Storytellers

To begin their year, third grade welcomed a storyteller. Sue is a community member who writes and tells stories. She shared a compelling story about a boat captain who gave instructions for passengers about the importance of staying in the life rings that were attached to the boat. Gradually, the passengers played and swam farther and farther from the boat. This led one passenger to get lost at sea. As the missing passenger was sinking for what she thought was the last time, she heard the captain calling, “Swim toward my voice. I will not leave until I find you.” The passenger knew that the only way to be saved was to swim to the captain. When the swimmer thought she couldn’t possibly go any farther, she felt the captain’s strong arms reach down and pull her to safety. Students were captivated by the guest storyteller and the symbolic story she delivered.  

This learning experience was an invitation to the third-grade storyline, Be a Storyteller, Tell Your Story. We are called to use our lives and stories to point to God. He will use the stories of our lives to bring His love and hope into the world.
The students later learned that Sue’s friend was very sick with cancer and made cards to encourage her. When Sue came to class to thank them for the cards, she told them that the cards had been a light in a dark place for her friend, and had even brought her smiles and laughs. Sue also shared with her friend a video of the class singing a worship song. This was a blessing to her friend as well. One small act to share God’s love on the part of the class was a bright light for someone else.  

Be a Storyteller, Tell Your Story. This storyline presents our third graders with a beautiful challenge. Take your knowledge, your discoveries, and your personal stories, and share them with the world. Bring Jesus to a world that is craving true love and hope.

Teaching for Transformation

Since 1917, BCCS has worked to provide an authentic, Christ-centered education. Six years ago, we began the implementation of a framework called Teaching for Transformation (TfT) that allows us to be even more intentional about the integration of faith and learning. 

TfT helps us provide an excellent Christian education and incorporates two important principles. First, TfT ensures that our school uses best practices in the classroom. Rather than simply delivering content, teachers create learning experiences to engage students inside and outside their classrooms. Students can be found collaborating on a project, role-playing in a simulation, or participating in a formational learning experience. The deeper we engage our students, the more they will grow! Learners may be harvesting and selling honey in science, running a Greek court in social studies, walking the community in prayer, performing in orchestra, partnering with a local food bank, or designing a house in geometry. Whatever the lesson, we want our students to be able to practice the things they learn. 

Second, TfT helps us foster the connection between faith and learning. While Bible, prayer, and chapel serve as obvious times for faith formation, we want students to connect all subjects to God’s story. Curriculum is structured so that we have student-focused learning targets. Some are academic-specific, while others are long-term targets for the most essential learning. We ask ourselves what type of people we want our students to become. In this way, in all subjects, students see why their learning is important and also see who they can become. Every school shapes the values and worldviews of its students, but at BCCS, we are intentional about using curriculum to shape disciples. We are passionate about our students using their gifts to play their role in God’s much bigger story. 

We celebrate the awesome work of our teachers and staff on the TfT journey, and we look forward to years of continued growth and learning!

Storyline!

The staff at BCCS has the privilege of working with one of God’s most precious gifts to us – children. Students here are loved, respected, cared for, challenged, and supported so they might grow closer to God and live into whom He has created them to be. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We all fall short on our own, but because of God’s grace, forgiveness, and the Holy Spirit we can do good works.

Our storyline or theme for this year is See the Story, Live the Story. Seeing the story is important. At BCCS, that means studying God’s Word, commiting Bible passages to memory, doing science experiments, practicing math equations, learning about different countries and cultures, and exploring new ways of learning. We use a Biblical lens to see God’s story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration in the world and people around us.

See the Story, Live the Story. What a calling! God desires us to see His story, but also to live it. We are called to engage with people, learn creation’s patterns, understand formulas, study the details of nature, identify rights and wrongs, and help our community flourish. As such, we design learning experiences that allow our students to practice and use what they have studied. We work with real people, discover real needs, and do real work. We want to go beyond the walls of our building to do good works which God has prepared in advance. 

We desire to offer an excellent education, equipping our students to be agents of change, faithfully serving a world and people that need restoration. 

May this school year be a great one where we focus not on ourselves or even our students, but on helping each other see and live God’s story.

Accessible Christian Education

Christian education is one of the best investments parents make in the lives of their children. In a world full of competing worldviews and values, a Christian education is arguably more important now than ever before. Mission fulfillment produces the formation of a Christian worldview to provide students a lasting, lifelong impact. However, a question we are commonly asked is: How can this education become accessible for more people who desire it for their family? At Byron Center Christian School (BCCS), our goal is to ensure each family can make this investment in their child and have access to Christian education. As we equip students for lifelong service in God’s Kingdom, we desire to partner with each family. Due to generous support from our donors, the BCCS Foundation, Parents’ Club, and the New Life Thrift Store, we can ensure excellence for each student and accessibility for all families.                          

BCCS offers a range of tuition rates, called Variable Tuition. In essence, this allows families to apply for a tuition rate that is based on their unique financial situation. While every family is expected to contribute to the cost of tuition and to support BCCS, the Variable Tuition program offers families an appropriate tuition level, making a quality Christian school education accessible for more families within our community. 
If you thought a Christian education was not possible from a financial perspective, think again! To learn more, you can visit https://www.bccs.org/tuitionanaccessibility or contact us anytime.

Preschool at BCCS

Preschool is such a joyful place! As school begins each fall, we welcome a new group of young learners to our classrooms. In order to ensure each one of these children has a great first school experience, teachers use an inquiry-based curriculum with a learning through fun philosophy. Students participate in a large range of activities including discovery stations, writing activities, math foundations, sensory activities, life stations (restaurants, home living, etc.) arts, crafts, small group work, and more. Students spend time outdoors daily, interact in large groups, participate in show and tell, and so much more. In this way, rather than teaching to a group, teachers are able to meet the needs of each child and help them grow. Teachers strive to ensure growth of the whole child through various learning objectives, ranging from early mathematics to social and emotional skills. 

Teachers also build relationships with each individual student. In preschool, they are loved, cared for, known, accepted, and prayed for as they begin to make BCCS their school home. Most importantly, teachers help students understand how much God loves them. Young learners are introduced to His story (creation, fall, redemption, restoration) and are challenged to show love in their own lives just as God shows His love for us. At the ages of three and four, they will pray and read great Bible stories, but we also want them to discover the connections between their faith and their learning

If you are interested in either learning more or joining our early childhood programs, please save the following dates: 

  • Priority registration will open December 6 

  • Open registration will begin January 10 

Many of our classes will fill, so we highly recommend registering in a timely manner to ensure you reserve a space in one of our exceptional programs. We also offer personal tours of our preschool campus year-round, which is the best way to learn more about our program. God has a path for your child and we want to help you discover that. Contact us to schedule your visit!

Board Update

Greetings on behalf of the BCCS School Board and staff! We are a few months into the school year and witnessing God's blessings and handiwork in so many ways at BCCS again this year. The storyline this year is “See the Story, Live Story,” and it has been a joy to watch how God's story is unfolding at BCCS through the work of our teachers and staff.

Having a thriving and growing community is a blessing from God – 650 students and their families have been entrusted to our care! It has been wonderful to see many new families and students contributing to our thriving community, both in and out of the classroom. Our teachers have done a great job welcoming and inviting students into their individual learning communities and the community at large. We continue to be intentional about creating Christ-centered communities, with a multitude of activities for students that include middle school mixers, retreats, small groups, back-to-school celebrations, and get-to-know-you activities in the elementary grades. Our teachers are intentional about welcoming students into their deep hopes and storylines in order to share their love for both God and learning in their Christ-centered classrooms.

As our community continues to grow and expand, we will continue to be relationship focused and mission centered. We will continue to explore and implement opportunities for all our students, teachers, and staff to grow as we strive for excellence, remain rooted in the Word, and prepare our students to serve God in His Kingdom. That is an important and high calling for our community, and we will continually work to embrace those who have chosen to be a part of it, whether new to BCCS or generational families.

Through consistent growth in the surrounding community and focused energies in promoting the school’s preschool and kindergarten programs, our enrollment has increased significantly over the last three years. Therefore, we are at the early stages of the next capital campaign, titled “With Faith,” to welcome new families to the West Campus, the gateway of our community. 

We are calling our campaign “With Faith” because we feel the slogan epitomizes our unwavering belief that God has called us to embark on this journey to expand and renovate the West Campus. “With Faith,” all things are possible. “With Faith,” we have hope. “With Faith,” God will provide the funds necessary for the Byron Center Christian community to continue to carry out our mission. More information will be coming soon, but we are excited to let you know that our need for space is a blessing, and the added space is essential for building God’s Kingdom for generations to come through BCCS. 

Do you want to learn more about what is happening at BCCS? Feel free to contact our school office to set up a time to hear more. 

Thank you to each parent, staff member, and supporter of BCCS for an excellent start to the school year! 

Blessings,

Mike Wolf, School Board President

James Onderlinde, Administrator

Save the Date! Preschool, Junior Kindergarten, and Kindergarten Registration

We are excited to share some important dates regarding registration and enrollment for the 2023-2024 school year! 

  • Preschool priority registration will begin Tuesday, December 6. Priority registration is for any family (current or new to BCCS) who plans to or already does send their children to elementary school at BCCS. 

  • Preschool open registration will begin Tuesday, January 10. This is for any family who does not know where their children will go to elementary school or those who only use our preschool program.

  • Junior kindergarten and kindergarten registration will also open Tuesday, January 10. Even current BCCS families must register so we know which kindergarten class you prefer for your son or daughter. 

Please save these dates as spaces are limited in preschool, junior kindergarten, and kindergarten classrooms. All registration links will be located at www.bccs.org/registration. 

Following the registration window, email confirmations will be sent in February, and application instructions will be provided in March or April. If you have any questions regarding this process, email Andy Reidsma at reidsma@bccs.org or call 616.878.3347.

If you want to learn more about BCCS, we highly recommend a personal campus tour so you can see classrooms, meet teachers, and ask all your questions. We want you to be able to find the place where God has called your family! 

Mana for Today

Manna for Today

“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” ~ Deuteronomy 8:3


Do you ever have one of those songs that absolutely won’t leave your head? It’s everywhere you go. You hear it when you wake up, when you are driving to work in the morning, in the grocery line checkout–it won’t go away!

I find that this is my essential existence as a music teacher. Whatever pieces we are studying in choir show up in the most random places in my life, and it is a side effect I enjoy–for the most part (No one wants to hear “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” on repeat in their head while they are trying to sleep).

These past two weeks have been no different. I have started teaching “You’ve Already Won” by Shane and Shane to the students and have decided that all of my choirs from SCHS, BCCS, and DCS should know it, which means I have heard this song approximately 100 times in the last two days. This may be an exaggeration, but there has been a much better outcome in this situation: the lyrics have turned into a soundtrack of daily worship for me. Verse 3 and the chorus say:

There’s mercy in the waiting
Manna for today
And when it’s gone, I know you’re not
You are my hope and stay

I’m fighting a battle
You’ve already won
No matter what comes my way
I will overcome
I don’t know what you’re doing
But I know what you’ve done
I’m fighting a battle You’ve already won


And it hit me. Manna for today. Can you believe that our Lord fed His people physical bread from heaven for forty years in the desert?! Even after Israel doubted God’s plan for them, He provided. Day after day, the Israelites ate, completely relying on God to keep them alive in their years of wandering.

We serve a God who parts seas for His people, feeds them in the desert, levels city walls, shuts the mouths of lions, conquers kings and nations, and provides. What a comfort! It is so comforting to know that the God who is still living and breathing and with us today is the God who has been endlessly faithful to us in the past. What a blessing that we know our “manna for today” will be provided and that even when we are in hard times Jesus Christ will remain our hope. For we do not live on manna alone, but on every word, on every faithfulness of God.

Katie DeVries

Choir Teacher

8th Grade Retreat

Each fall, our eighth-grade students embark on a two-day trip to Camp Henry. During their time there, students enjoyed the challenges of low ropes courses, took part in the ‘leap of faith,’ the giant swing, and laser tag.  They play in the water, enjoyed the gym and nine square courts, and had campfires at night.  They also spend time in worship and in small group discussions.

The purpose of the retreat is to help our eighth graders identify themselves as children of God. We do this by looking first at who society tells them they are and by looking at the lies that the devil often tells us, including when he mixes lies with the truth. Then teachers talk about who we all are in God's eyes, and how they see students as leaders in our school.  Finally, students look at how they can use that information to have a positive impact on what happens here at BCCS and how to prepare themselves for service outside our four walls.

Building community by having fun and doing crazy middle school things is important, but it is essential that we are also becoming a Christ-centered community focused on serving God and serving others!