CCHS Goes to Toby Mac Concert:

There are many bands that come through Minnesota on tour, and each and every concert draws thousands of fans all packing into one arena to hear one of their favorite artists perform live, becoming a unique experience to remember and cherish. Flashing lights, loud music, and the urge to dance like no one is watching...This past Valentine's Day, Calvin Christian was offered 40 tickets to go see the TobyMac concert at the Xcel Energy Center for free, first offered to the high schoolers and staff, then to the rest of Calvin. Many students and staff went to enjoy an evening filled with music, joy, worship, and community. Beginning at 7 pm, concert goers joined together in singing multitudes of songs from specials guests such as Matt Maher, Mandisa, and many others. It was a great time for the Calvin community to come together!

http://tobymac.com/photos

- Andrew Thomas

Calvin Gala: Fundraiser

On March 14, 2014, Calvin Christian School is hosting a celebration to raise money for the school. It will be at 275 Market Street, Minneapolis, MN 55405 in the International Market Square building; “Joshua English-Serimshaw” will be there to amuse those who attend. He is a well received expert of humor who will commentate about his past.

This is a good opportunity to support Calvin Christian School. This is only an annual event, so do not miss the opportunity if you want to sponsor the school and be entertained!

- Rick Derfus

Calvin Christian Explores the MPLS Central Library!

Today, Calvin Christian High School visited the MPLS Central Library to kick off their IBU studies.  Students jumped into their research, exploring their topic in relation to the city. CCHS students found many resources that pertained to the history of the city and the impact of arts, sports, parks and recreation, and food culture on Minneapolis.  Of course, students also enjoyed the view while learning more about what makes our city what it is! 

- Miss Branderhorst

Scoreboards and Snowboards: 2014 Winter Olympics

Photo by Anthony Dwyer: http://www.betphoenix.ag/news-picks/olympics/winter-games/odds-win-women%E2%80%99s-ice-hockey-gold-medal-and-preview-7841

The Olympics are over with disappointing results for America. The country that stood with the most medals is Russia with thirteen gold medals, eleven silver medals and nine bronze. Secondly Norway with eleven gold, five silver and ten bronze. Thirdly Canada received ten gold, ten silver and five Bronze. In the end, the United States followed up in lead for snowboarding with a count of three gold medals. These awards were given to our athletics Nick Baumgartner, Gregory Bretz and the iconic Shaun White. To follow snowboarding a  talked about subject at CCHS is hockey. Since February 21st hockey game against the US, Canada has been pronounced the victor in men and womens hockey. After that Canada maneuvered on to play Sweden and beat them 3-0 costing Sweden a gold medal. In the end two teams were tied for second, US and Sweden, with each a silver medal.        

- Johnny Erickson

Inquiry Based Unit: A New Way of Understanding the Cities

Yesterday, Calvin Christian High School started a school wide study centered around the question “what makes a city.” The students were divided into four groups regardless of grade and each group will focus on a different aspect of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The groups are Parks and Recreation, Sports, Food Culture and the Arts.

Each group will leave the school to visit places around the city having to do with their topic, learning through inquiry, exploration, creativity, and experience. So far, work has gone into making the plans for these and understanding the topic. The study will last for three weeks and will dominate the school schedule.

Hopefully each group will be able to combine experiences, research, and exploration of what they have learned to try to form an answer to the main question, learning more about what truly makes Minneapolis a great city!

- Rick Derfus

New Theatrical Plans: CCHS On The Way to Another Performance

Calvin Christian High School will perform once more. Principal Mr. Schaap said that a performance is “most likely.” The choice about the specific one has not yet been made, though it probably will be performed on May 23rd and 24th. Four possibilities remain, and the choice will be made based on a couple of factors. The first is the number of people who are willing and if it is is able to “meet the criteria  for the mission and vision” that we uphold.  

What will happen with the play beyond this is not certain. Hopefully whatever happens will be successful and those in it, the one leading it and the audience  will find it to be fun. Most importantly, we should try to honor God with however things happen and we can also have fun while doing it.

Rick Derfus

1000 Points and A Barnyard Bash

                                                       All About Animals?

                                                More Than A Costume Party  

On Friday February 7, those who attended the CCHS basketball game were asked to dress like an animal to raise money for Heifer International charity. The money that was earned from selling items at the game went to the charity. About 120 dollars were raised at the event. For Spirit Week and the nature of the the charity those attending were encouraged to dress up like animals. The purpose of this event was for a lot more than a costume party though. It was to raise money to give animals to those who need them.

Also, Nathan Mulder, a senior on the basketball team was the first person in the history of the school to score one thousand points in their time. He achieved this on the game on Friday, and the it was announced to the audience.  He said that he does not want to be remembered for “just my thousand points” but he wants to be remembered for the person he was.

It was an eventful game with a good cause that saw a record set. Hopefully the basketball season will end well for all of our teams and people will benefit from what was given.

Rick Derfus

What Makes a City: Inquiry Based Units

How does shape a city?

It’s that time of the school year where the second trimester is coming to an end and IBU is right around the corner. The theme for this years IBU is ‘What makes a city?”. Class sign up sheets were handed out to students on and you were required to pick your top three choices out of the list of classes. The top four classes that was selected were Arts & Theatre taught by Miss B, Parks & Recreation taught by Mr. V, Sports Culture taught by Mr. K and Miss Wheeler and Food Culture taught by Mr. Smith. IBU classes will begin on February 24th and students are excited!

I talked to Mr. Schaap to find out more!

Why are we doing the topic “How does ____ make a city?”?

Mr.Schaap:”In the past couple years we have tried to chose IBU topics that allow to use the resources of MN St. Paul as learning tools. and also we thought that this topic would allow a variety of areas of interest.

How is IBU going to be effective to the student body?

Mr.Schaap: "It will be most effective when students lead the learning process, when students take ownership of the class.”

Why do we have IBU?

Mr.Schaap:”We have IBU because it really focuses on the idea of inquiry and it's importance in learning. Also, it provides an alternate focus.”

- Jacob Allwine

Experiential Learning Highlights: Springbrook Nature Center

At CCHS, a high emphasis is placed on students personally experiencing the topic they are researching. Two students, Katerina Meybaum and Emma DeVries, have done just that. Every Monday afternoon, they headed to the Springbrook Nature Center to learn more about animal care and creation stewardship. Emma DeVries says, “We chose this project because we had done volunteering with people before and we were more interested in doing something different and we both enjoy working with animals.” Katerina commented:  “The last day we were there, we saw a snake shed its skin. That was the coolest thing I have ever seen.” Emma and Katerina presented their project on February the 6th.

- Ian Krueger

Spanish Trip Success!

On February 6th, CCHS’s Spanish 3 & 4 class took a trip to a restaurant called Boca Chica. From the car all the way to their destination students were interactive with the language. Students were asked questions in the car about the murals in the restaurant which was followed by a discussion in Boca Chica about the history of these Mexican murals. After that, it was required to not speak in English anymore. Miss Wheeler’s aim was to get her students to fully experience the culture as much as possible... even with some authentic food. Many of the students enjoyed this trip and said it was a good experience. Thanks for our chaperones that came along too!

Not seen in photograph: Ben Smith

- Angela Balboa

Basketball Update: Pre 2/7/2014

Basketball at CCHS is enjoyed by fans, friends, and players alike. But, as it is said, all good things must come to an end, and the season has the end is now in its sight. Players have enjoyed the season, from the victories, to of course the crushing defeats. When asked to reflect on the season, Nathan Mateer, a sophomore, answered “I think it’s been really fun, people stepping up as leaders, working with each other, encouraging one another.” Sarah Bursaw, a sophomore, replied, “Its been pretty good, it has its ups and downs with big wins and losses. Practices could also be hard as well.”

Every team of course has its opinions on how far they have progressed as a team “From 1-5, with 5 being the highest, our team is about 3.5. We have our ups and downs of the season. Otherwise, I think we’re getting to know the sets better.” John Erickson, a freshmen and new player to the team comments.

As the season begins to close, CCHS encourages for fans to come and watch! This coming Friday, CCHS is having spirit day, where all proceeds from concessions will be donated to Heifer International® to help donate an animal to give to needy communities. Hope to see you there!

Andrew Thomas

Breakfasts as a Community

Why are community breakfasts important to Calvin?

Once every month, Calvin Christian High School students gather and have breakfast together to build community in the student body. The ideas behind these breakfasts are not just for a bite to eat as you might think. The goal is to help build community by giving students time to truly connect to other students. Maddie Vande Kamp, a senior, said “ I believe Calvin does things like this to help promote community within the school to get students who don't usually interact with one another to talk and get to know one another.” Overall, breakfast at Calvin is about a lot than cereal and some milk and students look forward to these mornings together.

- Connor Bartz

Who can you trust? Even a seemingly reputable store like Target Might not be safe!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Target_logo.svg

Much of modern life dedicated to technology. Without it life would be majorly different for the majority of people. People can more often than not be found with technology on them wherever they are. Is technology always beneficial? Can it harm you?

Mollie Kelderman, a freshman said that on the Internet “I don’t feel like I am in danger.” She said “Not really” when asked if she felt in more danger after the Target incident and that everyone “should be more careful” when they are on the internet.

Josh Scherrer, a senior said that he felt his safety “depends on where I go” on the Internet, and the reputation of the site. He said that the Target incident for the most part did “not really” impact his feeling of safety. When asked about what could be done to stop things like this, he said that places like Target must “keep up on it” and understand the methods and technology well enough to prevent it.

This is important to think about since more of life is now online, and more threats of that nature could happen. It might not always be possible to stop every potential danger, though it still would be wise to acknowledge them and be prepared to avoid them. Remember that even some well known things like Target could get you in trouble.

- Rick Derfus

Black History Month: CCHS Wonders - What is Black History Month all about?

The month of February is time where we can remember those who have made a difference in our American History, including significant people like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, and many more. We can appreciate the achievements of African Americans and the role they had in U.S. History. It has been proclaimed ever since 1976 by our past presidents that February shall be Black History Month. What are some ways we can celebrate this month? You can listen to music that discusses and highlights our past, you can view the many films to watch to learn more about African American history, you can view art that was a huge part back then to express how they felt. These are a few steps to show respect and to learn more about the American story from different and equally important perspectives.

- Angela Balboa

CCHS' Spanish Class Goes Out Into the City!

Calvin Christian High School's levels three and four Spanish class are taking a trip for some authentic involvement. Students are planning to go to a local restaurant called Boca Chica to enjoy authentic Mexican food, along with learning more about the Latino cultures within the city. Spanish three and four are currently working on projects about other Spanish speaking countries. When asked her reason for organizing this trip, Spanish teacher Miss Kayla Wheeler commented"  “As we are working on these projects, I felt it would be appropriate to take us somewhere to get an authentic experience.” She also believes it should be realized that even though English is the dominant language in America, there are other beautiful and important cultures around us. Students are looking forward to this hands-on learning experience.

- Angela Balboa