Our Pat

Our beloved Pat. How many thousands of children has she gently tended to over the years? How many baby teeth has she pulled and celebrated? How many ice packs and band aides has she applied to owies? How many tears has she wiped for our little ones hurting in the office chair? I can’t count that high. And now our Mrs. Meiste is the one with the broken heart and hurting in the chair. 

She must help her children mourn the death of their Dad. It’s our turn to tend to her hurting heart. She and her kids need our help. They take comfort in the prayers spoken on their behalf, the hugs, food baskets and just plain old love. Thank you for the many snack/food items that have been accumulating on the staff center table. Keep them coming. This walking in the valley of the shadow of death is arduous and long. She will need our love, care and support for a long while. Two tangible ways we can begin our support:

Jay's Visitation and Funeral
Jay's visitation will be at Langeland-Sterenberg funeral home on 16th street from 2:00-5:00 on Sunday. His funeral will be at 1:00 at Graafschap CRC. Dan has graciously granted South Side a half day of school. Details will go out to parents in a power announcement early this afternoon.

Canvas
Danielle Snoeyink feels a twinge of homesickness/heartsick for her SS family during this time. She brought a favorite treat of ours to be enjoyed by everyone! Dip in and feel her love! :) She hopes to have the "And I Will Dwell In The House of the Lord Forever" canvas completed by Monday. If it is, would you please bring your class to the canvas near the gym to be signed by your kids before morning recess. I'll try to get the canvas to Graafschap in time for the funeral.

P/T Conferences
Our slots are going to be 15 minutes this year. Parents will be signing up on Monday. I know teachers have had different preferences about dinner times. Dinner is going to be provided both nights of parent/teacher conferences. It was wisely suggested to me that, rather than me corporately blocking your dinner time, you select your own scheduled time to eat or pass on the food if some of you would prefer. How about this: I will ask parent team to have food ready by 5:30. Those of you who would like to take a little break and eat together can block 5:30-6:00 on your evening docket. If you prefer to customize your evening per your preferences, you may certainly as there will be no corporate schedule imposed on your sign ups. Does that sound OK?

Pine Ridge POD Group Visiting
We have a group of Pine Ridge students coming to South Side from 1:00-2:00 on Wednesday, October 4. They would love to read with kids, cut things, laminate, change the display case, etc. If you have a job for Pine Ridge kiddos, they are here to serve for one hour as part of their PODS program.

Data Meetings
Thursday, October 5

• 2nd Grade--12:45-1:45
• K--2:10-3:00

Friday, October 6

• 1st Grade--12:45-1:45

Grandparents Day Flow:
The following is in our program:

10:15am        Begin in child’s classroom

10:45am       Coffee and Cookies

11:00am          Program in the gym

Program

Shema               Mrs. Ritsema’s Class

 “This is the Day”                       K-2

Psalm 8:1          Kindergarten Children

“Hey Kids Do You Love Jesus?”   K-2   

Psalm 8   Mrs. Hunderman/Dreyer’s Class            

“The Name of the Lord”              K-2

“I am the Way,  the Truth and the Life”

Psalm 23                 1^st Grade  Children

Devotional                  Mrs. Rynsburger

“My God Is So Great”                   K-2

Benedication            K-2 and Grandparents

Summer's BAAA-AAACK!!

The heat that we were relieved to have missed during our August school days seems to have found us! Dress comfortably, drink water, perhaps story time in the shade. I hope you each have plans for a relaxing, summery weekend to restore and celebrate God's beauty in creation (before it all falls off the trees and everything turns grey) ;)

Epi-pen Training 
Jane Borr has asked that we brush up on our epi pen skills. Would you be willing to hold a lunch and learn on Monday, September 25 from 12:10-12:20? She is willing to come during the noon hour if we are all willing to come during lunch. Please let me know if you have a conflict.

Behavioral Consultant
I don't want to hijack your lunches with a plethora of lunch and learns, but I do want to respond to our need for consistent and effective behavior plans. Teri Bush is the behavioral consultant who services our building. She and I met for a bit this morning. I described some of our community-level challenges. She is very excited to offer practical ways to help us lead our students to learn and exhibit respectful behavior in our learning spaces, in the hallways and on the playground. I have a few initial tidbits to share with you:

• Communicating imagery of the Behavior You Desire

Use language that that describes the behavior you expect, not asking for students to do what you don't want them to engage in. What does that mean? Rather than "don't stand near the wall" or "don't touch your neighbor", Teri recommends using positive phrasing, "stand in the center of the gym" or "keep your hands in your own pocket of space". She explained that sometimes the "don't" provides students with a visual that they emulate and pass right over the "don't".

• Flop and Drop 

If you have a student who resists a task by flopping onto the floor like a "sack of potatoes" we are to respond by waiting them out. In other words, don't try to pick them up and get the to stand on their feet and move. Rather, let them lie and wait until they finally decide to rejoin the group or engage in the task. This is difficult in part I believe because it may not be the way we would parent our own child. We'll have to differentiate the role of teacher and parent. A child who flops simply gets left in that spot until he/she rejoins on his/her own free will.

• Calming Chair

Students who are brought to the office will be placed in the chair near the interior window. We will call this chair the Calming Chair. We will set a timer for the number of minutes equivalent to the child's age in years. Once calm and ready to be compliant, we will have a talk and go back to the business of learning.

Reformation Day
Everything is getting arranged and ready. Here is the link you need for Thursday morning. Thank you for willingly participating in this learning. We ran stuck with aligning our schedules for those who would like a whole-group talk regarding the "why" and "what" of Reformation Day. I wonder if I can come to your grade level or classroom on Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday for you Sarah, to give a brief talk about the Reformation and how this frames our believes and worship today. Let's talk about a time if you desire this!

Fire Drill
On Thursday. I'll set my timer.

Chapel on the 18th
We are going to Skype again with Beautiful Gate. We will meet in the gym at 8:30 and worship together for about 30 minutes or it may run a little short. HC2 will need the gym starting at 9:00.

Data Meetings
Will take place October 5 and 6 during encore.

Please input your students' reading scores in this folder. Please let me know if you need help accessing your grade.

Tacos Galore!

Guess what! It's Taco Friday tomorrow!!! Leftovers perhaps, but still. No need to pack a PB & J from home again. Thank you for your continued good work here at South Side. The tacos meagerly tell the story, you are LOVED, VALUED and APPRECIATED!

Reformation Day Plans
Can be found here. Thank you for your willingness to walk our students through learning experiences that dip their toes into the truths which frame our faith in God. I hope and pray this is a valuable learning time for our students.

Differentiated Classroom
How are you doing with the reading of this book? All teachers K-12 are going to engage with the practical application of this book during our PD in November. Our agreed upon goal was to be prepared to discuss and even reflect on a few aspects of this book you have utilized in your teaching during our November staff meeting.

October Staff Meeting 
We had a meeting scheduled in October, however, it is cancelled due to conflicts. Our next staff meeting will be November 9. Please come prepared to talk through the Differentiated Classroom material.

Work Order
I promised that I would put this link before you from time to time as custodial needs arise. Here is the form we have been requested to complete as needs arise.

Epi-pen Training 
Jane Borr has asked that we brush up on our epi pen skills. Would you be willing to hold a lunch and learn on Monday, September 25 from 12:10-12:20? She is willing to come during the noon hour if we are all willing to come during lunch. Please let me know if you have a conflict.

Our Sock and Underwear Drive
Thank you for posting this need in your blog. All of HC is going to adopt this cause along with a few other needs resulting from the recent hurricane. I hope Gross Elementary in Victoria, TX will be blessed with a plethora of little socks and underwear from our HC community. If people bring in more next week, we'll take them and add items to our district collection.

Good-bye Bill. We will miss you! Welcome, Robert Trujillo 
Robert will be working here at South Side each day from 11:30-3:00.

Chapel on October 18
We will once again hold a joint chapel with our friends at Beautiful Gate! Due to the seven hour differential between our zone and theirs, we will need to hold chapel at 8:30 on Wednesday, October 18. If we start at 8:30, we should be able to clear out by 9:00 in time for our HC2 friends to hold their gym class. This is such a beautiful time of praise with our friends beautiful little friends in Lesotho, Africa.

Hurricane Help

Happy Friday, South Side! I love to hear the stories you're telling about your kids! We're slowly beginning to see small successes already and tales of triumph. Karen's devotions were SO encouraging! "When they are having their worst days, we must have our best." Boy, only by the grace of God.... Your love, care, desire to learn and dependence on God's strength is a testament to your desire to offer God your gifts in response to his love and mercy showered upon us!

Would you please copy and paste this into your class blog today?

Hurricane Relief
In an effort to do our tiny part in offering shalom to chaos, we would like to invite you to help your child respond to the needs of people in turmoil after the wake of Hurricane Harvey. We have been in contact with the principal of a school in Victoria, TX. There is a preschool through fifth grade school building, FW Gross Elementary, which has sustained a great deal of devastation. The principal, Mrs. Noble, tells us the families are in need of school supplies and basic life essentials. They have lost so much. In order to help meet their needs, would you be willing to donate a pair or two of socks and or package of underwear? I know this seems like an odd request, but children have lost so much and need the essentials. We will have a barrel near the office which our children can toss in new packages of socks and underwear. Because the need is immediate, we would like to ship the items to the families in Victoria, TX soon. The Hurricane Relief Drive will wrap up next Friday, September 15 at which point we will ship the socks and underwear to little ones in need in Texas. Thank you for your help

CEA Attendance
If you are NOT going to attend CEA, would you please let me know by the end of today? Otherwise, we'll pay the entry fee for ALL teaching staff K-2. If you are not a K-2 teacher but would like to attend, you are more than welcome and we will pay your entry fee as well. Please let me know this as well and we'll include you in the count. Thank you!

Classroom Recycler
I met with Paul this week and he has a request. Could you please charge your star helper (or some such other classroom job) with carrying your blue recycle tub to the large, blue recycle tub in the hallway and empty the contents. It is a big help if each classroom tub is emptied by a student. Preschool? Can your little people handle that? Tammy, could a before or after school care person be in charge of that. It might be in the Bruinsma girls' genes! ;)

Close windows and turn off fans please
Raphie has been doing an AMAZING job vacuuming our floors at the close of the day. Would you please ensure that YOU close your classroom windows and turn off your fans. This is not something that is on Raphies' job description.

Staff Meeting
We will have our September staff meeting on Thursday over the lunch hour. Thank you for your prompt attendance.

Protect Your Eyes

We are excited to welcome Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes (www.protectyoungeyes.com) to Holland Christian on Monday, September 25. Protect Young Eyes exists to give busy parents and hyper-connected kids the information and tools they need to use technology awesomely. Chris McKenna founded Protect Young Eyes in response to the growing demand from parents at his church for information to help them navigate our digital culture. Chris will be speaking with 5th-8th graders during the day on the 25th. Please follow this link if you would like to see an outline of the topics Chris will be covering with each grade.

We are also inviting the entire Holland Christian Community to meet with Chris as well. He will be speaking to parents on September 25 from 7-8:30 pm in the High School Auditorium.We hope to see you here!  One of the greatest needs we hear from parents is help with how to use the Internet and technology with their kids. We look forward to partnering with you in this ongoing conversation. Our goal is that you walk away from these presentations equipped and encouraged.

Tornado Drill

Monday at 9:45 :)

Two Weeks In

Do you feel like we're learning just as much as our little ones are? What makes them tick, how to establish routines with the unique learners in your care (who have enjoyed three months of hippie-living lifestyle and are a year younger than your last group left you!), how to display the grace of God to your little ones as you shape them to live in this new community? Oh my! What a tall order. As Pat's devotions reassured us, God will give us the strength needed to provide each child with the opportunity to learn and flourish this year. A strong cup of coffee in the morning doesn't hurt either! ;)

Can I take a few minutes to share with you some of the amazing gems I saw this week? How about Tammy and Eva proudly darting about their busy 3s room as their young learners were happily molding playdough, stacking stackable objects together and jabbering away (incoherently, imho, to one another). Both Tammy and Eva were smiling and complimenting these tiny ones who were settling in quickly to their new loving learning environment. Jamie and Lisa eagerly welcomed two squealing piglets into their classroom to the delight of their Junior Kinders. Oh the screams. I now understand what it means to squeal like a stuck pig. Jamie and Lisa took as much joy and delight as their children did. Those students are going to be treated to an amazing year of learning and fun in JK this year. Karen S. celebrated and offered a SMILING star (that's no average star, mind you) to her children acknowledging the morning work they had completed as teams! This was no quiet, easy-to-manage worksheet. Children were collaborating with constructions first thing in the morning, making a bear city, a tall tower...all the while DJ was helping to make sure her little one's heart is ready for the adventures that lie before him that day. Across the hall, Sandy and Michelle are working together to lovingly transition one of their little ones each day from home to school. With love, support and patience, he has made GREAT progress already. Tears of gratitude have been seen multiple times in his Mama's eyes. Sarah has several students who cried the first few days of school. But they are snuggling into the routine, structure and love Sarah provides. As you can imagine, her quick smile and verbal reassurances melt the tension these little ones feel. They, too, are finding home in her classroom. Kim so beautifully weaves together our staff with her friendship, genuine care and LOVE for others. How proud our new second grade servers are to work alongside her in serving lunch. It's so good to hear her greetings and servant heart in our kitchen again. And, Paige, our we are treated to your smiles again on Wednesday. I'm so grateful you are able and willing to serve God in this role! Did you know that Gerrit has gone outside this week for extra recess times? Do you wanna know why? He loves to play with our kids and wants to get to know them! He's playing ball tag, soccer and catch! The energy and enthusiasm he brings to the gym space bubbles over to the playground! Diane and Helena lead their students in creating AMAZING butterflies that now adorn our front entryway. Such a beautiful carry over to the first grade science unit! Mary has been busily loading student accounts into the system. We are forever grateful for her servant heart and desire to serve ALL of our students and teachers. Did you know? After Karen VM reads a story to her class in library, she invites them to use legos to construct a scene or character from the book she just read! Excellent creativity opportunity for her little learners. DeeDee and Anita are getting together their schedules and beginning to listen to and grow our little ones who need their care! Watch the classroom and hallway behavior of our kindergarteners sometime. Want to know why they already display excellent school sense already? This is due in large part to the excellent preparation our students were taught by Jamie, Leanne, Konni, Dawn and Tammy! With the help of Lisa, Tina, Rachel, Stephanie and Eva, our little ones are already being taught HOW to do school. I saw Leanne and Tina teaching children sitting on their benches HOW to laugh and be silly, as well as how not to so the community can be both silly and responsible. Konni has been putting in many extra hours with her own two sweet little ones busily playing in her space! She and Rachel have been thinking outside of the box and considering how, even in preschool, we can continue to grow in our inclusivity of all families. Dawn and Stephanie are teaching, all the while reassuring their students, that God creates everyone of us differently with unique skills and challenges. What a beautiful, welcoming environment for all of their little learners. Working tirelessly in that classroom space with a little one and later as tech teacher is Lindsay. I can't begin to express enough gratitude for her persistence, patience, grace and love for her one-on-one student, followed by a curriculum-less tech class in the afternoon. Haven't you been so impressed with all that the students are learning and becoming reacquainted with this year already? I'm always so excited to see what her students are producing. And what a riot! Shelly was tooting her slide whistle at her kindergarteners as they moved to the sliding sounds. So cute. Students having FUN with tone and introduction to music. Jenna is bringing Cultivating Shalom to life with her students by sharing pictures and stories of how God spoke to her in Israel. As she draws her students into her personal life and spiritual life, they see and know a little more of our great God. Elaine has been busting over with creativity in her classroom. Students pray for one another, they identify positive traits in each other and pull new meaning from Bible verses that may otherwise be glossed over due to familiarity. Did you know that Michelle is going to implement compliment teaching in her classroom? Ask her about it. It's an AWESOME idea! One we could all use (next year's PD, Michelle? ;) ) Rachel has been so busy! She is a gentle, loving and consistent presence for our little first graders who need an extra set of hands. She has endured some physical expressions of frustrations from students already. Yet, God is granting her peace and hope that these little ones in her care will find comfort and peace in their school days too. Lia, in the meantime, has been EVERYWHERE. Contacting parents, connecting with the ISD, setting up appointments to visit former schools of students on her caseload, listening to concerns of parents and teachers all the while supporting her crew. Hmm...no wonder you klunked out, Lia. Tami has been transitioning to her new role as reading support teacher. She's been busy learning and preparing. If you have a minute, take a peek in the old kitchen-turned-reading-support room. It's BEAUTIFUL and homey! I can't wait to see our little ones coming and going and growing in there next week! Karen VM has created a welcoming, loving home for students, particularly one of her littles ones who desperately needs consistency, peace and JOY in his life. What better home away from home for this little hurting child than in Karen's care every day. Surely God's hand is in this placement. Amanda has embraced her new five day schedule along with transitioning to 24 first graders. Her students are learning to do school and one has very little schooling experience and has a great deal of learning to do. Amanda's patience rivals Job's right now. I pray that these little ones will also soon settling in and find comfort in the consistency Amanda so effectively brings to her students. They, too, are finding love in this learning environment. Pat just keeps our South Side heart beating. She's already doling out ice packs, yanking teeth, providing nervous parents with wisdom and reassurances...her list is endless. Always with a smile. She sometimes ends the day with a "let's do this again tomorrow." What a blessing to have Pat at our side. Thea, how are you not dizzy with code, passwords, email addresses and panicky questions?!? Did you know that Thea gave up her evening this year during the ice cream social to help assist new parents connect to their child's powerschool account? What a servant heart you have, Thea. And how about Darlene and Bill! Aren't they the best? Washing windows, cleaning sinks, vacuuming baseboards. An elementary school should never be subjected to a white glove test...but I think South Side would stand up to the test! Raphie and Enrique are a WONDERFUL addition to our evening team as well.

I've only scratched a tiny fraction of the surface of all that you do. You bless me EVERY day as I get to see you offering your gifts to God by loving your young ones. I know it's been tiring. Your students will shed their hippie ways. They're adjusting to this new structure as well. I see smiles, enthusiasm, friendships and JOY in our hallways. God is on display at South Side!

Monday
There's no school Monday. Have we mentioned that? Rest. Relax. Have a summery blast. Come back on Tuesday ;)

Delta Math
We start on Tuesday and the window closes on Friday. Please let Thea or me know if you need assistance.

Car Decals
There are new decals for your car windows available. Pat has them! Pick one up in the office if you'd like one on your car window.

Convocation
Will be Wednesday morning. Departure and return details will be availabe on Tuesday. The convocation takes place from 9:00-9:30. Plan on around 20 minutes before and after for travel. We'll provide specifics on Tuesday.

Walk-a-thon
Busses pick up 12:15. We typically return toward the close of the day with a few minutes to just hang out together on the playground before dismissal.

NWEA/MAP Test
Training and set up will take place at Rose Park on Wednesday, September NWEA/MAP

SCHOOL PICTURES

Wednesday, September 13

• Mrs. Grassmid’s Monday/Wednesday class
• Mrs. Lubbers Class
• Mrs. Baker’s Class
• Mrs. VanRees’s Class
• Mrs. Lanser’s Class

Thursday, September 14

• Mrs. Grassmid’s Tuesday/Thursday class
• Mrs. Strikwerda’s Class
• Mrs. Becksfort
• Mrs. Johnson’s Class
• Mrs. VanMeeteren’s Class
• Mrs. Bohle’s Class
• Mrs. Hunderman/Dreyer’s Class
• Mrs. Ritsema’s Class

From our Elementary blog:

KIDS’ STUFF RE-SALE AT HCHS

Come Shop Our Kids’ Stuff Re-Sale at HCHS on Saturday, Sept 9 from 9:00 – 12:00. Lots of great fall/winter clothes for girls and boys and so much more. If you are interested in being a seller at this sale, please contact kidsale@ hollandchristian.org.

PROTECT YOUNG EYES AT HC MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 – SAVE THE DATE!

We are excited to welcome Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes (www.protectyoungeyes.com) to Holland Christian on Monday, September 25. Protect Young Eyes exists to give busy parents and hyper-connected kids the information and tools they need to use technology awesomely. Chris McKenna founded Protect Young Eyes in response to the growing demand from parents at his church for information to help them navigate our digital culture. Chris will be speaking with 5th-8th graders during the day on the 25th. Please follow this link if you would like to see an outline of the topics Chris will be covering with each grade.

We are also inviting the entire Holland Christian Community to meet with Chris as well. He will be speaking to parents on September 25 from 7-8:30 pm in the High School Auditorium.

We hope to see you here!  One of the greatest needs we hear from parents is help with how to use the Internet and technology with their kids. We look forward to partnering with you in this ongoing conversation. Our goal is that you walk away from these presentations equipped and encouraged.