Bittersweet

Life can be bittersweet at times, can’t it? This past week, Lisa VanderZwaag, a mother to three children at Holland Christian, was called to her heavenly home after fighting cancer for years. Her faith and patience were truly a witness to the grace of God and incomprehensible strength he provides. Please join in praying over this precious family. We ask for a peace that passes our understanding for her husband, Robb, and their three girls.

Look at these hard-working children who are, and should be, so proud of all they have accomplished!

 

To be very honest, it just about bursts my heart with a blending of pride and sorrow to send these little learners on to bigger places and higher ground (like second grade!) I will miss this special community of children. We know and trust each other so well. These children look out for one another, pray for each other, exhibit patience and care for others and tease each other like a sibling. As a mother, I have watched as your children have come alongside my child and helped him grow. I hope my son has done the same for yours, in his own timid way 🙂  Thank you for a beautiful year. I shed tears already at the thought of this home-away-from-home being reconstructed. We will continue to pray over each child. We will continue to watch and stand in awe as God grows and develops each individual. 11 years from now, as we sit perched in anticipation at their graduation ceremony, my heart will skip a beat at the calling of each precious child’s name. Thank you for allowing Amanda and me to love your child, to do our best to help him/her grow and our prayer has always been that they would see and know more about their loving Father in heaven through our words and actions.

 
Worshipping God with dance.

Curious Kids Museum-our year-end field trip will take place on Wednesday, June 4th. This trip offers us not only the chance to explore with hands-on learning explorations, but also a time to bond and celebrate our friendships. Please send your child’s lunch and drink in a disposable bag, labeled with his/her name.

Final Chapel-Our final all-school chapel will take place on Friday, June 6th from 10:45-11:15. We’ll pray a blessing over our 2nd graders and send them off South Side style! You are welcome to join!

Friday’s Dismissal-We will dismiss our children on Friday, June 6th at 11:30.

Playscape Construction-We’re still in need of more hands to put the pieces and parts together on Saturday, June 6th. Even if you are able to join for a few hours, we could use the help. Please email Miska at mrynsburger@hollandchristian.org if you are able and willing to dig in and help. We’ll begin at 8:00 and hope to wrap it up around noon.

Tutoring Option-If you are looking for a tutor for the summer months, Michelle Dreyer, a.k.a. Mrs. Dreyer 😉 is accepting students for the summer months. She already loves your child and knows our curriculum. The following is her contact information:

Michelle Dreyer
phone 616-681-9180
email  mdreyer@hollandchristian.org
Tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday mornings starting June 17
certified teacher

Field Day-thank you to our special volunteers for helping to make this day a roaring (and soaking) success!

Our awesome first graders having some fun with Mr. Vos 🙂

Thank You

If I am counting my weeks correctly, this will be my (Amanda) last blog post of the school year. With that, I wanted to say “thank you”. THANK YOU for sharing your precious child with me. The joy that he or she brings me each day is unexplainable. THANK YOU for the prayers that have been lifted up daily for South Side and specifically our class. Prayer changes things and this year wouldn’t have been possible without those prayers. THANK YOU for partnering with Holland Christian and raising your child to know and love Jesus Christ. Truly, I believe that each child in our room this year has been equipped and nurtured and I know and trust that they WILL change the world for Jesus Christ! THANK YOU for committing to Christian education and blessing me with your child! What a joy it has been to educate and love each 1st grader this year!

It’s going to be hard to say “goodbye” to my first South Side crew. For now, we’ll just leave it at “see ya later”!

Here is a picture from our first day of school. Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday?

Time Capsule- If you haven’t already had the chance, please take a peek over the note sent home about our time capsules. We would like to have each time capsule returned to school on or before May 27th. Here are some ideas of what you can place in the shoebox, we will also add many more items that we will complete in class:

-Handwritten note for your child to open when they graduate high school
-Any “marks of the time” items (cost of gas, popular snacks/candy, “fad” items, etc.)
– Any special items from this school year (Bible verses, tooth, family pictures, special toy, a graduation item, etc.)

BAG Books- We have ended our BAG book program. If your child sent his or her bag book to school this week, we did not send another book home. If you still have the BAG book at home, please make sure it is returned to school by the end of the week. If you have lost the BAG book, please let me know. Thank you for your help with this!

Field Day- Field Day is coming up! It will take place this coming Thursday, May 29th at 1:00. If you are able to help with the special day, please contact Mrs. Rosencrans at crosencrans@hollandchristian.org  She is currently in need of 8 more volunteers to make the day a success. Thank you! 🙂

Writing Celebration- Our end of the year writing celebration will be held on Friday, May 30th from 10:30-11:30. This is going to be a special time of celebration all of the growth that has taken place this year! Since students will be “presenting” to parents, would you mind helping your son or daughter find their “Sunday Best” outfit? There’s no better way to celebrate tremendous growth and hard work than looking our best! 🙂

St. Joseph Field Trip- Wednesday, June 4th. We will be gone from about 8:45-3:00. I’ll be relaying more specific details once the date gets closer.

Last Day of School– Our final day of school is on June 6th. Dismissal will be at 11:30. (this doesn’t seem possible!)

Playscape- Our playscape plans are in place, materials are being chopped up, chipped, purchased and readied! However, we are still in need of volunteers to help us put it all together. Our playscape construction time will be on June 7 from 8:00 a.m. until the work is completed (the estimation is a couple of hours). Currently, we have 4 confirmed volunteers. John Wood has requested 12 parent volunteers. If you are willing and able to help dig in plants, roll out tree stumps, spread sand box sand or paint the back of the kick ball wall in chalkboard paint, we would appreciate your help tremendously. Please email Miska Rynsburger at mrynsburger@hollandchristian.org or stop in at the office for details. We’re excited to offer our South Side children a creative outdoor play option next year!

Enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend! Happy Memorial Day! 🙂

Here are a few pictures from our “beach party” on Monday! 

What a special week our South Side family participated in while celebrating Mr. Vos and the gifts that God has blessed him with. We are so grateful that he has been willing to use those gifts to help grow Holland Christian into the beautiful community that it is today. He continues to inspire us to reach for new, innovative heights in all areas of your child’s development. Here are a few images from our “Taking Christmas Back” surprise party 🙂

Beach Party: In case you haven’t already heard, our class has earned another reward for great behavior. We will celebrate our hard work with a “beach party” on Monday. Our “party” will be pretty simple. It just requires a beach towel and some beach attire. Please help your child find their favorite beach attire to wear to school on Monday and bring along their favorite beach towel. We’ll handle the rest from there!

Book Order: The final book order is went home in today’s Friday Folder. This is a perfect opportunity to stock up on some books for the summer! In order to get the books before summer break, the book orders are due next Friday, May 23rd.

Mr. Vos’s Open House at South Side: You are invited to stop by South Side’s media center to express your appreciation and congratulations to Mr. Vos on Wednesday, May 21 any time between 3:00-4:30. Your children’s portraits of Mr. Vos will also be on display. Artwork that Glenn particularly appreciated on his visit Thursday morning 😉

Field Day: Our annual Field Day will be held on Thursday, May 29 in the afternoon. Mrs. Rosencrans could use many hands to help pull off this fun-filled event. If you are willing and able to volunteer, please contact her at crosencrans@hollandchristian.org

We’ve been working on adding two digit numbers and some students are even ready for the challenge of learning to carry numbers into the next place value column. Take a peek at our ice cream math party!

In Science, we’re beginning a unit on using the senses God has blessed us with to make observations of the properties and characteristics of various objects. We will also be experimenting with magnetism in the next few weeks. Much excitement and learning lies before us in the next few weeks!

Look who stopped by for a visit! Mrs. Throop!!! ❤

 

Nearing the End

The end is in sight. Can you believe it? As a teacher, I always spend the month of May reflecting on the school year. What went well? What could be improved for next year? Where have the kids grown the most? It is simply amazing to see the spiritual, emotional, social and academic growth that has taken place this year. The amount of prayers that have shaped the lives of each student are uncountable. THANK YOU for partnering with us this year and blessing us with your precious child.

As we look ahead to the final weeks, here are a few dates to keep in mind:

Thursday- May 15th- Next Thursday morning, May 15, our superintendent, Mr. Glenn Vos, will visit South Side for a little retirement fun from our students. Because he had to call a snow day on December 20th of last year, which cancelled our class Christmas parties, we are going to have a little fun with him. Our school will meet with Glenn in the gym for about 20 minutes and have a surprise Christmas party with him. If you could, please dress your child in red and/or green to add to the festivities.

Wednesday, May 21st- Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 21.  Our South Side and Pine Ridge community will host a combined open house for Glenn Vos in our South Side library from 3:00-4:30. Please try to stop in to offer your appreciation and congratulations.

Thursday, May 22nd– Students will take their final Discovery Assessment reading test. Results will be sent home at the end of the school year.

Friday, May 23- ALL library books are due! Please make sure to return any library books you have at home on or before this date. Thank you!

Thursday- May 29th- Field Day at South Side! Mrs. Rosencrans is need of parent volunteers to help pull off this special event. If you’re able to volunteer, please email her at crosencrans@hollandchristian.org Thank you! 🙂

Monday, May 26- No School!! Happy Memorial Day!

Friday, May 30th- Final Writing Celebration This is a special day to mark on your calendar! We are having our final Writing Celebration and we want YOU to come and celebrate the hard work that we’ve done. Each student will have their “portfolio” on display to show and share all their different writing pieces throughout the year. Bring your camera, a small appetite and a listening ear and join us from 10:30-11:30 in the music room on May 30th!

Time Capsule-  We will be putting together a very special “time capsule” in an attempt to capture who your child is in first grade. The intent of this “time capsule” is to be reopened upon graduation. What a special memory walk for you and your child! Once you have decorated a shoe box and written a letter to your child, please send it back to school so we can add special items to the box. Thank you for helping create such treasured memories for your child!

Now onto some pictures from the week…

Our week started off with Mrs. Bruxvoort graciously taking the time to come in and teach our first grade kiddos a special poetry lesson. The kids learned how to make a “conversation poem”. What a blessing she was to us! Thank you, Mrs. Bruxvoort!  

 

Speaking of blessings…what a blessing our first grade crew was to South Side during chapel this week! I was one proud teacher! Our prayer is that each student will be able to GO and DO God’s work this summer!

 

We soaked up the springtime sun and took Writing Workshop outside this week! We learned how to look at nature with a “poets eye”. I was pretty impressed with the poems that were written! Watch out Shell…;) 
  

 

Our week ended on a “sunny” note with the Tulip Time parade. Didn’t they do SUCH a great job marching? Personally, I think this is the best group of little dutch boy and girls around! 🙂 

 

Have a blessed weekend! Enjoy the final days of Tulip Time! And…HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! 🙂

 

 

Tulip Time!

Good afternoon, parents! I hope you’re in the midst of a wonderful, pre-Tulip Time weekend together. 

Tulip Time

This will be a busy week upcoming. Let’s break it down one piece at a time. 

Lunches: There will be no hot lunch served on Wednesday or Thursday. No hot lunch on Friday ONLY if the parade on Thursday is postponed until Friday. If the parade takes place on Thursday as is planned, we will have hot lunch on Friday. 

Dismissal: School will be dismissed at 11:30 on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Thursday: Our class will walk together in Thursday’s Kinderparade. The children will hold a long pole horizonally. There are five students on each stick. Keep your eyes open for yellow sunflowers. That’s us! Please plan to pick up your child at the Fire Station. To ensure that every child leaves safely, please inform me or Amanda that you have your child. We will not be able to send any children to a meeting spot. It’s safest for us to have our children transfer directly from our hands to yours after the parade. 

Thursday’s Weather: If the parade is cancelled on Thursday, it will be postponed until Friday. Same time, same place, same procedures as Thursday’s plan.

Chapel

Our class has been busily preparing for leading chapel on Wednesday, May 7. Amanda has been taking the brunt of many behind the scenes preparations! What a gift she is! We anticipate this to be a beautiful opportunity for our children to work together in presenting a lesson for the rest of South Side to learn a bit more about God’s great love for us. Chapel begins around 8:25 and should wrap up around 9:00. If it fits into your schedule, you are more than welcome to attend this time of worship. 

Time Capsule

Please see the bright gold note in your child’s Friday folder. We will be putting together a very special “time capsule” in an attempt to capture who your child is in first grade. The intent of this “time capsule” is to be reopened upon graduation. What a special memory walk for you and your child! If the letter with instructions didn’t make it home or you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. 

Field Day

We will host field day at South Side on May 29th. Mrs. Rosencrans has many fun activities planned, but we are in need of volunteers to pull this event off well. If you are willing and able to volunteer the afternoon of the 29th, please register with Mrs. Rosencrans at crosencrans@hollandchristian.org   THANK YOU!

Spring Time Fun!

Greetings from a classroom full of excited, growing, learning, loving 1st graders. We’ve had some busy weeks since returning from spring break. Our days have been full of watching life cycles, deep thinking work in reading, talking about and praying for kids in Guatemala, making homemade bread, making new paper, celebrating realistic fiction stories, welcoming story readers and most importantly, loving Jesus!

Whew! Needless to say, we’ve been busy and enjoying these spring days. Below are some important dates and information                to take note of:

April 30th- High School Chapel- Both first grade classes will head to the high school next Wednesday from 10:00-10:25 to bless the high schoolers with a special chapel. If you could help your child memorize their parts (ABC verses and/or speaking part), I would greatly appreciate it. If your child has a special speaking part, you will find it in their Friday Folder tonight.

May 7th- 1st Grade Chapel– We have a very special chapel planned that our 1st graders will be sharing with the school. You are welcome to join us in worship from 8:30-9:00.  Feel free to arrive a few minutes early to get a seat! The theme for our chapel is “go and do”. Our prayer is that we will be able to help South Side students learn how they can spread the love of God this summer! We can’t wait to worship with you!

May 7th/8th- Half Days- Tulip Time–Our first graders will be walking in the Thursday Kinder Parade. Your child will need a dutch costume for this event. No wooden shoes, please. School will end at 11:30 and the students will need to be prepared to load the bus at 12:45. There will NOT be hot lunch on this day, so please make sure you send a cold lunch to school. If you would like to come between 11:30-12:45 to assist your child with their costume, you are more than welcome to do so.    Please let Miska or me know if you need help securing a dutch costume for your child.

Other Dates:
May 26th- No School/Memorial Day
May 29th- Field Day at South Side
June 4th- Field trip to Curious Kids Museum in St. Joseph
June 6th- Last day of school (WHOA–that’s soon!)

Now…please allow me to flood your screen with pictures of all the happenings throughout the past two weeks!

Last week we went to Lifehouse to bless the elderly with songs, Scripture and conversation. I felt like a proud mama as I watched each 1st grader show love, kindness and gentleness. How neat it was to see the oldest interact with the youngest! It goes to show that God is faithful through ALL generations!

Last week we ended our Realistic Fiction unit in writing. The kids were able to share their stories with their peers. There were some great characters, problems, solutions and even a little bit of humor (imagine that!) 🙂

This week we started our new Poetry unit in writing. The kids started the unit off by writing a list poem. The title of each poem was OUCH! 🙂 Our creative minds got to work by thinking of everything that  made us say “OUCH!”

This morning Mrs. Homkes came and helped us make homemade bread. We talked about how each ingredient has a special job in the bread and the bread wouldn’t be complete without it. Just like we each have a special job to do in within the body of Christ and God’s purpose for the world wouldn’t be complete without us doing the jobs He gave us to do.

This week we started character book clubs in reading workshop. Yesterday the kids talked about their characters in their “brown bag book clubs”. They sure have done some great comprehension work!

 

Mr. Peterson joined us on Thursday morning as our story reader. He had two stories, a science experiment and a craft. We loved having Mr. Peterson share his passion for science with us! Thank you, Mr. Peterson!!

 

Whew! We’ve been busy! Have a blessed weekend!

It’s Friday. But Sunday’s a Comin’

“It’s Friday. Jesus is praying. Peter’s a sleeping. Judas is betraying. But Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. Pilate’s struggling. The council is conspiring. The crowd is vilifying.They don’t even know that Sunday’s comin‘.

It’s Friday. The disciples are running like sheep without a shepherd.

Mary’s crying. Peter is denying. But they don’t know that Sunday’s a comin‘.

It’s Friday. The Romans beat my Jesus. They robe Him in scarlet. They crown Him with thorns.  But they don’t know that Sunday’s a comin’.

It’s Friday. See Jesus walking to Calvary. His blood dripping. His body stumbling. And his spirit’s burdened.  But you see, it’s only Friday. Sunday’s comin’.

 

It’s Friday. The world’s winning. People are sinning. And evil’s grinning.

It’s Friday. The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands to the cross. They nail my Savior’s feet to the cross. And then they raise him up next to criminals.

It’s Friday. But let me tell you something: Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. The disciples are questioning. What has happened to their King? And the Pharisees are celebrating that their scheming has been achieved. But they don’t know: It’s only Friday. Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. He’s hanging on the cross feeling forsaken by His Father.

Left alone and dying. Can nobody save Him? Oooh, it’s Friday. But Sunday’s comin’.

It’s Friday. The earth trembles. The sky grows dark. My King yields his spirit.

It’s Friday. Hope is lost. Death has won. Sin has conquered. And Satan’s just a laughing.

It’s Friday. Jesus is buried. A soldier stands guard. And a rock is rolled into place.

But it’s Friday. It is only Friday.

Sunday is a comin’.”

I read this poem to our children today as well as opened the South Side News with these words. Perhaps you’re familiar with Tony Campolo’s sermon “Sunday is Coming” This poem was written by Joyce Bethy Gerguson. I believe it captures the pain and suffering carried willingly by our Savior on Good Friday, but it is also laced with the joyful anticipation of Easter Sunday, the fulfillment of God’s loving promise that began at The Fall. I pray that each family would make the time this weekend to sit together and share in the unfathomable love that was shared with us on Easter Sunday. May you feel the incomprehensible weight of Friday, but know too, that Sunday’s joy is a comin’! Easter blessings to you and yours this weekend!

Chick Week!!!

You hopefully heard from your proud new young “parent” that we hatched a batch of chicks this week. We’re kicking off a new focus of study for the next few weeks on animal life cycles. This is a culminating experience to our animal life cycle study we began with the butterflies in the fall. New life offers many opportunities to see the hand of God. Our expectant parents were beyond thrilled and proud on Tuesday as the baby chicks began hatching from their eggs. We even set aside our work in fractions on Tuesday afternoon to route on a new hatchling. How awesome to see him/her (I didn’t ask) push from its egg. Praise God. It also offered a beautiful link to discuss God offering us new life, born into Him. It’s really been another beautiful week in first grade!

 

This doesn’t relate directly to our academic development, but it sure was nice to see kids playing outside without all the hoopla of coats, boots, mittens, hats, etc.

 

On Wednesday, April 23–we will welcome an author to speak with our children about the joys of writing…although, I think many of our students could easily talk about the joys they have discovered in learning to write well. I expect we’ll be inspired with new ideas from this presentation.

Amen Glenn Team–One alternative way alumni, parents, staff, spouses, current students, etc. will be honoring Glenn and the team mentality he has fostered during his years of service at Holland Christian will be running the Tulip Time 5k. This run is on May 3. If you feel like running or walking with the team, you can register at www.tuliptime.com/run. You have to select that you ARE a part of a Honda 5K Fit Challenge team. We are the Holland Christian group. The code you need for the discount is (case sensitive) HOLLANDchristian5k.

Chapel-Mark your calendars! Our class has the privilege of leading chapel at South Side on Wednesday, May 7. Each child who is comfortable doing so will be given an important role to play showcasing his/her unique gifts and abilities. If you are able to attend, I can assure you will be blessed. Worshiping God with our South Side children is sheer joy!

Tulip Time Parade-Our first graders will be walking in the Thursday Kinder Parade. Your child will need a dutch costume for this event. No wooden shoes, please. More details regarding times, line ups, etc. will be forthcoming. Tulip Time is such an exciting time of year for children and families (traffic?…not so much) Please let Amanda or me know if you need help securing a dutch costume for your child.

Finally, enjoy these pix of our little peeps (the human kind and fowl) 😉  Blessings to you each on this beautiful Easter weekend!

Hi Henry 😀

 

Blessings

As I sat down to read Jesus Calling this morning before school, these words spoke very clearly to me during this season of Lent that we are in.  I hope this speaks to you in the same way it spoke to me:

“I am a God who GIVES and gives and gives. When I died for you on the cross, I held nothing, I poured out My Life like a drink offering. Because giving is inherent in My nature, I search for people who are able to receive in full measure.” -Jesus Calling

My prayer is that each of us will have the hearts and minds that are able to receive His love, grace and guidance in full measure. I have been reminded this week that God is more powerful than I often allow Him to be.  A heart that’s receptive of God’s full measure is one that allows His power to be shown.

Onto a little “First Grade Business…”

Report Cards/Conferences: This is a gentle reminder that report cards went live this afternoon. When you get a chance, take a peek and celebrate your child’s accomplishments ! On a similar note, Miska and I are looking forward to celebrating your child with you during conferences this coming week.

2014-2015 Enrollment: As was mentioned here last week, Holland Christian is already beginning to plan for the 2014-2015 school year. Thorough preparation is crucial to quality programming. During parent/teacher conferences at the end of this month, your child’s teacher will give you an intention slip whereby you can indicate if you would like to enroll your child for the 2014-2015 school year. We would ask that you please be in prayer over this decision throughout the next days and weeks in preparation for this. Know, too, that we are in prayer for you. It would be our humble honor to once again be used by God to partner with you in educating your child in the 2014-2015 school year. Please don’t hesitate to talk with Miska Rynsburger if you have questions or concerns you would like to discuss.

New Spelling Words: The next set of spelling words will be sent home on Monday after spring break, with the spelling test that following Friday (April 19th). I will email the words out before spring break incase you need something to study on your flight, road trip or staycation.

Looking Ahead:
Monday/Tuesday, March 31/April 1– Parent-Teacher Conferences
Wednesday, April 2nd- Reading Carnival and 1/2 Day of School (11:30 Dismissal)
Monday, April 14th- We will have some special visitors when we return from spring break. Chicks!!! We will anxiously be awaiting them to hatch in our incubators!
Wednesday, April 30th- The first grade classes will be leading chapel at the high school!

This week we were a blessing and were blessed by the people at Appledorn. We spent the morning worshiping together while learning about what it means to be blind. We learned how the visually impaired cross the street, get to the grocery store and get dressed in the morning. It was a great time of developing empathy towards others.

 

This afternoon we took a little trip to Asia. While there we ate rice with chopsticks, made ethnic hats and learned about many different types of animals! Thankfully our flight made it back in time for dismissal!

 

Have a great weekend! We look forward to seeing you next Monday or Tuesday evening! Blessings!

“See! The winter has past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.” Song of Solomon 2:11-12a

Can’t you just breathe those words in? It’s official; we have crossed the line into the spring season. Praise God!

Wednesday morning our South Side family gathered in the gym for chapel. Our children participated in some beautiful praises to our Lord. We prayed at the close of the time together that God would offer us an opportunity to be God’s tools, with our hands and our words, in a very special way. After a day of interesting learning, we closed by welcoming friends from My Brothers’ and My Sisters’ House to our classroom. I think my heart just about burst, as both a teacher and a mother of these precious little people. Truly, they used this opportunity to be the hands, feet and voice of Christ to our special guests. Please know that beyond reading, writing and math, your child in these formative years is learning that it is his/her responsibility to use those God-given gifts and talents to offer compassion, love and light to others in our world.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we are excitedly preparing for parent/teacher conferences, report cards and I am working with teachers on classroom observations, Amanda has graciously offered to teach our children on Tuesday and Friday afternoon. She has seamlessly stepped in to teach our children about telling time in math and continue our continent study in Social Studies. Thank you, Mrs. Bohle. Her energy and love for our children is a blessing to all of us! 

 

The Annual Sour Side Reading Carnival is coming up on Wednesday, April 2nd. Unfortunately, we must have 10 more parent volunteers who are willing to help run a station from 8:15-10:30AM or we may need to cancel this event.  Please respond to Amanda or me if you are willing and able to help. 

Holland Christian is already beginning to plan for the 2014-2015 school year. Thorough preparation is crucial to quality programming. During parent/teacher conferences at the end of this month, your child’s teacher will give you an intention slip whereby you can indicate if you would like to enroll your child for the 2014-2015 school year. We would ask that you please be in prayer over this decision throughout the next days and weeks in preparation for this. Know, too, that we are in prayer for you. It would be our humble honor to once again be used by God to partner with you in educating your child in the 2014-2015 school year. Please don’t hesitate to talk with me if you have questions or concerns you would like to discuss.

On Monday, our children will again have the opportunity to reach out to those in need. We will be singing and reciting the beautiful Easter story to the visually impaired residents of Appledorn Living Center. What a blessing, again, our children will certainly be. The voices of children to residents who are unable to see must be a welcomed breath of heaven. 

Amanda and I are preparing and looking very forward to spending time with each of you celebrating your child during parent/teacher conferences at the end of the month. Certainly, your child is God’s amazing, intricate workmanship and we can’t wait to talk with you about growth and potential that we see in your beautiful child. Thank you for singing up for conferences. In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful spring sunshine!

There is HOPE!

With the first glimpses of spring this week, I felt myself saying, “there is hope”! I love how spring brings a new sense of hope and renewal. A sense of hope and renewal that pales in comparison to which is brought by our Savior. As we are in this Lenten season, I’ve been challenging the kids to “add in” something to their lives that will bring them closer to Jesus. For some that is reading the Bible more, for others it means making choices that show kindness and love. May you, during this Lenten season, find the hope and renewal that is brought through the blood of Christ. As we “add in” we pray that our choices will honor God and help us understand the sacrifice that He made for us.

Throughout the past couple of weeks we’ve had some really fun and exciting learning opportunities. Enjoy some pictures that celebrate the growth that we’ve made!

Last week we celebrated our hard work on our All About books. Together with Mrs. VanMeeteren’s class we shared our fascinating findings about each animal we researched. The kids did a great job with the project! 

This week we invited the high school basketball team to come and hear our much practiced stories. The kids LOVED having the “big guys” join them for the afternoon. It was a pretty special time spent together. (I think it’s safe to say that most of the boys were star struck!)
  

Finally, today we were blessed with the opportunity to learn and explore God’s creation while we went “maple sugaring” in the sugar bush at VanRaalte farms. We were able to tap a Maple tree, watch sap pour out, taste the sap, watch the evaporating process and taste the final yummy product: maple syrup! 

Please take note of the following upcoming items:

Parent Teacher Conferences:  Please watch for information to come home regarding our upcoming Parent Teacher Conferences. We are looking forward to celebrating who your child is during this time!

Scholastic Book Order: Scholastic book order is due on Friday, March 21st. You can go to http://www.scholastic.com and enter L7WQ4 or you may send the money and order form back to school with your child.

Reading Carnival Help: The annual South Side reading carnival will be on April 2nd from 8:30-10:00. If you’re able and willing to help make this a success, please let us know. Thank you for your willingness to help create a special day for our students.

Have a blessed weekend!