What a good week in 2nd grade! We finished up swimming lessons, learned  a little bit about Ash Wednesday, and started our devotions for Lent. The students are very curious and we have had some great discussions about our faith and things we are learning in Bible. I love to see them grow and want to know more about Jesus and what it means for their lives! 

Homework: 

*Current reading and math pages are due Monday, Feb.27, 2023. 
*On Monday, a new reading slip and math page will come home, and they will be due Monday, March 6.

*A new blue half sheet will come home with our next 3 words. 

*Keep practicing Psalm 121. 

WORDS OF THE WEEK:
Thanks for helping your child practice these words at home: while, themselves, without, probably, yourself, near. Our new words for next week are: everything, wouldn't, need. Look for the blue sheet in your child's Homework Folder.
Please make sure to go back and practice words that your child has had trouble with in the past. 

Jungle Explorer:

Hope was our special Jungle Explorer of the Week! Thanks for sharing your poster and pictures with the class. We enjoyed getting to know more about you! We learned that you like to play outside with friends and you are good at swimming. Your favorite foods are pizza, ice cream, and watermelon. Your favorite place is Green Lake and you want to be a Mom when you grow up! You are so special to God and to us, Hope, and we loved getting to know more about you this week!

SPRING CONFERENCES: 

Conferences will be coming up at the end of March (March 20 & 27 from 4-8pm). 2nd grade takes a different twist on conferences in the Spring--they are actually STUDENT LED. This means that your son/daughter joins us in conversation, and he/she leads the conference. We work hard at creating a portfolio and collecting work samples, and it is an awesome experience for you to see how your child has taken ownership of his/her learning this year. As teachers and parents, we are able to encourage and pour into your child, as well as find ways to challenge him/her for the last quarter of 2nd grade. This is a very important time together, and you'll want to save the date!

HC sent out an email on Monday, Feb. 13 to begin sign-ups. There will be times over the next few weeks when you cannot edit your time due to MS and HS conferences, but the link should be live on Monday morning. Watch your email for more details.

Reading Blizzard:
The 2nd graders love to celebrate reading! One way that we will do that this year is by having a "READING BLIZZARD" during the school day on Tuesday, February 28 . The students will come to school in their pajamas/comfy clothes, and they may also bring a pillow, blanket, and a stuffed animal. We will spend a large part of the day reading, hearing stories from a special guest, enjoying pizza together, and doing a variety of other fun reading/blizzard themed things!

Sassafras Ridge:

Our class will be taking a trip to Sassafras on Mar. 3 in the morning. Please check the weather and make sure your child is prepared for the weather. We are looking forward to a great time in God's great outdoors!

Hearing & Vision Screening 

The Allegan County Health Department will be at South Side March 6-8 for Hearing and Vision Screening for Preschool through 2nd grade. If your child wears glasses, please be sure he/she has them at school. 

If you prefer to NOT have your child screened, please stop in the office by Monday, February 27, 2023 to fill out the provided opt-out form that provides documentation of a recent screening elsewhere, OR you can fill out Allegan County’s online opt out form. (Please notify the South Side office if you choose to opt out online).

Preschool Families: Please fill out the top portion of the white KINDERGARTEN ENTRY/PRESCHOOL HEARING & VISION SCREENING RECORD, and return it to your child’s teacher by Monday, Feb. 27.

The testing results will be filed in your child’s school file as proof of testing for students that are entering Kindergarten in the 23-24 school year.

Living Hope Showcase

Tickets are on sale now for the LIVING HOPE SHOWCASE event The Wonderful World of Disney: A Magical Night of Song and Dance. Celebrate our favorite Disney songs with us on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18 at 7 pm in the HCHS Auditorium. Be our guest! Reserved seating and livestream tickets are $10 and tickets are available now at hollandchristian.org/lhshowcase. $1 from every ticket sold will support the Starlite Shores Family Camp.

Skating Party

South Side/Pine Ridge Parent Board is hosting an all-school skating night at Rollxscape on Tuesday, March 28. Join us from 6-8pm for skating, fun and fellowship. Admission and skate rental costs are covered by the Parent Board. Concessions are available to purchase by families. We look forward to seeing you there!

Grandparents Day

Grandparents Day for Preschool-2nd Grade will be coming this spring! We are so excited to welcome our grandparents and grand friends to South Side the morning of Thursday, April 20. The only exception is Mrs. Grassmid's 3's Monday/Wednesday class - they will celebrate their special day on Wednesday, April 19. More details will be coming as we get closer. Pine Ridge will also be having their Grandparents Day the same day in the afternoon.

Tulip Time 

Please remember we have two sections for students to choose from to march in this year’s Tulip Time parade! Your student may be in the “tulip” section or the “Dutch Heritage” section. In order to make sure we have the correct props for all students, please fill out this survey by Monday, March 27! 

Lost & Found: 

The office is continuing to update our South Side Lost and Found Photo Album as items come into the gray tub in the office. Please check it out to see if any of these items belong to your child. Feel free to email one of the secretaries, Jenna or Pat, to claim your item(s), and we will be sure to get it in your child's backpack. 

Also, in December a pair of adult men's sunglasses in a case were found in the carpool lane during morning dropoff. If yours are missing, please stop in, email, or call (616-820-3535) the office to identify them and pick them up!

Kids’ Stuff Resale- Donating Day

NEW this year- If you have high quality items you would like to donate to the Kids Stuff Resale (items we could price at $15+ each), we will be accepting donations on Wednesday, March 2 in the admin office of the high school (Door B). Items can be dropped off between 8am-4pm this day only. Questions? Contact Michelle Schaap at mschaap@hollandchristian.org.

IMORTANT DATES:

Feb. 27: Library books due, Math Homework due, Reading Slip due

Feb. 28: Reading Blizzard

Mar. 3: Field Trip to Sassafras-dress for the weather

Mar. 20 and 27: Conferences in person

Mar. 31-Apr. 9: Spring Break

God is Love

 We had a fun week in 2nd grade! Valentine's Day party, the start of Swimming Lessons and celebrated 2 birthdays! The kids have been doing a great job with their swimming lessons! What great days to share with our friends and classmates in 2nd grade! We have so much to be thankful for and the goodness and love God showers on us is amazing! God's faithfulness is evident each and every day! It's such a blessing to see the kids grow in their faith each day and know they love Jesus! Thank you for your faithfulness in making Christian education a priority for your family! It is an honor to teach your son/daughter
each day!

Homework: 
*Current reading and math pages are due Tuesday, Feb.21, 2023. (Because of no school the 20th)
*On Tuesday, a new reading slip and math page will come home, and they will be due Monday, Feb. 27.
*Keep Practicing Psalm 121 together at home.  

*Keep practicing your child's sight words. Go back over words they may have had trouble with in the past. A new blue sheet will come home in the Homework Folder. 

WORDS OF THE WEEK:
Thanks for helping your child practice these words at home: while, themselves, without.
Our new words for next week are: probably, yourself, near. Look for the blue sheet in your child's Homework Folder.

Reading Blizzard:
The 2nd graders love to celebrate reading! One way that we will do that this year is by having a "READING BLIZZARD" during the school day on Tuesday, February 28 . The students will come to school in their pajamas, and they may also bring a pillow, blanket, and a stuffed animal. We will spend a large part of the day reading, hearing stories from a special guest, enjoying pizza together, and doing a variety of other fun reading/blizzard themed things!

Hearing & Vision Screening 

The Allegan County Health Department will be at South Side March 6-8 for Hearing and Vision Screening for Preschool through 2nd grade. If your child wears glasses, please be sure he/she has them at school. 

If you prefer to NOT have your child screened, please stop in the office by Monday, February 27, 2023 to fill out the provided opt-out form that provides documentation of a recent screening elsewhere, OR you can fill out Allegan County’s online opt out form. (Please notify the South Side office if you choose to opt out online).

Preschool Families: Please fill out the top portion of the white KINDERGARTEN ENTRY/PRESCHOOL HEARING & VISION SCREENING RECORD, and return it to your child’s teacher by Monday, Feb. 27.

The testing results will be filed in your child’s school file as proof of testing for students that are entering Kindergarten in the 23-24 school year.

Living Hope Showcase

Tickets are on sale now for the LIVING HOPE SHOWCASE event The Wonderful World of Disney: A Magical Night of Song and Dance. Celebrate our favorite Disney songs with us on Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18 at 7 pm in the HCHS Auditorium. Be our guest! Reserved seating and livestream tickets are $10 and tickets are available now at hollandchristian.org/lhshowcase. $1 from every ticket sold will support the Starlite Shores Family Camp.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences are coming up March 20 & 27, from 4-8 pm both days (the 27th offers a virtual option for you if needed). 2nd grade Conferences are in person because they lead the conference. You received an email on Monday, February 13 about how to sign up. Teachers deeply value your partnership, and are looking forward to this time of conversation with you!

SPRING CONFERENCES: 

Conferences will be coming up at the end of March (March 20 & 27 from 4-8pm). 2nd grade takes a different twist on conferences in the Spring--they are actually STUDENT LED. This means that your son/daughter joins us in conversation, and he/she leads the conference. We work hard at creating a portfolio and collecting work samples, and it is an awesome experience for you to see how your child has taken ownership of his/her learning this year. This means that all 2nd grade conferences are in person. As teachers and parents, we are able to encourage and pour into your child, as well as find ways to challenge him/her for the last quarter of 2nd grade. This is a very important time together, and you'll want to save the date. 

Skating Party

South Side/Pine Ridge Parent Board is hosting an all-school skating night at Rollxscape on Tuesday, March 28. Join us from 6-8pm for skating, fun and fellowship. Admission and skate rental costs are covered by the Parent Board. Concessions are available to purchase by families. We look forward to seeing you there!

Grandparents Day

Grandparents Day for Preschool-2nd Grade will be coming this spring! We are so excited to welcome our grandparents and grand friends to South Side the morning of Thursday, April 20. The only exception is Mrs. Grassmid's 3's Monday/Wednesday class - they will celebrate their special day on Wednesday, April 19. More details will be coming as we get closer. Pine Ridge will also be having their Grandparents Day the same day in the afternoon.

Tulip Time 

Please remember we have two sections for students to choose from to march in this year’s Tulip Time parade! Your student may be in the “tulip” section or the “Dutch Heritage” section. In order to make sure we have the correct props for all students, please fill out this survey by Monday, March 27! 

Lost & Found: 

The office is continuing to update our South Side Lost and Found Photo Album as items come into the gray tub in the office. Please check it out to see if any of these items belong to your child. Feel free to email one of the secretaries, Jenna or Pat, to claim your item(s), and we will be sure to get it in your child's backpack. 

Also, in December a pair of adult men's sunglasses in a case were found in the carpool lane during morning dropoff. If yours are missing, please stop in, email, or call (616-820-3535) the office to identify them and pick them up!

Kids’ Stuff Resale- Donating Day

NEW this year- If you have high quality items you would like to donate to the Kids Stuff Resale (items we could price at $15+ each), we will be accepting donations on Wednesday, March 2 in the admin office of the high school (Door B). Items can be dropped off between 8am-4pm this day only. Questions? Contact Michelle Schaap at mschaap@hollandchristian.org.

IMORTANT DATES:

Feb. 21: Library books due, Math Homework due, Reading Slip due

Feb. 20: No school teacher PD

Feb. 13-24:  Swimming Lessons

Feb. 28: Reading Blizzard

Mar. 20 and 27: Conferences in person

100 Days

God is so good! We celebrated 100 days of school this week and had a fun time! We ate our cereal together, had devotions and looked back on God's goodness, and then celebrated with a variety of fun activities. The students looked fabulous dressed as 100 year olds! What a blessing to be together! Enjoy a few pics from our celebration throughout the blog!  

Homework: 

*Current reading and math slips are due Feb. 13. 

*On Monday, a new reading slip and math page will come home, and they will be due Monday, February, 21 because of no school on Feb. 20. 

*Blue half slip with our words of the week.

* Keep practicing our Bible Memory Psalm 121

WORDS OF THE WEEK:

Thanks for helping your child practice their words at home. We will start our 4th set of 15 words next week. Look for a blue half slip with these words: while, themselves, without, coming home in your child's Homework Folder on Monday.

Jungle Explorer of the Week: 

Hudson was our special Jungle Explorer of the Week! Thanks for sharing your poster and pictures with the class. We enjoyed getting to know more about you! We learned that you love to ride your bike and you are good at Art.  Your favorite food is spaghetti. Your favorite place is BAM and you want to be a PE teacher when you grow up! You are so special to God and to us, Hudson, and we loved getting to know more about you this week!

VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY:

We are going to celebrate Valentine's Day with a small party on Tuesday, Feb. 14. If your child would like to bring cards to pass out, there was a class list sent home a couple of weeks ago in your child's Friday folder on pink paper. If you choose to fill out cards be sure to do it for the whole class OR all of the students with the same gender as your child so we don't have any hurt feelings. Thanks!

I have linked a sign up genius if anyone would be willing to provide a treat or drink for our party on Valentine's Day. Thanks!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48A4AB2BA4F58-valentines

Reading Blizzard:
The 2nd graders love to celebrate reading! One way that we will do that this year is by
having a "READING BLIZZARD" during the school day on Tuesday, February 28 . The students will come to school in their pajamas, and they may also bring a pillow, blanket, and a stuffed animal. We will spend a large part of the day reading, hearing stories from a special guest, enjoying pizza together, and doing a variety of other fun reading/blizzard themed things!

Swimming Lessons:

South Side and other HC schools will be participating in swimming lessons Feb. 13-24. We will start Monday morning!

Grandparents Day: Save the Date

Grandparents Day for Preschool-2nd Grade will be coming this spring! We are so excited to welcome our grandparents and grand friends to South Side the morning of Thursday, April 20. The only exception is Mrs. Grassmid's 3's Monday/Wednesday class - they will celebrate their special day the morning of Wednesday, April 19. More details will be coming as we get closer. Pine Ridge will also be having their Grandparents Day the same day in the afternoon.

Tulip Time

In 2018, Tulip Time reframed their mission statement, which now reads “Mission Statement: Welcoming the world into our community by celebrating tulips, Dutch heritage, and Holland today." To better align ourselves with their mission statement as well as with the goals here at Holland Christian, our HC elementary students will be given two options for dressing up and walking in the the 2023 Kinderparade. More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to Tulip Time, but we want you to be aware of the options well in advance of the Tulip Time season. All 1st-4th graders will be given the option of walking in either our “tulip” section of the parade or our “Dutch heritage” section.

• If your 1st-4th grade student chooses to opt into the “tulip” section of our parade, your child will design and construct his or her own tulip to carry and then dress as a gardener based around our “Streams of Living Water” t-shirt. This gardener costume might include gardening boots and gloves, overalls, a wide-brimmed hat, etc. Anything you have handy at home that helps your child look like a busy gardener tilling the tulips will fit the part perfectly!
• Students who opt into the “Dutch heritage” portion of our student body will wear their own Dutch costume and carry the parade props our students have carried in the past.

More details about logistics, costumes and timing will be coming soon. Don’t hesitate to email Erin with questions or wonderings at ewyma@hollandchristian.org.

SPRING CONFERENCES: 

Conferences will be coming up at the end of March (March 20 & 27 from 4-8pm). 2nd grade takes a different twist on conferences in the Spring--they are actually STUDENT LED. This means that your son/daughter joins us in conversation, and he/she leads the conference. We work hard at creating a portfolio and collecting work samples, and it is an awesome experience for you to see how your child has taken ownership of his/her learning this year. This means that all 2nd grade conferences are in person. As teachers and parents, we are able to encourage and pour into your child, as well as find ways to challenge him/her for the last quarter of 2nd grade. This is a very important time together, and you'll want to save the date. 

HC will be sending out an email for you to begin signing up on Monday, Feb. 13. There will be times over the next few weeks when you cannot edit your time due to MS and HS conferences.  We are looking forward to this great time together!

IMORTANT DATES:

Feb. 13: Library books due, Math Homework due, Reading Slip due

Feb. 14: Valentine's Day Party

Feb. 17: 1/2 day of school dismiss at 11:30

Feb. 20: No school teacher PD

Feb. 13-24:  Swimming Lessons

Feb. 28: Reading Blizzard

Mar. 20 and 27: Conferences in person

Wow...next week we will be celebrating 100 days of God's goodness and faithfulness together! It's going to be a very fun day, and we will be sure to take some time to reflect back on how GOOD our Heavenly Father has been to us through out the year! Thanks for being active prayer partners of our classroom, and for supporting us in the many ways you do!  

Homework: 

*Current reading and math pages are due Monday, February 6. 

*On Monday, a new reading slip and math page will come home, and they will be due Monday, February, 13. 

*New Bible Memory will be coming home today in your child's Friday Folder. Psalm 121

WORDS OF THE WEEK:

Thanks for helping your child practice these words at home: does, friend, enough, should, you're, through, ready, might, suddenly, couldn't, beautiful, special, either, thought, they're. Please make sure to go back and practice words that your child has had trouble with in the past. We will have a test on these 15 words on Feb. 10.

Jungle Explorer of the Week: 

Thandi was our special Jungle Explorer of the Week! Thanks for sharing your poster and pictures with the class. We enjoyed getting to know more about you! We learned that you love to biking and playing with your cat Moon, reading and softball. Your favorite food is tomatoes. Your favorite place is South Africa and you want to be a singer when you grow up! You are so special to God and to us, Thandi, and we loved getting to know more about you this week!

100TH DAY OF SCHOOL:

Monday, February 6 (if we have no more snow days) will be our 100th day of school! Where has the time gone? We are looking forward to celebrating 100 days of God's faithfulness together! We have lots of fun activities planned, and one of them is dressing like we are 100 years old! (No wheelchairs or walkers though, our classroom just isn't big enough!) Don't feel like you need to go buy things...just get creative with this! We wanted to give you a heads up so you can start raiding your Grandma's closets for some fun ideas!

VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY:

We are going to celebrate Valentine's Day with a small party on Tuesday, Feb. 14. If your child would like to bring cards to pass out, there was a class list sent home a couple of weeks ago in your child's Friday folder on pink paper. If you choose to fill out cards be sure to do it for the whole class OR all of the students with the same gender as your child so we don't have any hurt feelings. Thanks!

I have linked a sign up genius if anyone would be willing to provide a treat or drink for our party on Valentine's Day. Thanks!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0D48A4AB2BA4F58-valentines

Reading Blizzard:
The 2nd graders love to celebrate reading! One way that we will do that this year is by having a "READING BLIZZARD" during the school day on Tuesday, February 28 . The students will come to school in their pajamas, and they may also bring a pillow, blanket, and a stuffed animal. We will spend a large part of the day reading, hearing stories from a special guest, enjoying pizza together, and doing a variety of other fun reading/blizzard themed things!

Swimming Lessons:

South Side and other HC schools will be participating in swimming lessons this year at the Aquatic Center. Our lessons will be during the dates of February 13-24. A white paper is coming home today with more information and a slip that needs to be signed and returned by Feb. 8.

Grandparents Day: Save the Date

Grandparents Day for Preschool-2nd Grade will be coming this spring! We are so excited to welcome our grandparents and grand friends to South Side the morning of Thursday, April 20. The only exception is Mrs. Grassmid's 3's Monday/Wednesday class - they will celebrate their special day the morning of Wednesday, April 19. More details will be coming as we get closer. Pine Ridge will also be having their Grandparents Day the same day in the afternoon.

Tulip Time

In 2018, Tulip Time reframed their mission statement, which now reads “Mission Statement: Welcoming the world into our community by celebrating tulips, Dutch heritage, and Holland today." To better align ourselves with their mission statement as well as with the goals here at Holland Christian, our HC elementary students will be given two options for dressing up and walking in the the 2023 Kinderparade. More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to Tulip Time, but we want you to be aware of the options well in advance of the Tulip Time season. All 1st-4th graders will be given the option of walking in either our “tulip” section of the parade or our “Dutch heritage” section.

• If your 1st-4th grade student chooses to opt into the “tulip” section of our parade, your child will design and construct his or her own tulip to carry and then dress as a gardener based around our “Streams of Living Water” t-shirt. This gardener costume might include gardening boots and gloves, overalls, a wide-brimmed hat, etc. Anything you have handy at home that helps your child look like a busy gardener tilling the tulips will fit the part perfectly!
• Students who opt into the “Dutch heritage” portion of our student body will wear their own Dutch costume and carry the parade props our students have carried in the past.

More details about logistics, costumes and timing will be coming soon. Don’t hesitate to email Erin with questions or wonderings at ewyma@hollandchristian.org.

SPRING CONFERENCES: 

Conferences will be coming up at the end of March (March 20 & 27 from 4-8pm). 2nd grade takes a different twist on conferences in the Spring--they are actually STUDENT LED. This means that your son/daughter joins us in conversation, and he/she leads the conference. We work hard at creating a portfolio and collecting work samples, and it is an awesome experience for you to see how your child has taken ownership of his/her learning this year. This means that all 2nd grade conferences are in person. As teachers and parents, we are able to encourage and pour into your child, as well as find ways to challenge him/her for the last quarter of 2nd grade. This is a very important time together, and you'll want to save the date. 

HC will be sending out an email for you to begin signing up. There will be times over the next few weeks when you cannot edit your time due to MS and HS conferences.  We are looking forward to this great time together!

IMORTANT DATES:

Feb. 6: 100's Day, Library books due, Math Homework due, Reading slip due

Feb. 10: Sight word test

Feb. 13: Library books due, Math Homework due, Reading Slip due

Feb. 14: Valentine's Day Party

Feb. 17: 1/2 day of school dismiss at 11:30

Feb. 20: No school teacher PD

Feb. 13-24:  Swimming Lessons

Feb. 28: Reading Blizzard

Mar. 20 and 27: Conferences in person