AGenda

Theme: "Teaching with Purpose: Equipped by Faith, Guided in Wisdom, Empowered for Excellence"

Verse reference - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Conference Host: Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minnesota

• Conference Evaluation (Link goes live during last sectional)
  Link to clock hours for the full conference is shown after you submit the evaluation form. If you attended only Thursday or Friday please see a MNDLTC member

7:45 - 8:20 - Coffee & Water Served at Martin Luther College (WCC Room 162 and Auditorium Entry Area)

7:45 - 8:20 - Registration (Chapel of the Christ)

8:30 - 9:45 - Opening Worship with Communion (Chapel of the Christ)

9:45 - 10:00 - Welcoming to the Conference and Announcements 

• Ryan Klatt, Minnesota District Lutheran Teachers' Conference (MNDLTC) Chairman

• ________________, Martin Luther College

10:00 - 10:20 - Break (Coffee & Snacks) 

10:20 - 11:30 - Educational Keynotes:

• ECE - Time for Tots: A Harvest Strategy (Kari Hahm)  

• All - Classroom Management (Dave Stuart Jr.)  

11:30 - 12:15 - New Business - Reports & Elections 

• Pastor Dennis Klatt, MN District President

• John Meyer, MLC Graduate Studies & Continuing Education

• Nominations Committee - St. John's, Redwood Falls

• Incumbents: Ryan Klatt (District Chairman), Alissa Griebel, Julie Nelson (ECE), Stephen Gurgel (H.S.)

12:15 - 1:15 - Lunch (MLC Cafeteria)

1:15 - 2:15 - Sectional #1 

1. ECE - Time for Tots: A Harvest Strategy - Keynote Follow-Up (Mrs. Kari Hahm)

2. K-3 - New Books for You and Your Students (Dr. Jon Roux)

3. ECE - Early Signs of Autism (Dr. Rachel Youngblom) 

4. Gr. 3-12 - Set Fire to the Brain: Strategies for Sparking Deeper ELA Class Discussions (Dr. Susan Decker) 

5. HS - Of course freshmen should take Advanced Placement classes: Rethinking the AP class in the WELS high school setting (James Hahm) 

6. Administrators - Employee Discipline & Discharge (Sam Nelson, Nelson Law, PLLC) 

7. PreK-8 - The Nervous Generation (Dr. Rhoda Wolle) 

8. Gr. 6-12 - Practicing Essentialism in Lutheran Schools (Brad Essig and Nate Kallies) 

9. K-8 - Creating Math Moments of Learning (Dr. James Carlovsky) 

10. All - Every Teacher is a Teacher of Reading (Dr. Cindy Whaley)

11. All - The Basics of Good Ministry Culture (Dr. Jeff Wiechman) 

12. All - Dinosaurs (Dr. Kevin Peil) 

13. K-4 - Art Class Inspirations (Liz Tiedemann) 

14. Gr. 3-12 - AI for Teachers (Kirk Schauland) 

15. Gr. 5-8 - Classroom Management = Classroom Stewardship (Dave Stuart Jr.) 

16. All - Renewing the Mind: Spiritual and Emotional Resilience for Christian Educators (Dr. Jenna Londgren) 

2:15 - 2:35 - Break (Snack Break)

2:35 - 3:35 - Sectional #2

1. ECE/Infant-K - New Books for our Youngest Learners (Dr. Jon Roux)

2. ECE Directors - Employee Handbooks: Your Best Defense or Your Biggest Liability (Sam Nelson, Nelson Law, PLLC)

3. ECE/PreK - More Than Movement (P.E) (Melissa Berg) 

4. ECE - The Power of Storytelling Bible Stories (Professor Kayte Gut)

5. Gr. 6-12 - Authentic Social Studies Assessments (Professor Peter Baganz) 

6. All - The Basics of Good Ministry Culture (Dr. Jeff Wiechman) 

7. All - Navigating Copyright in the Lutheran Classroom (Adam Mateske) 

8. K-8 - Building Thinking Math Classrooms (Dr. James Carlovsky)

9. Gr. 6-12 - Age of the Earth (Dr. Kevin Peil) 

10. K-12 - Thrive Time - (Dr. Rhoda Wolle) 

11. All - Building Blocks of Financial Stewardship (Gabe Smith/Mike Lendt) 

12. PreK-8 - Movement with a Purpose: Healthy, Active Kids Perform Better (Professor Dan Gawrisch) 

13. All - Renewing the Mind: Spiritual and Emotional Resilience for Christian Educators (Dr. Jenna Londgren) 

14. HS - Classroom Management = Classroom Stewardship - High School (Dave Stuart Jr.) 

15. K-8 - Technology Tools to Support Religion Class (Dr. Rachel Renno) 

16. Gr. 6-12 - Roundtable: Promoting Academic Integrity in the Age of AI (Stephen Gurgel)

3:35 - 3:45 - Transition Time

3:45 - 4:15 - Business: 

• WELS Lutheran Schools, Curriculum Coordinator Melanie Giddings

• District Schools Coordinator, Dave Gartner; ECE District Coordinator, LaShawn Smith

• Committees: 

  1. Resolutions - Prairie Lutheran School, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop

  2. Nominations - St. John, Redwood Falls

  3. Auditing - St. John's, Redwing

4:15 - 4:30 - Devotion (Chapel)

EVENING SOCIAL (6-10 p.m.) - Oktoberfest at the Royal Oak!  

• Join us for a Minnesota District Oktoberfest! Held at the Royal Oak Event Center in New Ulm, the evening features live music, Oktoberfest-themed games with prizes throughout the event, and great German food!

• 6-7 food lines open, a drink ticket p/p, games and music available throughout the evening (Stein holding contest, Bavarian pretzel toss, Oktoberfest trivia and more!)

8:00 - 8:30 - Coffee & Water Served at Martin Luther College (WCC Room 162 and Auditorium Entry Area)

8:30 - 8:50 - Devotion - (Chapel)

8:50 - 10:00 - Religious Keynote (Chapel)

•  All - Purpose Plus! (Pastor Dave Rosenau) 

10:00 - 10:20 - Break (Coffee & Snacks)

10:20 - 11:20 - Sectional #3

1. ECE - Creating Academic and Language Rich Sensory Bins (Jess Austin) 

2. ECE - Red Flags In Sensorimotor Development (Deanna Wanzek) 

3. ECE Directors - Strengthening Our Network: Expertise Sharing and Collaboration Across The Minnesota District (Jamie Fischer and LaShawn Smith) 

4. PreK-8 - Using Christian Worship Psalter in PreK-8 Classrooms (Dale Witte, LIMA) 

5. All - Understanding and Supporting Mental Wellness as a Called Worker (Amanda Gerdts) 

6. Gr. 3-8 - ELA - The Write Direction: Our IEW Experience in Grades 3–8 (Michael Vlieger) 

7. Gr. 3-8 - Chapter Books and Picture Books for the Middle & Upper Grades (Dr. Jon Roux) 

8. K-12 - Elevate Learning: Tech Integration with the SAMR Superpower! (Adam Mateske) 

9. All - Dinosaurs (Dr. Kevin Peil) 

10. Gr. 4-8 - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: Developing Human Hands and Hearts Through Art (Lucas Boehm) 

11. K-8 - Setting All Students up for Success with MTSS (Jill Wolf) 

12. All - Building the Next Lutheran Theology Curriculum (Melanie Giddings) 

13. All - Narrative Witnessing (Dr. Mark Paustian) 

14. All - Tax Smart Retirement Planning (Gabe Smith/Mike Lendt) 

15. All - Purpose Plus!  Keynote Follow-Up (Pastor David Rosenau) 

11:30 - 11:45 - Concluding Business (Chapel) 

• Resolutions (Prairie Lutheran School):

• 2025 Committees: Nominations - St. John - RWF, Resolutions - PLS/GFW, Auditing - St. John's - Red Wing 

• • 2025 Offering: MLC Congregational Matching Grant, Student Assistance 

  • 2025 Appreciation: 

  • Future Conferences: 2026 — Oct. 15-16; 2027 — Oct. 21-22

• 2026 Committees: Nominations - St. James, Resolutions - Rochester, Auditing - St. Croix Middle School

• Conference Evaluation (Link goes live during last sectional) - Link to clock hours for the full conference is shown after you submit the evaluation form. If you attended only Thursday or Friday please see a MNDLTC member.

11:45 - 12:00 - Closing Devotion (Chapel) 

12:00 - 12:30 pm - Lunch for Licensure Attendees (MLC Cafeteria)

12:30 - 2:30 pm - Optional Post-Conference Licensure Class 1 - Cultural Competency including American Indian History (2 hours) - Dr. Cindy Whaley

2:45 - 4:45 pm - Optional Post-Conference Licensure Class 2 - Key Warning Signs of Mental Illness and Suicide Prevention (2 hours) - Dr. Rachel Youngblom