29 - Hudsonville Christian Schools

Home Communicator
January 29, 2013
Principal’s Note: “Can You Hear Me Now”
Each January, the entire 7 th grade, the 7 th grade staff, other middle school staff, and parent chaperones spend three days at Winter Camp held at
Spring Hill Camps in Evart, Michigan. The purpose of this learning experience is to promote growth in a number of areas: building community
among students and staff; team work; experiential curriculum; and spiritual formation. The curriculum at Winter Camp centered on outdoor
classes such as animal adaptations, winter survival, orienteering and horseback riding along with the additional activities of outdoor games and the
indoor climbing wall. In all of these classes, faith walk connections were made.
At camp we challenged the students to grow spiritually through the classes, the devotional messages before each meal and especially during the
worship and praise time the first night we were at camp. Middle school teacher Mr. Los led us in worship with the assistance of Mr. Doll,
another middle school teacher. The message that God placed on their hearts was to challenge the students to hear what God is saying to them;
to recognize that God is speaking to them in so many ways. And He is asking – “Can you hear me now”
Our lives are busy – yes, even the lives of middle schoolers – and often we are not still enough to hear God’s voice. We reflected on the ways
we heard God speaking to us through His creation; amazing and incredible ways. We were able to do this because we made time to listen and
be still. Then, we reflected on the cacophony of voices from the world that bombard us daily; so many of the messages from these voices are
lies. We all, but especially middle schoolers, start to believe these messages as truths because they are packaged so well. Mr. Los and Mr. Doll
emphasized in our worship that rather than listening to the world’s messages we need to listen to the one Voice of Truth which tells us a
different story. We need to hear what God is saying. They condensed this into three truths that God is telling us through His Word that we
should hear and believe – about who we are in Christ – I am accepted; I am secure; I am significant.
I am accepted. . . I am God’s child ~ John 1:12
As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. ~ John 15:15
I have been justified ~ Romans 5:1
I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit. ~ I Corinthians 6:17
I have been bought with a price, and I belong to God. ~ I Corinthians 6:19-20
I am a member of Christ’s body. ~ I Corinthians 12:27
I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. ~ Ephesians 1:3-8
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. ~ Colossians 1:13-14
I am complete in Christ. ~ Colossians 2:9-10
I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. ~ Hebrews 4:14-16
I am secure. . . I am free of condemnation. ~ Romans 8:1-2
I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances. ~ Romans 2:8
I am free from any condemnation brought against me, and I cannot be separated from the love of God. ~ Romans 8:31-39
I have bee established, anointed, and sealed by God. ~ II Corinthians 1:21-22
I am hidden with Christ in God. ~ Colossians 3:1-4
I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me. ~ Philippians 1:6
I am a citizen of Heaven. ~ Philippians 3:20
I have not been given the spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind. ~ II Timothy 1:7
I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me. ~ I John 5:18
I am significant. . . I am the branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life. ~ John 15:5
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. ~ John 15:16
I am God’s temple. ~ I Corinthians 3:16
I am a minister of reconciliation for God. ~ II Corinthians 5:17-21
I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm. ~ Ephesians 2:6
I am God’s workmanship. ~ Ephesians 2:10
I may approach God with freedom and confidence. ~ Ephesians 3:12
I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. ~ Philippians 4:13
Parents, this is the message our 7 th graders heard at camp and the message we bring to all our middle school students. We pray that they
choose to listen to God’s voice and come to truly believe His truths. We continue to covet your prayers as we continue to shepherd our
students.
Working together in Him – the Voice of Truth,
Mary Broene, Middle School Principal

SCHOOL WIDE NEWS
CONGRATULATIONS!
Congratulations to our kindergarten teacher, Janae Byker and her
husband, Joe, on the birth of their daughter, Aubrielle Colleen, on
January 19. Both mother and baby are doing well, and we praise God
with them on the birth of a healthy daughter!
We also rejoice with Sarah Renkema, orchestra assistant, and her
husband Burgess, on the birth of their son, Brennan John, on January
26. We praise God for new life!
REPORT CARDS
Report cards were posted online this past Friday. If you are having
problems accessing your child’s report card or would like a paper
copy, please contact the elementary or middle school office.
PRESCHOOL REGISTRATION FOR 2013/2014
If you have a three or four year old child, we are now accepting
registrations for 3 School and Preschool at Hudsonville Christian. Just
stop by the elementary office to pick up registration information or to
drop off your form.
UPCOMING DAYS OFF FROM SCHOOL
There will be no school for students on Friday, February 8 for winter
break, and also on Monday, February 11 for a staff professional
development day.
STUDENT DROP OFF AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Oak Street in front of the elementary school is a very busy place in the
morning, with many people dropping off their kids at school. Many
parents park on Oak Street in front of school and then take their
children inside school to their classrooms. We would like to
encourage parents who plan to go inside with their students to park in
the church lot across the street from school, walk your children
across Oak Street, and then proceed into the school building. This
will allow more room for parents who only desire to drive up to
school and drop their children off. Thank you for your assistance in
helping to make the dropping off of our students safe and efficient!
MAP TESTING
Elementary students in grades 2-5 are taking the winter MAP tests
from January 21 - February 7. Middle school students are taking the
tests from January 28—February 15. All students are being tested in
the areas of math, reading, and writing. Parents, please encourage
your students to get a good night of sleep, to eat well, and to be
thoughtful about the answers they choose. The results of the tests are
important to HCS teachers. They help us know how your son or
daughter is progressing. We trust that each student will do his or her
best!
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES
Individual conferences for students in preschool through grade five will
be scheduled by our office for February 26 and February 28. Please
note that the due date for the conference form is TOMORROW.
Middle school conferences are not scheduled and you can meet with
your child’s teacher(s) these same evenings in the middle school south
gym. There is no school on March 1 for Records Day.
BE AN EVENT SPONSOR THIS YEAR!
You will find available on our school website information on how your
business can become a sponsor of HCS events this calendar year. We
are looking for businesses to underwrite and sponsor our Walk-A-
Thon held in May, the Tuition Assistance Golf Outing held in August,
the Sporting Clay Shoot that also benefits tuition assistance in
September, and our Foundation Dinner in October/November.
Sponsoring businesses are recognized at these events and receive
additional benefits depending on the event(s) you choose. Please
c h e c k o u t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n o n o u r w e b s i t e
(www.hudsonvillechristian.org) and see how your business can help
HCS this year! Forms are due to the school office by February 28, and
you can contact Michelle DeGroot at 669-6689 with any questions.
SCHOOL WIDE NEWS (Continued)
MAGAZINE ORDERING UPDATE
HCS has earned $575 profit so far this school year on online magazine
sales! We really appreciate your continued support. Our school
store is open 24/7 all year long. Ordering on-line is safe and secure.
To place an order go to our school web page, click on “Ways
to Support HCS” and then “Fundraisers”. Please contact Julie
Doll at jdoll@4hcs.org if you have any questions. All profits from these
online sales continue to be used for middle school activity funding projects
that benefit our 6 th – 8 th grade students at HCMS!
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS
NUMBER/DAY SCHEDULE
January 30 Day #4 February 4 Day #3
January 31 Day #1 February 5 Day #4
February 1 Day #2 February 6 Day #1
COOKIES FOR KENYA
Chocolate chip cookies will be sold to students this Friday morning for
$.25 a piece to support our Kenya Partnership. Team #2 will be
working.
CHAPEL
This week Friday all elementary students will take part in chapel in the
gym at 10:00 a.m. You are welcome to join us!
5th GRADE PARENT ORIENTATION TO M.S.
Fifth grade parents who will be having their first child come to our
middle school next year, please reserve the evening of Monday, March
18 at 7:00 p.m. The 6th grade staff, along with other middle school
teachers will be welcoming you to life at HCMS! All parents are
welcome, but we are focusing our discussion on those parents who
will be walking our halls for the first time. Feel free to bring along any
parents you know who are interested in becoming a part of HCMS!
(This meeting is for parents only. Incoming 6 th grade students will be visiting
the M.S. during a school day later in the spring.)
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS
HOT LUNCH
Hot lunch this Wednesday will be DJ’s pepperoni or ham pizza $1.00
each slice, assorted chip selection for $.25/bag, and assorted drinks for
$.50/can.
COOKIES SOLD AT FRIDAY MORNING BREAK
Cookies for Kenya partnership support will be on sale Friday morning,
February 1 at the middle school for $.25 each. Cookie volunteer team
#2 will be working.
CHAPEL HAPPENINGS
Thursday, January 31 Praise Team leads chapel
Tuesday, February 5 Carrie Rodgers leads chapel
EOCS COMBINED BAND CONCERT
The 7/8 Grade Band will again be participating this year in a combined
band concert and clinic for EOCS (Eastern Ottawa Christian Schools)
bands. The concert will be held at Fair Haven Ministries in
Hudsonville next week Tuesday evening, February 5, at 7:00 pm. The
band will be joined by bands from Unity as well as from Allendale
Christian, Beaverdam Christian, Borculo Christian, Jenison Christian.
Each band will be featured alone as well as in a combined mass band
lead by guest conductor Mr. David Bass.

MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS (Continued)
EXPLORATORY WEEK FOLLOWUP
The first annual Exploratory Week at HCMS has come and gone. It
was a wonderful week full of diverse classes and experiences. A big
THANKS to the middle school staff and other people who helped
make this a positive experience for all involved. God blessed this
special week and we look forward to doing it again next school year.
UPCOMING SPORTS: GIRLS BASKETBALL,
SWIMMING, BOYS WRESTLING
Basketball tryouts for the 8th grade girls’ team are taking place
this week. Schedules will be available soon.
Basketball practice will begin for the 7th grade girls signed up
the first week of February. Plan on practices from 2:45 – 4:30 p.m. on
Monday, February 4 and Wednesday, February 6.
Signups for boys in 6 th , 7 th , and 8 th grade for this year’s wrestling
season began last week. Commitment forms should be signed and
returned to the middle school office by February 4; first practice will
be Wednesday, February 6.
Information regarding swimming will be coming soon.
ADVANCE CONCERT DATES TO
PUT ON YOUR SCHEDULE
Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. at Fair Haven Ministries will be an
evening with our 6 th , 7 th and 8 th grade choirs.
Tuesday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. at Fair Haven Ministries will be the
annual Orchestra Fiddle Fest Concert for our 5 th , 6 th , 7 th and 8 th grade
orchestras.
THANK YOU FROM HCMS
Our middle school has had a very busy month so far! Earlier this
month, our 6th grade was busy with their Medieval Unit and ended
their study with a medieval festival day on Friday, January 11. Very
special thanks to all the room moms for their help with the day and
for cooking the delicious chicken legs for the lunch. Also, a huge
thank you for the work and help with student costume and project
needs. If you have a medieval costume that belongs to HCMS and/or
one that you wish to donate to our stock, please be sure to drop it off
in the school office soon.
Last week all middle school students participated in our first
Exploratory Week! There has been a very positive response to this
week so far and staff enjoy hearing your thoughts on this event. We
are so very grateful to everyone for the project and craft donations
we received, for the volunteers who stepped forward to help with
classes in many various ways, and for the use of your supplies. If you
loaned school any craft punches/scissors or exercise mats, you can
stop by the middle school office to pick up your items this
week. Again our thanks for your generosity!
HCMS 6 WORD CONTEST
The Middle School just wrapped up the HCMS 6 Word Contest. For
the contest, students submitted 6 words about HCMS in the following
categories: Life as a Student, Faith, Silly, Subject Area, and Advertising.
Teachers could also submit an entry. Here are the winners:
Teacher: Mrs. Karsten — “Kids absent because of ortho
appointments.”
Advertising: Abbi Postma — “Dare to be different at HCMS!”
Life as a Student: Ashley Rotman — “Eat, sleep, school, repeat. That’s
life!”
Faith: Claire Darby — “The Bible is better than textbooks.”
Subject Area: Kelli Levering — “Science: The study of the
unexplainable.”
Silly: Sam Landstra — “HCMS: The most orderly zoo ever.”
PARENTS’ CLUB NEWS
SADER SUPPER AT HCS THIS FRIDAY!
Join other HCS families this Friday, February 1 for supper and
basketball as we celebrate our UC pride. Supper starts at 5 p.m. in
the HCS Elementary gym and the Unity Varsity Basketball games start
at 6 p.m. at the high school. Reservation forms need to be turned in
to the office by 9 a.m. on Wednesday. More details are included on
the forms sent home last week or see the website for the form. The
UC wrestling team will also be there selling pigs, banket, and hot fudge
to help raise funds for their mission trip to Guatemala this
summer. Be sure to check out their table display.
FROM YOUR 2013 HCS AUCTION COMMITTEE
“Have fun, get to know other HCS parents, support a good cause, and
buy something unexpected all in one night!” This is yet another
testimony from HCS parents about the auction. For our community,
the auction is a fun way for all of us to support Christian
education. Not only are there fantastic items, gift certificates, and one
-of-a-kind things to bid on and buy, it’s a fun evening of building
relationships within our HCS community. Check out the updated
information and pictures at www.hudsonvillechristian.org. Make plans
to experience the auction on Saturday, February 23 rd !
TIME TO BREAK OUT THE CHURCH CANDY!
Whether your favorite is Mentos, Willemina peppermints, or Dentine
gum the auction committee is taking a collection of them! We would
like to offer baskets of "church candy for a year" for your bid! Would
you please send one candy per family to school this week All are
welcome to the auction on February 23 to bid on this sweet item!
SWEETHEART SWIRL
All RSVP’s for the first annual Sweetheart Swirl are due THIS FRIDAY,
February 1 st . We are looking forward to putting on this “sweet” event
for all our HCS sweethearts Pre-K – 5 th grade.
PHOTO PRINTER NEEDED FOR THE “SWIRL”
We are looking for an additional photo printer to use at the
Sweetheart Swirl. If you have a Canon Selphy CP730 printer that we
could borrow for this event, please call Lisa Huisman at 669-5637.
COMMUNITY NEWS
UNITY CHR. 7TH/8TH GIRLS BASKETBALL CAMP
Unity Christian will be offering a Saturday basketball camp for girls in
grades 7 and 8 on February 2 and 9, from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Cost
is $20. Information on the camp is available by your school office and
can also be found on Unity's website at http://www.unitychristian.org/
Portals/0/PDF/athletics/SADRSAT2%20GRL%207th-8th.pdf. Deadline
to enroll is Wednesday, January 30.
UNITY CHR. 5TH/6TH VOLLEYBALL CLINIC
Unity Christian will be hosting a volleyball clinic for girls in 5th and 6th
grades. This will be held on Saturday, February 16 and 23, from 9:00 -
10:30 a.m. Cost is $15. Information on the camp is attached and is
also available on Unity's website: http://www.unitychristian.org/
Portals/0/PDF/athletics/VOLLEYB%205th-6th.pdf. Deadline to enroll is
Wednesday, February 13.
FITNESS CLASS
fit2serve Ministries, a Christ-Centered Fitness Ministry, offers classes
at local churches in the Hudsonville/Jenison area at affordable prices in
a non-threatening environment. Class fee for drop-in is only $3, or
save money with an 8 class punch card for $20. Classes are: Tuesday
evenings at 7 p.m. at Home Front Church, 6265 8th Ave. Jenison.
Friday mornings at 9:15 a.m. at Georgetown Bible Church, 4114
Baldwin St. Hudsonville. Childcare is offered at our Georgetown
location at $2.00 per child. Contact information is
bfit2serve@gmail.com or www.bfit2serve.com or find us on facebook
at fit2serve.

COMMUNITY NEWS (Continued)
STARLIGHT MINISTRIES HOPE STARS 3 ON 3
BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Are you looking for a fun packed day Having a little “cabin fever”
during these winter months Starlight Ministries is hosting “Hope
Stars 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament” on Saturday, March 2 nd from
8:00 a.m. – 12 at Hudsonville Christian Middle School. This will be a
day of fun, prizes, concessions, and friendly competition. We welcome
grade 5 through adults to participate! Get some friends & family
together, form a team, give it a funny name and register for this event
(deadline is Feb. 18, 2013). Registration forms can be downloaded
at: www.starlightmin.org All proceeds benefit Starlight
Ministries “a Christ-centered ministry that provides Hope, healing and
support for those who are grieving the death-loss of a loved one”. Call 662-
1999 for more information!
GIRLS SCOUTS PARENT INFORMATIONAL MEETING
Girls Scouts opens up a world of possibilities! Join us at a parent
informational meeting on Thursday, February 7 from 7—8 p.m. at the
Georgetown Elementary Library. Questions Contact Janice Bourgoin
at 231-744-4774 or email her at jbourgoin@gsmists.org. Membership
fee is $12.00, and scholarships are available. Volunteers and leaders
are needed!
UPCOMING EVENTS AT HCS
January 21—Feb. 7 MAP Testing Window (til 2/15 for M.S.) February 11 Professional Development Day (no school for students)
February 1 Sader Supper February 18—22 Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week
February 4-6 Kindergarten Screening February 21 6/7/8 Skating Party
February 4 EOCS 7/8 Band Concert Practice at MS February 23 HCS Auction
February 5 EOCS 7/8 Band Concert at Fair Haven February 26, 28 Parent Teacher Conferences
February 8 Winter Break (no school for students) March 1 Records Day (no school for students)
Hudsonville Christian School 3435 Oak Street, Hudsonville, MI 49426 616/669-6689 www.hudsonvillechristian.org