Special Classes Staff
Education:
Bachelor of Arts- K-12 Art Education - Calvin College
Experience:
Byron Center Christian School PK - 8th Grade Art
Dutton Christian School K - 8th Grade Art
Young Rembrandts Art Instructor
Forest Hills Schools K - Fifth Grade
Lowell Community Education K - Fifth Grade Summer Art Classes
Camp Geneva Art Counselor
Family:
Married to Matt
Daughters Hannah and Caitlin
Favorite Verse: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5 – 6
My Deep Hope is that you know that God is a creator and that He gifted you with the ability to be creative!
My Deep Hope is that I want students to notice God’s beauty around us and recognize the creative gifts He gave us and enjoy creating art together.
I am so excited to be at BCCS. I love being able to tell my students that God gave them their bodies and He loves for us to take care of them through exercise. Each student makes up a different part of the body of Christ and it is so cool to see them each play their part in physical education.
Education: I graduated from Grand Valley State University with a major in K-12 Physical Education and a minor in School Health Education.
Hobbies: Running, playing sports, spending time with my husband and family (especially my niece and nephew).
Favorite Verse: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
My Deep Hope is that students would show the body of Christ through their actions and words and understand their body is a gift from God to take care of throughout their lives.
It is a privilege to teach Kindergarten through 5th grade Spanish here at BCCS! I have been teaching at BCCS since the '08-'09 school year. Prior to my first year of teaching, I received my Bachelors degree in Spanish and a minor in Elementary Education in the spring of 2008 from Calvin College. God blessed my development as a Spanish teacher by allowing me to participate in two fully-immersed language and cultural experiences abroad. I spent Calvin College's 2007 Interim in Mexico and the spring semester of 2006 in Spain, where I furthered my interest for both the Spanish and Mexican languages and culture.
I share a passion with my students to develop an appreciation for God's marvelous work creating different cultures and languages. We focus on what it means to build God's kingdom, not only in our own neighborhood, but also around the world. A child's natural curiosity for learning has been a strong factor for drawing me to teaching. Pairing that same curiosity with a child's genuine interest in people and languages different from his or her own, over and over again God has clearly revealed to me my path at Byron Center Christian School.
Favorite Verse: "Be strong and courageous...for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
Our Deep Hope is we see God’s kindness and we share God’s kindness.
God led me to Byron Center Christian School in the summer of 2019, and I am beyond grateful to have my teaching career begin here with the creation of the BCCS orchestra program! I look forward to witnessing how these young musicians glorify the Lord through their joyful exploration of the perfect gift of music.
I've spent my entire life in West Michigan, and earned my Bachelor of Music Education with viola performance honors from Grand Valley State University.
I perform with the Shoreline Community Orchestra of Muskegon and the Vintage Parlor Orchestra based in Grand Rapids. I also serve as a summer stage manager for Shadblow Theatre in Jenison, and as a director/production manager for the theater department of my alma mater, Forest Hills Central.
When not in the classroom, I can be found walking in nature, drinking coffee, and hanging out with my beautiful mother and our dogs.
My favorite passage from the Bible is found in Psalm 46:10. "Be still, and know that I am God."
My Deep Hope is that you will grow in your love for The Lord and use the gift of music to spread joy and glorify Him.
God is so good! I am so thankful that He led me to Byron Center Christian. I'm especially excited to encourage my students to not just deepen their musicianship, but to explore how musicianship looks in the context of worship. I also wish to help them connect between the different aspects of being a musician - creating, performing, listening, evaluating, connecting - and the multifaceted character of the Creator.
Education: I graduated from Hope College with a major in Music Education and a minor in Jazz Studies.
Hobbies: hanging out with my husband, Adam; playing with my son, Elliott; spending time with family and friends; training/playing with my dogs, Strider and Captain; riding horses; reading; sketching; going on adventures.
One of my favorite verses: Phillipians 4:6-7 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
My Deep Hope is that you will be students of ‘love,’ practicing being an image-bearer of YHWH.
My Deep Hope is that you strive to glorify your Creator with your body and health while encouraging others to thrive while doing the same.
I graduated from Cornerstone University in 2014 with a Bachelors of Music Education. I worked at Ada Christian for one year and at Valleywood Public School for one year before coming to Byron Center Christian. Music is my passion in life and I love working with students to help them become better musicians.
I believe that God has given us the gift of music to be used to worship him. I am grateful to be working in a school where I can share my faith and love of music. I firmly believe that God has called me to be a music teacher. I want my students to know the importance of sharing their music with the community and using it to glorify God.
My Deep Hope is for you to be curious about God being the original programmer while reflecting how Jesus is His main character!
Mrs. Monica VanHouten
Choir Director
(616) 878-3347 ext. 233
6th, 7th, & 8th Grade Spanish
(616) 878-3347 ext. 218
Grace and peace to you! I am so excited to be teaching at Byron Center Christian and growing in the Lord with each of you. It means the world to me to teach in a Christian learning community where faith is intentionally focused on every day. As someone who wholeheartedly loves both music and Spanish, I am so thankful for the opportunity to incorporate both of these passions into my classes here at BCCS. I have a desire to see each of our middle school students grow and become more of the people God created them to be, whether in the language classroom or rehearsing with our music ensembles.
A favorite Bible passage of mine is found in Colossians 3:14, which commands believers, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Deep Hope: My Deep Hope is for students to become gracious communicators through interactions with others and the Spanish language. “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 Storyline: Gracious Communicators
Deep Hope: My Deep Hope is for our choirs to glorify God through music as a form of worship, joining in the eternal heavenly song. Storyline: Eternal Worshipers
B.M.Ed. Olivet Nazarene University
M.A. Spanish Idaho State University, ant. 2025