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Dear families,

Did you know that your child’s teacher has been praying for your child and your family this summer? As a parent of three Holland Christian students myself, this is one of my favorite parts of having my children at HC. Meanwhile, Darlene and her team has also been preparing our building and playground for you and your children, and we can’t wait to show it off to you at our Ice Cream Social on Thursday August 17 from 5:30-6:30. Although this is just an hour, it’s such an important time for introducing your child to their classroom, getting to know some new friends, and building community. I can’t wait to greet your child that night! If I haven’t met you yet, please come and introduce yourself at the parent night or ice cream social. It is an honor to partner with you in Christian education.

Blessings,

Christy Haig

Announcements

Welcome to New Staff

We are excited to welcome three new staff members to South Side this year. We can’t wait for you to meet them!

  • Stacia Stoep will be teaching our Young 5s class. She has previously been teaching with the preschool team at Rose Park. Our Young 5s program (previously Junior Kindergarten) will be shifting a bit this year to more closely align with our Kindergarten programming.
  • Laura Rotman is our new preschool director. She will continue to teach a preschool class at Rose Park, but will be at South Side part of the week as well to work alongside our preschool team.
  • Rachel Steen is our new South Side secretary. She has worked previously as an ESS parapro at South Side and Pine Ridge. She is excited to step into this new role to support families, students, and teachers in our front office.

Class Lists & School Supplies

We are so excited to welcome your child back to school! Below you will find the links for class lists and school supply lists per class and/or grade level:

Parent Information Nights

This will be a night where just parents come to meet Mrs. Haig and your child’s classroom teacher. You’ll be able to ask more detailed questions about your child’s school and classroom experience.

  • Tuesday, August 15 @ 6:30pm: 3s/4s Preschool
  • Wednesday August 23 @ 6:30pm: Young 5s – 2nd grade

Ice Cream Social

Thursday, August 17, 5:30-6:30pm

All preschool-2nd graders and their families are invited to come together and walk through their classrooms, meet their teachers, find their lockers–all the fun things about starting a new school year! Once your family has had a chance to do that, everyone gets to head out to the playground to enjoy an ice cream sundae bar and have fellowship as a school community.

First Day of School

Our first day of school is a full day, Tuesday, August 22. Dismissal will be at:

  • 11:15am for am Preschool students
  • 3:15 for full-day preschool students and Young 5 -2nd grade students

Drop-off/Pick-up Procedures

We ask that you adhere to the following traffic policies for Drop-Off and Pick-Up as specified. We appreciate your cooperation and doing your part to keep our children entering and exiting school safely each day.

Picture Day

For those of you really planning ahead, South Side’s picture day is Wednesday, September 20. Once order forms are received from GPI they will be sent home with students. If you are ordering a yearbook this will be the time to do that also.

Medication at School

If your child needs to take medication at school, we need an updated form signed by their physician each school year. If you have not done this yet, please do so asap. The medication forms can be found on the Medical Information and Forms Page for your convenience. You are welcome to contact our school nurse, Hendrina Cupery (hcupery@hollandchristian.org). She will help you set up a plan for the office to assist in administering the medication. For safety reasons, Holland Christian Schools is not able to dispense any medication (prescription or non-prescription) to our students without a doctor’s order. Thank you!

Absences

Please call the school office at 616.820.3535 any time before 8:30am to let us know each day your child will be absent. You may leave a voicemail at any time and it will be checked in the morning when the office opens.

Summer Office Hours

The South Side office will be open in August on Mondays-Thursday from 9am-1pm until school starts.

Student Safety

After the school day is underway, all doors will be locked. All students who arrive late for school must stop in the school office. Parents are asked to sign children in and out at the school office if they are coming or going any time within the normal school hours.

PowerSchool

PowerSchool is our student information database. You will want to bookmark this site! There is also an app available for PowerSchool for your phone which can be very helpful.  If there is a change in your phone number or address any time during the school year, it is important that we are informed right away. Parents can update their information on PowerSchool directly on the Demographics Change tab. This assures up-to-date contact information for your child.

You must update your demographic information in PowerSchool each fall with your latest and most accurate contact information. Simply login, then either an “update demographic screen” will automatically pop up, or simply click the “change demographics” button on the left of the screen. This information is necessary for field trip participation, emergency response and treatment, student photo permission, and for the office to easily be able to contact a parent or guardian as needed or desired. When listing your child’s emergency contacts, please be sure to list two contacts other than yourself.

Elementary Handbook

The Elementary Handbook is a great resource for parents providing important details on things like our curriculum, discipline policy, etc.

Moms in Prayer

Moms In Prayer is a great way to connect with other moms, pray for your child, and have an impact on our school. Please join us on Fridays starting September 8 at Providence Church 8:20-9:20am. Contact Nicole Shook with questions at ncshook@gmail.com

Important Website Links

Upcoming Dates:

August

  • 15: Preschool parent night 6:30pm
  • 17: PreK-2nd grade Ice cream social 5:30-6:30pm
  • 22: First day of school
  • 23: Y5-2nd Parent Information Night 6:30pm
  • 30: All School Convocation

September

  • 1: No school
  • 4: No school: Labor Day
  • 20: PreK-2nd picture day
  • 27: Walkathon

October

  • 16: Parent-Teacher Conferences 4-8pm
  • 18- Half day of school: Afternoon parent-teacher conferences
  • 19-20: CEA Convention: No school