11 minute read
A Community Comes Together
New Family BBQ & Pool Party
What better way to welcome new families to TC Christian than some Up North feasting and swimming! Thanks to some fine friends who turn their backyard pool area over to TCCS, we get to host new families around delicious food and fun in the water. While the kids play, moms and dads gather round the firepit and the picnic tables to relax and talk. It’s the perfect way to start the school year by connecting and making new friendships.
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First Friday
TC Christian loves traditions. A favorite is ‘First Friday’ where the whole school celebrates the successful conclusion of the first week of the new school year. Festivities start at 8am with everyone gathering for fresh-fried donuts cooked on-site, followed by an All-School Chapel in the gym.
This special chapel has three elements: worship, prayer, and community. The Middle and High schoolers start things off with joyful worship before welcoming their elementary schoolmates into the gym through a tunnel of arms and high fives. There’s more worship singing before everyone breaks into small groups that
mix all the grades together. The small group setting is a time for students and staff to get to know one another, pray for families, teachers and each other, and reflect on the coming year. Chapel wraps up with a blessing and benediction from TC Christian’s Superintendent, Tyler VanSchepen.
‘First Friday’ concludes in the early afternoon when the school leadership team assumes the role of ice-cream vendor and moves between classes handing out chocolate covered icecream treats. ‘First Friday’ is a lot of fun and another reason why we love the TC Christian community.
See You At The Pole
Each year, Christian students around the nation meet for the ‘See You At The Pole’ prayer gathering. At TC Christian it is always a beautiful reminder of why we do what we do. Student Council organize and lead the morning with Council members coming forward to announce a particular prayer focus followed by a Bible reading. Focal points include school, family, church, local, state, and federal government, First Responders, and so on. Participants are invited to respond and pray in a variety of ways as led by each Council member. There’s something special about seeing children and young adults joining with millions of their
peers around the country to intercede on behalf of their families and communities.
Starwood Ranch
Soon after school starts, TC Christian staff and students head out to Starwood Ranch in Kalkaska County on a retreat to spend time bonding together around worship, prayer, teambuilding exercises, recreation, and food. It’s always a fun experience and often poignant,
especially when the students connect at a level beyond the usual.
A staff member shared this special moment: “One of the best memory for me was watching a young man in the junior class encourage and support a sophomore student who was nervous about some of the challenges. This junior reassured him with words that his team would be there for him and not let him fall. This junior reassured him in action, by physically showing him how his team was going to support him. This junior led the entire team in celebrating the sophomore when he completed the task! I was so proud to watch this young man LEAD SO WELL! He showed his support and encouragement before, during, and after the challenge. And, that sophomore....he went on to gain enough confidence to successfully try each and every challenge. That would NOT have happened without the support and encouragement of the community around him! It was Christlike character in action and it made my heart swell!”
This annual retreat is all about building community and drawing closer together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Buddy Day
A feature of the TC Christian community of which we hear a lot of good feedback is the sense of family that exists between students. We actively encourage that with activities like ‘Buddy Day’. It’s probably one of the easiest and most enjoyable activities we do. Simply match older students with younger ones and set them loose with games and puzzles. Very quickly the kids are drawn together with a common purpose. It’s fun and light-hearted, yet very relational and so important. Here are some of the pictures from the day. It was a blast!
Big Day Out!
“Would you please pass my thanks along to TC Christian School for allowing Gillian and I to attend their BIG Day Out! We had a great time and it was a wonderful event for us to attend. Everyone there was very kind and helpful as well.” – Caitlin (Shared by Big Brothers/Big Sisters).
Comments like Caitlin’s certainly warm our hearts and remind us of two big reasons we developed BIG Day Out! – to bring joy to children and to be a witness for Christ.
The inaugural BIG Day Out! In mid-October was simply terrific. Set-up began on Friday and ran well into the evening. Volunteers were back at 7am the next morning to continue set-up and ensure everything was ready for the community party about to launch. Despite a brisk wind and talk of snowflakes, we easily saw 300-500 kids and their parents on the campus and judging by the smiles and exuberance of the children, everyone was having a blast.
To everyone who volunteered, donated, participated, and attended, thank you so very much. For a selection of pictures, click here.
Swingshift and the Stars
Thanks to the efforts of the generous folks at Knorr Marketing, TC Christian was selected to participate in the 2019 Swingshift and the Stars program. Originally based on the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ format, Swingshift and the Stars has raised over $4 million for area nonprofits. Their events are held at the City Opera House and are typically sold-out affairs. TC Christian was one of just eight area nonprofits to participate in 2019
and performed in both a Dance and a Lip Dub competition. Our star dancer was TC Christian Junior, Simeon Popa (Class of ’21), who was paired with Rachel Trim, a professional dance instructor. Together they worked up a beautiful dance routine to present to the judges and guests which resulted in them being awarded the coveted Audience Choice Award. In the Lip Dub competition, TC Christian featured five high school students (Bria Anderson, Kaia Beebe, Abi Bouwmeester, Aly Boven, and Darci Trierweiler) coached by Philip Leete and Kristyn Taylor. In a highly choreographed and entertaining presentation, the Lip Dub team performed a five-decade musical retrospective that wowed the crowd and judges. The two teams raised almost $60,000 for scholarship at TC Christian. Outstanding!!
Handmade Market and Craft Show
In late October, after a two-year hiatus, Traverse City Christian School re-introduced the Craft Show with some updates. Under the banner, TC Handmade Market, the show is now an Arts and Crafts event focused on gathering together artists, artisans, and crafters who specialize in original handmade designs. The TC Handmade Market is also a ‘Juried’ event so visitors and vendors were assured they were seeing some of the finest crafters and artists in the area.
Set on the (very friendly) TC Christian School campus, in addition to the wide
array of specialty handmade designs on offer, the show included ample free parking, free wi-fi, and food vendors. With all the changes, this new Marketplace could soon be the ultimate arts and Crafts event in Northern Michigan. See more pictures here.
Youth Unite
Many years ago, five area youth groups gathered once a quarter to worship, hear God’s Word, and relate with one another. These youth groups came from different Christian traditions but they all had one thing in common: a desire to know Jesus more deeply. Years later, TC Christian resurrected the idea and in early December, 2019, hosted the first Youth Unite gathering. Youth leaders brought their Middle and High School students to the TC Christian campus for what turned out to be an inspiring evening of music and testimony. A dynamic worship team kicked things off, followed by a speaker whose life of rebellion and substance abuse was upended by God’s call on his life. The second Unite event was scheduled for late March, 2020, but due to the Covid lockdown, was cancelled. We are looking forward to scheduling the next event once schools reopen.
All-School Thanksgiving Celebration
An annual event that keeps growing, the TCCS Thanksgiving Feast is a great time of food, fellowship, and worship! Families volunteer to prepare food, serve, and clean-up afterwards. A big thank you to the food prep volunteers,
volunteers the night before, and extra hands the morning of the feast. We filled up the gym with 400+ people, including around 25 of our local pastors, to enjoy a meal together and express ourselves in worship as a sign of our gratitude for all He has done for us!
Christmas Tree Lighting and Carol Sing
We love getting together with our families. And nothing says ‘gettogether’ like a community Christmas Tree lighting followed by Christmas carols. This family favorite falls on the last Friday in November and starts with a BBQ and hot refreshments by the fire followed by the lighting of the trees lining the playground. Thankfully, the lights were set up earlier by some hardy dads armed with a cherry-picker. Once lit, everyone lights candles and sings some of our favorite carols to usher in the festive season. It’s a simple and beautiful way to celebrate the ‘Reason for the Season’.
Christmas Cruncher
Where else can you go for a school morning filled with raucous laughter, goofy costumes, and good, clean fun? TC Christian’s lead up to the Christmas break featured all that and more during the annual Christmas Cruncher. The Middle and High School students mixed themselves up into small teams and competed for a variety of prizes and treats, all under the watchful eyes of the equally wacky teachers and alumni who flocked to school for this annual ritual.
Moms In Prayer
“Pour out your hearts like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children…” Lamentations 2:19
As a mom, do you ever feel burdened for your children? As you watch them struggle with the issues of life: school, peers, faith, relationships, choices, do you ever feel powerless? There’s good news:
you are not! From one mom’s vision in 1984, an international organization has sprung up uniting the hearts of praying moms around the world! The mission of Moms in Prayer is simple: a group of praying moms in every school, across the nation… and now in 140 countries! t is our privilege to be a small part of this big movement! We invite you to join with moms from TC Christian, the nation, and the world as we join in one accord to lift up our most precious commodity: our children. We’d love to have you join us and experience the blessing of praying together with fellow moms, and seeing God move in the lives of our children and our school! Questions? Call Jenni Blodgett 231-499-0521. You can find out more about Moms in Prayer here.
PTO Around The Campus With PTO
The TC Christian Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) is a service-oriented group that fosters an atmosphere of community for students, families and staff through school-wide activities such as Muffins with Mom, Donuts with Dad, the end of the year Field Day, Book Fairs, Christmas Store, hallway decorating, and other special events. PTO also honors teachers at special times throughout the year, providing lunch and treats along with recognition during Teacher Appreciation week. Classrooms are supported with materials and equipment Muffins with Mom purchased with PTO funds, such as new gym and playground equipment and technology additions. PTO’s biggest fundraiser is the Read-AThon which sees students across the school committing to read as many minutes as they can in a prescribed closed in on 200,000 minutes and raised over $11,600 for the PTO.
The mission of the PTO is to foster an atmosphere of community for students, families and staff.
timeframe. This year’s reading total Donuts with Dad
Last Day Of School Parade
What a blast! The parade to celebrate the last day of the 2019-2020 school year (aka ‘The Longest Senior Skip Day Ever’) was a smashing success judging by the smiles, waves, and happy honking of car horns. Along with the families, graduates, and staff of TC Christian, we were joined by Jason and DC from Fuel FM who brought the music, Deputy Matt and the crew from the Sheriff’s department (including the K-9 unit) keeping the peace, Big Red and the firefighters keeping us safe, and a few hearty alumni along for the ride.
Even Monty from the Pit Spitters swung by for the fun.
