The RHCS Review. Character. From The Principal s Desk UPCOMING EVENTS

Transcription

1 The RHCS Review From The Principal s Desk UPCOMING EVENTS JULY 11 TRIP Order Drop Off 12 Summer Get T & K Kloosterman s 6:00 pm 18 TRIP Order Pick Up AUGUST 1 TRIP Order Drop Off 8 TRIP Order Pick Up 15 Teacher In-Service 9:30 am 21 First 1/2 Day of School Including Kindergarten Pot-Luck 2nd CRC 6:30 pm 24 All School Devotions 8:05 am 29 Picture Day 31 Labor Day Weekend/No School SEPTEMBER 1-3 Labor Day Weekend/No School 5 TRIP Order Drop Off 7 Chapel 12 TRIP Order Pick Up Mothers-at-Work Meeting 8:10 First Hot Lunch OCTOBER 3 TRIP Order Drop Off 5 Chapel 10 TRIP Order Pick Up 8-12 Elementary Spirit Week 18 Grandparent s Day 1:00 pm 19 Fall Break/Record s Day/No School 26 Reformation Chapel 29 Iowa Basics Testing Begins Dave Vander Meer Character And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17 The 2018 senior class picked Colossians 3:17 as their class verse. It is a verse that speaks to the daily living of Christians and how they are to speak and act as Christ s children at all times. This verse is set up by verses Some Bible versions have the heading, Character of the New Man over verses Character, as defined in the Thorndike-Barnhardt Student Dictionary, is: moral strength or weakness; the special way in which any person feels, thinks, and acts. If you pay attention to this definition you will notice that it all is based on the person. The person is the center and he/she determines his/her character. That is not the way with God. God is the center and we emulate Him and reflect the traits that He has determined to be good. As God s children, we are to put these traits on as our own as we grow in Christ. The following are the traits that are in verses and a description of them that is found in The New Geneva Study Bible. Tender mercies An emotional, caring relationship with those whose lives are hurt and broken Kindness Readiness to do good, even when it may be undeserved Humility A posture of lowliness and servanthood Meekness Gentleness in offering help, a non-coercive approach to encouraging change in others lives Longsuffering Willingness to take the long view in the face of human frailty There are two other traits mentioned as well, forgiveness and love. Forgiveness is mentioned in the context of Christ s forgiveness of us. We are to bear with each other s shortcomings and forgive because we have been forgiven so much by Christ. We cannot even comprehend how much we have been forgiven so we are commanded by God to forgive each other. All these traits are wrapped up in love; it is the most important trait. Love is the glue that keeps all these traits of Christian character bound together. When we have lost love, all the other traits will fall apart and relationships are broken. But, if we keep them in love, Christian relationships will move forward towards the perfection that is in Christ. Cont d on Page 2

2 EVENTS Character Cont d... This is the context in which the senior class verse was written. Now Paul is telling us to take these Christian character traits and put them into practice. Whatever is done by the Christian is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. Whatever is a big category! It encompasses every aspect of life. As a Christian everything is under the domain of Christ as Lord. We cannot say that Jesus is Lord without Him being Lord of every aspect of our lives. He is Lord of all our relationships, work, family, recreation, school, wants, desires, attitudes, driving, eating, everything. There is nothing in this life that God doesn t care about it. When Christ is your king, He rules over everything in your life. There is also freedom in this text. There are no rules on how to do this. It is an overarching statement that through the guidance of the Spirit, He lets us work out how we are to live our lives with this Christian character. Not in the sense we can live, talk, and act any way we choose, as a license to do what our sinful nature wants to do. But we can act on these traits of Christian character in the way that best fits the situation to the glory of God. In Galatians 5, where it lists the fruit of the Spirit it ends with this little statement: against such there is no law Gal 5:23b. Live out these Christian character traits always and with joy. Nothing is in your way to fully act upon them. Finally, we have to be thankful to God for the opportunity to work this out in our lives. So seniors, live out your class verse, knowing the promises of God and relying on the Holy Spirit in every facet and phase of your life to the glory of the Lord! Spring Banquet Our annual Spring Banquet was held on Thursday, March 15, at Second Christian Reformed Church. All in attendance enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Mrs. Sarah Vlietstra with the help of the jr. high and high school students, Miss Joy Mejeur, and several mothers. Desserts were provided by the mothers. After eating, everyone was treated to a wonderful concert performed by the group, Voices of Victory. A total of $20, was raised! This is a very important fundraiser and we appreciate everyone who came! Thank you! Grandparent s Day Grandparent s Day was held at Hope Reformed Church on April 27. The program was titled Jesus is the Light of the World. Grandparents and special friends enjoyed listening to the students sing songs like I Am the Light of the World, Shine Jesus Shine, and Take my Life and Let it Be. They also performed with their instruments; the ukuleles, the recorders, and the chimes. We are so thankful for our Grandparents and our Godly heritage. They are such a blessing to us!

3 EVENTS FINE ARTS NIGHT Grades K-6 enjoyed their library party based on circus and carnival games! FIELD DAY We had a beautiful day for Field Day on Friday, May 19. The students competed against each other, the blue team vs. the orange team. There was the obstacle course, long jump, endurance jump, soccer dribble, softball throw, javelin throw, the relay race, and many other events. After a fun morning everyone met at Flesher Field in Oshtemo Park for lunch, playtime, and relaxation.

4 CLASSROOM HAPPENINGS High School Fun Activity 1st-3rd Grade Science When the 1 st 3 rd grade students came back from Spring Break they were greeted by lady bug larva in Mrs. Vander Meer s classroom. They enjoyed watching the life cycle happen right in front of them. They had so much fun letting the ladybugs go and trying to find them again at recess. How amazing to see the beauty of God s creation! Grand Rapids Public Museum 4th-6th Grade The 4th - 6th grade students went on a field trip to the Grand Rapids Public Museum. There was an exhibit featuring watersheds which they had just learned about in Science during the water unit. This exhibit consisted of a maze where students pretended they were a water droplet. At different stations, students could decide what happened in their life as a water droplet and follow the maze according to those decisions. Students learned more about the water cycle through this process. Students also explored the rest of the exhibits that focused on animals, and music, and historic Grand Rapids. They finished up the trip with lunch at Chik-fil-a. Students rated this field trip as good or awesome. The high school enjoyed some time away at South Haven on Tuesday, May 15. Their first stop was Van Buren State Park where the fog was heavy, but that didn t stop them from climbing the big dune and taking nice long walk looking for Petoskey stones and beach glass. The sun did finally come out to warm everyone! Everyone enjoyed onion rings and dinner at the local restaurant, Clementine's. At their last stop, they topped off the day with ice cream at Sherman's! Underground Railroad The 1st-3rd grades students visited the Underground Railroad house in Schoolcraft on Tuesday, May 8. They had studied the Civil War in class, and actually got to see where a family lived and how they helped slaves escape to Canada. You ll have to go yourself to find out where and how the family hid slaves, and try to find the hidden door. No one has ever found it, not even curious us! slaves made it to Canada through this home. We are very thankful to the fine family who lived there and for their gift of freedom for so many. Class Visitor 100th DAY The 100th day of school for Kindergarteners was celebrated with activities at school and a trip to the Vlietstra s Dairy Farm! Melanie Hoeksema s parakeet, Sky, spent a day in the kindergarten classroom. The students were learning about birds, so Melanie came to the classroom and answered questions about her bird. High School Spirit Week Beach Day Monochromatic Day

5 FUNDRAISING YEAR END FUNDRAISING TOTALS: MUMS Cinnamon Rolls $ BUTERBRAID BREAD HARDING S REWARDS AUNT MILLIE S SCHOOL SPIRIT THANSKSGIVING FEAST WREATHS KOEZE NUTS BOX TOPS HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE CINNAMON ROLLS KLASSIC ARCADE WALK-A-THON SPRING FLOWER SALE AMAZON SMILE TOTAL Thank you to everyone who participated in our newest fundraiser, homemade cinnamon rolls! It took a little over a year to finally put this fundraiser into action. After a few trials and errors, we spent 3 mornings making over 110 dozen rolls! We had 5 Kitchen Aid mixers working and made over 60 dozen in about 5 hours. A few ladies were able meet around 10 pm at a local bakery to use some big mixers to make the icing. Thanks to everyone who helped! We hope everyone who bought cinnamon rolls enjoyed them! $14, WALK-A-THON KLASSIC ARCADE NIGHT

6 2018 SENIORS ABIGAIL ROSE RIEDSTRA Abigail plans to continue with her education after graduation at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She will be studying dental hygiene. This summer she is planning on attending a TASC (Teens Actively Serving Christ) mission trip through RMS (Reformed Missions Services) to Pella, Iowa, attending the RYS (Reformed Youth Services) Convention in Dordt, Iowa, and working at a bakery. She really enjoyed human anatomy and physiology at RHCS and feels it will help her in her field of study. Abigail received a pin for serving on Student Council and an Honor Award pin. Abigail s favorite Bible verse is Matthew 17:20, because it shows that even with our little faith, God will use it for His good and to further His Kingdom. CODY JOHN VANDEGIESSEN Cody is planning to complete the automotive program at Kalamazoo Valley Community College this fall. He is going to be working at Mulder s Landscape Supplies this summer, attending the RYS Convention in Dordt, Iowa, and plans on having fun with his friends. He is very happy to finish school at RHCS after years of hard work. Cody received his Student Council pin, Honors pin, and achieved the Outstanding Senior Award from EFE, which includes a scholarship to KVCC. Cody s favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5-6 because it teaches us that if we trust in the Lord, He will direct us where we should go. SENIOR CLASS TRIP After a quick stop for donuts at Sweetwaters, we were off the Dayton, Ohio. Our first stop was Carillon Historical Park where we experienced Dayton s heritage of creativity and invention. We were able to see the actual 1905 Wright Flyer and visited the field where the Wright brothers tested their aircraft. After a dinner at a fire station converted to a restaurant, we went to an indoor rock climbing center. We all had to be certified in belaying before we could practice our rock climbing skills. The following day we visited the United States Air Force Museum. There was so much to see! A highlight was being able to board several presidential aircraft. After a delicious Chicago-style pizza dinner, we went to an escape room where we successfully escaped from prison using only clues found around us. Next came frozen custard/italian ice at Rita s. It was amazing! The next morning, we shopped at an antique mall where Abigail, Cody, and Lydia found treasures that they couldn t go home without. After a stop for an authentic Italian lunch, we headed back to Michigan. What a fun few days full of history, adventure, and lots of good food! *** THANK YOU to Mr. & Mrs. Wykstra for being our chaperones on this wonderful trip and to everyone who made it possible for us to go! We raised over $1380. Abigail, Cody, & Lydia.

7 GRADUATION EFE Outstanding Senior Award Congratulations to Cody VandeGiessen on earning the EFE Outstand Senior Award. The award was presented to him at a breakfast with his parents, John and Julie VandeGiessen. He was nominated by the instructor of his automotive class, Mr. Jim Leander. The award is good for a $1000 scholarship at Kalamazoo Valley Community College for classes in the automotive technology program. In the words of Mr. Leander, Cody is in class every day, works hard, helps others in class and is one of the best students I have ever had. He has a unique ability to look at and analyze problems to find the best solution. If you are smart you will hire him! Congratulations on your award and for representing RHCS Cody! GRADUATION 2018 The commencements ceremonies started by everyone having to dodge raindrops from the remnants of Hurricane Alberto and trying to stay cool with all of the tropical moisture! We enjoyed listening to the student body sing My Worth is Not in What I Own accompanied by the ukuleles, and May the Mind of Christ, My Savior accompanied by the chimes. Mr. Fred DeYoung gave a message entitled Ears to Hear based on verses from Proverbs 9. He reminded us that there are only two paths in life to choose, the narrow or the wide, life or death. We ended the evening with fellowship and refreshments. 8th Grade Graduates: Abigail Martin, Adrian Riedstra, and Meghan Wykstra Senior Graduates Cody VandeGiessen and Abigail Riedstra With Administrator Dave VanderMeer BOARD NEWS *We welcome a new janitor for next year, Mrs. Kayla Scheffers! *We are looking for a part-time music teacher, as Mrs. Luann LaRoy is retiring. We thank her for her service at RHCS! *We are excited to welcome 2 new families in the fall! *Tuition will remain the same as last year, no increases! *Feedback from surveys are available in the office. *New board members for are: Mr. Bryan Kiel-President, Mr. Todd Martin-Building & Grounds, Mr. Tim Kloosterman-Treasurer, Mr. Doug Vlietstra-Promotions & Fundraising, and Mr. Justin Kiel-Secretary

8 OTHER NEWS THANK YOU! A special thank you to the speakers who gave a message at our monthly chapels: Rev. Cruse-Community Presbyterian Church Rev. DeVries-Kalamazoo Protestant Reformed Church Mr. Fred DeYoung-Youth Second Christian Reformed Church Rev. Boekestein-Immanuel United Reformed Church Rev. Bero-Community Presbyterian Church Rev. Quinn-Good Shepherd Presbyterian Mr. Dave VanderMeer-Administrator Reformed Heritage Christian School Rev. Stroffregen-Covenant United Reformed Church Rev. Bothof-Second Christian Reformed Church YARD signs are available to promote and advertise the school. Feel free to pick one up from the school office! Secretary Summer Office Hours: Wednesdays: 8:30 am 12:30 pm (With the exception of June 13 and July 18) Association Membership Forms for new or returning members are available online at our website: Reformed Heritage Christian School 700 North Fletcher Avenue Kalamazoo, MI