Christmas in November

Students are yawning, teachers are tired, and all around the school almost everyone is relieved when the bells ring at the end of the day. Why this exhausted attitude? School just restarted at the conclusion of Thanksgiving break. People have returned from their family celebrations and relaxing homes to school. Still, everyone does their best work throughout the day, including the teachers. One more thing has happened over the break. Everyone is now anticipating Christmas.

In the last week of November, many become excited about the upcoming holiday season, including the teachers. One of the most famous Christmas decorations is the Christmas tree. Many students know that a gigantic tree will go up in the center of the rotunda, but until then, some teachers are putting up there own classroom decoration. Everyone knows that one of the best parts of a tree is decorating it. Some, like the third graders, are creating their own ornaments. Other elementary classrooms are bringing in treasures to hang on their trees. Even the town Fruitport has caught the Christmas fever and put up the neon holiday decor on the poles, including trees.

Christmas is also the season for paper snowflakes. Madison Price and Lauren Hutchinson have decorated Mr. Langdon’s room with artificial precipitation, and the rest of the ninth grade has caught the “paper-scraps-all-over-the-floor-oh-look-I-made-a-snowflake” fever. Scissors, paper, and mistaken attempts will be flying all over the school soon as students try their hands at snowflakes and teachers plug in their vacuums. Christmas crafts are already starting.

Christmas is in quite a while, but the countdowns are starting, including Mrs. Mann’s Peanuts calendar. As Christmas trees go up, Christmas crafts start, and countdowns begin, we need to remember why Christmas is so important. Everyone says it’s because God sent His Son, but it’s really because God sent His willing Son to die for us. That gets lost among the fun, but if we start holding on to that concept now, it should be easier to keep it when the holiday season actually starts.

- Alex Anhalt, Freshman

Calvary Basketball Opener

Senior Shymari Harris with Coach Richards
after winning districts last season

The Lady Eagles took on the Pentwater Falcons tonight in a basketball showdown. The basketball season opener outcome was a mystery. The Eagles went in blind about the abilities of Pentwater because; there was no real scouting report about them. Calvary started the game out strong with a 22-0 run.  It was obvious that the game would result in a win for the Eagles, so now the main focus was to be clean and precise with the ball and not get injured.

Everybody made great plays and communicated well with each other. From the bench to the court you heard encouraging words and help from the coaches and fellow teammates. It was a good start to the season but, we have a bigger fish to fry on Friday, November 30. The blue and gold will be facing the North Muskegon Norsemen that they previously lost to last year by 2 pts.

Today’s game was a good practice tool to get back into the swing of things. We know that Friday’s game will be tougher, but there’s nothing as a team we can’t overcome.  Philippians 3:14, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” is a verse often used in our team discussion. “To be the best we must first beat the best.” said Coach Brad Richards. We have to focus on the bigger things at hand after tonight.

We can only take this season practice by practice, then game by game. I believe we are capable of doing some great things. We as team have good chemistry with each other, so only time will tell what the outcome is. We first have to worry about these upcoming non-conference games then winning the conference championship before anything. The Alliance League Conference has been won by West Michigan Lutheran every year since they joined our conference, so this is a primary focus of ours.

The next home showdown will be held on November 30, 2012 at 7 p.m.

- Shymari Harris, Senior

Basketball Season on its Way

Its that time of year. Basketball season! The guys and girls basketball teams have been working hard in practice for a couple weeks now.

Both teams had outstanding seasons last year. The boys team broke the school record with a 18-4 season. They did lose to Muskegon Catholic Central in the district finals but they ended up going to the semifinals. So they lost to a very good team.

The girls broke a school record with a 20-4 record. They beat Muskegon Catholic Central in the district finals. That’s the first district win in school history. They won a regional game as well winning in a nail biter. They ended up losing in the regional finals.

Both teams had great season last year. The guys lost four seniors and will be younger this year. They will run more and press more than last year using our quick players to wear down the other teams. The girls only lost one senior. So they are returning almost everyone and adding some other players as well. They are going to work hard for another successful season.

Come support both teams this year. They are both very fun to watch. All the players and coaches love the crowd cheering and supporting them every game. Hope to see you all at many games!

- Mike Warren, Junior

Scrimmage against Big Reds

As usual, the school year rushes by in a whirlwind. As volleyball and soccer comes to an end, the gym transforms into a basketball arena.  The girls have yet to have an official home game this season but have had a couple scrimmages against some pretty big schools.

This past Tuesday, the girls JV and Varsity played at Muskegon High School. The JV and Varsity alternated in 20 minute intervals. The Varsity started out against the Big Reds a little unconfident in their defense. As the game progressed, the girls started to get the hang of it, but ended the first 20 minutes behind Muskegon.

Next, the JV took the floor. The girls played their best against the Big Reds, but ended behind Muskegon as well. Coming into a scrimmage like this the girls knew it would be tough. Playing teams that are good competition prepare us for harder games later in the season.

As the Varsity took the floor for the next 20 minutes, the girls were ready to get down to business. They were determined to take pride in their defense and not let Muskegon push them around. The girls took an early lead and as the clock dwindled away, they ended in victory with a score of 20-14. With Muskegon being a class A school, this was a pretty big accomplishment. This gives the team a good look as to their level of play. No matter how big the school is, if they work together and play together they could be unstoppable.

With a tough schedule ahead for both teams, the girls look forward to an exciting and competitive season with hopes of exceeding last year’s achievements.

The girls varsity have their first home game this Tuesday against Pentwater. Come out and support your Lady Eagles!

            - Natalie Kapanka, Senior

Thanksgiving Thoughts

As we approach the 2012 Thanksgiving holiday we are compelled to look back at the numerous ways we have been blessed as a school. This year, perhaps even more than any in the past, we have a multitude of reasons to be grateful. Here are just a few…

               

 For starters, the fact that we had a school to return to in the fall is in itself an amazing fact. At the end of the 2012 school year there were many uncertainties about the 2013 school year that caused many students, parents, and staff to worry. This apprehension only grew as the uncertainties extended into the summer months. Throughout that time, however, we were able to rest on the assurance that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NASB) It was a great relief to all to find out shortly before the school year that Calvary Christian Schools would be opening as normal in September. As a bonus, God even worked in unfathomable ways to allow us to continue at the Kendra Road address. We are very blessed to be in such a wonderful building.

               

A functional school this year wouldn’t have been possible without the unbelievably hard work and extreme dedication of the Calvary school board and staff… and this is an understatement. Every single one of them worked countless hours all throughout the school year and summer to preserve the awesome ministry that is Calvary Christian Schools. Doing all they did for the students is probably one of the most selfless acts that most of us will experience in our lifetime. I know that I speak for all of the students when I say that we will be forever grateful for the privilege of learning at Calvary which was made possible only through many late night calls and hundreds of meetings attended by the school board.

               

 In addition to all this, there are many other reasons for us to be thankful this year. We are thankful for all the teachers and staff who have stuck with us through everything, our families, our friends, our faith, and even our basic necessities like food and clothes. God has certainly been a faithful provider for his undeserving children this year.

            - Hayley Mohr, Senior

Sadie Hawkins 2012

It is that time of year at Calvary Christian School for Sadie Hawkins. Sadie Hawkins is a banquet at Calvary that the Seniors put together and choose a theme. But this is no ordinary banquet, there is a little twist. Instead of the guys asking the girls to the dinner, the girls ask the guys. I always find it interesting to see the different responses.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans graciously opened up their home and barn to have CCS's Hillbilly Hoedown Sadie Hawkins. All the students arrived to CCS all dressed up in their country style. Some looking super cute, some looking like a typical hillbilly and even some in pig costumes.

With all the students and the CCS teachers and staff, I knew from the second I walked in to the barn it was going to be a party. The seniors had some of the cutest photo booths ever.  Mr. Zelenka made probably the best pig I have ever had! With the giant full size pig on the table, we also had a full plate of corn bread, beans, corn, mashed potatoes and to top it off a slice of apple pie and caramel corn.

After stuffing ourselves to the fullest we gathered around to learn how to square dance. Now it does not matter one bit if you can dance or not, and you can not use the excuse that you don't like country music. The instructor taught us very well and we danced the night away. Well the next two hours at least.




 

Friendships were made and many were grown stronger! Everyone had a blast, and I mean everyone – especially with amazing food and fellowship. That is what is so great about Calvary. Does not matter if you are a freshman, a senior or even one of the parents, everyone is best friends and we all can gather together in a Christ centered setting and still have a Hillbilly Hoedown great time!

            -Brianna Zehr

Sadie Hawkins 2012 Preparation

Friday, November 16, 2012 is one of the most exciting times of the school year, it is Sadie Hawkins! Where girls ask guys. The Senior class gets to come up with a theme and put it all together! They try to keep is a secret until a couple weeks before and then they put signs up around the school.

This years theme is a hoedown! It will be at a big barn and it is going to be a pig roast! There is a guy that is going to come and teach all of us how to do some hoedown dancing and we will be doing some other fun activities! It is just a fun filled night with our close friends! I am extremely excited for Sadie Hawkins, it will be a blast!

There have been some pretty creative and awesome Sadie Hawkins themes in the past years like back to the 50's, night at the museum, 20's, a Mexican theme and many more! It is getting harder to think of themes that would be fun enough to beat the previous years! There have been some repeats of Sadie Hawkins themes because it is tough to think of new ones!

I think this year is going to be so much fun! My favorite Sadie Hawkins that I have been to was the back to the 50's one, which was last years theme! We went ice skating and to Dogs n' Suds. There was delicious food and ice skating was great! That senior class did excellent at planning that one. That one will be tough to beat! I guess we will see if this year’s theme is as fun as last years! The students at Calvary always look forward to Sadie Hawkins. It is a great time filled with amazing memories!

Morgan Rude, Junior

5th Grade Basketball

When people think about Calvary’s Basketball team they think of the varsity basketball that wins and loses games. Nobody ever thinks about the smaller kids and how they’re doing in the season. Well I’m writing this blog to tell you everything that has happened with the 5^th grade basketball team. Although I cannot tell you the exact scores of each game I can update you with as much as I know.

            Calvary’s 5^th grade girl’s basketball team has played 3 games so far and has won all of them. Although not as intense as the varsity games, I assure you that these games can be quite tense at times. During each game I went to the girls kept me on my edge of my seat as they played their hearts out.

            The 5^th grade team has played 3 games, Muskegon Catholic Central, Grand Haven Christian and St. Mary’s each game getting more difficult for the team as they play teams twice their size. Their first game was St. Mary’s which they had no trouble winning, the second game was a little more difficult against MCC which was twice their size, they still pulled off a victory however. The third and most challenging so far was GHC where during the game they were either down by one or up by one.

            So now you see that the fifth grade team is a little more exciting then one would think so next game you can come and cheer on the 5^th grade eagle’s girl’s basketball team.

            - Ryan Cashler, Sophomore

2nd Quarter Bible Classes

As a new quarter rolled in, fresh Bible classes were offered to the students. Second quarter’s choices for Bible classes included “Contemporary Philosophies and Religions” with Mr. Eric Strattan, “Biblical Geography” with Mr. Chandler Collins and “Ephesians” with Mr. Nate York. It was a hard choice for many of the students. The students went to their new classes on Monday, November 5^th. In most classes, the teacher went over a syllabus and explained the goals for the class.

Mr. Eric Strattan, the pastor of Bridge Bible Church has a class called “Contemporary Philosophies and Religions.” The class’s goal is that the students will be able to define and explain various religious groups’ distinct teachings and practices, and contrast them with a biblical worldview. The students received a text book called “So, What’s the Difference?” which they are going to read during the period of time that they are taking the class.

Mr. Chandler Collins is teaching a Biblical Geography class. He is the son of Mrs. Ruth Collins. The goal of the class is to create a desire in the students to go to Israel and to teach them about the importance of having knowledge of biblical geography. Mr. Collins went to Israel in the past year, so he is able to bring in items from the Holy Land, such as rocks, and show many pictures. This class is making the scripture come alive.

Mr. Nate York is teaching a class on the book of Ephesians. He is a youth pastor at a church in the area. During the class, the students read passages and then take notes. Mr. York, then, explains the passage. The students get candy if they can fill in the notes before he gives them the answers.

These new HS Bible classes are teaching Calvary students many things.  From the specifics of various religions, to the physical and geographic landscape of the Holy Land, and the truths of Ephesians, students are able to get a well-rounded knowledge of the Bible. These classes are a great part of the Christian based learning at Calvary Christian Schools.

- Michelle Postiff, Sophomore

New Electives

This Quarter we got new electives. The new quarter started Monday, November 5. We all get to sign up for new electives. There were three choices.

Sign language, cake decorating, or graphic art. It all depends on the type of person you are on what elective you chose to take. If you would like to go into graphic design for a career, you may want to take graphic art. It would look good on a college application. On the other hand, if you love to talk you might want to take sign language. That way, if you someday meet someone who is deaf you can connect with them more easily. If one of your top things you enjoy doing is cooking, a good class for you is the cake decorating class. It gives you a good experience in how to cook.

The graphic art class ended up with all guys. The cake decorating ended up with all girls, which was an odd coincidence. The sign language class has both guys and girls.

Of course these classes are all taught by different people. Sign language is taught by Mrs. Maine. Graphic design is taught by Mrs. Wichman. Cake decorating is taught by Mrs. Collins. They are all very interesting and fun classes. I am so glad we get the electives to choose from, it changes things up a bit every so often.

We are all looking forward to learning new things in our classes. It will be good for us to be able to get some different kinds of education, not academically necessarily, but also life skills that you may need to know in the future. I can not wait to go home and put my newly learned skills to work. I am sure I speak for everyone when I say that too.

            Brittany Chartrand, Sophomore

Basketball Season 2012-13

With soccer season and volleyball season just finishing, winter basketball is afoot. It is that time of year again and many people are very excited for this year’s season because it’s going to be as good, if not better, than last year’s exciting and eventful year.

One of the new things that we have this year is a new junior varsity girl’s basketball team. They, along with the varsity girl’s basketball team are going to be coached by Brad Richards. He will be assisted by Coach Hamilton. The JV team is looking like they are going to be a big threat to the competition this year.

The varsity girl’s basketball team is going to be a fantastic team this year. Last year, they won the school’s first ever district title. They went on to become regional finalists last year. This year we are going to have a strong senior line-up including: Hayley Mohr, Natalie Kapanka, Shymari Harris, and Megan Beals.

Both girls’ teams have already started conditioning practices to get ready for the season. All the triples they have to do in the next few weeks are going to pay off for a great season.

The middle school teams have already started their season and even have had a few games. The boy’s middle school team is being coached by Mr. Payton. Their first game is on Tuesday, November sixth. The girl’s middle school team is doing well also.

The boy’s junior varsity and varsity basketball teams are being coached by many coaches, both new and returning. Back again to coach another great year in varsity basketball is Coach Jim Warren. Also returning is Mr. Carlson to lead the JV team to a successful season. New on the coaching line-up this year is our history teacher, Mr. Brent Marshall, and Mrs. Saum’s son, Zac Saum. The senior line-up for this year is as strong as the varsity girl’s line-up. Mark Carlson, Drew Maine, Josh Hatfield, Aaron Ebeling, and junior Mike Warren all pose as great threats for the other teams. Their official first practice begins on Monday, November twelfth.

Many people wait all year for basketball season. It is a great sport to watch and always is filled with a lot of excitement. Although I no longer play basketball, I like to watch it and am very excited to see the turn out this season. I hope it is an enjoyable season for all and that it turns out to be another winning season.

            - Cory Greeno, Sophomore

Kindergarten Fall Party

The Kindergarten class has been working very hard! They have been learning the alphabet, concentrating on one letter and letter sound at a time. They also have been learning to write their full names! The class has had a lot of fun the past couple of weeks, including a farm themed party.

Before all of the “Farm Party” festivities the children sat down to learn more about God’s Word. They learned all about Jacob and Esau. They also talked about how easy it is to be deceived and stray away from God’s perfect plans! Lastly, they learned about the words “birthright” and “blessings”. According to Mrs. VanTine, the Kindergarten teacher, she said it was very tricky trying to explain those terms to these young children! She said it is a fun part of her day watching the children get excited about God’s Word and how they can use it in their everyday lives.

The “Farm Party” included making caramel apples, watching the movie “Charlotte’s Web”, and making a “Farm Book” which explains the daily chores of farmers. The children also enjoyed eating adorable pig cupcakes!

The Preschoolers have also been working very hard! Their class has been learning how to write their first names and how to write numbers. They had a fall themed party too!

 Their festivities included, story time with Mrs. Wilson, reading fall themed stories, and cleaning out pumpkins to take home the seeds. They decorated a ‘leaf’ cookie. The parent helpers assisted the children with making a foam ‘leaf’ necklace to take home as well.

After all of the in-class activities the preschoolers went down to the gym to have recess. After they returned, the children ate their ‘leaf’ cookie, drank apple juice and had trail mix from one of the parent helpers. All of the children said it was “very yummy”.

This is all made possible by the awesome teachers and families at Calvary Christian Schools! All the students say, thank you!

            Lauren Hutchison, Freshman

See-Saw Science Lab

On Thursday November 1, the 9^th grade at Calvary did a science lab. It was called See Saw Science, and we were split up into groups of two or three. With my partner Sami we got a meter stick, a rubber stopper, a handful of pennies, a 50 gram weight, and a paper where we could record our data.

Following instructions from our science books, we took the rubber stopper, and placed the meter stick top of it, where the stick read 55 centimeters.  This was our pivot point or fulcrum.   Next we took a stack of 8 pennies and the 50 gram weight and put both of them on the shorter side of the stick so that they weighed down that side of the stick, and wrote down the point the 8 pennies were at.

Next we took a stack of 5 pennies, and made a prediction of where we should place them on the other side of the stick, so that it was balanced out on both sides, and wrote it down. We placed them where we guessed, but it was too much, so we moved them down. We recorded the 5 pennies’ final position on our papers, and then found the distance the meter stick had pivoted by subtracting the 5 pennies’ final position from the fulcrum’s position. After that we multiplied the number of pennies on the shorter side of the stick by the distance the meter stick had pivoted. Then we recorded both those numbers.

We repeated the experiment four more times, each time with a growing
number of pennies. However, the 8 pennies always stayed the same. Every time we
did the experiment, our final number grew, but always stayed close to 200.

In this lab, I learned more about a simple machine that I’ve known about for as long as I can remember, and figured out a little about how some scales work.  Over all I enjoyed doing the lab and thought it was quite interesting.

            Christiana Evans, Freshman

Middle School Fall Party

 On Friday, October 15, the middle school students of Calvary Christian Schools had a Fall Party. In past years the party has been hosted by the Nousains and Hatfields. However, in the last two years the kids have headed over to the Richards’ house. Playing games and making memories, the middle schoolers effortlessly enjoy this annual activity. New students are always welcomed, and old students make new friends. The 6^th graders get to know the 7^th and 8^th graders as well. The Middle School Fall Party is an awesome event that everyone looks forward to.

This year the middle school students arrived at the Richard’s at 3:30 in the yellow bus. First they had the luxury of a “freetime” which conceded of kids playing volleyball, basketball, football, and the trampoline. Dan Hamilton was director of the games and took charge of the party after freetime. The games were class competitions, each with different twists and obstacles to overcome. The first game was a photo scavenger hunt. Each class had a camera and had to run around and take a picture of everything on the given list. The game was a big hit. The next class competition was each class making a scarecrow and pumpkin. Bringing their own props and accessories, each class knew it was crucial to work together and be prepared if they wanted a chance to win. The 6^th graders’ scarecrow was great. They dressed it up in a Tigers uniform holding a broom. They then laid a Yankees jersey on the ground to indicate that the Tigers “swept” the Yankees! The 7^th graders’ scarecrow was a theme of school spirit. It was dressed in a tutu and had pom- poms in its hand. It was wearing a CCS shirt and was spray-painted gold. Last but not least, the 8^th graders’ scarecrow was dressed in a “rapper” style. Wearing a sweatshirt and baggy pants, their scarecrow was listening to music and had actual ear buds in its ears. The judges had a very tough decision to make. After a couple more games such as pumpkin bowling and toilet paper wrap, the 6^th graders accumulated the most points of the evening and won Fruitport Calvary Christian t shirts.

 

Everyone had an awesome time and the food was great. A special thanks to Mrs. Postiff for providing the meal and to Joy Richards for planning the party. Calvary Christian Schools loves their middle schoolers! 

- Taylor Richards, Sophomore