This Week In School

This week we learned that self-discipline is key to developing the virtues that we talk about each week and is itself a virtue! We encouraged the children to make decisions now to make good choices instead of making them at the time of conflict, or temptation. We also talked about all successful people had to have self-discipline to become successful. We talked about how every day at school there are times where they have opportunities to practice self-discipline.

"THE FIRST AND BEST VICTORY IS TO CONQUER SELF"~PLATO


Virtue of the Week: SELF-DISCIPLINE

Scripture of the Week: Proverbs 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down without walls

Article of Faith: We believe in the gift of tongues, prophesy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues and so-forth

Quote #1: "Self-Discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don't control what you think, you can't control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward," -Napoleon Hill (American Author)

Quote #2: "Develop discipline of self so that more and more you do not have to decide, and re-decide what you will do when confronted with the same temptation time and time again." -Spencer W . Kimball (Prophet)

FIELD TRIP:
The field trip was sooooo fun! We were given a tour by D.J. John Smith of Sunny 106.1 Radio Station. He made it really interesting and he commented that our students had the best questions of any school he'd ever given a tour to! We sang the song "The Climb" for the entire staff who after-wards applauded vigorously with huge smiles on their faces! They said we were the best school group that had ever come through there! Yep! Your kids are AMAZING!!!! Thank you Sister Labrum for booking this for us and also thank you to Sister Mitchell, Sister Kimball, and Sister Phillips for making this trip possible by driving the students.

GEOGRAPHY BEE PREP CLASS:

If you missed in on Monday you missed out on a really fun time! Sister Sorensen did an amazing job making the world come to life for the children. She had them do LOTS of hands on activities to help them learn about things like the Prime Meridian, the Equator, Longitude and Latitude, the Oceans etc. My children LOVED it! There's still openings if you 'd like your student to attend. The actual Geography Bee will be in Jan after our Christmas break. Contact Sister Sorensen for more info. or to let her know you have an interested student-435-773-1480.

LEADERSHIP CLASS:

Sister Knudsen is doing a fabulous job with the children in our leadership class! They had a guest speaker who came and explained what it means to think "outside the box" and how to know if you're in the box! She was so inspiring I stayed after class and got more information and am reading a book called Leadership and Self Deception because of her information. This session is closed, but we will be starting a second session when this one is over. Watch for more information on when it will begin. I HIGHLY recommend all students 9-10 years old attend! This will be opened to homeschoolers and non LYA students as well. The book that will be used for the second session will be 7 Habits For Highly Effective Teens! Call Sister Knudsen for more info. 435-632-7029.

LYA Fall FHE Program and Potluck

Who: All families and friends of LYA who would like to join us
for the fall program, FHE, lots of fun, and fabulous food

Where: Tonaquint Park, 1851 South Dixie Drive, St. George, UT
When: Monday, September 27, 2010 – Program Begins at 6 pm
Please have your children there IN SCHOOL UNIFORM
to prepare for the program at 5:45 pm

What to Bring: We will be having a potluck dinner after
the program. The school will provide the paper products and drink.
Feel free to bring blankets or camp chairs to sit on.

If you have any questions of what to bring, email Linda Knudsen at:
bearknudsen@gmail.com

Potluck Assignments: (so we don’t end up with all dessert and no dinner)

A - F: Please Bring a Crockpot of soup/chili
G-K: Please Bring a box of crackers or 2 doz. rolls
L - Z: Please Bring 2 dozen cookies/brownies

Leadership Class Fieldtrip

We are learning about Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute. We will also study Covey's 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens. Going out into God's country helps us to learn interdependence, practice courage, and strengthen our friendships. We learn about trust. We learn that problems look bigger before we go into them, and coming through it we are empowered and strengthened. We also learn that our challenges will have an end, we will reach the ground and find relief. The scariest point of any challenge is just before you step off the cliff. We all have gremlins inside of us, telling us we can't do it, we're not good enough, or it is too hard. When we act in the face of fear we show faith and courage. We can know that the voice of the gremlin is not our voice and we can overcome it. We can know that with God, all things are possible!

PLEASE PLAN TO JOIN US FOR : FAMILY HOME EVENING WITH LIBERTY YOUTH ACADEMY!

Monday September 27th at 6:00 at the park behind Gold's Gym.

We will meet at the park behind Gold's Gym for a pot luck dinner and FHE! Watch for additional notes with a map and emails, but it will be at 6 :00 on SEPTEMBER 27TH and we will have a short program first and then we will eat, and get to know each other better. THE CHILDREN WILL BEGIN SINGING NO LATER THAN 6:10 SO PLAN TO BE THERE ON TIME! There are a few picnic tables, but you might want to bring blankets or lawn chairs if you are not planning on being one of the first to arrive, (in other words, get there early to get the best seats!:) Please have your children wear their school uniforms

This Week In School

Virtue of the Week: COURAGE

Scripture of the Week: Joshua 1:9 "Have not I commanded thee? Be STRONG and of a good COURAGE; be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest."

Quote #1: "Have the courage to say no, have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living with integrity. For without courage, all virtues lose their meaning." ~Thomas S. Monson

Quote#2: Life's journey is not traveled on a freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway marked by forks and turnings. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: The courage to say "no", the courage to say "yes." Decisions do determine destiny. The CALL FOR COURAGE comes constantly to each of us!! It has ever been so and so shall it ever be." ~Thomas S. Monson

"STAND FOR RIGHT, EVEN IF YOU STAND ALONE!!"

This week was a very special one for devotional time. Our virtue was Courage and as it is something that the prophet speaks to the youth about often, and since it is also the Young Men/Young Women's theme for this year, and a theme we will talk about often this year in school, Sister Rosa went out of her way to present very special devotionals for the children. They were given a challenge that the Prophet himself has given to each of us! The challenge was "THE CALL FOR COURAGE!!" We spoke of times throughout history and the scriptures when our heroes have been given their "Call to Courage." Captain Moroni was our first courageous hero this week! We spoke about his bravery and how young he was when his call came in! We even watched a movie of one of his epic battles to show the children his courage in action!

We then continued using the message on the Title of Liberty as a guide to things we should courageously defend. Our next guest was Esther herself! A student came in dressed as Esther as we spoke about her remarkable courage and faith! We also watched a small portion of a movie that showed her in her moment of courage when she stood up and asked the king to save her people.

On Wednesday we spoke of courageous people throughout history and in our own time that have defended our country and our freedoms. One of our very own students has a true hero in their family. John Sorensen's Great Grandmother was a very courageous woman during WWII. Her act of courage saved thousands of LDS lives. If you want to know more about this amazing woman, you'll have to ask your student!

And on Thursday of our "Call to Courage" week we challenged the children to accept the call from our Prophet! The children made their own "Title's of Liberty" flags! Each flag has their own courage oath and the children's own reasons that they want to stand up and have courage! We hope that the children will feel as though their "Calls to courage" are just as important as our very own courageous heroes such as Captain Moroni!!

Throughout the whole week Sister Rosa also shared amazing courageous stories of your own children and your own family history! Our children are being prepared now and every time they are courageous it just strengthens them and molds them into what our Heavenly Father has in store for these valiant warriors.

This Week In School

VIRTUE: PERSISTENCE

SCRIPTURE: And I will give him grace and assurance wherewith he may stand; and if he continue to be a faithful witness and a light unto the church, I have prepared a crown for him in the mansions of my Father. D&C 106:8

ARTICLE OF FAITH #5: We believe that a man must be called of God by prophesy and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel, and administer in the ordinances thereof.

QUOTE #1: "That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do, not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that our ability to do it has increased."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson-American philosopher and writer

QUOTE #2; "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not, nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not, unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not, the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan press on has solved, and always will solve the problems of the human race."
-Harry S. Truman-30th U.S. President

"If at first you don't succeed, TRY TRY AGAIN!"

We spent the whole week learning how to be persistent during our trials and the things that we would like to become better at (such as a musical instrument or academically). We spent time discussing examples of real people that we know right now who are being persistent in the way that they face their challenges or trials .We also showed an amazing movie to the children that told the story of a young woman who got into a terrible accident. Her body went through a very difficult time while she was trying to heal and it caused her to become very sad and upset with her situation. In this time of trial she was able to find comfort in the following words: "Help me dear Lord to persistently face life's challenges and to remember that there is nothing that is going to happen to me today that you and I can't handle together." We also watched a very inspiring story of two sisters with a terrible lung disease. They were told that they would never be able to sing well, and not to even try because of their disease. Their story was amazing because they auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” and sang the song “The Climb” beautifully together! Against all odds they were able to keep fighting and lived their dream. Their story was an excellent example of persistence and never letting anyone knock you down!

Some of the children learned this poem to go along with our virtue this week:

Try, Try Again

'Tis a lesson you should heed,

Try, try again;

If at first you don't succeed,

Try, try again;

Then your courage should appear,

For, if you will persevere,

You will conquer, never fear;

Try, try again!!

RELIGION: We continued each day with the theme of the School Devotional and our journal entries reflected this theme of persistence.

MATH: Each of the students have been placed in a math group and are making excellent progress. We are also doing timed tests and working on our math facts.

LANGUAGE ARTS: We do a journal entry almost every day related to our Religion topic. This gives the children practice with their penmanship, and with writing. I use these journal entries to see where they need help, whether it be grammar, punctuation, spelling etc. As I mentioned above we discussed the elements of a story, which are Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Resolution. I read stories to the children about Persistence and we we picked out each of these elements. We then did some brainstorming activities using these elements to come up with some fun ideas for our stories. Then children began and have all written excellent stories. You should be seeing them in their folders next week

LITERATURE: This week I read stories to the children about Persistence, from the Book Of Virtues. Scarface was a particular favorite. It is about an Indian brave who was orphaned and who had to face the Sun God to be able to marry the bride of his choosing, who just happened to already be promised to the Sun God. Much persistence was required to attain his goal.

HISTORY: We talked about the Plagues of Egypt during the time of Moses. It is interesting to note that each of the plagues addressed each of the Ancient Egyptians false Gods. This was a stunning way for the Egyptians to realize that Moses, God was the True andAlmighty God! We talked about each of the plagues, and the false god that they represented.

SCIENCE/ART: On Wed. we reviewed the importance of the Nile and the importance of the yearly flooding and how that affected life in and around the Nile. We built our dioramas.

CHOIR: We are still working on the children leading music and learning new songs, most of which we will present at the program. We are also working on some old favorites.

P.E. On Wed. Sister Mitchell brought a parachute and did some fun games with the children. It was to encourage listening and team building. The listening part we will continue to work on :) She also had the children work on some more basketball skills. Thursday was Karate! They are getting pretty good, you are welcomed to come in and watch anytime! Karate is Thursdays at 1:15. Brother Wilson does a great job with the children. They love him!

COOKIE DOUGH FUNDRAISER

In order for us to keep your tuition costs down we have a few fundraisers a year. For our first one we are selling yummy HOMEMADE cookie dough! This is NOT the usual cookie dough. It is made by one of our teachers and frozen for exceptional freshness and flavor. Envelopes went home with the children for this fundraiser. All orders are due Sept 13th and the cookie dough will be delivered to the school on the 16th. Please plan to come to school on the 16th with a cooler when you pick up your children to keep the cookie dough frozen. It will need to be delivered to those who have ordered immediately or kept frozen until you can deliver it. Make sure to order some for your family! It's great to have homemade cookies in your freezer and all you have to do is place the pre-formed cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet, and pop into the oven!

This Week In School

"For we walk by Faith, not by sight."

That was our motto for the week this week! We spent the whole week learning how to "fortify our faith" and how to walk by the light of Christ through our faith! We discussed ways that we strengthen our faith and trust in our Savior and how miracles have happened throughout all of history because of pure FAITH in our Savior. Our goal this week was to teach the children that faith itself is a decision and it requires work but the harder you work at it, the more valuable it becomes to you. Your faith should be priceless. We also learned the song There Can Be Miracles from the Prince of Egypt sound track. We are also working on a special "surprise" for you for our program! You're going to love it! By the way, our program will be moved because our location for the program has become unavailable, it will likely be either September 27th, which is a Monday, or Friday October 1st. We will let you know A.S.A.P. when the location is secure so you can mark your calendars and let grandparents and friends know! PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND! ALL CHILDREN WILL BE INVOLVED IN OUR PROGRAM.

Virtue of the week: FAITH!

Article of Faith-#4

Scripture-James 1:5-6 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. But, let him ask in FAITH, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.

Quote #1-"Faith is not only a feeling, it is a decision. With prayer, study, obedience, and covenants, we build and fortify our faith. Our conviction of the Savior and His latter-day work becomes the powerful lens through which we judge all else." Elder Neil A. Anderson, Apostle

Quote #2-"Faith in the Savior requires more than mere belief. The Apostle James taught that even the devils believe and tremble, but true faith requires work. The difference between devils and the faithful members of this Church is not belief but work. Faith grows by keeping the commandments. We must work at keeping the commandments." Wilford Anderson of the Quorum of the 70's