Much To Be Discovered

Resonate with anybody? 

We can either laugh about it...or cry. Misewell laugh. Please know Todd and I are doing the best we can to pursue the mass exodus of our furry friends.

Courtney has requested an announcement about Discovery Nights be published in your class blogs. If you would like you may word your own, or you may copy and paste this announcement:

We are entering a joy-filled, exciting time of the Holland Christian School calendar. Though the ground is still covered in snow and ice, we are busy making plans for the next school year. It is the season of school tours with new families, interviews with prospective parents, Discovery Night experiences and many conversations with folks who are curious to know more about who we are and what we do. Please join me in committing to pray for families who are seeking the educational home for their child where he/she will be loved, known, taught and grown into God. Schooling is a big decision and commitment for families to consider. We claim the promise in Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's handiwork, created in Jesus Christ to do good work, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Thanks be to God that He holds the plans for our lives and for our children's journey. As parents, we can rest in that knowledge. As a school community, we know that we can be faithful and God will be great!

January 19, 6-7:30PM is the date and time for this very special event held at South Side designed to introduce Holland Christian to prospective parents and students for next year, especially at the Preschool and Kindergarten levels. What can you do?

• Pray for an overwhelming number of new families to come that evening, and for a wonderful experience for all whom God will bring.
• Pray for staff and our volunteers as we welcome and introduce ourselves to these prospective families.
• Help us to create the positive "buzz" for the night by spreading the word and invitation, and by telling your story of Holland Christian and South Side! Think about a family member, acquaintance, neighbor, friend, or colleague whom you could invite to this event. Some of our best advertising is you! 
• Accompany someone to the event. You can greatly alleviate any discomfort someone might feel about walking through the doors of a building into which they've never stepped foot before. Your friendly and welcoming accompaniment may be just what is needed for someone to come and hear our story.

AND....if you're willing...we are putting out the plea for a few pieces and parts for Makers Week but getting very little response from the elementary blog. Perhaps your blogs are better read and therefore hold more communicative power? ;) If you would be willing, and I apologize for sending so much your way this week for your blogs, would you please copy this request for elementary Makers Week supplies?

Makers Week
Human beings are pretty astounding creatures, wouldn’t you agree? (admittedly we may be a little partial!) We are image bearers of a creative God. The Bible opens by detailing the story of God creating and unfolding the world and filling it with a creation that points to His glory. The beauty, intricacies, varieties and delicate balance through which life is allowed to flourish is nothing short of miraculous. Our God of the universe created us in His image. Wow. Astounding.

As a place of learning, it is our responsibility to celebrate this gift of creativity in our children. It is imperative that we do all we can to nurture our children’s curiosity, creativity, and capacity for innovation. By allowing their imagination to flourish we enrich their learning experiences rather than stifling their “outside-of-the-box” thinking. Children have an extraordinary capacity for creativity, and they often use it unabashedly.

During the week of February 22, your child will be engaged in Makers' Week. During Makers' Week, all students will be involved in engineering and/or techological-based projects. Our students will work side-by-side with teammates from all grades that have a common interest rather than a common age. We anticipate collaboration, problem-solving, coaching and encouraging among our children as they build, create, design and publish their work. You will hear more about this opportunity in the coming weeks.

We are in need of a few donations. If you have any of the following laying around the house that you would be willing to part with, we will put these items to sound use! Thank you for taking a look at our list of needs:

• Cookie Cutters
• Happy Meal-type toys and/or trinkets
• Kiddie Pool to borrow
• Small hand-tools such as screwdrivers, pliers, hammer

Wacky Wednesdays
Our parent team is once again sponsoring our Wacky Wednesday fun. Please take a look at the dates and theme as voted on by our sixth graders.:

Pajama Day - January 13

Crazy Hair Day - January 20

Mismatched Day - January 27

Hat Day - February 3

SPARK 
We are finally launching our SPARK events this month. The monthly assignment for your class is noted on the "SPARK" Wednesday on our staff calendar, frequently the final full Wednesday of the month. However, there are some SPARK events that require planning in advance, such as a preschool visit, collections for the Holland Rescue Mission, military collection, etc. Here is a reminder of the assignments for each class for the month of January:

Holland Rescue Mission--collecting Valentine Cards--Amanda Bohle
Preschool Visit--Karen VanMeeteren
Civic Worker Gratitude--Karen Strikwerda
Eagle College Letters--Jenna Ritsema (address found on google calendar notes)
Military Collection--Hunderman/Dreyer (see Pat for contact person)
Neighborhood Blessing--Sandy Johnson
Lakeside Vista--Sarah Becksfort (arrangements confirmed with bussing and Lakeside Vista)
Special Needs Visitors--Natalie Sapp (arrangements confirmed with My Sisters/Brothers House)

Report Cards 
Report Cards will be printed on Thursday, January 21. 3-day K cards will go home on Thursday. All other cards will go home on Friday, January 22.

Collaboration Days
We have a teacher/speaker Dan has invited to speak to several teams of teachers throughout our district on Friday, January 22. Our second grade team will be attending this seminar. Due to this engagement, the collaboration days planned for Thursday and Friday, January 21 and 22 have been moved to the following week Thursday and Friday, January 28 and 29. Here is our new schedule:

Lunch and Learn scheduled for January 28 has been cancelled due to the rearrangement of collaboration days.

Learning Lab
Oh learning labs....with all of these calendar adjustments...we're running into a snag with Learning Lab and Collaboration Days now running concurrently. I will speak with cohort 1 to see how we can best adjust to this conundrum. Thank you for your patience. Just for your reference, here was our original Learning Lab plan.


Notes thus far for January 28's Learning Lab date (subject to change if you so desire!):
Cohort 1 - Lesson at 11:00
Sarah Becksfort - covered by Miska beginning at 10:40 through lunch
Sandy Johnson - covered from 10:40 through lunch
Sheri Hunderman - covered by Michelle starting at 10:40
Amanda Bohle - covered from 10:40 through lunch

Cohort 2 - Lesson at 2:00 (preconference over encore time)
Jenna Ritsema - coverage from 2:00 through end of day
Michelle Dreyer - coverage from 2:00 through end of day
Karen Strikwerda - coverage by Danielle
Karen VanMeeteren - coverage from 2:30 through end of day
Natalie Sapp - coverage from 2:00 through end of day

Personal Day Form
We have an amended form for our new personal days. Pat has copied these forms on salmon colored paper to help distinguish the old from the new. If you have the pink forms, you may recycle them. The new personal day form from this day and forevermore will be on salmon colored paper! ;)

Staff Meeting
Haven't had enough information yet you say? How about a staff meeting! January 14 please plan for a lunch staff meeting. I'll bring a bowl of candy/treats (it's OK...it's a Thursday ;) ) but do you mind bringing a lunch for that meeting. We'll pick up the tab for our next Lunch and Learn date in February.