"LION TALES" NEWS FROM CLA
Thursday, September 11, 2025
"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me ALL the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." -Psalm 23:6
The 2025-2026 weekly Lion Tales newsletter will generally arrive in your inbox each Thursday. Read on to see what ALL is going on as the school year gets going.
**Upcoming Dates to Know**
Monday, Sept 15 Monthly Board of Directors’ meeting 4:15 pm HS Community Rm
Thursday, Sept 18 PTF (Parent Teacher Fellowship) meeting 2:00 pm in Mrs Long’s Room
Monday, Sept. 22 No School - Staff in-service day
Thursday, Sept. 25 PK- Bring your Grandparents and Parents to School Day
Friday, Sept. 26 K-12 Grandparent’s Day Open House 2:00-3:00 pm
PK Bring your Family to School Day
This will be a day where all PK students can bring their grandparents and parents to school for the morning to see what a day in the life is for them here at CLA. The doors will open at 8:00 and dismissal will be at 11:15 as usual. Families will get to go through the schedule with their child to see all the fun things they do at PK.
K-12 Grandparents Day is Friday, September 26 from 2:00-3:00pm
This is a time where grandparents and honorary grandparents can come get a glimpse at what is going on at CLA.
K-4 classes will have an activity that grandparents can come in and complete with their grandchild.
MS will be all in the gym doing activities. Grandparents are welcome to join in or just observe.
HS will have their regularly scheduled classes during this time, and you are welcome to walk by and observe if you wish! Please be aware that due to increased student numbers, there will not be extra seating available in classrooms.
Volunteer opportunity - a few spaces remain for the Saturday 9/13 volunteer day!
Mr. Horning will be leading TWO trips to the Morton Pumpkin Festival - Friday (now full!) and Saturday, September 13 in the afternoon. Both trips will involve volunteering at the dishwashing area. Contact Mr. Horning [email protected] to get involved! There is a limit of 10 people per day… so get your name on the list now to help on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13!
From PTF (Parent Teacher Fellowship).... Change War UPDATE!
Keep looking for loose change on the bottom of mom’s purse, in the car cupholders, under the couch, on the sidewalk, maybe help do a load of laundry and you may find some in the washer! Compete against the other classes and win fabulous prizes each week! A Pizza Party is on the line for the class that collects the most change!
** WEEKLY WINNERS… the 3rd/4th grade class brought in 2,865 pennies last week to win the week! The total collected so far is $102.01
** Nickel week - keep bringing nickels until it ends tomorrow - Friday, September 12
** Dime week - Monday, September 15 through Friday, September 19
Change collected will go towards Field Trip expenses such as shirts and admission and other PTF projects.
CLA Gear Store Open Til September 15th!
CLA will have some gear available for sale until September 15th at midnight- get your hoodies, shirts, beanies now! To order, please visit https://cla2025.itemorder.com/. Orders are due by midnight on September 15th and are estimated to be filled by the end of September. Questions? Please contact Mrs. Stribling at [email protected].
LIFE DAYS 2025 will be here before you know it. There is MUCH to do before the October 17-18 event! Would you like to be involved in the PLANNING and solicitation of items over the next several months? We would love to have your help. Please contact Mr. Horning at [email protected] or 309-267-8781 and help plan to see the event grow.
Attached with today’s Lion Tales is a “Life Days donor sheet” which can be printed, completed fully, and returned with donated items or monetary donations. These are available in the school office. Look for more Life Days items coming home in the next week!
For additional information and documents, such as menus, calendars, and more, click the link to the CLA website - current students.
**Reminders from the Principal Team**
Teachers are beginning to think of ways for their class to contribute to the Life Days auction. Some classes will be donating class projects, others may be requesting items from families for themed baskets. Look for direct communication from teachers, or reach out to them if you have an idea for a class donation or you would like to take the lead on gathering items for a class themed basket!
**From the Desk of the Dean**
In Monday’s chapel, we sang (and joined in with the hand motions) a favorite - “Do not be anxious” - from Philippians 4:6-7. We are reminded that in everything, in ALL situations, we are called to bring to the Lord our requests. He cares. He knows. He will give us His peace! I am so thankful to minister and work among a group of staff and parents that see the amazing value of prayer. Let’s always lift one another and our school up to the Lord daily.
Blessed to be a part of this community!
Mr. Horning
CLA LIONS Extracurricular Corner
Upcoming Games/Activities
Thursday, Sept 11 JH/HS Volleyball at ICCS (Washington) 5:00 pm
Friday, Sept 12 Recreational VB games at CLA 4:30 pm
JH Baseball at TC United (Bloomington) 4:30 pm
Fri-Sat, Sept 12-13 Varsity Volleyball at Rosamond (FBCA) Tournament
Tuesday, Sept 16 JH/JV volleyball HOME games with Calvary Chillicothe 5:00 pm
Thursday, Sept 18 JH Cross Country at Tremont 4:00
Friday, Sept 19 Recreational VB games at CLA 4:30 pm
** CLA JH Cross Country Report…an exciting first “team” accomplishment!**
On Thursday, September 4, the CLA boys team placed 2nd in the XC meet at Illini Central (Mason City). We have enough runners to now place as a team for boys competitions - this is the first time in school history! On the girls side, Clara White placed 5th on 9/2 and 6th on 9/4 across all girls. All kids set a season personal record (PR) on 9/4, improving upon their time the previous meet. Keep it up, runners!