Staff Changes
Kristian Bjornstad • August 29, 2017
Thanksgiving for Faithful Services - and Welcomes!
The Lutheran Academy was so very sad to get notification from Mrs. Canjar (above left) that she was not going to be able to come back to teach for our 2017-18 Academic year. She has been such a blessing to us over the past two years and all our students loved her and her family so very much. Mrs. Canjar has been so dedicated and caring and skilled her teaching. She was a very faith-filled servant of God and we wish her EVERY blessing from the Lord as she moves on to a new phase in her life.
It was with much trepidation that the Academy Board of Directors with the leadership of Ms Luklanchuk, entered into a (rather frenzied!) search for a replacement. We were pressed for time and the task was daunting. We knew we could not make a mistake. All we could do was pray over our work - and our Lord delivered! A Mrs. Maryellen Darling just happened to see our ad and decided to investigate! Everything was pleasing to God and she accepted the Board of Director's offer to replace Mrs. Canjar after a round of interviews. Mrs. Darling (pictured above right) comes with incredible knowledge and devotion not only to her Christian faith, but also to the Classical Christian teaching philosophy and methodology - even as she has had years of experience teaching in public schools as well. She raises a family of three children with her husband Eric in Clarks Summit. We are SO excited and honored to have her as a member of our teaching ministry team here at The Lutheran Academy!
We ALSO need to make mention of two other staff persons in transition! After serving us for many years in several different ways, the latest being our 3 & 4th Grade teaching assistant for Grammar and Math, Ms Wendy Laird has also taken leave of the Academy to pursue her music teaching career. We are SO very thankful for her faithful service!
And so then REPLACING Ms Laird, we have Mrs. Tammi Gentil, who helped us last year with tutoring. She is the wife of Pastor Glen Triplett of St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in Dickson City. She loved being at the Academy last year and is excited to share her gifts with the students this year.
PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR ALL HIS BENEFITS TO US. We are looking forward to an incredible year of growth in knowledge, wisdom, and faith.
PRAISE BE TO GOD FOR ALL HIS BENEFITS TO US. We are looking forward to an incredible year of growth in knowledge, wisdom, and faith.
We are very glad to have Mrs. Janet Wells accept our offer to be the Principal of The Lutheran Academy beginning in January, 2018. It took her a while to get settled, but she is slowly getting a handle on our unique school and is definitely challenging us to "grow up" as a school in so many ways. This is a very good thing! Mrs. Wells is currently teaching the 1-4th graders, but that will change in the Fall. She is enjoying getting to know the students and staff and all our volunteers! She spends an afternoon a week playing flute and piano duets with Carsten Bjornstad. She is very dedicated to the Classical Christian model of education and has many years of experience teaching and being the Principal at Abington Christian Academy. We look so much forward to her continued work to make The Lutheran Academy the best elementary school in Scranton!
We were sad that Mr. BJ was not able to be with us to conduct the proceedings (as he was attending to his brother who was in the hospital in Iowa), we were all well enough prepared that everything went off without a hitch! Thanks to all the parents and staff who made it all possible! Thanks to all our friends and families who came out to enjoy the blessing of the Lord that came to us through the students! The evening was also important because we 1) were able to show our appreciation for Ms L. who has accepted another teaching position after being with us for 6 years, and 2) announced that someone is issuing a $20,000 matching grant challenge!
The 2016-17 Academic Year was a FABULOUS success! But the Board of Directors of the school is not sitting on their hands basking in the glow. Less than one week after the students left the building for the last time, they were hard at work setting up an even better year coming the end of August! The Board: Evaluated the last year, celebrating what went right, and working on a few items of difficulty. Approved a $28,000 grant proposal to the Lutheran Church Extension Fund for a fabulous set of equipment and money that will help establish a new Music Academy (official name is not quite official yet!) Please pray for this bold new vision for our Academy! Reviewed the Student/Parent Handbook and made a few minor changes. Established a 2017-18 school calendar. Went over the development of new public relations materials and policies - and approved spending some money on this website! Developed new fundraising ideas and policies which we are hopeful will be very popular and helpful for families! In our devotions and prayers we were thankful to God for so many blessings that have been showered upon us, praying for wisdom and fortitude to accomplish everything that the Lord puts before us.