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It amazes me how quickly twoweeks can pass. It seems that I’ve

just nished getting together anedition of the Mustang Matters, whenit’s time to start writing again. Mostof the newsletter is taken care of byothers, but I’m always looking forwhat will be on the front page - thisweek was no different.

I like to have something on thefront that comes directly from thestudents themselves, so I gured that

I would poll my class to nd outwhat their favorite Christmastradition was, or what they weremost looking forward to this holidayseason.

I happened to be contemplating the “Front Page Question” while Iwas walking down the hall to myclassroom Monday morning. That’s

when Mrs. Frusti stoppedme.

“Are you doing a Mustang Matters this week?”

“Yes!” I replied“Good, I’ve got the perfect

thing to go in it!” she said as sheled me back down the hall to whereshe had put up her students’ latestwriting assignments.

“This is what my Sarah wrotewhen I gave them free time to

write. It was totally unprompted!”I looked up to nd the neatly

printed writing of rst graderSarah Fox.

Christmas! By Sarah I am excited for Christmas. Are you?

Santa is going to bring me presents everyChristmas. But do you know what

Christmas is all about?

It’s all about Jesus!

I turned to see Mrs. Frustismiling, “That’s what it’s all about.That’s why we’re here - why we dowhat we do!”

I agreed. How beautiful it is tohave the children I’m surrounded byproclaiming Christ’s birth so plainly.This is why we do what we do!

“This is perfect,” I told Mrs.Frusti as I headed off to start my day.I had found my front page article - I

couldn’t think of a better Christmasmessage than the simple words Sarahhad written - it is all about Jesus!

May you and your family have a very blessed Christmas season!

-Mrs. Valente

From the “Pen” of a Child

Mustang MattersDECEMBER 18, 2009 TRINITY LUTHERAN SCHOOL ISSUE SEVEN

Trinity Lutheran Scho

& Early Childhood Development Center Jackson, Michigan

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It Takes a Village...To Raise a ChildWhere Are They Now? Tiffany (Bennett) Heuer

This week wearehighlighting TiffanyHeuer, whois a 2000graduateof TLS.

AfterTrinity,Tiffanywent ontoNorthwest High Schoolwhere she participated in choir,soccer, and cross-country. She honed her giftof music by taking voice and piano lessonsand participating in solo and ensemblecompetitions - where she earned several Iratings. She also won the distinction of

“Outstanding Choir Member” fromNorthwest two years in a row. In 2004 shegraduated from high school and went on toMichigan State University.

During her time at MSU sheparticipated in a study abroad program inPanama. There she performed her ownresearch on the population densities of theamphibians and reptiles of that area. Shealso assisted on other research projects. Along with her was her future husband, SteveHeuer, whom she had met her freshman yearand who was also involved in doing research.

Tiffany spent her weekends,

holidays, and breaks from school working atBeaumont Hospital in Troy, Michigan. Whileshe worked there she served patients theirfood and checked their diets to make sure theywere correct. She also worked toaccommodate special requests of patients, if itt into their diets..

In May of 2008 she graduated fromMSU with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology.

On June 27th, 2009 Steve andTiffany were married at Trinity LutheranChurch in Utica, Michigan. They thenmoved to Davenport, Iowa where they arecontinuing their education by attending Palmer College of Chiropractic. While Steveplans to get his DC (Doctor of Chiropractic)degree, Tiffany is working towards hermasters in anatomy. She also teaches 3different anatomy labs to the DC students, aswell as assists in dissection of bodies whenneeded. She hopes to eventually get a PhD inanatomy or the biological sciences.

Currently most of her time isspent on school work and getting ready tobegin her thesis but when she does havetime she enjoys going on hikes, reading agood book, attending and watching

I don’t necessarily agree

with the politics of the former

First Lady who revitalized this

phrase, but I do have to say

that I do believe this

proclamation.

Facing the prospect of raising my

two daughters as a divorced

parent appeared to me as an

overwhelming task; one that I

wasn’t sure I would be able to do

well. We all hear the statistics of

children living in divorced families.The number of children who turn

to drugs or alcohol to relieve the

pain of having a parent “leave”

you, daughters particularly, seem to

want to cling to any man who will

give them the attention they are

missing, which opens up a

multitude of fears for a parent.

The teen-age years present an arrayof problems for a two-parent

family, realizing that you have to

handle those years alone, is

frightening. The list is unending.

Coming to registration at TLS

that fall afternoon after my divorce,

knowing that I would have to

explain why I couldn’t send my

daughters to school any longer

because I couldn’t “afford” it, was

just another boulder I had to add to

the heavy burden I felt weighing on

me. The rst person I encountered

was our then principal, Jeanne

Ollhoff, and when I dissolved into

tears, she said, “No fears, God is

Good! Don’t you worry about those

girls, we will nd a way…” The

next person to offer support and

encouragement was Pastor Galen

Grulke, the Senior Pastor at my

church, TLC, at that time. He not

only shared scripture with me to

remind me that I was a forgiven

child of God, whom God loves

unconditionally, and that He has a

plan for my life, but he shared

personal insights to the trials and

tribulations of marriage - that it

takes 3 people to make a marriage

work; the wife, the husband and the

Lord. I didn’t have to feel it was all

my fault, and my husband had to

see it that way too. As that day

progressed and I spoke to my

daughters’ teachers & my friends,

and as each one gave me Christian

encouragement and concern, I

realized that I COULD do this. I

could raise my kids as a single

parent with the loving help and

support of the community of

believers in this wonderful school

and my Trinity Lutheran Church

home.

(Continued on page 3)

sports with friends, playing on a school bowling league, playing her keyboard, andparticipating in a Journal Club.

God’s riches blessings, Tiffany as you pursue your dreams. Thanks forsharing your story!

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It Takes a Village...To Raise a Child(Continued from page 2)

WorshipOpportunities

God is saving a seat for you inworship!

Whether it be at your home churchor at Trinity, we pray that you takethe opportunity to spend time with

God in worship this Christmasseason!

Trinity is offering services at the following times:

• Thursday, Dec. 24 at 7 p.m.& 11p.m.

• Saturday, Dec. 26 at 6 p.m.• Sunday, Dec. 27 at 9 a.m.• Saturday, Jan. 2 at 6 p.m.• Sunday, Jan. 3 at 9 a.m.

Chapel at TLS Everyone is welcome to worship with

on Wednesday mornings beginning a8:15 a.m.

Our offering for December will go t Partnership Park & our January

offerings will go to The Heifer Projec

Not only could I “afford” to leave

my children here at TLS, I’m the

one who wins! How else can I hope

to “bring up my children in the way

they should go”?

I am proud of the young women

that my daughters have become.

Kendra has a passion for the Lord

and the work of His kingdom that I

envy. Her heart for His lambs is

huge. He has great plans for her!

Jordan is compassionate and

independent and is currentlyfollowing a path of Psychology at

Eastern Michigan University. And

this I know; she will lovingly counsel

with the morals and ethics learned

as a child of God in this place.

They are not without scars - no

child of divorce is, but they know

they have a loving God who walkswith them every step of the way on

this sometimes rocky

journey called “life”. Jesus never said

it would be easy, He said we would

never be alone!

Yes, it takes a village…I’m so glad Ihad THIS village! God’s blessings as

you embark on this Advent season

and look forward to the coming of

our loving God and Savior, Jesus!

- Mrs. Tonja Wheaton

Coming In Two Weeks:

• Words of Wisdom : A staff article written by Mrs. Beth Westin.

• Where Are They Now? : An update onone of our Trinity Alumni.

• More Classroom News : Keep up-to-date on the classroom happenings atTLS.

• Getting to Know You : Don’t forget, if you would like your child featured simplygo to www.tlsjackson.com and choose theMustang Matters link and ll out theform you nd there.

From the Ofce of our Principal• January we will have a loose change collection via a "Money

War". All funds raised will go to the Another Day AnotherMemory Foundation. The foundation helps families that ndthemselves in similar situations. Adam was a young boy thatwe collected funds for two years ago to help meet his medicalneeds. He had been diagnosed wit h an inoperable brainstemtumor. He passed away in September of 2008.

• Please remember that during this holiday season God issaving a seat for you and would love to visit with you inworship.

• Thank you to ECDC for the wonderful job of leading Family Worship this past Sunday. The children were ablessing and made the season more special.

D.O.G.Depe nding On G od

Our M issionPrepari ng God’s chi ldren today t obe His lig ht in tomorr ow’s world

and for et ern ity.

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Kindergarten & First Grade

Thank you all for your participation in our Advent Service. I received many comments

on the children's wonderful singing andbehavior! I pray you all will have a blessed

Christmas.- Mrs. Frusti

Second & Third Grades We have 2 cans of paint, and Kevin Smith

volunteered to bring in the insulation boardand pine boards for our solar collector build.Other items needed: One 2' x 4' sheet of plexiglass or real glass (I can cut a largerpiece down), and about 6 pop cans perstudent. We've also been studying TheDeclaration of Independence in Social

Studies, and the Food Web, Producers, andConsumers in Science.

- Mr. Genthner

Fourth & Fifth GradesPlease remember that we have aMackinac meeting this Monday,

December 21 at 6:30 p.m. If your child isplanning to attend the trip, we need to

have you there since we will be discussing important fund raising opportunities.

I pray that all of you have a wonderful

Christmas and New Year’s celebration.- Mrs. Valente

Sixth, Seventh, & Eighth GradesGrades 6-8 will enjoy a pancake breakfast

next Tuesday morning, beginning at 8 a.m. We will then be traveling to Summit Lanesto go bowling for our Christmas party. We

will be leaving to bowl around noon (wewill be having lunch here at school), andthe cost per student is $6.00. Any parent

willing to help out is welcome!- Dr. Frusti

Child Care We are working on our Letter Links, so make sure toask your child what word goes with their name! Weare also doing a lot of talking about Christmas and

the children are so excited about the coming of Baby Jesus!

- Miss Erika, Miss Danielle, & Miss Michelle

PreschoolThank you to all the children and parents that

made our Christmas service such a success.May you all have a safe and blessed Christmasholiday - we’ll see you in January!

- Mrs. Westin & Miss Lora

Infant & ToddlerHappy birthday to those that are celebrating over break:

Eli Turner - December 26th&

Jack Barnes - December 30thMay you all have a wonderful Christmas!

-Miss Michelle, Miss Carter, Miss Laura, Miss Kendra, &Miss Erin