Stories
Zeeland Christian School Mission Statement
Mission Mandarin 泽兰基督教学校的使命是在基督教改革宗的信仰基础上，提供高质量的基督教教育。作为基督教家庭的延伸，我们协助家长承担起以基督信仰教育子女的责任。 我们的目标是在当代社会中激发学生作为基督徒的全部潜能，使学生们用爱心顺服神的意志，明白用生命服务他人的伟大意义，以及接受他们对这个世界所承担的责任。 Spanish La misión de Zeeland Christian School es brindar una educación cristiana de calidad basada en los principios de la Iglesia Reformada y su interpretación de la fe. Esto lo logramos en conjunto con la familia cristiana y como una extensión de ella, apoyando a los padres de familia en su…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Morgan Swartz
Written by Megan Smith Morgan Swartz started teaching at Zeeland Christian School 7 years ago, right after graduating from the teaching program at Calvin University. Her first time walking into ZCS, she knew it was where she was meant to be. Immediately feeling God’s presence all around, she knew how special the school. Before Morgan…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Alex Zhou
Written by Megan Smith Alex Zhou teaches sixth and seventh-grade Mandarin Immersion at Zeeland Christian School. He has been married to his wife, Kristi, for 11 years. Keeping them busy, they have four daughters, 9-year-old Samantha, 6-year-old Hannah, 4-year-old Nicole, and 2-year-old Emily. Alex and his wife met each other in China, when Kristi was…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Ran Tao Schlosser
Ran (pronounced “ren”), or Tao Laoshi (Tah-ow) (La-ow-shur[which means teacher]) as known by students, had a very unique start to her teaching career at Zeeland Christian. She was able to experience nearly all of the mandarin elementary classrooms in just two short years. When she learned about the immersion program at Zeeland Christian from a…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Marianne Raitz
My name is Marianne Raitz, and I am a First Grade Spanish Immersion and Reading Support Teacher at ZCS. My journey at Zeeland Christian began in September of 2010. I was sitting in the teachers’ lounge of a school I worked at in Costa Rica. I overheard one of the teachers talking about a school…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Makenna Hoekstra
By Megan Smith Makenna Hoekstra chose to teach at Zeeland Christian because of the tremendous impact the school has had on her life. She graduated from ZCS in 2012, went to Holland Christian for high school, and got her education degree at Cornerstone University. She is currently teaching 6th grade Math and Social Studies. Although…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Carla Zastrow
By Megan Smith Being a middle school teacher takes a very special person. Carla Zastrow fits that description perfectly. She has taught at Zeeland Christian for nearly 20 years, and all of them have been in our middle school. Carla started teaching in California for one year, but she found her fit at Zeeland Christian.…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Erin Armas
Written by Megan Smith This year, ZCS welcomed Erin Armas as the new 3rd grade Spanish teacher. Erin’s teaching history includes teaching at a public school in Charlotte, NC, homeschooling her own children, teaching in a homeschool co-op in Guatemala, and even teaching online college and language classes. While serving and living in Guatemala, she…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Kevin Schonewill
Written by Megan Smith Kevin Schonewill grew up out on the Great Plains of South Dakota. His family was extremely musical, and ‘doing music’ in church was part of their identity as a family. In Kevin’s younger years, his father owned a music store, where he would occasionally work. His shared deep connection between music…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight: Tom Joustra
Written by Megan Smith If you’ve ever walked the halls of Zeeland Christian School, then chances are you’ve run into the smiling face of Tom Joustra. But what might come as a surprise, is when he set off from his hometown in New Jersey to attend Calvin College, Tom didn’t have teaching in mind at…
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