MR.  RICHARD NOORMAN, PRINCIPAL
March, 2010

Dear Parents,

CHAPEL—Mr. Howard Pastoor was our speaker at a recent Chapel. He brought a great message to the students regarding the experience of their family over the last year as they deal with the results of his son Dan’s conviction of causing a death and injury while driving under the influence of alcohol. Dan is now serving a 1 year sentence in the Allegan County Jail. Throughout the chapel he read excerpts from some of the letters that Dan has written and applied scriptures passages to the thoughts that were expressed. Mr. Pastoor reminded the students of many things that are so important for them to remember as they grow up. He spoke of how we often give so little thought to the consequences of our actions, even when we are warned about it. Through Dan’s letters he also brought home the point that young people need to realize that the rules, boundaries, and discipline of parents are not there just for the pleasure of the parents. These things are there because of the love and care that parents have for their children and because of the responsibility that parents have to raise Godly children. Coming to Covenant just over one year from the date of that tragic night was a difficult thing for Mr. Pastoor to do but I believe that our students really appreciated his words that day.

The week before this chapel, and in the days following, there have been students who have expressed concern that we have students who are involved with alcohol and parties. Following chapel I expressed to the students that they all have a responsibility to each other in this regard. The response of students to this news varies. Some are indifferent because they are not involved in that type of activity. There are some students who get angry because these students give our school a bad name in the community and in the circles of other school’s students. There are also students who care for the students. One of these wrote a note to me saying, “I care deeply about these students and want them to change and to do so for the right reasons.” The other response of students is the turning of a deaf ear to these messages and continuing in their dangerous and sinful lifestyle. As parents we can do two things. First, we can pray for and with our young people as they navigate this difficult time of life. Pray that they have the strength and the courage to walk as children of the light. Second, we can do everything in our power and use the collective power of parents together to prevent the activities that can destroy the lives of our young people.

Lest you get the impression that we have nothing but trouble around here I must conclude by saying that the vast majority of our students are wonderful to deal with and very spiritually responsive and responsible young people. I think I can speak for all of the teachers and staff and say that the environment of the school is positive and that we thoroughly enjoy working with your children.

CONCERTS—We have some concert dates coming up that you will want to remember. The Band will present their spring concert on Saturday night, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Zeeland East High School Auditorium. This is located just east of Zeeland West High School. (A little humor is always good when we are 3 weeks away from Spring Break.) At the recent District Band Festival our band received a #1 rating and qualified for the State Festival that will be held in April. The Band will also be traveling to Heritage and Hope schools for concerts for their students on March 26.
The Choirs have a concert on March 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Grandville High School. This special concert will feature our choirs along with the Choir from Heritage Christian High School in Dyer, Indiana. A portion of this program will include songs from a combined Choir of over 100 voices. There will be a concert of all the area school choirs at Fairhaven Ministries on May 6 at 7:30 p.m. and the final end of the year concert for the our Choirs will be on May 27 at Grandville.
The Band will once again combine with the grade school bands for their final concert on May 26 at Allendale High School. You will not want to miss this concert. Dr. Ken Austin, the Director of the Trinity Christian College Bands, will be a featured soloist that night. Dr. Austin, an accomplished trumpet player, will be the soloist for one number with the high school band and he will also do a solo piece accompanied by piano.

BOOK BILLS—We have completed giving credits for 1st semester books and billed for second semester books and other items. These bills include charges for the yearbooks that were ordered as well as class dues that are still outstanding. We ask these bills be paid as soon as possible so that we don’t have to try to collect these funds for the rest of the semester.

MAILINGS—You may have noticed that many of the mailings that you receive are now coming with a non-profit bulk mailing permit. By doing this we are able to save about $50 every time we send something home to all the students. We are sending a separate envelope for each student, even if in the same household, because we need to mail a minimum of 200 pieces to receive the special rate.

TRIPS—The Choir will be traveling to Northwest Iowa for the Dordt College Choral Festival from April 15-17. They will be leaving late Wednesday, April 14. April 15 will be spent with the students at Trinity Christian High School in Hull. Thursday evening they will have a combined concert with Trinity at Hull PRC. Friday will be spent at Dordt College with a clinic, mass choir rehearsal, and an evening concert. We will leave for home following the concert that night. A more detailed itinerary will be given the choir students later. Students will need to get their payment in to Mr. Gritters by the end of March.

CELL PHONES—A reminder is in order regarding cell phones. My list of first time offenders for having cell phones used or going off during the school day is growing. Please remind the students to make sure that if they take the phone into school that it is turned off. With a first offence the phone is returned at the end of the day. For a second offence we will keep the phone for a week.

PAPER GATOR STARVES!—We received a call last week from the Paper Gator Company telling us that we were not getting enough paper in the bin to make it worth their while and they were taking it away. So, we no longer have a Paper Gator. Thanks to those who did contribute and we ask that you feed the bins at the other schools or at our churches that have them.

TAXES AND REBATE—Financial aid packages will soon be arriving in the mail for our seniors who will be going to college next year. One thing that will not show up that is worth considering when looking at the costs of the various colleges is the American Opportunity Credit. This does not show up on the financial aid statements because the money comes directly back to the parents. For most families (there are some income limits) this will amount to a refundable tax credit of $2500 for tuition and fees paid for the college students. So if the financial aid package says that the student has to pay a certain amount of money in tuition and fees after scholarships and grants you should keep in mind that you will be able to get up to $2500 of that back. This rebate in essence will lower the cost of education for the student which may have an influence on which college is chosen. Information on this can be received from your tax preparer or from the IRS web site. I would also be glad to answer any questions if I can.

GIRLS’ DRESS FOR BANQUET—The Junior/Senior Banquet will be held on Friday, May 7. I want to make a request that as parents you give consideration to modesty and what is appropriate for our girls to wear for this occasion. Each year it seems that a few of the dresses get shorter on the bottom and/or lower in the front, to the point that it becomes uncomfortable for other students, our staff, and our spouses. The gap between the most modest dresses and the least modest dresses seems to get wider each year. It is wonderful to see the kids be able to enjoy getting dressed up for an evening like this but it is not necessary that they have to cross or even get near the boundary of what is appropriate for a Christian young lady. A look at the dresses that are marketed to the world’s prom crowd will certainly convince us of the direction that we do not want to go. To my knowledge we have not had any rules that have addressed this issue in the past and I hope that we never have to deal with it in that way. I hope that as parents we are willing to maintain appropriate standards of dress for this occasion.

ACT PREP—Our Juniors have completed the MME testing. The ACT portion was given on Tuesday, the Work Keys on Wednesday, and the Michigan Math, Science and Social Studies on Thursday. The results of the ACT portion usually come back within a few weeks. The results of the other tests generally don’t come back until right around the time school gets out for the summer.

GRANDPARENTS DAY—Our biannual Grandparents Day will be held on April 30. Please let Grandma and Grandpa know about the date so that they can put it into their busy schedule. If you are interested in helping with the lunch or bringing a dessert on that day please call Sue Noorman at 457-6087.

SENIOR EVENTS—Some calendar dates for parents of Seniors. The Senior Class Trip will be May 20-21. Senior Chapel is June 3 at 11:25 a.m. and Senior Honors Convocation is June 3 at 7:00 p.m. Senior Breakfast and Graduation are on June 11. Information for ordering Graduation announcements and information about the class trip will be sent soon to parents of Seniors.

In Christ,
R. Noorman