Schaeffer Academy

The Lion Heart Service Team invites all Schaeffer families to our first gathering of the 2024-2025 school year! We will be meeting Tuesday, August 13 at 6:30pm behind the school, near the playground (in case of rain we'll move inside to the lunchroom). Children are welcome to play while we meet briefly. There will be snacks and refreshments provided. Please bring a lawn chair!

The Lion Heart Service Team (LHST) is a group of Schaeffer parents and grandparents that foster community among Schaeffer families by providing fellowship and service opportunities. We support our amazing school staff in various ways. LHST Volunteers are key to many of the events that happen at Schaeffer throughout the year including the Fall Fellowship Night, the Christmas Concert Cookie Reception, and the Family Game Night. Additionally, we send handwritten notes to all new Schaeffer families, provide meals for teachers on Parent/Teacher Conference nights, and oversee two Used Uniform Sales each year. There are many opportunities for service through the LHST both at home and in person. If you have questions, email us at [email protected].

We encourage everyone, especially new families, to join us on the 13th for a lighthearted, easy going evening of fellowship. Not only is the LHST full of wonderful families that are devoted to serving our school, but it is also a fantastic opportunity to create lasting friendships.

Coming Events

August 7: Class Schedules and Locker Assignments for grades 7-12 available in FACTS.

August 13: All Schaeffer Families invited to the Lion Heart Service Team gathering near the playground at 6:30pm

August 21: On campus Picnic (5:00pm) and Prayer Walk (6:30pm)

August 23: Meet the Teacher Day (see From the Headmaster email for times)

August 27: First Day of School for 2024-2025

4th in State!

Congratulations to the Schaeffer Academy Tennis doubles team of Hudson Zimmerman and Noah Ryder for taking 4th place in the MSHSL State Tennis Tournament.

Hudson and Noah were one of the 4 doubles teams remaining at the very end of the state tennis tournament. In the very last MSHSL tennis match of the year, they and a team from St. Paul Academy battled to determine who would be 3rd and who would be 4th in the state. Our Lions fought hard and narrowly lost the battle 7-6 and 6-4. They did a great job and really made their opponents work for the win.

Great accomplishment Hudson and Noah!

Photo L to R: Assistant Coach Jason Zimmerman, Hudson Zimmerman, Noah Ryder, Head Coach Brett Pauley

Zimmerman and Ryder in State Semifinals.

Noah Ryder and Hudson Zimmerman won their matches in the round of 16 and the round of 8 in the MSHSL State Tennis Tournament on Thursday and have made it to the semifinals. CONGRATULATIONS!

This morning at 8:00 (right now), they play the undefeated #1 seed. It's gonna be a challenge, but go get 'em guys!

GO LIONS.

The Schaeffer Lions doubles team of Hudson Zimmerman (10th grade) and Noah Ryder (9th grade) has won Schaeffer Academy's first section title in tennis by winning the Section 1A Doubles Tournament on May 28, 2024 at the Rochester Athletic Club. Congratulations to Hudson, Noah, and Coach Pauley!

The section tournament featured 14 of the best doubles teams from the 7 schools in our section. Hudson & Noah entered this tournament as the 2nd seed and received a bye into the quarterfinals. In their first match, they defeated Mateo Ardines & Everett Engler from #2 state-ranked Winona Cotter by a score of 6-1, 6-1.

The semifinals matched our boys against the veteran team of Jack Fitzgerald & Ethan Hubbard from current #4 state-ranked (and 2023 state runner-up) team Rochester Lourdes. Hudson & Noah secured a trip to the finals with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.

The championship round featured the top-seeded team of Hamilton Brewer & Logan Granseth from Winona Cotter. Brewer was half of last year's Cotter doubles team that qualified for the state tournament. Behind powerful serving and strong volleys, Hudson & Noah earned a state tournament berth with a winning score of 6-4, 6-2.

As they now move on into the 16-team State Tournament, Hudson & Noah have received the 4th seed. Their first match will be against Luke Gilberson & Quinn Dixon from St. Peter at 10:00am Thursday, June 6 in the Reed-Sweatt Tennis Center (InnerCity Tennis) in Minneapolis.

GO LIONS!

Our school's namesake passed away here in Rochester 40 years ago today. Here's a great article about him.

Testimony from L'Abri: Francis Shaeffer Left an Enduring Legacy In a society where unbelief and loneliness seem to be gaining ground, L’Abri has been used by God to build faith in Christ and hope for community among people. Although it has been decades since his death, Francis Schaeffer’s legacy continues to live on to the glory of God.

YOUR CHILD WILL NEVER BE THIS AGE AGAIN
With the Schaeffer Academy yearbook, you can be sure the memories are always close. Celebrate your student's year and everything that makes them awesome.

SCHAEFFER ACADEMY ROCHESTER, MN - 2024 Yearbook | Jostens Order your class yearbook, shop for your custom class ring, shop for your graduation needs, and show your pride with custom school apparel and gifts.

Join us in celebrating Schaeffer Academy's 2024 Senior Athletes!

We realize the sledding may be canceled, but we'll go with it for now 😊

We will have free popcorn & hot cocoa and prizes for each round of the game with additional grand prizes.

SPRING CLAY TARGET LEAGUE BEGINS SOON!!

Hi Schaeffer Parents and Students

We’re only a few weeks away from the start of the 2024 Spring Clay Target league. Registration is open from now thru 12:00pm on March 25th. The league starts the week of Monday, April 1st.

There is an informational meeting at 7:00pm next Tuesday, February 13th in the cafeteria at Century High School. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the league.

The league is open to any Schaeffer student in grades 6 thru 12.

I will be at the meeting along with the other Rochester area coaches to answer any questions you may have about the league.

If you are unable to attend the informational meeting, you can contact me directly through Facebook messenger or email at [email protected].

Looking forward to another great session and lots of broken clay targets!!!

John Blanchard

Schaeffer Trap Coach

Yesterday, Evan Osborne (5th grade) and Laila Koster (8th grade) represented Schaeffer Academy in the Regional Spelling Bee. Fifty-six students from area schools competed for twelve spots in the Final Spelling Bee, with Laila earning one of those spots. She will compete in the Final on February 20. Congratulations to both Evan and Laila!

And a big Thank You to Mrs. Rector for organizing and coordinating the Spelling Bee for Schaeffer Academy and its students.

Schaeffer Academy's 7th graders are tapping trees in Life Science. Tapping in MN usually occurs in March, but the sap is running early this year! When temps are consistently below freezing in the evenings and above freezing during the day, it's time to tap. Sap runs down to the roots in the cold and back up into the branches in warmer temps. What a glorious design! 7th graders tapped trees last week, and this week they've been collecting sap during their 3rd period study halls. Once they collect enough, the boiling process will begin. And then hopefully...sampling!

Schaeffer Academy 7th graders have been enjoying guest speakers each week in January. Last week, Portia Mira, mother of 7th grader Briana Mira, spoke about her career as a microbiologist, reviewed DNA with the students, and led them in a short lab to extract their own DNA. We are fearfully and wonderfully made!

Schaeffer Academy K-12 Closed Today.
SNOW DAY!

Snowy recess yesterday!

The 2024 Schaeffer Spelling Bee is in the books and was a rousing S-U-C-C-E-S-S!
Today, ten students from grades 4-8 competed in the Schaeffer spelling bee. Eighth grader Laila Koster earned first place, fifth grader Evan Osborne earned second place, and fourth grader Vincent Morrisey came in third.
Laila and Evan will move on to compete in the Southeast Regional Preliminary Spelling Bee on February 6th, and Vincent is an alternate. This local competition will send one speller to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May.
Pictured below are Vincent Morrisey, Evan Osborne, and Laila Koster (L to R). Congrats to our three winners, and thank you to all students who participated!

Homecoming basketball games tonight!

We hope many alumni and alumni parents, as well as current students and parents, will come out to reconnect and cheer on the Schaeffer Lions as they take on the Grand Meadow Superlarks.

Here's tonight's schedule:
4:00pm - Junior High Girls Game
5:00pm - Junior High Boys Game
6:00pm - Varsity Girls Game
7:12pm (in between Varsity Girls and Varsity Boys) - Recognition of Alumni
7:15pm Varsity Boys Game

Other Events During the Evening:
The pep band will be playing before both varsity games.
Their will be a "Carey Shooting Contest" with prizes during varsity games half time.
Pizza and Berry Blendz in addition to regular items at the concessions stand.

Go Lions!

On December 13, Schaeffer Academy students joined more than 300 students from 20 area schools at the LEGO Robotics Competition.

- There were more than 100 teams at the event.
- Schaeffer had 8 teams and 6 of the 8 had a top 3 showing.
- Schaeffer teams took 6 of the 18 winner slots, more than any other school!

Thanks to Alumni Dad Scott Hanson for coaching our teams.

Here are the results:

Beginner Long Term:
1. Willow Creek: Cannibalistic Frogs
2. RAACHE: RACHE 3
3. Kellogg: Gooder Group

Beginner Short Term:
1. Schaeffer Academy: That Team with Ryder On It (Caleb Hoffman, Jadon Nagel, Ryder Niedfeldt)
2. Dover-Eyota: Spin Cycle
3. Schaeffer Academy: Chess Est Vita (Isaac Gommels, Lucas Schutz, Jeffrey Rule)

Standard Long Term:
1. Schaeffer Academy: Violaceous Plantain Eaters (Isaac Hunderfund, Eli White, Henry Osborne)
2. Schaeffer Academy: Lego My Eggo 2.0 (Will Friese, Payton Gora)
3. Rochester Central Lutheran School: King Bob

Standard Short Term:
1. Zumbrota-Mazeppa: Slapshots
2. Pine Island: The Squirrels
3. Rochester Central Lutheran School: Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

Advanced Long Term:
1. Rochester Central Lutheran School: Dutch Destroyers
2. Rochester Central Lutheran School: The Low Class
3. Schaeffer Academy: Shippi (PJ Blanchard, Ezra Hake)
4. Schaeffer Academy: JACO (Caleb Lanners, Owen Larson, Jayson Lemler, Aidan Schweisberger)

Advanced Short Term:
1. Rochester Central Lutheran School: The Low Class
2. Schaeffer Academy: JACO (Caleb Lanners, Owen Larson, Jayson Lemler, Aidan Schweisberger)
3. Cannon Falls Elementary and Middle School: Lillies

Media Coverage:
KTTC: https://www.kttc.com/2023/12/14/lego-robots-teaching-students-basics-programming-engineering/
KIMT: https://www.kimt.com/news/students-of-rochester-show-off-their-lego-robots-at-robotic-education-competition/article_37a536de-9a38-11ee-9559-5fdbab4f3348.html
KAAL: https://www.kaaltv.com/news/imb-lego-education-outreach-competition/

Unfortunately, there were no Schaeffer students highlighted or shown in the media coverage, but some Schaeffer robots were shown 😊.

LEGO robots teaching students the basics of programming and engineering More than 300 area students showcased their robot creations as part of the IBM LEGO Education Outreach program

On Sunday, Mrs. Pederson and her strings students blessed the residents and staff of Edenbrook Nursing Home with an hour of Christmas music. One resident, a former actor from New York, said, "Oh, I just love it when students perform interesting, serious music." Our Schaeffer students certainly brought light and joy.

Congratulations to the Schaeffer 5th & 6th Grade boys who won the Rochester Community Youth Basketball Championship last weekend. Go Lions!

These Schaeffer boys formed a team in the Rochester Community Youth Basketball Association League (RCYBA), and their Coach was Schaeffer dad Ben Boldt. Because the team was entirely composed of Schaeffer students, the RCYBA gave them special permission to wear Schaeffer jerseys rather than the generic RCYBA jerseys worn by other teams. They played eleven games over five Saturdays at the volleyball center at Century and won the championship!

Some of these boys have also played together on a Rochester Youth Baseball Association (RYBA) team, and their Assistant Coach was Schaeffer dad Justin Osborne. For the past TWO YEARS they have won the RYBA championship. Congratulations!

Because there are no school leagues for students below 7th grade, and there are no non-school leagues for students above 9th grade (for most of the sports we offer), Schaeffer Academy's athletic department focuses on Upper School sports.

We intentionally leave Lower School sports (K-6th) to community based organizations like RCYBA, RYBA, RYSA, etc. They develop the abilities of the Lower School aged students, and then our school based programs take over in Middle and/or Upper School.

Schaeffer Academy offers one or more Varsity sports for boys and one or more Varsity sports for girls in each season of the school-year. When there is sufficient student interest, we also offer Junior High and Junior Varsity teams.

But we are happy to recognize and cheer for our Lower School students as they compete and represent our school in the community organizations.

We enjoyed our annual Christmas Concert last night!

- Thank you Mrs. Pederson (Band Conductor) and Mrs. Vogel (Choir Conductor) for selecting and teaching music full of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

- Well Done students. You sang and played beautifully.

"I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:10-11

SPELLING BEE SUCCESS!
The classroom level spelling bees were completed before Thanksgiving break. These students will move on to the school-level bee on January 9, 2024, at 9:30. Congratulations to these ten students and all the classroom spellers!

Grade 4 – Jayna Block and Vincent Morrisey

Grade 5 – Evan Osborne and Timi Sanni

Grade 6 – Ella Kestner and Brecken Penz

Grade 7 – Shelby Gora and Jadon Nagel

Grade 8 – Micah Ekbom and Laila Koster

Today - the Tuesday before Thanksgiving - Mrs. Nagel's 7th grade Life Science class reviewed the stages of cell division with a Cookie Mitosis Lab.

Thank you to Mrs. Ouren for the great idea. We love our teacher aides!

The 2nd Graders were really enjoying the playground last week - and God's provision of a sunny day.

The Arant Family on Schaeffer Academy and Give to the Max — Schaeffer Academy Schaeffer Academy has played a vital role in the spiritual and social development of our children. We cannot express how grateful we are for the love, care, and attention the teachers at Shaeffer demonstrate as they seek to work alongside parents in forming followers of Christ. We believe in the mis

Why is support from donors needed at Schaeffer Academy? — Schaeffer Academy Schaeffer Academy is a Classical Christian School serving grades K-12 in Rochester, Minnesota.   Our primary purpose is to offer Christ-centered Classical Education which emphasizes Academic Excellence in the Liberal Arts. Schaeffer Academy is not sponsored or supported by any church,

The Schroeder Family on Schaeffer Academy and Give to the Max — Schaeffer Academy We are older parents of a single child. We felt that it was very important to send our daughter Mackenzy to a school where she would potentially build lifelong friendships. There was no question in our minds that Schaeffer Academy would be the right place. My husband Mark has been strongly influence