Calvary Christian Schools of Fruitport

Good Bye Seniors!

2012-05-23T10:36:00.003-04:00

Each year the seniors have there own chapel at the end of the year because they are graduating. Instead of having it in the chapel, like we always do, it is in the rotunda. The seniors sit on bleachers and give the other students some advice about the school year or tell us where they are going to go to college and what the plans for there future in college are. Some of them share a Bible verse or thank some teacher for putting up with them or their class for the whole year. They always have great things to say and funny things too! I enjoy senior chapel. It is one of my favorite chapels so the year.

Even though it is a sad time to see all of them leave, it's also an exciting time for the seniors to know that you’re completely done with high school for the rest of your life. I wish I was a senior!

This year our seniors were Sydni Clark, Joelle Byers, Katie Vander Velde, Patrick Asdell, Patrick Stewart, David borgeson, Guthrie Collins, Drew Rosencrants, Mathew Newton, Randy Ortquist and Jade Kroening.

After the senior chapel is over, they go to a senior breakfast at Bob Evans with Mr. and Mrs. Kapanka. Then the next day they go on their senior trip to Florida! This year the seniors went to Kisseme, Florida and went to Disney World. It is such a fun time for the seniors! I can not wait until that's me up there, giving the rest of the students advice, going on a trip and getting that amazing feeling of being done with school and moving on to college! It will be great! Congratulations to all of the seniors and we will miss you guys so much!

- Morgan Rude, Sophomore

CCS Track & Field Regionals

2012-05-23T10:31:00.002-04:00

This past Friday at Calvary, the students that are on the track team went to the Regional meet. In order to go to State Finals, you have to get first or second or the qualifying time or length. The Regional Meet was held a Gobles High School.

There were a lot of personal records broken and even a few school records broken. Hayley Mohr and Patrick Asdell both broke their personal records which happened to also be the school records in Shot put. Taylor Richards broke the High Jump school record by an inch, and many more personal records and school records.

All together the day was really fun and exciting. Track meets are so much fun to go to and you make so many memories there. This track meet was a little bit sad because this was the seniors’ last meet. Patrick Asdell and Patrick steward both ended on really good notes. Patrick Asdell broke his record in his events which is all ways awesome.

Patrick Stewart got qualifying times for State Finals in both his 110m Hurdles and his 300m hurdles. The state meet will be coming up on June 2 for Patrick Stewart and he is super excited for that.

The entire track team is really excited for all of the great meets to come next years. Hopefully more records will be broken and more memories will be made. Even though all of our seniors won’t be here to have fun with us in the next years we will hopefully be able to break their records.

- Sophia Zelenka, Sophomore

NHS Induction Ceremony 2012

2012-05-23T10:24:00.000-04:00

The National Honor Society Induction ceremony took place on Thursday, May 17, 2012. Ten inductees joined the current members, David Borgeson, Hayley Mohr, Michael Warren, Megan Beals, Jefferson Britton, Natalie Kapanka, Anna Swanson, and Brianna Zehr. The new members are Brittany Chartrand, Joel Fullmer, Cory Greeno, Shymari Harris, Elise Maine, Michelle Postiff, Taylor Richards, Emma Rudd, Brook Sigler, and Annie VanTine.

The ceremony was held in the chapel. A table was set up in the front with a white lace table cloth. On the table, there were five candles, a lit pillar candle with four tall ones around it. The ceremony began at 7:00, so the low sun shining through the windows created nice lighting.

The ceremony opened with an introduction to the Calvary Chapter of the National Honor Society by David Borgeson, the president of the chapter. Then the National Honor Society officers went up and each lit a candle. The four candles represented the four attributes that are honored in the National Honor Society. Character, Scholarship, Leadership, and Service were acknowledged by Haley Mohr, Megan Beals, Natalie Kapanka, and Mike Warren.

Then, the inductees were told to stand and they recited the National Honor Society Pledge. They were invited up, one by one, to receive their pin and membership card. They also signed the NHS membership book and shook hands with the officers, Mr. Maine, and Mr. Kapanka.

After all the inductees had taken their turn, Dr. Edward Breitenbach spoke. He spoke about Solomon and his wisdom. He recognized how Solomon, even though he had a good beginning, was led astray. He warned the inductees to be wise and stay on the right track because it is easy to be led astray. Jeff Britton then closed the ceremony with prayer. Afterwards, a reception was held in the rotunda. Refreshments included punch, cheese cake and cream puffs, along with cheese and crackers. The evening was a great way to welcome the new inductees.

- Michelle Postiff, Freshman

Spring Concert 2012

2012-05-13T19:18:00.000-04:00

The last band and choir concert of the 2011-2012 school year happened this Thursday. It was a great night that showcased vocal and instrumental music from both the middle and high schools. Along with music, many parents, grandparents, and friends enjoyed a beautiful art display set up in the rotunda. The art was all done by middle and high school students at CCS. It varied from drawings to paintings, and so many other interesting projects. Mrs. Lynne Meyer, the art teacher, worked really hard to display all of these works in the best way possible with help from Mrs. Kristin Price. There was even a big tree display with art hung between the trees!

At 6:30, the Middle School Choir began the concert with three well-prepared songs. Mrs. Rosanne Byers accompanied them as they sang the fun and lively song, Chili Caliente, the slow and sentimental song, Simple Gifts / Pachelbel's Canon and the beautiful finale, Furaha!

Directly following the Middle School Choir, the High School Choir filed in to sing four songs. They started with an upbeat song by John Lennon and Paul McCartney called, Can't Buy Me Love. Next, the boys sang a humorous song entitled, We're the Men. Then, the girls sang a lovely rendition of Over the Rainbow in three parts. Finally, they ended the choir portion of the concert with a touching song named, A Blessing. This was also the last song six seniors would sing in a Calvary choir. Director Katie Hildebrand, pianist Joelle Byers, and the 37 choir members did a wonderful job putting these songs together.

After the vocalists were done, the three Calvary bands took stage. Director Rob Finn did an amazing job coordinating the Sixth, Middle, and High School Bands into one flowing concert. First, the sixth graders played Recorder Rag. After that, the Middle School Band played Veggie Tales and Impressions. Then the Sixth and Middle School Bands combined to play Canticum.

To end the night, the High School Band played Fiesta Nueva, the Halo Theme, and Incantations. In between each song, Mr. Finn called up the 8 senior band members to give them little parting gifts. Then, all three bands finished with Episode for Band. Altogether it was a wonderful night for everyone involved.

Hayley Mohr, Junior

Government Class Trip to the Courthouse

2012-05-12T19:12:00.000-04:00

CCS Juniors with Judge Hicks

On Tuesday, May 8^th, the Government class took a trip to the Muskegon Courthouse. Mrs. Meyer and Mrs. Beals were our wonderful chaperones. We left school around lunchtime, and went to the Grand Traverse Pie Company for a quick bite to eat before their big adventure.

After we had their fill of yummy food and pie, we headed over to the courthouse. As we walked in and took our seats we were encouraged to turn off our phones or the bailiff would take them if they rang! We all quickly obeyed. J

Then, the judge came in and we all rose and then took our seats again. It was a slow start as the sentencing began. There were people in handcuffs at the front of the courtroom and then there were people who just came from the audience to get there sentencing; some were taken away to jail, some left free with just a fine. We all were doing our best to keep up with the entire courtroom lingo.

The judge mentioned us while he was talking to one of the criminals. He said, “So, for all these kids from Calvary Christian School, if they were pulled over for something, they should not run away from the police because that would only make things worse, right?” and the criminal said, “Right, Sir.”

Then, Judge Hicks called a special recess just so he could take us aside and talk to us. He took us in the Jury room and answered all our questions (and Mrs. Meyer’s too). He told us about how long he has served as a judge and also how this is an important year because it’s an election year. He even took his picture with us! We learned a lot while we were in the courtroom. It was such an interesting experience!

- Natalie Kapanka, Junior

Junior-Senior Banquet 2012

2012-05-11T19:07:00.000-04:00

laughs were shared, and memories were made. It was a fun to spend time with just the upperclassmen (few exceptions to that) and awesome guests.

The night began by arriving at the Grand Lady Riverboat which for some was more difficult than others. Certain individuals were even an hour late to the event… but we waited patiently and enjoyed the time we got to spend hanging out. When Stew and T-Rich finally arrived we ate dinner on the boat and took off along the Grand River.

While we were eating dinner the captain announced that there were two bald eagles that we could see. So everyone rushed to the sides of the boat to spot them, and while that happened David Borgeson had to be the first one to go see them and nearly flipped our dinner table.

After dinner the students partook in some line-dancing and other fun activities. After the boat docked and we headed to a conference building for dessert and the Juniors gave us a certificate of which celebrity they thought the seniors would marry. We played a few rounds of Reverse Charades.

Then several students went to the Grand Haven 9 and enjoyed the new Avengers movie to cap the night off. It was an intense and awesome movie. I would suggest it to anyone. That night was awesome and I unforgettable.

- Patrick Asdell, Senior

Senior Trip to Florida

2012-05-10T18:56:00.000-04:00

Disney World a magical place, filled with magical talking animals, and beautiful princesses. For the seniors they will get to meet these magical creatures in less than two weeks. For most of the seniors they have never been to this Magical Kingdom, and they are greatly anticipating arriving in the Kingdom of Micky Mouse and the wonderful mind of Mr. Walt Disney.

As I write this blog entry I reminiscing. Lets go back to the kindergarten, Matthew Newton, Patrick Stewart, and myself, Mr. Randy Ortquist were the first kindergarten class in the new building, and will be the first's to go all 13 years in this new building. As a senior I really miss naptime.

Alright lets jump to middle school. This was a year filled with new things. New teachers, new classrooms, and new students. Also there is no nap-time, so if any elementary kids are reading this wonderful Blog post, enjoy nap-time.

Now, let’s jump to highs school, There is no nap-time, and that's pretty much all you need to know about high school.

Back to Disney. The seniors will be staying a large home right down the road from Disney. They have a private pool, and game room. They will be there for almost a week, and during that week they will visit the Wonderful Magical World of Disney, a magical place, filled with magical talking animals, and beautiful princesses.

We will be down there in Orlando for five days. This year the senior class decided to spend two days at the amusement park, and one day at the water park. For the other two days that we are down there we will be going to Coco beach, and then we will do some shopping, and just relaxing with each other before we graduate.

For the athletes who participate in track and field, girls soccer, and golf, they will be leaving on Saturday, but if you did not participate in any spring sports, or you did not want to go to track and field regional you would leave one day earlier which is a Friday.

Being able to go on a senior trip sounds like so much fun, but it is also takes a lot of work. It takes a student all four years of high school to save up for it. But in my opinion it is defendantly worth it.

Now that senior trip is only a week away the anticipation is ever growing more quickly. The seniors are all planning out what we are going to be doing while we are down there.

Senior trip marks the end of your exciting high school career here at Calvary. It is something that I have looked forward to for four years, and now that it is here I wonder where the time went in high school. If I could give some advice to the younger grades it would be this: don't wish your time away here, enjoy all of your time with your friends, and teachers. Because when it is gone you will wish you had done more with them.

- Randy Ortquist & Patrick Stewart, Seniors

Fourth Quarter Bible Class

2012-05-09T18:54:00.000-04:00

The Calvary Christian Bible program has offered some excellent Bible courses for students to choose from the fourth quarter. One of the classes, is on the topic of ministry and spiritual growth. The class is being taught by Russ Gabel, a former youth pastor turned fulltime ministry owner. Mr. Gabel now runs his own outdoor ministry called Freewater Experience. The program offers lakeshore students a chance to experience fishing, hunting, and all manner of outdoor activities right in their area. Mr. Gabel loves the outdoors, but he also has eternity in mind and he incorporates mentoring and evangelism into his outdoor activities.

Under his instruction, students have thus far learned about spiritual growth levels. Mr. Gabel spoke on the importance of finding where you are spiritually so that you can know how to grow beyond that level. Mr. Gabel is passionate about helping Christian teens become involved in ministry and service. The class also covered the Five Love Languages. Everyone has a different way of feeling loved. The class talked about the main five: talk, touch, acts of service, personal attention, and extended time. Knowing your love language and the language of your family members will help you be able to better love them. The lesson on loving others will also come in handy when a student is ministering to a friend.

The most recent study in the class has been on sharing your faith. Mr. Gabel wants to equip everyone with the necessary tools to clearly share their faith and the hope that is within them. He shared many helpful tips on how to get a conversation started and how to let someone know that you care. The students learned that it is important to get to know someone before you share your faith so that they will have a reason to listen to you. The study included an assignment for the students to write out their own salvation testimony. The project was very beneficial because it helped the students to become more comfortable sharing their testimony. The bible classes at Calvary Christian Schools are a great way for students to grow spiritually and be equipped to serve the Lord in many ways.

- Katie VanderVelde, Senior

Best Golf Team Yet

2012-05-08T18:52:00.000-04:00

This past weekend the varsity golf team had the annual “Christian Golf Invitational” held at Western Michigan Christians home course, Chase Hammond. This golf match has an average of twelve schools in it, ranging in size from “C” schools all the way to “D” size.

With the promising golfing that we have been seeing Calvary hoped to score their best round yet. With the seniors Guthrie Collins and Drew Rosencrants leading out the top two, and Mark Carlson sitting in the third spot they were looking good to beat the best score. After five and a half hours of golfing the match was finally over.

When the scores were all added up Calvary had set a new personal best golf score with a 369. The individual scores were Guthrie (87), Drew (87), Mark (90), and Jade with a (105). With Jade shooting his lowest score ever he helped push the team to their new best and proved himself a strong competitor for the rest of the year.

The team finished 7^th place overall, which might seem high, but going up against much larger schools that have six golfers instead of 5 Calvary held their own. With the promising results they are hoping to lower their scores even more and to keep the wins coming.

With some major matches and districts coming up soon they are even more determined to take the whole team to regionals and possibly three to state. With a lot of golf yet it is looking promising to have another winning season.

- Drew Rosencrants, Senior

Quilt for Mrs. Plumhoff's Baby

2012-05-07T18:48:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago Mrs B’s math class finished a quilt for Mrs. Plumhoff, who is having a baby boy. This will be her first child so she is very excited. In math class we were doing a section that used fractions. We do projects for every unit, so Mrs. B suggested that we could make a quilt for Mrs. Plumhoff using math skills from our current unit.

The first thing we did was to go to JoAnn’s fabric and pick out fabric for the quilt. Mrs. Plumhoff’s theme is going to be Curious George, so we found really cute fabric that matched that theme. We all thought about what the quilt should look like and how we could build it with patterns.

We came up with some great ideas together and with some direction from Mrs. B decided on a plan. It was so fun sewing together. Mrs. B is a very good sewer and Chris’s mom helped us also. We used a sewing machine to assemble the quilt and did hand stitching to add detail to the squares in the middle.

After a few weeks of fun work we completed the quilt and presented it to Mrs. Plumhoff during lunch. She was so happy and is looking forward to using it. I had a great experience with my class. It was a fun to make something that a new born baby will use and we learned a little practical math along the way. Yes, math class can be fun!

- Aubrie Sawin, Freshman

Job Shadowing

2012-05-06T18:36:00.000-04:00

C3(college, careers, and choices) is a required class to graduate for Calvary Christian schools. The class is taught by Ruth Collins and is counted as a Bible class. In this class we learned what our goals for the future will be, our plan for jobs, and what field of work we want to go into.

Probably one of the best things that we did in the class was job shadow day! This is a special day that only happens once in your life, and will be remembered for a long time. First you have to think of a couple jobs you would like to pursue – I was interested mostly in shadowing a car mechanic.

Once she found a spot for every one of the students in the class we planned a Friday and just waited. Finally it came! Mrs. Collins found a spot for me in grand haven, Z-tire automotive center. They called and told me to be there at 9 A.M, so I arrived right on time.

Once I got there I met the owner John and his wife, he explained to me his whole background, and how he got into it all. As soon as the conversation died down he showed me the shop. We went into the shop and I met the boys, Alex, Jeremy, and another guy. I pretty much got right to work right away. I changed oil, rotated and changed tires, balanced tires, and changed an engine block.

The whole day was a blast, and I really loved it and I really want to go into that line of work. Apparently, I did such a good job and I impressed the owner so much, he gave me a job application and told me to get it in ASAP so we could talk about summer employment. Over all I think I would really enjoy this line of work, I think it would fit my personality and me learning style. My goal is to get a job here over the summer and maybe even longer.

- Cameron Bricker, Sophomore

Thank You, Tom Kapanka!

2012-05-05T23:32:00.003-04:00

A Note from Our School Board

2012-05-04T17:04:00.001-04:00

Dear CCS Family and Friends,

The School Board, administration, faculty, and staff are excited about 2012-2013. With God’s help and your continued enthusiasm and support… it’s going to be an AMAZING year!

Back in November and December of 2011, general support for the idea of an independent Christian school model was expressed by both church and school leaders, and the School Board and administrator were urged to begin the months of work that such a transition involves. We are thankful that so many of you began making this a matter of regular and earnest prayer.

As was expressed at the banquet last week, we want to thank Calvary Church for providing a great 32-year start to this continuing story. We are pleased to announce that Calvary Christian Schools achieved its status as an independent non-profit K-12 Christian school on January 3, 2012, with the intent of transitioning to that new status at the close of the current school year (June 30, 2012).

Many of you have had questions in recent weeks, and we will have more specific answers in the weeks to come, but rest assured that CCS will continue to be the place where these teachers and staff and parents and students come to do what we have been doing for three decades. There are some pending matters that, frankly, only God can answer in the weeks and months ahead, and we patiently await His leading.

Dozens of business and educational professionals are working on this transition. We are well prepared and thankful for God’s provision of all we need to open in the fall. We are pleased to say that all administrators, staff, and virtually all faculty contracted in the fall of 2011 have expressed whole-hearted intent to return in the fall of 2012. Their enthusiasm is inspiring. Their expressed commitment is no doubt why this year's re-enrollment is already one of the highest percentages in school history—with the April total being just two students less than last year’s record-setting return of 90%. We typically enroll dozens more students between May and September, and anticipate a full house in the fall. New families are calling and touring the school almost every week. It is our staff's expressed commitment to CCS that makes this possible during this year of transition to an independent model of the Calvary Christian Schools. We are all stakeholders in this important transition, and we thank each of you for your unwavering partnership in this historic year.

The CCS staff joins the newly incorporated CCS Board in the desire to see our school continue with confidence in the same family-friendly atmosphere and God-honoring setting that makes CCS our school of choice. In other words, if you enjoy the CCS that you have chosen to partner with in the past, rest assured that it is in that spirit, unity, and enthusiasm that Calvary Christian Schools intends to continue serving our homes for years to come.

In a few weeks, we will be celebrating commencement for the Class of 2012. Commencement implies commencing, starting, launching, it refers to the beginning of something and not its end. And so this summer marks a new beginning for Calvary Christian Schools as we proceed with gratitude for our roots and anticipation for the growth and strength that God has for our future.

Signed,

CCS, Incorporated, Interim Board of Directors, (In alphabetical order)

Jeff Anhalt, Joy Assaad, Ron Kuszewski, Brad Richards, Joe Stewart, Andrew Wesner, Jeff Zehr

Girls Varsity Soccer Soars!

2012-05-01T18:42:00.000-04:00

This past couple days the Varsity Girls Soccer Team has been doing AMAZING! On Friday, we mercied Potter’s House 8 to 0. On Saturday, we beat Heritage Kalamazoo 4 to 0!

On Friday, we all came out ready to play. We were excited for the game and were really looking forward to a great game. We started the game off very intense! So intense that we scored our first goal within the first 40 seconds. After we had scored our first goal, we didn’t come back as strong. We had a few scary moments when someone would make a bad touch and have to recover. With twenty-two minutes left in the first half Brea Hinken scored the second goal of the game! Brea’s goal set off a large chain of goals which made our score 6 to 0 by the end of the first half with Brianna having 3 goals, Sydni having 1, Sophie having 1, and Brea having 1.

At the very end of the first half Potter’s House almost got a goal! It was scary. Right when the buzzer rang the girl from Potter’s House shot the ball and it went in. But because the ball didn’t completely cross the line before the buzzer rang Calvary was still having a perfect shut out game!

In the second half we only played for 7 minutes with Sophia scoring the last two goals needed to mercy Potter’s House. It was a great game played by our girls and I’m very proud of what we did.

In Saturday’s game, we had a little harder time starting off our game. We all came ready to play but our touches were off and we had quite a few scary moments when Kalamazoo would get a break away. Thankfully, we recovered and didn’t let any goals go in. Overall though, we finished the game strong and Brianna, Sophia, and Sydni all scored the goals. It was an awesome, but cold, game to watch.

Overall, we are 4 and 1 for our conference putting us second in the conference! The varsity team plays again on Monday against Calvary of Holland at Holland’s field, and on Tuesday at home versus Zion. Come out and support your favorite Calvary Eagles!

- Alyson Rosema, Freshman

CCS Carnival 2012

2012-04-30T17:27:00.000-04:00

This past Friday was the CCS School Carnival. Many different games were set up and played throughout the night. Some of these games were bowling, ring toss, the maze, basketball shoot, face painting, and silly string. The high school students at Calvary helped to set up games, work games, and serve food in order to raise money for their senior trip. Tons of Calvary students and their friends and families attended the carnival and had lots of fun.

During the carnival one game that had many people come to play was the silly string. Lots of kids came to shoot and throw silly string at one another. Many of the kids that played returned to play it again. Another game that was doing well was the sponge game. This game is where the kids got to throw a wet sponge at a board with a hole cut out for someone to put their face through. Even though the kids got wet, they still kept offering to get sponges thrown at them by other students. The kids really enjoyed the games that were at the carnival.

While working the silly string game, Annie VanTine and Emma Rudd got a whole giant can of silly string sprayed at them by elementary student Ben Zelenka. Ben had kindly asked for a big can of silly string. Then he politely asked if the girls could help him open it. Then immediately after the girls handed him back his can silly string started to spray all over Annie and Emma. Finally, after what seemed like at least ten minuets, the can ran out of string. As Ben went running away laughing Annie and Emma just sat there trying to understand what had just happened. They had been silly stringed by a elementary student.

In the end the carnival was a very fun and exciting day for all the students, friends, and families that attended. After all the hard work setting up, the hard work doing the games, and getting a can of silly string sprayed all over, the CCS Carnival had a very good outcome and all the students enjoyed it very much.

- Emma Rudd, Freshman

An Exciting Month at CCS

2012-04-30T14:16:00.000-04:00

Juniors at Meijer Garden

The last week of April at Calvary has been a very busy and exciting. The juniors and seniors went to Fredrick Meyer Gardens with Mr. Langdon, The Middle School and Varsity Girls soccer teams had multiple games, the Eagle Excellence Dinner occurred, and the annual carnival to support our seniors was Friday night. We also found our that Mrs. Borgeson is not going to be teaching at Calvary next year. She will be teaching at Muskegon Community Collage and Baker Collage. Everybody agrees that she will be greatly missed.

Butterfly at Meijer Gardens

In terms of the soccer games, the varsity girls are playing very well with a conference record of 4 wins and 1 loss. The loss was to the unbeaten Black River. Black river beat almost all of the other conference teams eight to zero. Our Calvary girls only lost two to zero. They have been playing very well despite the fact that Alyson Rosema, one of their starting defenders, is out for the season because of knee surgery and Hayley Mohr, the starting keeper, was out for a short time from a minor injury and is back to playing in goal. The leading scorer is Brianna Zehr averaging about two goals a game.

The middle school girls team has a record of two wins and two losses in their conference. Their leading scorer is Lauren Meyers.

The Varsity Track and Field team is also doing quite well. Team captain Patrick Stewart is running very well averaging 1^st or 2^nd place in his races and getting a lot of metals. There are being a lot of school and personal records being beaten this year. Patrick Asdell has beaten his previous shot put and discus school records this year, Patrick Stewart had beaten his previous school records for the 300m hurtles, the 110m hurtles, and the 100m dash. Brendan Hamilton has beaten the school record for the 1,600m run and they 3,200m run. Guthrie Collins has beaten the school record for long jump and is getting close to the record for high jump. The record for the 4 by 100m relay was beaten by the relay team of Jacob Kuyt, Bradley Tripp, Harry Gruen, and Aaron Ebeling.

- Brendan Hamilton, Freshman

2nd Annual Eagle Excellent Event

2012-04-30T12:42:00.000-04:00

This past week was another big week at Calvary. The Eagle Excellence Banquet was an amazing event showcasing our school. It was a night full of entertainment, memories and food. It was surely a night to remember.

The evening began, as guests visited the Student Art Gallery. Hors d’oeuvres of fresh grapes, cheese and crackers were served. There was a variety of artwork displayed, ranging from linoleum block printing to chalk drawings.

The guests then made their way to the tables in the auditorium. After Adam and Amanda Montambo opened and gave thanks for the food, there was a black light/white glove performance. “Who am I” was performed by Annie VanTine, Morgan Rude, Brook Sigler, Alyson Rosema, Gabrielle Kuszewski, Elise Maine, Anna Swanson, Michelle Postiff, Min Joo Choi and Emma Rudd. They were led by Judy Henry.

Dinner was then served by high school students. The meal consisted of a Caesar salad, beef medallions with mushroom sauce, smashed redskin potatoes, a garden blend of vegetables and a dinner roll. Apple pie drizzled with caramel sauce was served for dessert. The dinner music was provided by the CCS Jazz Band under the direction of Rob Finn.

Ruth Collins gave an academic overview of CCS and Rick Maine recognized the athletics. There was also a video introducing our teachers and another one highlighting some of the athletic events.

The “He Will Carry Me” skit, presented earlier at Showcase, was performed for the guests. It was a skit illustrating Bible stories, without using props. Sydni Clark, Guthrie Collins, David Borgeson, Natalie Kapanka, Patrick Asdell, Michelle Postiff, Mike Warren, Brianna Zehr, Hayley Mohr and Taylor Richards were in this performance.

The CCS school board spoke about expected changes as the school becomes independent by the fall. They also recognized Mr. Kapanka for his many years of excellence in Christian education. As the evening concluded, Jeff and Samantha Anhalt sang “Speak, O Lord.” Mr. Kapanka closed with prayer.

The Eagle Excellence Evening was great event. It showcased some of the wonderful things about Calvary. Everyone really enjoyed the evening.

- Michelle Postiff, Freshman

The Civil War in our classroom!

2012-04-30T10:47:00.000-04:00

In History class on Friday Pastor Wally from Forest Park Church came into our class, dressed as a confederate soldier, and talked about the Civil War. He even had Cory come up to the front of the class and wear some of the things the Yankees would have worn. We all learned a lot about the Civil War. Like how the rebels weren’t as nice as the Yankees. When a rebel killed a Yankee he would take the Yankees belt and turn it upside down so the belt buckle said SN for southern Nation instead of U.S.

Also the Civil war had more American deaths than any other war the U.S has ever had. In fact if you were to add up all of the deaths from all the other wars in America’s history it would equal the amount of total deaths from the Civil war.

The first hand grenade, along with the submarine and other weapons were first used in the Civil war. The Yankees guns were a lot more accurate than the Rebels guns because the Rebels had a round bullet unlike the Yankees whose bullets could go farther distances. Although the bayonet was not used to kill very often, it was used very often for pitching a tent, cutting up food, even a candle holder. During the Civil war they started using trenches, before that they would just fight toe to toe, killing many people that way.

In war men carried very few things with them. They were lucky if they even had an extra shirt. Quite often, the typical soldier had a mini bible, a canteen, blanket, a small ration of food and a bag to hold some of these things.

Pastor Willy taught us a lot and we had lots of fun.

- Lauren McGahan, Freshman

Cornerstone Track Meet

2012-04-27T11:49:00.000-04:00

This past week at Calvary the Varsity track team went to a Cornerstone Invitational track meet at Forest Hills Northern track. The track meet was supposed to start at four o’clock but it didn't end up starting until 5 o’clock. That was fine because it was raining before it started.

There were quite a few broken school records and personal records at this meet. Brendan Hamilton broke two school records. He broke the two mile run and the one mile run. Patrick Stewart broke his hurdle record which is also the school record by almost a full second. Sophia Zelenka broke her personal record in the long jump. Elise Maine Broke her personal record in the hurdles.

The girls 4 by 200 team broke their personal Record, which was Alex broke his personal record. The Boys 4 by 100 team broke their personal record, there team was Bradley, Jacob, Aaron, and David. Josh Hatfield broke his personal record in the 400 m relay along with Bryce. Bradley trip broke his 200 record.

Dalton Hatfield broke his personal record in the 2 mile run. Drew Maine broke his personal record in the boys long jump. Patrick Asdell broke his personal record in the Discus. Patrick Asdell, Caleb Ahumaeh, and Cory Greeno all broke their personal records in the Shot put.

All together this was a successful meet, in the end both girls and boys teams ended up getting 2^nd place over all out of 6 teams. The first place winners were from a class A school, so in our hearts we got first! The Varsity Track and Field team is looking forward to the upcoming meets. Wish us good sprinting, running, jumping, and throwing. Hopefully more school and personal records will be broken in the upcoming meets!

- Sophia Zelenka, Sophomore

Trip to DC

2012-04-27T10:41:00.000-04:00

I just returned from a weeklong trip to Baltimore and Washington D.C. It was a change of pace from the grueling school schedule. I got to experience the differences of being in a big city.

Over the course of the week I went to two baseball games; Baltimore vs New York Yankees, and Washington vs Cincinatti. Both games went to extra innings. It was a great experience, but I went to D.C. for more than simply fun. I got to spend time in Anacostia a neighborhood where my brother did an internship almost 3 years ago. I also got to do some sight-seeing. You can see the Washington monument from anywhere and the capitol from most of the city. All the streets even count down as you approach the capitol.

Another great experience was the chance to walk through the Holocaust Museum. The museum itself was very intentional in its design and layout. When you walk in to start the exhibit you are given a “passport” from a Jew telling their story from the Holocaust and the persecution that they saw. You then enter into an old elevator and are taken to the 4^th floor.

The floors all have different themes and represent a different time. The 4^th floor starts with the rise of Hitler to power and the Nazi party and the beginnings of racism and segregation against the Jews. The 3^rd floor went through the beginnings of persecution of the Jews and the way they were confined to the slums of the cities and their treatment. The end of the 3^rd and beginning of the 2^nd floor takes you through the death camps and the gas chambers.

The sad thing is when they were brought to the death camps they were told they could work and survive and maybe live their lives again, but 90% were killed within minutes of arriving and the other 10% were worked till they were useless again and then would die from exhaustion or just killed in the gas chambers. It was a very moving exhibit and I’m glad I had the chance to experience it. It has changed my perspective.

- Patrick Asdell, Senior

Black Light at Eagle Excellence Event

2012-04-26T11:33:00.000-04:00

For the Eagle Excellence Banquet tonight, a group of 10 girls, Elise Maine, Michelle Postiff, Anna Swanson, Min Joo Choi, Emma Rudd, Annie VanTine, Morgan Rude, Brook Sigler, Allison Rosema and Gabrielle Kuszewski are doing a black light performance to the song “Who Am I” by Casting Crowns.

Judy Henry had the idea to do this and is helping us with the performance. We have been practicing though March and the performance is on the April 26^th. What we do is wear white gloves and all black clothes and we make shapes and words with our hands.

Some things that we make are a star, heart, circle for the earth, a person, butterflies, cross, wave, the word “sin”, the word “God”, the word “Jesus”, the word “yours”, the words “I am yours”, wind, rain and a flower. It's really cool and it is fun to be a part of.

We almost have the whole performance perfected. There are just a few things here and there that we need to work on but I think it is going to look awesome and the audience is going to love it! I am excited to perform.

We are also going to do this black light performance Judy Henry's church sometime in May. I am really excited to show people this performance and I have enjoyed doing this with the other girls. It is also great to serve the Lord in this way. It just shows that you can have so much fun with your friends and serve the Lord at the same time! Thanks Mrs. Henry for taking the time to help us learn this!

- Morgan Rude, Sophomore

Highway Cleanup!

2012-04-23T15:52:00.002-04:00

On April 18, 2012 the high school of Calvary Christian Schools in Fruitport went on their annual highway clean-up for the community. On these clean-ups there are many things found, from cigarettes to vodka bottles to ruined tires to dead deer, and more. Occasionally a student may find a very peculiar article or object, like a stainless steel wrench, or car emblem. On this day the junior class received the privilege of cleaning the westbound part of i-96, across the way from the school.

The day started out as a normal day for the school, but after lunch every high school student had to report to the lunchroom to watch a video on highway safety. After the video was finished every student was required to obtain a yellow vest and gloves to protect their hands.

After the mayhem in the lunchroom was complete chaperones were assigned to each class and everyone made their way to the bus. After Mr. Maine finished assigning classes to different parts of the highway the bus was off to drop its cargo of workers. The junior class was the first to be dropped off on the side of the highway to begin their work.

During this time the class of ’13 picked up trash, and debris from the side of the highway. But even though they worked hard to clean their side of the highway they did have fun, which isn’t very hard for this particular class at Calvary. Bradley Tripp even found and named his own bridge while on the job. In the end the highway looked much cleaner than we found it. Refrigerator.

- Josh Hatfield, Junior

Calvary Eagles vs. Algoma Knights

2012-04-20T13:29:00.001-04:00

The girls varsity soccer team recently finished their fourth game of the season, Their record currently is 3-1 (2 of which are non-conference games). On Tuesday the girls played a well-known rival team, the Algoma Knights.

The first 12 minutes of the game the ball was played mostly on the opposing teams side of the field and the Eagles just couldn't manage to get the ball in the back of the net, Until the 13th minute Sophia Zelenka (Sophomore) scored the teams first goal of the game against the Knights. It was nicely placed to the lower right corner of the net, passed by an unplanned header given by Sydni Clark (Senior); who then scored the second goal for the Eagles. Following Clark's goal was a beautiful pass to the back of the net by Brianna Zehr (Sophomore). By half time the lady Eagles were up 3-0.

During the second half of the game, the offense still struggled to get the ball in the goal, but the defense did a great job holding off the opposing team’s offense away from the 18 yard line. Samantha Rasmussen (Junior) did a fantastic job using her speed to keep up with the other team’s offensive passes, and then clearing them to the open wings, as well as Elise Maine (Freshmen).

Then throughout the rest of the game three more goals were scored by Brea Hinken (Junior), Hope Hinken (Senior), and Brianna Zehr. The final score was 6-0. It was a great win, and a very nice feeling to have a shutout! Congrats to the girls and good the rest of their season! Their next home game is Friday, 27th, against the Potter's House Pumas. Come and support the varsity girls and enjoy the wonderful CCS School Carnival afterwards!

- Sydni Clark, Senior

Law Day Speeches

2012-04-20T13:20:00.002-04:00

Every year, the seniors at Calvary Christian Schools participate in the annual Law Day Speech competition of the Muskegon County Bar Association. Two students from each of the participating schools go and give their speech to a panel of judges and the top four contestants receive a scholarship. This year the contest will be held on May 4. At Calvary, every senior gives a speech as a World History requirement and the two best of the class are chosen to participate.

The theme this year was "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom" and the topic was on" A Michigan Legal Milestone, Public Access to Public Water" The case that was chosen as a topic for the speeches was about a dispute between two men who disagreed about public water access. One man thought that he had private access to the public river on his private land. Another man disagreed and felt that the public river was free for all to use for fishing and other recreation. The dispute led to a court case on trespassing and the use of public water. The court ruled that the private landowner did have private access to the public river and anyone else who used the river was trespassing. However, the dilemma reached the Supreme Court and in 1926 the Supreme Court ruled that all public water was free for anyone to use.

Each student took the theme and topic and created an original speech to present to the class. The students gave their speeches in History class on April 13. The speeches were being judged by Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Collins, and Mr. Kapanka. All the seniors gave great speeches, but the two students who will be participating in the contest are Joelle Byers and Jade Kroening. The Law Day competition is a great opportunity for the seniors to polish their speaking skills and a way to potentially earn a scholarship. It is yet another opportunity that encourages Calvary students to excel.

- Katie VanderVelde, Senior

A Promising Golf Season

2012-04-19T14:19:00.001-04:00

Golf season started early this year because of all of the warm, and beautiful weather we've been having here in West Michigan. Golf season this year started the week before Spring Break. This year, because of the increased interest in golf, we had to split of the teams into J.V, and Varsity. The Varsity team has around 8 guys on the team, and the J.V has about the same number of guys.

The Varsity team practices at Grand Haven Golf Club on Mondays, and Thursdays. Grand Haven is a beautiful and challenging course.

We have around 11 matches this season. We play other local class D schools. For our golf matches we usually get to take six guys, and take the top four scores to see who wins against the other schools.

The Golf team has a few very talented golfers that have made it to State, and can comepete with some of the best golfers from class A and B schools from all around the state of Michigan. Mr. Collins (the head golf coach) says he is very proud of his team, and hopes they can go even father this season, than what they have in years before.

The boys varsity golf team had their season opening match last Friday. They had an away match at Golden Sands Golf and Grill against Pentwater. The golfers consisted of Guthrie Collins (1) Drew Rosencrants (2) Mark Carlson (3) Drew Maine (4) and Randy Ortquist (5). It was a close match, with Guthrie and Drew tying their group and the other remaining groups staying close also.

When the match was over Pentwater had won with just a 7 stroke lead. It was a disappointment, but it is just motivating them to keep practicing and getting ready for Monday’s match against Hesperia, and Providence on the home course of the Eagles, Grand Haven Country Club.

The team has been practicing almost everyday, they are trying hard to make another appearance at regional s as a team again, and hopefully sending a couple of the golfers to state this year.

It is looking to be a promising year, with a lot of talent and a lot of dedication there is a lot of potential, so watch out for the team who never gets recognition, because this year a lot is going to happen. With today’s match being a home match the team is hoping to take advantage of knowing the course. It will be a good match but the Eagles are expecting to take a big win at home. There is a lot of season left and we are expecting another winning season.

- Drew Rosencrants and Randy Ortquist, Seniors