Red Hill Lutheran 2019-2020
Back to School Issue
Welcome Back Eagles!
Congratulations to RHLS, voted Best Faith Based Elementary & Junior High School!
"Happy New Year" from Principal Marquardt!
As an outreach ministry and mission of Red Hill Lutheran Church, Red Hill Lutheran School (RHLS) continues to be richly blessed as we provide God’s Word to our students, parents, and community. Our theme for the 2019-2020 school year is ‘Reach-Renew-Rejoice’ based on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This is a terrific theme verse that we will be focusing on this year as a church and school community.
RHLS employs more than 60 extremely gifted teachers and staff members who, with their varied God given gifts and talents, serve one Lord, Jesus Christ by sharing the Gospel message of eternal salvation with everyone (students, parents, colleagues, and the greater Tustin and Irvine community). This past year, two additional members of our teaching staff, Mr. Mark Wakita and Mrs. Jamie Hernandez, were voted as two of the Top 25 Teachers of Orange County, and received recognition for their accomplishments in Parenting OC Magazine. Additionally, two staff members, Mrs. Lori Browne and Mr. Adam Curiel were voted Top School Support Staff Members in all of Orange County. RHLS continues to maintain an extremely positive reputation in our community as being dedicated to both faith and academics. Over 20,000 readers of Parenting OC Magazine recently voted RHLS as the 2019 Reader’s Choice winner in the Best Faith-Based Elementary/Junior High School category. This will be featured in the September issue of Parenting OC Magazine. We thank all of our dedicated and talented staff for this honor and the many parents and community members who voted for us.
At RHLS, we want our students to know that while they are in the world, they are not of the world. We seek to develop in them a Christian worldview through our thoughtful integration of biblical truths and principles into all lessons. It is our goal that our students will develop a sense of philanthropy and compassion for others and shine as lights against darkness.
In order for Red Hill Lutheran teachers to be equipped to guide students in this mission, the school has made a commitment to providing teachers with the most current, researched-based professional development opportunities. We believe Proverbs 18:15, which says, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” Teachers at RHLS enthusiastically embrace professional growth and development, because they know that we all are designed to continually grow and learn. This growth mindset is something that is modeled to students in the hope to encourage a lifelong love of learning.
It is our hope and prayer this year that we Reach, Renew, and Rejoice with each other through the power of the Holy Spirit. To Christ Jesus be the glory!
First Day Line-Up K-8
Opening Day Chapel
2019-2020 School Theme
Reach, Renew, Rejoice
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5.16-18
Please welcome the following staff members to our RHLS family!
- Mrs. Jenna Van Leer- 2nd Grade
- Mrs. Angie Rounsevell- 5th Grade
- Ms. Bailey Sparks- Choral Music
- Mrs. Paola Crose- Preschool
We love our Preschool Team!
Preschool did an "Escape Room" team building exercise before school started- Congrats to the winning group!
Introducing our 2019-2020 PTF Board Members!
- President: Mrs. Jamie Elser
- Vice President: Mrs. Christina Khamis
- Secretary: Mrs. Molly Higgs
- Room Parent Coordinator: Mrs. Jahan Pandhoh
Jamie Elser- President
Mrs. Elser, or as the students know her, “Miss Jamie”, has 2 girls- Elise (PreK) and Emory (3rd grade). Miss Jamie works in the front office, specializing in communications & events. She chose RHLS as a parent when Emory was starting Kindergarten, but started working here about a year later. She comes to Red Hill with a BA in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Child Development from Concordia University Irvine , and over 10 years of experience in Admissions & Marketing in Higher Education. She feels blessed to be at RHLS as a parent, as well as a staff member.
Christina Khamis- Vice President
Christina Khamis is excited to join the RHLS PTF Board this year. She currently has 3 children attending the school, Jackson (8th Grade), Carter (5th Grade) and Campbell (3rd Grade). In addition to serving numerous years as a Room Parent, Christina has spent her career in hospitality management as a sales and marketing executive. She is looking forward to partnering with parents and collaborating with the team to help establish and achieve 2019-2020 goals.
Molly Higgs- Secretary
Mrs. Molly Higgs has 2 children at RHLS, Hannah (4th grade) and Hudson (PreK5), and is married to her wonderful husband, Drew. She has 20 years of experience working in the business sector in the areas of IT operations management, process engineering, and project management. Currently, she spends most of the hours in a day working as a full-time IT Director, managing the work of an offshore systems development team from Manila, Philippines and a geographically distributed onshore business analyst team. She has previously served the RHLS students as room parent for 2 years and as a learning garden volunteer for 3 years. She loves being a part of the RHLS community and is looking forward to partnering with the PTF team, the school staff and school board in the role of Secretary for the 2019-2020 school year.
Jahan Pandhoh- Room Parent Coordinator
Mrs. Jahan Pandhoh has 4 children, Shreya (8th grade), Kishan (6th grade), Gyaan (4th grade), and 3 year old Bodhi, who’s starting his Red Hill journey this year in Tiny Tots. She considers herself a “part-time dentist, full-time mom,” and is blessed to be able to be highly involved with RHLS while still keeping up with her career. She has been working as a room parent since her oldest was in her first year at Red Hill as a 1st grader, and is excited to continue her role as Room Parent Coordinator this year. She is looking forward to a great year working with the PTF to guide this year’s room parents.
Meet Your Teacher Party & Prayer
Prayer Circle
You're Invited!
Please join us for Back to School Night
Thursday, August 29th, 6:00 pm: Middle School
Thursday, September 5th, 6:00 pm: Kindergarten-5th Grade
Both nights are informational, parents only, events.
Middle School Back to School Night Agenda:
Board Meeting Schedule- ALL ARE WELCOME!
January 16th, 7:00 pm (CLC)
March 27th, 8:30 am (Peter's Parish)
Dates to Remember:
- August 29: Middle School Back to School Night (Parents Only)
- August 30: Minimum Day
- September 5: K-5 Back to School Night (Parents Only)
- September 6: Minimum Day
- September 8: Teacher/Staff Dedication- Family Sunday
- September 13: Middle School Fall Dance
- September 28: RHLS Angels Baseball Family Band Night
New News for August/September
- Picture Day: School portraits will be taken Monday, September 9th through Wednesday, September 11th. Please look out for an email to parents with your specific class time & day.
- Shutterfly Sites: Each grade has a Shutterfly site with updates, volunteers, class info, homework... Please check this site on a regular basis and view emails. Also, upload all your pictures to share with your class. This is a great way to collect pictures for the yearbook! Please be on the look out as Room Parents will be setting up these sites and making sure you will be connecting through them with your classes.
Angel Band Night
The RHLS Concert Band is excited to be joining other local bands as we perform our National Anthem at the Angels vs. Houston, Astros game the evening of Saturday, September 28, 2019. Please join us at Angels Stadium and support our Concert Band students and our RHLS Music Program! After the game there will be a spectacular firework show. You won't want to miss it!
If you plan on going to this game please purchase tickets through our school. A portion of the ticket sales go directly back to our music program and will enable us to buy new instruments and attain new music.
Tickets are $25 for all church and school families and friends and can be purchased on the RHLS app or HERE, through Wednesday, September 4, 2019. Tickets will be distributed by Mr Ben Hunter the week of September 23rd.
In order to make sure you are present for the National Anthem performance, please be in your seats by 5:45 pm. The Anthem is scheduled to be at approximately 5:55 pm with the game itself starting at 6:00 pm.
Please consider joining us for this fun RHL community event!
What's Going On?
Parents in Prayer:
Parents and church members are invited to join our "Parents in Prayer" group. This group will meet every Friday, from 8:30-9:30 am in Peter's Parish, starting September 6th.
The purpose of the group is to pray for our school, teachers, administrators, staff and students on a weekly basis. There is a prayer box in the school office; please feel free to drop off any prayer request. You may also submit prayer request on the RHLS APP. Please contact Katie Gillin with questions at katiemgillin@gmail.com.
Attendance: Please submit all absences through RHLS app Absence Form, this informs both the office and teacher.
Free Dress Fridays:
Every Friday, K-8 students, are allowed to pay $2 and wear free dress. All money raised will go to the ASB for student activities and service projects. Free dress Monday is only if you have a free dress pass.
Spirit Shirt Fridays:
Students may wear their spirit shirt with uniform bottoms every Friday.
Coffee Connection:
Join us every Wednesday morning on the church patio from 8:00 - 8:35 am before Chapel. Come visit with our Principal & Pastors, and enjoy the company of other RHLS parents.
Hot Lunch Options:
Chick-Fil-A is served every Tuesday, please order through the RHLS App by 9:00 Monday morning. Pizza is served every Thursday, please order through the RHLS App by 9:00 Wednesday. Choice Lunch is served Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (No Tuesdays). All lunch order payments must be made through the app.
www.redhillschool.org/hotlunch
Snack Shack: Snack Cards money for recess can be added to your FACTS account.
K-8 Ice Cream Sales:
Ice cream will be sold during lunch on Wednesdays. $.50 for Kindergarten - 1st grade and $1.00 for 2nd grade - 8th grade. Come enjoy a cool treat! (Except for rainy days) Snack Cards cannot be used for Ice Cream.
Enrichment Classes- SIGN UP TODAY!
www.redhillschool.org/enrichment
Preschool- Starts September 3rd, Classes Full
Monday: Gymnastics
Tuesday: Animal Yoga
Wednesday: Soccer
Thursday: STEAM
Friday: Music and Motion
Kindergarten - 8th Grade, Starts September 3rd, Spaces Available
Monday: Reading & Creative Arts, Musical Theatre, Basketball, Science Club, Mediterranean Cooking
Tuesday: Beginning Ballet, Beginning Coding for Kids, Kreative Kids, Spirit Dance Team, Hand Lettering & Design
Wednesday: Mini Spirit Squad, Chess Club, Spanish Club, pBone trombone, Craft Crew
Thursday: Soccer, Mixed Martial Arts, Memory Olympics, Art & Design, Jubilate Church Choir
Friday: Gymnastics, Storytelling with Lego, Soccer for All, Creative Writing
Pride Hour Opportunities
Snack Shack
Morning Car Line
Pizza Thursday
Click on the "apple" below to sign up & don't forget to enter your Pride Hours in RenWeb
American Heritage Girls
Greetings from the American Heritage Girls troop at Red Hill Lutheran School! If you’re not familiar with us, we are a scout group with a mission to build women of integrity through service to God, family, community and country. And we have tons of fun doing it!
Do you have a daughter in Kindergarten to 8th Grade? Would you like her to join a national organization where she can grow in her faith, experience new learning opportunities and make life-long friends? Come join us!
We have a parents only information night on Tuesday September 3rd at 6:15 pm (room 14 at Red Hill Lutheran).
Questions, please email cdarling@redhillschool.org.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Red Hill Lutheran Mobile App
FOLLOW US!
Red Hill Lutheran Church and School
Email: jelser@redhillschool.org
Website: www.redhillschool.org
Location: 13200 Red Hill Avenue, Tustin, CA, USA
Phone: 714-544-3132