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M a n h a t t a n C h r i s t i a n S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

CALENDAR H IGHLIGHTS

Manhattan Christian School

Inspiring students to live God-glorifying lives.

8000 Churchill Road

Manhattan, Montana 59741

Connections March 2018

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

Bozeman, MT

PERMIT NO 164

{March}

1-3 Boys Basketball State Tournament @ Butte

6 Early Learning Showcase, 7 PM

8-10 Girls Basketball State Tournament @ Butte, TBD

12-16 Spring Break, no school

24 MCS Prom (Masquerade Ball)

27 MCS Drama Performance, 7 PM

29 MCS Drama Performance, 7 PM

End of 3rd Quarter

31 3 on 3 Tournament

{Apri l}

3/30-4/2 Easter Break, no school

3 Track @ Bozeman, 3 PM

5 Golf @ Bill Roberts Municipal Golf Course, 9 AM

6 Dutch Supper & Tulip Mania

7 Track @ Belgrade vs. Twin Bridges, 9 AM

{Apri l cont inued}

7 Golf @ Big Timber, 9 AM

Cadet-O-Rama

10 Golf @ Old Baldy Golf Course, 9 AM

12 2018/2019 MCS Registration @ MCS, 4-8 PM

12 Golf vs. Gardiner @ Livingston Golf &

Country Club, 9 AM

13 Track @ Belgrade, 3 PM

13-14 District Music Festival

14 Track vs. Manhattan @ Belgrade High

17 2018/2019 MCS Registration, 5-7 PM

Golf @ Bridger Creek, 9 AM

19 Golf @ Anaconda, 9 AM

20 No school

21 Track vs. Belgrade @ Belgrade High

23 JV Golf @ Cottonwood Hills Golf Course

NOTE: Dates/times are subject to change. For the most current dates/times of events, please check the manhattanchristian.org website calendars. Events are updated frequently on the website calendar.

connections Manhattan Christian School Issue 5, Volume 18

March

2018

January 23

This day in 2018 came and went at Manhattan Christian much like any other day. This year it was the first Tuesday after exams and the start of another semester. However, for at least four families the date of January 23 (2003) is a date that has forever shaped their lives, and a date that they will never forget. I have no doubt that there are many others who when that date is mentioned will re-member exactly where they were; they will remember what has resulted from the events that took place.

On that day I was in my office when I received a call from my cousin, Sylvia Ypma (bookkeeper at MCS at that time), that there had been a tragic accident on a local road and four individuals had been killed. My heart sunk—this was a school’s nightmare.

This year January 23, 2018 was the 15th anniversary of that tragic accident. As time goes by there are fewer and fewer people at school who remember that day or even what has resulted from that event.

On that day Mr. Bob Selles took three students out on a driver training run. On Amsterdam road, about three miles from home, they hit ice and slid into oncoming traffic, all were killed instantly. Eric Eekhoff, Alexander VanEgmond and Matthew Lucht, all Freshman, and Bob Selles (a loved teacher and coach) were gone. The four crosses remain next to the road to this day. That week was no doubt the toughest week in the history of Manhattan Chris-tian. I can only imagine the pain and loss not only for the families, but also for the school community. The great news is that God heals and comforts His people in these times of deep sorrow and loss. Good things can come from tragedy.

Pictured left: the 2nd grade class, Mrs. Leah Brouwer and Mrs. Jennifer Scott dressed up as “old folks”

for 100 day (in celebration of the 100th day of school). Pictured right: 1st grade class wearing their

100 day crowns and making posters with 100 things (feathers, noodles, pennies, etc.).

The story does not end there. As a result of the generosity of the families who lost their loved ones and our community, the idea of fulfilling a lifelong dream for the school sprouted and grew. The result was the building of the Memorial Events Center (MEC) that was dedicated to the memory of the four individuals who lost their lives that cold, winter day.

Behind the MEC there is also a small park

Pictured above: Mr. Kurt Kimm receiving the “One Class at a Time” Award

and check for $250 from KBZK and First Interstate Bank, presented to him

for his Robotics class. Congratulations to Mr. Kimm. This will be aired on

the 5:30 and 10 PM KBZK News on Monday, March 26.

(Continued on page 2)

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M a n h a t t a n C h r i s t i a n S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

with a memorial that is dedicated to the memory of those individuals.

MAY WE NEVER FORGET.

Patrick De Jong Superintendent/P-5 Principal

Employment Opportunities

The following coaching position is available at MCS:

Junior High golf coach

If interested, please fill out a coaching appli-cation available online at manhattanchris-tian.org. Contact Liz Flikkema at 282-7261 for more information. The following job opportunities are available at MCS as well: Substitute Teacher Route Bus Driver Resource Room Director

Call the School (282-7261) for more infor-mation or visit manhattanchristian.org.

Resource Room Director

Manhattan Christian is seeking applicants for the position of Resource Room Director. We would prefer to have a person with a degree in Special Education and experience. A successful candidate must have knowledge and abilities in overseeing a federally funded program. Our MCS Resource Room serves approximately 50 students with varying de-grees of need and employs five (5) part and full-time paraprofessionals as aides. Our director conducts IEP meetings and writes 504 plans for students who need classroom accommodations. There are teaching re-sponsibilities associated with this position.

MCS has a covenant philosophy in regards to services provided and is guided by the prin-ciple that all students need to be successful in education. For more information regard-ing this position please contact Patrick De Jong, Superintendent at Manhattan Christian School, pdejong@manhattanchristian.org. You can also visit our school website at manhattanchristian.org.

SCRIP Tips By Julie Busch, SCRIP Coordinator We continue to be thankful for all the SCRIP supporters we have at MCS. Using SCRIP cards to make your purchases helps in many ways: 1) It can help you plan and stick to your

budget. (Organizing cards in envelopes can help you visually see how much you have left to spend on groceries and eat-ing out for the month.)

2) The rebate amount you earn is split with the school and your half is taken as a deduction from your tuition! (Every little bit helps!)

3) When the portion of the rebates that is split with customers is given to the school, all those smaller amounts really do add up. This money is spent to help the school with operating expenses and to continue to keep tuition from going up.

4) SCRIP cards may compete with credit cards that allow customers to get cash back. However, a good majority of the cards with the SCRIP program offer a greater rebate amount than your credit card!

So... if you haven't already, please check out the SCRIP website (www.shopwithscrip.com) and browse around to see how this program may benefit you, as well as how you com-mitting to ordering SCRIP will help you to be a part of several who are supporting our

school in this way! If you have any questions, please feel free to call Julie Busch at 388-7645!

MCS Art Gallery

“Pete Alberda is a self taught artist that only began painting in 2014. He was inspired by artists on television, people like Bob Ross, and thought, ‘I would love to try that!’ The paintings on display are samples of his work that were inspired by calendars and other pictures. Pete would like credit to be given to his granddaughter Alex Alberda. She provided advice and suggestions in the process of completing paintings.” Pete currently has his acrylic paintings on display in the MCS art gallery. Stop by and see his work.

Early Learning Showcase

Interested in Preschool or Kindergarten for

the 2018/2019 school year? Join us at Man-

hattan Christian School on Tuesday,

March 6 at 7 PM to check out all that

Manhattan Christian has to offer for your

child! At our Preschool and Kindergarten

information night, you can take a tour of our

Preschool and Kindergarten rooms, learn

about our MCS Preschool and Kindergarten

classes, learn about our three and five day

Kindergarten class options, and sign up for

Kindergarten screening! 2018/2019 Pre-

school registration will be open Tuesday,

March 20 at 8 AM, no early registra-

tions will be accepted—thank you for

your understanding! For more information,

please call the school office at 282-7261.

Manhattan Christian Connections Published September to June of each year

Manhattan Christian School 8000 Churchill Road Manhattan, Montana 59741 Tel: (406) 282-7261 www.manhattanchristian.org

MCS Events and Reminders

(MCS Events/Reminders continued on page 3)

(“January 23” continued from page 1)

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M a n h a t t a n C h r i s t i a n S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

Office: 406.282.7113

Mobile: 406.581.3144

Email: kelley.halle@bhhsmt.com

www.bhhsmt.com

2001 Stadium Drive

Bozeman, MT 59715

Kelley C. Halle, ABR®, CRS®, GRI®

Sales Associate

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M a n h a t t a n C h r i s t i a n S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

For advertising in this publication, or to submit

content, please contact Brooke Sinnema at bsinnema@manhattanchristian.org.

Premier Health Insurance of Montana

MCS Spelling Bee

Congratulations to our classroom spelling bee winners and al-

ternates! Students participated in the school spelling bee

on Tuesday, February 20 in the Eagle Gym. This year’s winner

at the school level is Destiny Davidson. Destiny will go on to

participate in the county bee which will take place on Saturday,

March 3, in Belgrade. Here are the class winners and alternates.

4th grade: Winners: Blaise Bolich and Brooklyn Leep

Alternates: Will Ruffato and Mackenzie DeVries

5th grade: Winners: Wylie Donaldson and Ethan Sytsma

Alternates: Tristan Anderson and Olivia Leep

6th grade: Winners: Clara Braaksma and Destiny Davidson

Alternates: Livia Appleby and Bodie Smith

7th grade: Winners: Nathan Adams and Sam Buckner

Alternates: Austin Kriebel and Morgan Mitchell

8th grade: Winners: Kiersten VanKirk and Kenya Meyer

Alternates: Cody Hager and Landon Scott

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Pictured left to right: Ethan Sytsma, Wylie Donaldson, Blaise Bolich, Brooklyn Leep, Destiny

Davidson, Clara Braaksma, Samuel Bennett, Nathan Adams, Kenya Meyer, Kiersten VanKirk.

Annual Association Meeting

The MCS Annual Association meeting will be held on Monday,

May 7 at 7 PM to hear reports on the state of the school, elect

new board members and receive any proposals for new initia-

tives for the school. We would encourage all families to attend!

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M a n h a t t a n C h r i s t i a n S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

(Continued on page 5)

Spring Break

Spring Break for MCS is March 12-16. The school offices will be closed during this time. Enjoy this time off from school.

Easter Break

Easter break is March 30 (Good Friday) through Monday, April 2. The school offices will be closed during this time. School will resume as normal on Tuesday, April 3.

ACT for all Juniors—March 20

Mr. Ovenell will be giving the ACT to all Juniors on Tuesday,

March 20 at no charge to students. This fulfills two purposes:

1. It provides a valuable ACT score to each Junior as they prepare

for their plans after high school.

2. It serves as the academic state testing for the State of Montana.

Juniors may see some practice questions at www.actstudent.org if

they so desire.

SAVE THE DATE: Dutch Supper & Tu-

lip Mania—APRIL 6 (By Jill Ayers)

A sure sign of spring! This annual event is just around the corner! Please highlight your calendars for Friday, April 6, 2018. This evening will kick off with our annual Dutch Supper. The event celebrates some of the traditional Dutch foods from recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.

Following the Dutch Supper, we encourage people to come have fun at a benefit auction entitled, “Tulip Mania.” There are qual-ity handcrafted items and donated items from local merchants that will be auctioned off. There is a silent auction as well as a live auc-tion with a designated fund item that will involve individuals pur-chasing shares in a particular school related project.

Parents, there will be children’s craft activities during the auction on the mezzanine so you don’t have to worry about miss-ing out on the excitement! A children’s movie will be shown start-ing at 7 PM in the band room.

Want to donate to the auctions? Think about a fun theme basket you and your friends can put together and donate! All items should be delivered to the school no later than Thursday, March 29 so that they can be cataloged.

Visit the Manhattan Christian School website homepage as the date gets closer to see the Tulip Mania auction items catalog!

Remember, April 6, 2018—Mark your calendars! Ques-tions? Please contact Jen (503-830-5211) or Jill (406-282-7261).

MCS Registration for 2018-2019

April 12 and April 17, 2018 will be our two registration nights

for the 2018/2019 school year. On these evenings you will not

only meet with a board member to sign registration materials, but

you will also be given the opportunity to sign up for FSO point

service opportunities if you choose to accept the Community

Grant. In addition, you will be given an opportunity to sign up for

service in Concessions if your child participates in Athletics at

MCS and you choose to accept the $500 participation grant.

Thursday, APRIL 12, 4- 8 PM

Tuesday, APRIL 17, 5- 7 PM

Our goal is to have all returning families sign up by April 17. It is

important for our planning to know how many staff we will need.

This is particularly true for situations where we have classes in the

25+ student number.

College Night—April 16

All interested high school parents and students are invited by Mr.

Ovenell to an informal college night meeting at 7 PM on Mon-

day, April 16 in the MCS Library.

We will be looking at college options, planning college campus

visits, questions to ask during your college visit, comparing colleg-

es, including Christian colleges, filling out the FAFSA form, how

the financial aid process works, and we will talk about sources of

funding college, including grants, work study, loans, and various

sources of scholarships, and how and when to apply for them.

If you are a parent or student who has questions about finding col-

leges, visiting colleges, choosing a college, or financing college

expenses, this meeting is for you! If you have questions, please feel

free to call Mr. Ovenell at 282-7261.

Rotary Student—Kelcie Hill

The Rotary Student of the month is Kelcie Hill (pictured below).

“My name is Kelcie Hill and I moved

to Churchill January of 2017 from

Missoula, Montana. At Manhattan

Christian I have been involved in the

Drama department, directing the fall

production of Treasure Island and

also performing in the upcoming

spring production of The Snow

White Variety Show. During the

winter season I am also a starter for

(MCS Events/Reminders continued from page 2)

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Mr. Faithful Rolls Along By Patrick De Jong

It was suggested that I write an article about one of our faithful unsung heroes at MCS. I will say up front that we have many people that might fit this label. However, I am going to venture out and suggest one for your consideration and a huge “atta boy” from the school administration and community.

Doug Dyk has served our athletic teams and transportation department well for many, many, many years with no pay expected. Doug has changed oil, fixed water pumps, replaced mirrors, replaced switch-es and lights, along with countless other things for years with no consideration of getting paid. He stores our buses over the summer in his potato cellars. He drove our Old Eagle and now continues to drive the New Eagle to ball games all over the state. He does the books for ball games at home and away. Doug is a man of few words but has a huge heart for our school and students.

Because we have people like Doug Dyk at MCS we are able to do what we do. I can’t imagine how many hours he has put into fixing, driving, and watching ball games.

If you see Mr. Doug Dyk at the score table or coming on or off the Eagle, let him know how much you appreciate his service. He is an unsung hero, and I am sure he will be embarrassed by this write-up, but I am doing it anyway. Doug deserves our thanks for his past and continuing service!

MHSA Mildred Adams Award to Brenda Asher

We wish to congratulate Brenda Asher who recently received the MHSA Mildred Adams Award, an

award presented by the MHSA Executive Board to schools’ support staff personnel in recognition of their

assistance with student activities. This award is presented at the MHSA Annual Meeting. Brenda is alumni

of MCS, a member of the graduating class of 1982 and a Churchill community member.

On a local level for contributions made to student activities, “Brenda has helped organize various events at

tournament time, especially for hospitality rooms for coaches, officials and tournament volunteers. She

makes numerous contacts to area businesses and community cooks and bakers to solicit donations of food

items to be enjoyed during tournaments.”

On a state level for contributions made to student activities, “She has been the hospitality room hostess at the State All-Class Volley-

ball tournament every year for the past thirteen years since the tournament was held at the MSU Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The qual-

ity, quantity and selection of delicacies available at the State Volleyball Tournament has not been matched at any other MHSA

event.” (Liz Flikkema, MCS Athletic Director)

Congratulations to Brenda on receiving this award. We are thankful for her years of service to MCS Athletics.

“One Class at a Time” Award Given to Mr. Kurt Kimm, Robotics

Congratulations to Mr. Kurt Kimm on receiving the “One Class at a Time” Award presented to him and his Robotics class on Thurs-

day, February 15. “‘One Class at a Time’ is a joint effort between Montana's News Station and First Interstate Bank to help

fulfill needs of area schools. The KBZK program serves Bozeman area schools.”

“Each week during the school year, a representative from First Interstate Bank and a KBZK reporter will visit the selected classroom

to receive that week's grant. The teacher and class are presented a check for $250 to assist the class in attaining their goals. The winning class is

then featured during the Monday 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts.” (Mr. Kimm will be aired on the KBZK news on Monday, March 26.)

Mr. Kurt Kimm is a High School teacher of Algebra, PreCollege Algebra, PreCalc, Calculus, Honors Calc, Geometry, Robotics, and

Senior Project at MCS.

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M a n h a t t a n C h r i s t i a n S c h o o l C o n n e c t i o n s

the varsity basketball team. In the spring I throw shot put, discus

and javelin in Track.”

NEW SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT /

P-5 PRINCIPAL

The Manhattan Christian School Board of Directors is pleased to

announce that Mr. Tim Visser and his wife Sue have agreed to

move to Churchill and take over the job of Superintendent/P-5

Principal. Mr. Visser has been the head of school at Shoreline

Christian School in Shoreline, WA for 30 years. Prior to heading

up Shoreline, Mr. Visser was Principal at Sunnyside Christian

School in Sunnyside, WA. Tim and Sue have two grown children

who currently live in Michigan. They have 2 grandchildren with

one on the way. Tim has been not only a leader with Shoreline

Christian School, but has been active in leadership in Christian

Schools International (CSI), Northwest Christian Schools Interna-

tional (NWCSI), Washington Federation of Independent Schools

(WFIS), and Washington Private School Advisory Council to

Washington OPI and several other organizations over his 30 year

period at Shoreline. Mr. Visser and his wife have been very active

members of Shoreline Christian Reformed Church.

We are excited that Mr. Visser has chosen to partner with Manhat-

tan Christian in leadership. The transition has already begun. Mr.

Visser hopes to arrive in the Churchill area on or about July 1,

2018. He has been granted some time to visit with family in early

July and attend the birth of their third grandchild. Grandma and

Grandpa are very excited.

We will have more information for you as time progresses. God is

so Good. I know Mr. Visser personally and I believe he will be a

fantastic addition to the community.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Patrick De Jong, Superintendent/P-5 Principal

The Snow White Variety Show—by Bri-

an D. Taylor

“All the fun of just about every TV-show genre you can imagine is

jam-packed into this wild and fast-paced comedy! The audience

becomes the live studio audience on a talk show, Real Talk with

Fairytale Legends, where the seven dwarves tell the story of Snow

White as the Fairytale Players bring it to life. As each new dwarf

takes a turn telling part of Snow White’s famous story in his or her

own unique voice, the players’ re-enactment shifts to match the

style and personality of that particular dwarf. At any given mo-

ment, the story can be anything — romance, comedy, home im-

provement show, suspense, Western, epic poetry, mystery, cook-

ing show, stand-up routine, or blockbuster action movie! There’s

even a “Miss Fairest of Them All” beauty pageant! It all culminates

in a mad-dash ending of fast-changing genres that sets the record

straight on Snow White’s happily-ever-after. With extremely

flexible casting options, very simple staging, and optional hilarious

scripted commercial breaks, this variety show spoof of the fairytale

classic literally has something for everyone!”

(The above synopsis was taken from the Pioneer Drama Website)

Show dates are March 27 and March 29 at 7:00 pm in the MCS

Eagle Gym, the price is $10 for Adults and High School Students,

and $5 for K-8 students. Tickets are available at the school office

or at the door before the performance.

Twice Treasured Named in Top 10 Thrift

Stores in Montana

Twice Treasured Thrift was ranked as #3 on the list of top 10

thrift stores of Montana by Best Things Montana (powered by

AmericanTowns Media). The article, titled The 10 Best Thrift

Stores in Montana, listed Twice

Treasured as one of their favorites.

“One of the newer thrift stores in the

Gallatin Valley, Twice Treasured is

operated to raise money for Manhat-

tan Christian School. This big,

friendly shop in Bozeman is chock-

full of everything from clothing to couches, along with other

household items and décor.” (Trent Jonas, The 10 Best Thrift Stores

in Montana)

AmericanTowns Media “creates, curates and distributes engaging

local content, at scale. Their platform localizes every piece of busi-

ness content for any geo-targeted segment, across 29,000 Ameri-

can towns. They integrate businesses’ assets with their platform to

provide a complete branded local digital experience, across all

content distribution channels, including: web, mobile, social,

apps, and email.” (information taken from American Towns Media)

A special THANK YOU to Faith Dyksterhouse, Sandi VanMid-

dendorp, Sydni Ayers and the countless, irreplaceable volunteers

who make this store the blessing that it is to so many! We thank

you.

(“Rotary Student” continued from page 3)