What a great week! We have continued our Holy Week stories and the kids have taken to heart what Jesus has been teaching and preparing disciples for, His death and resurrection. Our meaningful conversations show the love and growth the students have for Jesus! 

Homework:

There is no homework for next week. Continue to read and memorize Matthew 28 as we will celebrate Easter over Spring Break.

We will pick up homework after break.

Report Cards are live today! Please check them out with your child and celebrate the growth that has happened so far this year!

Jungle Explorer:

Adam 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/good at football and games. Your favorite food is ice cream cake. Your favorite place is South Carolina and you want to be a water boy when you grow up! You are so special to God and to us, Adam, and we loved getting to know more about you this week!

Reading Rally Week-  Our South Side Staff is eager to celebrate our growing readers!! To celebrate March is Reading Month, the staff has put together a special week (March 28 - March 31) to promote our growing readers. Here are the details and ways in which you can assist your child for our special days:

• Monday, March 27 - FAVORITE BOOK DAY: Bring your favorite book to school. The children will be making a book cover of their favorite book and then displaying it on their locker. 

• Tuesday, March 28 - BEACH DAY - Bring in your beach towel and dress for a day at the beach. Shorts, Short sleeve shirts, and sunglasses or sun hats. (No swimsuits, please.)

• Wednesday, March 29 - READ A T-SHIRT DAY - Please help your child find a t-shirt that has one or several words on it so that we can read each other's t-shirts. 

• Thursday, March 31 - COZY DAY - Wear your pajamas and bring a blanket and stuffed animal. 

Thank you for encouraging your child to build his/her reading skills by reading each and every night! This time practicing now will have life-long benefits! Thank you!!

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!

Join the Parent Board

We have a whole host of ways for parents to help out, plug into the school community, and join our team! South Side/Pine Ridge have their own Parent Team, a volunteer group of dedicated parents that support the teachers and staff, raise money beyond the budgetary allowances for extra educational materials and equipment, and enfold new families into our school family.

We’re looking for more new members and helping hands next year! If you are interested in getting more involved with school and building new relationships with the Holland Christian family in this way, please email Tami Schippers or Emily Baker.

Tulip Time

First and Second Grade Families: Tulip Time will be here before we know it! If you did not fill out our Quick 3 Question Tulip Time Survey yet regarding what apparel your child will be wearing for the parade, we need you to fill out the survey by Monday, March 27.

If you are choosing to be in the “Dutch Heritage” section, remember that you’ll need to wear a Dutch costume. The Tulip Time office is holding a Dutch Costume Resale on Wednesday, April 12 from 5-8pm at the Holland Civic Center You can find more information on this flyer from the Tulip Time Office. If you chose the "Tulip" section for the parade, you will want to make sure that you have your Holland Christian Streams of Living Water t-shirt ready to go.

IMORTANT DATES:

Mar. 27: Conferences in person

Mar. 28: Skating Party

Mar. 31-Apr. 9: Spring Break

Apr. 20: Grandparents day

Apr. 13-19: Kid Town creating week

Apr. 24-28: Kid Town live in the gym

We have begun our lessons on Holy Week.  So far it's been a special experience learning and studying the Holy Week stories with your child. The conversations we are having are so meaningful. Ask your son/daughter what they've learned about our stories so far: Jesus Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem,  Jesus Cleansing the Temple, and Jesus' teachings in the Temple. We will learn some deep things together, and I look forward to these teachable moments to share God's awesome gift of love for us, and what it means as we learn how Jesus fulfilled God's plan of salvation! We serve such a loving Savior! 

Homework: 

*Current reading and math pages are due Monday, March 20, 2023. 

*On Monday, a new reading slip and math page will come home, and they will be due Monday, March 27. 

-Continue to practice Matthew 28.

WORDS OF THE WEEK:

Thanks for helping your child practice these words at home: while, themselves, without, probably, yourself, near, everything, wouldn't, need, kind, different, myself, everyone, few, begin. We will have a quiz on these 15 words on Mar. 24.

Please make sure to go back and practice words that your child has had trouble with in the past. 

Jungle Explorer:

Cole 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 soccer and you're good at being a goalie. Your favorite food is ice cream. Your favorite place is Florida and you want to be an inventor when you grow up! You are so special to God and to us, Cole, and we loved getting to know more about you this week!

Conferences:

I am looking forward to a special conference time with you AND your child! Remember, that these conferences are STUDENT LED and your child must come with you. The students have worked hard in preparation for this night!  Be sure encourage them before and after the conference and acknowledge their hard work!
     This is such an awesome time of celebrating the 2nd grade growth that we've seen, and also coming together to challenge your child in the last few months of 2nd grade. One question your child will ask you at conferences will be, "Mom & Dad, what do you think I'm good at?" Think about this ahead of time, and come ready with a mental list of some of the ways that you want to encourage your child in the special way God has created him/her to be!

First Grade Bake Sale:

The first graders are excited to be hosting a Rainforest Bake Sale at Southside in their hallway! The bake sale will start on Monday March 20th and run each day of the week during the lunch hour except for Friday because of our half day. Each baked good will cost .25. All funds raised will be donated to help save the amazing animals of the rainforest! Start saving your quarters now and plan to buy some goodies at the first grade rainforest bake sale!

Book Fair Volunteers

The Book Fair is coming up NEXT WEEK at South Side! Parents, if you are available we still need a few people to help us run the Fair. Times needed are Monday from 3-5:30 or 5:30-8 and Thursday 3-5:30.  If you are able to help you can sign up Here! 

The Book Fair will be in the After School Care room in the 1st and 2nd grade hallway. Come and shop the following dates:

• Monday, March 20: 3-8pm
• Wednesday, March 22: 11am-12:30pm
• Thursday, March 23: 3-5:30pm

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!

Join the Parent Board

We have a whole host of ways for parents to help out, plug into the school community, and join our team! South Side/Pine Ridge have their own Parent Team, a volunteer group of dedicated parents that support the teachers and staff, raise money beyond the budgetary allowances for extra educational materials and equipment, and enfold new families into our school family.

We’re looking for more new members and helping hands next year! If you are interested in getting more involved with school and building new relationships with the Holland Christian family in this way, please email Tami Schippers or Emily Baker.

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, we have a smart watch and pair of adult men’s sunglasses that have been turned into the office. Please stop in, email, or call the office 616.820.3535 to identify and pick your item up.

Tulip Time

First and Second Grade Families: Tulip Time will be here before we know it! If you did not fill out our Quick 3 Question Tulip Time Survey yet regarding what apparel your child will be wearing for the parade, we need you to fill out the survey by Monday, March 27.

If you are choosing to be in the “Dutch Heritage” section, remember that you’ll need to wear a Dutch costume. The Tulip Time office is holding a Dutch Costume Resale on Wednesday, April 12 from 5-8pm at the Holland Civic Center You can find more information on this flyer from the Tulip Time Office. If you chose the "Tulip" section for the parade, you will want to make sure that you have your Holland Christian Streams of Living Water t-shirt ready to go.

IMORTANT DATES:

Mar. 20: Math Homework, Reading slips, and Library books due

Mar. 20-24: First Grade Bake Sale

Mar. 24: 2nd grade to Sassafras Ridge

Mar. 20 and 27: Conferences in person

Mar. 28: Skating Party

Mar. 31-Apr. 9: Spring Break

Apr. 20: Grandparents day

Apr. 17-21: Kid Town creating week

Apr. 24-28: Kid Town live in the gym

The 2nd graders are excited about our new reading unit! We have started informational books and talked about how we can read about the world God created and learn about his world, the people from our past, and those in other parts of the world. We have discussed how we are Wisdom Seekers and can find wisdom and knowledge about God in reading.

Homework: 

*Current reading and math pages are due Monday, March 13, 2023. 

*On Monday, a new reading slip and math page will come home, and they will be due Monday, March 20. 

-Continue to practice Matthew 28.

-Blue half sheet with the new words of the week. Quiz on Mar. 24.

WORDS OF THE WEEK:

Thanks for helping your child practice these words at home: while, themselves, without, probably, yourself, near, everything, wouldn't, need, kind, different, myself.  Our new words for next week are: everyone, few, begin. Look for the blue sheet in your child's Homework Folder. We will have a quiz on these 15 words on Mar. 24.

Please make sure to go back and practice words that your child has had trouble with in the past. 

Jungle Explorer:

Joel was our special Jungle Explorer of the Week! 

He will share his poster and pictures with the class on Monday. We look forward to getting to know more about you! He likes to play with his brother and is good at building Legos. His favorite foods are ice cream and pizza. His favorite place is Lego Land and he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up! You are so special to God and to us, Joel, and we look forward to getting to know more about you Monday!

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.

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!

SOUTH SIDE BOOK FAIR

The South Side book fair will be the week of March 20 in the After School Care room in the 1st and 2nd grade hallway. Come and shop the following dates:

• Monday, March 20: 3-8pm
• Wednesday, March 22: 11am-12:30pm
• Thursday, March 23: 3-5:30pm

We’d love to have you sign up to help work at the book fair as well!

IMORTANT DATES:

Mar. 13: Math Homework, Reading slips, and Library books due

Mar. 24: 2nd grade to Sassafras Ridge

Mar. 20 and 27: Conferences in person

Mar. 28: Skating Party

Mar. 31-Apr. 9: Spring Break

Apr. 20: Grandparents day

Apr. 17-21: Kid Town creating week

Apr. 24-28: Kid Town live in the gym

It's been a great week in second grade! We have enjoyed the changes in the weather and are ready for winter to be over. The students are ready for recesses that allows them "no coats"! The sun has been a wonderful addition to our days! We had a fabulous time with our Reading Blizzard! We enjoyed lots of fun things and read a lot of books! Look for pictures throughout the blog. We had a wonderful time at Sassafras Ridge. We enjoyed God's creation and had a good time together. Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your child's life each day. It is a joy seeing them grow and change, and I find it hard to believe we are almost three fourths of the way through the year!

Mrs. Van Meeteren was our surprise reader!

 Homework: 

*Current reading and math pages are due Monday, March 6, 2023. 

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

-New Bible Memory will be coming home on Monday the 13th.

-Blue half sheet with the new words of the week.

WORDS OF THE WEEK:

Thanks for helping your child practice these words at home: while, themselves, without, probably, yourself, near, everything, wouldn't, need.  Our new words for next week are: kind, different, myself. 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:

Aspyn 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 with slime and you are good at drawing and helping. Your favorite foods are ice cream and any kind of pasta. Your favorite place is Sharky's in Florida and you want to be a teacher when you grow up! You are so special to God and to us, Aspyn, 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.

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.

SOUTH SIDE BOOK FAIR

The South Side book fair will be the week of March 20 in the After School Care room in the 1st and 2nd grade hallway. Come and shop the following dates:

• Monday, March 20: 3-8pm
• Wednesday, March 22: 11am-12:30pm
• Thursday, March 23: 3-5:30pm

We’d love to have you sign up to help work at the book fair as well!

IMORTANT DATES:

Mar. 6: Math Homework, Reading slips, and Library books due

Mar. 20 and 27: Conferences in person

Mar. 28: Skating Party

Mar. 31-Apr. 9: Spring Break

Apr. 20: Grandparents day