COVENANT CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL
                                                                                           MR. RICHARD NOORMAN, PRINCIPAL
September, 2017

Dear Parents,

1. We have had a very good start to our school year. The first few weeks of a school year will often set the tone for the year as a whole. In conversation with many of the staff, it is evident that there is a good environment at school. The students seem to be working hard in their classes and there seems to be a lot of positive interaction going on throughout the building. We have been stressing the concept of reflecting the love of Christ for us in our relationships with each other. The text currently on display in the main lobby is John 13:34-35. “A new commandment I give to you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another.” It is our prayer that this characterizes our students in their life at school this year.

2. Progress Report—It is hard to believe that we are already to the point of producing a Progress Report. You will be receiving a Progress Report by email for each student. Please keep in mind that the grade found on this report is not an official grade. It is only given to show where things stand at this point in time.

3. Parent/Teacher Conference Schedule—We will have Parent/Teacher Conferences on the next two Wednesdays, October 4 and 11. We will dismiss at 12:30 each day. All of our classes will meet for a reduced time on each of those days. You should have received a schedule of the conference times via email and it can also be found on the CCHS website.

4. Parent Guide—Over the past year I have been working on a booklet to help inform parents about the many and varied aspects of our school. This document is an attempt to provide you with information that is relevant to you as a parent. I will have copies available at our parent/teacher conferences. I will also send this document in a separate email. Note that it is 36 pages long if you decide to print this at home. You may also call school and request that one be sent home to you.

5. Sports Policy Changes-- The School Board appointed a committee last spring to review and make any recommendations to the Board concerning the CCHS Athletic Policy. The Committee consisted of Board members, administrators, teachers, coaches, and parents. The committee met several times and conferred with the Board. After reviewing Covenant's current policy, the policies of other GR area Christian Schools, and the policies of other Protestant Reformed High Schools, the committee proposed some recommendations concerning changes to the current policy. The Board has approved the new policy, which they determined would go into effect on October 1, 2017. The new policies along with the grounds are attached to this email.

6. Dual Enrollment--You may have heard things in the news regarding Early College programs or Dual Enrollment for high school students. The CCHS School Board recently approved guidelines for Covenant students to take advantage of Dual enrollment programs. As a school, we are not encouraging or discouraging the use of these programs. We just want to make sure that you are aware of them.
Dual enrollment is an opportunity for Covenant Christian students to earn college credits at an eligible post-secondary institution while attending high school. The full cost of the course is covered by the State of Michigan. "Eligible postsecondary institution" means a state university, community college, or independent nonprofit degree-granting college or university that is located in this state and that chooses to comply with this act. Local schools include Aquinas, Calvin, Cornerstone, Davenport, GRCC, GVSU and Kendall. Students and parents are encouraged to research these options and course availability before meeting with their counselor about dual enrolling. There are certain requirements for eligibility and for the types of classes that can be taken as well as for how it can be scheduled. See Mr. Haveman in the Guidance office for complete information.

7. Fiftieth Anniversary Program—When we welcomed our students in August, we began our 50th year of operation. In thankfulness to God for his gracious care and to thank our faithful supporters, we are planning a 50th anniversary celebration. This will take place with an Anniversary Program on April 27, 2018 and an Open House and Dinner on April 28, 2018. More details will be coming as the event draws closer.

8. Music Department Events—We have several concerts and events coming up in the next few weeks. The Chamber Choir will take part in a fund raising concert to benefit the Christian Rest Home. They will join the Voices of Victory Quartet in a program held at Westend Christian Reformed Church on Sunday evening, October 8. The program begins at 7:45 p.m. The first concert involving all of our choirs will take place on Sunday, October 29, at Jenison Center for the Arts. This concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. The first full Band Concert will be Tuesday, October 31, at Hudsonville Fine Arts Center which is in the Freshman building just west of the high school. The Band will be traveling to the Chicago area on Nov. 9 and 10. They will perform a combined concert on November 10 with the Heritage Christian High School in Dyer, Indiana. Finally on Saturday, December 16, the Band and Choir will be combining for the Christmas Concert. We will again be doing two performances on that day. The first will be at 3:00 p.m. and the second at 6:00 p.m. Both will be held at Jenison Center for the Arts.

9. Protect Young Eyes—The use of technology and the availability of internet access for our children should raise many concerns for us as parents. To help guide students and parents through the complicated area of life, we have scheduled presentations by a group called Protect Young Eyes on November 29. Protect Young Eyes exists to keep kids and teens safe from the dangers lurking on portable, internet-ready devices. The topics that will be covered include: PROTECT KIDS--Protect as many young and teen eyes as possible from the dangers lurking in Internet-ready devices. SAVE TIME--Save parents valuable time by doing internet safety research and testing for them, and putting it in one place. EXPLAIN RISKS--Explain the purpose, risks and parental controls for the different apps and games used by kids today. TEACH PREVENTION--Teach parents how to use filtering, monitoring, and intentional conversation to prevent harmful exposure. There will be a presentation for students during the day and then a presentation for parents in the evening. Please reserve the date of November 29 for this important event. More details will be coming as the date draws near.

10. PSAT/NMSQT Test—October 14 is the date for this test that will be given at Covenant to all interested 11th graders. The office is now taking signups. The cost of the test is $16. Please make all checks payable to “CCHS”. This is a good practice for the SAT which will be given this spring and it is a qualifier for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

11. Fall Festival—Saturday, October 8--The Fall Festival is a wonderful time for the CCHS constituency. It brings family and friends into our high school to enjoy some good fellowship together. It is also an important fundraiser for the Senior Class. We encourage you to come and enjoy a great meal (pig roast, hotdogs, salads, desserts), our market (bake sale, canned goods, apples, pumpkins, mums), and some fun activities for every age.

12. Robotics—The Robotics program has made some tough decisions to start out the year. It has been very difficult over the past couple of years to continue in the First Tech Robotics program because of the lack of high school competitions in Michigan. The governing body of Michigan has made a commitment to building FTC at the Junior High level and neglected the high school teams. Due to the lack of available competitions, both of our Robotics teams will be moving to the VEX program. This is a somewhat more simplified version of robotics, but one that will have many more local opportunities for competitions. They are already signed up for four dates with a Hudsonville/Jenison league plus 3 other Michigan tournaments.

13. No School— There will be no school on October 19 and 20 as our teachers attend the Annual Teachers’ Convention which is hosted this year by Adams Christian School.

14. RenWeb Email—We are having some problems with our Renweb email. From what we can tell, there are a few parents who are not receiving emails from school or from teachers. We send our daily announcements out to parents each day. If you are not receiving these announcements or if you know that you did not receive something, please let us know so that we can identify the problem.

We look forward to seeing you at Parent/Teacher Conferences. Thanks for your continued prayers and support for our work.

In the service of Christ, our King,

Rick Noorman