South Side Newsletter - November 2022 | Holland Christian Schools

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4

During these seasonal changes I am always reminded of how amazing our Creator is and how perfect his design is. He has given us such beauty to enjoy! Something I love about Christian education is that we integrate Biblical teaching and faith formation into everything we do. I get the pleasure of visiting classrooms to watch our teachers talk about our amazing Creator and His perfect creation as they have their students participate in different autumn themes and activities. As we move from October harvest activities into November, we turn our creation awe and wonder into a time of reflecting and expressing thankfulness:

Year after year it remains that at Holland Christian, I am thankful for…..

Amazing Christian teachers, parapros, aides and childcare staff who go above and beyond for their students to grow them emotionally, spiritually and academically
Custodians and maintenance staff who serve us daily by making sure everything is working and that our buildings shine
Secretaries who come to school each day with a joyful heart towards hospitality and service
Wonderful Christian colleagues who walk together through life’s journey
Partnerships with parents who walk alongside us as we grow your children from preschool-12th grade
Wonderful parent teams who organize great fundraisers and spoil our teachers with yummy food and treats
Parent volunteers who come in to help with recess/lunch duty, field trips and other special activities
Donors who are able to support us financially
And above all…. GOD’s faithfulness!!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Erin

Announcements

Picture Retakes

Picture retakes are this Wednesday, November 2, right away in the morning. If you are choosing to have retakes, please return your picture packet back to school with your child, and email your child’s teacher to let them know that you want your child to have picture retakes. If your child was sick on picture day, or is a new transfer student, this is the time to have their picture taken.

Little Maroons Basketball

Little Maroons is a Holland Christian winter basketball opportunity for kindergarten-6th graders to develop in both skill and game play. Grades 5-6 have three clinics before Christmas to prepare for their local 5-6 league run through City of Holland Recreation. Registration for the Holland Christian sessions and clinics is available through our camps registration system, and the early bird discount is good through November 4.

Thank You!

A sincere thank you to the Parent Board, and many of you, for bringing in delicious food to refuel teachers during parent/teacher conferences. The meal was greatly enjoyed and appreciated!

Also, thank you for taking the time to come out and meet with your child(ren)’s teacher(s). These conversations are so valuable as we partner together to continue our mission of equipping minds and nurturing hearts to transform the world for Jesus Christ.

From the Parent Board

November is our MONTH OF THANKS! Keep your eye out for an email with more details from the South Side office, and consider blessing our teachers and staff! Remember, cards and small tokens of appreciation go a long way. Thank you for your support of those who care for our kiddos!

Thank you for signing up to bring meals for conferences. Stay tuned for more opportunities to volunteer!

Children’s Advocacy Center Visit

This November, the Children’s Advocacy Center will be doing a presentation about body safety in our kindergarten-2nd grade classrooms in November. Please check out this Children’s Advocacy Center handout for more information. You are welcome to attend the presentation with your child! Please contact the South Side office by calling 616.820.3535 or emailing jritsema@hollandchristian.org or pmeiste@hollandchristian.org to receive the date and time of the presentation for your child’s class, and to let us know that you plan to attend.

Book Fair

Winter is coming! Get ready to hunker down with a pile of good books. The Parent Board will be hosting a Book Fair at Pine Ridge the week of November 7 as a library fundraiser; all proceeds go to keeping the school library shelves stocked! Families are welcome to shop Thursday, Nov. 10 from 3-4:15pm and Friday, Nov. 11 from 11:15-12:15pm in the Pine Ridge media center.

Interested in helping at the Book Fair? Please check out our Sign-up Genius Link.

Half-day Professional Development

In an effort to grow your children with best practices, we take very seriously the growth of our staff and faculty. To that end, you will note periodic Friday half-days in our calendar this year. We are grateful for your accommodating this learning time for your child’s teacher. You will note that our next half-day professional development will be on Friday, November 11. Dismissal will be at 11:15am for preschool students (no enrichment) and 11:30am for K-2 students.

Thanksgiving Break

There will be no school Wednesday, November 23-Friday, November 25 so families can celebrate Thanksgiving. Enjoy this special time together as a family celebrating our great God, and the many blessings in our lives.

Miles of Smiles

The Miles of Smiles (MOS) dental program was established in 1995 and provides dental services for children at approximately 30 Ottawa County Schools annually. Unfortunately, MOS will not be visiting South Side this year. However, we want to inform you that your child can be seen at MOS’s mobile unit when even at another Ottawa County School. If your child/children have the qualifications listed below, please use the link or QR code to complete the dental consent form for each of your children. Children 0-20 years old with Medicaid insurance/Healthy Kids Dental or uninsured who:

Live or attend school in Ottawa County
Do not have a dentist
Have not had a dental checkup in the last 6 months
Qualify financially

Fill out the Electronic Miles of Smiles Application. If you have any questions or concerns please call 616.393.5694.

Direct Your Dollars

If you would like to help earn money for our school, the Direct Your Dollars program is an easy way to participate with little effort! If you shop at Family Fare or D&W, all you need to do is save your WHOLE receipt, and turn it in to school. Once we have a certain dollar amount, the receipts are turned into the SpartanNash Organization and the school will receive a check for $1,000. Will you consider helping us reach our goal so we can submit receipts?

Important Website Links

Upcoming Dates

November:

2: Picture retakes 8:30am
11: Half day of school with preK dismissal at 11:15am (no enrichment) and K-2 dismissal at 11:30am
23-25: No school: Thanksgiving break

December:

19-January 2: No school: Christmas Break

January:

3: School resumes

South Side Newsletter – November 2022

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