Preparing Students

One of many opportunities available to GRCHS students is our Advanced Placement (AP) Program. AP offers our students the option to take college level courses taught by our teaching faculty. We currently offer 15 AP courses across each subject area. Toward the end of the school year students take AP exams to demonstrate their learning. Performing well on AP exams often leads to students earning college credit, and every year GRCHS students perform well above state and national benchmarks. 

This year, we have 364 students who will be taking 673 AP exams between May 1 and May 11. If you have a student in an AP course, you will receive an email with full details in the next few weeks.

—Nick DeKoster

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High School News

GRCHS Heritage Week

UNESCO’s General Conference established April 18 as World Heritage Day to emphasize their commitment to preserving world heritage sites and monuments (i.e. Yellowstone National Park, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, etc.).

International Student Program, Global Ambassadors, Food Services, World Language Department, and Student Life Office are coordinating our efforts to adapt World Heritage Day into a Heritage Week that celebrates the heritage and culture represented in our community. Even though we are taking one week to celebrate, each of our departments educates students about heritage and culture throughout the year. Cultural heritage refers to a person’s sense of family identity such as values, traditions, and culture handed down by previous generations. More specifically, it includes symbols, language, norms, values, and artifacts shared by a group of people.

• Wednesday 4/12 - Jamaican Lunch: Chef Xav returns to give us a flavor of his home country, Jamaica. 
• Thursday 4/13 - Celebrating Traditional Cultural Heritage Wear: We encourage everyone to wear clothing that is symbolic or traditional to their cultural heritage, with the school dress code and community-building in mind. Wear something as elaborate as Lederhosen or as simple as wearing a jersey or colors representing a country’s flag. We’ll have a small group topic connected to this as well.
• Friday 4/14 - Spring Around the World: Wear bright colors or a floral pattern reminiscent of spring and attend a Spring Around the World Focus Time.
• Monday 4/17 - Language and Lunch: Come get an ASL-shaped cookie and attend a Focus Time to learn more about American Sign Language and celebrate National ASL Day (April 15). French and Spanish-speaking students are welcome to attend a Focus Time to practice speaking in the language they have experience in.
• Tuesday, 4/18 - World Heritage Day: UNESCO’s focus for this year’s World Heritage Day is on climate change and how it affects World Heritage sites. In this Focus Time, students will learn the importance of being good stewards of the resources God has given us.

Senior Banquet 

Seniors were emailed their invitations to the Senior Banquet. Tickets are on sale starting today through Friday during Morning Break and lunch. 

Senior Banquet will be on Saturday, April 22, at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Tickets are $50 each, this includes dinner.  

Class of 2023

Jostens will be at school during lunch on Weds, April 26 to hand out cap and gown orders. 

Graduation is May 23 at Calvary Church at 8:00 pm. Graduation tickets and info will be mailed to you near the end of April. Each household will receive six tickets with details on how to request additional tickets if you need them. Watch your mailbox!

Summer Session

At Grand Rapids Christian Schools, we believe a student’s learning and growth does not stop when the second semester ends. Summer Session is an exciting way at Grand Rapids Christian High for students to participate in fun enrichment and immersion activities during the summer and earn high school credit. Incoming 9th – 12th-grade students can participate in Courses, Workshops, College Prep Activities, and Drivers Training.

There are many great reasons to take a class during Summer Session:

• For new students – get a taste of academics at Grand Rapids Christian High School. Make a few friends before high school starts!
• Get ahead on graduation requirements.
• Make room in your normal school-year schedule for electives and Advanced Placement classes.
• Take unique classes that aren’t offered during the school year.
• Demonstrate to colleges that you invested in summer enrichment.
• Prepare for college entrance exams. 

All summer offerings are posted online at www.grcs.org/summer. Registration is open now and spots are filling quickly! 

Mountain Bike Team 

Interested in joining the GRCS Mountain Bike Team? Come learn more about it and help us plan for the upcoming season Tuesday, April 18 from 7:00 - 8:00 pm in the Garage. The season runs from mid-August thru mid-October and is open to grades 8th-12th. Parents are encouraged to attend. If you have questions please contact Mayford Combs at mayfco@gmail.com, or 616.970.0425. 

Host a GRCS International Student

Have you ever considered being a home away from home for an international high school student for the school year? If you are interested in other cultures, enjoy hospitality, and want to have an enduring impact on a young person's life then this could be a great opportunity for your family! Hosting is a powerful way for families of all ages to be blessed and to be a testimony through their daily lives. Host families receive a generous stipend and support. For more information contact Julie Watson, jwatson@grcs.org or 616.574.5621.

Food Service Balances

The GRCS lunch balance policy is that we do not refund balances. Please be mindful of your lunch balance after spring break. All remaining balances are transferred to siblings. Should you not have younger siblings we put the excess balance in a fund for students PK-12 who are not able to pay their lunch balances—it is called the "pay it forward fund." Thank you for your support and participation in our GRCS school nutrition program.

Students with negative balances at the time of exams, need to have them paid prior to taking the exam. Our students at the high school are very good at keeping their lunch balances in good standing. Thank you!

 

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From the Counseling Department

Please visit the Counseling Department web page for the latest information from the GRCHS Counseling Department, including curriculum and class information, ACT and SAT testing information and prep classes, college planning guides, and much more.

Get Registered on SCOIR

SCOIR is a comprehensive website that you and your child can use to help in making plans about colleges and careers. SCOIR will allow you to get involved in the planning of post-high school years, research careers and colleges, request transcripts/teacher recommendations, and track college applications. 

All parents, we ask you to register for an account on SCOIR because it's the only avenue in which we communicate with you and send our emails. Please contact Jill Anderson at JAnderson@grcs.org in order to sign up for an account and download the Parent App. 

Upcoming Saturday ACT dates:

• Saturday, June 10, 2023
• Registration deadline is Friday, May 5
• See ACTstudent.org to register. 

Upcoming Saturday SAT dates: 

• Saturday, June 3, 2023
• Registration deadline is Thursday, May 4
• Register at collegeboard.org

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From the Athletic Department

Sports Physicals

Current 8th-11th graders planning to play sports at Grand Rapids Christian High School in the 2023-24 school year need to have an MHSAA physical form on file with the high school athletic office before they are allowed to participate. A valid physical for 2023-24 must be completed after April 15, 2023. Turn in the completed physical to the GRCHS athletic office by mail or email as soon as you finish it, even if it is before the end of this school year or during the summer. You may print out a physical form here. 

This form must be completed with all signatures in order to participate in sports at GRCHS. You may attach your doctor's office physical form for the doctor portion of this form but the parent portion and all signatures need to be completed on this form. 

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Coming to the DeVos Center for Arts and Worship

GRCHS presents The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason:  he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely.  

And then, one day, he was lost.

Join us in the intimate Van Wesep Studio for this beautiful retelling of Kate DiCamillo's classic children's novel. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane takes us on an extraordinary journey: from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle—that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Performances are at 7:00 pm on April 25-29. General Admission tickets are $10 each and are available by phone (574-5600), or online 24/7 at www.dcaw.org.