Mountaineer Messenger FEBRUARY 2013 Learning & Living for the Glory of God What We’Ve Been up To
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Mountaineer Messenger FEBRUARY 2013 Learning & Living for the Glory of God What We’ve Been Up To... 2nd & 5th Grades Visit Meijer Gardens The 2nd and 5th graders celebrated their “Christmas Around the World” social studies unit with a field trip to Frederik Meijer Gardens. They enjoyed looking at the trees decorated to represent countries they had studied. The spider webs on the tree for Germany reminded the kids of the spiders they had made to decorate their own tree in the 5th grade classroom. The weather was beautiful for December, so students were also able to spend time exploring the outdoor Children’s Garden. Alayna VanderStel, Lydia Vincent, Briquell Jipping, & Brieanna Alsum 4th Grade Visits Central Reformed Church The 4th grade field trip to the Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids is a favorite each year and this year was no exception. Students got to learn how pipe organs work and they got to hear some amazing music. Afterward, the class headed to the Grand Rapids Public Museum to learn about the three tribes of Michigan Indians. The guide was very impressed by how much information this class already knew and how excited they were to learn more about these first inhabitants of Michigan. Kindergarten Goes to the Critter Barn “Oink! Quack! Moo! Neigh!” “Oooh! Ahh! Yikes! Yay” Reece Alsum is “out of this world!” This is what the critters say. Pettit’s “critters,” watching, say! Run! Flap! Cuddle! Chew! Smile! Touch! Giggle, too! This is what the critters do. This is what young learners do! 1 Cover: Jayda Steenbergen & Audra Kaptein Micah Maartense & his grandmother Emma Moelker & her grandfather Megan Vos & her grandmother Grandparents Day 2012 was a great success! We had a record We Grandparents! number of grandparents and great-grandparents on Zion Christian’s campus to tour classrooms, visit with teachers, and – most importantly – connect with children. In our chapel time, Rev. Larry Johnson used our theme verse for this year, Psalm 126, to speak about the challenge of letting the Lord build our house. Our junior high and high school choirs and all of the elementary students sang praises to our God. It was a wonderful time of worship! After even more visiting, Jen Vos headed up a crew that served lunch to the children and our guests. Again this year, Stroo Funeral Home made that luncheon possible. The gym was full of old and young, glad to spend time together. The generations were all together, enjoying their experiences at Zion. We are so blessed! Tommy Kaptein & his grandmother Olivia Baker & her grandparents Candy Friend & her grandfather Audrey Crabtree & her grandparents 2 Geography Bee In December. Zion Christian School held its annual Geography Bee. Students in 4th through 8th grades were given quizzes to test their knowledge of God’s world and the two students with the highest scores from each grade had the privilege to participate in the School Geography Bee. The participants included Reece Alsum, Brian Braam, Grace Drew, Julian Edouard, Dana Feenstra, Thomas Tuinstra, Jonathan Vander Wall, Nolan Vander Wall, Mikey Veurink & his Sarah VanDijk, and Jonathan Vos. Miss Kathy Vander Jagt read model of Venice questions related to U.S. and world geography, and each student carefully answered all seven questions from the preliminary round. Half of the students went on to the final round where the difficulty of the questions increased. The championship round decided Jonathan Vander Wall as the winner and Thomas Tuinstra as the runner up. All of the participants did a wonderful job. What a blessing it is to be able to learn about the incredible world that God created and then to use these gifts of knowledge in a friendly competition! Brandon & Gabriel Pyper Social Studies Expo In January, Zion students showcased the many important things they’ve been learning about civics, geography, and history. There were displays and parades, singing, and acting. Additionally, the gymnasium was transformed into a huge Wax Museum, filled with nearly 50 characters from World History! Kendra Hesselink as Betsy Ross Zion students singing about those “Fifty, nifty, United States.” 3 Christmas Music Program by Mrs. Sue McCrory, Elementary Principal & 5th Grade Teacher As a teacher of young children, I know that many little ones have an innate fear of the dark. If we’re honest, even as adults we do not like the shadows and the unseen that we associate with darkness. Spiritually speaking, darkness is all around us as we navigate through a fallen world. We see the works of darkness recorded in our daily news and we deal with the darkness of our own sinful nature. Our Christmas program this year was a celebration of the coming of the Light of the World. We had the opportunity as a school body to sing joyously of the Light and to revel in the salvation from the darkness of sin. I heard the elementary choir singing “Light of God,” especially the refrain, “Holy Spirit, break through our darkness. Holy Spirit, breathe through our lives!” over and over again as they practiced. This prayer continues to echo in my mind and for this I give thanks! We need deliverance daily from the darkness of our sin. What a sweet privilege we have as believers to sing and to hear our Covenant youth sing of this Light - the glorious, perfect Light of the Lord Jesus Christ! What a comfort to know that we have not been left in darkness, to stumble about blindly into danger, disaster, and death. As John 1:4 says,“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” The Light has come! Merry Christmas every day! The elementary choir sings praises to God Wendy Telman & Christina Ybema The high school choir How do you Favorite New York or New Year’s Favorite kind Getting like your eggs musical California Resolution of cookie to know... cooked? instrument Mrs. Christina VanBeek In baked goods Harpsichord California Drink more Peanut Science Teacher water & have Blossom a baby Andrew Deppe Scrambled My voice California Stop Snickerdoodle Junior drinking pop Marie Edouard In an omelet Cello & New York Improve at Oreos 8th Grade saxophone sports Jayden Dykstra Over medium Saxophone California Spend more Oatmeal 4th Grade time helping Cream Pie others Robby Schipper Scrambled Drums New York I don’t know M&M cookies Kindergarten what that is 4 Since Zion Christian School opened its doors in the fall of 1999, the Lord has blessed us exceedingly! We quickly outgrew the set of portable classrooms that served as our original facility, and in 2003 we constructed and moved into our present facility in Byron Center. Today, Zion continues to experience rapid growth. Our enrollment increased by 12% in the fall of 2011 and by 14% in the fall of 2012. As a result, a second kindergarten class was added this year. With a large pre-kindergarten class enrolled currently, it appears very likely that two kindergarten sections will be needed again next year. Last summer, Zion completed the first phase in the “Building on the Foundation” campaign. This project added two classrooms to the school building and expanded two others. Future goals of the “Building on the Foundation” campaign include: • Continued expansion of the elementary wing, allowing for multiple sections of the elementary grades • Addition of an Elementary Gymnasium/Auditorium, to alleviate congestion in the existing gym • Addition of several high school classrooms, including a metal/wood shop • Expansion of the existing gymnasium and addition of proper locker rooms • Additional parking lot with a bus lane for optimized pick-ups and drop-offs • Update and optimize outdoor athletic facilities • Technological upgrades, including computers As we respond to the school’s growth and seek capital to expand our facility, we will remain committed to the foundation upon which we are standing: the supreme authority of God’s Word. We strongly believe that the Lord has blessed Zion because of our strong emphasis on the authority of Scripture, as well as our emphasis on the Reformed Faith. Within the context of a Biblical focus, we will continue to strive for academic excellence. In addition, we desire to expand without taking on significant debt to avoid jeopardizing the financial soundness of the school. Please contact Jason Heerema in the school office if you are willing to help us in our efforts. 5 The Mountaineer Fund represents the difference between our tuition income and overall education costs. As recently as last year, the amount $200,000 budgeted for the Mountaineer Fund was approximately $350,000. However, our student population grew 14% this academic year, on the heels of 12% growth last year. $150,000 Thanks to this increased enrollment and a number of cost-saving measures initiated by the board, our Mountaineer Fund has been reduced to $200,000 in the current school year. With the $120,000 we have already raised this year, the amount that remains to be raised is $80,000. $100,000 Please help us reach that goal by joining us at our annual Spring Dinner on Thursday, April 25. The Dinner will be an evening of wonderful food and fellowship, a time to celebrate the ministry of Zion Christian School and thank our great God for His continued blessings. $50,000 6 Mountaineer Golf Outing Zion’s 12th Annual Golf Outing was held on September EVENT SPONSORS 22 at the beautiful Diamond Grace Bible College Arbor Gage & Tooling, Inc. Springs Golf Course. Due to Deppe Mold & Tooling, Inc. a thunderstorm, golfers were LUNCH SPONSOR only able to play nine holes. GVL Excavating However, we were still able to GOLF BALL SPONSORS enjoy a morning full of fun and fellowship.