The Middle School House program is in its second year. We are looking forward to another year to

strengthen the relationships initiated by the program and to start new ones.

OBJECTIVES

1. To promote a sense of community throughout grades 5-8 where students benefit from their journey together through their experience in middle school at St. John.

2. To develop a sense of pride, ownership, and accountability in the overall well being of their House group 3. To help us as a community to value and promote the four Gold Cross Standards at St. John Lutheran School.

(Academic Excellence, Spiritual Development, Environment, and Leadership)

Academic Excellence is reinforced by addressing topics that middle school students tend to struggle with, but also learning from others in their house about what works for them. Issues like organization, sharing ideas, working together, prioritizing, communication, and others help students become equipped to become life-long learners.

Spiritual Development is reinforced with devotions, stories, and study of scripture. Students also help to organize, and facilitate works of service for the ministry and those outside these walls. Also, students are encouraged to pray for each other and make their requests known to the group.

Environment is reinforced when students are given the opportunity to interact with students in different grade levels. Students are encouraged to recognize the positive contributions those in their House make toward the betterment of their community. Staff strives to cultivate a positive environment by recognizing and affirming students whose qualities and behaviors bring the love of God to others and share their God given talents and abilities.

Leadership is reinforced by modeling and receiving opportunity to lead others in activities, lessons, and games. 8th grade students are given opportunities to plan and lead activities the give them experience vital to their development as servant leaders and allow students in lower grades to see leadership modeled in a way that encourages rather than dictates.

House Groups meet weekly on Wednesdays after chapel. In addition to homeroom teachers, other mentors have agreed to work alongside your child in their middle school journey. HOUSE NAMES Each house has its own name that was choosen to reflect our Christian heritage in 4 different languages. Phos Hilaron- Greek for "Hail Gladning Light" Aish Okelah- Hebrew for "Consuming Fire" Die Feste- German for " Fortress" Erlosung- German for "Salvation" Astera Prohinon- Greek for "Morning Star" Ligno Vitae- Latin for "Tree of Life" Peleh Yo-Aitz- Hebrew for "Wonderful Counselor" Lifnay Adoni- Hebrew for "In the Presence of the Lord" HOUSE POINTS House points are given to reinforce good behaviors that are helpful to community and to help their House Group achieve success by meeting goals, or being rewarded for certain point totals. Points are also deducted for negative behaviors and used as a discussion point with the child as to what behavior they can exhibit to help their community. It is the goal of teachers to recognize and affirm positive behaviors as much as possible. House points are a system we have developed to help track these behaviors. All points will be logged by their mentor in the student behavior log in teacher ease. We have given rewards to reinforce these behaviors. In the past parents have suggested and helped with rewards. Simple things like food or snacks go a long way. We have also had a movie day where students get to choose a movie to enjoy.

MIDDLE SCHOOL HOUSE PROGRAM