Hola Familias!
We had a beautiful and busy week this week! On Wednesday, we learned about our November Discipleship Practice, which is Descubriendo el Orden (Order Discovering) with our other kindergarten friends. On Thursday, we got together with our 3rd grade buddies and learned about how waterways help people in Michigan with transportation, as well as practicing our new vocabulary words empujar y jalar (read more below).
Here's more about what we've been learning this week...
Reading / Lectura: We have been working on the syllables pa, pe, pi, po, pu. The kids are getting better and better and identifying syllables by reading and blending the two different sounds together (e.g. m--a => ma). We have also been starting to work in reading groups for guided reading time.
Writing / Escritura: We are wrapping up our unit on el cuerpo, or the body. We've been practicing labeling pictures with words we know how to write! Check out the papers your child is bringing home today and see how we are already writing words!
Math / Matemáticas: This week we practiced forming numbers from 1-10, recognizing groups of numbers, and counting groups of objects.
Bible / Biblia: This week we continued learning about José (Joseph) and how God used all of the struggles in his life for good. We talked about how los israelitas were God's chosen people, and how he used Moisés (Moses) to deliver them from slavery in Egipto.
Science / Ciencias: We have started a new unit on force and motion, focusing this week on vocabulary words empujar y jalar (push and pull). We have been experimenting with these forces inside and outside of the classroom, noticing how we can make objects move, or move ourselves!
Immersion Tip of the Week
I challenge you to find a time or a way for your child to hear Spanish outside of school this week! Could you play music in Spanish at home? Check out some "Super Simple Español" or 123Andrés YouTube videos? Change your Netflix language to Spanish while your child watches a show? Help your child remember that it's not only a language, it's a part of life!
Reading Tip of the Week
Go on a "scavenger hunt" for letters and sounds as you drive somewhere in your car. Ask your child, "Can you find the letter/sound ___?" Many sounds in Spanish are the same (or similar to) those in English, but others are different. Ask your child to teach you some letter names or sounds in Spanish!
Announcements:
Welcome Walk - We’re excited to invite all current Holland Christian Preschool, Pre-K, and Young 5s families from every campus to our Welcome Walk! This will help you discover more about preschool, Y5 and Kindergarten for the 2027/2028 school year. This open-house-style experience is designed specifically for current families as they begin thinking about enrollment for next school year. Please click the link here for more information and registration. The Rose Park welcome walk is coming up soon: Monday, November 16 from 2:15-3pm.
Parent Teacher Conference Feedback - Due to the early timing of our fall break for teacher convention this year, our fall conferences had a new format. Teachers listened to parents in a guided conversation talking about the social, emotional, behavioral well-being of their child in 10 minute slots for each family. We are interested in your feedback on these conversations. Going forward, would you please indicate on this form if you found 10 minutes to be effective for your conference or if you would prefer to return to 15 minute windows of time.
Carpool - Please make sure to pull all the way forward in the morning and afternoon drop off and pick up! Parents, please stay in your cars and have your students jump out quickly in our morning drop off lane! Our afternoon carpool has been running efficiently, so please use the Rose Park carpool lane as much as possible!
Dutch Dance Registration:Dutch Dance registration is open, and we'd love to have you join us for Tulip Time 2027! There's something special about coming together each spring to dance, make memories, and carry on a Holland tradition. Be sure to get your dancer(s) signed up at https://www.tuliptime.com/getinvolved/dutch-dance by Saturday, January 9, 2027, at 11:59 PM. Returning dancers need to register again too. We hope you'll join us for our Kinder Middel Dutch Dance Info Meeting on December 10, 2026 6:30 PM at the Tulip Time Office (42 West 8th St.)! It's a great opportunity to learn more about the upcoming season and ask questions. Feel free to invite a friend who might love being part of Dutch Dance! Can't wait to see everyone and get dancing! Sarah DeHaan and Lauren Dekker
The Little Maroons Basketball Clinics for girls and boys grades kindergarten through sixth grade are ready for registration! More information and dates can be found through our online registration. Early bird discounts are available through October 31, and the first clinic date is Saturday, November 14.
The 6 options are the same as previous years:
Boys: K-2, 3-4 and 5-6
Girls: K-2, 3-4 and 5-6
K-2 ends before Christmas.
3-4 has clinics before Christmas and 4 Saturday in-house league dates after Christmas.
5-6 clinics end before Christmas with the expectation that the individual will ALSO register for the 5/6er league through Holland Rec. Holland Rec will put 5th graders and 6th graders together based on their location after they select “Holland Christian” in the registration. The early bird registration for 5/6ers through Holland Rec. is through 10/26.
Community Events:
That's all for now! Have a great weekend, and enjoy some more pictures below (and on Smugmug).
