Tell your parents about your service learning project.For my service project I am going to Mrs.Bronsink’s class

Tell your parents about the Revolutionary Walk!

Good Morning,Sending this out Thursday this week so that you get one more day heads up for the things that are coming up next week. First and foremost is to tell you that we will begin taking the Measure of Academic Progress(MAP) assessment next week. I have included information given to us to help our students perform at their best. Please read it and encourage your son or daughter about the importance of giving this their best effort to “show off” what they have learned so far this year.MAP Growth AssessmentsWe’re looking forward to upcoming MAP Growth assessments! MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments in Math, Reading, and Language will help teachers to understand how much students have grown in their learning this year and to know what they’ll be ready to learn in the upcoming school year.We’ll be taking these assessments in the morning during class on the following dates:Wednesday, May 15th, Friday, May 17th, and Wednesday, May 22nd. It’s important that students do their best to show all that they’ve learned this year! We are helping your student by preparing them to know what to expect on the assessment, coaching them on assessment-taking strategies, reminding them that they are capable of doing well, and shaping a structured and supportive classroom environment on those mornings.You can help your student by ensuring that they get proper sleep the evening before an assessment, feeding them a healthy breakfast on each assessment morning, and encouraging them to have a positive attitude and to do their best–this assessment is important, and they are capable!Together, we can support students in doing their best to show how much they have learned this year! There is additional information available at https://www.nwea.org/parent-toolkit/. If you have further questions, please let me know!We are going on a field trip this Monday to Calvin College to watch a chemistry demonstration. I understand this is one of the kid’s favorite field trips that they go on while at ZCS! Should be memorable!! Please have your son or daughter bring a sack lunch with them on Monday. There will not be food or snacks to purchase there. This is the itinerary for Monday’s trip.10:45 – Meet at our 5th grade classroom for final instructions.10:50 – Leave ZCS11:30 – Arrive at Calvin College – Park in Lot 1 or 2 which is to the left of the drive as you enter off of Burton St. Let’s plan on meeting right outside of the Gezon Auditorium so that we can all walk to lunch together.11:40 – Lunch in Knollcrest on Calvin’s Campus (kids bring sack lunch)12:00 – Kids run around outside for a bit.12:10 – Walk back to the Gezon Auditorium for use of bathrooms and for Chemistry Demonstration.12:30 – Chemistry Demonstration begins.1:45 – Chemistry Demonstration ends. Head back to school.2:20 – Arrive back at ZCS – drop off in the front of schoolI know you have already received information about Mr. Hutt’s Revolutionary War walking tour tomorrow afternoon from 2:20 to 3:10, but this is just a reminder if you are planning on coming. In Science we are delving more deeply into the relationships between organisms and the transfer of energy in various food webs. In math, the two classes are working through either measurement conversions(my class) or word problems and solving equations(Mr. Hutt’s class). In Bible class, we are learning about the servant’s heart that Christ had, and how the class can constantly try to be more like Christ in that area. We are also in the early stages of setting up a chance for both of our classes to do a service project with a group nearby ZCS. The kids will tell you about their idea in their Friday blog. In ELA the class is getting close to finishing their first drafts of their personal narrative.Thanks for your prayers and support at home for my concern about the behaviors that I was seeing last week. I have to say that this week has been much better! Please continue to pray and reinforce the positives at home! Hope you have a great weekend! Blessings, Paul

Tell your folks about our new 500 class pets! We have 500 worms, yes, you heard me right 500 worms! Can’t wait to tell you more.

Tell your parents about 3 things you noticed on your nature walk regarding organisms interaction with nature.

Hanging out with Mckenna and Cora and being excited about Fun Night.

What is your Personal Narrative about?

Happy Friday!I hope you are all looking forward to the 8th grade “Fun Night” tonight. I have heard that it is a great time for family and friends. I will be batching it as Kathy, our daughter, and Kathy’s sister are leaving for North Carolina today to see the brand new baby niece. Won’t be long before the family there will be making the trip back here this June to see our son and daughter in law’s impending bundle of joy!! So excited to be grandparents.Academically, we have had a good week. Mrs. Keyser has the kids about ready to finish their rough drafts of their Personal Narratives, and I have read most of them, and they are going to be good! We just switched our math classes, and I am beginning the unit on measurement and geometry, while Mr. Hutt is beginning the unit on problem solving, word problems, and solving one step equations. In Bible we just finished up with the early life of Christ. The class found this one of the most interesting units we have covered and discussed so far this year! In social studies next week, the students will finish up Unit 6, The American Revolution. They have been working on setting up a walking tour of the Revolutionary War. He will shoot an email home with specifics inviting you to tour the Revolutionary War! In science, we are in the first few days of our “Round and Round” unit on the energy cycle, or how energy originating in the sun makes its way to all living things. We planted some seedlings and will be measuring the mass of the plants after they are grown. We’ll then discuss where the added mass of the plant got there! We also have about 500 new “class pets”. We will be forming a composting pile, and we have a bucket full of Red Wigglers that the kids are finding either fascinating or terrifying, depending on their view of worms! The class spent some time with our pre-school buddies yesterday building boats out of recyclable materials. Thanks once again to Lisa Klamer for having us down!I would like to fill you in on something that has weighed on my hear this week. We have had a number of minor incidents where the kids have been less than respectful to each other. It is not class wide, but it is more than just a couple of kids. We discussed 1 John 4:19-21 yesterday: “We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”   My point in bringing it to their attention was that if we profess to love our Lord, then it is hypocritical to then be mean, disrespectful, or condescending to our classmates. God makes it very clear in the above passage that we can’t do both, love him and yet hate our brothers and sisters in Christ(classmates). I would ask that you reinforce this at home, and periodically ask them if things are getting better. Thanks so much!I pray that you will all have an enjoyable and safe weekend! With His love, Paul

Tell your parents one thing about my daughter Megan. Megan is amazing I can tell she takes after her parents,I can’t wait to tell you more about Megan.

Tell your parents about the video we showed for Chapel this morning!

Good Friday to you all,

As you reflect on this week, and the joyous good news of Sunday, know that we have been discussing and praying about God’s Blessings, and the knowledge that our Faith was founded on this weekend just over 2,000 years ago. This morning, the 5th grade teachers were in charge of the Chapel presentation. While the Easter story was being told, pictures drawn by your sons and daughters, was displayed on the screen. It was very powerful to see the pictures corresponding to the story as it was read.  The kids also had a chance to meet my daughter Megan this morning. She is an accountant for Lowell Light and Power, and they are closed on Good Friday. Megan said she thoroughly enjoyed meeting the kids, and could easily see why I enjoy teaching here as much as I do! Your kids made her feel very welcome!

Classwork has been going well in all areas. In Bible, we were preparing for the Chapel presentation, and continuing on with Christ’s early life. Once again, I would like to put in a reminder to have the kids practice their spelling words and Bible memory verse at home during the week. In ELA, Mrs. Keyser has been prepping the kids for their narrative writing pieces. Thanks to the parents that shared a memory with this last week’s assignment! Mr. Hutt is continuing with all the different applications of long division. Next week though he’ll be focusing on division with decimals and distinguishing between multiplication and division. In social studies they will be studying the differences between the British and Colonial armies.

In my math class, I am finishing up with the various applications involving volume of rectangular prisms, and composite figures. In science, we are getting close to finishing up our unit on the solar system, specifically the earth’s relationship with the sun in regards to the seasons.

I have had one parent volunteer for the field trip to Calvin College on May 13th to see the chemistry demonstration. I could still use 2-3 more. We will be leaving about 9:30, and will return about 2:30.  Thanks in advance!

I also want to put in a plug for my summer class that I will be leading the week of June 17th. I will be teaching a beginner’s golf class to those interested. We’ll meet MWF for 90 minutes. During that time, I will teach the fundamentals of driving, chipping, and putting. I will also give them a dose of golf etiquette. We will culminate on Friday by spending the 90 minutes playing a few holes on the Winding Creek course. I am not sure where this is advertised, but I heard there were only a few signees as of this week. I will take up to 15 kids. My brother in law, and possibly my son will be helping me out. It should be a great way to see if this is something your son or daughter wants to pursue as a hobby, or even a high school sport!

I hope and pray that this weekend is an incredible Blessing to you and your family as we all celebrate Easter!

Very sincerely, Paul Keyser

Explain the twisted ending story to your parents.

An eclipse occurs when the moon covers the sun.

My favorite part of the week was math because we did a lot of fun things.

Good afternoon to you all!

Lots to report this week! I am sending this out today(Thursday) to make sure you are aware of the Auction tomorrow evening. I am so impressed by what I am seeing take place in preparation for this big event. Kathy and I are looking forward to stopping by and seeing all that goes on. We actually have something for folks to bid on! We each have a “bring a friend to bowl and eat” for the highest bidder. We think that a couple of friends will band together, both get the highest bid, and then bring two of their other friends. That way, we’ll be taking 4 good friends out to bowl and eat! Should be fun!

Speaking of fun! Our next field trip will be to watch a chemistry demonstration at Calvin College! It is May 13th, and I will be needing drivers. I understand this is the most enjoyable field trip of the year for the kids(and parents that drive), and so I am giving you a month’s heads-up to see if you can clear your schedule on that day and volunteer to drive. I will take the first 4 drivers that respond to this request via my school email. I will then reply with a yes, or no if we have enough volunteers! Thanks in advance!

Speaking of excitement, which I am positive that field trip will be for the kids, I just want to say how excited I am to be the new 8th grade math and science teacher for this Fall! Absolutely thrilled how our Lord has brought me to ZCS and will be using me in an area that I feel so strongly about! It will also be enjoyable to have your sons and daughters again in just over two years. Great kids, will surely become great young adults! Keep up the great work at home, that is so obvious by what an incredible group of students I have!

Academically, it took a day or two to get back into the swing of things after break, but we are all in by today. In Mr. Hutt’s social studies class, the students are going through the early events of the Revolutionary War. In math, Mr. Hutt is continuing on with long division, and I am continuing with measurement and geometry. Specifically, perimeter, area and volume. In Bible, we are still covering the early life Christ. In ELA, Mrs. Keyser is introducing some writing activities called Twisted Endings(ask them about the first one they read called, “The Cemetery Path”). They are bringing home the first homework that I have given in quite some time. They are to ask a family member about a memory that they strongly remember. They should be bringing it home tonight, so please ask them to show you. Shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes, and is due by Monday. Thanks for your help with this!

I hope you all have an incredible weekend, and are able to attend and enjoy the auction tomorrow! Paul

I’ve been asked my Mr. Buteyn to pass on the following information to see if we have any interest amongst our parents to host a Guatemalan student next Fall.

In the fall, ZCS will again be hosting students from Guatemala through the Faces and Our Cultures program. We are looking for families who are willing to host a middle school student for about 7 1/2 weeks from mid-October to mid-December. ZCS has been involved with this program for about seven years and we have found it to be a great experience for the students from Guatemala, the students in our school community, and the host families. The Faces and Our Cultures organization has great respect for the way the ZCS community has provided such a welcoming environment for the students in their program.
An information meeting for interested host families led by Gaby Padilla from Faces is going to be held on April 23 at 1:30 pm for those who are able to attend at that time.
If you are interested in hosting, want more information, or have any questions, please contact Mr. Buteyn (jbuteyn@zcs.org).

Tell your parents at least 5 facts from your informational writing piece.1. Michigan basketball’s first team was in 1908.2. Michigan has won 1 NCAA National Championship. 3. Michigan has won 14 Big Ten Regular Season Championships. 4. Michigan has won 3 Big Ten Tournament Championships. 5. Michigan has had 16 coaches since 1908.

Explain to your parents how Mr. Schoen-Tanis explained that many children in Africa do not have access to clean water.He did it through a book that was called LuLu and the Long Walk and he illustrated it.

Explain to your parents how the coin war worked. The coin war was when all of the 5th grade classes went against each other and raised money for the Philippines the coins were positive and the bills were negatives then we counted and my class won.

Good afternoon, and once again, Happy Friday!

It has been a busy week, with lots to report! The kids came in Monday and were all excited about having seen the play, “Peter Pan”! It really was a solid production, and many kudos to Mr. Commeret and his crew! Last Friday, my son Jeff stopped by to say hi and meet the kids that I had been talking about so much. He had a great time with the class, and is looking forward to his next visit. He is a product manager for Herman Miller, and often comes to the Zeeland offices for meetings.

Academically we are moving right along! Mr. Hutt is in the midst of the early colonization of American, touching on the Boston Massacre this week. He is covering Geometry with his class, and I am finishing up multiplication of whole numbers and decimals in my class. Next week, long division! Another plug here for having the kids work on their times tables. It will make this next chapter much easier. I spent some time yesterday explaining why it was National “Pi Day”. I showed them the principle that a diameter of a circle will wrap around the circumference of the circle three times plus a bit more, no matter what size circle you have.  Mrs. Keyser is working with the kids putting finishing touches on their Informational Writing pieces. We are asking they print out a B/W copy for final revisions(most have done this already in school), and then next week after revisions are complete, if you have a color printer, please print out their copy to turn in and I will place it in their file. In Science we are working on a project for display on our window wall that shows both the relative size and distance of the planets in our solar system. Fun Stuff! In Bible class, we are going through the events surrounding Christ’s birth. Please continue to have the kids practice their spelling words and Bible memory verse at home every day.

Wednesday, the kids were treated to a presentation of this year’s Destination Imagination groups, including some students from our class. Yesterday, we were enlightened by a presentation from the illustrator of the book, “Lulu and the Long Walk”, Joel Schoen-Tanis. He talked about the plight of many areas in Africa that don’t have clean water to drink. The class and I found him very interesting. He challenged all the K-5 students to try to think globally as they get older, and to be willing to listen to God’s calling to help the less fortunate. Thanks to those of you who supported him by purchasing his book, or by making a donation to the Blood Water Mission!

Speaking of money, I am pleased to announce that our class won the coin war for our sister school in the Philippines! We raised over $260, part of a very impressive $900 for the entire 5th grade! To put that in perspective mathematically, we raised 29% of the funds with only 19% of the 5th grade! Thanks to all of you that donated your change to the cause!

Next week, the 8th graders are putting on a PBL(project based learning) presentation on how Christians today are still being persecuted. We are going to take the kids to see it. The teachers of the 8th graders are also collecting donations for “Open Doors”, an organization that helps support Christians around the world who are currently being persecuted. It seems like I am always asking money for things, but if you have a dollar or few, please send it in with the kids. I am planning on making a donation for the class if you don’t remember to do it. I have also included a few pictures from the week for you to look at! Hope you all have an incredibly restful weekend! Blessings, Paul

I’ve been asked to provide the following information about Tuesday’s music program at Community Reformed Church:

Notes to parents(From Mr. Schonewill):

We love the support you show to your students! We hope you will enjoy their gifts and spirit as you watch and listen to them. Here are some guidelines to help you plan for the evening:

Please don’t plan to save seats in the auditorium or to come incredibly early. It creates additional supervision issues for staff. We will need the students in the auditorium at least 15 minutes prior to start time. Performing students will be directed to sit with their class and homeroom teachers. There should be plenty of room for all.
There is no ‘uniform’ for the evening. Students should wear something ‘nice, clean, and bright’. It’s a night of celebration and joy!
Please don’t feel obligated to stay for both programs if you don’t have students in both. In fact, we would encourage you to exit the building quickly to make room for others.
Parents, no matter which program you are attending, please keep all of your non-performing children with you. In the past, we have had supervision and even vandalism issues caused by unsupervised students roaming the building. We do not want to jeopardize our great relationship with the church.

Open your Google Drive at home this weekend and show your parents your Informational Writing Piece.

Three interesting facts about our solar system are it takes the sun 8 minutes for the light to get to Earth,there is 1 dwarf planet in our solar system,and the biggest planet in our solar system is Jupiter.

Explain to your parents some of the courting/marriage rituals from Christ’s time(try to use the word “betrothed” or “betrothal”). The fathers would exchange money and then the girl and boy would beetrothed.

Hello, and once again, “Happy Friday”(actually many of you will read this Thursday),

Another short week due to what hopefully was our last snow day! I want to say how much I enjoyed meeting with the parents I saw Tuesday night. It was nice to get to know a few of the parents that I hadn’t had a chance to meet up to this point. I can see why this group of students is so special, incredibly committed parents! Thanks for all you do on the home front.

We are making good headway on the curriculum up to this point in the year. Mr. Hutt and I just switched our math classes. He’ll be focusing on Geometry, while I will be moving into long division with my group. Great time to put in a plug for having the kids practice their times tables daily. It will make their division that much easier to do. It is a real shame when a student does the problem correctly, but gets points off for not having the correct multiplication fact. There are numerous free games on the internet that do a very good job of giving kids practice. Good old fashioned flash cards work well also. 5-10 minutes a day can show great gains in a short amount of time. Only two days of science this week is keeping us still in the beginnings of our unit on the solar system. Good stuff, I really enjoy teaching. I love to point out incredible facts about the beautiful universe our Lord has created for us to enjoy. Mr. Hutt is still covering the French and Indian War. Talk about interesting stuff. I know how much I loved learning about all the wars that have shaped our history. The kid’s informational pieces should be in their final stages. Please give them a once over if you haven’t already done so. They can be found on your child’s google drive. “If” you have a color printer, and “if” it has ink, please consider printing it in color when they are completely finished. I use quotes because I know how many times I have gone to print something, only to find that my cartridges are empty!    🙂   In Bible class we are learning some of the interesting courting and marriage customs that were in place around the time of Christ. As for grammar, cursive, and spelling, we are making our way through the curriculum, but nothing exciting to note!

One of the reasons I am sending this out Thursday is so I can get a couple of reminders out before the weekend. The office would like me to remind you to stop in and get the OPTS(the tuition info for next year) form. Many of you had them at conferences already. They will not send them home with the kids. If you can’t stop in to get them, they will be mailed home mid March.

You may or may have seen a paper about our “coin war” to raise money for our sister school in the Philippines . It was introduced last Friday when I was at the science convention. Tomorrow is the last day of the contest to see what class can come up with the most change in their tubs. We have a decent amount of change, but we also have A LOT of paper currency, which counts as a negative to our total. For some reason, the Spanish immersion teachers have been sending their kids over right and left with cash to “bomb” our tubs. Secretly, I consider this a win because it is more for the school! If you have some spare change the kids can bring in, we would all greatly appreciate it.

Just something to put a bug in your ear, we are tentatively planning on going to the planetarium in Grand Haven on March 25th, and I will be needing drivers. As of now we are going in the morning, and will be back just before lunch. We would leave about 9:15, and return between 11:45 and 12. When we solidify the time and date with the man presenting, I’ll then take names for drivers. Thanks so much. I hope you all have an incredible weekend! Blessings, PaulOpen your Google Drive at home this weekend and show your parents your Informational Writing Piece.

Tell your parents 3 fascinating facts about our incredible universe.

Explain to your parents some of the courting/marriage rituals from Christ’s time(try to use the word “betrothed” or “betrothal”).

Hello, and once again, “Happy Friday”(actually many of you will read this Thursday),

Another short week due to what hopefully was our last snow day! I want to say how much I enjoyed meeting with the parents I saw Tuesday night. It was nice to get to know a few of the parents that I hadn’t had a chance to meet up to this point. I can see why this group of students is so special, incredibly committed parents! Thanks for all you do on the home front.

We are making good headway on the curriculum up to this point in the year. Mr. Hutt and I just switched our math classes. He’ll be focusing on Geometry, while I will be moving into long division with my group. Great time to put in a plug for having the kids practice their times tables daily. It will make their division that much easier to do. It is a real shame when a student does the problem correctly, but gets points off for not having the correct multiplication fact. There are numerous free games on the internet that do a very good job of giving kids practice. Good old fashioned flash cards work well also. 5-10 minutes a day can show great gains in a short amount of time. Only two days of science this week is keeping us still in the beginnings of our unit on the solar system. Good stuff, I really enjoy teaching. I love to point out incredible facts about the beautiful universe our Lord has created for us to enjoy. Mr. Hutt is still covering the French and Indian War. Talk about interesting stuff. I know how much I loved learning about all the wars that have shaped our history. The kid’s informational pieces should be in their final stages. Please give them a once over if you haven’t already done so. They can be found on your child’s google drive. “If” you have a color printer, and “if” it has ink, please consider printing it in color when they are completely finished. I use quotes because I know how many times I have gone to print something, only to find that my cartridges are empty!    🙂   In Bible class we are learning some of the interesting courting and marriage customs that were in place around the time of Christ. As for grammar, cursive, and spelling, we are making our way through the curriculum, but nothing exciting to note!

One of the reasons I am sending this out Thursday is so I can get a couple of reminders out before the weekend. The office would like me to remind you to stop in and get the OPTS(the tuition info for next year) form. Many of you had them at conferences already. They will not send them home with the kids. If you can’t stop in to get them, they will be mailed home mid March.

You may or may have seen a paper about our “coin war” to raise money for our sister school in the Philippines . It was introduced last Friday when I was at the science convention. Tomorrow is the last day of the contest to see what class can come up with the most change in their tubs. We have a decent amount of change, but we also have A LOT of paper currency, which counts as a negative to our total. For some reason, the Spanish immersion teachers have been sending their kids over right and left with cash to “bomb” our tubs. Secretly, I consider this a win because it is more for the school! If you have some spare change the kids can bring in, we would all greatly appreciate it.

Just something to put a bug in your ear, we are tentatively planning on going to the planetarium in Grand Haven on March 25th, and I will be needing drivers. As of now we are going in the morning, and will be back just before lunch. We would leave about 9:15, and return between 11:45 and 12. When we solidify the time and date with the man presenting, I’ll then take names for drivers. Thanks so much. I hope you all have an incredible weekend! Blessings, Paul