Dear Middle School Parents,
At our final chapel of the first semester, Lisa Lundy—along with Miles Colago (High School Principal), Kyle Kempster, and Chan Song (International Student Coordinators)—led a chapel titled Kindness on Purpose. This chapel was part of our preparation to welcome our first international student to the middle school.
We are excited to share that we have welcomed students from our own town Holland, from Colorado, from Venezuela, and from South Korea at the start of 2nd semester:
One of the main messages of the chapel focused on Christian hospitality—welcoming someone into your home, or in this case, into our school community. Hospitality is one of our school’s core cultural values. We define it as:
- Receiving and giving grace
- Interacting with care and candor
This value connects closely to another point of emphasis in our chapel of human dignity—that every person has value simply because they are created in God’s image.
Students were encouraged to:
- Speak slowly and clearly
- Show patience and kindness
- Help build confidence when interacting with classmates who are new or learning English
Another key emphasis was cultural sensitivity—recognizing that cultures are different and responding with respect. Students were challenged to practice what Kyle Kempster called “huminosity”—a combination of humility and curiosity. Hospitality often begins by making the first move, asking thoughtful questions, and showing genuine interest in others.
Students were also reminded that hospitality means being mindful of words and humor, avoiding comments or jokes that could hurt or exclude others. As a school community, we are called to model hospitality through both our actions and our words. Scripture reminds us:
“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” — 1 Peter 4:9
May we continue to live this out well as we welcome, serve, and care for one another.
Blessings,
Tom Strikwerda
Middle School Principal
February at HCMS
8th Grade HS Registration:
High School Course Registration for incoming 9th graders is due by noon on Friday, February 13. Our registrar, Dan Vos, will be available at the middle school on February 2 during Homeroom to answer any questions students may have.
Parent-Teacher Conferences:
Parent-Teacher conferences will be held February 26 from 5:30-8:30pm and March 6 from 3:30-6:30pm. Instructions for conference sign-up will be emailed to you in February. We look forward to meeting with each of you!
From the Parent Board:
The Parent Bboard has a tradition of providing meals for staff during conferences. Look for an announcement in the daily announcements to sign up to help provide food on February 26 and March 5.
MS Play:
The Middle School Theater department is excited to present The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Performances will be Thursday, March 5 7pm; Friday, March 6 7pm; and Saturday, March 7 at 2pm and 7pm. All performances will be at the HCMS auditorium. Tickets will be available on the HC website on February 9.
TRIP Program:
Are you getting the most help you can for paying your tuition? The TRIP program is designed to help you pay tuition without extra cost to you. Have you checked it out lately? There are so many instant and electronic opportunities now available that make it easier, more convenient, and comfortable to use! Take a quick look at it and see how easy it’s become. Give it a try and see if it doesn’t lighten your financial load. Help is always just a quick question away. We love to help you make it work for your family! You can find out more information by going to our webpage.
Athletics:
Registration through Final Forms for the 26-27 school year begins on April 1, 2026. The MHSAA requires a pre-participation physical dated on or after April 15, 2026, to participate in school sports for the 26-27 school year. Athletes will not be allowed to participate in tryouts until a current and cleared physical form (a picture or scan of it) has been uploaded to their Final Forms account. Summer and school year sport opportunities are also generally communicated to students who have already registered and selected particular sports, so please register for 26-27 sports in April! If you have any questions please contact the athletic department.
- All families with 6th-12th grade potential athletes need to be registered with our online registration system Final Forms. For those already registered for the current year, you simply need to login, select the sports your child is interested in and update any changes to your and your child’s information. This is also the place where you print the updated 26-27 physical form to take with you to your DO/MD/NP/PA appointment and have that individual sign the form.
- For complete information about all athletic opportunities at Holland Christian, please take a look at the Athletic Opportunities page
- For Summer Camps information and registration, please go to our “Active Summer Camps Registration Page.”
Important Athletic Dates
- Final Forms registration opens for the 26-27 school year on April 1, 2026
- Our 2026 sports physical nights will be on April 23 and May 6 with more information and registration links coming soon.
- MHSAA Dead Week: June 29 – July 5 (no team activities or use of facilities)
- MHSAA Fall Sports Pre-Season Downtime: August 1-9 (limited activities for fall teams)
- High School Fall Sports begin: August 10
- Middle School Fall Sports: August 17
Important Dates
February
- 6: Ski Club
- 13: No school- Staff PD
- 17: No school
- 20: Ski Club
- 27: Parent-Teacher Conferences 5:30-8:30pm
March
- 4: MSBOA 7th/8th Band Festival
- 5: MSBOA 7th/8th Orchestra Festival
- Parent-Teacher Conferences 3:30-6:30
- MS Play 7pm
- 6: MS Play 7pm & Ski Club
- 7: MS play 2pm and 7pm
- 16: No school- Staff Work Day
- 17: Band Extravaganza 7pm @ West Ottawa P.A.C.
- 19: 8th Grade PSAT (½ day for 8th grade only)
- 20: End of Q3 & Swingin’ the Night Away 6:45pm
- 23: Begin Q4