HS Newsletter: September 2019

September 5, 2019

Dear Parents,

It was wonderful to see so many of you in attendance at Parent Night earlier this week.  I enjoyed having the opportunity to get to meet so many of you and make connections between you and your students.  As we shared with you during Parent Night, our goal this year is to truly live into Holland Christian’s mission statement, “Equipping Minds & Nurturing Hearts to Transform the World for Jesus Christ”.

Equipping Minds is made real by providing a learning environment where academic excellence is the standard and EACH individual student has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Nurturing Hearts is reached by building a community of Grace where relationships that have God at the center are nurtured and developed between students and students, students and staff, and staff and parents.

Parts one and two of our mission statement are done with the ultimate goal of preparing our students to Transform the world for Jesus Christ.  Not sometime in the future when they are adults but right now.  My prayer is that we find ways for our students to become transforming agents for Christ both inside of our building and out in our community by letting their light shine and being a Living Testimony of Christ’s love.

Our school theme this year is Living Testimony.   Our desire is that we all live in a way at HCHS which causes people to say, “there is something different about them, what is it, oh…. they are followers of Christ ”.   Let’s let our lights shine!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”

Matthew 5:14-16  (NIV)

In His Love,

Deb

GENERAL INFORMATION

Security System At HCHS

Just a reminder that we have an intercom/buzz-in system at HCHS. All of the Holland Christian School campuses have such a system. Please note that after 8:10 a.m. (9:00 a.m. on Wednesdays) the front doors to the main high school entrance (Entrance A) are locked and you will need to press the intercom button located to the right (north) of the doors to speak to one of the office personnel who will let you in.  Like always, if you are staying, you will need to stop in the office to sign in and get a guest badge. Thanks for your cooperation with this important safety protocol.

2019-20 Assessment Tool

This year we will again be utilizing MAP testing to monitor individual student growth as learners. The MAP Testing instrument dynamically adjusts to each student’s performance and creates a personalized assessment experience that accurately measures performance—whether a student performs on, above, or below grade level in Math, Reading, and Language. There are two scheduled testing windows for this school year with the first being September 9-20. Check out this website for more details. The PSAT will still be available as an option for sophomores and juniors and will be administered the morning of October 16. 

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences for High School will take place on Thursday, October 10, from 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm and Tuesday, October 15, from 3:30 pm- 6:30 pm. The Administration Office will be emailing you sign up directions.

HOMECOMING 2019

Homecoming is coming!  September 9-14 is Homecoming Week, with Spirit Days every day of the week, and a dance on Saturday night, 8:30-11:30pm.  Homecoming Passes are on sale during lunch for $20.  The pass gets you a prize every day of the week and entrance to the dance.  If you want to take someone from another school to the dance, you must fill out a Guest Pass Request form, which is available in the office.

Over the years this Homecoming dance has always been a great celebration, but we also need your help. Each time it is helpful to have a dozen parents on hand to help with food, coat check in, taking tickets at the door, and walking around. Student Council does the decorations and clean up, parents are needed from 8:15 (starts at 8:30) until 11:30pm when it ends.

Can you help? If so, please email David Mosterd (dmosterd@hollandchristian.org)

Host families needed

Host families needed this fall!  HCHS will again be welcoming Guatemalan students from October 20 – December 15 through the Faces and Our Cultures program.  This is a wonderful way to build cross cultural friendships.  Would your family consider hosting a student this fall? If so, please read this and contact Jane Vander Beek (jvanderbeek@hollandchristian.org) for how to apply to be a host family.

High School Daily Announcements

All students will be emailed the high school daily student announcements; parents will need to opt in to receive them. (Instructions on how to do that are on this google doc). Please help us by keeping your contact information up to date in PowerSchool. When you log in to PowerSchool, click “SwiftReach SwiftK12” – under “Contact Information” you can make sure your demographics are up to date, and under “Alert Preferences” you can opt in to the daily announcements, snow day alerts etc.  Announcements are also posted daily on the HC website.

Senior Picture Information

Click here for details on Senior pictures. The deadline for senior pictures is September 27.

Maroon and White Shop

The Maroon and White Shop is open on Wednesdays from 8:30 am – 1 pm. Look great and support HC athletics.

Parking Permit

All students who drive to school are required to display a parking permit on their vehicle. They are available in the office.

Busing Information

Detailed busing information can be found on our website at hollandchristian.org/transportation.

Moms In Prayer

Moms in Prayer will begin meeting at the high school on Wednesday, September 11 at 8:25am in the high school office. Come and learn more about this group that meets weekly to pray for our students, staff and school. Questions? Contact Sandy Kayes at kayessandy@gmail.com

COUNSELORS CORNER

We are encouraging college bound seniors to get their applications in by Thanksgiving vacation to have the best opportunities for financial aid. We are offering to assist non-college bound seniors with career selection, information, and job placement. We held an informational session with all seniors this week and covered a timeline of things seniors need to be doing throughout the school year, including the college application process. Seniors will also be invited to sign up for a Common Application workshop coming up later this month.

Scholarships

Throughout the school year, various scholarship opportunities will be posted online through the Counseling Department. A listing of outside scholarships, both regional and national, will be updated as we receive notices of scholarships. Beginning in the second semester, there will be information online about the Holland/Zeeland Community Foundation Scholarships that are open to Holland Christian students and also internal HC scholarships, which are for Holland Christian students only. Be sure to check the Scholarship portion of the Counseling Department website.

College Visits, Fairs & Activities

For a complete listing of colleges visiting HCHS check out the Counseling Department website.

FAFSA Night

A college representative will be at HCHS on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. to speak to parents about filling out the FAFSA and other financial aid opportunities.

Testing Information

• • Upcoming ACT test dates are October 26 (regular deadline is September 20) and December 14 (regular deadline is November 8), 2019.  HCHS is a testing site for each testing date this school year (not including the July 18, 2020 date). Register for the test at www.actstudent.org.
  • Upcoming SAT test dates are October 5 (regular deadline is September 6), November 2 (regular deadline is October 3), December , 2019 (regular deadline is November 8), and March 14, 2020 (regular deadline is February 14). HCHS is a testing site for only the November 2 and March 14 test dates at this point. To register for the SAT, go to www.sat.org.
  • There is information about free ACT and SAT Preparation on the Holland Christian website; also, pick up a free “Preparing for the ACT” and a free “SAT Student Guide” booklet in the counseling office.
  • The PSAT will be given on Wednesday, October 16 during the school day. This is a national test date set by the College Board; there is no make-up date for this test.  Sophomores and Juniors will have the opportunity to take the PSAT. They will need to sign up and pay for it; information about the sign-up has gone out.  The PSAT is taken to prepare for the SAT, a college entrance examination. For juniors it is also used in determining National Merit qualification. Test results are not used for college entrance.

IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES

September

September 11:  College Financial Aid Seminar (7 pm)
September 14:  Homecoming Semi Formal Dance, HCHS Cafeteria (8:30 pm)
September 21: Kids’ Stuff Resale
September 27:  Senior Picture Deadline
September 27: Staff Development (No school)

October

October 5:  Tuition Grant Fund Auction
October 9:  Picture Retake at HS (10:25 am)
October 10: Parent/Teacher Conferences (5:30 pm – 8:30 pm)
October 15: Parent/Teacher Conferences (3:30 pm – 6:30 pm)
October 16: PSAT for students who signed up
October 23: CEA Staff Development (1/2 day of school)
October 24 & 25: CEA Staff Development (No school)
October 24 & 25:  All Tech Center Students must attend Tech Center

NOVEMBER

November 4: Fall Pops Concert, Auditorium (7:30 pm)
November 7: Fall Choir Concert, Auditorium (7:30 pm)
November 8:  Swingin’ the Night Away, HS Cafeteria (6:45 pm – 9 pm)
November 11: Veterans’ Day Assembly HS gym (8:45 am)
November 21 – 23: “Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” HS Auditorium (7 pm)