Martin Luther School celebrates being connected during National Lutheran Schools Week

Jan. 25—Joplin's Martin Luther School is celebrating National Lutheran Schools Week with the theme of "Connected."

It's part of an effort to show students how they are connected to each other, their church and their communities.

"Classmates are like family here," seventh grader Blessed Paxton said. "We've got a freedom to talk about Jesus, and really anything, that we wouldn't have everywhere."

Martin Luther School offers preschool through seventh grade classes, with plans to open through eighth grade next school year. Eighty-two students are currently enrolled at the school.

Mollie Ramstad, interim principal, said the school is the core mission of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin. That mission is to offer students a faith-based education. She said the school works to provide for the whole child — intellectually, spiritually, socially and emotionally.

Ramstad has been the interim principal for two months. Since she stepped in, the school has been focusing on the social and emotional aspect of the children. She said students lost some of that social-emotional learning during the COVID-19 pandemic because they weren't around other people for a time.

"We're really diving into how do we create a positive environment intentionally so that students walk in and they have a positive social interaction," Ramstad said. "We want to make sure they have the tools they need and the examples from teachers and leadership so they know how to react and interact with other people."

National Lutheran Schools Week is celebrated across the nation by more than 1,800 Lutheran preschools, elementary schools and high schools. Martin Luther marked the week with themed days for students to dress up, including Pajama Day and Dress Your Best Day.

The staff also is holding special activities to show the ways students and the school are connected.

"We also bring awareness to students that their school is different," Ramstad said. "Not everybody has the opportunities that we have in a Lutheran school, so we are able to praise Christ, we are able to worship. We can have some of these conversations other people can't have in their schools or even in other countries."

Ramstad said the week is also an outreach to evangelize and serve. Students are collecting cereal boxes for Crosslines for hungry families. As of Thursday, 117 cereal boxes lined the gymnasium wall.

During Thursday's National Lutheran Schools Week activity, Martin Luther students gathered in the gymnasium to assemble colorful paper links into a chain — a prayer chain with each link containing a prayer from a student. One student was thankful for shelter. Another prayed for a parent's upcoming surgery, another for kindness. Once assembled, younger students paraded the chain around the gym, holding it as high as their arms could reach.

A benefit of Lutheran education, specifically at Martin Luther School, is the small class sizes, Ramstad said. This allows teachers to focus on catering to each student individually. She said they're also able to adjust curriculum to students. While abiding by state standards, the school often exceeds those goals and teachers can feel free to move on.

"It's smaller, for sure here," seventh grader Ella Dixon said. "Everybody is a lot kinder. We're all looking out for each other and ready to help each other."

Looking forward, Ramstad said the school is taking initial steps toward an enrichment program for third through eighth grade. This will provide extra opportunities for learning outside traditional education.

If a child is interested in history, for example, the school might provide a short World War II class. Or if a student has an interest in baking, there might be a small cooking class. Ramstad said this should help older students find what they enjoy and want to pursue after graduation.

The school is also looking to extend a call for a permanent principal. Whether it's her or someone else, Ramstad said, the school is looking for the right person and to follow God's plan for students. She anticipates that by March, leadership should be ready to make a call.

"We want to make sure they're equipped to lead in a faithful way, that they have the experience and education to specifically lead a Lutheran school," Ramstad said.

Enrollment for next year at Martin Luther School begins toward the end of February. Registration will be open through the school's website at martinluther joplin.com.