High School Newsletter – March 2023

Dear HCHS Family,

This year, one new term I’ve learned from an HC teacher is “almost-Friday” or, in other words, Thursday. This teacher loves his work here with his students, so don’t take his humor the wrong way. Thursday is just simply one of the days of the week that could be described as a day of waiting, a day of waiting for the comfort of home and rejuvenating rest.

In a lot of ways, the month of March is similar. As the month that holds the majority of the Lenten season, these 31 days offer followers of Jesus an annual reminder of how much we should desire and long for God like King David, who cried out, “My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning” (Psalm 130:6).

Recently, I was challenged by a family member to think about introducing fasting into my regular spiritual disciplines. I honestly hadn’t given the practice any thought prior to that moment, and, to be even more honest, I didn’t start experimenting with it until I received a stern challenge to do so. In the United States of America, fasting is not all that common, and in one study done in 2014, even though 72% of adults were aware of Lent, only 17% had practiced some type of Lenten abstinence, meaning they abstained from something they normally would participate in like a type of food or technology, which is different from fasting, or not eating anything for a defined period of time. This is even less common.

Today, we do not typically think of fasting as a mechanism to use in response to our lives and how we seek God. When something difficult happens, one pastor described how typically our first responses are, let me pray about that or I’ll need to seek counsel on that, not let me not eat on that. Yet, when Jesus’ disciples fail to cure a man’s son, Jesus acknowledges the power of this practice when he declared, “This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matt 17:21). When I used to teach English Language Arts to ninth graders, one of the books that I taught was The Divine Comedy by Dante Allighieri, and every time I taught that book and traveled with my students down the circles of the Inferno, up the mountain of Purgatorio, and out into the celestial spheres of Paradiso, I was annually struck by the last line of the entire book when Dante reaches the presence of God: “And I felt my will and my desire impelled by the love that moved the sun and the other other stars.”

During this season of Lent, my hope is that our students participate in anything that would press them to take on a deep longing for Jesus, all the while experiencing the comfort of hope that we have in a Savior who loves us enough to die for us and who conquered death in his resurrection as the first of anyone who would look to him for life. Thank you for your continued partnership in fulfilling our mission to transform the world for Jesus through these young people, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to do so and nurturing their hearts and their desires to be impelled by the love of Jesus.

Waiting with you,

Miles Colago
High School Principal

General Information

Spring Break: March 31 – April 7

If you are planning on leaving early for Spring Break, please send a note, email Kelli Van Eerden or call the office at 616.820.2905 before you leave. This will help us greatly with attendance.

Batons

Parents and students, if you have not returned your baton yet this year, please turn it in to your Family Flex teacher as soon as possible. If you are unsure if your baton was returned, stop in the office and ask. These must be returned before spring break so they can be prepared for this school year. All 9th grade ZCS students will receive a new HC baton this year; please do not turn in your ZCS baton.

Parents and Guardians of the Class of 2023

Help make your child’s end-of-high school career even more memorable by surprising them with a message in the yearbook! Purchase an ad for your senior with this Senior Graduation Ad opportunity. We can accept submissions only until March 20, 2023!

Reminder Senior Exam Exemption Policy

During the second semester, seniors may work towards being exempt from their final exams. To earn this exemption seniors must meet at least one of the following:

• • Have a B average in the course for which there is an exam through the final day of that course;
  • Have handed in all homework on time with a passing grade, and have no more than two days absent in that course for the whole semester (for any reason except “school activity.”)

Reminder of PSAT/SAT on March 22

On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 8am at HCHS, 9th graders will be taking the PSAT 8/9, 10th graders the PSAT 10, and 11th graders the SAT. The PSAT and SAT showcases the classroom skills and knowledge that are essential for college and career readiness. In addition, this benchmark data helps Holland Christian to continuously improve its strong approach towards academic excellence. 9th-11th graders will be dismissed at noon after testing. If you are a senior, you do not have school on March 22.

Athletic Department

Spring Sport Tryouts

Spring Sport tryouts start the week of March 13. Please check the High School Sports page for details about the spring season.

Athletic Physicals

A physical dated after April 15, 2023 will be required of all athletes before trying out for their sport. Physical forms will be available to print from individual Final Forms accounts to take to your appointment for your DO/MD/NP/PA to sign. The Athletic Department is hosting a physical night on May 31. Check the Athletic page on the website for a blog post containing details, and also watch for an email through Final Forms with a link to sign up coming soon.

Athletics Final Forms

23-24 school year is the fifth year Holland Christian will be using our online sign-up for athletic teams, FinalForms. Those already on FinalForms only need to login and update any changes in your information, print the updated 23-24 physical form to take to the physical appointment for the doctor to complete, and sign up for any sports that your child will be trying out for. Registration for 23-24 sports on FinalForms will be open on April 1. Because of this online process, we will not have hard copy physical forms available for you for the 23-24 school year.

Athletics Down Time

July 2-July 9, 2023 is a dead week for all athletics. Preseason down time is July 31-August 6, 2023. Fall high school sports begin on August 7.

Fine Arts

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!

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!

The Wonderful World of Disney: A Magical Night of Song and Dance (A Living Hope Showcase Event)

Do you have your tickets yet? What are you waiting for?! We’re “All in This Together” and you aren’t going to want to miss this Disney extravaganza! Tickets are on sale now for our annual Showcase event March 17 and 18 at 7pm in the HCHS Auditorium. $10 gets you a reserved seat and $1 of every ticket sale will be donated to Starlite Shores Family Camp. Do you need to watch from your living room or have out of town relatives who love Disney? Livestream tickets are also available. Are you an HCHS student and want to sit in the high school student section? Your tickets are only $5!!! Come join the great “Circle of Life” and get your tickets, available to purchase online. Don’t wait…we really want you to “Be Our Guest!”

Counselors’ Corner

Seniors/Parents of Seniors:

FAFSA & Financial Aid

If you have filed your online FAFSA you will receive your SAR (Student Aid Report) by email. The SAR explains your eligibility for student aid and lists the calculation for your EFC (Expected Family Contribution). Some colleges require an Aid Package from each college that you listed on your FAFSA application. This package is usually made up of (a) grants and scholarships (gift money you don’t need to pay back), (b) work-study (money earned by the student on campus), and (c) loans (you need to pay back + interest). The package may cover all of your need or a portion of it. The balance is your responsibility. You are encouraged to compare packages from similar colleges. If you want to attend the college that did not offer you the best financial aid package, contact the college financial aid officer to see if they will match the best package.

Scholarships

Internal scholarships offered to current, full-time Holland Christian seniors (this includes Tech Center seniors) are available. Details have been emailed to seniors and also posted on the HC website under the counseling section. These are listed on Google Classroom under the course “HCHS Internal Scholarships.” The due date for these is March 27, 2023 by 8am. There is still a list of outside opportunities listed on the HC website under the counseling section.

Honors Night/Graduation Programs

We would like to celebrate the accomplishments of your seniors by including a list of all merit scholarship recipients in the Honors Night and Graduation Programs. If your senior son/daughter is receiving a merit scholarship (not financial aid) from a college you know he/she will be attending, please provide Mrs. VanderLaan in the high school office with written verification of the award. You may copy the letter or the email notifying you of the award. Please have all scholarships turned in by April 21, 2023. Once a student turns in scholarship(s), he/she will receive an invitation letter to Honors Night. Please reserve the evening of Monday, May 15, 2023 for this event. It is a special night to acknowledge the hard work of our seniors, and we still want to celebrate their accomplishments!

ACT/SAT

• Upcoming ACT test dates are: April 15 (registration deadline March 10), June 10 (registration deadline May 5), July 15 (registration deadline June 16).
• SAT test dates are: May 6 (registration deadline April 7), June 3 (registration deadline May 4).
• The ACT and SAT may be taken more than once; colleges accept the highest score for admission and scholarships. To register visit directly on the ACT website and the SAT website.

College Visits

We encourage juniors to begin exploring specific colleges. Students are allowed two school-related absences per semester for college visits provided certain criteria are met. School-related absence means the absence does NOT count toward the ten absences allowed. There is a form that the student must fill out, and it must be completed and signed by the college official and returned to the high school office in order for the absence to be cleared. The college visit permission form is available in the high school office and the counseling office. We hope this helps encourage students to explore college/career options without worrying about accruing too many absences. Please note that parents do need to call in the absence ahead of time, and then once the completed form is turned in to the office, the absence will get coded as a college visit and will not count against the student. Spring break of junior year is an ideal time to visit colleges.

22-23 HCS School Calendar

March

• 4: Kids’ Stuff Resale
• 17 & 18: Living Hope Showcase (7 p.m. HCHS)
• 21: Band Extravaganza (7 p.m. Jack Miller Center @ Hope College)
• 24: Swingin’ the Night Away (7 p.m. HCHS)
• 31 – April 7: Spring break

April

• 10: School resumes
• 22: HS Oratorio
• 29: Jr/Sr Prom