News and Notes

January 25, 2023

Visit our website

2022-2023

Praise!

Psalm 148:13

"Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens."

CALENDAR

January

27 Praise and Worship Chapel, 8:30am **Stay after chapel for a time of fellowship!

February

2 EOCS 7th & 8th Grade Band Concert, 7:00pm

3 Theme Chapel, 8:30am **Stay after chapel for a time of fellowship!

13 Parent/Teacher Conferences

14 No PM Allendale Public School busing

16 Parent/Teacher Conferences, 1/2 day school (11:55am dismissal)

17-20 No School, Winter Break

23-24 ACS Auction (online)

24 Praise and Worship Chapel, 8:30am **Stay after chapel for a time of fellowship!

25 ACS Auction (live event)

March

3 Theme Chapel, 8:30am **Stay after chapel for a time of fellowship!

10, 11 Middle School Play - Peter Pan

17 No School, Teacher Professional Development

17 End of 3rd Marking Period

18 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament

18-24 Book Fair

24 Praise and Worship Chapel, 8:30am **Stay after chapel for a time of fellowship!

24 Report Cards emailed

31 No School, Spring Break begins

2022-2023 School Year Calendar

2023-2024 School Year Calendar

ACS NEWS & ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Important Family Information: As ACS grows, information about current and future students becomes even more important in our planning for your kids. Please take a few minutes to provide us the the name(s) and birthdate(s) of your child(ren) in 8th grade down to newborn. No need for the names of students that are older than 8th grade at this point. We need every ACS family to fill this out one time, and then we will work on a method to add babies that are born to ACS families. Family Information Document Link Thank you for your help!

Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held February 13 & 16 from 5:00-8:15pm. An information sheet was emailed last week. You only need to return this sheet IF you have a time that conferences will not work for you. Please be sure to return this sheet no later than Friday, February 3. A copy of the form can also be found here -> Conference Form. If you need a hard copy, please let us know and we will send one home with your child.

Middle School Parent-Teacher Conferences - Information will be coming soon on how to sign up for conferences!

Enrollment - Preschool, Young Fives & Kindergarten enrollment is in full swing! We no longer do intention surveys for K-8 families with continuous enrollment, so if any K-8th family anticipates a change in enrollment for next school year, please contact Brian Koetje at bkoetje@allendalechristian.org as soon as possible, as this might impact staffing. Thank you!

Young Fives and/or Kindergarten Parents - If your child will be attending ACS in the fall and you have begun your online enrollment through the Parent Portal, DO NOT FORGET TO CLICK THE "COMPLETE REVIEW AND SUBMIT ENROLLMENT PACKET BUTTON". There are quite a few packets that are listed as "in progress". If you have any questions, please contact Sara Kuperus - skuperus@allendalechristian.com.

EOCS Concert: Thursday, February 2 is our EOCS Band Concert at Fairhaven Ministries Church in Hudsonville. We are working hard to represent ACS and our music program. Below are a few things to be aware of!

The 7th/8th Grade Band will be traveling to Fairhaven on Thursday during the school day (10:30-12:55) to participate in a clinic with the guest conductor and rehearse with the other middle school bands as well as Unity Christian. We will be back in time for lunch!
Students should arrive at Fairhaven at 6:30pm on Thursday night and meet me in the multi-purpose room. They should wear black and white like our Christmas concert (only black ties this time please!).
The concert starts at 7:00pm and will be a little over an hour.
I will let you know where we are sitting when I get that information from Brian Knot at Unity Christian.

Thank you for all your support of the music program at ACS!

Meagan Brummel

Jingle Bell Post Office UPDATE! The 2nd graders raised a total of $193.30 for MelTrotter Ministries (a local cause they chose) at the Jingle Bell Post Office. We have a speaker, Stacey Beene, coming from MelTrotter on Friday to tell the 2nd graders what they do and how their donation will help the community. Thank you for supporting our 2nd graders as they show what it means to be Servant Workers!

4th-8th Grade Game Club - Join our game club that is starting up in February! Every Wednesday (starting Feb 1) and a few Mondays in February, we will meet here at school in the Middle School Great Hall. An information sheet will be sent home with your child, but use his LINK to fill out the form now. There is a fee of $20 (tshirt + game costs). Also, it would be awesome to have some snacks to help keep kids energized during the games. Click here to sign up for drinks and snacks. Hope to see you there and let the GAMES BEGIN!

Mr. Vanden Berg and Mrs. Van Wylen

Upcoming Club opportunities: ACS is looking to host a few clubs for our students this winter and spring, but we will need help in making it happen. Please read the opportunities below and email me at bkoetje@allendalechristian.org if you are willing to help. Thanks for considering!

Running Club: ACS is looking to start the Running Club for girls and boys in grades 3-5 a few weeks before Spring Break. We have a staff member that is willing to coach again this year, but we will need help in order to make it happen! Growth is great, but it means there are more and more kids that want to be involved, and more adults are needed. If you are willing to consider supporting the Running Club as an assistant, and potentially a co-coach so we can split the group in half (possibly boys and girls), please send an email to bkoetje@allendalechristian.org.
Robotics: We have a parent that is willing to lead the Robotics program in March. We are looking at six sessions after school (likely March 7,9,14,16,21,23). In order to make sure the club can happen, we will need around six parents per time to keep kids on track. Please let Brian Koetje know if you are willing to help.

ACS will be starting the be nice. program that was created by the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan. Its goal is to continue to promote a positive school environment and encourage good mental health by teaching students to notice, invite, challenge, and empower. This is a positive mental health initiative, but students will also engage in activities that educate them on the impact their words and actions have on the way others think, act, and feel. We want all students to be loving communicators through their words, servant workers through actively bringing joy to our school, and image reflectors as they live to reflect God's image through love and kindness.

We want the idea of be nice. to continue to gain momentum in our school, so discussions and activities will continue through the school year. Any discussions you can have at home will help keep our students thinking about the importance of their actions and their own personal value. This initiative is a great way to highlight some of the Habits of Living that are part of Teaching for Transformation.

NEW DATES ADDED - Volunteer Opportunity! Throughout the course of the month, teachers will have the opportunity to meet with their grade-level team and our Director of Learning, Rachel Reed, for continued professional development. These meetings will be held during lunch, and we are looking for volunteers to help provide classroom coverage for these meetings. We would love it if you could please check out our sign-up genius and sign up to help with classroom lunchtime coverage in order to make this possible. We appreciate your help in this way! Sign Up Genius link

FUNDRAISERS & PTA

Save the Date! The Annual ACS Auction will be online February 23–24 with an in-person event Saturday, February 25. Dinner starts at 4:45 p.m.. Child care will be available.

3-on-3 Basketball is back!! Allendale Christian School will be holding our 16th annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Saturday, March 18, at Allendale High School! There will be divisions for boys and girls for each grade level in 3rd through 8th grade. Please visit www.facebook.com/ACS3on3 for more details and to access the online registration form. The form can also be found here. The registration deadline is March 8, with an early registration discount through February 6. See you there!

Trash for Cash Please click these links for more information ---> Items Collected & Box Top Instructions. Questions - contact Erin Ensing, Trash for Cash chair, erinensing@hotmail.com

TRIP & HOT LUNCH

Hot Lunch volunteers link

ACS Hot Lunch: ACS Hot Lunch Volunteer Signup (signupgenius.com)

Winter/Spring Instant Trip is held every other Tuesday night from 7:00-7:30pm. In order for us to run this program we need at least three volunteers at each session on Tuesday night. If you are interested in volunteering. Please contact a trip coordinator or email Christy Breuker at jcbreuker@yahoo.com.

February 7

Tues: Erin/Christy,________, _________

February 21

Tues: Erin/Christy, _________, _________

Winter/Spring SCHEDULE - 2023

February 7

February 21

March 7

March 21

April 18

May 2

May 16

May 30

Potluck Pickup has now become ARROWASTE!

Things are changing for how to pay trash/recycle bills:

1.) TRIP can no longer pay your bill for you.

You can pickup/order $25 - Arrowaste Certificates (8%). We will have a supply in stock, however, if we run out it will be 2 weeks to get in stock.
You can order exact amount VIP certificate (4%). These will take 2 weeks to order.

2.) All certificates will need to be mailed to Arrowaste with your bill

QUICK LINKS

Please click on the link below to get your forms or information

Commonly Used Forms

COMMUNITY NEWS

Moms in Prayer Allendale: Moms in all schooling communities (private, public, homeschool) are welcome! We will be growing together in praying for our kids and school communities Thursdays

after school drop-off at 8:30-9:30am at Eastmanville United Reformed Church (6845 Leonard St, Coopersville). Please contact Rana Hardaloupas at (616)216-1728 or Caity Hintz (616) 550-7899 if you want more info.

ACS "Old People Hoops" meets in our ACS gym from 7pm-9pm on Friday evenings. The cost is $5 or an affordable donation. Email ted.kiliszewski@gmail.com or yug.gill@gmail.com for more information.

Unity Christian is holding New Student Nights on January 23, 30, February 1, 6, 8, and 13. All 8^th grade families should have received a packet in the mail as well as an email with a link to sign up. If you have not received the packet and email and are interested in signing up for an evening, please contact Julie Essebaggers at jessebaggers@unitychristian.org or 669-1820.

Unity Christian Flag Football for Boys Grades 2 – 7 – Unity Christian will be hosting a Saturday afternoon Flag Football Camp on February 4, 11, 18, and 25 for boys in 2nd through 7th grades. Instruction will be given on basic skills, fundamentals, and rules of football, but the majority of the time will focus on playing flag football. No experience is necessary and players of any level are encouraged to participate. Boys in 2^nd-3^rd will meet from 12 – 1 p.m., 4^th-5^th will meet from 1:15 – 2:15 p.m., and 6^th-7^th will meet from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Cost is $35, and the deadline to register is February 1. Online registration and a flyer with more information can be found at https://unitychristianathletics.org/main/campsclinics/.

Unity Christian’s Annual Clay Shoot is coming March 4 at Blendon Pines. Shooters, wanna-be-shooters, never-thought-I’d-do-this shooters, and non-shooting friends are all invited to participate in this fun-filled event! Check-in will start at 8:30am and the event starts at 9am. The event includes the 50-round shooting course, event t-shirt, pork roast lunch, prize drawings, and raffles. Cost is $75/shooter ($50/student shooter). Register a team of 5 or sign up as an individual and we will place you in a group! Questions? Contact Jenna Zemaitis at kjzemfam@gmail.com.

CranHill is hosting 2 Winterfest Community Open Houses featuring activities for the whole family to enjoy! Winterfest will take place on Sunday January 29th and Sunday February 19th, 2023 from 2pm-6pm. Activities include 3 tubing hills, sledding, pony rides, ice wall climbing, ice skating, snowshoeing, wagon rides, lunch and more…all completely free thanks to their amazing sponsors! CranHill is located at 14444 17 Mile Rd Rodney, MI. For more information, head to www.cranhillranch.com/winterfest.

South Olive Bible Camp registration for summer 2023 is open! We offer two affordable, fun and spiritually enriching camp sessions at beautiful CranHill Ranch!

SonQuest session (current grades 3-6): June 11-14 / $249
Summit session (current grades 7-10): June 14-18 / $289

Save $30 when you register by February 15! Scholarships are available. For more information or to obtain a registration form, please contact Mike at 616.928.8958.

Baton Twirling Classes - please see this brochure for more information. --> Brochure

ExploreHope Summer Science Camps began in 1997 with Tod Gugino’s dream of sharing the love for science. Today, ExploreHope provides over 50 fun-filled educational camps for grades K–12. Summer 2023 schedule is complete and registration is now live. Check out all camps here. Sign up today! Please call 616.935.7628 or email sciencecamp@hope.edu with any questions.

Unity Summer Sports Camp Schedule and Registration Information – Unity Christian will be hosting several summer sports camps for students ages three to 12th grade. Our summer camp schedule is currently available on our website at this link, and registration will open on April 11. We look forward to hosting your students at Unity sports camps this summer!