Christ centered education celebrated at Trinity during Lutheran Schools Week
By Joy Marquardt
The theme “In All Things,” based on Colossians 1:15-20, is explored at Trinity Lutheran School in Merrill March 6 -11 with projects and activities commemorating Lutheran Schools Week.
“Jesus is in all things,” said Principal Kathy Yahr. “We are going out and doing what Jesus commanded us to do and what he modeled for us when He washed people’s feet and when He healed people. Everything Jesus did was for someone else.”
The theme “In All Things” has been celebrated at Trinity throughout the school year with service projects for the church, school, and community. Each class in grades K-8 made monetary donations or collected items at Christmas for a charity of their choice and donated chapel offerings during the year to a variety of missions. The Junior National Honors Society held a Candy-gram sale in fall to raise funds for the Merrill Area Community (MAC) Home in Merrill among other projects.
“Our focus is always on thinking about others and bringing the love of Christ into everything we do,” said second grade teacher Rebekah Johnson. “We are always asking how we can serve and be kind to others. We focus on others all year long.”
To emphasize Lutheran Schools Week, each class will be designing a special project to share what they love about Trinity. Students can create posters, songs, art projects, or use whatever medium they choose. Pictures of the projects will be put on display in the church.
Students in Johnson’s second grade class are each writing a passage about why they love Trinity and placing them on paper hearts to make a collage.
“I think the purpose of Lutheran Schools Week is to celebrate that we get to be a Christ-centered community and we get to share the love of Jesus every single day at our school,” Johnson said.
During the week, Trinity students will be participating in special dress-up days, traveling to the Cosmo Theatre for a movie, and learning the sport of archery through the National Archery in the Schools Program. A special mid-week chapel service is planned by Devan Arnston, Director of Christian Education.
“We have several staff people and community volunteers coming in to help with the archery program,” Yahr said. “It will be good community involvement. We haven’t been able to do it for two years because of COVID.”
Throughout the school year, all students at Trinity will be going on field trips to places such as the Grand Theatre in Wausau. The middle school students recently completed Winter Outdoor Education classes at Camp Forest Springs.
“It’s great to have our students back and going on field trips again,” Yahr said. “It’s much more back to normal this year and that’s a good thing. Our volunteers are coming back into school. We have grandparents coming in and reading with the children and we didn’t do that for two years.”
Laura Bahlow, in her first year as head cook at Trinity, has two children attending the school.
“I really enjoy getting to work with the kids and serving them,” she said. “I felt called to do it.”
Bahlow likes the small class sizes at Trinity, the camaraderie she shares with the other parents, and the family atmosphere of the church and school.
“We became members of Trinity a year ago and we really like the atmosphere; it’s very welcoming, like a family,” Bahlow said. “We wanted to broaden that and wanted our children to have a Christian background as part of the school.”
Trinity alumna, Beth Weinkauf, has a son enrolled in the school and has been an active member of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for more than four years, currently serving as co-chair.
“I like being involved in my son’s education and getting to know the other parents,” she said. “The people I work with every month are just phenomenal. There’s a sense of community; everyone is willing to help out and pitch in.”
As a member of the PTO, Weinkauf assists with a fall and spring fundraiser and the annual Spring Auction. Proceeds from the events have been used to construct a nature-based playground and repave a portion of the grounds. Funds this year will be used to upgrade technology.
“We try to do a fall and spring fundraiser and an annual auction,” Weinkauf said. “For something new this year, we tried selling Grandma Dotties Dips in the fall, and it turned out great. Our spring fundraiser is always the Spring Flower Sale.”
The largest fundraiser of the year, the annual Spring Auction, will make a return Saturday, April 2, with a dinner, raffle, and live and silent auctions at the Merrill Town Hall.
“Our biggest fundraiser is the Spring Auction,” Weinkauf said. “This will be our first one since 2020 when the school shut down two weeks before the auction because of COVID. We haven’t been able to do another in-person auction until now, so this will be our first one back. The live auction is always the star of the event.”
Auction items donated by the community, which vary from year to year, will include a golden ticket for early shopping at the Crooked Queen of Merrill, escorted fire truck and police car rides to school, special women’s and men’s raffles, and a dessert auction.
“We have a lot of fun prizes,” Weinkauf said. “We couldn’t do it without the community. They are so willing to help out.”
The PTO at Trinity also hosts teacher appreciation events, sponsors field trips and book fairs, and donates books to the individual classroom libraries.
“I believe in faith-based learning and the religious aspect of the school,” Weinkauf said.”The kids are taught about God and are learning to be helpful to others. Trinity helped me grow in my faith and my understanding of what it is to have a relationship with God.”
Trinity is part of the Wisconsin Parental School Choice Program and is currently taking enrollment for the 2022-2023 academic year. For more information or to schedule a tour of the school, phone 715.536.7501.