MR.  RICHARD NOORMAN, PRINCIPAL
February, 2010

Greeting Parents of CCHS students,

We have a good start on the second semester and things are settling back into place. You may notice your kids rummaging around the house or bugging you to find that “one thing that we used to have” or looking for strange things to wear or take to school. This is a typical activity of Homecoming Week. The Student Council has planned a full week of noon-time activities and special dress-up days. The theme this year is “Toy Box” and by the end of the week we’ll all want to break out our favorite old toys and have some fun again. Check out our website to see what is going on. We always ask the students to be responsible in their choices of dress so that we have fun without being offensive or a poor witness to others.

This will be a brief newsletter. I just wanted to touch on a few up-coming events and remind you of the dates.

PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES—We have scheduled our spring conferences for March 11 (afternoon and evening) and March 18 (evening only). We will send a signup sheet near the end of the month.

MICHIGAN MERIT EXAM—We will once again be giving all of our 11th grade students the Michigan Merit Exam which includes the ACT college entrance exam. In the past the Michigan Promise Scholarship has been tied to the MME. This Scholarship has not been funded by the State Legislature so that incentive is gone. However, we still feel it is beneficial for our students to take the test. It is a savings and convenience for our students and families that they can take the ACT at no cost in our own school. Parts of the MME will also give students access to a Career Readiness Certificate from ACT. The test will be given on March 9-11.

The ACT is an extremely important test for those going on to college and hoping for financial aid. The ACT score is one factor that is used by colleges to determine how much money the student is eligible for. I strongly encourage our students to spend some time preparing to take this test. This can be done through several online sites that can be accessed through our library home page or the Counselor page. Mr. Haveman has shown the students where to find these sites and how they work. Students who have some familiarity with how the test is set up and what kind of questions are asked tend to perform much better on the test. A difference of one or two points on the test can translate into thousands of dollars over four years of college.

FAFSA—Parents of seniors going to college next year are reminded to complete the FAFSA form online. If you have questions or need assistance with this you may contact Mr. Haveman

SCHEDULING—Mr. Haveman has met with all of our 11th grade students regarding their course selections for next year. There are a few that still need to return their forms with the parent’s signature. If you have not seen this yet and signed it, please ask about it so that we can complete this part of the process. He is starting to meet with 10th grade students about their work next year and these forms will then come home to 10th grade parents.

KCTC AND CAREERLINE TECH—We will be able to start enrolling students for next year in the Technical Center programs. Starting next week students who are interested can see Mr. Haveman for information.

BOOKBILLS—We have not had time to process the semester change over for books. We hope to send out new book bills by the end of this month.

SPRING TRIPS—A brief note about some trips planned for the spring. The Choir will be traveling to Hull and Sioux Center Iowa, leaving on the night of April 14 and returning on Saturday April 17. They will be participating in the Dordt College Choral Festival and doing a combined concert with Trinity Christian High School in Hull. The Senior Class will be traveling to West Virginia for a time of whitewater rafting. The plans are to leave the morning of May 20 and return the morning of May 22.

MUSIC CONCERTS AND FESTIVAL—Following are a few dates to keep in mind for our musical groups. The Band will play in the District Festival at Grandville High School at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 25. They have a concert scheduled for Saturday, March 20 at the Zeeland High School Auditorium. The final combined concert will be at Allendale High School on May 26.
The Choirs will have a concert on March 26 at Grandville High School auditorium. This will be a combined concert with the Choir from Heritage Christian High School in Dyer, Indiana. All of the area school choirs will have a combined concert on May 6 at Fairhaven Ministries. The final concert for the Choirs will be on May 27 at Grandville High School.

SUMMER SPORTS CAMP DATES:
--Girl’s Basketball—June 14-17
--Boy’s Basketball—June 21-24
--Volleyball—July 12-15
--Soccer—July 19-22

GRANDPARENTS DAY—We will be hosting our Grandparents on Friday, April 30. More information will be coming on this event later.

DISTRICT BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS—The Girls will open tournament play the first week of March at Saugatuck High School and the Boys the second week of March at Kent City High School.

CHAPEL AND FACEBOOK—We have had a couple of Chapel speeches that have reminded us all of the importance of good and upright communications. In this age of Facebook, texting, and email, it is easy to drift away from our moorings into the current of the world. As parents we need to be aware of the possible abuse of these tools and work to ensure that our children use these things appropriately.

Thanks for your continued support in so many ways,

R. N.