5th & 6th Grade Newsletter

This year 5th and 6th grade have been very busy with everything from our Musical, Dear Edwina Jr., to basketball to field trips. We are excited to share with you how our year has been and the memories made, and what to look forward to throughout the rest of the year. 

The 7th and 8th boys and girls basketball teams, which included some of our 6th grade boys and girls,  both had outstanding seasons. They both got the opportunity to travel to Fort Wayne Indiana and play at nationals. Nationals was a fun time for the teams to bond, spend more time with each other, and play to His glory. They had a great run at nationals and made memories that will last a lifetime.

Our 5th and 6th graders had a basketball season of their own. The boys did well in their basketball season, scoring some points and winning games. There were three 5th graders and seven 6th graders, with a total of 10 players on the team. Mr. Evan Hagen and Mr. Jeff Matzke were the coaches. Our girls season was also a great learning experience. We played hard, won some games, but most importantly, we had a lot of fun. There were eight 6th graders and seven 5th graders with a total of 15 players. Mr. Dave Galchutt and Mrs. Sarah DeWardd were the coaches.

Let me just start off by saying that St. John’s has some star runners. The season was quite the learning experience for both of our teams, with the players improving their skills and companionship with their teammates. Even though we did not make it to nationals as a team, each person worked very hard in every one of their races and during practice. There were 4 people who qualified for nationals; they did very well and tried their absolute best. The coaches, Mrs. Wercinski and Mrs. Hengst, were very helpful when it came to having the whole team work hard, get better, and do their very best. St. John’s rocked at Cross Country this year. 

Fifth and sixth grade volleyball was a fun time for all of the girls on the team. Although it is a very competitive sport, volleyball also builds safe communities and creates long lasting friendships. Volleyball connected a lot of people, even if we weren’t all super great at the sport. One thing I loved about doing volleyball at St. John’s is that everyone is super kind and only builds people up even if they are brand new to the sport. When we had tournaments no one ever got bored or felt left out because we would always make sure everyone was included in our game plans and conversations. Volleyball built all of our self confidence up and helped build better and stronger communities.

 The 5th-8th grade students at St. Johns had a wonderful opportunity to perform a musical at Southwest Christian High School. Mrs. Pallas, our choir teacher, worked so hard at giving the perfect roles to each student. We only do a 5th-8th grade musical once every two years so everyone had a blast being able to perform one this year. We performed a show called Dear Edwina Jr. which helped us discover everyone’s unique talents.

The 5th and 6th graders have gone on a handful of exciting and educational field trips this year. We had the opportunity to go to the Lowry Nature Center in Victoria. Even though it was cold and rainy, we still had a great time being outside and learning new things such as sledding, snowshoeing, measuring ice, hiking, and learning about temperatures and insulation.The outdoors became our classroom for the day!

Back in October our 5th and 6th graders had an awesome opportunity to go to Feed My Starving Children in Chanhassen, Minnesota. FMSC is a non-profitable charity which provides food for countries in need, such as Haiti, Somalia, Madagascar, and many more. As a Christian school we believe in serving and helping people and kids around the world that are in need. We all loved helping those in need!. We are so thankful that from a young age we are aware of what’s  happening in our world, and how we can help. In conclusion we all love going on fun and educational field trips like this!

One of our most educational field trips this year was going to Historic Fort Snelling, which went along with what both 5th and 6th graders were learning about in History. We learned about what happened there and its importance to Minnesota’s past.

We learned about the U.S. Dakota War, different jobs during that time period, Dakota weapons, Fort Snellings hospital, and what it was like to do laundry back then. We all had a lot of fun learning about how Fort Snelling is very important to Minnesota’s History.

The 5th and 6th graders were so fortunate to have preschoolers and kindergarteners as “buddies”. Buddies are so fun as they build responsibility for the older kids and build a trusting relationship for the little ones. It is really great because it connects classes and people. It lets older kids know the younger kids in a way they never thought they could. I’m a buddy with a kindergartener and the more time I spend with him the sweeter he gets. I’m so glad that he is my buddy because I get sweet hugs whenever I see him. I didn’t even know him before we got paired and now we have an unbreakable bond. It creates bonds and lifelong relationships with kids in other classes. Buddies are a thing not every school has. That is one of the many reasons that we all love this school!

Coming up in May our 5-8th grade students will all have the opportunity to represent and compete for our school at a track meet at Mayer Lutheran High School. All of the students will compete either as individuals or in a team event against some of the area schools such as Waconia, Mayer, Norwood Young America, and more. Some of the events that we will compete in are relays, shuttles, tug-of-war, long jump, high jump, 50m, and 100m. All of us are being coached by our gym teacher Mrs. Wercinski. We are so appreciative of all of the effort and thought she has put into all of our individual events and teams as we are trying our best to have winning teams and win the overall. Although we love to win, our main purpose is to play and glorify God. 

We are looking forward to the Spring Fine Arts Night coming up in May. This night is located in the gym where students’ art projects are displayed along the gym walls. The students who are in band play a song they have learned on their instruments, sometimes in pairs or individually. In the past students have sung in a concert for parents. Overall it is a very fun and exciting night where students get to show off their hard work to their friends, family, and others. 

This year has been full of opportunities for all of 5th and 6th grade. We can’t wait to continue the school year and have lots more fun with friends and teachers. This school year sure has been busy, but has been a blast for everyone, including the teachers. 

Written by the 6th grade girls (Maia, Savannah, Charlotte, Delyla, Addie S., Addie G., Brooke, Kaylee, Alexa, and Cora)