5th Grade Forest Program: February 2026

UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS

*Are you looking for a way to volunteer? As a school, we would love to give you the opportunity to volunteer and supervise our class for lunch. You would arrive at 11:25, take students through the hot lunch line, and then supervise the class as they eat lunch. Students would be dismissed to the playground for recess at 12:05. If you are interested in helping, please check our sign up! Thank you!

* Wacky Wednesdays

Backwards day was successful! We finally won a hot chocolate party for 100% participation!!

* FOREST FAMILY NIGHT HIKE

Due to the icy conditions on the trail and the anticipated warming (icing) temperatures, our Night Hike is postponed. Please save the date for a new after-school, family event on April 23.

* Learning Opportunities for Parents and Educators

The ODC Network is launching a meaningful 4-part speaker series in 2026 featuring nationally-renowned experts who will explore how technology is reshaping our lives and offer practical ways to restore balance for ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Through the generosity of local donors, tickets for the talks in Holland are free (one per email address) and can be reserved HERE.

Mar 3, Dr. Scott Sampson, "The Coming Nature-Rich Urban Communities"
Mar 17, Lenore Skenazy, "Raising Kids in a Digital World"

We're Growing Up (well...younger ;)

Holland Christian will be launching a Young 5’s program within our Forest School (K-2nd) beginning in the 2026–27 school year. This new program will be housed at our newly acquired property, affectionately named “Cedar Creek”.

Starting qualifications:

Student must be 5 years of age by December 1, 2026
Priority admission will be given to students seeking a 5-day program offering

All new students to Holland Christian Schools may APPLY NOW for the 2026-27 school year! The Forest School Young 5's program option is no of w available on the application.

Spring Program!

Forest School, along with Pine Ridge and South Side will be holding our Spring Program on Thursday, March 12 from 6:30-7:30pm at Christ Memorial.

Students should arrive between 6:00-6:15. They will meet with their teachers in the lobby. Families will head into the sanctuary to be seated by 6:20.

We can't wait to worship with you!

Going Home with a Friend who Rides a Bus? Please Read!

Requests from a non-bus riding student to ride a bus route (or a bus riding student to ride a different route) must be written from that parent and the parent of the student whose house they are going to. Please write these emails directed to the bus driver and/or Director of Transportation by using transportation@hollandchristian.org. This informs the bus drivers of the change. Bus drivers will not transport a student without permission from both sets of parents. Thank you for helping to keep our students safe!

Donuts at dawn

All Pine Ridge students are invited to bring one special parent or adult to join them for a donut in the Pine Ridge gym from 7:45-8:10am on Friday, March 6th. Thank you to our parent team for hosting a fun and sweeeeet gathering.

Thank you to all those who donated books. Unfortunately, we were unable to collect enough for a true book sale. At this time, we will hold on to the books (unless you’d like them returned) and try again at another time. Thank you again!

TTQ- Boys running club

Thank you to the coaches who have come forward to help us run! Our section is full and will start the week of March 16. If we have more coaches who’d like to volunteer we can consider opening another section. Thank you again!

It's time to sign up for the Girls Running Club!

We have 2 wonderful coaches excited to lead the Girls Running Club this Spring.

Please see the Flyer linked here for the details on the club and how to sign up your daughter Pine Ridge Girls Run Club 2026.

If you are interested and willing to help with the running club, there's still room for more coaches. Please let the office know!

Living Hope Showcase 2026: Vintage Vibes: Groovy Songs of the '70's on March 13 and 14 @ 7 pm in the HCHS Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now! Join us in celebrating the iconic songs of the '70's. From Disco to Rock, Folk to Funk, Showcase will be a groovy time! Tickets are available at https://hcs.ludus.com/200517255. $1 of every ticket will benefit the Community Action House.

MIDDLE SCHOOL VISIT AND PLAY

We are excited to welcome the Holland Christian 5th graders for their first introduction to the Middle School on Tuesday, March 3! 5th graders will get the opportunity to watch a dress rehearsal of the MS Play, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We will be eating lunch at Pine Ridge before we walk to the middle school.

Curriculum Highlights

BIBLE: This week we continued our study of Jesus' ministry in Galilee. One event we read about was the Feeding of the 5000.

We learned about the importance of keeping our eyes on Jesus as we read about Jesus walking on the water in Matthew 14. In order to keep our eyes on Jesus, we need to be word rooted!

MATH: We continued to review multiplication with multi-digit whole numbers and decimals as well as Powers of 10 to prepare for our unit test.

READING: To help us grow our skills as nonfiction readers we took a closer look at different text structures that we might find in our reading. This week our focus was on descriptive and sequential text. We read a variety of texts, both printed and digital, and used graphic organizers to help us keep track of our learning.

SOCIAL STUDIES: We took some time to learn about church history by visiting Graafschap Church's Heritage Hall and the Log Cabin Church on their property.

WRITING: We worked hard this week on drafting our subtopics for our informational picture book.

OUTDOOR LEARNING SCHEDULE FOR NEXT WEEK

Monday: Sassafras Ridge

Tuesday: on campus

Wednesday: Sassafras Ridge

Thursday: on campus

Friday: on campus

UPCOMING EVENTS AND REMINDERS

* Wacky Wednesdays

Hawaiian Day was bright this week!

February 25 - Backwards day

The highest percentage of participants (per class) in each school wins a hot chocolate party! We are trying so HARD and have a plan for backwards day!

* FOREST FAMILY NIGHT HIKE

Due to the icy conditions on the trail and the anticipated warming (icing) temperatures, our Night Hike is postponed. Please save the date for a new after-school, family event on April 23.

* Learning Opportunities for Parents and Educators

Through the generosity of local donors, tickets for the talks in Holland are free (one per email address) and can be reserved HERE.

Mar 3, Dr. Scott Sampson, "The Coming Nature-Rich Urban Communities"
Mar 17, Lenore Skenazy, "Raising Kids in a Digital World"

* COME ONE, COME ALL- Bring in those used books!

We are asking that each student bring in 1-5 used books, to donate to the sale. Students will then have the opportunity to shop for a new (to them) book. The money raised will go to help purchase items for GateWay mission. Books will be collected from Feb. 17-27 and we hope to run the sale the week of March 6th. More information is coming soon! :)

* The girls running club needs you!

We are ready to start signing up girls for our Pine Ridge running club but can not do so until we have some coaches. This will run from 3:15-4:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays. It will culminate with a fun run during Tulip Time. Please contact the office if you are interested.

* Living Hope Showcase 2026: Vintage Vibes: Groovy Songs of the '70's on March 13 and 14 @ 7 pm in the HCHS Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now! Join us in celebrating the iconic songs of the '70's. From Disco to Rock, Folk to Funk, Showcase will be a groovy time! Tickets are available at https://hcs.ludus.com/200517255. $1 of every ticket will benefit the Community Action House.

Curriculum Highlights

BIBLE: We headed to Mrs. Boer's classroom to spend some time in devotions talking about the meaning of Ash Wednesday. We talked about letting things go so that we could make room in our hearts for God as we prepare for Easter. We thought about letting go of burdens and worries that weigh us down. As we reflected on the things we might need to let go of, we wrote it down on a piece of paper.

We then burned those papers to show that we were giving them to God and making room in our hearts for Him to work.

Later in the day, we took the ashes of what we had burned and placed a cross on the foreheads of those who wanted and reminded them of who they are and that they are loved.

"You are a child of God, and you are LOVED!"

MATH: We continue to work on multiplying decimals and Powers of 10.

Look for a multiple choice math practice test coming home Monday with your child. Students should complete the test, check it with the answer key found in the weekly parent email, and re-work any incorrect problems. This homework is due in class on Thursday morning, 2/26.

READING: This week we worked on applying the skills we already know using informational texts about Valentine's Day and Black History Month.