1st Quarter Electives

Wow! I can't believe school is here already, it feels like just yesterday we were bathing in the sun and sleeping in until 12:00! I'm going to miss it, a lot, but I really missed being with all my friends and I missed the teachers picking on us!

One of the things I was most looking forward to is the electives. There are three to choose from for the first quarter: Calligraphy, Scuba Diving, and Trash to Treasure. My first pick was scuba diving because I thought it would be so interesting to learn how and what equipment they use! Even though my mom does teach trash to treasure and it would be really fun, I decided I spend enough time with her at home anyways.

Back to the scuba diving class! I'm really exited for this! We started like a week ago and I've already learned so much! There are two guys, instead of just one teacher, that come in and show their equipment, and lots of pictures of ship wrecks they have been to! I'm really exited to learn more about the ship wrecks and the marine life. Also it's a bonus because our teachers are so nice and hilarious! They try and make everything fun and I appreciate what they're doing for our school this year! I can't wait to learn more!

Madison Price, Sophomore

Varsity Volleyball Tournament - September 28

On Saturday the twenty-eighth, the Varsity Girls had a tournament at home. First of all, I want to explain to you how great our team is! Honestly, I wouldn't trade this team for the world. These girls are like my sisters and always encourage me to do my best! And they always cheer me on even if I make stupid mistakes.

There are six teams that were in the tournament: North Muskegon, Hesperia, Potters House, a home schooled team, West Michigan Lutheran, and one other team that I forgot the name of! All in all we did pretty great on Saturday! Our first game we played was against Heritage and we ended up tying that one. Then I think our second game was against North Muskegon, and we tied that one too! Then we took a break and chilled a bit, and then we played Lutheran, and won that game! Then we played the home school team and beat them too! We made it in the finals!!!!

In the finals our first game was North Muskegon, which over all was probably the best team there (other than us). We beat them in the first game, lost the second, and came close but lost the third too. It wasn't all bad though because we got third place overall! Overall I am really proud of how my team played Saturday, and I am looking forward to a great rest of the season! Also, I want to make a shout-out to Becca Wolffis,she is such an amazing person and awesome at volleyball! I am so glad she chose to come to Calvary! She makes volleyball all the more fun and I'm really glad she's playing with us! :) ALSO, I am so glad that Arisa is on our team! She's so sweet and a great addition to the team! :)

- Madison Price, Sophomore

Cornerstone Dual Enrollment Class

Calvary Christians School Junior and Senior students in high school get an amazing opportunity this school year, that CCS has never had before. Most of the CCS Junior and Seniors are dual enrolled in a Cornerstone University class. Every Wednesday for two hours starting at 1:30, a Cornerstone professor takes time out of her very busy schedule to drive from Grand Rapids all the way to Fruitport Calvary Christian Schools.

All of the students enrolled in the Cornerstone dual enrollment class are official students at Cornerstone University. We take this class very seriously - it’s no easy class to blow of

f. Being a student in this college classroom, I know it will be very beneficial to me in the future. This class is preparing and shaping CCS students for their future after high school. Some examples include how to become a better and active student in class and learning great tips on how to stay engaged and focus on our studies. We learn the secrets of being good note takers, how to understand the teachers on what they think is important, how to read and pick out important information in a textbook and how to stay focused in class.

We also learned what kind of learners we are. Whether we are visual learners, kinesthetic learners or auditory learners. I never really have thought about what is my best way of learning new material. I have really applied many of the things we have learned after only three weeks toward the rest of my classes at Calvary. I really enjoy going to the Cornerstone class in different ways. Our professor only wants us to call her by her first name, Shannon. She is a very smart woman and really knows and understands how students like us think. She teaches extremely well and keeps us interested in the topics we are learning about.

When I first signed up for this dual enrollment class I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was super excited. Now that I am learning what the purpose of the class is, I know that it is all business. Shannon tells us how it is and how we won't have our parents to hold our hand every step of the way throughout college. I feel like I will have a step up from other students to my future now that I have learned some critical things that will be extremely beneficial.

- Brianna Zehr, Senior

Games against Heritage Kalamazoo

Thursday, September 19, 2013, was a busy evening at Calvary Christian Schools. Four home games and the yearbook signing party took place. The middle school, junior varsity, and varsity volleyball teams played many intense games. The Varsity boys soccer also played a tough game. And from seven to nine o’clock, the yearbook signing party was open.

The middle school volleyball team started the evening with a game at 4:30 against the Potter’s House Pumas. CCS won the first and second game to win the whole match. The second game was finished with a 25-21 score. Audrey Vereeke helped finish this game up with a few great serves. This match was the 4th in their current winning streak. They are hoping to continue this streak with Tuesday’s home match.

The junior varsity volleyball team was next on the floor with a match at 5:30 against the Heritage Eagles. Both games were very close but Calvary’s team could not pull out a win. The serve kept going back and forth but in the end Heritage came out on top. The first game ended with a score of 26-28 and the second game ended with 24-25.

The varsity boys soccer game also began at 5:30 against the Heritage Eagles. This was a very tough game. They gave it their best but could not gain on the other team. The final score of that game was 0-6.

Finally the varsity girls volleyball team got their chance to take on Heritage at 6:30. It was a rough game. Calvary did win one game but Heritage won 3 finishing the match. They gave it their best. It was an intense game with many great dives and spikes.

The evening closed with the yearbook signing party. Students were able to purchase a 2012 – 2013 yearbook for $10. This year’s yearbook theme was candy and each page was themed after a different one. During the party, the students were able to get their friends to sign their yearbooks and grab a snack. Everyone had a good time sharing the memories from last year. This was a great way to close the evening’s activities.

- Michelle Postiff, Junior

Yearbook Signing Party 2013

On Thursday, September nineteenth at Calvary Christian Schools middle and high school students gather for a once a year exciting event. The yearbook signing party. At this event student receive their year books from the previous year. Each year the yearbook is a different theme. The theme of the yearbook matches the decoration and atmosphere of the party. This year the theme was candy. The yearbook was centered around different types of suckers, chocolate and hard candies. At the party there is also food. Student bring or make sweet and snacks for students to enjoy.

At the yearbook signing party you receive your yearbook and then the signing begins! Your fellow peers and friends can sign your yearbooks or write personal notes. Tables are set up so you can sit and pass around your yearbook if you so wish. This event is a very fun and social time to not only have fun remembering memories but meeting new students.

This yearbook signing party occurs after the soccer and volleyball games. The guys have their soccer game at 5:30 and the girls play their volleyball game from 4:30-6:30. The games are always an exciting time to cheer on your team and have school spirit! This event gets the Calvary students very pumped about their team. This allows for an even better time at the party.

At the party many memories are brought back. Some good and some bad. People are talking about fun times, events, and games. This times is really a bonding experience for students. It makes students feel welcome and invited. It helps them realize that Calvary is like a family and that the students stick together. This event is one that no one should even hesitate to come to. It is an experience that you do not want to miss!

- Lyssa Byers, Junior

High School Retreat 2013 - Spring Hill

About two weeks ago, my class, along with the rest of the high school went to Spring Hill camp for our annual high school retreat. At this camp we had a great speaker, Calvin Wisen, and an equally great worship leader, Chris Moeller, to guide us and encourage us for this coming year of school.

Calvin, also known as Cal, touched on many deep subjects during our chapel se

ssions.  His content included trust, admitting our sin and most importantly the status of our relationship with Jesus. After hearing Cal’s message I felt an urgency to go and be bold for my savior.  Along with building our relationship with our savior, we also built relationships with our friends while we tackled each other in water polo, sank three’s in basketball, spiked it hard during ping pong, and screamed while going down the water slide. Personally, my favorite activity during retreat would have to be water polo. It was fun trying to fight through the water with people on your back and trying to focus on scoring, all while laughing and cheering.

The meals at retreat were not as bad as to be expected. Actually, the food was among the best camp food I've ever had. It tasted fresh and was bursting with flavor. Bursting. The beds were just as I expected though, not exactly luxury king sized beds with memory foam pillows. No, the luxury beds were for the higher powers at our school. I think Mr. Kapanka got one and maybe Mr. Maine. 

The last full day at camp was the best because at night we had a campfire with hotdogs, s’mores, mallowdogs and cookies. We then all sat in a circle around the campfire and took turns standing up and sharing a encouraging thought or story from our life. Overall retreat was a great way to grow in Jesus and get ready for this coming school year!!

- Gage Berg, Junior

More about our Flag Display

Click on the image above to see the video on MLive

(http://videos.mlive.com/chronicle/2013/08/state_flags_on_display_at_calv.html)

CCS Students visit Civil War Muster with Mr Marshall

On September 7th and 8th, the Holland Museum had its annual Van Raalte Farms Civil War Muster and Heritage Days Festival. They feature highlights from the Civil War and life in those times. Many people attended to see the reenacted battles that the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry unit and the Confederate 33rd Virginia Company E unit participated in.

What makes the Muster special for students at Calvary Christian Schools is the fact that our own history teacher, Mr. Brent Marshall plays the role of a Union Soldier. In addition to participating in the battle, this year Mr. Marshall had a special performance as an amputee in the medical scenario. The surgery was successful!

Since this was my second year going, my favorite part was the battle. At 2:00 the Battle of Gettysburg began. The battle consisted of Union infantry, cavalry, and artillery units, squaring off against Confederate infantry and artillery units. They skirmished for a while in the battlefield, both sides fighting for the middle of the field. The Union infantry sustained heavy casualties and the confederate infantry chased them out, but the Union cavalry came in to take back the fight.

Next was the Battle of Little Round top. The Union infantry and artillery held the top of the hill while the Confederate infantry and artillery tried take the hill from the Union forces. The Confederates pushed and pushed but in the end were slaughtered by the Union troops.

After the battle finished, the reenactors shook hands and entertained the crowd by pretending to bayonet charge the spectators. Then, President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address to all in attendance.

The Units were then dismissed and went back to their camps to pack up after the weekend’s festivities. I then visited the civilian camps where I found Shannon Arens, who was teaching a few kids how to make lace. I spoke to her and asked her a few questions about reenacting and said that she loved to do reenacting because she loves and appreciates history. She loves to live the way it used to be. Her favorite thing about reenacting is being able to dress up and cook period appropriate meals. She makes pies in a Dutch oven over the fire with coals and makes venison stew.


The Heritage Days festivals allowed people to do candle-dipping, see old-fashioned woodworking, and historic photos and medals of the civil war.

The crowd seemed to have a great time, as did I, and loved all of the history involved in it. The reenactors had a great time as well in their battles. All in all the weekend was great and full of many new things to those who don’t know much about the Civil War. I can’t wait for next year and I am hoping that I will be able to reenact as well!

- Cory Greeno, Junior

CCS Flag Display on WZZM

Click on the image below to see the news cast about our flag display!

Unity 2013 Raffle Prize Winners

Thank you to all the visitors, friends and alumni who came to visit us at our Unity Booth and filled out entry forms for our giveaways. It was so much fun meeting with you! Unfortunately, only six of you from the 760 entries could be winners. And the winners are....!!!!!

Gina L. Bulson from Whitehall, Michigan wins our Kayak! 

Nicholas Anderson from Muskegon, Michigan wins our $30 Gift Card from Curry Kitchen! 

Jodi Shackelford from Brooklyn, Michigan won our $20 Gift Card from Olive Garden! 

Cheryl Sladick from Muskegon, Michigan won our four steak dinners at Brann's! 

Melanie Latin from Freemont, Mighicah won our 3 CD Worship pack from Family Christian Bookstore in Muskegon! 

LindaSue Treeza from Muskegon, Michigan won our 4 Lumberjack Tickets for Opening Night!

4th Annual CCS Eagles girls Basketball Camp

Over forty campers worked hard and had fun at the 4th Annual CCS Eagles girls Basketball camp.  There are many very good players with much potential coming up in all grades, according to Coach Richards.  Great job, girls!

End of Girls Soccer 2013

The varsity girls soccer team has had a wonderful soccer season. It started off a little bit difficult. For about the first month the team had to practice in the gym. But we made do and got a lot of conditioning and ball control practicing in the gym. Also this year we had a hard time getting girls to come out for soccer. The team ended up getting two eighth graders to join the team. Needing eleven girls to play, they ended up having thirteen girls for the team. Despite the weather, injuries, and numbers, they ended up having a fantastic season.

Our conference record is twelve wins, zero loses. Our toughest composition we played was against Algoma Christian. The first game we beat them one to zero. The second game started off as a beautiful day, when the time ran out, the score was three to three and it was rainy and windy. They could not end in a tie so they went into over time. For over time they would play two ten minutes with a three minute break in between. In the over time, Calvary scored two goals and Algoma scored one goal. After what ended up to be a one-hundred minute game, we beat Algoma. That game was pretty much what determined the first team in Conference. Calvary Christian girls varsity soccer team 2013 ended up winning first team in conference. This is the first time the Calvary girls varsity soccer team won conference.

It has been a great season, but the girls still have to play in districts. The first game they play is on Tuesday, May twenty-seventh against Muskegon Catholic Central. This will be a very difficult game. But they are preparing very much for this difficult game. They will need all the fans and support they can get.

Lastly, this weekend May twenty- fifth they are doing a car wash to raise money for the video tower that was built. The team is a great group of girls and have a lot of fun together. Everyone is excited to see what happens in the rest of their season.

- Elise Maine, Sophomore

CCS Track 2013

This year’s Varsity Track team had a great run. We had many new people in track which made it even more fun! Everyone did really well and we had a number of people beat personal records and school records! This was such a fun year even with the difficulties of weather and cancellations.

This year we had two eighth graders, five freshmen, ten sophomores, three juniors, and two seniors. The seniors were Josh Hatfield, Aaron Ebeling, Hayley Mohr and Shymari Harris. We will miss the seniors greatly in the upcoming years of track. Shymari had a great track career, earning many medals and even breaking a few records! She was our “fast girl”. Aaron also had a great career and holds two school records in the relay events. He continued to improve until the last track meet.

We are so glad that Allyson Richards and Zeri Zelenka joined track this year even though they are eighth graders. They competed with all the schools no matter what how old the other team was. The freshman did outstanding as well. Erica and Montana were in several relays and sprints while Will and Alex did some races themselves! I will not mention all of the sophomores because there are so many, but I will mention Cory Greeno who broke his personal record in shot put at regionals! Many of the Sophomores continued to break personal records as the meets went on.

The junior class was a huge success this year. Morgan consistently made it to the shot put finals and Kayla always looked good even while jumping. For both of them this was their first year in track! Jefferson Britton’s race is not yet finished. Calvary Christian will for the third year in a row, have a competitor representing the school at the State Finals. Jeff Britton has really stepped up to the plate this year and found his wings. He has broken multiple school records with his blazing speed! We are so excited to see what he will accomplish at state, and his Senior year of track!

Thank you for all your support this year! Thank you to all the coaches who helped us become the best we can be! Mr. Langdon was head coach along with Mr. Marshal, Mr. Stenberg, and Mr. Maine driving the bus! Although the meets ended up taking place over a time span of three weeks, we all had a blast and can not wait until next year!! 

- Taylor Richards, Sophomore

Girls Varsity Soccer @ Potters House

On Tuesday the girls varsity soccer team played Potters House Christian Schools at the Salvation Army field in Grand Rapids. The field looked nice from far away but when the girl's got up close to the field they realized that the ground was hard and bumpy with some big divots in it. There was no middle school game before the varsity game so they warmed up right when they got to the field. Madison Price was not able to play because of problems with her leg so Bria Hinken took

her place as stopper.

The first goal of the game was off a free kick taken by Samantha Rasmusen from about ten to fifteen feet outside of the eighteen box. Her shot was placed perfectly in the upper right corner of the goal. From there there was one more goal in the first half, scored by Bria Hinken, making the game two to zero. The girls played a solid first half.

During half time coach Zehr told the girls not to let up because even one goal can change the makeup of the game. The second half started and Potters House got a goal about five or ten minutes into the second half. This goal didn't stop the girls from doing what they knew they could do. The next goal was scored by Brianna Zehr, it was a beautiful goal. The next goal was scored by Britney Zehr. The last goal that was scored in the game was by Sophia Zelenka as a penalty kick. The reason she got the shot was because one of Potters House's defenders tripped her in the box.

The final score of the game was five to one with the Calvary Eagles coming out on top. The Eagles are undefeated in their conference so far.

- Sophia Zelenka, Junior

Sports Banquet 2013

The annual Calvary Christian Sports Banquet was held Tuesday night, May 14^th. The night featured the usual awards for student athletes, but this year there were a few changes as well as a few surprises!

The night started out with a new desert bar! There was everything from cookies, cakes and pies to cheesecake and fruit with chocolate sauce. Yum!

Next, Coach Maine started out with a new award. It is called the “Sixth Man” award and is given to those people who go above and beyond to make the sports teams at Calvary Christian Schools the success they are today!

The first award went to Mr. Paul Greeno for all of his volunteering at the soccer and basketball games doing states and running the clocks. Next, Mr. Duane Smith (Mrs. Smith’s Husband) received an award for running the clock at basketball games. Mr. Dan Hamilton was the third winner for helping coach everything and starting the new concession area. The final award went to Doctor Watkins for being “The Voice of CCS” at all of the basketball games. These new awards were a great surprise to all in attendance.

Next, the elementary and middle school teams received recognition and awards for soccer and basketball for both boys and girls teams.

The Junior Varsity teams were honored next. Both boys and girls soccer and basketball teams were given certificates and recognition.

During the Varsity section of the Sports Banquet, individual teams were introduced by their coaches and the students received certificates and those that lettered in their sports were given pins as well. Several students in each sport were given trophies for things like “Most Improved,” Most valuable Defense and Offense player,” and the “Eagle Awards.” The best in each sport were given the Calvary Legends award. Their names go on a plaque that stays in the sports case forever! Awards were also presented for students in athletics with top G.P.A.’s as well.

The night ended with the student athletes of the year awards. This year’s recipients were Hayley Mohr and Mark Carlson.

Congratulations to all student athletes and all the award winners! It was a great night!

- Cory Greeno, Sophomore

Junior Senior 2013

Saturday, May 4th, was the Junior/Senior Banquet. This banquet is often more casual than the homecoming banquet and it is only for the Juniors and Seniors, obviously! Juniors always plan the Junior/Senior banquet. This year we had it in Grand Rapids at a hibachi grill called The Wild Chef.

The Wild Chef was amazing! Watching the chef cook in front of you and seeing all of the cool tricks he could do was a lot of fun! We got a choice of either beef, shrimp or chicken along with rice and veggies! The food was very good. After the Wild Chef we went to The 3 Mile Project, which is a big building with basketball, volleyball, re-ball, skateboard ramps, foosball tables, pool tables, rooms to watch movies and a little lounge area where you can get food and drinks. They even let you do karaoke, which was a lot of fun! It was a cool place and I would definitely go back!

I think the most popular thing that everyone loved was re-ball. Re-ball is basically like air soft but the pellets that you shoot people with are bigger than air soft pellets, about the size of a mini gum ball. People really enjoyed reball. Some said it was painful and others said it didn't hurt too bad but many people ended up getting welts on their skin. Over all it was a really fun night. Both the Juniors and the Seniors had a great time! I am glad the Juniors were successful at planning Junior/Senior. It came by and went so fast! I'm sad it's over! I am glad we were able to pull off a really fun night. It was a good way to spend the Seniors last Junior/Senior banquet. We will miss the seniors dearly!

- Morgan Rude, Junior

Girls Varsity Soccer vs. Algoma

 We had no idea what to expect from Algoma this year. Some people were saying that they were good, and some people were saying that they were not. But even if we knew, we would still have to play with the same intensity we normally do. So when the day game when we finally got to play them, we were all pretty nervous even if we didn't want to admit it. But that didn't sop us from playing our game!

When we got there the weather was acting a bit funny so we went inside until the storm passed. So we went in their gym with everybody else and just waited. But while we waited, we were getting a bit bored...so what do we do? We started to sing! That was probably one of the best times of my life! Just being with the girls I love and not caring whether people think we are total idiots or not! I love those girls and I always will! We ended up staying in there probably for a half an hour and we were so ready to play some soccer! So we went out there, gave it our best, and won 1-0!!! They were a pretty tough team, but we pulled it off and next time we play them, we'll be ready!

- Madison Price, Freshman

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