JCS News - May 6, 2020

"And we know that God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

The 2020 JCS Eagle Walk is THIS FRIDAY!

The day is almost here! JCS students will be walking their neighborhoods to support our school THIS Friday, May 8! So far we have raised $12,670 toward our $25,000 goal !! Half way! Let's make it happen, JCS Community! Please continue to share with neighbors, grandparents or other friends about this awesome opportunity to support the kids of JCS!

There are two ways you can donate. You may send a check made out to JCS Parent Club and mail it to Jenison Christian School (7726 Graceland Dr. Jenison, MI 49428) or simply click this link to make an online donation. You are welcome to make donations up until midnight of May 8.

The day will begin at 11am with a Live Send off and Prayer from Mr. Paauw on the JCS Facebook page and website . Dress up in your craziest JCS School Spirit and take a picture of yourselves out on your walk and post to the JCS Facebook page with #JCSEAGLEWALK2020 . Your family will be entered to win a basket of prizes from our area businesses. The Eagle Walk committee will pick the top 3 families showing the most school spirit and then the general public will vote to decide who the winner is! We understand that 11am may not be a great time for some of our families right now, so we are allowing families to do this anytime that works best for them on May 8! Just be sure to post your pictures by midnight to be entered into the contest.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email our Eagle Walk chairpersons, Lindsay Smith or Erika DeKoning. Thank you in advance for your support of JCS!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

May 7 - Pop Can Drive (JCS Bus Loop), 4-7 PM

May 8 - Last day of Preschool

May 8 - (Virtual) Eagle Walk!

May 11 - Pop Can Drive (JCS Bus Loop), 1-4 PM

May 14 - Pop Can Drive (JCS Bus Loop), 4-7 PM

May 18 - Pop Can Drive (JCS Bus Loop), 1-4 PM

May 21 - Pop Can Drive (JCS Bus Loop), 4-7 PM

May 22 - Due date for enrollment papers for the 2020-2021 school year

May 22 - Due date for teacher request forms for the 2020-2021 school year

May 22 - Last day of the 2019-2020 school year for PK-8 classes

Week of June 1 - A plan will be in place to gather any technology that needs to come back to JCS, and any student belongings that need to go home with you!

June 2 - Kindergarten Graduation*

June 3 - 8th Grade Graduation*

*These events have not been forgotten. When we have a more clear idea of how Michigan will open back up from the stay at home order, the JCS administration plans to discuss how to celebrate the end of the school year for JCS and these big milestones for our students!

ATHLETICS

UC Summer Sports Camps - UC is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation and are hoping to have more clarification of what their 2020 summer sports camps may or may not look like sometime around May 15th. Until they make a decision, they are delaying signup and registration for these camps. They remain hopeful to offer camps this summer and will notify JCS when sign ups are open.

JCS Running Club: This week's bible verse is 2 Thessalonians 3:3 - "But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.' Here is a glimpse of the hard work some of the running club kids have been putting in these last few weeks, taken from the 2020 JCS Running Club Facebook page.

ALL SCHOOL REMINDERS

Pop Can Drive! If you have cans/bottles piling up and are looking for a place to bring them, bring them to JCS! We will have a trailer parked in the JCS bus loop for your pop can donations from May 4-May 22! In our efforts to help with social distancing, our staff volunteers will be waiting on the sidewalk near the bus loop, or in the trailer, to give you distance as you pull up. Please feel free to just park near the trailer back, hop out, and drop your cans and bottles on the curb. We will have gloves on, smile from a distance, and thank you for the drop. We will take the bags from there! There will be a cart for your library books and a lost and found table (FULL of things!). Please take a chance to drop off your books and take a peak at the lost items. Lastly, our staff will have $50 Countryside Gift Cards available for purchase during the Pop Can drive (a great idea for Mother's Day this weekend!). Staff will be able to take cash or check.

TRIP - We are excited about being able to offer Curbside TRIP pick up on Thursday, May 21 from 4:30-6:00 PM! Bring your pop cans to JCS and pick up your TRIP order all at the same time. Just pull up to the curb by the office and your order will be delivered to your car. DETAILS: If you have an online TRIP account, we would encourage you to order your TRIP cards via the online ordering system. This way, you can pay for your order via PrestoPay or with your credit card and we won’t have to collect your money on Thursday evening. If you don’t have an online TRIP account, please email your order to Deanna Benes and your money will be collected when you pick up your order. ALL ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY WEDNESDAY, MAY 13. This will allow us time to order in the cards needed to fulfill the orders and to get them all ready for you on Thursday, May 21. We hope we can offer this at least once a month through the summer as we follow the COVID-19 guidelines. If you have any questions, feel free to email Deanna Benes. Please pass this information along to friends and family that don’t receive emails from JCS. As a reminder, we will NOT be able to fulfill any order on Thursday, May 21. ALL ORDERS MUST BE PRE-ORDERED BY WEDNESDAY, MAY 13. We look forward to seeing many of you on Thursday, May 21!

Enrollment packets (PK-8th grade) for the 2020-2021 year were sent out May 4. Please return them to the JCS office by May 22!

Classroom/Teacher Requests - During the spring of each year the administration and JCS teachers prepare class lists for the next school year. Because classroom placement is so important for all of our students, Jenison Christian has developed a process that seeks to balance the individual needs of students with the dynamics of the classroom needed for productive teaching and learning. The process considers learning styles, social interactions, boy/girl mix, and special learning needs in assigning students to a classroom. JCS recognizes that parents have unique insights into their children, and, in special cases, making a request for a specific reason is appropriate. Because of this, JCS has developed a policy providing guidelines for placing a request. Parents who feel that their child has a special need that is important to the child’s development may submit an online request form after their child has officially enrolled for the upcoming school year, which allows them to provide specific reasons for the request. Parent requests will be considered by the principal and teachers, a follow up phone call may be made by the principal as needed. Parent requests must be submitted by Friday May 22, 2020.

Yearbooks - We are still excited about our 2019-2020 yearbook! Currently the plant that puts the yearbook together is closed and we are unsure when yearbooks will be in. We hope to be able to submit it soon and will let you know when they will be in. You can still send your learning from home pictures to yearbook@jenisonchristian.org We'd love to get pictures from as many families as possible! If you missed your chance to purchase a yearbook you still do so on their website.

Preschool Enrollment is open! Enrollment forms are now being accepted by email to Karen Deters for our preschool 3's and 4's programs. Some of the classes do fill rather quickly so if there are certain sessions you would like, please enroll soon for the best chance at getting that session!

AT HOME LEARNING with JCS FAMILIES

We know this experience of learning at home is different for so many of you. There is joy, sorrow, laughter, frustration, and love...many times all in a matter of hours! :) Thank you for being a community with us, raising Kingdom builders every step of the way. We praise God for you!

We'd love to highlight more stories from our students in the next two weeks. Please email Liz Wiersema with stories or pictures to share!

The Schuur girls held a VIRTUAL Grandparents' Day at their house!

They stayed at home with their 'peeps' while face timing their grandparents.

And showing them around their 'at home school.'

Take time to play a favorite board game

Take a nature walk and find different wild life you can photograph and identify!

Other ideas from our JCS community include: Visiting Lake Michigan, picking out a fruit or vegetable from the grocery store that you've never tried before, and taking a plastic bag with you while you walk to pick up any trash you see while you're walking (helping to clean up God's world!).