Friday, September 21, 2007

Friday Note

September 21, 2007

Hot Lunch next week will be pizza. Workers are Brenda Goughler and Lauren Feasel. Dessert makers are Robin Erdman, Barb Fox and Sarah Justian.


Parking Lot Safety – When parking your car while dropping off or picking up your children, please park in the middle row or carefully back into the back row of the parking lot. Please try to avoid parking in the row closest to school. We would prefer that cars do no back up when the parking lot is full of children. If you are leaving your car, please turn it off and take the keys. Little children can be quick and we would hate to have any one of them get into a car, turn it on or put it in gear. This has never been a problem in the past and we don’t want it to be in the future!


New Era Christian School Friends – We are in the final construction phase of our building expansion project and to complete the final funding phase we are offering promissory notes that will pay 5.5% interest. If you wish to purchase a note, or would like more information, please contact the school at (231) 861-5450.


In the spirit of “It’s Never Too Late to Benefit the School” Zach Meyers and friends will hold a car wash at Meyers Chevrolet on Saturday, September 29, during the New Era Street Festival. Come help Zach multiply his Talent money from last winter!


Earn Tuition $$ with C.O.R.P. – 50% of the C.O.R.P. rebates you earn will now be applied to your tuition pledge. A note explaining the program and an order form are coming home today. Call the office at 861-5450 if you have any questions.


Help Needed – P.A.C.E. is catering a luncheon on Saturday, September 29, at the Barn off M-20. Barb Sikkenga is chairing this event, but needs one person to help her serve from 12:30-3:00 p.m. Also, one person is needed to co-chair the Gideon Appreciation Banquet with Adelle VanderVelde on Monday, October 15. Please call Brenda Hicks at 861-0017 if you are willing to help with either of these banquets.


New Era Street Fair – Saturday, September 29, is the Street Fair in New Era. This is a very fun day filled with lots of neat things to do and see. P.A.C.E. will be having a booth that will be offering baked goods, soup, cider, coffee, etc. We started this last year and it was a nice little fundraiser. There are lots of ways you can help. We need baked goods to offer for sale. It would be wonderful if you could make some of your favorite recipes and leave them in the kitchen next Friday. (Please mark them for the Street Fair so they don’t get confused with hot lunch dessert!) It is always helpful if you label and price your items. We also need workers in the booth from 9:00-11:00 and 11:00-1:00. We will be making chicken and beef soup (from our packets). Please call Lori Ray if you are willing to make a batch. We are looking for a portable canopy to borrow. If you have any questions, or want to sign up to do something, please contact Lori Ray at 861-8945, or sign up on the sheet by the kitchen.


Kitchen Keepers – P.A.C.E. is looking for two people to keep an eye on the kitchen and stock up on kitchen and hot lunch supplies when we run low (i.e. napkins, paper plates and cups, dishwasher detergent, etc.). These people would also periodically check the refrigerator for outdated items and dispose of them and tidy up the kitchen occasionally. Please call Brenda Hicks at 861-0017 if you are able to help.


Attention Boys 4th to 8th Grade: NECRC Cadet Club will be having its first meeting this year as a campout with the annual Cadet Council Field Day on Friday night, September 29. We will leave the church parking lot at 5:30 on Friday evening and likely return by Saturday at 2:00. You will need a pillow, sleeping bag, and flashlight, and other desirable camping stuff. Call Jim Prince by Monday, September 24, at 861-5739 to RSVP, and at any time with your questions.


CRAFT ITEMS NEEDED ­– GEMS are looking for several items for crafts and activities this year. If you have any of the following items and would like to get them out of your house, please bring them to church and put them in the box labeled “GEMS” by the mailboxes. We could use: Size 8 knitting needles (we can return these to you when we are done), large beads, Pringles can lids (start saving them), plastic bangle bracelets, other round plastic items, large buttons, ribbon and artificial flowers. Thank you!


Advance Notice – In early October we will be hosting a fundraising event that will allow us to create a foundation to be used to support our individual and special education services. The event will include dinner, music and a speaker from the Christian Learning Center sharing her experiences with children with special needs. We will also be talking about the impact that the CLC has had at NECS and sharing about our first special needs kindergartner. We are in the process of preparing invitations for this event. All school families will be invited and encouraged to invite a friend. If you know of anyone who would have an interest in learning more about this fund and supporting special education at NECS, please drop their name and address off at the office and they will also receive an invitation. If you have any questions please contact Lori Ray at 861-8945, or Mary Beckman at 861-5945. Thank you!


COFFEE BREAK BIBLE STUDY – Moms, are you looking for a great opportunity to study the Bible and hang out with a great group of women? Then Coffee Break is just what you need! Coffee Break is a non-denominational Bible Study that meets at New Era Reformed Church every Tuesday from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. There is child care available for infants through two year olds. There is a Story Hour program for 3 to 6 year olds. For more information please contact Betsy Arkema at 861-2584 or Lori Ray at 861-8945.


Grace Adventures Women’s Retreat October 12-14 – Want to enjoy a weekend filled with worship, relaxation and lots of fun activities? This retreat is your chance! We would love to get a group of moms that would like to go together. The cost for the weekend is $94 if you register by September 30, $104 after that. Contact Lori Ray at 861-8945 or Joanne Kessler at 893-1937 with any questions. Brochures are available in the office.


BOOSTER SEAT GIVEAWAY WITH REP. GEOFF HANSEN – September 24 from 4-7:00 p.m. at the Michigan State Police Post in Hart. Safe Kids West Michigan will offer car seat inspections. In addition, State Farm has generously donated booster seats to be given to children in need on a first come first served basis. Booster seats should be used until a child reaches 4’ 9” and 80-100 lbs. This event is free and open to the public.


FREE AIRPLANE RIDES – The Oceana County Airport Association is offering free airplane rides to all kids 8-17 years old on Saturday, September 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Oceana County Airport, 1805 W. Baseline Road. Rain day will be September 29. A parent or guardian must be present to sign a permission slip. Call 742-0210 or 861-5807 if you have any questions.


HOME SOCCER GAME

THURSDAY

SEPTEMBER 27

AT 4:00 P.M.

Cash for Trash!!!


Plumb’s Receipts – We are once again participating in the Plumbs Tapes for Education program. Every time you shop at Plumbs and save your receipt tapes our school will earn free equipment. Please drop them off at the office.


General Mills Boxtops for Education – Clip the “Boxtops for Education” found on General Mills products and send them to school. We receive .10¢ for each Boxtop. That’s free money!!! Please, do not send in whole boxes or bags as we do not have room to store them.


Campbell Soup and Our Family UPC Symbols are also being collected. We receive equipment from the Campbell Soup Label for Education UPC’s and cash for the Our Family UPC’s. Again, please send in just the UPC symbols, not the entire box, bag or can. Thanks for your help in this fundraising effort!!!


Empty Printer Cartridges – We receive “free money” for empty inkjet printer cartridges. Drop them off at the office. WE CAN NO LONGER SEND IN LASER OR COPY MACHINE TONER CARTRIDGES, so please recycle these as recommended by the manufacturer.

GREAT NEWS!!!

Earn Tuition $$ with c.o.r.p.


As you know, C.O.R.P. is a vital part of fundraising for our school. It pays for our school operating supplies such as copy paper, construction paper, toilet paper, paper towel, hand soap, paperclips, staples, tape, teacher supplies, etc. Supplies for this school year cost $2,336.00. C.O.R.P. also helps cover general fund shortages.


Unfortunately, only a handful of our families take advantage of this program.


In an effort to promote the use of C.O.R.P. we are offering a tuition incentive. Fifty percent of your C.O.R.P. rebate earnings will now be applied to your tuition pledge. Our C.O.R.P. volunteers will keep track of how much you earn and issue a check to school quarterly. This will be applied against your pledge and will show up on your statement as “C.O.R.P. Rebate”. You can invite family and friends to use C.O.R.P. to help you earn more in rebates, which in turn will help pay for your tuition. The other 50% will continue to cover the cost of school supplies and general fund shortages.


Remember…C.O.R.P. costs you nothing but a little bit of time in filling out your order form. We all buy gas and groceries and occasionally go out to eat. With a little bit of planning ahead you can purchase C.O.R.P. and earn money for school and your tuition pledge. That puts more money in your pocket! Just stop by the office to make your purchase, or send your order in with your student. (Make checks payable to NECS CORP Fund.) We will fill your order and send it back home!


To make using C.O.R.P. easier we will be carrying more Instant C.O.R.P. in the office. If there is something you would purchase on a regular basis that is not on the list, just call the office and we will make every possible effort to get it. The following items will be available in the office starting next Wednesday, September 26:


Groceries: Gas

Country Dairy Speedway

Gale’s IGA Wesco

Montague Foods

Plumb’s Miscellaneous

Allied Waste

Restaurants: Celebration Cinema

Applebee’s Hage’s

Arby’s Home Depot

Bob Evan’s J.C. Penney

Burger King Kohl’s

KFC Lowe’s

Logan’s Roadhouse Menard’s

Olive Garden/Red Lobster Meyers Chevrolet

Pizza Hut North Star Cinema

Russ’ Rothbury Hardware

Trailside Inn Van’s Car Wash

Wendy’s Veltman Hardware


Friday Note

September 14, 2007

Get the Friday Note by E-Mail – If you have e-mail please send us your address so we can send the Friday Note home electronically. This will save in printing and paper costs. We will also e-mail you the school Newsletter, which will save on postage as well. Just e-mail school at newerachristian@charter.net and we will add you to our list. If you don’t have e-mail we will still send a copy of the Friday Note home so you can stay up to date on the latest school news. Thank you for your cooperation!


Hot Lunch next week will be chicken. Workers are Teresa Eekhoff, Gina Sweeting and Amy Hawk. Dessert makers are Patti Weesies, Pamela Weesies and Mary Freye.


P.A.C.E. Meeting – The first P.A.C.E. (Parents Active in Christian Education) meeting of the school year will be held on Tuesday, September 18, at 7:00 in the school library. Come enjoy a variety of desserts while we plan for the coming year. Childcare will be provided.


ADVANCED NOTICE FROM C.O.R.P. – Next week we will be announcing a new C.O.R.P. incentive where it will be possible to have part of your C.O.R.P. earnings applied to your tuition pledge. In anticipation of that, we will be stocking up on Instant C.O.R.P. and would like to know what you would purchase on a regular basis and in what amounts. Please e-mail school at newerachristian@charter.net, or call the office at 861-5450, to let us know. Thank you in advance for taking the time to contact us!


Noon Recess Helpers – We need one more person for Mondays and Tuesdays. We will need one person for Thursdays after November. The other days are now covered. (Grandparents are also welcome to help out!) Please call the office at 861-5450 to volunteer your time. Lunch is from 11:45 to 12:30. This is a great way to get to know the wonderful students at NECS!


Home Soccer Game Tuesday, September 18, at 4:00. Come support our team in their first game of the season!


Parents – Please check the first statement you receive for the 07/08 school year for accuracy, making sure the original invoice amount matches your pledge amount. We don’t anticipate any errors, but would like to correct them early if there are. Call Doug Westrate at 893-2139 if there are any inaccuracies. Thank you!


Assistant Soccer Coach Needed – No great experience necessary! Contact Mr. Wagner at 861-5450 or Henry Hoekstra at 861-5444 if you can help.


Attention Boys 4th to 8th Grade: NECRC Cadet Club will be having its first meeting this year as a campout with the annual Cadet Council Field Day on Friday night, September 29. We will leave the church parking lot at 5:30 on Friday evening and likely return by Saturday at 2:00. You will need a pillow, sleeping bag, and flashlight, and other desirable camping stuff. Call Jim Prince by Monday, September 24, at 861-5739 to RSVP, and at any time with your questions.


GEMS begins Monday, September 17. Girls in grades 4-8 are invited to join us at New Era CRC from 7-8:30. Weather permitting, we will be going to Lake Michigan (the Oval) for volleyball and s’mores. In case of rain, we will stay at church. Parents, please send a signed note giving your daughter permission to go to the beach. We will be back at church at 8:30. Join us at 6:15 at church for hot dogs at Manna Monday!


DO YOU NEED TO CLEAN OUT YOUR CLOSETS? GEMS can help! We are looking for several items for crafts and activities this year. If you have any of the following items and would like to get them out of your house, please bring them to church and put them in the box labeled “GEMS” by the mailboxes. We could use: Size 8 knitting needles (we can return these to you when we are done), large beads, Pringles can lids (start saving them), plastic bangle bracelets, other round plastic items, large buttons, ribbon and artificial flowers. Thank you!


Advance Notice – In early October we will be hosting a fundraising event that will allow us to create a foundation to be used to support our individual and special education services. The event will include dinner, music and a speaker from the Christian Learning Center sharing her experiences with children with special needs. We will also be talking about the impact that the CLC has had at NECS and sharing about our first special needs kindergartner. We are in the process of preparing invitations for this event. All school families will be invited and encouraged to invite a friend. If you know of anyone who would have an interest in learning more about this fund and supporting special education at NECS, please drop their name and address off at the office and they will also receive an invitation. If you have any questions please contact Lori Ray at 861-8945, or Mary Beckman at 861-5945. Thank you!


FREE AIRPLANE RIDES – The Oceana County Airport Association is offering free airplane rides to all kids 8-17 years old on Saturday, September 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Oceana County Airport, 1805 W. Baseline Road. Rain day will be September 29. A parent or guardian must be present to sign a permission slip. Call 742-0210 or 861-5807 if you have any questions.


Cash for Trash!!!


Plumb’s Receipts – We are once again participating in the Plumbs Tapes for Education program. Every time you shop at Plumbs and save your receipt tapes our school will earn free equipment. Please drop them off at the office.


General Mills Boxtops for Education – Clip the “Boxtops for Education” found on General Mills products and send them to school. We receive .10¢ for each Boxtop. That’s free money!!! Please, do not send in whole boxes or bags as we do not have room to store them.


Campbell Soup and Our Family UPC Symbols are also being collected. We receive equipment from the Campbell Soup Label for Education UPC’s and cash for the Our Family UPC’s. Again, please send in just the UPC symbols, not the entire box, bag or can. Thanks for your help in this fundraising effort!!!


Empty Printer Cartridges – We receive “free money” for empty inkjet printer cartridges. Drop them off at the office. WE CAN NO LONGER SEND IN LASER OR COPY MACHINE TONER CARTRIDGES, so please recycle these as recommended by the manufacturer.

Friday Note

September 7, 2007

Get the Friday Note by E-Mail – This week we are sending a hard copy of the Friday Note home with each student. If you have e-mail we would appreciate you sending us your address so we can send this note home electronically. This will save in printing and paper costs. We will also e-mail you the school Newsletter, which will save on postage as well. Just e-mail school at newerachristian@charter.net and we will add you to our list. If you don’t have e-mail we will still send a copy of the Friday Note home so you can stay up to date on the latest school news. Thank you for your cooperation!


Hot Lunch next week will be Burrito Bake. Workers are Lori Ray and Melissa Schneider. Dessert makers are Kim Wade, Jessica Kelly and Tina Tanner.


Fall School Picnic – Enjoy an evening of fun and fellowship with the families at NECS at our annual Fall Picnic Tuesday, September 11, at 6:15. Food and drinks will be provided. See the attached flier for complete details.


Noon Recess Helpers are needed for Mondays and Wednesdays. We will need one person for Thursdays after November. Please call the office at 861-5450 to volunteer your time. Lunch is from 11:45 to 12:30. This is a great way to get to know the wonderful students at NECS!


Summer Reading Program sheets should be turned in this week.


Assistant Soccer Coach Needed – No great experience necessary! Contact Mr. Wagner at 861-5450 or Henry Hoekstra at 861-5444 if you can help.


Coming soon to NECS – New Family Mentors! We would like to connect each new family with a seasoned NECS veteran to help “show them the ropes”. We want our new families to know they have someone that they can call for an answer to a question, or to explain an upcoming event. If you are interested in being a mentor or have any questions, please contact Lori Ray at 861-8945. New families should be hearing from their mentors soon!!


Advance Notice – In early October we will be hosting a fundraising event that will allow us to create a foundation to be used to support our individual and special education services. The event will include dinner, music and a speaker from the Christian Learning Center sharing her experiences with children with special needs. We will also be talking about the impact that the CLC has had at NECS and sharing about our first special needs kindergartner. We are in the process of preparing invitations for this event. All school families will be invited and encouraged to invite a friend. If you know of anyone who would have an interest in learning more about this fund and supporting special education at NECS, please drop their name and address off at the office and they will also receive an invitation. If you have any questions please contact Lori Ray at 861-8945, or Mary Beckman at 861-5945. Thank you!


C.O.R.P. – A new C.O.R.P. order form is coming home today. Please take the time to look it over and see if you shop at any of the participating stores, restaurants or gas stations. C.O.R.P. earns “FREE” money for our school. The percentage of your purchase given to school by the participating businesses is indicated next to their name on the order form. Place your order by Wednesday of the current week and it will be available to you the following Wednesday. You can send your order to school with your student and we will send it home with them the next week, or you can stop by the office and pick it up. Just indicate your preference on the bottom of the order form.


Instant C.O.R.P. will be available in the office beginning Wednesday, September 12. We will have Wesco, Plumbs, Montague Foods, Country Dairy and North Star Cinema. More will be added soon…watch for further announcements!


Plumb’s Receipts – We are once again participating in the Plumbs Tapes for Education program. Every time you shop at Plumbs and save your receipt tapes our school will earn free equipment. Please drop them off at the office.


General Mills Boxtops for Education – Clip the “Boxtops for Education” found on General Mills products and send them to school. We receive .10¢ for each Boxtop. That’s free money!!! Please, do not send in whole boxes or bags as we do not have room to store them.


Campbell Soup and Our Family UPC Symbols are also being collected. We receive equipment from the Campbell Soup Label for Education UPC’s and cash for the Our Family UPC’s. Again, please send in just the UPC symbols, not the entire box, bag or can. Thanks for your help in this fundraising effort!!!










See you at the Picnic!!!