Principal’s Pen: Paying it forward

“Paying it forward.” It’s the practice of paying a stranger’s bill with no expectations. You may have “paid it forward” for someone—or someone may have “paid it forward” for you.

By grace, we have experienced “paying it forward” in our lives.

In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul wrote to believers who were under fire. The times were perilous. The persecutions had begun. Nevertheless, Paul encouraged the Ephesians and believers of all times to walk with Christ and serve him in unity and love.

Early in the epistle, Paul writes, “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Jesus made payment “through his blood.” These words refer to Christ’s death on the cross as sin’s complete payment. His payment releases us from the eternal penalty of sin. Furthermore, it helps us manage sin’s earthly consequences—guilt, hopelessness, and despair.

However, our freedom through Christ is not free. It cost him everything when he died to pay for our sins. What Christ did clearly illustrates grace—God’s undeserved love. By faith, we have the privilege of being God’s children with no strings attached. It is his free gift.

In a sense, Jesus “paid it forward” for our sins. Before we believed, “even when we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5, ESV). The reason is humanly inexplicable: “for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast”(Ephesians 2:8-9).

By grace, Christ “paid it forward” so that all believers may enjoy “the riches of God’s grace.”

Jim Grasby is principal of Lakeside Lutheran High.
Reach him at 920.648.2321 or jgrasby@llhs.org

Quarter 2, 2019-20 LLHS Honor Roll

Lakeside Lutheran High School is pleased to announce its academic honor for the second quarter of the 2019-20 school year:

High Honors Honor Roll (3.75-4.0 GPA)

Grade 9

Olivia Bartels, Lake Mills; Chloe Berg, DeForest; Molly Betschler, Watertown; Benjamin Buxa, Oconomowoc; Grace Cody, Juneau; Jack DePrey, Sun Prairie; Marissa Duddeck, Whitewater; Evan Ehlenbach, DeForest; James Faupl, Watertown; Jordan Genz, Watertown; Laura Giroux, Horicon; Tyler Griffin, Lodi; Elijah Grow, Cottage Grove; Ethan Gulczynski, Sun Prairie; Juan Gulrud, Marshall; Liliana Haar, Lake Mills; Ava Heckmann, Middleton; Rose Hissom, DeForest; Rebekah Hodkiewicz, DeForest; Emma Horn, Watertown; Grace Korth, DeForest; Claire Langille, Lake Mills; Nora Larson, Columbus; Trey Lauber, Lake Mills; Kendall Lemke, Helenville; Anders Liermann, Madison; Nina Litherland, Columbus; Kayley McLain, Juneau; Abigail Minning, Watertown; Jonah Ozminkowski, Johnson Creek; Grace Plitzuweit, Oconomowoc; Natalie Raymond, Sun Prairie; Marin Riesen, Watertown; Ethan Schuetz, Lake Mills; Emma Schultz, Lake Mills; Jenna Shadoski, Janesville; Celia Straubhaar, Waterloo; David Taylor Evert, Beaver Dam; Litzy Toledo, Watertown; Madelyn Vanderhoof, Watertown; Charlie Vogen, Oconomowoc; Hadley Wendorff, Watertown; Isaac Winters, Watertown; Averi Wolfram, Sun Prairie; Japheth Yahnke, Watertown; Carlee Zimmermann, Jefferson

Grade 10

Kaylea Affeld, Watertown; Lydia Bilitz, Madison; Joshua Bittorf, Waterloo; Brynn Boche, Watertown; Ella DeNoyer, Sun Prairie; Keely Draheim, Madison; Sarah Fisher, Madison; Aaron Fritz, Middleton; Mya Hemling, Beaver Dam; Samuel Knapp, Ixonia; Caleb Koester, Fort Atkinson; Kathryn Kurtz, Madison; Matthea Lenz, Oconomowoc; Lauren Lostetter, Lake Mills; Kyle Main, Juneau; Audrey Meier, Watertown; Grace Meinel, Verona; Morgan Mlsna, Lake Mills; Riley Parsons, Watertown; Greta Pingel, Sun Prairie; William Popp, Fitchburg; Alyssa Reinke, Watertown; Brock Schneider, Jefferson; Lily Schuetz, Lake Mills; Austin Schwab, Fort Atkinson; Sofia Shramek, Watertown; Hannah Uttech, Watertown; Douglas Weittenhiller III, DeForest; Logan Wensel, Johnson Creek

Grade 11

Ella Butzine, Sun Prairie; Lydia Buxa, Oconomowoc; Jada Gresens, Sun Prairie; Maya Heckmann, Middleton; Caitlin Heinrich, Madison; Joshua Hodkiewicz, DeForest; Elizabeth Isham, Watertown; William Jorgensen, McFarland; Payton Kuepers, Madison; Brendan McKenna, Lake Mills; Hailey Miller, Sun Prairie; Julia Neuberger, Lake Mills; Kaylee Raymond, Sun Prairie; Carter Roekle, Middleton; Stephanie Schafer, Lake Mills; Evelyn Schauer, Watertown; Riley Schmidt, Janesville; Grace Seim, Beaver Dam; Devin Splinter, Ixonia; Claudia Stuebs, Lake Mills; Jada Teteak, Middleton; Joy Thompson-Wurz, Lake Mills; Kendra Wilson, Cottage Grove; Laura Zank, Juneau

Grade 12

Emma Berg, DeForest; Annika Bilitz, Cottage Grove; Anna Bilitz, Madison; Ryann Burger, Lake Mills; Alicia Childs, Columbus; Isabella Collins, Lake Mills; Samantha Detert, Watertown; Kyle Doering, Lake Mills; Jadyn Duddeck, Whitewater; Daniel Faupl, Watertown; Gilbert Haw, Marshall; Janae Jensen, Juneau; Kendra Kasper, Helenville; Elijah Knapp, Ixonia; Michael Martin, Watertown; Rachel Mayer, Fort Atkinson; Brynn McDermott, Poynette; Wesley McLain, Juneau; Elise Meier, Watertown; Alessandra Murray, Sun Prairie; Logan Pampel, Johnson Creek; Madelyn Plitzuweit, Oconomowoc; Megan Reinke, Watertown; Alexander Ryan, Lake Mills; Owen Schoenherr, Cottage Grove; Cole Schuster, Juneau; Espen Storlie, Lake Mills; Nathaniel Stout, Janesville; Molly Sturgill, Waterloo; Lauren Thiele, Poynette; Kirsten Thundercloud, Jefferson; Ashley Valerio, Delafield; Grace Westrate, Lake Mills

Honors (3.25 – 3.749 GPA)

Grade 9

Shayla Asmus, Lake Mills; Levi Birkholz, Watertown; Leland Christian, Oconomowoc; Annaliese Christian-Cotter, Watertown; Bridget Cichanofsky, Reeseville; Grace Cook, Hartland; James DeNoyer, Fort Atkinson; Julianne Dollard, Deerfield; Nevaeh Dorn, DeForest; Caleb Garcia, Fort Atkinson; Camryn Gilmore, Jefferson; Tyler Gresens, Sun Prairie; Manuel Iglesias, Watertown; Cheyenne Johnson, Jefferson; Caden Knorr, Lake Mills; Owen Kraft, Sun Prairie; Dane McIlvain, Edgerton; William Miller, Sun Prairie; Natalie Punzel, Watertown; Reyna Rupnow, Ixonia; Cooper Tetzlaff, Pardeeville; Cyrus Wilke, Waterloo

Grade 10

Jonathan Abel, Fort Atkinson; Caleb Andrews, DeForest; Isaiah Asmus, Watertown; Caelan Baney, Columbus; Brandon Decker-Gonzales, Waterloo; Mason Eckhardt, Watertown; Emma Etheridge, Madison; Gabriel Helwig, Lake Mills; Logan Hilbelink, Lake Mills; Lola Hilbelink, Lake Mills; Naomi Hundt, Beaver Dam; Benjamin Kasper, Helenvile; Nathaniel Krenke, Jefferson; Claire Liddicoat, Watertown; Aaron Lindert, Watertown; Calvin Murray, Sun Prairie; Carly Paske, Arlington; Annie Povich, Middleton; Jameson Schmidt, Ixonia; Sadie Schneider, Waterloo; Nora Statz, Helenville; Spencer Sturgill, Waterloo; Ianna Wolfram, Sun Prairie

Grade 11

Isaiah Andress, Oconomowoc; Isabella Cook, Hartland; Kylee Gnabasik, Jefferson; Ashley Grundman, Waterloo; Julia Hallman, Watertown; Graham Hatcher, Oconomowoc; Emmilee Hillier, Sun Prairie; Rachel Huebner, Madison; AnaCristina Iglesias, Watertown; Jordyn Jaeger, Lake Mills; Anna Kreutz, Madison; Sydney Langille, Lake Mills; Emily Meiller, Madison; Haylee Meske, Jefferson; Isaiah Minning, Watertown; Mia Murray, Middleton; Benjamin Neumann, Oconomowoc; Olivia Odrich, Verona; Ian Olszewski, Johnson Creek; Lillian Runke, Sun Prairie; Caroline Schulz, DeForest; Darren Schuster, Juneau; Connor Slattery, Lake Mills; Morgan Slonaker, Sun Prairie; Evelyn Terry, Ixonia; Sarah Ulsberger, Fort Atkinson; Tersony Vater, Watertown; Seth Veers, Cross Plains; Elijah Wohling, Beaver Dam

Grade 12

Madeline Abel, Fort Atkinson; Jocelyn Asmus, Lake Mills; Kaitlyn Buss, Watertown; Oliver Butler, Ixonia; Matthew Davis, Lake Mills; Connor Dobson, Johnson Creek; Adam Frohmader, Fort Atkinson; Trevor Geerdts, Lake Mills; Emily Godwin, Madison; Calvin Grant, Sun Prairie; August Gresens, Sun Prairie; Cody Gumz, Marshall; Matthew Gunst, Hartford; Jeremy Hathaway, Watertown; Karli Johnson, Jefferson; Tyler Johnson, Watertown; Kristin Karas, Milton; Hannah Koenig, Cambridge; Abel Krauklis, Lake Mills; Lydia Krenke, Jefferson; Taylor Laures, Jefferson; Serena Leis, Wilton; Seth Lozano, Waterloo; Katelyn McGurk, Lake Mills; Micah Missall, Rio; Kobe Paske, Arlington; Bronte Perkins, Madison; Maria Saavedra, Watertown; Carter Schneider, Jefferson; Collin Schulz, Fort Atkinson; Katie Stuebs, Lake Mills; Dinesh Tadepalli, Sun Prairie; Isaiah Terry, Ixonia; Keira Thurnbauer, Lake Mills; Nathan Wagner, Roscoe; Amber Wardall, Waterloo; Christopher Yunck, Lake Mills

Commendables (3.0 – 3.249 GPA)

Grade 9

Kaitlynn Ganey, Lake Mills; Chelsea Gumz, Marshall; Elizabeth Gunst, Hartford; Jonah Heyerholm, Cottage Grove; Jakub Junker, Watertown; Benjamin Klug, Oconomowoc; Brandon Kreutz, Madison; Logan Preskar, Juneau; Emmett Schafer, Oconomowoc; Makenzie Sievert, Watertown; Hunter Sommer, Columbus; Chloe Sveom, Fort Atkinson; Ryan Vice, Watertown; Joshua Waack, Watertown; Nathan Yaroch, Fall River

Grade 10

Lilianna Flint, Madison; Carter Huber, Columbus; Jeffrey Kalma, Hartland; Micah Koschnitzke, Waterloo; Ethan Lozano, Waterloo; Tyler Marty, Fort Atkinson; Jackson Milbrath, Watertown; Nicholas Peterson, Sun Prairie; Faith Retzlaff, Columbus; Emily Schafer, Lake Mills; Ethan Schulz, Beaver Dam; Nick Thomas, Watertown; Jayden Thundercloud, Jefferson; Sierra Vogel, Janesville; Katelyn Wagner, Reeseville; Kendra Blake, Watertown

Grade 11

Elizabeth Brudos, Janesville; Nathan Chesterman, Sun Prairie; Micah Cody, Juneau; Noah Fields, Sun Prairie; Megan Grambsch, Columbus; Connor Griffin, Lodi; Bryan Guzman, Sun Prairie; Kristel Hafenstein, Beaver Dam; Austin Haley, Waterloo; Nathaniel Heins, Ixonia; Samuel Ibeling, Cambridge; Joel Kluz, Juneau; Olivia Krieser, Stoughton; Remy Matthews, Sun Prairie; Madison McGurk, Lake Mills; Hannah Meyer, Jefferson; Ryan Punzel, Watertown; Alyssa Ratzow, Watertown; Anika Stone, Fitchburg; Jennifer Taylor Evert, Beaver Dam; Jeremiah Tratar, Watertown; Olyvia Uecker, Watertown; Gabriel Uttech, Fall River; Nicholas Yaroch, Fall River

Grade 12

Karleena Battist, Waterloo; Ashley Behnke, Watertown; Haakon Ellestad, Sun Prairie; Arthur Evangelist, Lake Mills; Jacob Freson, Lake Mills; Jacob Horta, Helenville; Daisy Penaloza, Watertown; Breanna Preskar, Juneau; Emma Statz, Helenville; Grace Thomas, Watertown

Prom dress resale day this weekend

Lakeside Lutheran High School will host a formal/semi-formal dress resale open to the public on campus Sunday, January 12, from noon to 4 p.m. Much of the proceeds will go to support the school’s upcoming spring and summer Operation GO mission trips.

Organizers are in the process of displaying upwards of 50 dresses in various sizes, styles and colors; some still have their retail tags. Dresses are either donated or consigned and will sell for $25 each or less; sellers can take up to $15 of dress proceeds; some are donating dresses in full. The sale will be held in room 515 in the school; signs will direct on the day of the sale. There will be space and privacy for shoppers to try on dresses. Cash or check will be accepted as payment.

Donated proceeds from each sale will support this year’s OpGo program that is in the midst of organizing 82 Lakeside students in 11 teams for spring or summer trips. Teens will go and assist church efforts in 10 different locations, from mission sites in Costa Maya, Mexico, Arizona and California to New York and New Jersey, from Anchorage, Alaska to New Orleans, helping with a variety of mission activities, from teaching VBS to sharing church info in neighborhoods to assisting with summer sport, STEM and art camps. For more information about Operation GO, visit www.llhs.org/opgo.

The public is encouraged to join in the afternoon of shopping. Anyone wishing to donate or consign a dress needs to contact organizer Jodie Schommer before the weekend at jschomme@llhs.org. Lakeside Lutheran is located at 231 Woodland Beach Rd. Lake Mills WI 53551.

Annual “Top 10” LL stories of 2019

While the family of Lakeside Lutheran High School look forward to the blessings a new year brings, there’s value—and fun!—in reviewing the past year. The LLHS good news team took its annual look at the 57 news stories and 595 other Facebook posts shared in calendar year 2019 and narrowed them to 10 newsbits that garnered the most attention or celebrated God’s blessing on our school, students, and LLHS community. Enjoy the year in review . . . from the end of 2019 back to the beginning. 

November: LLHS significantly exceeds expectations in DPI study

Your LLHS ranks 29 out of 428 private schools who participate in the choice program, according to the State Department of Public Instruction report cards for private schools. They assess schools based on student achievement, improvements in achievement, and potential post high school success. For the 2018-19 school year, Lakeside Lutheran High School received an overall score of 84.8, which is a 5-star rating of “significantly exceeds expectations.” 

 

November: First-ever cornhole tournament benefits teens’ mental health support

Student members of the Lakeside Lutheran National Honor Society hosted a cornhole tournament on campus to raise awareness and funds for teen mental health. In partnership with social service agency Christian Family Solutions (CFS), Lakeside hosted “Tosses for Teens” on Nov. 17 that had a two-fold purpose—to raise funds (over $3,500!) and to bring awareness of the growing need for mental health support for teens. 

 

October: Girls golf regional champs

Your Lady Warriors are Regional Champions and junior Maya Heckmann had top score with an 84.

After only 5 seasons with the rejuvenated girls golf program, this is an awesome accomplishment. 

August: Holy Trinity, Okauchee, joins Federation

At the start of the 2019-2020 school year, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church & School in Okauchee joined our Federation. This brings the total to 32 churches and 21 schools that join together to support Lakeside and Christian secondary education! 

 

July: Warrior Band is tops! 

 

On the summer band trip, the Warrior Band scored the highest among all bands—scoring 93/100 points, and took first place in its class at the Cherry Royale Parade, Traverse City, Mich.

 

July: Full-time Executive Director begins work

Kirk DeNoyer accepted the call to serve as Lakeside’s first full-time executive director. While the principal is responsible for the educational side of Lakeside, the Executive Director will be responsible for the business side of Lakeside—all the programs and services that support the educational side. 

 

June: Baseball regional champs

Our baseball team celebrates their regional championship and receives eight all-conference selections—what a thriller of a rollercoaster ride this year! 

 

March: Corlett’s crown of life 

The LL drama department was blessed with Mrs. Corlett’s sewing and costuming skills for many years, and so memorialized her end-of-life testimony of faith for its annual t-shirt in 2019.

Mrs. Sandy Corlett, who taught at Lakeside for almost 20 years, was called home to heaven on March 30. Although from an earthly perspective this temporary goodbye is sad news, from God’s perspective “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants” (Psalm 116:15). Lakeside was a second home to Sandi and her love for others is missed dearly. 

 

 

 

 

 

March: A Cappella Choir heads to California

During spring break, A Cappella Choir flew to California to sing at four churches and two schools. One concert-goer told them he had tears in his eyes during the first song. “I’ve never heard anything like that and I realize it’s a taste of what heaven will be like.” While there, they explored California, seeing mountains, the ocean, visiting Disneyland, and San Francisco. 

 

February: Twice is Nice Resale Store hits another milestone

In February, Good Stewards, Inc., the managing organization of Twice Is Nice Retail store in Jefferson announced a significant milestone: $5 million in support given to Lakeside Lutheran High School. Monies donated from Twice is Nice to the high school are used in several areas of the school, including general operating costs, student assistance, building fund and school “wishlist” items.

Principal’s Pen: Rich at Christmas

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”
(2 Corinthians 8:9).

By nature, humans are not giving. Often, we keep for ourselves what we have. The first words of many children—“no” and “mine”—easily fly out especially during fits of self-centeredness.

Each year, the media reports on Christmas spending. For 2018, the average American supposedly spent $1,000 for Christmas gifts, decorations, food, and related non-gift items. Perhaps these reports amaze us—considering that we are not, by nature, giving.

At Christmas, however, we all would do well to ponder Paul’s words to the Corinthians, noting Christ’s giving nature and his reason for it.

Paul reminds us of Jesus’ grace, God’s unconditional gift. It is “unasked, unforced, unearned” (Where Shepherds Lately Knelt, stanza 4). “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” is God’s gift to all sinners.

Paul then illustrates grace. “That though [Christ] was rich, yet for your sake he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9) Christ set aside heaven’s glories to become human. Although he is true God, Jesus took “the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” [Philippians 2:7]. He experienced pain, sorrow, and temptation firsthand. Yet, through it all, “he committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth” [1 Peter 2:22].

His reason for doing this was “so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Jesus lived to save sinners. Earlier in Corinthians, Paul states how Christ bore the world’s sin on the cross “so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Unlike anyone else could, Christ humbled himself to offer forgiveness, peace, and eternal life—the most precious Christmas gifts of all.

There is nothing wrong with giving Christmas gifts. It is great to see Christmas decorations. Celebrating Christmas with family and friends can be joyful. But, for us, these simply point to the One who surrendered his riches “so that [we] through his poverty might become rich.”

God bless your Advent meditations and your joyous Christmas celebration.
May he also bless your New Year.

Jim Grasby is principal of Lakeside Lutheran High. Reach him at 920.648.2321 or jgrasby@llhs.org

Students recognized by MTU’s Society of Women Engineers

 

Lakeside Lutheran High school juniors Evelyn Schauer (left), Watertown, and Mia Murray, Middleton, were each awarded a Certificate of Merit from Michigan Technological University’s section of the Society of Women Engineers. The Certificate of Merit Program recognizes young women in their sophomore or junior year of high school based on academic excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics courses. In past years MTU has recognized 400 remarkable young women across Michigan and Wisconsin with the goal of spurring these students to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, as well as expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in diversity, improving the quality of life, and demonstrating the value of life-long learning.

Using nationally established Project Lead the Way© (PLTW) engineering curriculum, Lakeside Lutheran High School offers a STEM Academy—a special program for students interested in taking engineering or biomedical sciences in their post-secondary education. LLHS is also one of the first in the state of Wisconsin to offer a SWE chapter at the high school level.  For more information, contact STEM Academy Director Andrew Willems at (920) 648-2321.

DPI: Lakeside “significantly exceeds expectations”

The State Department of Public Instruction (DPI) creates report cards for private schools based on students participating in the choice program. They assess schools based on student achievement, improvements in achievement, and potential post high school success.

For the 2018-19 school year, Lakeside Lutheran High School received an overall score of 84.8, which is a 5-star rating of “significantly exceeds expectations.”

This ranks your LLHS ranks 29th out of 428 private schools!

We are thankful for the teachers, administrators, staff, students and Lakeside families who make this school a very special place.

To see all of the rankings, read this article from Patch. 

All of the DPI data is available at their website. Select the “Private Schools” tab, then use the drop down menu to choose Lakeside.