Harvard Study Supports Christian Education

"Faith-based schools and family stability are the keys to bridging the acheivement gap"

Chemical Reactions with Mr. Langdon

Today in Science Mr. Langdon and the class tested multiple things to find out what makes the chemical reaction of Alka-Seltzer go faster or slower. He even had some lovely assistants come up and help. We put the Alka-Seltzer in hot water, ice water, we crushed it up then put it in the water. We even stirred the water while the Alka-Seltzer was reacting. During the experiments we made it into a kind of race, for example, we put one Alka-Seltzer in room temperature water and another Alka-Seltzer in the warmer water and tried to see which one dissolved faster.

The only one that made the Alka-Seltzer dissolve or react slower was the cold water; it was still dissolving when we were doing the other experiment.  The crushed up the Alka-Seltzer seemed to dissolve a lot faster than any of the other ways, when we stirred the water while the Alka-Seltzer was in it, it still dissolved faster than room temperature water. The hot water worked well too, but not as well as the other ways.

The whole class had fun with this and everyone wanted to come up to the front and help, or determine which one went faster. They loved the concept of having a race against one another and watching the Alka-Seltzer not quite knowing what will happen when it goes in the water.

- Lauren McGahan, Freshman

Alkaseltzer Rockets

So, the freshmen class did something amazingly fun with Mr. Langdon! Mr. Langdon then took a film canister, back from the olden days..., and filled it with water, not a lot of water, but a fairly small amount. He then took an alka seltzer, general ones you can buy at Meijer, and dropped it into the water. After that he put the cap on the film canister, and flipped it over so that the lid was facing down. As we all watched the film canister shot up into the air and fell back down. He then explained to us how it happened. Then we got into groups and went outside to do it ourselves!

The first time we did it we filled it 1/4 of the way with water, and repeated what Mr. Langdon did. That one shot up the farthest. After that, we filled the canister 1/3 way with water and put the alka seltzer in. That one didn't really go high. so then we filled the canister 1/2 way full... that one barely left the ground! We then filled it 3/4 way full. That one barely shot the cap off. For the last one we filled the canister up all the way with water and saw what happened... barely anything.

So we figured out the more water you have in the film canister, the less room there is for the carbon dioxide to build up, which is true. This experiment was a fun one, and I hope we do more labs soon! The only bad part about them is when we have to write lab reports. 

- Matthew Tripp, Freshman

Spiritual Life Emphasis Day (SLED)

On March 22, 2012 the whole high school from Calvary Christian Schools went off campus to a conference center in Grand Haven.  While we were there we had a lot of sessions that were made to bring us closer to God and teach us more about him. 

                When we first got to the grounds we went into a building that had a gym and a few conference rooms in it.  We went into one of the rooms and we got a brief overview of what the day would be like.  After that, Patrick Asdell (senior) and Elise Maine (freshman) led us in the song “How Great is Our God”.  Following that, Mr. Collins came up and talked to us through what Spiritual Life Emphasis Day (known as SLED) is all about and how we can apply it to our everyday lives, not just the one day that we take off of school to reflect on God.

                After Mr. Collins was done speaking we broke up into small groups and went outside to talk about the message Mr. Collins had given us and to pray.  During that time period my group talked about how we really enjoyed that Mr. Collins broke down the meaning of SLED and told us how we should live out all of those things.

                After prayer we went back into the room we were in.  That is when Jade Kroening (senior), Natalie Kapanka (junior), Guthrie Collins (senior), and Sydni Clark (senior) led us in the song “He Loves Us”.  After that, Mr. Olling told us about his life and how he grew up in a Christian home but never really made his faith his own until he went away to college and needed to find a good church that he enjoyed going to. 

                After he was done speaking we had a snack of fruit, muffins, and juice.  Some of my friends and I decided to go outside to during our break and enjoy the beautiful sunny day.  As pretty as the day was though, after a few minutes we went back inside to hear more speakers.

                This time Mrs. Saum, Mrs. Meyer, and a couple of guys that don’t teach at our school all sat in the front of the room and 1)told us their life story, and 2)answered questions that Mr. Collins asked them about teens and what they would do differently if they were 18 again but with the current knowledge they have now.

                After that we had lunch.  We got Little Caesars pizza and we also had some veggies along with dessert.  There was also A TON of pop provided for us also.  After we were done eating we still had about 20 to 30 minutes before our next session so a few of us went out to the beach to hang out while others stuck around and played football or took pictures or just hung out and talked. 

                For our final session of the day we had 2 speakers.  1 being Mrs. May was taking the girls and we talked about how to become a Godly woman.  The other speaker took all of the boys with him and taught them how to be Godly men.  I really enjoyed our girls talk because at the end she let us just ask any questions that we had about God or angels or life in general for that matter.

                Overall, I felt that the day went very well and I really appreciate what everyone came to teach us.  I know that I enjoyed it a lot!

            Alyson Rosema, Freshman

CCS at Showcase 2012 - He Will Carry Me

One of the many things I love about going to a Christian school with all my Christian friends is that we get to worship God whenever we want and however we want. A few weeks ago Guthrie Collins came up to me and some other high school students, asking us if we would be interested in performing a skit with him in showcase. Of course, we all accepted to offer and were very excited about the idea.

Guthrie said that at his youth camp he goes to over the summer some of the counselors performed this skit. So he sent the video to us which included Michelle Postiff, Taylor Richards, Sophia Zelenka, Mike Warren, Hayley Mohr, Natalie Kapanka, Patrick Asdell, Sydni Clark, David Borgeson and me. As I watched this video I just had so much excitement. It was a great message and it would be a great way to show other people our testimony.

The song that we performed to was “He Will Carry Me”. Within the skit, we acted out different stories from the Bible that led up to Jesus' resurrection. We started off with the Bible story of baby Moses being put on a basket by his mother in to a river to escape the Egyptians. Then we moved on to the story of Ester. Which led to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. One of my favorite scenes we performed was David and Goliath. There were a few other stories in between there but it finally led up to led up to Jesus rising from the grave.

This was a very powerful, outspoken skit I was happy to be apart of. It was very moving and I feel like it got a lot of attention at showcase. Showcase is a secular event where most of the audience may not have understood some of the message. But after watching us, hopefully we were a good testimony to them. I'd love to do something like this again in the near future!

- Brianna Zehr, Sophomore

NHS Sponsors Blood Drive!

This past Tuesday was another NHS sponsored blood drive! It was run by the American Red Cross and we had another great turn out from people.

If you are not familiar with blood drives, a blood drive consists of four steps: Registration, Health History, Donation, and Refreshments.

Registration: First, you will complete the donor registration sheet. On the sheet you will fill information out like, name, address, phone number, and donor identification number. Second, you will be asked to show two forms of ID such as, drivers license, Red Cross donor card or two other forms of ID.

Health History: You will answer some questions about your health history and places you've been during a private interview with one of the doctors there. Then your temperature, hemoglobin, blood pressure and pulse checked.

Donation: The doctor will then cleanse an area of your arm and insert a new sterile needle to draw the blood. Then you will have some time to relax as the bag fills, which will take about eight to ten minutes for the blood to be fully drawn. After you have given a pint of blood a bandage will be put on your arm, because a bandage makes everything better, and you will go get some refreshments.

Refreshments: Then you will spend a few minutes enjoying some refreshments, like juice and crackers, to let your body adjust so the lack in fluids. After ten to fifteen minutes of having refreshments you may leave and go on with your life. That is the process of giving blood for the Red Cross.

The NHS also did a thing called the Pint Sized Hero. Which ever elementary class gets the most people to give blood they win a ice cream party! And the class who won was second grade!

- Jeff Britton, Sophomore

Using Math to measure Heights

This last week, Cammi, myself, and Aaron set out to solve one of the biggest mysteries known to Calvary students – the height of Mr. Langdon. Mrs. Rodenburg showed Cammi, myself, and Aaron that sometimes you can measure the heights of objects and people if you find the right strategy.  

One possible strategy was a tradition used by the Indians to try to find out how high trees were a long time ago. They found that if they walked away from the tree until they could see the top looking between their legs, they could measure the distance between where the stopped and the base of the tree, and it would usually equal the height of it. In our real life test of it, we found that this didn’t actually work very well for us.

Another way to do it was to tie a string to a protractor and tape a straw to it to find the “augument angle” and do some complicated calcutator work to get an estimate of the height of whatever it was you were measuring.

One last strategy we tried (and this one was the most intuitive and easiest) was using a two person team. One person(in our case, Cammi) would stand a great distance back so that the height of her own thumb would be the same as the height of the person they were trying to measure. Then, Cammi would turn her thumb exactly sideways and have Aaron stand where the end of her thumb would appear from her “mind’s eye”. From there, all I had to do was measure the distance between Aaron and Mr. Langdon, and we were able to find his height.  Amazing!  Math really can be useful in real life!

                - Karl Kuszewski, Junior

The Buddy System

This year we started doing things that we have never done in previous years. Every Friday in 6th hour, juniors and seniors do something called, “the buddy system”. The buddy system is something where a high schooler is given a “buddy” from first through fourth grades. Some people even get to have two buddies! If a child needs help in math then you may just sit for 20 minutes playing different math games with them that may involve adding, subtracting, multiplying or division. A child may need help with spelling, so we might play a spelling game with them. If a child just needs one on one time, your 20 minutes with them might just involve playing a game of checkers! 

I enjoy having a buddy because it is fun just to take an hour where you know you don’t have any homework or note taking to worry about, but instead you just can sit and play games, and talk about what your buddy has done in the past week, or what he/she is going to be doing this weekend. It’s cool to walk down the elementary hall and see high school kids just sitting, talking, laughing and playing games with an elementary kid. Even though your are only spending about 20 minutes a week with your buddy, it is amazing to walk through the school and see the elementary students wave to their buddy or even say, “I’m so excited for our buddy time today!”

I thought it was a wonderful idea to do the buddy system this year. It gives kids opportunity to get out of class and have all the attention be on them for some time. Whether the high school kids may know it or not, all the elementary students look up to them, and it’s a great opportunity to form a bond with a child, so they have someone to look up too. I know I always enjoy being a buddy to a few elementary students, and when you hear the laughter in the hall, you can pretty much guarantee that the rest of the juniors and seniors are there!

            - Megan Beals, Junior

Track Season is Here!

Well it is spring again, my favorite season.  It has that great temperature and is perfect for running, it’s crisp and cool but can still be sunny which makes it just ideal to be outside and enjoy it all.  Track comes at the perfect time of the year.  I could not think of any other sport, other then soccer; that I would rather be doing.  

Last year are team was rather small compared to most schools but that did not stop us from competing.  Everyone did their best and we came away with medals and records.  Taylor Richards even went to state for high jump.  I am very excited to be part of track again.  It is a very fun experience to go to meets and hang out and compete with people from school.  However, most memories I have of track were not at the track meets.  Track is very fun to be a part of plus it is good exercise.  

One of the best parts is trying to beat a record you set or someone else did, it gives you something to push and strive for.  It teaches you how to rely on others.  If you are doing a relay you need to make sure you’re in tune with your relay team so you can make the hand offs pristine to get the best time.  The sound of a baton hitting the track is a sound I know I never want to hear.  We have a larger team this year so this probably means people can focus on fewer events.  Last year most of us were running the max amount of events you were allowed.  I am very excited for track it could not have come fast enough.  

- Aaron Ebeling, Junior

CCS's First Ever District Championship!

The varsity girls basketball team played Muskegon Catholic Central in the District Championship on March 2nd. They defeated the Crusaders and claimed CCS's first ever district championship!!! The girls made it through the first round of regionals, defeating Mason County Eastern. They then advanced on to the regional championship against St. Patrick of Portland. The girls weren't able to win that night but still ended their season with a record of 20-4.

Coach Brad Richards said, "You all brought so much joy to a school that needed it. Your hard work and sacrifice will never be forgotten. You have left footprints, big big footprints, for little girls to follow, and not just in wins... and losses. You were classy and more importantly, God honoring...Tonight the referees told me: "your girls play so hard, and they are the nicest kids we've refereed this year. You must be very proud of them..." I am so proud of all of you. All of us will, for the rest of our lives, remember this season with smiles and a gratitude for God's blessings that He gave us."

We are all looking forward to what next year will hold for our Lady Eagles!

            - Natalie Kapanka, Junior

It's Great to be a Calvary Eagle!

It is well-known that this year has been a year unlike any other at CCS. On the top of the list of firsts for this year are the Varsity Basketball teams. Both the girls' and boys' teams had amazing accomplishments including finishing the regular season with a record of 17 wins, 3 losses. In both cases, this is the school record for most wins in a single season! In addition, the Girls' Varsity team went on from the regular season to win their Districts and Regional Semi-final game. While a lot can and has been said about the players and coaches behind all this, there is one more important factor that may not have gotten enough attention...yet.

      The fans of CCS have been the most loyal, enthusiastic crowd in years! Many, many kids from Elementary, Junior High, and High School came out to support the teams this season. There was also an overwhelming amount of support from adults and alumni. Amazingly, some of the most loyal fans were parents of alumni who no longer have any direct connection to the Calvary student body. Every one of these spectators played a huge role in making the winter season turn out as it did.

      Perhaps the best example of crowd involvement this season was during the District games at Muskegon Catholic Central. It was overwhelming to feel the amount of support from Calvary fans at these games. During the girls' championship game, we actually had the home court advantage against Muskegon Catholic! One of the major reasons we won that game was because of our incredible crowd that created a stimulating atmosphere with a sweet black out. Every time Muskegon Catholic tried to start a cheer, our fans would chime right in and easily overpower them. As a player in that game, I can tell you first hand how much this helped us and hurt our opponents. We were pumped up and mentally tough, while Catholic struggled with being run down physically and emotionally.

      After this game, our fans continued to push the Girls' team on. Many loyal fans drove 2 hours just to see them play! The 5th graders even skipped recess one day to make posters for each team member! Also, most of the student body lined up in the halls to cheer and high five the girls as they left for their game! You don't get to witness such amazing school spirit every day. Both teams could not be more grateful for the support and dedication of all our fans!

- Hayley Mohr, Junior

Art Class February 2012

Brianna Zehr's artwork

Every Tuesday and Friday at Calvary Christian School some of the high schoolers have an art class. This are class is taught by Mrs. Baker on Tuesday and Mrs. Meyer on Friday. This art class teaches us about the different kinds of art as well as how to better our art skills on volume, shading, color and design.

This semester we are learning how to draw things straight from nature and make them look like they actually would in real life. Mrs. Baker helps us pay attention to small detail as well as proper shading and how to use your drawing to fill up the paper and either make the object big or small.

We are currently working on a project where we are etching our designs into a single piece of linoleum. We had to create our design so that if you place it with the other design, it would connect to make a picture of a bigger design. This project is based on accuracy as well as creativity in the design.

I believe that art not only helps express yourself but also is a great way to show creativity and stretch your brain by thinking of creative and different ways to do things. Art is also a great way to express who you are and even sometimes how you feel. It is a subject you can play around with and have fun!

This art class has taught me so much, and I’m still learning from it. It teaches me how to use the proper sketch for certain drawings as well as proper shading and colors. The art teachers have done a great job of showing us how to draw things so they look like they actually would in nature. This art class has not only been fun, but has taught me lots!

- Lyssa Byers, Fresman

Truth Project Bible Class

One of the best things about attending Calvary Christian Schools Bible classes is that each quarter the high school students can choose their class. I’m always interested to find out which new Bible classes Calvary is offering, and usually it’s hard to choose. For this quarter there were two options. First option was Mr. Olling's Study the Life of David and second option was Mr. Langdon's the Truth Project. I chose the Truth Project because I liked the name of the class and I was curious about what we are learning in the Truth Project.  In Truth Project there are 12 lessons.

First, lesson 1 discuses the topic of “what is truth”? The Truth Project begins by defining truth as “that which corresponds to reality.” This absolute and eternal truth, at the heart of Jesus' mission on earth, continues to be the focal point of the Cosmic Battle in our own time.

Second, lesson 2 talks about Philosophy and Ethics. It says truth is not simply an academic concept. The way we think about truth has a direct bearing upon the way we live our lives. Also, it talks about our understanding of right and wrong and how it is directly dependent on our worldview.

Third, lesson 3 talks about the Bible that tells us that man was created in God's image but fell from innocence through sin. Modern psychology, on the other hand, asserts that man is inherently good and behaves badly only under the influence of social or institutional pressure.

Forth, lesson 4 talks about eternal life, according to Jesus, as knowing God in an intimate, personal and relational way. Such knowledge, which is possible only because of divine revelation, transforms us from the inside out as we begin to see ourselves in the light of His majesty and holiness.

Lesson 5, what we were on this past week, talks about the Science, the “systematic study of the natural world,” and how it brings to light innumerable evidences of Intelligent Design, but the Darwinian theory transforms science from the honest investigation of nature into a vehicle for propagating a godless philosophy.

Now we are on lesson 6 and I am really excited to learn all the lessons from the Truth Project. The Truth Project has been strengthening my faith. I hope the Truth Project with Mr. Langdon will be a good opportunity of learning God's word.

            - Min Joo Choi, Freshman

Lady Eagles Make History!

                For the first time ever in Calvary Christian School's entire athletic history, a Class D district championship title was won by our very own Lady Eagles!

 It was a huge night for us girls, even though we had beaten Catholic earlier in the season, we knew it was going to be a tough battle, and that Catholic was going to play even harder the second time around. There were mistakes made, but in the end the final score on the score board is what mattered most.

This was a hard fought battle. The game didn't start out so well in the beginning, and we ended the first quarter with Catholic in the lead by only two points (10-12). Then the second quarter came around and we decided to "pack it in the paint" and "attack". Catholic started picking up fouls, and sure enough they kept bringing us to the line for free throws. We maintained a lead throughout the game and finally finished with an ending score of 55-62! Each girl on the team was focused and ready to play. One of the keys to winning the game, was to play tough defense. We were more in-shape than Catholic, so we were able to play hard and run up and down the floor without getting “winded”. “The MCC girls were dragging down the floor at some points last night and our girls still had energy to run and play tough D” said Mrs. Watkins.

It was such an amazing feeling, to hold the District Championship trophy with the team, and all of our coaches that have put so much work into the team. We couldn't have pulled out the win, without the support of our incredible fans, coaches, and God! Each girl kept a good testimony on the court and maintained character as well.

"This was more than just a win for us," Coach Brad said, "It was for every athlete that has ever attended Calvary Christian Schools."

Next mission, beat Mason County Eastern. We play Tuesday, March 06, at Beal City Highschool.

- Sydni Clark, Senior

Basketball Boy Seniors Lead in Victory over Pentwater

The Calvary Eagles boys’ basketball team has the school record for the most wins in a season than any previous Boys Eagles basketball team. On Thursday night the boys wrapped up a 17-3 season with a 60-45 win against Pentwater.

 The Pentwater game was a game that looked to be one of our toughest non-league games. They had shooters and quick, strong, and hustling post players. We pushed out to an early lead and were up by double digits at halftime. However in the third our offense stalled when we stopped getting post touches to Mike Warren and I. Our defense wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad and we got outscored by 21-9 in the third.

It was Eagle Fourth though. Eagle fourth is where we show that we have more discipline on the court than the other team. We stepped up our defense and made some clutch free throws. Our time-and-score offense worked perfectly. With 2 minutes left coach took me out to a standing ovation by the Eagle faithful. 15 seconds later he did the same with Gu3 and he got the same reaction as he went and kissed center court.

 At that point we were allowed to start getting sentimental. It was our last home game. The last time we would be playing a real game on that court. It was an awesome game and afterwards we did something that we haven’t done on the court yet this year; We sang, “It’s great to be a calvary eagle” (Go to http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3277064924377 to hear it) It was followed by hugs with the fans, and reliving memories of the year. In the locker room the seniors all got to say a few sentences about the team and words of advice. It was a great time. 17-3. I love my basketball team. They will always have a special place in my heart. Come support the boys on Wednesday night at MCC as we take on Providence Christian.

                - Patrick Asdell, Senior

Ms. White Back from World Travels

Ms. White in Israel

On Tuesday, February 28, Miss. White finally returned to teaching after a month of traveling to new places. She explored Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and Dubai, and she even went to Korea for a day. The whole class loved hearing about the cultures of all the places she visited. Personally hearing her talk about all these places made me want to travel the world myself.

I think Israel was the most interesting place she talked about. She saw Peters house, and where God was crucified. They had built a huge church around the stone that they think went in front of the tomb. After hearing her talk about the people there and how they would just stop whatever they were doing so they could pray, it made me want to learn more about them.

In New Zealand she saw where Lord of The Rings was shot. And in Australia she held a Koloa bear, the retired Koloa’s were her favorite. She even got to see a kangaroo with its baby in its pouch. In Australia she also got to see an opera in the Sydney Opera House. Miss. White also got to go scuba diving. Australia and New Zealand sound amazing.

            In Dubai, on the license plate if you wanted people to know you were rich and wealthy you would get a low number. The lower the number the higher up in civilization you are. Miss. White saw the car with the number one license plate. She got to go in the tallest building in the world, but she was only allowed up so far. Dubai is not only home to the tallest building but also the biggest mall and the largest piece of plexi glass (which is in the biggest mall, it is used in the aquarium). What an adventure Miss. White has had!

                - Lauren McGahan, Freshman

Tommee Profitt Speaks in Chapel

Every Thursday, the middle school and high school students meet in the chapel. It's such a great opportunity to be able the gather and talk about the glorious God we have.

On March 1^st, Tommee Profitt came to speak to us today. Instead of having one of our three worship teams come up, he played a song on the piano. It was cool that he wanted to do it by himself. He also had his laptop and that played some music for the background. It sounded awesome and really got everyone into the worshiping. He is one of the best piano players I have ever heard. I loved how when he was talking to us, he'd play the piano. You could really tell it's one of his passions.

His main point was that we sometimes have a fifth grade relationship with the Lord. We ask the question, He says yes, but then, we don't try to know Him better or read his Word. He did a really good job by using a funny story to apply it to our walk with God. Tommee told us a hilarious story about how when he was in fifth grade, he had a girlfriend who he never talked to. Tommee challenged us to strive to put God first, instead of earthly things.

            - Brook Sigler, Freshman

Purposeful Reusing- New Tuesday Elective

This quarter Calvary Christian Schools has offered a Tuesday Elective on purposeful reusing. Although I’ve never been a huge fan of crafts, I was intrigued by taking seemingly worthless items and turning them into useful treasures. The first day of class we learned how to dye long socks. First we twisted the socks into a huge ball and put a rubber band around them. Then we squirted various colors of dye on them until there were few white spots left. Mrs. Price and Mrs. Rude, our wonderful instructors, then washed them for us and they were ready to take home by the following class. Now I have a warm pair of colorful socks to wear on cold winter nights!

Next, we decorated plain brown paper bags with beautiful ribbon, magazine, dictionary, and book clippings to make them beautiful gift bags. Our bags turned out looking fantastic and Mrs. Price taught us how to make newspaper gift bows to put on them. The next week Mrs. Price and Mrs. Rude made us a cookie recipe in a jar to put inside of our bags and we decorated the jars too.

The fourth week of class we customized plain white mugs with special markers. It was so much fun to decide exactly how to design the cup, and even more exciting to see how others had decorated their mugs.

However, my favorite project so far has been making mittens. We cut out a pattern on paper and then used that pattern to cut our mitten pieces out of old sweaters. Then we sewed the pieces together with yarn. Next Tuesday we will use buttons and lace to embellish the mittens. I can’t wait to wear my fuzzy mittens; I’m sure they’ll come in handy for the last part of this winter!

I’m thoroughly glad I took this class because it has turned out to be even more fun than I had hoped. My only regret is that it won’t last until the end of the year!

            - Joelle Byers, Senior