Converge SEE YOU AT THE POLE

Written By Elizabeth Rockey

Where could you find faith, food, and friends? See You At the Pole! See You At the Pole is a Global Day of Student Prayer. Started with ten students praying at their school in 1990, SYATP has withstood the test of time. Millions pray on their campuses on the 4th Wednesday in September. SYATP is simply a prayer rally. Students around the world will do something revolutionary driven by a simple promise: "Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you" as Matthew 18:20 reads. Will you join the movement? Converge at St. John's front flagpole to pray for you friends, to pray for your school, to pray for your city, and to pray for your nation. See You At the Pole is Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 7:00AM at the front flagpole. Wear White! This event of prayer is sponsored by Prayer Team. We will have donuts and drinks to satisfy your physical hunger and prayer to satisfy your spiritual hunger. We hope and pray to see you there!

SAINTS SWIM

Submitted by Coach Greta Gieske

     The St. John swim team swam hard last week against Forest, despite being outnumbered four to one. Ryan Oltz and Thomas Ergle came in first and second respectively in both the 50 free and the 100 free. Jonathan Alfred took first in the 200 free and second in the 100 butterfly. Joshua Layton took first and second in the 200 IM and the 100 back, and the boys’ 200 free relay took first place against three Forest relays.

The girls’ team also swam well. Kayleigh Williams and Caley Carbaugh took first and second in the 50 free. Carbaugh also took first in the 100 free. Melanie Rouyer took second in the 100 back and Natalie Schaub took second in the 100 breast, with the girls’ 200 free relay taking second.

Individually, the Saints swam as well as I could have hoped. It was great to see them holding their own against a much bigger team. Despite their best efforts, however, the sheer size of the Forest team beat us in points. The boys lost 65- 101 and the girls 40-121, but our small team made it a great meet to watch. Great job Saints!

Saints smash Bell

Fri. September 16, 2011 at 11:39 p.m. | By Richard Burton/Ocala Star Banner

Coming into his team’s game against Bell on Friday night at Brick City Park, St. John Lutheran coach Dennis Meunier told his team they had a chance to make history.
“I said we had the opportunity to be the last undefeated team left in Marion County and it would be the first time ever that St. John was the only unbeaten team left in the county at this point in the season,” he said.
The Saints (3-0) took advantage of their opportunity in a major way with a 77-14 mauling over the Bulldogs (0-3).
“We did a lot of good things tonight and we are pleased to be where we are at,” said Meunier, the only coach in school history to lead St. John to the postseason. “There’s a lot of good football being played in the county and we are happy to be playing well.”
St. John extended its area-best regular season winning streak to 11 games and will now look to gain some revenge against the last team it lost against in the regular season, Ormond Beach Calvary Christian on the road Friday night.
“It’s going to be a good challenge for us,” Meunier said. “They have a big 6-foot-4 quarterback who throws it all over the field, but the place they hurt us last year was in the return game and we know we have to cover well.
“We feel we return well and we know that eliminating mistakes will be key.”
St. John didn’t make many mistakes against Bell, which has allowed 132 points in its last two games.
The Saints rolled up 424 yards of offense on just 33 plays and held the Bulldogs to just 95.
Bell’s two touchdowns covered 95 yards, while its other 37 plays combined failed to gain a yard.
Jamonte and Damonte Jones were once again unstoppable, as was Calib Alexander, who rushed for 157 yards and two scores on just five carries and also had a 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown brought back due to a penalty.
The Jones twins, meanwhile, combined to score on six of the eight times they touched the ball.
Jamonte Jones caught a pair of touchdowns and also ran back two interceptions for scores. On his four touches, he totaled 158 yards.
Damonte Jones ran for one score and ran a punt back 63 yards and also added an interception in the rout.
The Saints also were able to open and throw the ball, as quarterback Tyler Rotstein was 7-for-11 for 162 yards and three touchdowns.

“We have to be able to throw the ball as we get into our district schedule,” said Meunier, whose team will play six consecutive district games. “We have to do that so teams don’t put nine guys in the box against us.
“I was pleased with the way we threw it tonight. Tyler did a good job and our receivers made some big plays.”
The Saints also got a perfect 11-for-11 effort in point-after kicks from Mike Ergle, who also threw for a score and caught a scoring pass from Rotstein.
St. John jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter, as it outgained Bell 162 to minus-9 yards.
From there, the Saints built a 56-8 halftime edge, as they rolled up 318 yards by halftime, as Alexander had his entire output over the opening two quarters and Rotstein hit on 6-of-10 passes for 128 yards and all three of his scoring strikes.
St. John had a string of three straight return touchdowns (two via interceptions and one via punt return), as they ran their last play from scrimmage at the 5:42 mark of the first half and didn’t run another offensive snap until the 5:51 mark of the third quarter.
Bell, meanwhile, finished with five first downs, three via penalty, as the Saints were flagged eight times for 95 yards.
The Bulldogs, though, were totally overmatched, as St. John moved at will.

Flag Football Opener is a Win for the SAINTS

Our Flag Football Saints had a great opener against Ocala Christian Academy, beating them 43 to 14. The team was lead on offense by team Captain Jeffrey Salamone and talented running back Cor'yon Gillium. Salamone completed several passes to Colby Slaughter and Marcus Medero from the quarterback position and returned a interception for a 60yd score the with three minutes left in the game.  Gillium accounted for four of the Saints rushing touchdowns and Bobby Wilkerson got in on the action with a 20yd score in the second half. On the defensive side of the ball, the Saints got great pressure lead by Carter Paradiso, Piercen Mendola and Alexander Thorn. The trio had several stops in the backfield and a couple of quarterback sacks. The Saints played great as a team with only a few mistakes in their first game. Coach McCall says thank you to his team for a tremendous effort and to all of the parents for their support. The Saints Flag Football team is on the road next week to face Meadowbrook Academy.

Anchored in Love

Anchor Newbies all dressed up for Taps Week

Written By Elizabeth Rockey

Did you catch a glimpse of the gang from Toy Story on last Tuesday morning during morning car line? Woody, Dino, Mrs. Piggy, Barbie, Little Bo Peep and her sheep, Buzz, Slink, an alien, an army man, and the rest of the Toy Story crew were all there! Do you know why? It was Anchor Taps Dress-up Week 2011!

Anchor Club is an extracurricular activity centered on service. It is a club providing volunteer services to those in need in our community.  Anchor Club is part of Pilot International and is sponsored or cosponsored by a District Pilot Club or a Pilot Member in the local community.

Pilot International has been undertaking service projects involving youth and their needs since it was chartered in 1921. Anchor Clubs were adopted by Pilot programs in 1952. Anchor is now over fifty years old and is composed of 9,000 male and female students in nearly 260 clubs. Anchor can be found throughout the United States, Bahamas, and Japan. Our favorite club is the St. John Anchor Club, founded in the mid 1970's.

This year's theme for all Anchor affiliations is "Anchored in Love." This theme encourages student members to remember we are brought together in brotherly and sisterly love to serve and love those in need. Being part of the St. John Anchor Club is more than just dressing up one week out of the school year for Taps Week. Being a member encourages community and campus service. 

Watch out! While Anchor Club may not be all decked out and dressed up like the last time you saw them, they will be "Anchored in Love," remembering our school theme of Philippians 2:5, serving and loving those in need with an attitude as that of Christ Jesus. Look for more information about their upcoming events and check out their "St. John Anchor Club" Facebook page and "like" it to see what they are doing to serve God and give to those in need.

Check out more pitcures here!

http://www.photobucket.com/AnchorTapsWeek2011

Who's That Bear?

2nd grader, Emerson Kirkland, reading with healthy bear before bed!

 Written by Madison Kirkland

To most of the St. John community, the blue and gold bears sitting on the shelf in Mrs. Fischer's Second Grade classroom are just stuffed animals that we occasionally see around campus, carried by one of the students.  But to the little people who carry them, the bears are special rewards, or friends, that bring happiness to little hearts. These mysterious bears, made out of blue and gold school colored fabric with a St. John monogram, are the second grade rewards given to two students who were well-behaved and reflect kind and helpful qualities during day. The two bears are named “Healthy Bear” and “Junkie Bear” and each has different characteristics. “Healthy Bear” likes to read with a flashlight under the covers at night and selects healthy snacks.  “Junkie Bear” eats junk food and reads his books sitting on top of the covers.  Neither bear is more or less desirable for the student who earns him – the bears are equal in reward and cuddliness.
Second grade teacher, Mrs. Fischer, chooses the students who will take home the bears.  “Healthy Bear” and “Junkie Bear” get to spend the night with the students  lucky enough to take them home.  These bears make the students feel special and give them a boost of confidence about making good choices at school.
“I love surprising mommy with the bear when I get home from school because she says that she is proud of me.  I try hard every day to be good, so I can get a bear for the night,” said Emerson, Second Grade student at St. John. Next time you see a little person around our school carrying a blue and gold teddy bear, be sure to compliment him or her on their “beary” good behavior!

For more photos of our 2nd Grade Students with their "beary special friends," click here:
Who's that bear??? Photo Album

Meet our Blue & Gold Staff

Thank you for following the Saints Blue & Gold.  Watch for the occassional "guest author," or maybe submit something you would like to share.  Through the year, classes and teachers will be adding to our blog posts.  Please meet our journalism staff who will be coordinating our stories and writing for the blog!

Madison Kirkland is a junior who has a deep love for cheezits and smiles all throughout the day. More or less, when you see her, she's laughing!

One of our scholarly journalists, Kathy, is a junior at St. John who loves to hang out with her family and friends.

Jessica a sophomore and Saints cheerleader! Jumping into competitive horseback riding is her passion and she loves consuming chocolate-chip cookies.

Elizabeth Rockey is a sophomore who loves to read and write. She also enjoys baking and hanging out with
family and friends!

Lorena Walker is a sophomore who loves to cheer for the Saints as well as play softball and volleyball! When Lorena isn't involved in a sport, her favorite activities are performing in plays and riding horses.

It's a NEW year!



The Journalism Class taking a quick break from class.

 Welcome to a new year on the SAINTS blue & gold, the St. John Lutheran School blog managed by the high school journalism class. We hope that you will become a follower of the blue & gold by entering your email address on the right side of the page.  If you do, you will receive emails everytime a new story or photo album is added.  This year, we will be writing stories, interviewing students & creating photo albums of our students in action in the classroom, on the playing fields, and serving our campus and community.  Check out the Saints Blue & Gold often to read the latest Saints Scoop!!