homecom- Great Christmas Gift Ideas! ing Court, who made silly videos to show, and will play We have an amazing selection of customizable clothing Family Feud as part of the pep fest. Students will vote on and accessories available. Choose your item and person- their phones for their top two court members, and the alize it with a general MVL or specific sport logo, a jersey crowning of MVL’s newest Homecoming King and Queen number, and more! Click on the link on the front page at will take place during halftime of the game. Back at www.mvl.org to see all the choices. Watch for monthly school, students who can’t attend the football game will deals! enjoy live streaming of the game and other fun activities, all capped off with the burning of the Charger Bolt. It was Christmas Gifts a great week of making memories and cheering for our You’re invited to contribute a monetary donation Chargers! towards gift cards for our MVL faculty and staff in appreciation for all they do for our students. Please send donations with your child or mail them to school by December 11.

Stay Up to Date! Make sure you stay up to date on other news and info by liking the MVL Booster Club Facebook Page!

Back row L to R: https://www.facebook.com/ Andy Muske, Carter Sexton, Luke Peterson, Nick Bleick, Leyton Brau, Not Pictured: Walter Grubbs mvlboosterclub Front Row L to R Lydia Hartwig, Olivia Merseth, Grace Johnson, Mikayla Bendix, Anna Van Riesen, Rachel Black

5 Cross Country Wrap Up As with most things this year, this season was full of ad- aptations and just going with the flow. We were very blessed to be able to still have a season and compete in 8 meets over the course of our season. Adaptations includ- ed only being able to run with 1-2 other teams at the Wow! October has been an action-packed crazy month, meet and only 25 runners per race. It also included hav- but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Our students are ing to host our very first meet at MVL, and not just one, participating in activities and you get to watch whether but three meets! What a blessing to be able to use the online or in person. It has been fun to watch the mood space available and share our beautiful campus with the around school improve as activities have restarted and other schools in our area! A special thank you to all those things are coming back slowly. They may not look the who helped work at those meets. We also had a few vol- same and there may be new and different protocols to leyball and football players join while they waited on follow, but they are playing and having fun. Everyone is news of their season. They were an excellent addition to hoping for the day when we can allow spectators into our team and brought a new energy to the team. Both rd games without seating capacity limits. the girls’ and boys’ teams tied for 3 out of 5 teams in conference. Mitchell Ulrich was named honorable men- th Games are being live streamed. You can go to https:// tion by finishing 8 out of 38 runners. Naomi Anderson mvl.org/activities-2/athletics/ and click on the links to was one place off of being named honorable mention by watch the games. In November, volleyball and basketball finishing 11th out of 41 runners. In our Section meet, girls th th games will be streamed through a system run by the Na- finished 14 out of 18 teams and boys finished 12 out of tional Federation of High Schools. Football games will con- 19 teams. We are so grateful for being able to have a sea- tinue to be live-streamed via the Facebook page. The Na- son, for the beautiful weather for our meets, and for eve- tional Federation of High Schools’ system uses high- ryone who came to support and cheer us on at our quality cameras and shows the score of the game. There meets! To God be the glory! are no announcers yet. Look for an email when the sys- Athletic Schedule Changes tem is up and running. Right now they are calibrating the This year, more than ever, it is important to stay on top cameras and setting up the scoring system. of schedule changes. Go to Tomahawk Conference. In the upper right corner is an icon entitled“ Notify Me”. The Minnesota State High School League has been work- Click on it to sign up for instant schedule changes. ing hard with many agencies including the Minnesota De- You will receive text messages and/or emails instantly partment of Education and the Minnesota Department of when a change is made to the activity schedules you are Health to continue to move forward with all the high following. school sports and activity seasons. All sports this year will see a 30% reduction in games and a 20% reduction in the New Tomahawk Conference Website length of the seasons. There will be no in-season tourna- The Tomahawk Conference has created a conference website. ments or scrimmages. Teams will be allowed to play only Check it out here: two games a week, until the last two weeks of the regular www.tomahawkconference.new.rschooltoday.com/ season when they can play up to three games in a week. Dance Team Coach Needed We are in need of a dance team coach for this season. We There will be postseason play. Those sports that saw a are looking for someone with some dance experience state tournament last year will conclude at the section willing to work with approximately 14-20 girls four to five championship game. Those sports or activities that didn’t nights a week. Practice times could be adjusted to fit your get a state tournament can expect a state tournament, schedule. The season would run December-early March. but here again, don’t expect it to be in front of large For more information contact Mr Morgan at crowds at the traditional venues. [email protected] We’re excited to move forward and we’re praying for a Boys’ and Girls’ Freshmen Basketball Schedules safe and healthy school year. Until there is a vaccine, we’ll The freshmen schedules are a work in progress. Each year have to mask up and social distance at indoor and out- I have to wait and see if the schools that we play against door venues as well as wash our hands. will have Freshmen/C Squad teams. I will be adding games as I get them scheduled and some may need to be cancelled throughout the season for various reasons. 6 November Lunch Menu 2 3 4 5 6

Hamburgers Fish Wedge on a Sweet & Sour Breakfast for Lunch Turkey Wrap, Snack on a bun, bun, Curly Fries, Chicken, Sausage patty, Chips, Peas, Mashed Potatoes, Baked Beans, Pears, Rice, Bread Slice, French toast Sticks, Side Salad Green Beans, Salad Coleslaw, Broccoli, Pineapple, Yogurt, Fresh Fruit, Fruit Cup and Fruit Carrots & Celery Side Salad Carrots & Celery

9 10 11 12 13 BBQ Chicken, Chicken & Cheese On a bun, Baked Quesadillas, Black Sloppy Joes, Half Day Half Day Beans, Coleslaw, beans/ Refried Baked Potatoes, Conferences Conferences Carrots & Celery, Beans, Pears, Broccoli, Sidekicks, NO LUNCH NO LUNCH Peaches, & Fresh Lettuce, And Side Salad Fruit Carrots & Celery 16 17 18 19 20 Turkey Supreme Cheese, Sausage or Haystax, on a bun, Chicken Fried Rice, Meatballs, Pepperoni Pizza, Corn Chips, Mashed Potatoes, Bread Slice, Broccoli, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Applesauce, Refried Beans Corn, Mandarin Oranges, Baked Beans, Fresh Vegetables, Pineapple, Fresh Cranberry Sauce, Fresh Fruit, Salad Peaches, Side Salad Salad Fruit, Salad Fresh Vegetables, Carrots & Celery Salad 23 24 25 26 27

Chicken Leg, Bread Hot Dogs, Stick, Green beans, Apple Crisp, HAPPY Baked Potato, Baked Beans, NO SCHOOL NO SCHOOL THANKSGIVING Peaches, Salad and Fresh Vegetables, Fruit Salad and Fruit

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Chicken Strips, Au Gratin Potatoes, Broccoli, Peaches, Fresh Vegetables, Salad

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. To file a complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: httpwsww.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866)632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or (2) Fax: (202)690-7442; or (3) email: [email protected]. Training students for Christian lives

7 November 2020

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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Wreath Sales Faculty Meeting Election Day Jazz NHS FB @ Cathedral Two Hour Late Chargaliers 7:15 a.m. 7:30 a.m. 7:00 p.m. Start 7:15 a.m. Fall Concert VB @ Cathedral Math Team @ 7:00 p.m. 5:30, 6:30 p.m. LCWM JVFB @ Springfield 5:00 p.m. VB v Wabasso 5:30, 6:30 p.m.

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Wreath Sales Half Day Half Day Chargaliers Jazz GBB Begins Chargaliers 7:15 a.m. 7:15 a.m. JVFB @ Cathedral 7:15 a.m. VB v BLHS FB v Sleepy Eye 3:45 p.m. VB v Sleepy Eye 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 7:00 p.m. Parent/Teacher 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 p.m. Conferences p.m. 3:00 - 8:00 p.m. Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:00 - 8:00 p.m.

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Wreath Sales BBB Begins Board Visitation Juniors ASVAB Chargaliers 2nd Quarter Spirit of MVL Day Network New Ulm 7:15 a.m. Midterm Virtual Event Chargaliers VB @ SESM Jazz 7:00 p.m. 7:15 a.m. 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 7:15 a.m. Board of p.m. Directors 4:00 p.m. VB v GFW 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 p.m.

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Math Team @ Wreath Delivery No School Thanksgiving No School Blue Earth Chargaliers No School Office Closed 7:15 a.m. Office Closed VB v Cedar Mt 5:30, 6:30 p.m.

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VB Playoffs

Training students for Christian lives

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