A New School Year!!!!!

August 19, 2013

Dear Parents,

It is hard to believe that we have officially turned the page of the calendar to August!  Teachers are busy working at school to get ready for students to arrive on Monday, August 26 for the afternoon visitation day, beginning at 1:00!

Welcome to ZCS!  We welcome two new families to Zeeland Christian and to the SHC program this year!  We are delighted and look forward to meeting and building relationships with both the Dryden and Sliedrecht families!
           -We welcome Chad and Tammi Dryden to ZCS, with their boys, Attah, in 4th grade, and Kadre, in 7th grade.  We look forward to getting to know you!  (I heard that Kadre LOVES soccer!)

           -We also welcome Tim and Angie Sliedrecht to ZCS and their children, Moses, in 1st grade, Avalien, 2nd grade, and Miriam, in 7th grade.  The Sliedrechts will be in Michigan through September, then will be returning as missionaries to Uganda until December, when they will be joining us again in January!

We look forward to getting to know each of these students and their families!

Important Information for the first few weeks of school:  
There are a lot of important activities happening during the first few weeks of school!

First Week of School~
We are excited to see students again and hear all about their fun summer vacations!  We are planning to have our first SHC day of school on Tuesday, August 27 with the rest of the Zeeland Christian students!  There is definitely an exciting feel at ZCS on the first day of school!  Our SHC students will come to school for a 1/2 day from 7:40 (middle school) or 8:40 (elementary) until noon.  Middle Schoolers will attend the middle school chapel at 8:00 and all of our students will attend the all-school chapel on Tuesday morning at 9:00, where we can worship and praise God for a new school year! Parents are invited to attend as well!

Typically, Tuesdays will be a home-day of learning in the School/Home Collaborative program, but we feel that the first day of school is special at Zeeland Christian and we don't want to miss it!  During the first week, students will attend school for the 1/2 day on Tuesday, as well as Wednesday and Thursday (full days).  On Friday, there is no school, as we enjoy the Labor Day weekend through Monday, September 2.

Week 1:  August 26-August 30~
Monday, August 26- Students are invited to attend the open house from 1:00-2:00.  Students can bring their school supplies, and put items in their desks and lockers.
Monday, August 26- Ice Cream Social for new ZCS families!  

Tuesday, August 27- Half Day for SHC students (see above for times)

Wednesday, August 28- Full day of school
Wednesday, August 28- Hillside Prayer and Praise service (supper at 6:00pm; service at 7:00pm)

Thursday, August 29- Full day of school

Friday, August 30- NO SCHOOL- Labor Day weekend


Week 2, September 2-6~
-Monday, September 2- No School, Labor Day

-Tuesday, September 3, will be the first "Home-Day" of learning and lesson materials will be sent home on Thursday, August 29.

-Wednesday and Thursday, September 4 and 5- We will have the normal "School-Days" on Wednesday and Thursday, and finish our 4-day week with a "Home-Day" of learning for grades 1-5 on Friday.

-Wednesday, September 4- SHC Middle School and Elementary Parent meetings- 
3:45-4:00- Please plan to attend the 1st-8th grade parent meeting for all parents.
4:00-4:20 and 4:20-4:40: 2 identical sessions for Elementary and Middle school.

-Wednesday, September 4 - Friday, September 6- 6th Grade Camp at Camp Geneva.
-Friday, September 6- Middle School- All ZCS students, grades 6-8, will be at Camp Geneva. (See Below)

MIDDLE SCHOOLERS:  PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE  CAMP GENEVA DAY WITH THE ENTIRE MIDDLE SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6.  More information will be coming, but please make it a priority to attend this all-middle school camp day.

Week 3, September 9-13:  We will jump into a full, five day week, with our regular school and home day schedule.
September 11:  ZCS Middle School Information Night- Please watch the Blue Note for the meeting times for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade.

New Blog site:
We are also excited to launch a new blog site this year with user friendly links to each SHC teacher- Mrs. Patnott, Miss Konyndyk, Mr. Heeres, and Mrs. Walters.  Stay tuned as the website is "Under Construction" and will soon be up and running!

We are very excited to see each student for a time of assessment on August 19-21!  We love meeting together before school starts so we can meet new students, and reconnect with returning students. We're looking forward to hearing all about their summer, as well as working on some informal assessments together so we can jump into learning to meet individual needs right away when school begins!

Have a great week!  Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Blessings,
Mrs. Walters
for the SHC team- Miss Konyndyk, Mrs. Patnott, and Mr. Heeres