Scholar Class Is Back!

Liberty Youth Academy is pleased to announce the return of the SCHOLAR CLASS, focusing on education for young adults ages 14-18 (and their parents)!!!!  We are so lucky to have Rob Madsen returning as our Scholar Mentor. He comes to us with an English Degree and a love for Philosophy and the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how it all fits together!

Scholar class overview:

The scholar class for the 2012-2013 school year will be focused primarily on philosophical theory throughout the ages with a specific focus on the perception of the individual over cultural boundaries ranging from Egyptian and far-eastern philosophies to more modern western thought.

Some theorists we will study include Plato, paying particular attention to his theory of the Ideal, Plato's cave and mimesis, and various other theorists like Descartes, specifically focusing on the cartesian subject, and Lacanian theory like the mirror stage and the theory of the Other.  It will also incorporate inspired teachings ranging from Joseph Smith and Parley P. Pratt to the Dead Sea Scrolls and others.

The basic focus of the course will center on ancient and modern approaches to understanding the eternal makeup of human beings and their eternal potential.

Required materials will be provided and writing assignments will be due each week.

The cost of the course will be $100.00 per month, due the first week of the month and will include 12 weekly hour and a half long sessions.

Classes will begin Friday, September 14th and will be from 3:30-5:00 at Liberty Youth Academy.  This is open to Homeschoolers, Public Schoolers and Parents are invited to attend with their students.

SEPTEMBER 14TH WILL BE THE FIRST CLASS, AND PARENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE FIRST HOUR, BUT ARE INVITED TO STAY AS LONG AS THEY WOULD LIKE.

First Week of School

HERE'S A LITTLE OF WHAT WE DID IN OUR CLASSES:

 

FUN-Damentals (Sister Hepworth's Class)

We had a wonderful first week!  We learned about the Plan of Salvation. We are children of God with enormous potential and promise!  We are thankful for the help of our families and the words of the prophets that guide our way.  We learned about John Wycliffe, the Morning Star of the Reformation.  He translated some of the Bible from Latin to English.  We want to be shining stars and feel love the for the scriptures like he did.

 

LITERATURE:  We listened to some lullabies and stories that have been passed down through the years from parents to children. We are thankful for our parents who teach us and love us.  If we follow the plan, we will be blessed, (unlike the Gingerbread Man who would not listen to good advice and got eaten by a sly fox). 

 

MATH:  Worksheets in the folder reinforce the concepts learned this week.

 

LANGUAGE ARTS:  Have fun with the Riggs Letter-Stroke game.  Let me know what you accomplish at home so the students can get treasure points.

 

DISMISSAL:  To make dismissal easier each day, we would like the younger children in my class to be picked up at the end of each school day by 2:25 p.m.  Please walk to the door to pick them up.  THANK YOU!

 

Mrs. H 668-9392  hhep@aol.com

 

 

LOVE OF LEARNING (Sister Dale's Class)

We spent much of this week getting to know each other better and also getting to know ourselves better!  I'm really excited about this group of children. They are all very eager to learn and I am eager to introduce them to some very exciting events from American History and to share some profound truths found in the Book of Mormon as well as hopefully inspire them in all areas of education!

 

DEVOTIONAL:

Virtue:  Kindness

Article of Faith:  #1

Scripture:  Ephesians 4:32

Quote #1:  "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."  ~Mother Teresa

Quote #2:  "I will speak ill of no man and speak all the good I know of everybody."  ~Benjamin Franklin

Quote #3:  "There are hearts to gladden, there are kind words to say.  There are gifts to be given, there are deeds to be done.  There are souls to be saved."  ~Thomas S. Monson

 

All of the students worked on memorizing these quotes, some memorized all of the quotes, the scripture and the Article Of Faith( Ask them to see if they remember).  They earned prizes from the prizebox on Thurs. for doing so.  We will have "pass off day" every Thurs. where they can pass off the quotes/script/AofF for that week.

 

We discussed the impact that kind words and actions have on each other and the wonderful example that President Monson is of beign kind to all he meets.  They were encouraged to love and serve one another this week and will continue to be encouraged to do so all year!  We also had an object lesson where they were given tubes of toothpaste, asked to squeeze out some, and then return it to the tube with a toothpick (almost impossible).  We likened this to the difficulty in taking back unkind words or actions after they've been said or done. This greatly impacted them! (Pics on Facebook)

 

RELIGION:  We discussed the Premortal Life, and Plan of Salvation.  This was taught in conjunction with the truth that they are all brothers and sisters and this helped them to understand the importance of being kind to each other.  We also started reading the Book Of Mormon and discussed the importance of listening to Prophets, and our parents and discussed whether we want to be like Nephi, or his brother's Lamen and Lemuel.  They all decided they wanted to be like NEPHI!  When discussing the Plan of Salvation we made posters with our baby pictures that say, "I will NEVER forget I am a son/daughter of God."  We also wrote this in the front of our Book Of Mormons to remind us why we are here, who we really are, and what we were sent here to do. 

 

MATH:  I spent the week assessing the students to find where they are and where they all need to start in their individual math lessons.

 

LANGUAGE ARTS:  The children wrote poems about themselves and did a great job!  They were assessed to see which reading and spelling groups they belong in. Spelling/Vocab lists were given and tests on the words given this week will be next Thurs.  Reading books were assigned and Penmanship was also practiced as we did some copy work with our quotes.

 

LITERATURE:  I read some short stories to the children illustrating Kindness, and we began our first novel titled "Ida B."  It is about a very spunky young girl who's mother gets cancer and her world is turned upside down.  It has wonderful examples of  the virtues we will be discussing this month, Kindness, Perseverance, Good Attitude, and more! The kids are LOVING it!  Ask them about the Ida B's that they made!

 

HISTORY:  We will begin next week with a quick overview of the prophecies of this great land of promise from the Book Of Mormon and then also review Christopher Columbus.

 

SCIENCE:  We are beginning with  Animals and the students learned about the first person who thought that all animals need to be "classified", and how scientists now classify animals, (kingdom, order, species, genus etc.)  The students learned how to take notes in their Discovery Journals, and they learned about Amphibians! They were able to observe first hand the differences between Frogs and Toads and document in their Discovery Journals what they saw.

 

CHOIR:  We learned two new songs related to our virtue of Kindness and believe it or not we've begun working on Christmas songs for the Christmas program!

 

ART:  Posters we made for Devotional and Ida B

First Day Of School

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT THURSDAY AUGUST 16TH AT 7:00

• COME BRING YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL SUPPLIES
• PICK UP/PAY FOR SCHOOL UNIFORMS
• MEET WITH YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE CLASS WILL BE RUN
• RECEIVE A YEAR CALENDAR
• LEARN ABOUT OUR SCHOOL'S SERVICE PROJECT!
• VOLUNTEER! Become a member of the PAC-Parent Advisory Council!  All parents are invited and encouraged to attend!
• We are in need of a PAC President, Field Trip Coordinator, Scholastic Book Club Mom, and volunteers for math/reading groups! ) 

THE SCHOOL WILL ALSO BE PARTICIPATING IN A NEW, ONGOING SERVICE PROJECT THAT I CAN'T WAIT TO TELL YOU ABOUT!! FIND OUT ALL ABOUT IT AT BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT!  IT HAS TO DO WITH CHILDREN IN AFRICA!!! (HOW'S THAT FOR A TEASER;)

DRESS CODE: 

We have made some changes.  The navy and red polo shirts with a logo is the same, with the exception of adding the t-shirt that we wore in Summer School on Thursdays for T-shirt days!  Also, even if your child comes to LYA for only 1 class, we asking that you purchase a shirt to be worn when they are there for that class.  We have some used shirts at the school, mostly navy- size medium, which are available for free while they last.  If you have old shirts that are still in good shape that you would like to bring to the school to be given to other students, please contact me ASAP!

The students are allowed to wear khaki or black pants, shorts (to knees) skirts/jumpers for girls (TO THE KNEES WITH SHORTS UNDER).  No pants with holes, no navy, or denim including skirts.  THANK YOU!!!!

 SCHOOL SUPPLIES:

Sister Hepworth's Class FUN-Damentals (K)

Backpack

Lunchbox/container with water bottle

Glue sticks

Box of tissues

Paper towels

Hand sanitizer

Package of card stock or colored paper

Box of 50 page protectors

Kid's paints (not watercolor or finger paints please)

Box of pencils

Prizes for the prize box (old McDonald's happy meal toys are big hits, or the b-day prize section of Wal-mart, or the Dollar Store)

Sister Dales Class-LOVE OF LEARNING (4-8TH)

Book Of Mormon

Backpack

Lunchbox/container with water bottle

Colored pencils

2 boxes of crayons

Scissors

Box of pencils

Glue sticks

Kid's paints ( not watercolor or finger paints)

Package of construction paper

Package of copy paper

Paper towels

Box of Kleenex

Hand Sanitizer

Prizes for the prize box (old McDonald's happy meal toys are big hits, or the b-day prize section of Wal-mart, or the Dollar Store)

Charity: An Example of the Believers

Dayton's Legs

Be Thou An Example!

Article of Faith: #1 "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression."

Quote #1: "The intensity of our desire to share (and live) the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion." ~Dallin H. Oaks

Quote #2: "There's one responsibility which no man or woman can evade, that's the responsibility of personal influence. It is what you are, NOT what you pretend to be, that matters." ~David O. McKay

Scripture: 1Timothy 4:12 "Be an example of the believers, in word, in
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

For our school devotional we spent the week immersed in our scripture, "Be an example of the believers..." We were introduced to amazing young people who have changed other peoples lives in a very profound way, by being a true example of Christ-like love and service, and by doing so have shown by their actions that they truly are "believers" of Christ. We also learned a new songs about this scripture. You may have heard your children humming or singing it. It's a has a VERY catchy tune, but more importantly a VERY important message! It has quickly become one of the children's favorites and you will likely be hearing it in the program!!!

Become the Hero of your own Story!!

Virtue of the Week: YOU CAN BE A HERO!

Article of Faith: 13TH "We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul. We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Quote #1: "The ultimate measure of a man (or woman) is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quote #2: "Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero's heart. We do not have to become heroes over night. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Quote #3: "Nurture your mind with great thoughts, to believe in the heroic makes great heroes." ~Benjamin Disraeli

LOYALTY: The pledge of truth to oneself and others.

Virtue of the Week: LOYALTY

Article of Faith: 11TH "We claim the priviledge of worshiping Almighty God according to the dicates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."

Scripture of the Week and Quote on Loyalty to Religion: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD." ~Joshua 24:15

Quote of Loyalty to Self: "Oh Kings, be LOYAL to the royal within you!" ~William Shakespeare

Quote to Loyalty to Family: "The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its LOYALTY to each other." ~Mario Puzo

Quote to Loyalty to Country: "A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, river, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is LOYALTY to that principle." ~George William Curtis

We divided the week up into daily focuses on loyalty such as loyalty to self, loyalty to family, loyalty to country, and loyalty to God. Each day we focused on each of these key points in having loyalty. We discussed how important it is to keep promises to yourself (such as making a choice now to go on a mission, or not to do drugs, and then when faced with that choice later in life, to stay true to our promise to ourselves and to remain loyal). We spoke about the importance of always remaining loyal to your family; to treat them better than you would treat your own friend....to give the upmost respect to your family that you are forever sealed to. We spoke about different ways to change our attitude toward our families and how we can show more loyalty in the day to day. We also focused on the loyalty that our great Founding Fathers had for the principle of loyalty to country!

YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!

Virtue of the Week: Example

Article of Faith: 10TH "We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restoration of the ten tribes, that Zion, the New Jerusalem will be built upon the American Continent. That Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and received it's paradisaical glory."

Scripture of the Week: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven." Matthew 5:16

Quote #1: "Freedom and light have never been easy to attain or maintain. SInce the war in Heaven, the forces of evil have used every possible means to destroy agency and extinguish the light. The assault on moral principles and religious freedom has never been stronger. As Latter-Day Saints, we need to do our best to preserve light, and protect our families and communities!" ~Quentin L. Cook

Quote#2: "If we both live and proclaim these principles (of the Gospel) we will be following Jesus Christ, who is the true LIGHT OF THE WORLD. We can be a force for righteousness in preparing for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!!" ~Quentin L. Cook

SCHOOL DEVOTIONAL: The children were introduced to people and events where members of the Church have been a light in a dark world. They were reminded that the light in them can bring others to a knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that through their testimonies and good works, that they will be a light to others bringing them to the path that would lead them to happiness here on the earth, and to eternal happiness with our Savior and Father in Heaven! We talked about how light and darkness cannot coexist, and that the light is brightest when seen in the darkness, so that their examples of goodness are very obvious to the people who are around them in this dark world. They were encouraged to choose now to be on the Lord side and to share what they know in preparation of our Savior's 2nd coming!

Creative Minds Field Trip!

The field trip to Creative Minds was a HUGE success! THANK YOU TO AMY CHASE AND ASHLEY JOHNSON FOR DRIVING!!! They all LOVED it! What a wonderful place to take your family. They have many "sections" for creative play. They have a pirate ship, a Tuacahn stage (complete with costumes), a grocery store area, Staheli Farms, Sunset Tires-where you change a tire, work on an engine etc., a fossil dig, science area and more. They also are putting in a "space ship" and asked me to consider helping them in creating a school area! We will be excited to help them put that together! I heard several children ask their parents if they could go back.

SERVICE, THE LORD'S HANDS ON EARTH

Virtue of the Week: Service

Article of Faith: 9TH "We believe all that God as revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

Scripture of the Week: "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40

Quote #1: "Along your pathway of life, you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save." Thomas S. Monson

Quote#2: "We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness~be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or strangers. We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with a mandate to serve and life up His children. He is dependant upon each of us!!" Thomas S. Monson

What a great week we had discussing the topic of service and discussing the ways that each of them can serve each other and those around them. We showed the children the movie "The Mailbox" and they each wrote a letter to someone who they know, who they thought could use a little attention and love. We talked about how even the simplest acts of service, like giving someone a smile can really lift another person's spirits. The children loved the quotes by President Monson!

Greek Banquet!

We had a great time listening to each other's Ancient Greek style Myths and Fables and feasting at our Greek style banquet. The majority of the children decided that they are very grateful for cow milk, and didn't love the goat's milk, but most loved the olives and the goat's cheese! A HUGE thank you goes out to all the parents who helped make this fun event possible! What would we do without our amazing LYA families!? THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

The Glory of God is Intelligence!

Virtue of the Week: Love of Learning

Article of Faith: 8TH "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly, we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."

Scripture of the Week: "....seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea seek ye out of the best books words of widsom; seek learning even by study and also by faith." D&C 88:118

Quote#1: "We are in the school of mortality and keep learning and we do not expect to cease learning while we live on this earth; and when we pass through the veil, we expect still to continue to learn. We might ask, when shall we cease to learn? I will give you my opinion about it: NEVER, NEVER!!! ~Brigham Young

We spent this week talking to the kids about the importance of checking into THEIR education and realizing that the education that they receive needs to be not only for this life but also for eternity, and an education that helps them to fulfill the mission for which they were sent to this earth. We taught them that there are clues to what their education should be. They need to follow their hearts and pay attention to their talents and interests to help them on their path.

We also had a great time listening to each other's Ancient Greek style Myths and Fables and feasting at our Greek style banquet. The majority of the children decided that they are very grateful for cow milk, and didn't love the goat's milk, but most loved the olives and the goat's cheese!

Our True Identity

Be True to the Royal that is in You! It is Your Destiny to SHINE!!

Virtue of the Week: Self-Worth

Article of Faith: 7TH "We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healings, interpretation of tongues, and so forth."

Scripture of the Week: "The Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature....for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for the man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." ~1 Samuel 16:7

Quote #1: "All that you need is deep within you waiting to unfold and reveal itself. All you have to do is BE STILL and take the time to seek for what is within and you will surely find it." ~Eileen Caddy

Quote#2: "Be Yourself!! If you water yourself down to please people or to fit in or to not offend anyone, you will lose the power, the passion, the FREEDOM and the joy of being uniquely you!! It's much easier to love yourself when you are being yourself." ~Dan Coopersmith

We spent the week reminding your children who they are, and "whose" they are! We talked about being true to what they know is right, and being true to themselves, and the "royal" that is in each and every one of them! We also reminded them how each of them are perfectly unique and wonderful, and sent here with certain talents, interests, and abilities, that are perfect for the unique and individual purpose for which they were sent to earth. We showed them examples of young people who have embraced who they are, who have embraced their strengths, and overcome their weaknesses and have gone on to do tremendous things to bless the lives of others, including a 19 year old boy who has gone to Honduras 11 times since he turned 14 and has helped with a boys orphanage there. He has individually raising approximately $150,000 for the orphanage. We also talked a lot about how looks/appearance does NOT determine who you are or your worth to God and the world!

Do what is right, even when no one is watching!!

Virtue of the Week: INTEGRITY

Article of Faith: 6TH "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, and so forth."

Scripture of the Week: "......till I die, I will not remove my integrity from me." Job 27:5

Quote #1: "The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." ~Confucius

Quote#2: "You do not wake up one morning a bad person. It happens by a thousand tiny surrenders of integrity and self-respect to self-interest." ~Robert Brault

Pre-Scholar Quote: "Are you not ashamed of heaping up the greatest amount of money and honor and reputation and caring so little about wisdom, and truth, and the greatest improvement of the soul?" ~Socrates (Ancient Greek Philosopher)

We spent this week discussing what integrity is and decided that it is, "doing the right thing, all of the time, no matter what the consequences are." We introduced the children to people from history, the scriptures and people that we know right now who are doing, or who have done that. Some have had unbelievably difficult consequences for doing what was right, but I think the children were touched by these people's courage and "integrity" and hopefully inspired to do the same in their lives. Ask them to tell you about our own Sister Rosa and when she and her husband had to make a very difficult decision, but had integrity! Also ask them to tell you about Elder Walker!

STAGES OF LEARNING: Please take the time to review this so that you understand what Liberty Youth Academy is all about!

Foundations: Typically between ages 4-8 years. You learn primarily through play and exploration. Key in this stage is learning the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. You are learning the "foundations" of language and mathematics and ideally you are learning about your world (history, science) through stories, biographies etc. Your parents and teachers read Classical Children's Literature to you because they know that morals and values are taught there and that hearing rich language at a young age improves your ability to write well and also gives you a good "foundation" in vocabulary to help you read more difficult Classics in the future including Biographies, Autobiographies, and original writings from great thinkers, leaders, and statesmen/women of the past.

Love Of Learning: Typically ages 9-12 (but you can stay in any stage for much longer). You want to know everything about everything! You are constantly asking questions and seeking for the answers through your parents and mentors. You are reading Classical Children's Literature like the because you love it and you want to know more. You are pouring through Visual Atlas's, Science books and History books. Dorling Kindersly or Usborne's visual histories and atlas's are a particular favorite. You've become more aware of the world around you and you're trying to find your place in it. You're beginning to develop talents and interests which are a big clue to your life's mission. Your writing, spelling, math skills, and vocabulary are greatly expanding. You still are not self driven, but you have a great interest about a lot of things!

Pre-Scholar: Roughly ages 13-15, this is extremely individual! I've seen 12 year olds in this phase, but rarely. You are more focused and determined to receive the best education you can and you are starting to begin to see and feel comfortable with the fact that to the extent that you put forth the effort, you will receive a good education. You are excited about the fact that you've been given more freedom to study what you are interested in and when your teacher is teaching, you take notes on the things that you don't know and make time later when you get home to look it up, check out a library book, or ask your teacher where you might find more information about that topic. You don't wait for an assignment from your teacher to learn and to study. You are largely self driven in your studies and you are reading more difficult Classics like, Treasure Island, Little Women, The Arabian Nights, Don Quixote etc. because you know that reading difficult books like these that teach incredible things about history, morals, values etc. are also rich in the language necessary to further read other writings by the greats like Einsteins journal, or other important documents like the U.S. Constitution, The Federalist Papers etc. in your scholar phase. You are working with a mentor who is making suggestions as to what you should read, and you are discussing these classics with this mentor and writing papers related to what you've read and learned and how you will apply these things in your life. You are also involved in the arts and are improving in the areas of talent and interest that you may be involved in, like dance, painting, musical instrument etc., and spend a significant time practicing and improving.

Scholar: Approximately 15-19, but again this is an individual thing and a student may fluctuate between pre-scholar and scholar phase. This is the phase that the above stages have been preparing you for. This is the time where you are completely driven to learn more by reading original sources, documents, and coming face to face with greatness by reading the more significant works ever written. You are willing to take significant time to read, discuss and write about what you have learned and you have mentors helping you with this. You are also continuing to improve in other areas of art, music, physical improvement etc. All of this is to help you to learn the things that you will need to know to be a leader and to fulfill your life's mission, so it will look very different from one student to another.

ATTITUDE DETERMINES ALTITUDE!!

***Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?? (This was their challenge this week....to have an attitude that is worth catching!)***

We spent all week talking about our attitudes and how they can completely influence the lives of others for either good or bad. We talked a lot about how when we change our attitude about things that are hard or things we don't like, we are able to get through them easier and able to have a much better outcome! We watched a few short inspirational stories about people with some severe disabilities and how their attitudes were contagious. People around them were more inspired and found that their attitudes changed as they watched them conquer their trials with an inspiring attitude.

Virtue of the Week: ATTITUDE

Article of Faith: 5th "We believe that 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."

Scripture of the Week: "As he thinketh in his heart, so he is." ~Proverbs 23:7

Quote #1: "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." Thomas Jefferson-

Quote#2: "Attitude is an important part of the foundation upon which we build a productive life. A good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude poor results, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life, and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude." ~M. Russell Ballard

Christmas Program Highlights

A huge thank you to our wonderful PAC President, Linda Knudsen, who made our beautiful DVD of our Christmas program! Thank you for putting so much time and effort into this! We are so proud of each of these students! They did an amazing job testifying of the truth of Christ's birth!

This week in School! Jan. 10th

Theme: A New Year: A New Beginning!

Virtue of the Week: CREATIVITY

Article of Faith: 4TH: "We believe in the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: First faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second repentance. Third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Fourth, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Scripture of the Week: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new." ~2nd Corinthians 5:17

Quote #1: The beginning is the most important part....For that is the time character is being formed." ~Plato (Greek Philosopher)

Quote#2: "Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." ~Benjamin Franklin


What a great first week back in our New Year! The children have really been working well, having fun getting to know the new students, and have embraced this week's theme and virtue! We have discussed that each new year gives us the opportunity to do a personal inventory and decide if we are "creating" through our thoughts and choices, the person that we want to become, and if so, ways to continue to improve and if not, to re-think and renew our resolve to change and become a different person. We discussed people who created greatness in their lives and who because of that, blessed the lives of many, many people. We talked about Mother Teresa, and are working on memorizing her famous quote titled, In The Final Analysis! We also talked about Corrie Ten Boom and how she, along with her sister Bessie, created an environment of faith and hope even in a concentration camp. We also talked about Martin Luther King and his "Dream!" We watched his "I Have A Dream" speech, talked about his influence for good in the world and that before we do anything, we have to think it and create it in our minds first like he did! We also were very fortunate to have Micah Young come in and speak to us about his choice to create a life of goodness and faith, even while serving our country in Iraq. He bore powerful testimony of the fact that when the Lord is with you, you need not fear, even if in the middle of a war zone! It's up to you to create what you will depending on your choices and your attitude! He had the children eating out of the palm of his hand! We decided that because it's not every day that we get to meet a real hero that we would share our "Heroes" poem by William Canton, that we memorized for the Spring Program last year. He was extremely impressed, and touched by YOUR children's presentation of this poem!

This Week In School

CHARITY: THE PURE LOVE OF CHRIST!

Virtue of the week: CHARITY

Scripture of the week: "And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my bretheren, ye have done it unto me! Matthew 25:40

Article of Faith: #2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression

Quote #1: "He who wished to secure the good of others, has already secured his own." - Confucius 551-479 BC

Quote #2: "I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, then let me do it now...as I shall not pass this way again. -William Penn-Early Colonist, and Philosopher

The spirit of Christmas, (the spirit of Christ) has been very strong this week as we've discussed the virtue of CHARITY! We discussed the parable that our scripture comes from, and we read tender Christmas storieswhere someone has shown another compassion. The children have really enjoyed them and some have asked to have copies so that they can share them with YOU!

This Week In School

Compassion: Christlike Love

Virtue of the week: COMPASSION

Scripture of the week: "Be ye of one mind, having compassion one of another."

Article of Faith: #1We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost

Quote #1: "Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment, we rise above ourselves." Mason Cooley-Author

Quote #2: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will NEVER forget how you made them feel." Bonnie Wasmund-Author

We've had such a wonderful week! We spent our devotional time discussing the virtue of Compassion. The children were taught of the Savior's compassion and of the many healings performed because he had/has compassion on everyone!

We reminded the children of the Golden Rule, and discussed the scripture where the Savior said, "If ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". We also showed a video of theGood Samaritan and read stories about Compassion.

Sister Dale's class especially enjoyed the short story, "Where Love Is, God Is", by Leo Tolstoy, and are almost finished with the book Pollyanna- a heart warming story about a little girl who's compassion, positive attitude and friendliness changes an entire town.

Sister Rosa's class finished Charlotte's Web, a wonderful story of true friendship, loyalty and compassion! We've been able to bring your children face to face with excellent examples of people with compassionate hearts and have challenged them to each find ways to help and serve others during this Christmas season and always!

The children also started a poem that they will perform in the Christmas program. We began teaching it on Monday, and they already have it memorized! Yep, they are brilliant! We also had almost everyone memorize all of the quotes, and scriptures this week!

We also started working on our Christmas program! It's going to be amazing! Please mark your calendars for THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16TH!

This Week In School

"HAVE AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE!"

Virtue of the week: GRATITUDE

Scripture of the week: "And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things."

Article of Faith: #13 We believe believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men. Indeed we may say that we follow, the admonition of Paul. We believe all things, we hope all things we have endured many thing things and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Quote #1: "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has" Epictetus-Greek Philosopher

Quote #2: "We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others." -Thomas S. Monson