Filled with living hope in Christ,

Confessing, Praising, and

Advancing His Kingdom.

Make a Joyful Noise

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!" Psalm 98:4

Happy National Lutheran Schools Week!

Our Lutheran schools and the many dedicated workers are a blessing from God! Each and every day, the love of Jesus is shared with thousands of children. You are part of a special community!

The theme chosen for this year is evident each day in our schools. Making a "joyful noise" in our schools is a regular and anticipated event. It is heard daily as the principal welcomes the happy children into the building at the start of a new day. Whether a rainy, snowy, or sunshining day, there is a joyful noise in our school halls.

In 1847, the first LCMS schools began. For many years since, being joy-filled for families with instruction in our faith, quality academics, and care has been a highest priority. God guides schools and workers each day. We continue to lift them all up in prayer. We pray for all of our workers and servants.

Lutheran schools serve because Jesus served. Our schools are where many children hear about their Savior for the first time in their classroom. These schools serve as a ministry and mission of the local congregation. Praise be to God for our schools! Jesus is always present in Lutheran schools.

As Psalm 98:4 says, "... let all the earth break forth in song." As sinners in a sinful world, we need Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer. He paid the price once for all, and we can be glad. Praise is on our lips and in our hearts.

May God continue to bless and strengthen our Lutheran schools and workers as they rest in Him! Let’s make some beautiful noise.

As we place our faith and trust in God (no matter the stresses we face), we can all be thankful that God holds us in the palm of His hand and gives us what He knows is best for us. So, when trials come, be joyful and know God’s plan is perfect.

Stay in the Word. Take care of yourself to be Well. Use your words and life as a Witness.

Remember each day – Christ loves you and holds you close.

Serving the Master Teacher,

Lois Stewart

Mission Facilitator for Schools

Save the Date

As school administrators start working on the 2026-2027 calendar, please include the Educator’s Conference on Friday, October 16, 2026. It will be held at Concordia University Chicago. The planning committee has begun their work to prepare for a wonderful conference.

Blessed to Serve and Be a Blessing

Congratulations and God’s continued blessing to two teachers at Bethany, Naperville who have recently been recognized and honored. 

Tess Daskas was recently presented with the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States "Citizen Education Award." This is in recognition of excellence in promoting citizenship education and the patriotic principles of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Chad Baganz recently traveled to his hometown in Wisconsin as his class of 1991 undefeated state championship basketball team and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Well done Tess and Chad! You are blessed to be a blessing.

National Lutheran School Accreditation

A request has come from the LCMS School Ministry Office in St. Louis, Missouri. If you are an accredited school with National Lutheran School Accreditation, please update your school website with the correct NLSA logo. They would like all the accredited schools to have the new blue logo on their website. Thanks in advance for your help with this. 

A .png file is attached below for your convenience.

Early Childhood, Elementary and High School Administrators

Join the Early Childhood Consultants on February 7, 2026 for a morning of learning and fellowship as we DIG DEEPER into PLAY. 

KINDERGARTEN Teachers and ADMINISTRATORS will learn how ways to begin to implement play-based instruction in order to meet the new state mandate, as well as how to support the transition from preschool to kindergarten.

PRESCHOOL teachers will play with literacy and small worlds through interactive workshops.

EVERYONE will participate in a make and take activity to take back to your classroom and use the next week!

Registration ($35 per person) opened on Monday, November 17, 2025 and the registration link is available via the original email and reminder you should have received. A light breakfast will be served. Laughter and fellowship is guaranteed! 

The second Elementary and High School conference will take place on Monday, February 9, 2026 at Concordia University Chicago. The on-line registration link will remain live on the NID website if you still need to register. Our guest presenter will be Justin Hannemann from Relational Health. His presentation will focus on the "difficult conversations" that are necessary to have.

Hearts for Jesus

The "Hearts for Jesus" focus this school year will be a starting point as donations are collected for the Vacation Bible School program. The program needs to be updated and given new energy. We get to be good neighbors and then speak the Living Hope we have in our Savior. We get to connect the community with the mission. Word,

Wellness, and Witness are all part of the daily walk in Seine Bight where Jesus is the center. The VBS team members love Jesus so much and share that love with all the children in Seine Bight. Let’s be prayerful to support this "Hearts of Jesus" endeavor. 

Walcamp and Junior High School Youth

From March 20-22, 2026, junior high school youth are invited to gather at Walcamp for a weekend of learning and fun. Please see the attached flyer and QR code to register.

Are you ready for summer 2026 at Walcamp? 

Parish Professionals

To God be the glory for the Parish Professionals that serve in the NID (Directors of Christian Education, Deaconesses, Parish Musicians, just to name a few). The group met on January 15, 2026 for worship, sharing, and learning. Alex Brice serves as the group coordinator.  Watch for emails each month with event information. If you have any questions, please reach out to (alex.brice@stmarkslife.org) or me (lois.stewart@nidlcms.org). 

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2026 starting at 11:00 a.m. The location will be shared via email. The book read this year is Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. Chapters 7 and 8 will be discussed at that time.

SHINE 2026

April 2026 will arrive soon! The dates for our NID SHINE event this year are April 10-19, 2026. In previous years, our schools have done a great job reaching out into the community to serve. Plan ahead to get your groups involved this coming April. You are blessed to be a blessing!

TEC21

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