What if? Innovation Design Project
For the last four weeks, our fourth and sixth graders have stepped away from their normal routine and took on a huge challenge that will benefit the students of ZCS for a long time. The “What If? Innovation Project©” challenged the students to design a nature-based playground that encourages play, worship and learning for…
Read MoreNature Rich Initiative: Learn. Worship. Play. pt. 1
Nature Rich Initiative at Zeeland Christian School Learn. Worship. Play. pt. 1 of 3 In an age of electronics and screens, there is a movement toward integrating nature back into the classroom. Zeeland Christian School (ZCS) is taking the initiative to enhance students educational experience without the use of a screen through the Nature Rich…
Read MoreTeacher Spotlight – Mark Sneller
The Hearts They’ll Have Mark Sneller remembers his first-day teaching at Zeeland Christian thirty-nine years ago, watching the joyful little students climb the stairs up to his classroom. He also remembers his first fire drill, carrying each nervous child down the stairs so they would not have to exit by themselves, “It’s what you do,”…
Read MoreGlimpses of God
I recently listened to a TED talk about the danger of a single story. The speaker was raised in Africa, but she grew up reading American and British literature. This not only shaped the way that she thought about those countries, but it also shaped how she thought about literature. She attended college in…
Read MoreFor the Love of a Teacher
As soon as her former students see her they rush in for a big hug. “Ni hao! Ni hao!” (Hi! Hi!) Sonya Sulayman was a teacher in Zeeland Christian’s Mandarin Immersion program up until two years ago. She came back from Indonesia last week for a visit and 13 families hosted a potluck to welcome…
Read MoreAnchor in the Storm
While driving my kids to ZCS on the first day of school, I found myself praying over them “…and God, give them challenges that will strengthen them and help them to learn more about themselves and you so that they…
Read MoreThird Graders make a difference through Terra Cycle.
Each year the third graders at Zeeland Christian School are faced with a problem. They know that as God’s children they are called to care for God’s creation and that they have a lot of work to do. Instead of focusing on the huge problem, the kids have learned that if they work hard, they…
Read MoreFaith over Fear
Guest post by ZCS Board Member Shanda Sprick, read more of Shanda’s writing. In December ZCS mom Jane Klingenberg was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Jane, mom of Kendal in 2nd grade, reached out to a group of moms in her daughter’s class for support via text messages. While she went through various treatments,…
Read MoreFamily Groups
Once a month the middle schoolers at ZCS head to elementary classrooms to help gather the children in their family groups. On these days it’s common to see piggyback rides and hands being held while the kids chat about their days and find their classrooms. The noise erupting from the halls is both rambunctious…
Read MoreINAUGURAL SPANISH IMMERSION CLASS GRADUATES HIGH SCHOOL
In 2006 Zeeland Christian School was approached by a group of homeschool moms who had dreams to create a bridge to another culture for their children. Zeeland Christian, inspired by this idea, took a leap of faith and launched a Spanish Immersion program enrolling children in three-school, preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. “The…
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