Family Groups: Our school met together this Friday morning and divided into our new Family Groups for 2022-2023. These are all age groups that will do activities together about once a month. This month we met each other, did a circle together, and colored puzzle pieces to show that we all have a piece together and belong to this new group – our new little family group community.
This week our students in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade were able to spend time at Camp Henry. They did adventure experiences, teamwork challenges, and spent time as Creation Enjoyers!
It was a great morning to experience a rainbow!
The 3rd graders painted the background of their still life artwork in art class.
TfT in 10 Words:
A teacher’s deep hope guides the classroom Christian learning journey.
Deep Hope Feature:
Maestra Alleman’s Deep Hope is that “you strive to be like Jesus by being willing to be moved by God, do His work, and show His love to others.” She challenged her 6th grade students during their morning circle to find an opportunity to show God’s love to someone else. The following day’s morning circle, each student shared one way they showed God’s love and recorded it on a heart to display on their storyboard. This acts as a visual reminder of God’s love for each student, and how we are called to love each other. As the year continues, material learned in her language arts and social studies classes will continue to dig more into how that deep hope can be lived out.
Evidence: Faith! This month, our school is talking about Faith: knowing, loving, and following Jesus. In chapel, we talked about the evidence of God in creation, in his Word, in the lives of faithful followers, and in the 12 disciples actually seeing that Jesus came alive again. We learned how important it is that we need to put our faith in Jesus as our personal Savior, and need to follow Him in what we say and do. Our verse for this month is Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Take time to talk to your children about what faith in Jesus means to you!
The Outdoor Education students have been working hard preparing our spaces for growing and learning. While working, we learned how to identify plants vs. weeds and observed creatures like slugs, grasshoppers, and even a praying mantis eating another bug! Check out some of these before and after pictures!
The 6th and 7th graders have been learning about archaeologists. This week, they designed and created tools that an archaeologist might use. Then, they went on a dig! After finding several artifacts, they needed to create theories as to what the society the artifacts belong to may be like.
For science class in 3rd Grade Spanish Immersion, we became meteorologists. In the course of 2 weeks we will be observing the weather, discussing changes and similarities in the weather, and also what we think is causing these changes.
The first grade OE students practiced word work through paint chip spelling and rainbow spelling. They also learned all about garden tools in OE and explored how they work!
Enjoy Friday and Monday off from school for Labor Day Weekend, FCS Families! Here are some photos from our week to send you off!
Today was the first “Miércoles de Merienda” of the school year!
Last year, Kindergarten and Second grade Spanish Immersion classes started a FLEx project called “Miércoles de Merienda”/ Wednesdays are for snacks. Our classes were selling snacks every Wednesday with the main purpose of raising money to donate to Hand2Hand in Fremont, Michigan. We raised over $2,000 dollars and provided food for kids facing weekend hunger in our local community. This year we will continue selling snacks every Wednesday, and we will be donating that money to different causes.
Our 8th-grade students were able to learn from Tammy and Allie from Wellspring this morning. Students learned about the effects of Dementia and aging, and also participated in a simulation that reduced the senses of sight, hearing, and touch/mobility.
We are excited to partner with Wellspring this year!
New Teacher Feature!
We welcome Erika Haring as our 1st Grade Outdoor Education teacher! Join us in welcoming Mrs. Haring to the FCS staff and read more about her below.
“My deep hope is that you will show love, share truth and shape the hearts of others. Shine bright in His kingdom, little ones!” - Mrs. Haring
Name: Erika Haring
Position: 1st Grade OE Teacher
Bio: A quick introduction to me! I have been teaching 1st/2nd grade for 6 years at New Era Christian School and 1st grade has become my passion! Beside that, I have been married for 2 years and have 2 step daughters ages 9 and 11. My husband works full time in Sparta and is a Lieutenant on the Newaygo Fire Department. Our family attends Resonate Church in Newaygo and have been there for many years! We are also recently licensed foster care parents!
Hobbies: In my free time, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, reading and going fishing on our beautiful lakes!
New Teacher Feature!
We welcome Jen Messer as our 5th Grade Outdoor Education teacher! Join us in welcoming Mrs. Messer to the FCS staff and read more about her below.
“My deep hope is that you are joyful, curious caretakers of the world and people around you; continually digging into God's work to seek the truth.” - Mrs. Messer
Name: Jen Messer
Position: 5th Grade OE
Bio: I am married to my wonderful husband, Dave and have two boys, Liem and Killian. We also have a small pack of dogs, Finn, Chip and Scout.
Hobbies: We love to watch football, especially the Spartans (go Green!), hunt, shoot our bows, spend time on our pontoon, or take our side by side on the dunes.
New Teacher Feature!
We welcome Wendy Rosado de Ortega as our 5th Grade Spanish Immersion teacher! Join us in welcoming Profe Wendy to the FCS staff and read more about her below.
“My deep hope is for my students to be God's image-bearer and to humbly steward the resources and gifts He has given them for His glory.” - Profe Wendy
Name: Wendy Rosado de Ortega
Position: 5th Grade Spanish Immersion
Bio: I have been a disciple of Jesus for more than 25 years. God has given me a wonderful family, my husband, Francisco Ortega, and 3 children: Francisco Josué, Franc and Eloisa. I’m Dominican, and I enjoy teaching and learning. I have a bachelor's degree in modern languages, with a specialty in bilingual education. I’m certified in TKT and Christian Education.
Hobbies: Reading, traveling and making puzzles are some of my hobbies.
Evidence of the Spirit Theme Introduction Chapel:
We started our first official chapel this Friday morning by giving praise to God in singing and motions for all he has done for us, and in how we may want to move and shine for him. We looked at different kinds of evidence: words, using our 5 senses, and actions and deeds. We talked about how we want to act the way God wants us to act in our lives. We need to show the evidence that we belong to God. We get our power, strength, and knowledge about following God’s ways from Him. We left with the question: What evidence am I showing?
New Teacher Feature!
We welcome Mike Folkema as our 4th Grade Outdoor Education teacher! Join us in welcoming Mr. Folkema to the FCS staff and read more about him below.
“My DEEP HOPE is that students will SEE God’s story, SEEK Him in His Creation, and SHARE that joy with All those around them.” - Mr. Folkema
Name: Mike Folkema
Position: 4th Grade Outdoor Education
Bio: My name is Michael Folkema, and I am the fourth grade outdoor education teacher. I grew up in Fremont on a dairy farm, and I am a graduate of Fremont Christian School. I completed my education degree at Calvin College, where I met my wife, Mary. I taught in Lansing, Illinois and McBain, Michigan, and then our family settled near Detroit, where I taught third and fourth grades for many years at Dearborn Christian School. Mary and I have eight children (our two youngest are students at FCS), and we’ve loved living in Fremont and enjoying West Michigan!
Hobby: Our family enjoys spending time at Fremont Lake, where I am the designated boat driver on our old Mastercraft ski boat for skiing, wakeskating, tubing, and surfing. I’m excited to share my love of God’s creation with fourth grade students this year!
New Teacher Feature!
We welcome Lisa Arcello as our Kindergarten Outdoor Education teacher! Join us in welcoming Mrs. Arcello in her new role and read more about her below.
“My deep hope is that we will discover God's love, be curious learners, and joyfully explore God's creation. “ - Mrs. Arcello
Name: Lisa Arcello
Position: Kindergarten Outdoor Ed
Bio: My husband, Steve, and I live in Hesperia with our two sons, Ryan and Aaron. Before joining the Fremont Christian family last year, I taught for 14 years at Oceana Christian School. I am so excited to be teaching the Kindergarten Outdoor Ed class this year.
Hobby: My family and I love camping around west Michigan in the summer.
What a wonderful first day of school! Check out some snapshots from the first day of the 2022-2023 school year!
