Early Childhood enrollment for 2023-2024 is Legacy Christian’s strongest yet! To make room for our growth, we’ve added a Preschool classroom and increased our options to include a 5-Day Preschool and Progressive Kindergarten. Our Extended Care program will be in its second year and is filling up quickly for 2023-2024. Please keep sharing your love of Legacy with the community and we thank God for the continued growth of our school!
Monday, September 25
Stonewater Country Club
Join us for a day on the course in support of Legacy Christian. Interested in sponsoring the event or registering a foursome? Contact rmorren@legacycs. org for more information.
The Legacy School Board announced during the Spring Auction new scholarship opportunities to connect families with a demonstrated financial need with supporters of Christian education. The Board invites supporters of Christian education to sponsor a scholarship for at least three years. There are three tiers of support: 25% of tuition, 50% of tuition, and full tuition. These scholarships may be anonymous or named and may support an individual student or a family. Potential recipients must complete an application and be reviewed by our Finance Committee. If you are interested in sponsoring a scholarship, please visit legacycs. org/support for more information.
Saturday, October 14 | 10:00 am
South Christian High School
Race alongside the South Suburban Christian Schools in the Strong Foundations 5K to raise funds for the schools’ foundations which reduce the overall tuition costs for all students.
Legacy Lens Summer 2023
We are excited to share the story of Legacy Christian through our new website. Visit legacycs.org or scan here to check it out!
The Kingdom Builder Scholarship was established by a generous couple and is awarded to two 8th grade students. The $500 scholarship honors students who demonstrate that they are “Christ-Followers and Kingdom-Builders.” This year’s recipients are Lydia Schaaf and Isabelle Thompson. Congratulations!
The LCS board would like to inform you of an important change taking place before the 2023-2024 school year. Our Head of School, Brad Van Beek, will be leaving Legacy Christian at the completion of the current school year. Mr. Van Beek has brought many new ideas to Legacy, and we greatly appreciate his vision and leadership the past two years. We thank Brad for his faithful service and wish him success in his future endeavors! Curt DeYoung will be stepping in as interim Head of School for the 2023-2024 school year. Mr. DeYoung has taught at Legacy for nearly 20 years, serving as West Campus Lead for 13 of those years. We feel confident that his experience and dedication will provide the necessary leadership as we work together through this transition. The board will begin the search for a new head of school this Fall. We thank you for your continued support and prayers for Legacy Christian School. We are looking forward to great things in the 2023-2024 school year!
Jay Morren Board PresidentLegacy Christian School Board 2023-2024
Jay Morren, President
Danielle Mier, Vice President
Joe Ponstein, Treasurer
Todd Brigham
Lisa Ellens
Erin Goodman
Rachael Heyboer
Marcus Krosschell
Angela Lee
Ben Meyering
Mike Plaisier
Jason Rottman
Sarah VanOudheusden
Brandon Williams
Thank you to Renee McCaul for her gift of photography throughout this newsletter!
This summer, the East Campus will undergo significant updates to the flooring and main entrance as well as improvements to our first and second grade classrooms, art room and teacher’s lounge.
Classrooms: Our 1st and 2nd grade classrooms (such as the one pictured left) will be updated with new flooring, furniture and technology.
room, art room, and front office. With growing enrollment in our younger grades, we will also add a second Pre-K classroom and update our first and second grade classrooms.
The LCS Board would like to extend our gratitude to the many donors who contributed to the first two phases of the Building a Legacy Capital Campaign! With your generosity, we exceeded our matching gift goal this past December, and marked the completion of all projects for Phase 1 of the campaign. Your giving has made a significant impact on the school.
As we move forward, we are excited to announce that Phase 2 projects will begin this summer! The West Campus will have the remaining portions of the roof replaced, while the East Campus will undergo a number of significant updates. These include polished concrete floors in the hallways and art room, new metal lockers and paint in the hallways, and improvements to the staff break
We also recognize that safety is also a high priority for our families. To increase campus security, we will update the East Campus front entrance with an airlock and new doors. The East Campus bus entrance will also receive new doors during the summer of 2023.
You can continue to support the Building a Legacy Capital Campaign with a gift to our third phase of projects, tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2024! Phase 3 will mark the completion of classroom updates with improvements slated for the 3rd – 6th grade classrooms.
Hallway: Open metal lockers will be installed in both hallways at the East Campus to replace the hooks.
You can help us finish strong with a gift toward our third and final campaign phase!
Your donation will help us remodel the 3rd through 6th grade classrooms during the summer of 2024.
Donate Mail a check to LCS at 67 - 68th Street SW, Grand Rapids, MI 49548 or scan the QR code below to give online.
East Campus Flooring: The flooring at the East Campus hallways (left photo) and art room will be updated to polished concrete like that of the West Campus (right photo).
PleDge
Commit to a giving plan for Phase 3 of the capital campaign by visiting legacycs.org/ donate or contacting 616-455-3860.
Pray
Give thanks for God’s faithful provision, and pray for God’s leading as we seek to honor Him through our building projects!
This year at Railside Golf Club, our community joined together to celebrate and raise funds Legacy Christian during our annual Spring Auction. We are so thankful for all of your support and prayers for this event. Together, we raised over $135,000 - a record breaking amount! We are overwhelmingly grateful for all of your support. We give our thanks and praise to God for this incredible blessing!
Thank you to our title sponsors: Insignia Homes, Immaculate Flight, Tru Kitchens, & Van Solkema Family Farms.
Through intentional curriculum development for social and emotional learning, Legacy seeks to support the growth of the whole student.
Younger students work on identifying emotions within themselves and others, and learn a variety of ways to regulate their bodies and minds. Upper elementary students work on growing their self awareness and relationship skills.
The Grace Space in the East Campus and the Student Union in the West Campus provide designated places for students to reset and regulate their minds and bodies, receive encouragement and support, and learn lagging social and emotional skills through either individual or small group instruction.
The global pandemic highlighted our human need for relationships and mental wellness. We are a people of relationship with our Savior, one another, creation, and ourselves. As Agents of Renewal, Legacy Christian intentionally increased social and emotional learning to plant a firm foundation for our students to bring healthy, restoring relationships into a broken world.
CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning categorizes social and emotional skills into 5 core competencies: social awareness, relationship skills, self awareness, and self management. Research shows that intentional structured social and emotional learning has numerous positive outcomes including higher academic performance, increased levels of empathy for others, and positive behaviors both within and outside the classroom.
Legacy uses the framework from Restorative Justice practices in our classroom communities during daily circle time for learning tasks, addressing challenges within the classroom, resolving conflict, discussing difficult topics or current events, and sharing so students feel known. Weekly students learn and practice their new and growing SEL skills.
Within the walls of Legacy Christian School, students are taught the ABCs and 123s, but what a blessing to be a part of a learning community that not only cares about academics, but also the social, emotional, mental, and spiritual health of each student as well.
