Senior Moment: Teddy Lausier

                        
Story  by Jake Radford

For Teddy, golf is a way of life, he enjoys it because of the competition and camaraderie. His hard work on the course was rewarded last season when he won the prestigious Marion County Boys Golf Player of the Year award. “After I won, I was recognized by a few people. So that was pretty cool,” said Teddy. Teddy’s coach is his father Teddy Lausier Sr. “I feel that it really has helped me become a better golfer. I trust him and trust that everything he teaches me to do is going to help me to be a more successful golfer.”

Although, this year for Teddy is one of the most important years of his entire school career.  “I hope to get a scholarship to go play golf in college. After college, I plan to have a family and, if it works out for me, to play on the PGA Tour.” If Teddy continues to work hard and study hard, we'll be sure to watch him make  these dreams a reality.

Senior Moment: Trey Poehlman

Written by Tim Briggs

          Being a St. John senior is quite a great thing and Trey Poehlman confirmed this in a recent interview I conducted with him. Trey says that it feels great to be a senior and that the feeling of being one year away from the end of high school is exciting. Trey’s been attending St. John for four and a half years now and is looking forward to graduating.

                Trey is also a great football player at St. John and he shared a memory from that experience with me and that memory was “scoring a touchdown during the game against Calvary Christian during the first game of the season.” This touchdown is special because it was the first touchdown scored by St. John this year and being a senior, it was a great moment. When asked about what his favorite class and his favorite teacher have been during his time at St. John he responded with Ms. Baxley’s Speech class last year because he learned how to speak and it developed his courage in terms of talking in front of people. His favorite teacher was former science teacher at St. John, Mr. Dexheimer, because he simply loved the way he taught. Upon graduation, Trey plans to attend college, possibly University of Florida, and hopes to pursue dentistry. We all wish Trey the best of luck along the way and are so appreciative of his contributions to St. John!

A New St. John Tradition....O' Christmas Tree

'Tis the season..... to start a new tradition.  As we know, the St. John family is big on tradition!  We have events every year, that we look forward to celebrating with students and staff.  This holiday season brought us a new tradition, thanks to a few "Saint-a's Elves."  The idea of having a campus Christmas tree was brought to us by some St. John families and they purchased the tree for the school.  Students across campus worked during two days creating blue and golden ornaments to adorn our over 10' tall tree.  Stringing popcorn for garland and adding glitter to stars and fleur de lis, put the students right into the spirit of the season. 

During study hall times, high school students joined in the courtyard to hang decorations and garland.  What a huge surprise it was for the middle school and elementary school students to open their classroom doors to go outside for lunch and catch the first glimpse of the giant school Christmas tree.  "I've been here a long time, and we've never done anything quite like this before," said sophomore Kristy Gray.  Visit the middle school courtyard to see our school Christmas tree. And with this season, another St. John tradition is born.  We can't wait to see it next year!


Please see our Christmas Tree Decorating Photos:  St. John Lutheran Campus Christmas Tree 2010

Senior Moment: Katie Revis

                                                               
                                                                 story by: Kathy Hossler

Senior, Katie Revis, has been going to St. John Lutheran for thirteen years. Katie states, “My favorite class would be speech with Mrs. Baxley because she helps me come out of my shell so that I wasn’t so quiet and she makes me feel more comfortable talking in front of people.”

Katie is the president of National Honor Society and is a member of Anchor Club. She is also a cheerleader and has cheered since her freshman year. One thing that many may not know about her is that she used to drag race when she was in elementary school.

 Katie has one brother in eighth grade who also attends St. John Lutheran. Katie says her family motivates her and supports her in everything she does. Being a senior to her feels weird since she is not used to having half-days of school. During those half-days, she attends College of Central Florida through the dual-enrollment program or goes out to eat with friends. She says that she will miss her school friends she has grown up with however, next year, she plans to go to University of South Florida and major in elementary education. Her goal is to teach either kindergarten or first grade.

Let Us Give Thanks

First graders enjoyed the food and fellowship.    Photo courtesy of Ocala Star Banner

The first through fifth grade students enjoyed an enormous Thanksgiving feast with turkey and all the trimmings, thanks to gracious parents who baked, boiled, basted, and mashed to prepare the special meal.  The students arrived to the gym, which had been transformed into banquet seating and a full buffet, wearing pilgrim hats and Indian feathers.  Preparations for the event were possible due to our older Saints students who volunteered and assisted in setting up the tables, decorating, making the pilgrim hats and Indian headpieces, and most importantly, helping the students to theirs seats with their Thanksgiving feast plates piled high.
It is a day like this we each remember all of the wonderful things we have to be thankful for this year.  We are thankful for our students, our parents and families, our teachers, and the chance to gather together each day to praise our Lord for all of these blessings.  A special thanks to all of those families who helped make the Thanksgiving Feast a delicious success!

To see the Ocala.com photo album, click the following link: St. John Thanksgiving Feast

Our Saints Photo Album is at this link:  1st - 5th grades Thanksgiving Feast

event date:  November 22, 2010

Thanksgiving Feast

                                                              

   Story by Kathy Hossler 

                                                              Photos by Vanessa Baxley

Another great St. John tradition was celebrated today-the pre-school and kindergarten Thanksgiving play and feast. The “little Saints” students put on a program where they performed holiday songs and poems about Thanksgiving. In the program, K-3 and K-4 were the Indians, while K-5 act as pilgrims. After the program, a big Thanksgiving buffet is held for the students and their parents/grandparents.

Shaana Slaughter, parent of K-5 student Ryan, says about the Thanksgiving program, “My favorite part of the program is the joy that the children seem to take, performing for their family after practicing for so long”. Debbie Wise, mother of second generation Saint, Reece, says her favorite part was watching the kids say their prayers and singing. John Cutich, father of Aslynn in K-4, says he likes the singing and gathering of all the kids together for Thanksgiving. While the parents were delighted with the performance, most of the kids liked the food the best part of this special day. 

Behind the scenes, preparing for the feast, the students were the hard workers of the event, as well as the teachers and volunteers. For example, the students decorate and make their own costumes. They also prepare the food, making the stuffing and pumpkin pies, while the other traditional foods are brought by parents and teachers. Many student were heard proudly telling their parents, "I helped make the pumpkin pies."

Mrs. Roberson, K-4 teacher states, “The importance of this event is for the children to understand our heritage and where America comes from. By participating with cooking and decorating, it makes Thanksgiving more alive to the children and gives them a chance to perform for their parents.” All in all, both the students and parents enjoyed celebrating this great holiday together at St. John Lutheran. To view the photo album of the Thanksgiving Play & Feast, click here: Little Saints Thanksgiving Play & Feast 2010

  

Saints Senior Signs Letter of Intent

Written by Jake Radford

Seth Farley's childhood dreams and aspirations came true as he signed his letter of intent to play sports in college. Seth has been playing baseball and honing his skills since he was four years old. All of the hard work paid off as he committed to Oakland City University on a four year scholarship. Oakland City University (OCU) is located in Oakland City, Indiana. Not only will Seth play baseball for the Mighty Oaks, he will join their cross country team as well.  Seth has been running for four very successful years at St. John Lutheran School, and now he is ready to take his running abilities to the next level. He will be suiting up in white and columbia blue for the next four years in Indiana.  We all wish him luck as he embarks on his new journey away from St. John Lutheran. Good Luck Seth!

 

SETH FARLEY: St. John Lutheran multi-sport star signed with Division II Oakland City (Ind.) University where he will run cross country and play baseball for the Oaks.

Farley has been a standout at St. John for his entire prep career, pacing the Saints cross country team with a time of 18:11 this fall.

On the baseball diamond, Farley hit .500 with 34 RBIs, 32 runs scored and 40 stolen bases as a junior to lead the Saints to the Class 1A playoffs.

-Courtesy of Ocala Star Banner

Alexander lifts St. John into SSAC title game

**Story & Photos Courtesy of Ocala Star Banner at Ocala.com


Saints vs. Carrollwood Day Pictures HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Anthony Smith/Correspondent

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St. John running back Calib Alexander finds a hole in the Carrollwood Day defense to score a touchdown in the first half Friday night at Brick City Park. Alexander ran for 278 yards in the victory.

By Andy Marks
Staff writer

Calib Alexander had a very specific goal in mind prior to Friday night's kickoff at Brick City Park.

“The first time I got a chance to get the ball,” the St. John running back said, “I felt like I had to make a statement.”

What a statement it was.

On his first touch of the night, Alexander took an inside handoff, broke two tackles and dashed 76 yards to the end zone.

It seemed like he never stopped running.

Alexander finished with 278 yards and four total touchdowns to lead St. John to a 44-16 win over Carrollwood Day that clinched a berth in next week's Sunshine State Athletic Conference championship game.

The North Division champion Saints (9-1) will visit South champion Vero Beach St. Edwards (10-0) on Thursday.

“The kids work hard and they deserve to be a champion,” St. John coach Dennis Meunier said shortly after getting an unexpected ice bath from his jubilant team. “We're really fortunate for the way everything has come together.”

The Saints rushed for a total of 387 yards thanks to Alexander and Winston Jalloh, who added 104 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

“They were stacking the outside so we just started running up the middle,” Alexander said. “It was open the whole night.”

After a shaky first quarter of tackling that led to two long Patriots touchdowns in the first three minutes of the game, St. John's defense tightened up — especially in the trenches.

Zach Leikweg had a sack and a forced fumble, Jared Schappert added a sack, and Chris Frazier had a key QB hurry that led to the Saints' first defensive stop late in the first quarter.

St. John parlayed that into a two-possession lead on a five-yard Alexander touchdown run, and never looked back.

“I felt like physically we could play with anybody in our classification,” Meunier said. “We knew they were a good football team. Probably the biggest thing that worried me was they had great quickness. I thought our guys responded really well and really played all facets of the game well.”

Carrollwood (8-2) suffered its worst loss of the season against the Saints. Quarterback Deuce Gruden — the son of former Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden, who was watching from the sideline — had an effective first half, but left the game after a second-quarter injury. Gruden's dual-threat ability (60 passing yards, 53 rushing yards) was missed by the Patriots in the second half, when less-mobile backup QB Dillon Floyd struggled against a furious Saints pass rush.

St. John's defense allowed only three points after the first quarter, with Alexander providing a late highlight on a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

But it was on offense where Alexander, a 175-pound junior, shined brightest. He had 173 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter alone and crossed the 200-yard mark early in the third.

“He's really developed as a runner and seems to have gotten better and better,” Meunier said. “He's physical and stayed strong throughout the contest. We felt pretty good when we got the ball in his hands.”

St. John parlayed that into a two-possession lead on a five-yard Alexander touchdown run, and never looked back.

“I felt like physically we could play with anybody in our classification,” Meunier said. “We knew they were a good football team. Probably the biggest thing that worried me was they had great quickness. I thought our guys responded really well and really played all facets of the game well.”

Carrollwood (8-2) suffered its worst loss of the season against the Saints. Quarterback Deuce Gruden — the son of former Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden, who was watching from the sideline — had an effective first half, but left the game after a second-quarter injury. Gruden's dual-threat ability (60 passing yards, 53 rushing yards) was missed by the Patriots in the second half, when less-mobile backup QB Dillon Floyd struggled against a furious Saints pass rush.

St. John's defense allowed only three points after the first quarter, with Alexander providing a late highlight on a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

But it was on offense where Alexander, a 175-pound junior, shined brightest. He had 173 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter alone and crossed the 200-yard mark early in the third.

“He's really developed as a runner and seems to have gotten better and better,” Meunier said. “He's physical and stayed strong throughout the contest. We felt pretty good when we got the ball in his hands.”

*Courtesy of Ocala Star Banner

Saints Rocked Chapel during Homecoming

Rebecca Schaffer, St. John Lutheran School Music Director, works with the chapel band every week to prepare special songs for each chapel service on Friday.  Homecoming Week provided a fun twist to the practice because she asked members of the football team to attend practice and surprise the students at chapel.  The students and staff enjoyed the players extra work to be a part of weeks celebration.  A new St. John tradition that we will continue to look forward to.  To enjoy the songs the football players played for Homecoming Chapel, click the link:   Football Players Praising in Chapel

Little Saints Choir opens the Homecoming Night Events in October

Rebecca Schaffer, St. John Lutheran Music Director, worked on this rendition of the National Anthem for several weeks and the students were very excited to perform for the crowd at the Homecoming Game in October.  Enjoy watching our "little Saints" at this link:  Star Spangled Banner - Homecoming Game

The results are in..... the RC campaign wins election

It was a lesson in the democratic process in Mrs. Knutson's fourth grade this October. As students entered the classroom during the week of elections, the signs of the season were everywhere - campaign posters.   A great real life lesson in politics, the fourth graders listened to speeches from three different classmate candidates.  A hot topic for this group is extra recess time, an iniative promised by all three.

The class has spent time discussing the different branches of government, the legality of campaigning, and the voting process.  The three candidates followed all election rules and addressed the class before voting.  Marcus Medero was the first speaker, followed by Matthew DiLavore, and then Reagan Cutich of the "RC" Campaign.  Some spoke extemporaneously, while others had prepared speeches and introductions by campaign managers.  All in all, the class learned about how our government works, while having some classroom fun. The ballots were cast and Reagan Cutich was announced as the Mayor of Fourth Grade. Congratulations to all of the candidates for stepping forward to serve their class. 

Later in the week, other governing officials were elected including Vice Mayor Matthew DiLavore, Judge Gabriel Lopez , Council Members Delaney McDowell, Marybeth Hefner, Marcus Medero, Kaileigh Skinner.  For photos from election day, click here:Mayoral Election in 4th Grade

Homecoming 2010

Hello Saints Fans.... We know you have been waiting for some time for the HOMECOMING 2010 photos.  There are many, and we were lucky enough to have photographer Melissa Hays be on the field for the game and coronation of Homecoming Court.  Below are some images from her from that evening.  Thank you Melissa for capturing some special Saints moments.  If you are interested in ordering any prints of these photos, please contact Melissa at her website listed below.  Thank you!

 http://www.melissahaysphotography.com/ Thank you!!