Dear Parents and Students,
I write this letter to you with great enthusiasm and excitement, welcoming you all to the 2022-23 school year! Welcome back to all returning students, and if you are a new family to HCHS, welcome to the HC school family! Our hope is that all students experience this community to be one in which they can deepen their relationship with Jesus, be equipped with sharpened minds, and capture a vision of the transformational roles God desires them to play in his kingdom.
Last spring, I had an opportunity to witness the beautiful culmination of a year’s worth of dedicated work that comes at the end of every school year. Coaches and players made their final push toward state finals, students studied double-time for final exams, seniors worked tirelessly to complete their graduation requirements, and teachers drilled through finalizing their gradebooks and preparations for the next school year.
In many ways, the end of a school year is a helpful illustration of how the early Israelites possibly felt doing twice the amount of work in one day when “on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread” before they entered into a time of holy Sabbath to the Lord (Exod. 16:22). Likewise, I hope you all had a period of holy Sabbath this summer and ample opportunities to rest, spend time with family, and dwell in the presence of God in a new, refreshing way.
While you’ve been away, our faculty and staff have been busy preparing for the new school year, and our cleaning and maintenance crew, especially, has been working diligently, scrubbing every surface and crevasse, wiping down every chair and table, and repairing and painting and servicing anything that needed attention. They have also done all of this work joyfully, with a communal spirit of self-giving. We can’t thank them enough, but please don’t forget to do so upon your return for their incredible work—The school is looking pristine.
We are also thankful for the new faculty and staff who will be joining the HCHS family this year:
- Mr. Mike Biernacki – HS Help Desk Technician
- Mr. Caleb Brink – English Language Arts Teacher and Football Coach
- Ms. Nicole DeVries – Spanish Teacher
- Ms. Sarah Dieleman – Social Studies Teacher
- Mr. Andrew Kleyn – English Language Arts Teacher and Cultural Literacy Coach
- Ms. Elizabeth Mogck – English Teacher and Instructional Coach
- Mr. Benson Propst – Science Teacher
- Ms. Briana Unema – Physical Education and Health Teacher
- Ms. Corry Vander Sluis – Spanish Teacher
Through our comprehensive interview process, we learned how deeply God has gifted these people not only in their teaching abilities, but also in their faith and apprenticeship to Jesus. We are grateful for their commitment to serve in this place.
Lastly, as we start the 2022/23 school year, please carefully read this Back to School Newsletter so that you have the information necessary to help make the start of the school year as smooth and successful as possible.
My prayer for you all, as image bearers of God, is that you may find HCHS to be a sacred space of authentic hospitality and rich cultivation of the whole self. In order for growth to take place in a garden, the ground has to be broken apart and loosened in order for a seed to take root. Though school can feel like this at times, I wait with joyful anticipation to reap the harvest as we follow Jesus together and sharpen one another with patient endurance.
Your partner in Kingdom work,
Miles Colago
HS Principal (I’m new, too)
/ 2022-23 Information
Check In/Picture Day
Check in day is Monday, August 22 and will take place on Main Street from 11:30am to 3pm. This is a chance for you to have your picture taken for your student ID, walk around the building and find your locker, deposit money into your hot lunch account, and pick up a parking permit (if driving).
Laptops
Incoming freshmen will receive their laptops during freshmen orientation. New 10th – 12th students will receive their laptops during laptop bootcamp. Returning 10th – 12th grade students may pick up laptops on check in day from your Family Flex teacher’s room.
Textbooks
Students will pick up textbooks from the Bookstore, located in the hallway near the Auditorium, Counseling, and Athletic Offices. Students should bring a backpack to carry their books home from school or may leave books in their assigned locker.
Bookstore hours on check in day are as follows:
- 11:30-1:00 9th and 12th grades may pick up textbooks
- 1:30-3:00 10 and 11th grades may pick up textbooks
Photos
All students (including seniors) must have their picture taken whether or not the pictures are purchased. These pictures are necessary for the yearbook, student transcripts, I.D.’s, and for our student management software. Seniors, this picture will be on your high school transcript. Geskus will be mailing out flyers with information on how to order online ahead of time, or you can send the flyer and payment with your student on check in day.
To help speed the picture taking process, we would like to suggest the following schedule.
- 9th Grade: 11:30am – 12:30pm
- 12th Grade: 11:30am – 12:30pm
- 10th Grade: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
- 11th Grade: 1:30pm – 2:30pm
- Anyone: 2:30pm – 3:00pm
Picture Make up day will be Thursday, September 8.
Senior Picture Information – Click here for details on Senior Pictures. The deadline for senior pictures is September 23.
Freshman Orientation Day – August 22
All freshmen will be part of our Freshman Orientation Day. This day is to be a transition day that creates a sense of belonging for incoming students and an overall supportive and positive atmosphere on our campus. The first day for freshmen will be Monday, August 22, at 8:00am. Senior class leaders will lead incoming freshmen in small group games, mixers and on a scavenger hunt around the school. Students will be given a copy of their schedule and meet their teachers for a few minutes in each class. All freshmen will also receive their laptop at this time. Students will be treated to a pizza lunch and will be dismissed at 11:30am. After this, freshmen can stop on Main Street between 11:30am – 12:30pm for pictures.
New 10th – 12th Grade Students
New 10th – 12th Grade Students will have an orientation on Monday, August 22 from 9-11am. You will attend Laptop Boot Camp following this. You will be sent more details soon.
“Laptop Boot Camp” is mandatory for all students who are new to the laptop program (students coming from HCMS or ZCS do NOT attend Laptop Boot Camp). You should plan to stay from 11:30am – 12:30pm and attend “Laptop Boot Camp,” an introduction on how we use the laptops at HCHS (understanding Moodle, exploring PowerSchool, etc.). You will receive your laptop at this meeting.
First Day of School
All Students report on Tuesday, August 23, at 8am. Be sure to have your class schedule with you.
School Supplies
Holland Christian High School does not have a required list of school supplies for students to purchase. School supply preferences will vary from student to student. Math students will need a TI-83 or TI-84 calculator.
Save the Date – Parent Night
We will be hosting our annual Parent Night on Tuesday, September 6 at 7pm. More details will be sent out; please add this event to your calendar.
New to Holland Christian High School?
Our New Family Information Booklet was created to help new families transition into HCHS. We hope you find the information helpful!
Schedule and PowerSchool Information
The High School uses PowerSchool for accessing student schedules, tracking grades, attendance, and family contact information. Student schedules will be available in PowerSchool on August 12 at ps.hollandchristian.org. Parents can log in with the username and password you created in a previous year. Parents of students coming from Zeeland Christian and other students new to HC will be sent information for creating a PowerSchool account.
If you detect any errors or need to make changes to your schedule, please complete the schedule change form on our Registrar page.
The daily schedule consists of 4 block days, and on Fridays students will have all seven classes in one day; it can be found HS Schedule Google Doc. The last day of first semester is January 9 and exams will be January 10-13. Second semester begins on January 17.
In addition, it is important that Holland Christian has accurate contact and emergency information in PowerSchool. When you access your student’s schedule, please also check your family’s contact information and make any needed updates using the Demographic Change page. If you are unable to make changes in PowerSchool and you know that there are changes that should be made to your address, phone number, email address or emergency contacts, please contact the Administration Office at (616) 820-2805.
Parent Laptop Handbook and Check-In Day Forms
Please review the laptop handbook and sign the required check-in day forms online. Forms need to be completed before you will be given your laptop. These forms include the student handbook agreement, laptop agreement, cheating/plagiarism, concussion awareness, and field trip/medical treatment permission. Please note that you will need to enter your student ID number in order to complete these forms. These student numbers can be found in Power School (if you are a returning HC student it is the number you already have). Please do not print agreement forms from the laptop handbook; the check-in day forms are what need to be completed.
School Food Services
For the monthly lunch menu and additional details about the menu program, please visit Food Services page. The cost for a high school lunch is $3.25 per lunch which includes milk. If you had a previous account with Send Money To School, your account has been transferred to Meal Magic’s Family Portal. At this time there is no fee to deposit money into Family Portal. You will need to go online to Family Portal to apply for meal benefits. We will be taking lunch deposits at the high school check in day on August 22.
Hot Breakfast along with Big Apple Bagels, fruit smoothies and parfaits will be offered in the high school servery from 7:30 to 7:55. Full Breakfast is $2.25. Students must take a fruit along with their breakfast choices.
HCHS is a closed campus. Sometimes parents may like to take their student out for lunch. Parents may take only their own student out for lunch and must personally check them out of the office. Youth leaders or older siblings (out of high school) may also take students out for lunch by signing them out in the office. Seniors do have the privilege of going off-campus for lunch on Tuesdays only.
Busing
Bus transportation for our students occurs through a number of different venues: Holland Public Schools, Zeeland Public Schools, and Holland Christian Schools. Each of these providers has their own registration form which can be found on the Transportation page.
Extracurricular Information
There is a “Pay to Participate Fee” charge of $85 to all students involved in extracurricular activities to help offset some of the costs of the program. For athletics, this fee will be paid through the student’s Final Forms account; for all other activities, this fee will be collected by the director of the activity and must be paid immediately following the selection or determination of the activity participants.
TRIP
TRIP is a tuition reduction incentive program. It is just one way to pay for everyday purchases while earning rebates for your tuition account. Using TRIP to pay for your normal weekly purchases in a school year, you can raise $500 or more per school year towards your tuition. If interested please contact the TRIP program coordinators (Kristi Lokker and Kim Hekman) at trip@hollandchristian.org or at either Rose Park or the High School on Wednesdays from 7:30-9:00am.
Moms in Prayer
Moms in Prayer is a great way to connect with other moms, pray for your child, and have an impact on the high school . Please join us on Fridays starting September 9 at Providence Church 8:30-9:30. Contact Nicole Shook with questions. ncshook@gmail.com
/Athletics Information
Fall Sports
Girls: Cross Country, Golf, Swimming/Diving, and Volleyball
Boys: Cross Country, Football, Soccer, and Tennis
Please plan your vacation times according to the sport tryouts. The times and locations for each sport will be noted on the Athletic page. Contact your varsity coach for specific questions.
Please make sure your child is registered on FinalForms for any sport they plan to play this fall, winter or spring. Visit Athletics Registration page for FinalForms signups.
Eventlink Athletic Scheduling and Ticketing
Most families are now familiar with Holland Christian’s athletic registration and compliance system, FinalForms. Recently we began a new relationship with a scheduling and ticketing platform called Eventlink. Like FinalForms, Eventlink streamlines many of the behind the scenes processes for us including team practice & game calendars and game tickets & season passes. If any of your 6th-12th grade children are involved in athletics, please take a few minutes to begin connecting with Eventlink by reading Eventlink Blog Post.
Athletic Parent Night
If you are the parent of a middle school or high school athlete, you are invited to our annual athletic parent night on August 16 at 7pm in our high school auditorium. You can read about our opening 7pm keynote address to all parents at Parent Night Blog Post. High school fall team meetings will follow the keynote at the high school building.
/HCHS Theatre Presents Our Fall Musical…MATILDA!
This fall, we are producing a musical adaptation of one of Roald Dahl’s most beloved stories: Matilda. This story revolves around Matilda, a young child prodigy, whose absentee parents leave her in the care of the terrifying Miss Trunchbull and her oppressive school. But with wit, kindness, and a little bit of telepathy, Matilda and her classmates fight back and try to change the end of their story. Matilda is a clever and heartwarming story about family and love that also explores issues of adoption, grief, and justice. Bring the whole family and come ready to laugh, gasp, and cheer as Matilda tells her story.
Audition Schedule
Wednesday, August 24 (3-5pm)
- All students who wish to audition for the play will come on Wednesday to learn an audition song and choreography piece. All students will need to sing and dance for these auditions.
Thursday, August 25 (3:00-6:20pm)
- Students will audition in small groups performing the song and dance they learned Wednesday. Any students who wants to stay and audition individually for a character part after the group auditions are welcome.
Friday, August 26 (3:00-6:00pm)
- Callbacks: By invitation announced at the of Thursday’s audition day and by email, some students will come back to audition independently for key roles.
Performances: November 17, 18, 19 @ 7pm
Email audition questions to theatre director Jill Davis (jdavis@hollandchristian.org)
Matilida Crews!
All of Holland Christian’s theatre productions are put together by volunteer student crews that craft all of the sets, props, costumes & makeup, lighting & sound, and promotional materials for the show. If you’re interested in getting involved, we’d love to have you!
Backstage/crew questions can be directed to our technical director Justin Dreyer (jdreyer@hollandchristian.org)
/ Important Dates
Reserve these important dates on your fall calendar.
August
- 8: Fall sports tryouts start
- 22: Freshman orientation day/picture day (lunch included) (8:00-11:30am)
- 22: 10th – 12th grade student check in/picture day (12:30-3:00pm)
- 22: New (10th -12th grade) student orientation (9:00am-12:30pm)
- 22: New students laptop boot camp (11:30am-12:30pm)
- 23: All students report (8:00-11:15am)
September
- 2: Labor Day break, no school
- 5: Labor Day, no school
- 6: Parent night (7pm)
- 16: Half day, professional development
- 23: Senior picture deadline
- 24: Homecoming dance
