Stardust: CCHS' Winter Dance

On Saturday, December 15th, Calvin Christian High School held their winter dance in the gym of the Blaine campus. It was a fun time full of food, dancing and community. 

The theme for the dance was “Stardust”, and the gym was wonderfully decorated by the members of the Student Council. On one side of the gym there was a giant star wrapped in Christmas lights for taking pictures. Along the walls there was also Christmas lights and other star designs.

Before the dancing began, Christmas songs played, welcoming students in. With a lot of upbeat music, almost everybody danced until a slow song came on, and then went back out when it was done. The night ended with “Party Anthem “ as a finale. Thanks to Student Council for setting up a great event!

- Gabe Modder

Basketball Season Is Here

So soccer may be over, but that does not mean that sports are; when winter comes, so does basketball season. Last Thursday, December 13th was a win for both the girls and boys basketball teams. Both teams have done their best this year and both will be fighting hard to clinch top spot. The victory for the girls Thursday pushed their season record to 4-1. The guys record was bumped to a respectable 2-2 for their season so far. Both teams have some new recruits ready to play, and old faces returning from last season. Nathan Bonnema, a senior, says ‘We are doing our best right now, but we need to work on passing and creating plays.” Both teams would enjoy to see supporters at both games by both students and parents, so if you happen to have a free night on a night they are playing, please come down and cheer our teams to victory.

- Andrew Thomas

"When They Came To Take My Father": 20th Century Literature

On December 13th, the 20th Century Lit. class went to see the photo gallery "When They Came To Take My Father" by Rolling Stones photographer, Mark Seliger, focused on the Holocaust. The  gallery includes 22 black and white portraits that display “a brutal honesty, bringing to light the horrific and dark memories that the survivors must carry with them”. Mark Seliger’s words and pictures convey a testimony from a people who have suffered in an event that will not be forgotten. Each of the portraits portray a Holocaust survivor and each tell a different story of the Holocaust. Quotes of the survivors  are also displayed with the portraits, including the quote: “ When they came to take my father it was the fear of the unknown. Would he ever be back?” This is what the gallery was named after. The quotes give a deeper understanding of Holocaust. As one survivor wrote, “ In every generation we have a little Holocaust somewhere going on. In some way we are all survivors of a Holocaust. You, me and everybody.”

-- Gabe Modder

CCHS Game Night

Game night happened this past Friday, December 7th at Calvin Christian High School from 9:00pm until midnight and students enjoyed the time together building community by playing games and simply getting to know one another. At the event, students indulged in conversation, games, also the delicious snacks brought to share with everyone. The basketball games were well played by both teams - the girls team being victorious, and the guys unfortunately losing, with Karl Ludwig in the cougar suit. This fun event provided good laughs and random moments, (seems to be a very common occurrence at Calvin) and good feeling to those who stayed. Snow falling outside, students inside enjoying one another’s company, created a fun upbeat atmosphere after the basketball games, even if the arrival was a slippery process. Thankfully, all students and parents made it home safely after the fun-filled event.

-- Andrew Thomas

Washed Away: Hurricane Sandy's Devastation

Hurricane Sandy has devastated most of the northern coast of America. Numerous organizations are try to ease the process of the devastated losses many people have faced. The hurricane has caused between 30 and 50 billion dollars in economic costs. Sandy hit New York, New Jersey and other nations including Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. Haiti experienced the loss of thousands of homes as well as an outbreak of the deadly waterborne disease known as cholera. The Red Cross is trying to help those who have suffered from Sandy by sending things like food, blankets, and water, though the Red Cross cannot take care of everyone alone; many more volunteers have helped by giving of their time and energy to take care of those who need it. Additionally, one of the ways that everyone can help is by keeping them in our prayer, giving time, money, or energy to help. Since most of us cannot go directly to help, we can continue to support the organizations that can.

-- Gabe Modder

Issue 4 Online Now!

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Issue 4

European Farmers Riot Over Milk Prices

No Use Crying Over Split Milk

In Europe, farmers have protested against the prices of lowering milk, demanding that the prices be raised so the profits are able to cover the cost of producing the milk. Erwin Schopges, head of the EMB (European Milk Board), said last Tuesday's protests would be "symbolic",calmer and would show what the farmers want; he does believe that the price of milk is being undersold because of International demand and increased competition. The farmers first began coming together in the streets in Brussels, Belgium.  Thousands of dairy farmers came out to protest, accompanied by hundreds of tractors, on the Belgian capital last Tuesday. For two days of demonstrations disruption continued, with EU officials unable to  reach their offices because of the tractors blocking roads. Farmers expressed wanting an increase of 25% or  more in their  prices to cover costs.  Their anger with actions also matched their words. During the protests, they hooked fire hoses to milk tanks and shot the guards and the police with the liquid. Farmers put up a fight against the police who worked to ensure that protesters stay within limits. The protests have settled down and no change has been reported in prices or legislature since.

-- Andrew Thomas

Student Council Corner: 11.29.2012

The high school is getting pretty pumped for December 7. Let’s celebrate with the boys and girls basketball team as they go for the win, and afterward you can join the student council as we host an amazing game night from 7 to midnight. We will be playing games from dodgeball to “never have I ever” to lots of other fun things. Your ticket to come in is to bring a snack. Freshmen bring salty snacks, sophomores bring sweet snacks, juniors bring the drinks, and seniors bring sweet snacks as well. Also, join us for our first formal winter dance of the year. We will be hosting this dance on December 15 at Blaine for an amazing night of fun, friendly dancing to some great music chosen by our student council members. The tickets are $5, but believe me, it will totally be worth it.

-- Nathan Mulder

World Languages

As one of the electives this year, students have the option to take a foreign languages class. It is a year-long class made up of one language per trimester. The students have just concluded their study on Greek, which was taught by Craig Krueger, father of student Ian Krueger, a sophomore. The first trimester ended before Thanksgiving break and starting today, Mandarin Chinese will be the focus. This class will be taught using Rosetta Stone with Mr. Koppendrayer as the teacher. Mr. Koppendrayer knows little about Chinese. In conjunction with Rosetta Stone, one of our own exchange students from China, Sunny, will be helping with the translations and will also help facilitate the learning. The third trimester language will be Latin and will be taught by Mr. Koppendrayer. This class is a great way for students to explore and appreciate diversity in language and culture.

-- Nathan Bonnema

CCHS Responds to Election 2012

The election has come and gone and President Obama has been re-elected. I think we can all agree that the best thing about the election is that it is over, especially the negative TV advertisements. As President Obama gets back to work, it is very easy for those who have opposed the President to preach doom and gloom, but it has to be understood that we have a Senate and a House of Representatives for a reason. The President makes just a small amount of the governmental decisions. We need to make a decision as a country to respect and support our President whether we have the same political stance or not. After all, he is the leader of our country, and his re-election is part of God’s perfect plan.

-- Nathan Bonnema

Basketball Season Has Begun!

Volleyball and soccer concluded just weeks ago, but the boys and girls basketball teams are both on the court preparing for their upcoming seasons. After just a week or two off, both teams have started captain’s practices. There are new players for both teams, so the early practices are a good way for them to get to know the team early. 

After the departures of key seniors for both teams, new leaders are coming into place. For the girls, juniors Kayla Howell and Claire Stephens will anchor the team as captains, with Anna Bankes and Rachel Anderson joining them as the only upperclassmen on the team. After finishing second in the conference tournament last year, the girls are looking to repeat the success of last season under their coach (and teacher) Mr. Ahrenholz.

As for the boys team, the senior trio of Jacob Bursaw, Will Hendrickson and Nathan Bonnema will lead the team as captains, with Nathan Mulder (a junior) joining them as the only other upperclassman. The team is looking for even more improvement after finishing with a solid, above .500 record, but losing in the second round of the conference tournament. The team is coached by Glenn Stewart, in his fourth year with the team, and Jamey Strand as the assistant, who is in his third year. Both teams are excited and are looking forward to a great season!


-- Nathan Bonnema

Congratulations Señora Feikema!

CCHS is excited to announce that Matthias Gerrit Feikema was born on November 8th at 4:50 A.M. He is the son of Kara Feikema, advisor and Spanish teacher at CCHS, and her husband, Andrew.  Matthias weighs 8 pounds 11 ounces, is 22 ½ inches long, and has a full head of hair. Both he and his mother are doing well and we ask for prayers and congratulations for the family.

-- Ian Krueger

Congratulations Cast!

CCHS put on one hilarious comedy with the drama ‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ and people loved it. It’s a comedy about two old ladies (Aunt Abby, played by Sara Shields and Aunt Martha, played by Marta Vander Top) who try to help older lonely men to a peaceful place. And to do that, why not poison them? (They don’t really. it’s a play, kind of bad if they actually did!) Their nephew, Mortimer (played by Jack Harrison) , learning of what they had done, 12 times so far, tries to prevent them from doing this again, but isn’t completely successful. He has to also deal with the return of his murderous brother Jonathan (played by Nathaniel Koppendrayer) and his not-so-bright assistant doctor, Dr. Herman Einstein ( Played by Kellie Hedberg). Throughout the play, Mortimer tries to get rid of his brother, deal with his aunts unusual hobby, marry the love of his life Elaine (Played by Sophie Berkenpas) who has no idea what Mortimer has been through in a single day, and deal with the other quirky characters who have some untimely visits . Directed by Mrs. McCarthy-Vogel and Mrs. Kubacki-Postma, the cast managed to prepare and present a great comedy with the help of all the actors and behind-the-scenes volunteers at CCHS. By the spring time, another performance will be in the works and ready to present to the community.  Thanks for a great performance cast, directors, and crew!

-- Andrew Thomas

The Cougar's Tale Print Edition: Issue 3

Follow the link below and enjoy!

 Cougar's Tale Issue 3

CCHS: Hurricane Sandy Perspective

A hurricane known as “Sandy” smashed the New York coast on the night of October 29th, causing massive flooding, power outages, and 88 US deaths, 67 Caribbean deaths, and two Canadian deaths. The hurricane is being called a “superstorm” by some and is the the worst storm in over several decades. In the wake of the storm, one New York resident says that she has had hardly anything to eat in the past two days, and that “they would freeze to death.” Senator Chuck Schumer said that he would get federal help to the neighborhood as soon as he could. If you want to help with the disaster, you can donate money, get involved in the programs like the Red Cross, or simply offer up a prayer for our neighbors on the East Coast.

- Ian Krueger

CCHS Fall Fest

Games, festivities and food, all of these  things made a fun time for some of the students of Calvin Christian High. On Friday, October 26th, students went up to Deglman farm to take part in the fall festival being hosted there. Shortly after arriving, students began to raid the food in the barn. This lasted on through the night with talking and outside activities such as football, horseshoes, and tetherball.  A hayride was announced after this had been going on for some time. All of the students clamored on the two tractor-pulled wagons filled with hay bales. In the dark and cold night they traveled through the woods and fields of the farm.  On the return trip back, the wagons were also filled with pumpkins of various sizes. Carving of these pumpkins was done upon return. Until the return home, talking and snacking were what most people chose to do. After all the fun that was had students went home with their hearts in high spirits amidst the cold.

-- Gabe Modder

CCHS Soccer Wrap Up

The soccer season just recently ended, with the Calvin soccer team losing the game to Great River that would have put them in first place. Despite that, junior Andrew Thomas commented that it was still “one of our best years.” He also said that the team really learned to work well together and build each other up both on and off the field, and learned to play well together. It has definitely been one of the best years for Calvin soccer. “We won a second place finish as a community...that played off from what we did well this season.” Second place finish is a history setter for Calvin, and indeed is a position to be proud of.          

-- Ian Krueger

CCHS Volleyball Wrap Up

The CCHS girl’s volleyball season just finished, with Calvin’s win/loss ratio standing at six wins, seven losses. The season ended with a close tournament loss to Columbia Heights on Monday, October 22nd. Despite the loss, the game was very close and Claire Stephens, a junior on the volleyball team, said that the game was really fun to play despite the 0-3 loss. She also noted that she felt that the volleyball team did really well this year, despite the fact that most of the players were sophomores or freshmen. The volleyball team won’t be losing any players this year, so they look forward to working together again next season.

-- Ian Krueger

CCHS: Video Editing Class

A variety of new classes have been introduced to the Calvin Christian High School, including a video editing class, taught by Rick Busch. In this class, the students will be learning how to edit and work with media and videos. They are currently working on a project that includes making a promotional video for both the Edina and high school campus. This video class will also help in the future because as Andrew Thomas, a junior student taking this course, explains, “this skill will be used later in the future because of the importance of how media portrays set service or products.” In trying to help people understand the high school as a unique product, Andrew explains, “media is one of the fastest way to let your product be known.” This new class is a great tool not only for the future of the students, but for the future of the high school.  Check out what the video editing class has been able to accomplish, thanks to the help of Mr. Busch and the skills he has taught.

-- Gabe Modder

Donation: Tolerance Minnesota

As most may know, Miss Branderhorst is teaching 20th Century Literature and Art class that also highlights literature from the Holocaust. Along with having several Holocaust survivors come in to speak to the class, the organization Tolerance Minnesota has generously given the high school a boxed set of 5 Minnesota Holocaust Survivor Films for teaching students at Calvin about the Holocaust. The films are from an anonymous donor who wanted the films “placed in classrooms”.  

-- Ian Krueger

The Cougar's Tale: Issue 1

Our first printed issue of the year. Enjoy!

The Cougar's Tale: Issue One

The Cougar's Tale: Issue 2 (Print Version)

Click the link below to find our second issue!

The Cougar's Tale Print: Issue 2

CCHS Volleyball and Soccer Updates

The regular season is coming to a close for the soccer and volleyball teams, but that is not what is on their minds. They are looking forward to the playoffs after great wins last week. Last week the soccer and volleyball teams came out with two and three wins, respectively.

The volleyball conference tournament starts on Monday, October 15. It is a single elimination tournament that could have Calvin’s volleyball team playing twice on Monday, if they win the first game. If that one is also won, they move on and get to play Tuesday. There will be lots of Calvin fans there, as the soccer team will be given the day off to go support their school. Everyone is encouraged to come and support the Calvin volleyball team! The tournament is at both Hmong Academy/Metro Deaf School (they are right next to each other), and Calvin will be playing Monday, October 15 at 4:30 at Hmong Academy for their first game.

As for soccer, the team has one more out of conference game to play, and after that will advance to the four team playoff between them, Great River Academy, International School, and Community of Peace Academy. The dates and time have not been set yet, but it will assuredly be an exciting tournament! Fans are also encouraged to come, and the details of the tournament will be released sometime soon.

-- Nathan Bonnema

New Elective: 20th Century Literature and Art

Coming from a former Holocaust literature  student, “Holocaust Lit wasn’t so much a ‘fun’ class as it was eye opening, and I’m hoping this year, the students of 20th century literature will have the same experience.”  20th Century Literature is a new, year long elective course offered this year.  Miss Branderhorst, the teacher for this course, explained, “We aren’t just focusing on the Holocaust, but all of the significant changes that take place during the 20th century—all the changes that mirror or impact our lives today.”  20th Century Lit students will be learning through a variety of media - art, music, theatre, photography, and literature.  Together, the class will attend a play, view a photography exhibit, and will have at least 3 Holocaust survivors coming to speak with them.  They also have some art projects that they will be incorporating into their units.

-- Tom Gall

CCHS Committees and Clubs

With a new school year, comes a new list of Tuesday afternoon clubs.  The Investment Committee has been passed for a second year with Tom Gall as president, Jacob Koehler as secretary, and Nathan Kanis as Vicar; together, they hope to have a self-developed and profitable portfolio.  A new art club has been created, focusing on individual and collective art projects; this group will be headed by Nathaniel Koppendrayer and Lydia TerHaar.   Intramurals have moved from Thursday to Tuesday and will now be led by Jacob Bursaw as president. Finally, Ping Pong will continue for a 4th straight year headed by the Bartz brothers.  Clubs and committees are great opportunities for students to explore different interests and interact in a different way.

-- Tom Gall

Shingle Creek: Environmental Studies

For CCHS’s Environmental Science course, Mr. VandeGlind took the seniors to Shingle Creek on Tuesday to do some river observation. After climbing into waders before going into the up-to-waist-high water, the students were asked to measure and observe multiple things. They measured the velocity of the water, as well as sampled the river bottom and caught some macroinvertebrates. This information will be collected and sent to Fortin Consulting to help them to determine the health of the stream. Among the other random things caught were crayfish, a bullhead, and what Will Hendrickson and Austin Bartz described as a “really cool scorpion fish” that Austin accidentally let go. Next week, the class will be examining the tiny macroinvertebrates that were caught to determine the density and diversity of the respective species. This is just another way that the Environmental Science class is learning to take care of the creation that God has given to us.

-- Nathan Bonnema

Experiential Learning: Giving Back

Every junior that comes through Calvin Christian High School has to do an experiential learning project, which normally consists of a volunteering opportunity and a final product (often a presentation of some sort). These often include volunteering opportunities such as Feed My Starving Children, Second Harvest and Prism (the latter two are food shelves). This year, we have something even more unique. Claire Stephens, a junior, is volunteering at Children’s Hospital where she is visiting patients in their rooms and bringing them to their playrooms. This experience is especially unique to Claire because she was once a patient at Children’s Hospital. In Claire’s words, “When I was 8 years old, it was discovered that I had a brain tumor, so I had that removed at Children’s Hospital...  I was a patient there for 1 and ½ to two months.”  She continued, “I chose to volunteer at Children’s Hospital because I had a lot of volunteers come and visit me while I was a patient and I meant a lot to me, so I wanted to be able to give back to the hospital... I decided that I would go visit with the patients.” As for her final product, Claire is not sure, but she wants to combine an interview with the volunteer coordinator there with some journals that she will have written throughout her visits.This project is further proof that learning outside of the classroom is a worthwhile, impactful experience.

-- Nathan Bonnema

Introduction to Engineering Course

Introduction to Engineering is a new elective opposite choir that focuses on giving the students an introduction to the field of engineering through a series of videos that focus on the basics of engineering, as well as through a computer program that allows you to engineer an object, designing your own engineering project. Mr Ahrenholz, the math teacher, is teaching the class. He says that his goals for the class are “to allow students to explore a career path to engineering, to see if it is something that fits their skills or interests.” He plans to meet this goal by having the students watch the  Duke University Introduction to Engineering seminars, and allowing students to create their own engineering projects in the Solidworks engineering program. Introduction is a new, unique class, and hopefully together, students will begin to grasp this complicated field.

-- Ian Krueger

CCHS: Student Council Corner

Hi everyone and welcome to the first edition of the Student Council Corner! We are excited about what’s in store for this year and we hope you are too! We have been planning out the events for the year starting with the annual leaf raking in the local community on the afternoon of October 26th. Everyone will be asked to bring a rake and we will be split into groups. From there we will either take the bus or walk to our assigned places and do whatever leaf raking is needed. This is a good way to make our school known throughout the local community, and is also a way for our school as a whole to show God’s love by aiding those who can’t rake their leaves themselves.

           In addition, we encourage all of you to come out to the final volleyball and soccer games as they head into their respective playoff games.

-- Nathan Bonnema

CCHS Girl's Volleyball

The CCHS Girls Volleyball team has seen their fair share of victories and defeats as the seasons came and gone.  This year, the girls welcome new head coach, Tim Davis,who has offered a kind of fresh twist for the team and giving them a new vibe. Team captains, Maddie Vande Kamp and Claire Stephens have done their part as much as they could on the court. Maddie, recovering from a knee injury, has given the team encouragement from the sidelines until she was able to step back onto the court once more and is now back on the court to play with her team for the remainder of the season. One of the biggest accomplishments from the team that Maddie observed includes: "playing at a new level, with a new coach, and functioning as a team." The girls next few games will be at home with the encouragement of fans, and a few away with the encouragement of the Cougar Soccer team urging them on in victory.




-- Andrew Thomas

Marathon Update

On Saturday, October 6th, Calvin Christian School will be hosting their 34th annual 5k Marathon.The Marathon will be held at Lake Nokomis. The track for this Marathon leads around the lake. Students of all locations of Calvin will be trying to gain sponsors to raise money for the school. This money will be used to fund many things such as teachers continuing education, classroom supplies, off campus experiential learning activities, and technology. As of Wednesday, September 26th,the high school has raised $3,402.50, and that number will only continue to rise. Ms. B’s advisory has raised the most, at $1,252.50 followed by Mr. V’s at $935. You can give money to a friend by going on to Calvin Christian.org.  The money that the students raise will help the school with supplies, trips, and other needs.  At 9:00am,  the running marathon will start and after that, the walkers and bikers will start at 10:00am.  We look forward to seeing everyone there supporting the high school and each other!

-- Gabe Modder

Arsenic and Old Lace: CCHS Style

Here at Calvin Christian High School, students will be performing the comedy “Arsenic and Old Lace” November 1st and 2nd. The play will be directed by  Amanda Kubacki Postma and Maygann McCarthy Vogel, this will be their tenth play and their second here at the high school. When asked if she liked directing, Mrs. Mc-V said, “I love directing. I love working with students outside of the classroom, and it's so wonderful to see the different gifts of the students. I love encouraging those gifts and giving students to explore different areas of theatre.” With such experienced directors such as these, surely this play will be one of the best.

The play includes two cuckoo old ladies, entertainingly played by Marta Vandertop and  Sarah Shields, who enjoy killing off old men.  Jonathan, Mortimer, and Teddy, the three troubled brothers will be played by Jack Harrison (Mortimer), Joel Gmach (Teddy), and Nathaniel Koppendrayer (Jonathan). Mortimers girlfriend, Elaine is played by Sophie Berkenpas. Her father is Dr. Harper who will be played by Levi Vande Kamp. This story is basically about  a couple of old ladies who think killing off old men is a good deed to society. They also have three nephews each with their own problems that add to the chaos already there. So all in all it provides a great comedy for everyone to enjoy. To see how this entertaining play unfolds, watch this play and support your community November 1st or 2nd!

-- Gabe Modder

Calvin Christian Cougars: Boy's Soccer Update

As of September 21st, the CCHS Cougar soccer team has gone 4-1 in their season with the conference for the 2012 season and is looking forward to a conference win this year. Each person, ranging from seniors to new freshmen, has played their role on the team and the outcome has showed significantly by the work put in. The captains, Nathan Bonnema and Austin Bartz, have done their part as players on the field and leading the players on the team. “We can consistently out hustle the opponent and playing with confidence and a great attitude” captain Nathan Bonnema shared about the team this year. The CCHS soccer coach, Coach TerHaar has been the head coach and a great motivator for the team year after year with the coming and goings of former and new students. His statement of “It’s a beautiful day for soccer” has become a motivator for the players to play their best against any opponent they face on the field no matter what the weather looks like.  The excitement arose when Cougars played a home game against Shattuck Academy yesterday.   Jacob Bursaw, a starting senior for Calvin, put a rocket from outside the 18’ marker into the net away from the defending goalie’s hands, and later would take a free kick that would score. Mark Whitcomb, Calvin’s newest freshman, caught a cross from Will Hendrickson from the right side of the field and tapped it in to make the game a quick 3-0. The Cougars after a quick break at half, went back in ready to finish what they started. Shattuck retaliated quickly from the goals and quickly made the game 3-2 with some miscommunication of the Cougar defence. Ausitn Bartz wouldn’t let that settle and put one in after snaking past the defence and putting it out of reach from the goalie to make it 4-2. Jacob Koehler, a junior at CCHS,  put the game away after coming in off a cross in front of the net to make the game 5-2 and ultimately a Cougar win. The Cougars press on through the changing seasons and hope ultimately for a conference win this year.

--Andrew Thomas