What's Up at St. Mark's?
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA["And this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us." 1 John 3:16
Happy Valentine's Day! This column is being assembled on Valentine's Day, so the greeting isn't really late. Remember that before Hallmark and the chocolate companies took over the holiday, St. Valentine was remembered as having been martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Even though you're not reading this on the 14th, take a moment to thank God for the many men and women of faith who have gone before us.
The Preschool and Kindergarten classes did many activities for Valentine's Day as they celebrated "Heart Healthy Week". They listened to each other's heartbeats, increased their exercise and tried to eat healthier. The 3 yr. olds made bear Valentine bags, the 4 yr. olds made bear Valentine boxes (which included polar, brown, and panda bears!), and the Kindergarten made a variety of dog, cat, monkey, and mouse Valentine boxes. The Kindergarteners are also discussing the letter U.
In religion, First Grade heard about the Good Samaritan and the woman who anointed Jesus with oil. The Good Samaritan showed love even to someone who was not his friend. That is what God wants us to do - show love to all. This was a good story for Valentine's week! In the story of the woman who anointed Jesus, she used her tears to wash Jesus feet, her hair to dry them, and then poured oil on them. She showed her love for Jesus in a special way. In phonics we learned that 'a' can make the 'uh' sound at certain times. We learned about Abraham Lincoln. His 200th birthday was on February 12. He was born in Kentucky, and moved to Indiana before he lived in Illinois. He was our 16th president. In math we learned about congruent shapes. They are shapes that are the same shape and the same size.
Second Grade has been busy working on their writing projects for Young Authors, a Bi-County writing workshop day later in spring, and reading and watching movies about such Old Testament figures as Isaiah and Hezekiah. Do you remember who Hezekiah was? If not, ask a 2nd Grader!
Third Graders have been considering what is involved in being the President of the United States. Here are some of their ideas:
If I Were President…
…I would get disabled kids and do something with them in my spare time. I'd make a shelter for homeless people. I will put in a swimming pool. I will make sure every orphan gets a present from Santa and me. And when there is a war I will get all the children are out of the country so they are not harmed. By Daisy
…I would make friends with other countries. I would be a good president. By Makenzie
…I would change the world. I would go all over the world and give food and water and keep doing that until they have enough. Then I would come home and I would eat. By Caitlin
…I would stop the war so the soldiers could be with their families. If I were president I would lower gas prices so people would not have to ride their bikes in the cold snow and rain. By Chase
Some 4th graders are trying to write poems. The poems below are Japanese Haiku poetry.
A Meadow by Madalynn
A meadow quiet
A flock of noisy geese fly
Then all is silent
Wolves by Madison
On a dark, dark night
Wolves howl in the moonlight
Then quietness comes
In their current events class, the Fifth Grade wrote a biography about Abe Lincoln. Briefly, this is what they came up with:
Author: What was your childhood like?
Abe: It was hard growing up in a one-room log home, with no mother, on a farm. I read and taught myself.
Author: Why did you decide to get involved in government?
Abe: I wanted to free the slaves.
Author: How did you feel when you were elected president?
Abe: I was happy, proud, and excited on one hand, but scared on the other. I now knew I could free the slaves.
Author: what do you think is your greatest accomplishment? Why?
Abe: Freeing the slaves and signing the Emancipation Proclamation. It was one of my goals.
Sixth Grade has been studying the final week before Jesus' death on the cross, when He showed the world for all time what true love really means. They have looked at the ways He prepared His closest friends, the disciples for what they would have to face when He died and how they would continue to spread the Word. In world history, the class finished their Greek unit and began to look at the start of the Roman civilization and the odd legends connected with it.
Seventh Graders worked on making Valentines for many of the St. Mark's shut-ins living in Steeleville or in Chester nursing homes. On Friday afternoon, in small groups, the class delivered as many as possible during their Valentine party time.
The Eighth Graders looked at the War of 1812 as they pushed forward in their history studies. They watched a movie that reenacted Lewis and Clark's western journey and some will be working on exploration projects of their own neighborhoods to get a sense of what that sense of discovery might have been like.
"Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11