March 19

Classic Michigan. Fire Drills in a snow globe!

What are we learning...

Math - We are starting our measurement unit!

Writing - We are finishing up our drafting of our personal expertise pieces.

Reading - Learning how to interpret and analyze different fictional texts. We are learning that we can compare themes, characters, and author's purpose of two books.

Bible - We are going to begin learning about the different Kings of Israel.

Social Studies - Began our next unit which focuses on our government! We are getting ready for our visit on the State Capitol.

Half Day on Friday, March 24.

Parent Teacher Conferences: Parent Teacher Conferences are on Monday, March 20th and March 27th. Be sure you've signed up for a student-led parent/teacher conference here.  Conferences will be IN PERSON. Your 4th grade kiddo will be leading the conference! So plan on them being PRESENT for our conference. :)

REPORT CARDS - I'll be working long and hard this weekend and in the next week to get your child's third quarter report prepared for you.  It will be available for viewing online at 3pm on Friday, March 24.

LANSING - The big day is less than a week away!  To say we are excited is an understatement!  Please look at the MARCH 3 Blog post for reminders of what to pack and also what NOT to pack.  We are leaving from school at 7am - don't miss that important detail!

Anybody want to keep our plants alive? We are wondering if anyone is staying home for spring break? Would you like to visit a 80 degree greenhouse? It feels like Florida! We have plants for our 4th grade plant sale that need to be watered during break. If you are staying home and have interest in watering some veggie plants, please let me know!  

Spring Program

• The spring program is nearly upon us, friends. We hope you are able to attend as our children lead us in worship Thursday evening. We ask that your child wear his/her Streams of Living Water t-shirt for the program. Please meet your child's teacher in the narthex of Christ Memorial Church at 6:10. Our program will begin at 6:30 and we anticipate will commence around 7:30. Our preschool friends will sit with their families and be called up front to lead in singing midway through the program. We've got singers, percussionists, dancers, and what elementary program would be complete without recorders! We can't wait to see you there. 
• Please note we do not have staff available to open the nursery. Nursery will be closed. 

• We will be taking a collection midway through the program to help offset the cost of the venue. Thank you, as always, for all of your support! 

Kids Food Basket Week: Kids Food Basket Week begins on Monday. We're so grateful for this opportunity allowing us to step into the call of servant living. We’re approaching Holy Week soon, friends, during which Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as an act of service and love. One act of service and love to our neighbors can be to help offer relief from food insecurities. We anticipate special learning experiences and what we pray will be impactful discussions each day with your child. Thank you, friends, for passionately growing Christ followers by leading and modeling with your heart!

Kids Food Basket held a listening session with children who struggle with food insecurities. They learned the food preferences from the children right in our own neighborhood! The following is food from their wish list. If you're willing, please bring any of these food items between Monday, March 20-Friday, March 24. 

• Nutri-Grain bars

• Fruit cups

• Cheerios

• Raisin boxes

• Cheez-It crackers 

• Goldfish crackers 

Friday, March 24  is Go Orange Day to raise awareness and publicly offer support to the continued work done by Kids Food Basket. Additionally, if you'd like to contribute to the mission good work Kids Food Basket provides in our community, please feel free to use this QR code for a direct link

BAND EXTRAVAGANZA - Come one, come all to the Holland Christian Schools Band Extravaganza for a wonderful night of music on Tuesday, March 21. HC’s 5th grade, 6th grade, Middle School, and High School Bands will perform at the Jack H. Miller Center for the Musical Arts on Hope College’s campus at 7pm. Hear a wide variety of musical styles and sounds and you won’t want to miss the closer, featuring over 200 musicians combined!

 

SWINGIN’ THE NIGHT AWAY - The HCHS music department and jazz ensembles invite you to Swingin’ the Night Away on Friday, March 24, 6:45-9:30pm in the HS Cafeteria. Free dance instructions from 6:45 pm-7:30pm. Enjoy intergenerational fun, dancing, desserts and beverages from 7:30-9:30pm. Tickets are $5 at the door. Enjoy Afro-Cuban influenced music, funk tunes, the blues, and a vocal soloist!

March 10

What are we learning...

Math - We are finishing up our unit on multi-step story problems and using order of operations to solve equations. 

Writing - We are finishing up our drafting of our personal expertise pieces.

Reading - Learning how to interpret and analyze different fictional texts. We are learning that we can compare themes, characters, and author's purpose of two books.

Bible - We are learning about who King Solomon was: his wisdom, wealth, and his relationship with God.

Social Studies - Wrapping up our current unit on the movement of people across the United States. Our next unit focuses on our government! We are getting ready for our visit on the State Capitol.

Parent Teacher Conference - Be sure you've signed up for a student-led parent/teacher conference here.  Conferences will be IN PERSON and are on Mondays - March 20 and 27. Your 4th grade kiddo will be leading the conference! So plan on them being PRESENT for our conference. :)

All School Spring Program - Mark your calendars! Our rehearsals are underway! We'll have solos, dancers and ALL of Rose Parkers, preschool through fifth grade, leading in praise at Christ Memorial Church on March 23 at 6:30. We're requesting arrival time of our preschool through fifth grade worship leaders arrive at Christ Memorial at 6:10. Please wear your Streams of Living Water t-shirts, kiddos!

Summer Tutoring: Hi, my name is Mandi Overbeek and I am offering tutoring sessions this summer for K-5! I would love to work alongside any kiddos who could use a little extra help this summer to catch up or avoid the summer slide. Sessions would take place here at school. You can send me an email (moverbeek@hollandchristian.org) or call me at (616) 795-3369.

Kids Food Basket: Our prayer, as your partners, is that the words we say, the behaviors we model and the experiences we plan would shape your children’s heart to look just a little more like Jesus’ heart every day. By embedding our Holland Christian Discipleship Practices in the learning activities and daily life of our community, we believe we help to prepare our children for a life lived closer to God’s call as Kingdom Bringers.

50 schools from throughout West Michigan will be jumping in to work together to help bring food to “nourish kids to be their best” thanks to the leadership of Kids Food Basket.

Guess what! Rose Park is invited to join in with this important effort. Every child knows the discomfort of hunger. Many of our children don’t understand the depth of struggle with food insecurities but we certainly can work together to help ease the pain children who are our neighbors are feeling. March 20-March 24 we will live into Kids Food Basket Week! Take a peek at this flyer to learn about some of the ways your family can also get involved if you choose: KFB Week 2023-School Flyer. You’ll find a wish list of food items children in our area have shared that they enjoy eating the most. There is a QR code your family can contribute to this dear organization if you’d like. And, finally, you can wear orange on Go Orange Day, March 24. Orange is the color of Childhood Hunger Awareness and we want to help make a difference. As we grow in our gardening skills, our dream is to one day raise fresh, organic treats for these yummy sack suppers.

Would you like to participate? We'll be collecting food from the wish list gathered from children close by right in our neighborhood! Here are some of their favorite foods for the sack suppers we'd like to collect:
• Nutri-Grain bars
• Fruit cups
• Cheerios
• Raisin boxes
• Cheez-It crackers 
• Goldfish crackers 

Additionally, if you'd like to contribute to the mission good work Kids Food Basket provides in our community, please feel free to use this QR code for a direct link

Parent/Teacher Conference Yummies: Parent Board is looking for donations to feed the teachers during conferences, Monday March 20. We are excited to provide our teachers a fun Charcuterie board to snack on after school! We need all kinds of meat, cheeses, treats and whatever you think we should throw on a board!! Please bring the items to school by Monday morning before lunch time so we can put it all together before school gets out at 3pm! You guys are amazing, I know our teachers love not having to worry about food or drink on conference day so they can focus on chatting with families!!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4FA5A92AA1FD0-march

March 3

What are we learning...
Bible - King Solomon's reign over Israel
Math - Learning how to solve 2-step story problems
Reading - Learning how to deepen our understanding of themes and author's purpose across different texts.
Writing - Planning and drafting our chapters for our personal expertise writing
Social Studies - Learning about the movement of people throughout our nation's history and how we and others before us have adapted to our environment.

Barn Chores - We will have barn chores on Tuesday, March 7th.

Parent Teacher Conference - Be sure you've signed up for a student-led parent/teacher conference here.  Conferences will be IN PERSON and are on Mondays - March 20 and 27. Your 4th grade kiddo will be leading the conference! So plan on them being PRESENT for our conference. :)

Lansing Trip - The big day is right around the corner!  On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 all fourth graders will travel to Lansing to tour the state capitol building and the Impressions 5 Science Museum.  The following is information that will be helpful for you.

1. Students must be at school by 7:00am.  If your child is sick that day, please let me know by e-mail by 6:30am that morning.  We plan to return back to school in time for students to catch the bus home at the end of the school day.

2. Each person attending needs a completely disposable bag lunch with a beverage (labeled with their name).  Also pack two extra snacks in their backpack that we will eat mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

3. Students may bring a backpack with quiet entertainment (books, drawing, etc. – NO electronics or phones of any type per Holland Christian policy) for the bus ride. Backpacks and their contents will be left on the bus during the tours of the museum and the capitol building.  Teachers are not responsible for any student items that are lost or left behind.  No pillows or blankets as the bus will be FULL of students. ☺

We are looking forward to a fun and informative day.  Please keep us in your prayers as we plan for and travel there!

All School Spring Program - Mark your calendars! Our rehearsals are underway! We'll have solos, dancers and ALL of Rose Parkers, preschool through fifth grade, leading in praise at Christ Memorial Church on March 23 at 6:30. We're requesting arrival time of our preschool through fifth grade worship leaders arrive at Christ Memorial at 6:00. Please wear your Streams of Living Water t-shirts, kiddos!

TRIP Training - How would you like to learn how you can receive dollars that go directly to your family's tuition account simply by going about your ordinary business transactions? Our Tuition Reduction Incentive Program (TRIP) almost sounds too good to be true! But it's TRUE! And it works! Much of the TRIP exchanges can now be done directly on your phone! Kristi and Kim, our amazing TRIP coordinators, are willing to offer curious parents a workshop to learn how to participate so you can also receive some reductions in your tuition just by ordinary exchanges such as purchasing groceries, buying gas and taking a vacation! Even some orthodontists can be linked with your TRIP account! Join us for either of these two workshop sessions and bring your phone! You'll walk away from the time together ready to start chipping at your bill thanks to TRIP! 

• March 1 at 6:30 at the High School in the lecture hall
• March 7 at 2:00 at Rose Park in the media center

March Is Reading Month! As part of the national celebration of reading month, West Michigan WhiteCaps is providing a free optional Reading Tracker/Ticket Order Form.

1. Students and/or their grown-ups keep track of reading minutes in March. 
2. Those who participate are eligible for 2 free tickets to select WhiteCaps home games.

All information regarding this incentive and how to order free tickets is included on the WhiteCaps 2023 Reading Club Form.

HC Lacrosse: To the elementary and middle school students who are interested in playing lacrosse for Holland Christian this year, there will be a parent informational meeting on Thursday, March 9 at 7pm. It will be held in the Lecture Hall at Holland Christian High School. Please enter through Door A which will be unlocked at 6:45. This meeting is to provide you with details in terms of practice, equipment, times, etc. If you have any questions, we will be willing to answer any you may have there as well.