ZCS 101

Welcome

Starting at a new school can be overwhelming--for children, but also for parents. The list below is not exhaustive, but it includes helpful information as you learn about our school community. It is our prayer that you not only feel welcome at Zeeland Christian, but like you belong here. Your whole family is part of the ZCS family now!

 

For General Questions
Call the Front Office: 616.772.2609
Email: zcsinfo@zcs.org 

 

 

School News:

Blue Note: Weekly school newsletter, sent by email on Wednesdays as our way of keeping you up to date with what’s going on at ZCS. Before the days of electronic sharing, this newsletter was printed on blue paper--hence its name! Fun fact: Print versions are still printed on blue paper.

ZCS Student Life

All-School Chapel: Monthly event for Young Fives thru 8th grade that parents, grandparents, and families are invited to attend as we all gather to worship our Lord and Savior. Elementary students also have grade level worship times held once a month and middle school students have weekly chapel.

Batons: Each student receives a baton in kindergarten. These are batons of spiritual growth and encouragement passed to each student from their teachers. Teachers share comments each school year, passing back batons to their students at year end. Parents are invited to add a note of their own over the summer each year. Students then pass their batons to their new teachers the following school year. At the end of 8th grade, students receive their baton one last time as a journal and keepsake of their spiritual journey at ZCS.

Counseling Services: We are blessed to be able to provide short-term counseling services to students at Zeeland Christian. At the request of parents and/or teachers, a counselor will see students for 3-4 sessions during the school day and then make recommendations if any further support might be helpful. Our school counselor is also available to support families who are involved in adoption or foster care. ZCS also has a full-time social worker available to families.

Family Groups: Beginning in 1st grade, students are assigned to a family group they will stay with throughout their time at ZCS. These groups include a few students from each grade level, 1st-8th, who gather to study the Bible and work on projects together several times each year.

MAP Growth: MAP stands for Measures of Academic Performance and is developed by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA). Each 2nd - 8th grade child takes a MAP growth assessment in early fall, mid-winter and late spring. MAP® Growth™ measures what students know and informs what they’re ready to learn next. These reports are shared with parents twice a year.

Middle School Small Groups: Every middle schooler is placed in a small group with other 6th-8th graders, and together they have a Bible study and discussion time on a regular basis throughout the year.

PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Support): We want all of our students to behave with Christ-like AMOR (Acceptance, Mindfulness, Ownership, and Respect). We have amazing students at ZCS and we want to be vigilant in acknowledging the positive behaviors that are happening all the time. We want our efforts to be focused on the behavior that we expect from students, because the behaviors we’re most attentive to are the behaviors we’ll see more of in the future. We believe that behaviors need to be taught and retaught, and we strive for clarity for students and unity among our staff. 

PBL (Project-Based Learning): Students at all grade levels work to develop deep content knowledge as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication skills through this approach to learning. A real-world problem or complex question is taken on by students over an extended period of time, culminating in a public product or presentation for a real audience. 

Spiritual Journals: Beginning in kindergarten, students make three journal entries each year expressing spiritual growth during that school year. The completed journals are presented to students at their 8th grade banquet, highlighting each student’s personal walk with our Lord during their school career at ZCS.

Attendance: Whenever your child will be absent or late to school, please notify the school office by emailing attendance@zcs.org or leaving a message on the attendance line at 616-741-0051. When leaving a message please list your child’s name, grade, and teacher. Students who arrive late or need to leave early must sign in and out in the main office.

Building Security: Doors are open during drop-off and pick-up times only. During school hours all doors will be locked. To enter school you will need to come through the main doors (Door C by the front canopy) and be buzzed into the office. There you will need to sign in through our electronic visitor management system.

Lunch: Lunch is eaten in students' classrooms. Students either bring a packed lunch from home or can purchase hot lunch at school. Hot lunch is available through the Zeeland Public School system (see partnership section). Students indicate their hot lunch choice upon arrival to their classroom each morning. Hot lunch accounts are managed directly with ZPS. Parents may set up an online account or pay via check using a hot lunch envelope found in the school office. Parents should contact foodservice@zps.org to set up an online account. Accommodations for food allergies are taken into consideration on an individual classroom basis.

Transportation: Busing is provided for students through the Zeeland Public School system. Please contact the ZPS transportation office to make arrangements if your child is going to use the bus. Every student submits a new transportation form each spring.

ZCS locations

  • Central Avenue - Main Campus
  • Creation Ridge Preschool: Held at RidgePoint Community Church. 

Events During a Typical School Year:

  • Middle School Camps: Each year middle school students attend 1-2 camps that are specially designed to move them forward in their personal and communal development.
  • Pumpkin Fest Parade: Preschool students are invited to ride on a float during the parade for the Zeeland Pumpkin Fest on the first Saturday in October.
  • Grandparent/Grandfriend Day: This is a big deal! Scheduled for the first Friday in November for Y5-8th grade (preschool Grandparents Day usually happens earlier the same week). 
  • Jingle Jog: Fundraiser for our sister school in the Philippines the week before Christmas break. As part of gym class, K-5 students dress up in Christmas attire to run for 12 minutes at a designated time. Students are invited to get monetary sponsors and parents are invited to run, too.
  • Family Ski Days at Caberfae: ZCS families and friends go to Caberfae twice a winter. Students have fun skiing and spending time with their friends. Watch for dates announced via the Blue Note in December.
  • Unified Basketball Game: Unified teams combine middle school students of all abilities in a game of high energy that is a highlight for all who attend.
  • 8th grade play: Performance held in the ZCS gym in March.
  • 7th Grade Car Wash: Each spring our 7th graders bless communities in both Zeeland and the Philippines by taking pledges and holding a Totally Free Car Wash downtown Zeeland.
  • Market Day: In the spring, 4th grade students work in teams to develop marketing plans, create items and sell them at this event. 
  • Fun Night: Fundraiser event hosted by the 8th grade on an evening in May. 
  • Memorial Day Parade: Students in K-2nd grade walk with their class in the Zeeland parade on Memorial Day.

More Things to Know About ZCS

ENROLLMENT INFO

Continuous Enrollment: A form filled out once your child enters Y5/K that includes your family’s grandparent information and photo release permission. On this form you have the choice to opt-in, which allows us to roll over this information for each school year without you needing to resubmit it each time. If you prefer to opt-out, please indicate that on the form and you will be contacted to fill it out each year. 

Infinite Campus/Parent Portal: Online system where you can access and track your child’s school records. Please note that grades are only available for viewing during the current school year, so print out any information you would like to refer to later. If you do not have a login please contact the office to complete the Acceptable Use Policy, then return it to the ZCS office so you can be given login information.

Tuition Contract: This form is mailed to your home in Mid-March each year. This is a confirmation of your agreement to pay tuition while your child is enrolled at ZCS.

Pay-to-Play: ZCS requires a $75 "Pay to Play" fee for each sport your child participates in at Zeeland Christian. If you are participating in a Co-op sport there is already a "Pay to Play" fee payable to Holland Christian, so an additional $75 is not required to be paid to ZCS. Please send payments to the Zeeland Christian office along with your questionnaire or sports physical.

Power Hour: Middle school after school care is available for students who need to stay after school. Students will need to stay until the elementary "walker bell" unless they are playing a sport or are picked up early by a parent. Families will be charged $7/day. Students playing sports will not be required to pay this fee, as it is covered in the cost of “Pay to Play”. Students who are not picked up by 2:40 will go to Power Hour.

Multi-student Discount: This allows parents with more children to pay a lower percentage of the cost of education per student.

Lowering Out-of-Pocket-Cost:

TRIP is a program that allows families to buy gift cards for goods and services in our community and then have a percentage of those purchases go directly into their tuition account. Credits are applied in June and December. TRIP profits can be used for preschool tuition! More questions? Click here.

Tuition Assistance: At ZCS the goal is for a family not to pay more than 15% of their income in tuition for their children to attend school each year. Tuition assistance is offered for families with children in Kindergarten thru 8th grade, up to 50% of a family’s tuition cost. If a family also has a preschooler, that tuition number is also taken into account when awarding assistance. The application window for each school year is March 1 -31 and is handled through the FACTS system. For more information, please contact Finance Assistant, Linda Hoekwater (lhoekwater@zcs.org).