Excelsior School Celebrates 30 years in the Community

For 30 years engineers, nurses, teachers, pastors, artists, architects and more all started their education at Our Savior Lutheran School (OSLS) in Excelsior.

Today, with results in the 90th percentile nationally on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, school administrator and teacher, Fred Limmel, attributes OSLS's success to the deliberate efforts of his staff.

“As state certified teachers, we know the importance of continuing to be students ourselves, and we all challenge ourselves in professional development,” he said. “Most recently the faculty has been very intentional about honing our skills with differential instruction. These techniques allow us to address more specifically the learning styles of our students.”

OSLS has also kept up with the 21st century.

Said Limmel, “We currently have laptops issued to every fifth through eighth grader as well as the addition of interactive white boards to enhance and encourage student learning.”

Julie Hines first enrolled her daughter, Audrey, in the preschool program at OSLS due to the recommendation of a friend who happened to be a professional in the early childhood field. Working full-time, Hines said she was also drawn to the three-hour preschool classes and the extended care options.

What Hines loves best, however, is the faith-based instruction.

“I love the balanced interaction between pre-academics and religious education,” she said. “Character education is at the core of the Our Savior program. The staff love the children and take care of their individual needs.”

According to Limmel, that balance of academics and spiritual instruction is what makes OSLS special.

“We teach children their importance as God's child, preparing them to make a difference in the lives of their family, community and society at large,” he said. “Our school is intentional about educating the whole child – academically, physically, emotionally and spiritually.”

Early Childhood Director, Connie Beck, has been with OSLS since the very beginning and has stayed because of that intentionality.

“I love sharing Jesus with the children every day and showing them how they can share Jesus with others, too,” she said. “It's been a joy and a blessing to be involved with so many children and their families over the years.”

Hines, describing her daughter's response to the daily care at OSLS, said, “My daughter wakes up everyday asking if it is a 'preschool day' or 'stay-home day' with hopes that she gets to see her teachers and school friends that day.”

As four-year-old Audrey Hines emphatically puts it, “I love everything at preschool, and I really don't want to have anymore 'stay-home' days!”

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On June 5th, OSLS hosts an open house for families interested in learning more about preschool through 8th grade programs for the upcoming year.

 On September 30th 2011, OSLS will celebrate 30 years of Christian Education in the Excelsior community. They will be hosting an open house for the community that will include a book fair, campus tours, and bonfires in the parking lot complete with s'mores and singing.

On June 5^, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., OSLS is hosting an open house to promote its nationally accredited preschool through 8th grade program for the 2011-2012 school year – a program that began 30 years ago with one small group of preschool children.

 For more information about OSLS check out http://www.oslcs.org/school/about/ .