Christ Within Us, Christ Behind Us, Christ Before Us

Isn't it a comfort to know that we do not go through this life drifting on our own? Rather, it is with the guidance, love and grace of our Heavenly Father who sees us through all things. Last week we were met with the sad news that Mr. Brandsen would be following God's call in his life to take the principalship at Rose Park. He will be dearly missed at South Side next year. What a blessing he will be to our friends on the northside. You may have received an email from Mr. Vos this afternoon that this new vacant position will be filled by me next year. I feel humbled and honored to be given this opportunity and responsibility to continue serving our children in this role. I am very grateful to help shape their development and optimize their learning environment. Thank you for the support and grace you have offered me this year. You make South Side Christian such a special place to live and learn, for students and staff alike. I also gave a huge thank you to your precious children today. They made my first year back to teaching a homecoming of sorts. What a wonderful year we are having. Their love, energy, respect and curiosity makes my absolutely joy-filled. More information about the specifics of this part-time position will follow as it becomes available. 

We are approaching Holy Week. Our days our laced with conversations, prayers and songs that tell the story and offer thanksgiving for what our Savior and Redeemer has done for us. You will be able to take your child's hill of Calvary home after our parent/teacher conferences. Your child may tell you the beautiful truth of the empty tomb and that our Redeemer lives! 

This week we also made loaves of bread together. We talked about the last supper that Jesus held with his disciples and the significance of bread they broke together. Here are our proud bakers:

Mrs. Homkes came to offer her expertise (had she not been willing to help, I'm afraid our loaves would have been more like overgrown saltine crackers!) Thank you Mrs. Homkes!

I love my little bakers!

On Wednesday, March 27th, we will be dismissing from school at 11:30. HPS busses will not be running at that time. They will run at the start of the day as normal, but not at our 11:30 dismissal. HC transportation will be bussing at 11:30.


Blessings to you and yours this Easter!

Important dates:
March 25th--3rd yellow reading incentive form is due.
March 25-27th--parent/teacher conferences
March 27th--Reading Carnival
April 8--School resumes
April 22--SouthSide/PineRidge program at Christ Memorial at 7:00 p.m.

Learning About the Sweetness God Hid Inside Maple Trees

What fun we had learning about how Native Americans tapped Maple Trees compared with the techniques used today. Did you have a chance to peek at the newest celebrities in the Holland Sentinel?
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/topstories/x1959356807/Maple-syrup-harvest-looking-sweet-this-season?img=2

It was fun to see many of you tonight at fun night. So many great memories made during events like this. We're in a flurry of activity before swinging into spring break. Please note these important upcoming dates:

Monday, March 18--2nd Yellow Reading Incentive Due
Tuesday, March 19--Skating Party 6:00-8:00
Wednesday, March 20--Special Visiting Author
Friday, March 22--Report Cards Home
Monday & Tuesday, March 25 & 26--Parent Teacher Conferences 5:30-8:30
Wednesday, March 27--Reading Carnival
                                      Parent/Teacher Conferences 1:00-3:00
April 8--School Resumes
April 22--Spring Program at Christ Memorial

Praise the Lord with the Sound of Music

Don't you just feel the music of springtime in the air? The birds are singing as the sun rises so early in the morning, the pitter patter of melting snow drops off the tree branches and the joyous energy in your children's voices as they sing praises fills our halls; nothing short of beautiful. Surely our Maker is glorified. Every Friday morning the first and second graders meet together in the art room to sing praises. This morning as all 100 kids raised their voices and their hands to their loving Father in heaven, some even with their eyes closed, I had a lump in my throat and chills all over. There is no better way to start a Friday than being witness to 100 children singing adoring praises to our God. I'm still humming the songs from the morning. We begin our days glorifying God and I believe the music and the words shape our day. As we were lining up for library, moving our desks around the room, and cutting out the paper petals for lilies, the children spontaneously began singing together "I've got joy down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart..." Of course, I sang along, forgetting that my microphone was on (poor kids :) Certainly, we've got joy down in our hearts. I'm so grateful that Jesus put it there and we can sing about it.

We dove in "literally" to a quick introduction of Antarctica. Thank you for being willing to dig out the penguin-ware on such short notice. As the snow continues to melt, we'll soon get back on course with our worldly travels and begin backpacking around Europe. 

This just in: penguins sighted on the South Side playground!  ...boy, it looks like Molly's really taking a header here.

We certainly had a blast sliding down the hill on our bellies...although, I'm not sure the big penguins are as good at this as the little guys. 

We've been doing some end-of-the-quarter assessing this week in both reading and math. I found that a bit of our knowledge of coin values has been lost over the past few weeks. We've been having fun reviewing coins and making change while playing a few exchange games. 

Banker, Banker, may I exchange my two nickels for a dime?

Next week Tuesday and Wednesday our class is scheduled to again take part in Discovery Assessment. This is the second part of the assessment piece that we took in the fall. The assessment will cover reading and math basic skills. The test will be best taken on a computer rather than the iPads. We have a mobile laptop lab that has been brought to school for this assessment window. To help our children be comfortable with the trackpad for navigating, scrolling and clicking, I opened a free trial period on a website called www.readingeggs.com for each student. This membership will expire on April 6. Your child took home a username and password to login to these reading activities. If your child has the time and interest, this is a worthwhile website to utilize for the next few weeks just to offer another option to practice reading skills. If your child's username and password didn't make it all the way home, please don't hesitate to email me. I have the list with me and I'd be happy to forward the info on to you. 

Our writing celebration! We opened a book store for new customers from across the hall.

Customers came by asking questions about our books.

We were excited to share all that we had learned!

You'll get a chance to see these awesome book at conferences and the end of the year celebration.

Fun Night - Friday, March 15! Here is some important information:

1. You may pre -buy punch cards beginning Monday at each school office. ($5 - 20 punches, $10 - 40

punches, $6 - whole pizza card)

2. Look for a blue sheet sent home today. This has a map and information on food prices, when and where to bring cake donations, etc...

3. We still need over 40 more volunteers. PLEASE consider helping with parking, bussing tables, face

painting, or a game so that all games can be open. To volunteer, email Tricia Kiekintveld at

btkiek@hotmail.com

4. If you have brought in your classroom contribution - THANK YOU!

5. We still are most in need of: pennies, cans of pop, full size candy bars, and individually wrapped pieces of candy. Bring to the school office by Wednesday.

6. Volunteers, please look for an email by Wednesday with your room assignments and instructions.

If you have any questions, please contact Dawn Baker dabaker@hollandchristian.org or Tricia Kiekintveld at btkiek@hotmail.com

Thank you so much for helping to make this a fun night for kids and families!

What a busy couple of weeks we have in store. Please keep note of all of these upcoming dates:

March 11-15--Discovery Assessment Window

Monday, March 11--first yellow reading incentive form is due

Wednesday, March 13-our first grade field trip to VanRaalte Farms

Friday, March 15--Family Fun Night

Tuesday, March 19--Rescheduled Skating Party

Wednesday, March 20--Special visiting author

March 22--Report Cards Home

March 25-26--Parent/Teacher Conferences

March 27--1/2 day of school

                  Reading Carnival

                  Parent/Teacher Conferences

April 8--School Resumes

It was wonderful to have a full week of school again. We packed in all sorts of exciting learning into the five days we were given. From eating sticky rice with chopsticks while being introduced to Asia, to celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday with a visit from Mr. Brandsen, we've been fully engaged this week. 

Using our wind vanes, we were able to determine the wind was coming from the north. It was chilly!

Using God's ingredients (water vapor, dust particles and air) we made a cloud in a bottle.
Photo courtesy of Ms. Taryn Slenk

An introduction of Asia gave us the opportunity to practice eating rice with chopsticks. 

It was a bit of a balancing act with two chopsticks to maneuver and a rice hat to keep in place.

It took a lot of practice...

...and some found success! :)

...even with two hands <3

 Our SPARK project for this month gave us the opportunity to visit two of South Side's neighbors. These two precious women are sisters with a wonderful story to tell. God has blessed them with longevity and an obvious positive spirit. What a blessing they were to us and no doubt the children were to the women. We recited our Bible memory work, sang a few songs and left them with 23 pictures to look over and muffins to eat. It's hard to imagine how life in the winter, with slippery walkways and streets, affects the elderly. What an opportunity to brighten another's day by sharing together in God's love.

 Below you can see the fun we had with two special story readers. Mrs. Snyder shared poems and activities by Eloise Greenfield.

So interesting to compare and contrast these poems with those written by Dr. Seuss and read by Mr. Brandsen.

Thank you to both of our special story readers. In your child's Friday folder, you will find the final record sheet for reading minutes. The first quarter-page is due on Monday, March 11. You'll also find a reading incentive form from the Whitecaps baseball organization. Record your child's minutes to receive tickets to a ballgame this spring. On Monday, March 27th we'll be celebrating our growth in reading with an all-school reading carnival. If you are willing and able to volunteer at this event, please return the green form that you will also find in the Friday folder, or you are welcome to email me. Thank you!

A few important dates:
Tuesday, March 5--Dutch Costume Sale Day (See the South Side Newsletter for further details)
Monday, March 11th--reading incentive form due
March 11-15--Discovery Assessments will be held
March 15--Family Fun Night
March 19--Rescheduled Skating Party
March 20--Special Visiting Author
March 22--Report Cards home