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High School Newsletter

High School Newsletter – September 2024

Dear HCHS Community,

Welcome to September! I pray that you have had a delightful start to the school year rhythm as a family and have had ample opportunities to get plugged into the community as we start the year. The fall musical is underway, athletic competitions are ramping up, and classes are humming. At times, the sudden dive back into school can feel like jumping into Lake Michigan in early May, but I hope you all have been able to catch your stride as we get back to pursuing together our mission of equipping minds and nurturing hearts to transform the world for Jesus Christ.

This summer I had the chance to read John Mark Comer’s newest book, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do as He Did, and it reminded me of the importance of being in the dust of the Rabbi, as RVL expresses to his students each year. Having grown up in a very liturgical church setting, I unfortunately developed a quiet aversion to church rhythms and rules as a child. I assumed that they were unnecessary and actually hindered my faith because they painted a legalistic, dogmatic picture of God, who was supposed to be slow to anger, gracious, merciful, and abounding in steadfast love (Ex. 34:6, Num. 14:18, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 86:15, Neh. 9:31, Joel 2:13, … you get it). There are definitely scenarios in which the emphasis on either grace or dogma fall to the extremes; however, in recent years, I have been convinced that Jesus embodied the best life ever lived and that he meant it when he said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). This means that we ought to pursue not only doing what he said, but also doing what he did—praying, fasting, giving, healing, forgiving, resting, eating, serving, providing, restoring.

Dr. Dallas Willard, late American philosopher and preeminent author on Christian spiritual formation, expressed in his book, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teaching on Discipleship, this important insight on this tension between dogmatic legalism and laissez-faire grace:

“We must stop using the fact that we cannot earn grace (whether for justification or for sanctification) as an excuse for not energetically seeking to receive grace. Having been found by God, we then become seekers of ever-fuller life in him. Grace is opposed to earning, but not to effort. The realities of Christian spiritual formation are that we will not be transformed “into his likeness” by more information, or by infusions, inspirations, or ministrations alone. Though all of these have an important place, they never suffice, and reliance upon them alone explains the now-common failure of committed Christians to rise much above a certain level of decency.”

As we step further into this school year, our hope is that we may participate together in the rearrangement of our lives, as described by Comer, around the “practices, rhythms, and truths that Jesus himself did.” And in doing so, may we pursue the life made full by being with Jesus, becoming like him, and doing as he did, being “transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (1 Cor. 3:18).

With thanks,

Miles

Announcements

Dress Code

Parents and students, we have spent a fair amount of time dealing with dress code issues in the first two weeks of school, especially with crop tops showing midriffs. Please take a moment as a family to read together the dress code policy listed below from our student handbook. Thank you for your cooperation.

In keeping with the mission of Holland Christian Schools, the Holland Christian School community recognizes the important impact of student dress on the learning environment. We understand that all of our lives, including our dress, bring honor or dishonor to our God. We also embrace our identity as a Christian school and how we dress impacts our witness for Christ to the world. While these principles impact our most basic commitments regarding dress there is more to which we would challenge the HC community.

  • No hats, hoods, earbuds, AirPods, or sunglasses are allowed during school hours. Teacher discretion may be used in class based on class activity.
  • Clothing or accessories depicting alcohol, tobacco, sexual or offensive language should not be worn at school.
  • Clothing and accessories that can be considered political or divisive in nature are not allowed, instead, Holland Christian is committed to providing venues for safe and meaningful discussion.
  • Shirts, shorts, and dresses must be modest and cover what they are supposed to cover. Cleavage, midriff or butt cheeks should not be visible.
  • The administration reserves the right to determine what constitutes appropriate dress. Students who do not adhere to these guidelines will not be allowed to attend class. Parents will be called if appropriate clothing is not available or the student refuses dress-code-appropriate clothing.

Parking Permits

All students who drive to school are required to display a parking permit on their vehicle. They are available at no charge in the high school office.

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 8am (9am 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 of the doors to speak to one of the office personnel who will let you in. Parents may drop off items for their students in the office, and visitors who are going to be in the building must sign in the visitor log and wear a guest badge. Thanks for your cooperation with these important safety protocols.

High School Daily Announcements

Announcements are also posted daily on the website.

Student Handbook Updates

Parents and students, please take some time to read through the HCHS Student Handbook. Make sure you are familiar with the attendance policy and the personal technology policy.

Student Medical Information and Forms

If your student has any medical situation that the school office should be aware of or has any medication that needs to be kept in the office, the appropriate forms need to be filled out each school year and kept on file in the office. Please make sure all information is current so that we can help keep your child safe and keep the necessary medications here. All the forms can be found on the Medical Information and Forms page of our website. If you have any questions please email Hendrina Cupery, manager of the Holland Hospital School Nurse Program

Parent Night

We will be hosting our annual Parent Night on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, at 7pm at the high school. This will be an opportunity for you to meet the HCHS staff and learn more about our how we will live into our district mission of “Equipping Minds and Nurturing Hearts to Transform the World for Jesus Christ.” Please add this event to your calendar and make it a priority to attend.

Senior Picture Information

Here are some details on senior pictures. The deadline for senior pictures is Monday, September 23, 2024.

Counselors’ Corner

The 24-25 school year is off to a great start. We are committed to building relationships with our students and we look forward to meeting with each one over the course of this school year.

Information for Seniors

All seniors will have an individual check-in with their counselor in September or early October. Regardless of the desired outcome–career, college, or another option–we are here to help, support, and encourage seniors as they think about and plan for life after high school. Application timelines and due dates vary by school, so we encourage college-bound seniors to work toward completing and submitting applications by early November. This ensures maximum consideration for financial aid and scholarships, as well. We will assist non-college-bound seniors in the exploration of career options and help them find information on job and trade-specific training.

We will hold a “Planning for life after high school” session with all seniors on September 4 during Family Flex. In this session, we will cover a timeline of things seniors can be doing throughout the school year, including the college application process. Seniors will also be invited to sign up for a Common Application workshop session coming up later this month.

Scholarships

Throughout the school year, various scholarship opportunities will be posted online through the Counseling Department portion of the website. A listing of outside scholarships, both regional and national, will be updated as we receive notices of scholarship opportunities. This will include scholarships available through Community Foundation of Holland/Zeeland that are open to Holland Christian students and also information about internal HC scholarships, which are available to full-time Holland Christian students only.

College Representative Visits

We keep a listing of college reps holding visits at HCHS linked here, that can also be found on the Counseling Department page. This list grows throughout the fall.

FAFSA Night

A college representative will be hosting a virtual workshop for HCHS parents on September 25th at 6pm to speak to parents about filling out the FAFSA and other financial aid opportunities. More details, including a link to the meeting, will be emailed out to parents of juniors and seniors.

Testing Information

The PSAT/NMSQT will be administered during the school day on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 starting at 7:45 am for those who have signed up.  Juniors who wish to take the PSAT/NMSQT need to register and pay the $25 fee by Sunday, September 8, 2024 at 11:59 pm. Registration and payment for this is done on Total Registration. All freshmen and sophomores will take the PSAT during the school day on March 19, 2025. There will be no fee charged to students, and they will register through school.

Athletics

Pay to participate for high school athletes is $100/season. We prefer families to pay the fee through their Final Forms account for their child.  As an incentive to pay online, the fee is set to $96.15 so the total cost with fees is $100.

Important Dates

Full 24-25 Holland Christian Calendar

September

  • 2: No school, Labor Day break
  • 3: Parent Night at the HS 7pm
  • 5: Picture make-up day
  • 14: Homecoming Dance
  • 23: Senior picture deadline
  • 25: College Financial Aid Seminar 6pm

October

  • 3: Parent/Teacher conferences 5:30-8:30pm
  • 5: Tuition Grant Fund Auction & Dinner 6-9:30pm
  • 10: Parent/Teacher conferences 3:30-6:30pm
  • 11: Picture retakes at HS
  • 23: No school: Staff development
  • 24 & 25: CEA staff development (No school)
  • 23, 24 & 25: All Tech Center students must attend Tech Center