Back to School Scoop

We can’t wait to meet you all! In fact, we’d love to meet you if possible before the first day of school! Here are a few student and family orientations to help make that possible, and although the elementary Ice Cream Socials are optional, they’re really fun!

Elementary

• Preschool Popsicles on the Playground 
  • Tuesday, August 4, 9:30am at Rose Park Elementary. Please RSVP so we can greet you!
  • Thursday, August 6, 9:30am for South Side Elementary preschoolers, currently meeting at Longfellow Elementary.  Please RSVP so we can greet you!
  • Young 5s are not considered preschool, so would not attend this event, but attend the Parent Information Nights listed below
• Forest School Meet the Teacher Nights
  • Forest School Young 5s can meet their teachers and see their campus on Thursday, August 20, 5:30pm at the Cedar Creek campus.
  • Forest School K-1st grades can meet their teachers and tour their classrooms on Thursday, August 20, 6pm at the Cabins @ 880 Ottawa Ave.
  • Forest School 2nd grade can meet their teachers on Wednesday, August 19; meet at 6pm @ Pine Ridge, to board a bus to Sassafras Ridge!
• Elementary Ice Cream Socials: Thursday, August 20
  • PreK-elementary students and their families can visit their classrooms, meet their teachers, put school supplies away in their desks and/or lockers, play on the playground–and then eat ice cream with new and old friends!
  • South Side meeting at Longfellow Elementary 6pm
  • Pine Ridge (including Forest Program 3-5th Grades) 6:30pm at Pine Ridge
  • Rose Park 6pm
  • Forest School Young 5s-2nd grade has no ice cream social, but “Meet the Teacher” evenings listed above.

Middle School

• 6th grade orientation: Monday, August 24, 9:30am-11:30am
• New 7th-8th grade students only sneak peek: Monday, August 24, 11:30am, entering by the gym door
• 7th-8th grades student open house: Monday, August 24, noon-2:30pm
  • Get school photos taken, find lockers, sign up for lunch, catch up with teachers and friends, etc.

High School

• Freshmen Orientation: Monday, August 24, 8am-11:30am
• New 10th-12th Grade Student Orientation: Monday, August 24, 11:30am-3pm
• All Student Check-In Day: Monday, August 24, 11:30am-3pm

The first day of school is Tuesday, August 25, and all Holland Christian Schools have a full day–except for half day preschool students, of course!

Elementary

• All HC elementary Y5-5th grades, including Forest School 2nd and Forest Program 3rd-5th, begin at 8:10am, with the second bell at 8:15am. Students should be dropped off after 7:50am, as there is no one to supervise them prior to that time.
• 5-day preschoolers can be dropped off 8:15-8:30am, with all preschools starting at 8:30am.
• Drop off time for Forest School cabins only (K-1st) is 8-8:20am, with starting time at 8:20am.
• Half-day preschool students will be at school from 8:15-11:15 as normal.
• South Side, Rose Park, Pine Ridge, and Forest School 2nd grades all dismiss at 3:15pm. Forest School cabins (K-1st) dismiss at 3:20pm.
• All 3-day kindergarten, 3-day Young 5s, and 3-day preschool classes that meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday will begin on Wednesday, August 26 at their regular starting times.

Middle School

• Drop off time for HCMS is from 7:30am-7:55am.
• HCMS begins at 8am.
• HCMS dismisses at 2:55pm.
• HCMS will NOT have late start Wednesday, August 26. The following late-start Wednesdays will begin at 8:25am.

High School

• HCHS begins at 8am
• HCHS dimisses at 2:45pm.
• HCHS will have a regular late start on Wednesday, with a normal Wednesday block day schedule on the first Wednesday of the school year, August 26, with a starting time of 8:25am.

Once we meet your kids, and they are starting to settle in just a bit, we love to meet their parents (again), and show you your child’s spaces here at Holland Christian Schools. So we hold Parent Information Nights for each of our schools that are for parents only at each of our school buildings. Those dates are as follows, and the whole evening typically lasts about one hour:

Elementary

• Forest School Y5s, Cedar Creek Campus: Has no separate Parent Information Night, but does all the things at their Meet the Teacher gathering on Thursday, August 20, at 5:30 at the Cedar Creek Campus.
• Forest School K-1st Cabins: Monday, August 31, 6:30pm
• FS 2nd grade Sassafras Ridge: Has no separate Parent Information Night, but does all the things at their Meet the Teacher gathering on Wednesday, August 19, 6pm starting at Pine Ridge to catch the bus out to Sassafras Ridge, as mentioned in the earlier tab.
• South Side Y5s-2nd grade @ Longfellow Elementary: Thursday, August 27, 5:30pm
• Pine Ridge (& Forest Program 3rd-5th grade) Parent Info Night: Thursday, August 27, 6:45pm
• Rose Park Parent Info Night: Thursday, August 27, 6pm

Middle & High School

• MS/HS Athlete Parent Night: Tuesday, August 18, 7pm @ HCHS Auditorium with Sandi Haan as keynote speaker
• HCMS Parent Info Night: Wednesday, August 27, 6:30-8pm
• HCHS Parent Info Night: Tuesday, September 8, 6:30-8:30pm

All school supply lists are linked on the Parent Page along with a whole lot of other parent-specific information. HCHS students do not have a specific school supply list, but choose their own supplies based on their academic preferences, with the exception of a TI-83/84 calculator for all math students.

The State of Michigan requires that your child(ren) be immunized for enrollment at Holland Christian Schools, and every year we are required by the State to report each student that we have enrolled in preschool, kindergarten, seventh grade, and all those who are new to our district along with their immunization records. This pdf lists the required childhood immunization guidelines set by the State of Michigan.

If you intend to complete a non-medical immunization waiver to the State of Michigan immunization policy, you must contact your local county health department to schedule an appointment to speak with a health educator, complete the waiver process, and then either submit the original certified waiver to the school office, or have them electronically send it to your school. A new medical waiver is required each year that your child would report vaccinations–which is in preschool, kindergarten, 7th grade, and when transfering to HC from a different school district. Therefore: If your child with a waiver is returning to Holland Christian for the  26-27 school year and moving from:

• 3s preschool to 4s preschool: The current waiver on file is good unless you have chosen to complete a vaccine series during the year that was waived on the waiver.
• 3s/4s preschool to Young 5s: New waiver needed; please schedule an appointment with your county health department.
• 4s preschool to kindergarten: New waiver needed; schedule an appointment at your county health department.
• Young 5s to Kindergarten: Current waiver on file is good unless you have chosen to complete a vaccine series during the year that was waived on the waiver
• 6th to 7th grade: New waiver needed; please schedule an appointment with your county health department.

Written evidence that your child’s immunizations are current, or a certified waiver must be received before the start of the school year by law, and is due by or on August 8, 2026 to allow for proper processing before the first day of classes. (If you’ve already missed this date, please get it in asap!)

Please reach out to your school’s secretary if you have any questions. We greatly appreciate your efforts taking care of these immunizations before schools starts, as it is a top priority to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all students!

• Bus routes information will be sent out via email by August 10 for those who have already registered.
• If you still need to register for transportation, please call our Transportation Coordinator Rose Rodriguez at 616.820.2805 or email her at transportation@hollandchristian.org.
• Questions? Please email transportation@hollandchristian.org.
• Families who use HPS or ZPS transportation will need to contact their provider’s district directly to be informed of any busing updates, including cancellations, delays, etc. This will effect the first week of school as well, as their districts begin school on separate dates. HPS: 616.494.2950; ZPS: 616.748.3425

Holland Christian uses FamilyPortal to monitor and pay your student’s lunch account. There is no fee for depositing money into your student’s lunch account through FamilyPortal, though you can also send a check with your student to school to pay for their lunches in the lunch line as well.

Families are encouraged to apply for lunch benefits through FamilyPortal even if they think they won’t be able to receive them, as income criteria recently changed.

Lunch prices for the ’26-’27 school year:

• PK-5: $3.50
• 6-8th: $3.60
• 9-12th: $3.85
• Reduced lunch: $.40
• Ala carte milk is $.75

We look forward to seeing you at your student’s HCMS or HCHS check-in, where you can also deposit money on your student’s account and ask questions. Got questions before then? Email Sue Lambers

Watch for our school newsletters from your particular Holland Christian School hitting your email inbox typically on the last Friday of every month–except for this month’s/August’s on Friday, August 7. These newsletters are filled with all the important back to school info. Plus it’s a great way to stay informed of all the things going on at multiple campuses!

Most of the needed info for parents is given right here on this back to school webpage, but there are a few more details on how to get involved, etc. on our Parents page below! Joining any of the parent support groups listed are great ways to get to know the HC community!

Feel free to call our HCS Admin Office at 616.820.2805 with any questions! Or contact individual HC schools through our Contact Us page–our stellar administrative assistants are back in the buildings!