GRCHS Home Bulletin News — October 20, 2020
High School News
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Teachers enjoyed speaking with many parents yesterday and today over zoom! If you were not able to connect with a teacher, you can email them to set up an alternative meeting time.
Picture Retakes
If your student had retakes done, they are available for pickup in the high school office. Students with photos were emailed to remind them to come and get those.
Health Screening Reminder 😷
Please remember that you or your high school student must complete the COVID Health Screen form each day. A link to this form is texted to all cell phone numbers on your student's record each morning.
If your student comes to school and the health check has not been performed, they may be pulled from class to answer the questions and get their temp taken. This is time-consuming for staff and students, so we appreciate your help in getting these forms filled out each morning!
Things to remember:
- If you are unsure about symptoms, please call the office for further instructions. Our office opens at 7:30 am 616.574.5500.
- If you are keeping your child home for any reason, please call the attendance line at 616.574.5521or email HSattendance@grcs.org.
Important information for AP students and families
The deadline for students to make a decision about taking the exam in each AP course is Friday, October 30. Some relevant details:
- The standard exam fee for each course is $95. For students who qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program, the fee is $49.
- For students with a GRCS tuition account, fees will be posted to that account. For students who do not have a GRCS tuition account, payment must be made using the same method as for tuition. The deadline for payment is October 30.
- For questions about payment, please contact Mr. Tim Stapert, tstapert@grcs.org.
- For each course, your student must:
- Indicate "yes" or "no" in your student's online AP account, and
- return to the teacher (by October 30) a paper AP Exam Contract signed by your student and by you. The contract will be provided by the teacher.
- For the 2020-21 school year only, the College Board is waiving any fee for an unused or canceled exam. This means that your student can now indicate a "yes" response about taking the exam, and then at any time before the exam decides to not take the exam and there is no penalty and the exam fee is refunded. Refunds will be made in May 2021.
- If a student indicates a "no" decision now and decides later to take the exam, the College Board assesses a $40 fee for a late exam order.
The implication of the last two bullet points above is that indicating a "yes" decision now is a no-lose proposition. For information, the College Board intends at this time to have paper-and-pencil testing in May.
If you have any questions about AP exams, please contact our AP Coordinator, Mr. Rich Schrotenboer, rschrotenboer@grcs.org, or Mr. Nick DeKoster, Director of Academic and Innovative Programs, ndekoster@grcs.org.
College Test Prep Workshops
SAT Test Prep workshop: Monday — Thursday, November 2 — 5
Are you taking the Nov. 7th SAT? Focused practice immediately before the test is the best investment you can make! Register for a 4-day workshop, Nov. 2 - 5, Monday - Weds: 6-8 pm and Thurs: 5-9 pm, with Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Madole, and Mrs. Hartemink.
A small group format provides for individualized instruction & practice using proven strategies. (Scholarships are available.)
To register or inquire, contact Mrs. Hartemink at shartemink@gmail.com or 616.498.1372.
Yearbook Orders 📷
If you are interested in purchasing a yearbook, please visit Jostens.com. They're on sale for $60 for a limited time.
Senior pictures should be emailed to Ms. Das rdas@grcs.org by Friday, November 6. All photos must be a vertical headshot in color. If you're interested in purchasing a recognition ad for your senior or a yearbook, please visit Jostens' website.
From the Counseling Department
Please visit the Counseling Department webpage 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
We are pleased to introduce you to SCOIR, a service designed especially for students and families. 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.
Paying for College
The counseling office partners with Joe Harmon to help parents learn about paying and planning financially for college. Please visit his website for short informational videos. Parents can also sign up for the Free Zoom College Session here.
Upcoming Saturday ACT dates:
- December 12, 2020.
- The registration deadline is November 6
- See ACTstudent.org for deadlines for this test.
Upcoming Saturday SAT dates:
- November 7, 2019
- Late registration of October 28.
- Register at collegeboard.org.
- December 7, 2020
- Registration deadline of November 8.
- Late registration of November 26.
- Register at collegeboard.org.
From the Food Service Department
USDA Offering Free Lunch for ALL Students!
Grand Rapids Christian Schools is pleased to announce that the USDA will continue offering Free Meals for ALL students through December 31, 2020, or until funding runs out.
What does this mean for your High School student?
- To qualify, they need to select fruits and vegetables to go along with the main choice entree.
- GRCS Food Service sells a la carte beverages and snacks which are not included in the meal options.
- Students are allowed only ONE free lunch per day.
- Additional lunches may be purchased at the full price.
- An extra slice of pizza with a combo meal would be $1.50 per slice.
- GRCS Food Services offers specialty salads and deli sandwiches as complete meal packages.
- If your student does not choose to take a qualified meal (3 of 5 components, one being fruit or vegetable), they will be charged the full-pay price.
- Includes breakfast.
We are super excited about being able to offer FREE meals to our students! As always, our meals are served from “COVID” safe kitchens with staff that has been trained in serve safe handling, in kitchens that have superior health inspections. GRCS Food Services takes serving your student very seriously and wants to provide nutritious meals for your kiddos.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Nancy Michaels, Food Services Director, at nmichaels@grcs.org.
From the Athletic Department
Physicals
Everyone planning on playing a winter sport this year must have a physical on file in the athletic office before they are allowed to participate. A valid physical for 2020-21 is a little different than in years past.
- If your student had a physical on file in the athletic office for 2019-2020, the MHSAA has stated that you are not required to go to the doctor's office for a new physical this year, but must fill out this health questionnaire. Please make sure the entire form is filled out. Completed health questionnaires can be mailed to the high school athletic office or emailed to cgroendyk@grcs.org as soon as you finish it. Please put the word "Physical" in the subject line of the email.
- If your student did not participate in GRCHS athletics in 2019-2020, they are required to have a physical on file that was completed anytime after April 15, 2020. Print a physical form out by clicking here. Note that in addition to the doctor's portion of the form, there is a medical history section, and there are four places where a parent/guardian signature is required and two where a student's signature is needed. Completed physical forms can be mailed to the high school athletic office or emailed to cgroendyk@grcs.org as soon as you finish it, even during the summer. Please put the word "Physical" in the subject line of the email.
Boys Swimming & Diving
Is your student looking for something to do this winter season? Looking to stay in shape for another sport? Thinking of a career that may involve water? Want to learn a skill that you may not have had the opportunity to learn yet?
The high school boy's swimming & diving team may be a great fit for you. We currently have about 35 members signed up for this years team which includes 4+ divers. Swimming is not a tryout sport, everyone is able to be a part of the team and there is no past swimming/diving
experience needed. Regular season runs from November 23—March 3.
If interested or if you have any questions, please contact Coach Pyper at jepyper@grcs.org or (616) 446.4757
Scholar Athlete Award
The Scholar Athlete Award is thirty-two $1,000 scholarships awarded by the MHSAA to the top student-athletes in the state. All steps of the Scholar-Athlete Award process will be online without any paperwork. Students will fill out the entire application online and our judges will also be reviewing and scoring applications online.
AM I ELIGIBLE TO APPLY? Seniors with an unrounded 3.50 or better GPA who have an earned a varsity letter in an MHSAA-sponsored sport are eligible to apply.
HOW DO I APPLY?
- Go to mhsaa.com/scholarship
- Create an account
- Ask your school athletic director for the Access Code
- Click the blue “Check Eligibility” button, enter the Access Code and start the application.
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