Mr. Marshall’s Marching Muster

For the students in Mr. Marshall’s “Civil War Marching” elective class, history came alive on Saturday, April 27th. The students were invited to participate in the Third Michigan Volunteer Infantry Company F’s, spring muster.

A “Civil War Muster” is like a practice for the groups’ reenactments, which they hold throughout the year at different locations. This muster was special to us because we not only got to watch history come alive, but we also got to participate.

The day started bright and early at Hilt’s Landing in Montague. Students were instructed to wear long sleeve shirts and shorts because part of the muster included dressing in the authentic Civil War uniforms. The uniforms were made of wool and were hot and itchy. Let me emphasize the “Hot and itchy.” After several hours in the hot sun, we could relate to the soldiers.

After a morning filled with marching drills, there was lunch for the entire group. Then more drills. It was then time for a nice afternoon “hike.” We marched for about two miles while wearing our hot uniforms and carrying an 1861 Springfield Musket which is what most troops back then were out-fitted with. Did I say the uniforms were hot and itchy?

After our hike, we then came to my favorite part. We got to actually shoot the muskets! After instructions on safe usage we started by biting the top off the gun powder cartridge. We then dumped the powder into the barrel of the musket and used a ramrod to pack it down. We replaced the ramrod and then lifted the gun, cocked it partially and put a primer cap on and then pulled the hammer back all the way, aimed and fired! We used real gunpowder, but no bullets. We got to do this several different times.

The rest of the day included meeting some of the other reenactors and dinner. It was great fun and let us put what we learn in our elective to work. It also gave us a chance to see what our forefathers went through. Thanks Mr. Marshall!!!

- Cory Greeno, Sophomore

CCS Track & Field Off to a Slow Start

The 2013 track and field season has got off to a good start. The only thing is that so far both of their track meets have been canceled due to rain. Although those who compete in track were disappointed that the meets were canceled, but it probably was a lot better than standing outside in the cold and rain all day wearing their track uniform. Their first meet has not been rescheduled yet. Although their second meet was rescheduled for the following weekend, but they cannot make it to the meet because of the band and choir trip to Chicago that was already scheduled for that same day.

There are still many meets left this track season so they hopefully will be able to get out on the track in a meet for the first time this season. The team is anxiously looking forward to their first meet of the season, and hopefully they can get out there soon weather permitting.

- Isaac Burns, Sophomore

Spiritual Emphasis Day 2013

The Thursday before Spring Break was an exciting day for the high school students at Calvary Christian Schools, as this was Spiritual

Life Emphasis Day! Spiritual Life Emphasis Day is special because it’s not just a day off from regular class schedules, but a day taken to reflect on our beliefs. The fact that it was on our last day of school before “Easter Break” made our reflections seem more important than ever.

After a fun bus ride to the Reformed Campgrounds, South of Grand Haven, we arrived at the camp which is located in the woods along beautiful Lake Michigan. It’s the perfect place for this kind of activity.

This year the high school learned about persecuted Christians in other countries. Mr. Collins spoke for the first half. Living in America with all of the freedoms that we have, we do not realize all of the freedoms that are taken away from people in other countries. Some people can not even go to church without the fear of being killed. In America we can go to church freely with no fear.

We had the music pastor from Harvest Bible Chapel to lead us in worship. Some of the songs that we sang were: One Thing Remains, Blessed Be Your Name, and The Revelation Song.

We then were introduced to our main speaker who represented the “Open Doors USA” organization. She spoke about the persecuted Christians that are found all over the world today! It is hard to believe that in these modern times there are still places where people don’t have the freedom of religion. Some of the worst places for the persecutions of Christians are countries like North Korea, Iraq, Pakistan, and Somalia. She then showed us a short video before we broke for lunch. After a tasty pizza, veggie and brownie lunch, we then had a free hour to explore the campground or just hangout.

When we got back together after lunch we saw another video. This one was about a terrorist from Indonesia who eventually changed his ways and became a Christian.

We then broke up into small groups to study about countries where persecution still exists and then we prayed for all those who are still persecuted today. We got a sheet of paper that had a country on it and it had a story about a person being persecuted in that country. At the end we all got bracelets that looked like barbed wire to remind us to pray for the persecuted Christians around the world. For me being able to go to my own church without fear is amazing. It makes me think that so many people can not even go to their own church without fear of being persecuted.

- Cory Greeno and Samantha Nesbitt

Lakeshore Museum Trip

Sometimes doing the same things in school over and over again can get boring and lose the interest of students. Other times, there are things that can be better understood by experiencing them first hand. This is when going on field trips can benefit students while they are learning. One field trip was recently taken by the first graders to the Lakeshore Museum.

On Tuesday, March fifth, the first grade class got in some cars and drove to the Lakeshore Museum in Muskegon. Here they got to experience different sound devices to listen to each other when they were standing far away and many other

fun activities. One of these had a big wheel that they would spin and the kids would dress a cutout man on the wall according to what activity it landed on. For example, if it landed on basketball, they would put a basketball jersey on him. This taught the kids how to dress appropriately for different things they will do in the future.

Another thing they did was learn how to take care of their bodies, and specifically their teeth. This involved brushing properly for two minutes, seeing what would happen if they did not take care of them, and learned what foods not to eat to keep their teeth clean. Ryan said he felt guilty for eating candy and other sugary foods after he saw what it does to his teeth. In addition to taking care of their teeth, the kids were taught about the food pyramid. One of the employees at the museum showed them how much of each food group they should be eating every day on a giant food pyramid on the wall. After that, the students went to make a plate of fake food with the right amounts of everything on it based on what they had just learned. These are a few of the things they did.

All the students had a lot of fun at the museum and learned many things about science. The trip was mixed with exciting things that would keep the attention of the first graders, yet taught them as well. This is a good balance to have and as one first grader put it, “I learned a lot and had a little fun.”

- Megan Mitchell, Freshman

Job Shadowing 2013

Every year, Mrs. Collins has a Bible class called “C3.” C3 stands for “Colleges, Careers, and Choices.” It is a special class designed for students to start thinking about where they want to go to college, what types of jobs they are good at, and what careers they may want to go into after graduating. One way she helps her students find this is by having them go on a job shadow for potential career options.

Mrs. Collins hand-picks where each student will go for their job shadow. First, the kids take an online survey to find their interests and abilities. The students then must fill out a sheet of their first, second, and third options for the job shadow. Mrs. Collins then decides where to send them based on what was filled out. She is not always able to find the students’ top choice, but she does her best to find something enjoyable and educational for each student.

Mrs. Collins was very pleased with the wide variety of occupations her C3 class had chosen. The kids picked anything from teachers to police officers to news reporters. Mrs. Collins did a great job of getting the kids great opportunities to shadow all sorts of jobs so they can see if the job they picked is really the one they want to go through with.

Nearing the end of the quarter, C3 has really been a unique experience for the sophomore class, along with a few others. Job shadowing was really a blast, and will be a lot of fun to share each others experiences with one another.

Gabrielle Kuszewski, Sophomore

Spring Sports are Here!

When I look outside and see the weather changing, it reminds me of the new sports seasons. For the past week, girls soccer and Varsity track has been practicing together in the gym. Even the Middle School girls’ soccer has been diligently working on the stage! Everyone is so excited to get into this new season of competition!

The Varsity girls are looking great as they work together with the soccer balls on the gym floor. The players have very good ball control as they play on a smooth surface. They are doing an excellent job with Coach Zehr and Coach Wildfang. This could be a very exciting year for our Calvary Christian Girls soccer team! For their first game they play at Freedom Christian on March 21, at 4:30! Be there or be square.

The Varsity track is hard at work in preparation for this new season as well! They have gone to the mezzanine every day this week to do a boot camp work out. Coach Langdon has hooked up his Kinect so that it displays big enough for all 33 people to see! That’s right, we have more people on the team this year than ever before! Mr. Marshall also joined the team this year as an assistant coach working with the Shot Put and Discus competitors. Also participating as much as they possibly can are some of the Varsity Soccer girls and Joel Fullmer. We are very excited for this year! The first track meet is at Ravenna High School on March 26 at 4:00 pm.

Be sure to come out and support your CCS teams this spring! Thanks!

Taylor Richards, Sophomore

A Shower of Blessings

Have you ever tried to bake a cake without a bowl, a mixer, or a cake pan? How about trying to make snacks for a high school history class without any plates, cooking utensils or serving trays? Until recently, that was exactly what would happen if someone tried to use our school kitchen to actually cook something. Unless they brought everything from their home kitchen, they were out of luck.

But, thanks to the bright idea of Mrs. Sam Anhalt, Calvary Christian Schools no longer has this problem. Along with Mrs. Heidi Lipscomb, they decided to hold a “kitchen shower” to restock our school kitchen. During the month of February, you may have noticed all the tags hanging on the trees in the rotunda. Each of these tags listed something that was desperately needed to restock our kitchen. Parents, friends, and Calvary Christian students then “picked” tags off the trees and purchased the needed items.

At first, the items were placed under the trees. After the trees were removed, the items were then placed on the table by the school office.

Some of the items needed were as basic as bowls, cookie sheets, and plastic storage bags. Other items were more expensive, like gift certificates to Target and Gordon Food Services and electric roasting ovens. While there are still a couple of gift tags that still need to be purchased, all in all, the “kitchen shower” was a big success!

In case you missed seeing the items in the rotunda, here are just a few of the items purchased for the kitchen at Calvary Christian School. Baking pots, mixing bowls, several eighteen-quart roasters, an electric griddle, aprons, serving utensils and trays. Cutting boards, crock pots, can openers, and colanders. Pitchers, cake pans, cupcake pans, and measuring cups. Pot holders, pizzas cutters, as well as wooden spoons and many other items that were greatly need.

So thanks to Mrs. Anhalt, Mrs. Lipscombe, and all the other parents who once again came through when asked to help. Calvary Christian is not just a school….. it’s a family.

- Cory Greeno, Sophomore

Last Varsity Boys Game of the Season

It was a Wednesday night on March 6th the varsity boys had a district facing Muskegon Catholic. This game determined who would qualify for the district finals and who would go home and have a completed season. The eagles were doing great and had only lost one home game so districts being home were a “plus” for our eagle boys.

Before the game started, Providence Christian played Waypoint Academy. It gave the eagle boys time to have a plan and think about the rivals who had beaten them the first time. Coach Warren had the boys meet in the locker room twice before the game to go over plays and have a discussion about how the game needs to be played.

The boy had game out of the locker room after Providence Christian's big win against Waypoint looked ready to go. They were ready to play the game how they wanted to this time. It was time for jump ball. Mike Warren was jumping against their strongest guys. Mike Warren won the tip off and Drew Maine got the ball and dribbled down the court. The pass was made to Mark Carlson and then the shot went up from Mark and barely missed.

The boys had played hard the first quarter and only were only down by one. Coach Warren clapped the team in after a great quarter. He had told the boys to keep on doing what they’re doing and they could come ahead and end with a great win.

It was half time and the Eagles were down by 13, coach had told them they had plenty of time to come back. They just need to play better transition defense. By the end of the third quarter they were down by 9 and were playing great. It was 4th quarter and it was time for eagles to show they still had it in them.

Sadly, Muskegon Catholic had kept there scoring up and the eagles had a disappointing loss but played a great hard game. Coach had told the team he loved coaching these guys and they were family to him and he couldn’t be any prouder. They had done their one last team huddle and said team. It was sad to see the varsity boys season end, but exciting to see how well we played as a team.

- Carson Burgess, Freshman

Elementary Speech Meet

Some people may say that elementary school is the easy life. That statement is true in some ways and false in other ways. Each year in the beginning of March the elementary have to do speech meet. The speech meet is where the students pick a poem or a verse. After the students pick their verse or poem they have to memorize the whole thing.

Now these poems or verses are not short they are a good length. When the day of the speech meet comes the students show off their memorization to parents, two judges, and the whole class. After a couple of weeks the results come back of the speech meet.

There is a first and second place out of the whole class. If you win first or second place you get to recite your poem or verse in front of the whole friday chapel. Some people like the speech meet and some people do not. Some people like to speak in front of the whole class and some people are not fond of it at all.

The speech meet is first graders through fifth graders. So the kindergarteners get an easier life for a year. For the first graders the speech meet can be a scary thing for them, but they always do great at it. For the second graders it is still pretty new but they are still getting better and better at it. For the third and fourth graders it is easy for them because they have done it for a while. For the fifth graders it is a bittersweet moment for them. It is their last year doing it, but most of them are excited for being done with it. From what I have heard from some people the speech meet went great. Good job elementary you guys did great!

- Sam Nesbitt, Freshman

Interview with Mrs. Anderson

Mrs. Anderson has been teaching at Calvary for seventeen years. She has been a blessing to the school and the third grade. Mrs. Anderson was born in Oregon on June 30. She has been married for forty-three years and has three kids.

Her favorite movie is "The Lord of the Rings, the Trilogy. Her favorite colors are aqua, and peach. She attended BJ Collage and Grand Valley State University. She attends Calvary Church in Grand Rapids. Her favorite music group to listen to is the Newsboys. Her favorite sweet candy to eat is chocolate.

Mrs. Anderson’s home tradition for Christmas is a Thanksgiving Christmas dinner with her family. She currently does not have any pets living with her. She use to speak Spanish but has gotten out of practice. Her favorite books are "The Chronicles of Narnia" which she loves reading to the third graders every year.

She believes that the Lord brought her to teach at Calvary and how wonderful the people are at Calvary. Her favorite subjects to teach in the third grade would be math and history. Her favorite memory of all the years teaching at Calvary would be moving back in to the current building we are in right now.

Mrs. Anderson loves to teach the third grade in so many ways and the school is so grateful for her loving care for the third graders. I know that the third graders love working in the art station and the computers. She has taught so many students who have graduated and who is still at Calvary. In my opinion, Mrs. Anderson has blessed me not only in education but in friendship. Many Calvary students say thank you Mrs. Anderson.

- Sarah Carlson, Freshman

Sea Animals in 5th Grade

A little while ago, the fifth grade class was learning about Sea Animals. For a project, the fifth grade students had to pick a sea creature and make it. They had to be creative about making it. They had to use household items. Some of the choices that the students picked were sea anemone, jellyfish, sting ray, sea horse, and the puffer fish.

These students worked hard on these projects. Some of the animals were difficult to make. Some of the materials that they used are paper mache, cardboard, paper plates, pillowcases, paint, tissue paper, plastic bags, pins, suction cups, yarn, pillows, plastic tops, shish kabob sticks, clay, and cardboard.  Plus, on top of making the animal they had to do a report on the animal.

These fifth graders are getting ready for middle school with the big projects. My sister did the sea anemone. Some of the materials that she used where a toilet paper roll, sand, shells, paints, raffia. The fifth graders didn’t get as much of a Christmas break because they had to work on their Sea Creatures throughout the whole break.

Finally the due date came for them to turn them in. They can finally take a little breather. They still have to do their presentations. For their presentations they have to hold up their animal and give ten facts that they found about their animal.

The fifth graders can take a long breather. The project is done. The next topic that the fifth graders are studying is stars and the night sky. The should have fun with that subject. Watch out you upcoming fifth graders it is your turn next year. Soon they have to start thinking about the big end of the year country project. For now, they can just relax and enjoy school. Have fun fifth graders!

- Sam Nesbitt, Freshman

The Life of a First Grader

 Sometimes we get caught up in all of our school work and projects, and are busy with sports. When this happens, it is easy to forget what is going on at the other end of the building in the elementary classrooms. From Mrs. Kapanka and Mrs. Wilson teaching the preschoolers their letters, to the fifth graders learning about decimals and long division, they can all be fairly busy too. To see just what some of them do, I decided to interview my little brother Ryan, who is in first grade, to see what life is like for a first grader at Calvary Christian Schools.

The first graders are very busy and learn a lot. They learn phonics, how to read better, simple math, counting money, spelling, and other things. Not everything they do is work though. Mrs. Smith does lots of fun things that help motivate the students to learn. She has a reading loft with lots of pillows that kids can read in once they finish their seatwork. She also has spider plants, Fly Guy books and posters, hanging snowflakes the students made, a tooth chart, and other fun stuff around the room. In addition, Mrs. Smith has parties and full days filled with fun activities.

One of these special days is the parties every ten days to celebrate the tenth day, twentieth day, thirtieth day, and so on of school. This past week was the ninetieth day of school, so one of the parents brought in marshmallows that had been dipped in chocolate and rolled in sprinkles. They brought in enough for each kid to have nine. Then the class counts by tens until they get to ninety. The whole point in this is to teach the kids how to count by tens and divide things up. The best day throughout this whole process is the one hundredth day of school. The kids wear glasses that are made of paper one hundreds, and everyone brings in one hundred round “somethings.” They divide one hundred by however many students there are in the class, then make piles on their desks with that many “somethings” for each kid. After that, they pick up a pile from each desk. They do activities with their piles, and then eat them.

Also recently was Valentine’s Day. For this, they have a party with fun things to do like passing out valentines. But they will be writing letters to Mrs. Smith’s daughter, Shona, too. She is in Nicaragua with the Peace Corps. This is one way the students can learn about what’s going on in the world.

First grade is a lot of fun and is a blast for these kids. It’s not all seatwork and paper, there is other stuff mixed in. Mrs. Smith keeps them engaged in learning without them even realizing it. I think that makes first grade really special. Kids get to learn while doing exciting things. These were some of the highlights from a first grader’s perspective.

- Megan Mitchell, Freshman

March 12 Blood Drive

Every year the Calvary Christian Schools chapter of the National Honors Society hosts two blood drives at the school. It will soon be time for the second blood drive for this school year. On March 12th, the local chapter of the Red Cross will be at our school to help us with our life saving event.

Mrs. Stenberg has given the members of the National Honors Society a special challenge for this drive. Each of the seventeen National Honors Society members is trying to sign up at least two people to donate blood. This would give us thirty-four donors. We are trying to beat our last drives number of twenty-eight donors.

Almost every day there is some sort of disaster somewhere in our country. Whether it is a tornado, a hurricane, or an earthquake, there is always a need for blood. This is our chance to help others in their time of need.

The Muskegon/Oceana Chapter of the American Red Cross helps distribute blood to over sixty-five counties throughout Michigan. The current blood supply is very low and the students, staff, and families of Calvary Christian Schools can help our community with this very precious need. The Red Cross will be taking donation types of both blood and double red cells. One pint of blood can save up to three lives. Every two seconds someone needs a blood transfusion and five million people in the United States need blood every year.

All Students at CCS can help out even if they aren’t a National Honors Society member. For those of you younger than seventeen, please ask a parent or other relative if they would like to help save a life. If you are seventeen or older, maybe you can donate. Either way, this is our chance to make a difference. All you need to do is call the office to schedule a donation time. Our drive is running from 12:00 noon to 6:00 P.M. on March 12th. You can also schedule on-line.

Help our National Honors Society Chapter reach its goal. Give blood- it saves lives!

- Cory Greeno, Sophomore

New Friends at CCS

 Late in the school day on February 20th, CCS welcomed five new feathery friends to take residence in the rotunda.

All of the elementary students gathered around the new bird cage to get a quick look at these fascinating, and very colorful creatures. Even the middle and high school students were quite interested at the sight of the new arrivals.

After all of the commotion of the staring eyes and the roar of excited students, the birds had a chance to settle into their new home. These birds have a big, brown, oak cage with many swings to swing on, toys to toy around with, and plenty of food and water to meet their needs.

The particular breed of birds that were chosen to be a new part of the CCS family were Parakeet's. This specific type of bird are the most popular house and pet birds. They come in a wide range of beautiful colors. They are also very affectionate and are very playful, which is great to have especially if there are kids involved.

I think these new additions to our school will be great companions to the students, staff, and visitors. It will take a little while for them to settle in, but they will soon love CCS and all of the students and parents!

Lauren Hutchison

Changes at Calvary Christian School

There have been many new things happening this year at Calvary Christian Schools. Big changes have been happening throughout the school year like classes being moved into the rooms off of the mezzanine, the concessions having an entire new menu, and more! It is definitely very exciting to see all of these big changes happening in the school. Many of the recent changes you can walk into the building and see for yourself. But, there may even be some changes that you have not noticed yet!

Walking into the gym, on your right hand side you may have noticed something new! On the wall are a lot of pictures, and newspaper clippings. Joy Richards and Gladys Zehr put together a whole bulletin board of everything that has been in the newspaper for boys and girls varsity basketball. If you cannot make it to a game and do not get the newspaper, next time you are at school you will definitely have to check out the newest updates!

Have you attended any of the recent basketball games? If so, then you may have noticed the big new banner promoting our school right under the score board! Think you have seen this banner somewhere else? Well, that could be possible, since Calvary Christian School now has two new billboards! Whether you are driving North or South on US 31 Highway you will be able to see these awesome new billboards!

Do you want to be able to help and give something to the school? You can! Recently they have just put together “Showers of Blessing”. This is happening right as you walk into the rotunda. A tree stands in the middle with little cards hanging off of the branches with kitchen items on it. You can take off an item and purchase it at your next trip to the grocery store and then bring it back to the school, putting it under the tree. They are doing all of this to be able to restock the kitchen with items. Some people may not be able to afford to purchase a big item, but that is no problem! These items range from things like an ice cream scoop to a crock pot.

It is such a blessing to see everyone come together in the school! People are donating their time to the students, staff, and even the building. I believe the school will continue to grow in amazing ways but, may God always have the glory!

- Megan Beals, Senior

Boys Varsity at Heights!

 Last Thursday night, our CCS Boys Varsity team were scheduled to play their last regular season game of the year. Their opponent for this game? Muskegon Heights. Everyone was talking about the game at school that day. After school, many fans were anxious to load up the bus and head over to the game. Around 4:30 players and fans loaded up the bus and Mr. Maine started the trip to Muskegon Heights.

As they walked into the Heights gym, the other team was shooting hoops. Everyone could tell this was going to be a good game. The boys headed to the locker room and the fans took their place in the stands. There were about 40 CCS fans that made the trip out to the game! As warm-ups came to an end you could see that the boys were itching to start. The gym was packed full of people. The Eagles and Tigers battled it out in the first quarter but the Heights jumped to an early lead. By halftime the score was 48-27, Eagles down. Our boys were fighting hard and you could tell they were not going to give up.

A few minutes into the third quarter, Mike Warren added some excitement with a dunk! The crowd went wild. Once things settled down again, Mike decided it was time for another dunk and this one was even bigger! Both crowds were loving the back to back dunks. As the clock ran down, the boys were still down. But the game was very entertaining and exciting. The final score was 94-65 with Heights winning. Even though they were defeated, the boys had a good time playing in such a competitive game.

Our Boys have their first game of districts Wednesday, March 6th, here in our gym at 7pm versus Muskegon Catholic. Come out and support your Eagles!

- Natalie Kapanka, Senior

Saying Goodbye to Basketball

 There have been many exciting new things happening at Calvary this year. But sadly, every good thing must also come to a close. The slow melt of the snow and the gradual climb out of sub-freezing temperatures is an annual reminder that basketball season is coming to an end. This year especially, it is very hard to see something that was so special to fans and teams alike come to a conclusion. The varsity games this winter were not only a way for a group of young people to waste some energy and compete against other schools; they were also chances for the entire Calvary family to get together for a fun night of enjoying time with friends. Along with this, some cool new things like the Eagle’s Landing concessions and the Eagle mascot contributed to the overall exciting atmosphere of home games.

One of the exciting highlights of the season happened a couple of weeks ago when the girls’ varsity defeated Zion to clinch the conference championship! This was the first conference championship that has been won in girls’ basketball since 2007; and the first one to be won with an undefeated Alliance League record! The lady eagles were also excited to be the team to break the reigning champions’ fifty-one game Alliance League winning streak. Then, soon before the second game with West Michigan Lutheran, they called to forfeit placing the eagles in an even more favorable position for completing their road to the conference championship. Unfortunately, the girls lost this week to Muskegon Catholic Central to end what was a great season. Their final record was 19-2!

Luckily for all Eagle fans…there’s one more chance to come cheer on the varsity boys at home! Because we are hosting districts this year, there will be many games occurring this next week in our gym. The most important one is on Wednesday. Our boys will be playing then for their chance to move on to the district finals on Friday. Make sure to come out to show support for your eagles!!!

- Hayley Mohr, Senior

Celebrating Valentine's Day in Kindergarten

Celebrating Valentine’s Day in Kindergarten is an exciting event. All month the Kindergarteners talk about how they can show God’s love to everyone in their lives. They talk about how showing love to others is a form of worship. The Kindergarteners find fun ways to secretly let their families know how much they love them.

Last week the Kindergarteners had their Valentine’s Day Party. They had four stations that they rotated to and did an activity. One station they decorated a heart shaped cookie. One station they decorated a mailbox with stickers to put their Valentine’s in. They made a wall hanging craft with Valentine bears at the third station. The fourth station was a graphing/sorting activity the Kindergarteners did with conversation hearts. After they completed their stations, they had a valentine snack with a valentine trail mix, crackers and cheese, fruit kabobs, and carrots and dip. All the mothers help to bring in party supplies for the Kindergarteners.

The favorite part of the party is passing out Valentine’s. Some of the Kindergarteners are proudly able to read the names on their cards and pass them out themselves. The ones that aren’t quite able to do this yet get help from the parents. It is fun to watch them take the cards and treats that are passed out to them very seriously as they attempt to read each message on all the little cards. The cards are always chosen with care and include their favorite characters like Disney princesses, Sponge Bob, and even flip cards with dinosaurs. The room is full of excitement as the cards are passed out.

I’m sure all of you remember their elementary Valentine’s Day parties with fond memories. I’m glad for now, the Kindergarteners can have fun celebrating Valentine’s Day with their friends by having a fun party.

- Annie VanTine, Sophomore

Physical Science Demonstrations

Wednesday, January 6 was the birthday of my science teacher, Mr. Langdon. Soon after class started Mr. Langdon brought out a bag of dry ice. Everyone was excited because we had been wanting to see some demonstrations with dry ice for a while.  

            Mr. Langdon told us that dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide, and is extremely cold. It’s so cold you could get frostbite by only touching it for a few seconds. We also learned that dry ice doesn’t melt; it converts directly to a gas, through the process of sublimation.

Mr. Langdon then took a beaker full of warm water, and put a piece of dry ice in it. He said the water had to be warm because the dry ice would start freezing it otherwise. When he put the dry ice in the water it started steaming. He was able to take the beaker and pour the “steam” out onto Erica’s head, illustrating that a gas is a fluid. Next he mixed dish soap and water into a large graduated cylinder, and then dropped dry ice inside. The concoction created white, translucent bubbles that steamed when we touched them. When he put too much dry ice in it created so many bubbles he had to put the cylinder in the sink. The last dry ice experiment Mr. Langdon did was filling a big bucket with water and dumping the rest of the dry ice into it. It made so much steam, that it spilled over the side of the bucket and made it so that you could barely see the floor near the bucket.

 

            Another fun activity we did that day involved more soap. We took a bar of Ivory soap and stuck it in the microwave. The bar of soap grew and it sort of looked like cotton candy.  We were able to mold and squish the fluff before it cooled too much and became crumbly. The air next to the microwave smelled very strongly of Ivory soap, and all our hands smelled strong as well.

            - Christi Evans, Freshman

Senior Night

February 15 was Senior Night, when all the CCS senior athletes were honored. The JV and Varsity boys’ teams played basketball games against the River Rats of Black River of Holland. It was a fun night at Calvary Christian Schools, where a lot of school spirit was shown.

            Senior athletes from all sports teams were honored. These sports included volleyball, basketball, cheerleading, soccer, track and golf.  The ceremony took place during halftime of the JV boys’ game.  The athletes walked out with their parents at their sides. Pictures of the seniors were projected on the screen, from baby pictures to current ones. The cheerleaders passed out light blue carnations to each senior girl and mom.

            The JV boys’ game seemed like a loss in the beginning.  But, with less than a minute left and a tie score, Calvary pulled out a win over Black River! Nate Wichman made the winning basket. The crowd cheered wildly as the last buzzer sounded. A win for the JV team! The ending score was 29 to 27.

            The Varsity game was also close. Both the Rats and the Eagles played rough. Despite the four-day winter break, the stands were full. The crowd cheered enthusiastically after every basket. The Eagle Mascot even made a showing, encouraging school spirit. The game lead went back and forth. With minutes left in the fourth quarter, the teams were tied. It was down to the wire but the Calvary Eagles came out on top! Everyone was so excited. The final score was 43 to 41.

            Senior Night was a fun night of competition and recognition. The 2013 Senior Athletes were recognized for their commitment to CCS Sports. The JV boys won a close game against the Black River Rats. And finally, the Varsity Boys won a close and intense game. That night was an amazing night for Calvary Christian Schools. It was just another example of how awesome it is to soar with the Eagles!

            - Michelle Postiff, Freshman

Eagle Basketball Update

Eagle Basketball is now halfway through the regular season. The two varsity teams have had a good first half and hope to continue to play well in the second half of the season. The Lady Eagles have nine wins and only one loss. The Lady Eagles are number one in the Alliance League conference. The loss came from Muskegon Catholic Central in the home gym of Catholic. The Eagles turned the ball over twenty-nine times in the game. It was a very physical game. The Lady Eagles were not used to that type of physicality. The Lady Eagles beat Catholic Central last year in the district championship. They are also looking forward to rematch in the first round of districts this year.

The Lady Eagles have also had two players hit one thousand plus career points. Senior guard Haley Mohr hit one thousand career points a few weeks into the season. Only two games later, sophomore guard Taylor Richards hit her one thousand career points mark. Both girls were presented with flowers. They also each got a basketball that had their names on them. The balls will have the total career points put on them when Haley and Taylor graduate. The balls will be placed in the CCS trophy case.

The varsity boys are started the season with a disappointing two wins and four losses. Since then, the boys have gone on a six win streak. That streak ended at Muskegon Catholic Central. The boys came out very well. They were trailing the Crusaders by only one at the half. The score was twenty-nine to twenty-eight. At the start of the second half, the crusaders came out shooting the lights out. They were hitting almost every shot. The crusaders had thirteen players on their roster and the Eagles only have eight. Muskegon Catholic ran the ball and tired out the Eagles eight players. The game was very physical. The Eagles were not as strong as the Crusaders. This was partly because many of their players also play football in the fall. The Eagles are nine and five on the season now. The boys are looking forward to playing Muskegon Catholic Central again the the second round of districts if the Crusaders are able to defeat Algoma Christian in the first round. They are also number one in the Alliance League conference.

The junior varsity boys, the varsity boys, and the varsity girls are looking forward to playing West Michigan Lutheran on Friday, February eighth. The game will take place at Davenport University in Grand Rapids. The junior varsity will play at four thirty, the girl at six o'clock, and the varsity boys at seven thirty. This is going to be a challenging conference game for all three teams. Come out and cheer for your Calvary Christian Eagles!

            - Brendan Hamilton, Sophomore

Cooking Tuesday Elective

Things are winding down since 2 weeks ago being exam week, and just last week being a very eventful week with lip syncs, and homecoming. People are starting to get back into the swing of things, and getting back to their old schedules. Many peoples consist of the same things: school, sports practices/games, homework, finishing it with sleep. Then just starting the same thing again the next day. Luckily, there is one thing students can continue looking forward to, which is Tuesday Electives!

New electives are beginning since we are starting the 3rd quarter. This time the electives are cooking, weight training, and conversational French. The cooking students were very excited when their teacher Mrs. Rasmussen told them there first day in the class that they were cooking breakfast!
 
First, Mrs. Rasmussen talked about why its important we should eat breakfast. She listed reasons like, it helps us to concentrate and remember things better in school. After that, she taught us how to make things similar to pancakes, but were much healthier. They contained things likes oats, egg whites, and more. While some people were doing that, others were making yogurt parfaits. She then showed us how to make poached eggs. A lot of the students were excited to see that because they have always seen people make them on the cooking channels and have always wanted to try them out for themselves!

The students loved being able to try everything they were learning to cook. But right before the class ended Mrs. Rasmussen said that they were going to make smoothies. Everyone was very excited for that. She showed the students that if you don’t like to eat breakfast, just adding some protein powder, lots of fruits, some spinach would give you have a complete, healthy, and delicious tasting breakfast right there!  Students were a little skeptical about the spinach and protein powder part. But when they tried it, and realized it tasted like a regular smoother, they were very impressed!

All the students are very excited to learn new things in all of these elective classes, and they are a great thing for students to look forward to in a week!

- Megan Beals, Senior

GH Power Plant Field Trip 2013

Today at Calvary Christian Schools Mr. Langdon's 9th grade physical science and 10th grade chemistry classes went to visit the Grand Haven power plant. The students were to learn about combustion, energy, limiting reactants, and how electricity is produced by using coal.

We arrived early at around 8:30 and entered the power plant, then going into a room to receive a lecture which would slowly turn into a tour throughout the power plant. We started by heading up to the second floor to check out the generator, where the temperature was 122 degrees Fahrenheit. We entered the room and quickly left to explore more of the plant.

We headed up more stairs to look inside the furnace, the flames of the furnace are blinding and are not to be played with. After 30 minutes we found ourselves at the top of the plant looking at the final way that the electricity is produced. Then tons of anxious students wanted to go onto the very top of the plant, the roof. It was a long walk of almost 20 sets of stairs but when we got there it was a relief, the cold air rushed into the faces of students and cooled them down from the 115 degree heat of the top of the plant. We then attempted to work our way back down, we got a head count and then headed back to school to finish out the day.

  - Ryan Cashler, Sophomore

No More Sidelines - 2013

Friday, January 31, the Girls’ Varsity Basketball team partnered with a group called No More Sidelines and experienced a night that was arguably one of the most special of the season.. Coming off a tough loss the night before, it was refreshing to take a step back and look at all we’ve been blessed with. This night taught us a lot about counting our blessings.

No More Sidelines is an organization that helps get kids with special needs learn how to play sports and get involved. NMS is dedicated to integrating children with special needs into the community and giving them opportunities where the kids can have fun. NMS not only helps the kids feel a sense of belonging but also the parents know that they’re not alone.        

The kids started arriving around 6:30 and were not shy of grabbing a ball and shooting around. We all got to different hoops and started getting to know them. After a few minutes of shooting around, Coach Brad had us work on passing. We worked on that until they got the hang of it and then announced it was time to scrimmage.        

Scrimmaging is definitely their favorite part. We split them up into four teams and sent some of the varsity girls with each team to be “coaches”. It’s really neat to see the kids get so excited to be playing in a real game.   They had the biggest grins on their faces at all times. Even simple things like catching a ball or making a basket had the kids cheering like they had won the super bowl. How often do we, who are blessed with so much, stop to really think and thank God for what he’s given us? These kids teach us all a valuable lesson about humility and gratefulness.

Along with their generally cheerful spirit, the No More Sidelines participants were over-the-top encouraging to each other. While it was interesting and somewhat different to play a game of basketball where a player got to shoot until they made the basket, it was very neat to hear both teams erupt in cheering as soon as the basket was made. There were more high fives and pats on the back then most high school teams see in a whole season!  How different would this world be if we all adopted this kind of attitude?

The attitude that no matter what difficulties we face, instead of retreating into self-pity we make the choice to look outside ourselves and bless people with whatever we have to give. Some people may say that we blessed the kids we played with on Friday; but I think everyone who was there would agree that they blessed us in more ways than we could have ever believed was possible.

- Hayley Mohr and Natalie Kapanka, Seniors

Homecoming Banquet 2013

January 21st through the 26th was homecoming week/spirit week for CCS students, 8th through 12th grade. It is the time of the year that all students look forward to. This year’s theme was Broadway/Musicals.

Tuesday was twins day where you dress the same as someone else but that day was a snow day so Tuesday and Wednesday’s themes were combined. On Wednesday you could either dress up as a twin or someone from any musical. Thursday was class color day, each class got a color and you had to wear at least 3 items of that color. Every Friday of spirit week is school color day, so we all have to wear blue and gold.

For me, Homecoming Saturdays are the best because that is the day of the Homecoming banquet! I look forward to this day every year. It is always so much fun! This years banquet was at Mcgraft Park. We had salads and you could choose either beef stir fry or cheddar and bacon covered chicken.

Also, there were many different kinds of cupcakes to choose from and they all had very unique flavors. There were root beer, peanut butter and chocolate, banana, red velvet and many more flavors of cupcakes. The food was very delicious!

After everyone was done eating there was an activity. It was a kidnapping mystery. We had to find out who kidnapped the English teacher. A man chose people from the audience to be the suspects of the kidnapping and the characters just had to repeat everything he said. After that we asked the character yes or no questions to find out clues and the man told the character to say yes or no to the questions. It was entertaining and funny to watch!

After we were done at Mcgraft Park, we headed over to the Sherman Bowling Center and bowled two games. It was a fun night! Can't wait until next year!

- Morgan Rude, Junior

New Eagle's Landing

There has been a new concession put up in the balcony instead of in the little corner of the main entrance of the gym. The new concession stand consists of a more variety food and drink items. Some new items are nachos, hot dogs, chili dogs, walking tacos, and much more.

The concession stand was help set up by Mr. Hamilton who works at Gordan Food Service. The new concession stand is supervised by some volunteer adults who come and set it up and get it ready for the games of that night. The concession stand is also run by students, they get paid for working it and the money goes in their account for their senior trip. This is a good way for students to raise money for their senior trip that they take at the need of their senior year with their class. Any high school student is allowed to work the concession stand they just need to contact Mrs. Greeno beforehand.

The new concession stand was moved up to the balcony because they wanted more space and a place for people to sit and eat but be able to watch the game at the same time. The concessions stand food is now stored in a room up in the balcony so that the volunteers or students do not have to make trips from the kitchen to the upstairs.

The students and adults love the new concession stand and its new items. Also how they are able to watch the game and sit down with the family to eat a little snack to a meal. The new concession stand has created a great family friendly atmosphere at the sports games.

- Jeff Britton, junior

Spirit Week

After a busy week of exams, the students at Calvary Christian Schools look forward to the following week which many consider the best week of the entire year.  It is Spirit Week.

During this week, there are many activities that the students participate in. There is a theme for the entire week.  Each high school class will participate in lunch room competitions, poster competitions and lip sync competitions.  Another fun competition is dressing up each day for class points, in which each class competes against each other to win the most points.  Normally you dress up each day according to the theme, but this year every day is different.  This year's theme is Broadway Musicals. 

All the students have a lot of fun with the lunch room competitions.  During lunch every day each high school class chooses 2 representatives to participate.  The game is different each day.  Normally, the lunch room games will include eating baby food, playing balloon stomp, eating a doughnut tied on a string and many other crazy fun games where all the students stand around and cheer on their classmates. 

At the end of the week on Thursday, each class will perform their lip sync and reveal their posters to be judged. On Friday, all the basketball teams will play against Heritage, Kalamazoo for the big homecoming game.  We will have the homecoming court and the winners for each of the week's competitions will be revealed during the night.

   - Elise Maine, Sophomore

Eagle Basketball Update - January 2013

Calvary Christian Schools has been making a lot of new improvements and moving things around to make them work.   Not only are we making new improvements to the school, our basketball teams have been making a lot of progress and doing very well.

ALGOMA - SATURDAY, JANUARY 5

            The JV and Varsity teams loaded up the bus on Saturday the 5th to face the knights of Algoma Christian School. We knew we had to come out and play our game if we wanted to pull out a win.

Taylor Richards won the tip and got the ball to Hayley Mohr to start off the game. We played phenomenally! Before we knew it, it was half time and your lady eagles were ahead 70-6.  Every single player for the CCS girls basketball team got in the game to get their fair share at defeating the Lady Knights. At the end of the game, CCS varsity ladies had another win under their belt. 83-8 was the final score of the evening.

The Calvary Eagle girls’ varsity basketball team has had a great start to their season.  They are fighting hard and playing tough not rough.  The girls team has a series of good coaches to guide them into victory.  Not only do the girls have good coaches, they also have some natural talent to show. 

In regards to the Varsity Girls Basketball team, senior Lauren Wilcox states, "Practice is intense and we have been told many times that this is the hardest year so far. Brad is a tough but awesome coach! He pushes us to do our best and it's paying off. Having a whole group of exceptional basketball players to learn from has been a tremendous help. Everyone puts all they've got into practice and that's the start to a successful team. Not only are the girls working hard but so are many other people who volunteer their time to help us out. At this point in the season we are undefeated with eight wins under out belts. I only hope that we can continue to work hard and go all the way! I am so blessed to be part of such a special team!"

BLACK RIVER - TUESDAY, JANUARY 8

This past Tuesday the JV girls, JV boys, Varsity girls, and Varsity boys played Black River. The JV girls started out well with not having their point guard, Jordyn Hamilton. They were close to Black River and even had them tied for a while. In the end, they lost by three points.

The JV boys worked hard but couldn’t catch up to Black River and lost. The Varsity girls lifted up the crowd’s spirit when they won against the Black River Rats. They won by over twenty points. Then the Varsity boys came out and played. They had some great plays and shots, but the River Rats had them. The boys lost, but they played hard during the game.

WELLSPRING ACADEMY - THURSDAY, JANUARY 10

This past Thursday the JV girls played Wellspring Academy. With their point guard back, the girls set out to win. Even with the competition being a varsity team, the JV team quickly started to gain points. The team ended up winning by at least ten points. This win was very exciting for them since it was their second win of the season.

ALGOMA - FRIDAY, JANUARY 11

January 11, 2013, was a fun and exciting night for all eagle fans at Calvary Christian Schools. The JV boys, varsity girls, and varsity guys were going to play the Knights from Algoma Christian Schools. The JV girls’ team had played the night before and won. Now it was time for the other teams to play.

The JV boys started their game with a lay-up made by Zeri Zelenka. They had a close game and even had to go into overtime. They beat Algoma easily in overtime scoring at least two more baskets to keep their lead. Coach Marshall had almost no voice left from yelling and was still happy with them, because all of their hard work had paid off.

Yes - it's Coach Marshall now.  A couple weeks ago coach Carlson stepped down from head coach position as JV head coach and passed his position on to the new JV head coach, Coach Marshal - also known as Mr. Marshall in History, Government, and art class.

 

After the JV boys, the Varsity girls took the floor.  Our undefeated Varsity girls team first celebrated with Taylor Richards as she received a ball signed by her team celebrating 1,000 points. Hayley Mohr also got an award for breaking the all-time scoring record at CCS with over 1,000 points earlier that week.

Taylor started off the game by winning the jump ball and the Eagles scored the first points of the game. After layups, free-throws, and many baskets later, the lady Eagles took a significant lead against Algoma and kept that lead through the rest of the game.  Elise Maine hit an exciting three point shot too.  Their final score was 68-15.

 

The last game of the night was approaching and everyone was ready for it. The stands were packed, the student section was on their feet, and we got a little surprise. Our mascot came out to pump up all the fans, parents, and even alumni for the varsity boys!   The eagle played a game between quarters where when it raised its arms the crowd had to shout, and when it lowered its arms the crown had to be quiet. The eagle kind of played around with this and started doing only one half of the stands or just one third. Everyone was having fun, and we would enjoy having the same eagle in the future. He or she has definitely set a high standard for any eagles soon to come.

 

Enough of fun - it was then time for some serious game play. The cheerleaders were cheering, and Joel and Cameron had their yellow and blue spandex body suits on to support the varsity guys. The game started, and the Eagles took the lead with the Knights holding their ground making our team work hard.

The Varsity Boys Eagles pulled ahead and kept their lead for the most part. The energy from the crowd was intense, and there was hardly a spot left to sit or stand. Mike Warren even had two dunks by the end of the game. The game ended with the score 56-35. Once the game was over, much of the crowd congregated on the court to congratulate the team and all the coaches.

 

It was a longer night for many families with younger kids, but definitely worth it. Many people stayed even longer to talk and socialize with others. One mom had work that she had to do for the homecoming banquet, so she brought it in a basket and got help from other moms so she could watch the games. That’s the kind of community that makes CCS different from most other schools. It was a great time for all who went, and it showed what CCS is all about…training kids to serve God through everything we do.

FINAL THOUGHTS

 

We may be competitive at times but we still keep the best attitude. We work hard on our attitude - trying not to be cocky when we’re ahead and not getting mean and angry when we are behind on the score board.  That is very hard to find these days and our coaches try to build that attitude into each of our teams.

It all starts with meeting in the locker room, lacing up our shoes, praying and saying Lords Prayer together before every game. We do everything for Gods glory, and hope to share that with the fans as we play. For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Still not convinced?  Well how about you come out and see for yourself.  The games are always loaded with fans loudly cheering.  Calvary cheerleaders also do a great job at leading the fans with their catchy cheers and team spirit.

 

And while you’re watching our Eagles soar to the top, check out our new and improved concessions stand.  Not only do we have the best players, we have some pretty tasty treats and meals available in our new concessions. 

Contributing writers:  David Everett  Britney Zehr, Erica Mitchell, Cristi Evans, Will Lipscombe, Megan Mitchell, and Brianna Zehr