The forgotten holiday

Reach Principal Schultz at dschultz@llhs.org

Reformation is the forgotten holiday. [Almost] no one cares about the Reformation anymore! I understand the need for holidays. It’s good to commemorate certain people and events, and to have days set aside that force us to do that. Stores will latch onto that, and provide cards, decorations, food, and maybe even costumes (October) to match the holiday.

But no one does that for Reformation—no special food, decorations, cards, or costumes. No one gets the day off for Reformation. There are no Reformation parades or family-favorite Reformation movies that people enjoy every year.

But what an important moment in history to remember! It’s a big deal! When just about everyone in the world believed that salvation could be achieved through good works, God worked a “reformation.” He caused a Catholic monk, Martin Luther, to have a very sensitive conscience that wouldn’t allow him any peace. Luther always felt dissatisfied with his efforts to earn salvation with his good works.

But then, while studying the Bible, Luther began to understand that salvation came through faith in Jesus Christ. One passage in particular that helped Luther was Romans 1:17: “The righteous shall live by faith.” Luther realized that salvation was not “by works” but “by faith.”

Once Luther realized this, he began to talk about it and write about it, and that’s when the Reformation happened. People began to believe that salvation was by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by their own good works. Christianity became “Christ-centered” again, and not “people-centered.”

Today we have the “Lutheran” church, and we have Lakeside “Lutheran” High School. We call ourselves “Lutherans” because we believe that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. As we speak about that and write about that, we follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther.

Let’s not forget the Reformation! Take a moment and appreciate the goodness of God, that he did not allow the Gospel to disappear off the face of the earth 500 years ago when everyone believed in salvation-by-works. Thank God for using people like Martin Luther who rediscovered the good news that the righteous shall live by faith. Where would we be if this had not happened?

It’s a holiday worth remembering!  ❧DS

Student Council announced for 2023-24

Lakeside Lutheran High School student body officers from the senior class elected for the 2023-24 school year are (l-r): Secretary Emma Meis and Vice President Abby Meis, Trinity, Watertown (back) Treasurer Reid Weittenhiller, Peace,Sun Prairie; President Kooper Mlsna, St. Paul, Lake Mills

Lakeside Lutheran High School senior class officers and representatives elected for the 2023-24 school year are (l-r): President Joshua Hecht, Abiding Shepherd, Cottage Grove; Representative Kylie Roekle, St. Andrew, Middleton; Representative Karsten Grundahl, Blackhawk, Madison. (back) Representative Gideon Ewerdt, St. John, Watertown; Vice President Alex Reinke, St. Luke, Watertown.

Lakeside Lutheran High School junior class officers and representatives elected for the 2023-24 school year are (front, l-r): Representative Jeremiah Borgwardt,  St. Luke, Watertown; Representative Kyra Gresens, peace, Sun Prairie; President John Loest, St. Stephen, Beaver Dam. (back) Vice President Easton Wolfram, Eastside, Madison; Representative Ben Krauklis,  St. Paul, Lake Mills.

Lakeside Lutheran High School sophomore class officers and representatives elected for the 2023-24 school year are (l-r): President Natalie Popp, Our Redeemer, Madison; Representative Faith Leckwee, St. Luke, Watertown; (back) Vice President Morgan Lange, St. Paul, Ixonia; Representative Linc Foskett, St. John, Jefferson; Representative Carter Knorr, St. Paul, Lake Mills.

Lakeside Lutheran High School freshman class officers and representatives elected for the 2023-24 school year are (l-r): Representative Maddi Chrisler, High Point Christian, Madison; Representative Leah Parsons, Immanuel, Farmington; Representative Hannah Johansson, Zion, Columbus; (back) Vice president Alyssa Gresens, Peace, Sun Prairie; President Paige Murphy, St. Luke, Watertown

Principal’s Pen: Put ranch dressing on … everything

Reach Principal Schultz at dschultz@llhs.org

One of my daily tasks at Lakeside is to watch teenagers eat. I take turns supervising the cafeteria during the lunch hours, and so I have spent many hours watching the eating habits of students in high school.
One thing I have noted—they like to put ranch salad dressing on everything. I used to think that ranch dressing was just a topping for vegetables, but now my thinking has been expanded, thanks to the teenagers.

Did you know that ranch tastes good on pizza? Or how about cooked vegetables, like steamed cauliflower or broccoli? Corn? All forms of meat? I have not seen them add ranch to fruit, but maybe that’s next. I was joking with a student the other day about his food choices and suggested he try adding ranch dressing to his food. It didn’t seem like it would be a match, but he tried it anyway! And he liked it.

Put ranch on everything—that’s what they do here at Lakeside. Do you know what else they do here? They put God’s Word on everything. And they put prayer on everything. It will happen frequently – I am walking by a classroom in the science or math hallways, and I can hear them praying at the beginning of class. I can hear the social studies teacher talk about God’s hand in the events of history they are studying.

And this makes education … better. How can you teach a subject like history or science or math without acknowledging the reality of God, who is behind all of these things? And then there are those non-scholarly things that happen in a school as well. A student who is working on improving his behavior, or his work ethic—let’s have God be a part of that. A student is processing a challenging home life or personal life—let’s bring God into it. Let’s put God and his Word and prayer on … everything.

A familiar Bible passage tells us: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). At Lakeside, we acknowledge God in ALL of our ways—in every class, in every circumstance.

Ranch on everything? I don’t know. Maybe it will taste better. But God as a part of everything? Yes. It’s always better. ❧DS

Seniors earn Commended Student status in the 2024 National Merit® Scholarship Program

Principal Don Schultz of Lakeside Lutheran High School announced today that Joshua Hecht​, son of Michael and Lisa Hecht of Cottage Grove​, and Maria Vik​, daughter of Pastor Matthew and Jennifer Vik of Fort Atkinson​, have been named Commended Students in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program.

A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NSMC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.

About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.  Although they will not continue in the 2024 competition for the National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top 50,000 students who entered the 2024 competition by taking the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).

“The young men and women being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented a spokesperson for NMSC. “These students represent a valuable national resource; recognizing their accomplishments, as well as the key role their schools play in their academic development, is vital to the advancement of educational excellence in our nation. We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and encourage them as they continue their pursuit of academic success.”