High School News

Schedule for Friday

Parents, just a reminder that the high school is in session this week Friday, September 25. K-8 grade levels do not have school for staff training. The high school will run a regular Friday schedule. 

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 and must be completed by 8:30 am. 

Forms must be completed in the required format or they will come up as a 'mismatch' and your student may be notified that they did not fill out the form. If a form is filled out incorrectly, you will still get a confirmation screen saying your student is cleared, however, we will not be able to match that entry to your student. If your student is getting repeated missing notifications but they are filling out the form, make sure they are filling it out correctly. 

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:  

• Forms should be filled out each morning, even if your student is not in the building or absent that day. The only exception is if your student is registered as a virtual learner, then you will not receive the link to the form.
• Forms close at 8:30 am.
• 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 State/National Testing Info

For the past several years GRCHS has used a one-day testing schedule in the Fall and in the Spring in order to be the least intrusive to classroom instruction. All School Day testing (State/National tests given at school during a scheduled school day) is free for students and parents. Each test/program on these two dates (Oct. 14 and March 3) is required of all students. Notes:

• Attendance will be taken for grades 9—11.  
• Busing will be provided, with no classes held on either testing date. 
• Grab-n-go lunches will be provided for students after testing and the mixer. Sign up forms for lunch will be made available to students through the morning announcements during the week of testing.

Below are the details for our 2020 Fall event.

FALL TESTING and MIXER on Wednesday, Oct. 14 (all beginning at 8:30 AM):  

9^th: Freshman Mixer (required)  

• Freshmen will participate in a variety of activities throughout the morning to break away from school routine and spend time having fun and building relationships with their peers.
• Freshmen will be bused to and from the mixer and will return to school by 12:15 PM.

10^th:  ACT practice 

• This will be conducted exactly like the “real” ACT that students take so that students experience the same testing environment and test content.
• Extended time is available for students who qualify as determined by our ESS department. Contact Mrs. Amy Crow for more information.

11^th: PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test)

• Accommodated testing is available for qualifying students.

12^th: Seniors are strongly encouraged to participate in virtual college visits. 

• Please watch the Counseling section in future Home Bulletins for more information.

Please note: 

• On Monday, October 12, all 10^th and 11^th grade students will receive a school email with their room assignments for the Wednesday testing and instructions about what to bring/not bring with them that day.
• On Wednesday, October 14:
• Testing and mixer begin promptly at 8:30 am.
• 10^th and 11^th grade testing will conclude by 12:15 pm (except for students who qualify for extended time) and students will be dismissed for the day.  Standard-time students will have bus transportation available as soon as the testing is complete.  
• 9^th grade students will participate in their mixer and will be transported back to school by 12:15 pm.
• Grab-n-go lunches will be provided for 9^th—11^th grade students who sign up.

Parent-Teacher Conferences 

Please plan on Parent-Teacher Conferences taking place Monday and Tuesday evenings on October 19—20. Details on how these will be structured will be finalized and sent out soon.

Senior Pictures for Yearbook 📷

A reminder that 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.

School Photo Orders

Students received their school photos in their 4th hr class last week. If you are missing photos or need to order more, you can email Geskus Photography at info@geskusphoto.com or call 1-800-473-3885.

Virtual Students: If your student attended orientation in person but is a virtual student, we have their photo orders and school IDs in the school office. If you would like to pick those up in person, please email Laura Rhodes (lrhodes@grcs.org) and let her know when you are coming in. Office hours are Monday — Friday 7:30 am - 4:00 pm. If we do not hear from you by the end of this week we will mail those out to your home address.

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From the Counseling Department

Please visit the Counseling Department website 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.

Senior Parents — Save the Date!

Parents of Seniors, there will be a live webinar on 'How to Fill Out FAFSA' on Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 pm. You will receive a link to that soon!

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: 

October 24, 2019. The registration deadline is Sept. 17. See ACTstudent.org for deadlines for this test.  

Upcoming Saturday SAT dates: 

October 3, 2020. Late registration (with a fee) September 22. Register at collegeboard.org.

November 7, 2019. Registration deadline of October 7. Late registration of Oct. 28. Register at collegeboard.org.

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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. 

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From the Athletic Department

Scrap Metal Drive

The GRCHS varsity hockey team is once again sponsoring a scrap metal drive to raise money for new equipment.

The drive is one weekend: Friday & Saturday, October 2 and 3. There will be a drop off container in the parking lot of the Eagle Ice Center which is located behind the scoreboard of Eagle Stadium (2600 Village Dr. SE). 

Players will be there to assist you from 3:00 pm until 7:00 pm on Friday, and from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm on Saturday.

The team will thankfully accept anything with metal on it, in it, or around it. Appliances, golf clubs, bicycles, grills, fans, cell phones, laptops, computer towers, car parts, car batteries, marine batteries, stainless steel, metal ladders, metal tools, air conditioners, gutters, coat hangers, vacuum cleaners, etc.

If you have items too large to haul yourself, please contact Rachel VanSchepen (rvanschepen@grcs.org), cell: 616-322-4989, to schedule a time for the team to pick-up your item. 

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept TVs or computer monitors, or anything with fuel or chemicals still left in it. Thanks for supporting your GRCHS varsity hockey team! Go Eagles!