Holland Middle is one of 100 schools in the country awarded an "Innovation Lab Challenge" grant! The school will receive $7500 to purchase emerging technologies to help prepare students for our ever-changing world.
With this grant the school will be creating a space for all students to explore 3D printing and VR technologies. Four more 3D printers will be added to allow classes to design and print items for their classes. Whether it be designing nosecones for straw rockets in STEM class or creating cell models and printing them, the printers will be a great addition to the learning already taking place. The lab will also have 8 Oculus Quest VR headsets available for classes of students to use to support both academics and mental health programs already in place. With the help of Hope College, a scaffolding will be built that will allow the headsets to hang down and students to walk right up and be transformed into another world. Using VR, students can be transported from the ancient pyramids in Egypt right into the trenches during World War 1. The headsets also allow the students to create/design in virtual reality and then 3D print their creations!
HPSProud of the excellent showing from our 4th and 5th grade Challenge Program students in the Michigan Statistics Poster Competition. This is an annual competition and all 4th/5th graders in the Challenge Program submit entries. This year, HPS was represented extremely well with 2nd Place in the state (going on to the national competition) along with 2 Honorable Mention awards (one of which is also a National Competition qualifier). The groups involved are: Honorable Mention: Eli Wolters, Austin VanBeek, Keegan Welsh; Holland Public Schools; “Are Bigger Batters Better?” (National Qualifier) (JEFFERSON) Honorable Mention: Sam Huizenga, Sam Kragt, Alejandra Rodrigues-Estrada; Holland Public Schools; “Sticky Fingers”(JEFFERSON) Second Place in the State (also National Qualifier): Liliya Pyk, Harper Schoon-Tanis; Holland Public Schools; “Picture Perfect (A Study of School Yearbooks)” (HLA) It should be noted that our top finishers, Liliya and Harper, from HLA also placed second in the state in last year's competition! The Honorable Mention winners will receive certificates from the GVSU statistics department (hosts of the contest). The second-place winners will receive certificates and a plaque to be displayed at their school as well as a CASH prize! The national qualifying posters are sent to the American Statistical Association's national contest over the summer. Pretty amazing that 2 of the 5 national qualifiers representing our state are from HPS!
Artwork created by students in several Holland High and Holland Early College classes will be featured as a year-long exhibition in Van Bragt Art Park. Artwork was inspired by this year's Big Read, featuring In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. The book focuses on the themes of courage, love, and the human cost of political oppression.
Van Bragt Park is located at 60 N. River St. in Holland. The artwork will remain on display until May 2021.
Congratulations to each of these classes and to Rosalba Briseno, Ariana Dyke-Perez, Caleb Tobaison, & Ashonte' Burchett-Welch for this recognition.
We are excited to announce that seven Holland Middle School 8th-grade students placed in the Michigan History Day competition.
Emma Hulst, Kalyna Pyk, Zoe Boniface, Thy Tran, and Cora Grissom earned a chance to compete as National Finalists in the National History Day Contest in the Junior Division Group Website category. Despite a change this year to new software for building websites, the team was able to navigate the system's complexities and create an amazing site highlighting Amelia Earhart.
Henry Mulder and Liebbe Martinez earned a third place finish to become National Alternates in the Junior Division Group Exhibit category. This category has historically had the most entries and this year was no different. Their exhibit presenting the quest to break the sound barrier was a top tier exhibit that will move on to the nationals if one of the finalists in the group exhibit category drop out.
We cannot express how proud we are of these students and the hard work and perseverance that has gone into creating these amazing projects. We also want to thank all the teachers, judges and parents that helped along the way. It has been a collective effort and a true reflection of the greatness nurtured in HPS.
Stay tuned for updates from the (inter)national competition.
HHS, HEC, and HVRT graduates: Come to this "drive thru" event to pick-up your Cap & Gown, drop-off your HPS Chromebook, and to get a graduation gift from HPS. To help us avoid large crowds, please come during these suggested times: Last name A-G 10 am - 11 am Last name H-P 11 am - 12 pm Last name Q-Z 12 pm - 1 pm Can't make it during the day? 5:30-7:30pm HHS and HEC grads: Jostens will be in touch with you to let you know if you owe for your Cap & Gown. When you arrive in the circle drive off Van Raalte, PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CAR.
We're celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week - May 4-8.
Grab your cellphone, iPad, or Chromebook and shoot a quick video of you or your kid(s) answering the following questions:
What qualities make a great teacher?
How has a teacher inspired you?
Try not to focus your answers on a specific teacher. Leave names out of your video as much as possible; as this is a video for ALL HPS teacher.
Finally, simply look in the camera and say "THANK YOU".
Make your video stand out: Let it be fun, or sentimental, or goofy, or exciting!
Film it with a friend (social distancing please), a sibling, a parent. Film it somewhere fun! Film horizontally, well-lit and without a lot of background noise.
When you're done with your video message, send it to jcraner@hollandpublicschools.org. The video will debut on YouTube during Teacher Appreciation Week... we'll also post it on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter
On Saturday, March 7th, eleven band students from Holland High School participated in the Hope College High School Honors Band with other high school band students from surrounding Michigan area school districts. This one-day event, which was held at Hope College's Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, gave high school musicians, nominated by their band directors, the opportunity to rehearse and prepare some very challenging musical repertoire that concluded with a performance in the evening. Participating HHS Band students included Delfina Duron, Leah Meppelink, Caitlyn Prins, Genesis Pedraza, Amy Pedraza, Danielle Prins, Maddie Fischer, Seth Leveque, Micah Babinski, Jason Kamphuis, and Dominic Sanders. Congratulations to all on a job well done!
Congratulations to the Holland High School Chamber Orchestra and Kay Mayer with the Middle School 7th Grade Orchestra for earning top ratings at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra District 10 Festival Wednesday, March 4 at Grandville High School. Ensembles are judged on three prepared pieces and also on pieces they have never seen before. The Symphony and 8th grade received 1st divisions in sight-reading as well.
I just wanted to make you aware of the incredible successes the Holland High School Bands and the Holland Middle School 8th Grade Band achieved at MSBOA District X Band Festival on Friday, February 28th, hosted at Jenison High School's Center for the Arts. The ensembles are adjudicated on three pieces they have prepared to perform for 3 adjudicators as well as on a piece they perform in sight-reading (performing a piece they have never seen before after only studying it for 5 minutes). The HHS Concert Band started the day off right with straight ones in performance and sight-reading for an overall Division 1 “Superior” rating! The HHS Wind Ensemble followed up with an overall Division 1 “Superior” rating as well, with two 1’s and one 2 in performance and a 1 in sight-reading! The HMS 8th Grade Band wrapped up the day with two 2’s in performance as well as one 1 and a 1 in sight-reading for a high Division 2 “Excellent” rating! I am so proud of all these ensembles! The work they put in for months in preparation for their performances certainly paid off! Enjoy the pics and please congratulate a HPS 8th-12th grade band member if you see them! Sincerely, Bethany Van Oss
Holland High School will host a concert by the A cappella Choir of Northwestern College, Orange City, Iowa, on Wednesday, March 4, at 1:30 p.m. The concert is free; the public is invited to attend. The choir’s touring program includes songs in a variety of texts, languages and styles that focus on love, loss, celebration, humor, commitment and God’s grace. “Praise to the Lord,” “O Salutaris Hostia” and “Ezekiel Saw de Wheel” are among the ensemble’s repertoire. Several songs will feature solos by choir members, and the concert will close with the choir’s traditional “Beautiful Savior.” This year’s A cappella Choir tour will include performances in churches and schools in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and eastern Iowa. The 42-member A cappella Choir is directed by Dr. Thomas Holm, professor of music at Northwestern. The ensemble has performed across the U.S. and abroad. Northwestern is a Christian college of more than 1,400 students. Rated a top-10 Midwestern college by U.S. News & World Report magazine, Northwestern provides an education committed to standout academics and a Christ-centered worldview.
During this two-day retreat, student-musicians have been working to hone the fine details of their MSBOA Band Festival Music (the 8th-12th grade bands are attending festival is at Jenison HS on Friday, Feb. 28). In addition, the 8th-12th grade band members are learning two brand new pieces during the retreat that will only be performed at the mini-concert at the end of the retreat tonight. The mini-concert starts at 7 p.m. in the HHS PAC Auditorium.
Third graders in Mrs. Kooyer’s class got together with their Kindergarten reading buddies from Ms. McFarland’s class to learn about famous African Americans as we celebrate Black History Month. Kindergarteners chose who they wanted to learn about and the third graders did research on the person their Kindergarten chose and met later to share the information they found. Then, together students made a poster telling what they learned. They can be found hanging on the Kindergarten students’ lockers. Look for Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges, Frederick Douglass, Barack Obama, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens and many more.
We are so very proud of all of our HHS choirs for their performances at MSVMA District Choral Festival Last Thursday, February 13! Our choir students performed with great attention to detail and such poise and heart! Belle Canto and Select Men’s got their highest sight reading score ever during my time at HHS and earned an overall high Division 2 rating. Concert Choir and Vocal Dimensions also shined earning a high Division 1 rating and now will be moving forward to State Choral Festival in May! Thank you for your support of the performing arts at HPS!
I wanted to share some amazing news! Congratulations to Isabel Bos, Duncan Lam, Isaac Stilwell and Josiah Broussard for being selected to perform with the All-State Choir at the Michigan Youth Arts Festival on May 9 at Western Michigan University! We’ve only had one student ever earn a spot in this group of the top 120 high school singers in the state before and this year we have FOUR! I am SO excited for them to have this amazing opportunity! Thank you for supporting our HPS Performing Arts students! Sincerely, Sarah Malone
Holland High School’s Vocal Dimensions Presents "Vocals on Broadway” March 19, 20 & 21 at 7PM, and March 22 at 2PM. Vocal Dimensions is an award winning auditioned choir that performs and competes throughout the area in music festivals, state honors choir, schools, churches and more. In "Vocals On Broadway” the group will perform timeless Broadway favorites spanning the last century. This is a show you will not want to miss! Join us for a night of magic at The Holland High School Performing Arts Center, 600 Van Raalte Ave. Holland MI 49423 Ticket Prices: Adults $15 in advance $17 at the door, Students $10 in advance $12 at the door, Groups $12 in advance for groups of 10 or more per show. In person purchase only at HPS Administration Building 320 West 24th Street. Tickets can be purchased online
Congratulations to Josiah Broussard, Isabel Bos, Duncan Lam and Isaac Stilwell for representing Holland HS in the MSVMA State Honors Choir on January 18 at DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids. This is an outstanding achievement as they went through a very rigorous audition process and were selected to sing alongside the very best high school singers in the state of Michigan. This is also a big deal for our school because this is the most singers we’ve ever had to make State Honors Choir in the history of the program. We are very proud of this significant achievement!
Congratulations to the following members of HHS Choirs on performing with the MSVMA Regional Honors Choir on December 7, 2019 at Allendale High School: Isabel Bos, Josiah Broussard, Duncan Lam, Joy Miller and Isaac Stilwell. Four of these students (Isabel Bos, Josiah Broussard, Duncan Lam and Isaac Stilwell) were selected to perform with the MSVMA State Honors Choir at the DeVos Performance Hall on Saturday, January 18, 2019 at 3:00pm. This is a VERY significant achievement as this is the most students HHS has ever had selected for State Honors Choir and they represent the top 200 high school singers in the state of Michigan! This significant achievement of reaching State Honors Choir then allows them to audition for the MSVMA All-State Choir. Thank you for your ongoing support of the HPS Performing Arts!
The Holland High School Marching Band celebrated its incredible success and the students that made it all possible with the first-ever HHS Marching Band Banquet! The evening was filled with mock paper plate awards, created by the section leaders and drum majors of the marching band, to celebrate the unique and often humorous characteristics of those in their sections as well as awards given by the directors of the band for qualities and skills such as "Best Marcher," "Future Leader," and "Rookie of the Year." A slideshow, created by Visual Director, Mason England, highlighted the best memories, moments, and bloopers of a phenomenal marching season! Here's to even bigger and better things to come for the HHS Marching Band for the 2020 season!
The HHS Marching Band brushed a few snowflakes off their wooden shoes and caps before entering the Holland Civic Center to perform their signature "TipToe Through The Tulips" for the opening luncheon of the Michigan Downtown Association conference. Although unusual to be seeing the rock kicks, brush kicks, and dips being done at this time of the year, performing "TipToe" when the snow is flying rather than the tulips blooming is not completely unheard of. The HHS Marching Dutchmen have previously performed this well-known routine and tune in the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade as well as during the annual Tulip Time Parades in Holland when weather conditions aren't necessarily so spring-like. Thanks to Kara de Alvare, Marketing Coordinator for Downtown Holland for inviting the band to perform and the Holland Civic Center for hosting us! GO DUTCH!!!
Looking for the perfect holiday gift for a Holland Bands supporter or just want to buy yourself a well-deserved present? The HPS Bands Online Apparel/Accessories Sale is open once again and sure to have something for everyone on your holiday gift list! The sale begins at 8 a.m. on November 1st and lasts until 11:59 p.m. on November 17th. Orders will be available for distribution/pick-up approximately the first week of December or you can have your order shipped right to your own front door (extra $7 charge). Simply go to https://hps-bands.itemorder.com. Get in the holiday spirit by supporting an amazing organization with some very talented students! Thank you!
The Holland High School Jazz Band and Jazz Combo will be presenting their annual Guest Artist Jazz concert with not 1, not 2, but 3 guest artists on Thursday, November 21st at 7:30 p.m. in the Holland High School Performing Arts Center!
The concert will feature father and son renowned jazz artists Tom and Gene Knific on bass and piano, respectively, as well as Dr.Jordan VanHemert, Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies at Hope College and Artistic Director of the Holland Concert Jazz Orchestra. This is sure to be an entertaining evening that will offer something for everyone to enjoy, featuring some of the most talented guest jazz artists and educators currently on the scene! Please come and support live jazz in the Holland community!
Tickets are on sale now at the HPS Central Administration Office (320 W. 24th Street, Holland, 49423) or you can purchase online at https://hollandhighbands.ludus.com Tickets for adults are $15 ($18 at the door-cash only); tickets for students are $5 ($7 at the door with student ID-cash only). We hope to see you there!
The 2019 marching band season is one that will live on in the Holland High School Marching Band members' memories for a long time to come. On Tuesday, October 8th, the HHS Marching Band received a Division 1 Superior Rating for their "Empowered" marching show performance at the Michigan School Band & Orchestra's District 10 Marching Band Festival hosted at Zeeland East High School. In addition, this season is one of particular significance, as it is the first time in the band's history its members participated in a Scholastic Competitive Marching Band Invitational. Not settling for just participating, the Holland High School Marching Band competed at the Allendale Falcon Scholastic Invitational on Saturday, October 12th and took home 1st place in Class A along with caption awards in both Music and Marching! Congratulations to all the students and staff of the HHS Marching Band for all their hard work and dedication this marching season! Onward and upward, HHS Marching Dutchmen!
As the sun rose on Wednesday, September 25th, the red carpet was rolled out and the sounds of the HHS Wind Ensemble filled the early morning fall air at Haworth, Inc. as VIP guests were treated to selections from the HHS Marching Band's 2019 "Empowered" Halftime Show, the band's signature, "TipToe Through The Tulips," as well as drumline grooves and stand tunes. The HHS Wind Ensemble thanks Haworth, Inc. for inviting us to perform at special event, representing HPS and the Holland community!
Please join us for our first concert of the season: The Holland Public School Orchestras perform with Jeremy Kittel & Co. October 2, 2019, 7 PM at the Holland High School Performing Arts Center. Kittel & Co. - Inhabiting the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, folk and jazz sensibilities.
About the Band - Previously of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, also nominated for a Grammy for, “Best Instrumental Composition” in 2018, Jeremy Kittel has been a composer-arranger-collaborator for such diverse artists as My Morning Jacket, Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble, and Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn. He blazes through a Bach violin partita as easily as a Scottish reel, bringing the same intense focus and precision to both.
For the last few years the Michigan native, now based in Brooklyn, has been diligently building his own repertoire of music for a wholly original new group. The Kittel and Co. show feature mandolin phenom Josh Pinkham (named “the future of the mandolin” by Mandolin Magazine) and guitarist Quinn Bachand (who's toured with fiddling icons Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster).
This performance is at the Holland High Performing Arts Center at 600 VanRaalte, Holland, Mi. 49423
The concert includes the HPS Orchestras and the Jeremy Kittel and Co. Band. It starts at 7 PM.
Tickets are cheaper online now so purchase ahead and get a deal!!!!
The HMS 7th and 8th Grade Bands joined the HHS Marching Band for their Pregame show during Middle School Band Night at the home Varsity football game on Friday, September 13th at Hope College's Ray & Sue Smith Stadium. The HMS 7th Grade Band, under the direction of Christopher Grapis, and the HMS 8th Grade Band of Director of Bands, Bethany Van Oss, rocked the house with crowd pleasers like Iron Man, Let's Go Dutch, Bad Romance, and Land of a Thousand Dances. With nearly 200 seventh through twelfth grade band members on the field that evening, it is clear that the Holland Band Program has a very bright future!
The HHS Marching Band brought some school spirit to Hope College's Community Day Varsity Home Football Game when they performed the National Anthem during the Pregame show and their 2019 "Empowered" show during halftime. The HHS Marching Dutchmen also showed their support for Hope's Flying Dutchmen in the stands, frequently playing the Hope College Fight Song, "Anchor of Hope," as the touchdowns just kept coming for the Dutch, with an 80-6 win against Defiance. The HHS Marching Band is proud to have been invited to be part of Hope College's Community Day and represent the Holland Community!
This year's School Nurse 5K Run/Walk is happening on Thursday, Oct. 3. Check-In opens at 5:00pm at Holland West Elementary School (500 W. 24th St.) The Run/Walk begins at 6:00pm. Join us for Free Food and Entertainment. Students can Run/Walk for FREE!. Student can enter by completing the activity fitness tracker envelope included with the 5K Run/Walk packet. Completed fitness tracker envelopes must be returned by September 13 to guarantee a shirt.
On Saturday, August 10th, eighth through twelfth grade band members and even some recently graduated alumni of the HPS Band family, attended the Drum Corp International World Championship Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. This was the first time the band had attended a DCI event in HPS history and the performances of the corps did not disappoint! Fresh off summer marching band camp, the HHS Marching Band members were able to see the best of the best corps perform, motivating them to push for excellence throughout the remainder of their summer and fall marching seasons! Thank you to members of the Holland Band Parents' Association for helping to chaperone this remarkable trip! We are already looking forward to returning next year!"
After being out of school for less than 2 weeks, the student leadership of the HHS Marching Band were right back down to business from 6 p.m.-12 a.m. on Monday, June 17th at their mini leadership lock-in. This valuable evening of focused and fun leadership skill-building was planned, facilitated, and implemented by GVSU Music Education student and HHS Drill Writer and Instructor, Mason England. Drum majors and section leaders participated in team building and leadership activities such as Plane Crash and Shark Tank with a band twist, along with group discussions regarding improvements and goals for the upcoming marching season. The evening culminated with student leaders creating and signing a collective Leadership Goals Contract. Many thanks to these students and Mr. England for their incredible dedication and commitment to the HHS Band Program!
After a very busy week of Tulip Time parades, it was time for some rest and relaxation, but the learning continued as the HMS 7th and 8th Grade Bands as well as the HHS Wind Ensemble were treated to a performance from four very talented members of the Grand Valley State University Saxophone Quartet. The quartet, made up of music education and music performance students, not only performed a vast array of very challenging music but also took questions from the students. Students learned everything from how special, more modern techniques on the saxophone are executed to how many hours a day college music majors are expected to practice. The HPS Band students not only came away with useful musical knowledge but also a renewed appreciation for how exciting music can be when the performers are truly passionate about their craft. The HPS Bands are very grateful to the members of the GVSU Sax Quartet for sharing their gift of music with us!
On April 30th, the HMS 8th Grade Band and the HHS Wind Ensemble took a break from practicing for the upcoming Tulip Time Parades and were treated to a performance from the students of the Grand Valley State University Clarinet Studio, under the direction of Dr. Arthur Campbell, Professor of Music at GVSU. The students not only put on an amazing performance that showcased many different styles of music, but also took time to speak about what is involved in majoring in music at the collegiate level as well as how they find time to incorporate other areas of study and interests into their busy schedules. Jennifer Soles, a HHS alum pursuing degrees in Clarinet Performance and Natural Resource Management, took the time to demonstrate a special type of clarinet called the Basset Horn. Dr. Campbell spoke about the importance of continuing to study music from middle school into high school, giving multiple examples of how studying music teaches many life skills that are valuable no matter what career a student will eventually end up pursuing. The HPS Bands thank the GVSU Clarinet Studio members and Dr. Campbell for spending the day with us!
The 6th, 7th, and 8th grade HMS Bands put a cap on an extremely successful concert season and ushered in Tulip Time with their festive spring concert on Monday, April 29th. From the HMS 6th Grade Band's performance of the well-known "Jurassic Park" to "Ancient Moon," that earned the 7th Grade Band a Division 1 Superior Rating at MSBOA District 10 Concert Festival, to "Idyllwild Fantasy" that allowed the 8th Grade Band to show off their extensive musical growth and maturity throughout the year, there was something to please every audience member. The evening was topped off by a sneak peak of what the HMS Combined 7th/8th Grade Band would showcase in the annual Tulip Time Parades and they did not disappoint! Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" as well as a percussion cadence composed by HHS alum and percussionist, Kevin DePree, brought down the house!
Both Concert Choir and Vocal Dimensions received Division 1 Excellent ratings last week at Michigan School Vocal Music Association's State Choral Festival. This is a tremendous accomplishment as the panel of judges are all college professors from esteemed universities including Ohio State, University of Central Florida, St. Olaf College, Texas Tech, and University of Alabama to name a few. Our students represented HPS so very well and performed with such attention to detail, musicality, professionalism and poise. Thank you for your support of the our HPS Choirs! You have one last chance to hear our HHS Choirs tomorrow evening in our Senior Recognition Choir Concert on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00pm in the HHS PAC. The concert will showcase a culmination of work for our HHS Choirs and honor our HHS Choir Seniors. Admission is free and this concert is open to the public. Thank you and we look forward to sharing our music with you!
The Holland High School Forensics team competed at the MIFA Individual Events State Tournament this weekend at Oakland University in Auburn Hills. 5 students competed. Ajiana Wilson, Gezelle Grier, and Taylor Moes all placed in the top 20 in their event. Oliva Ciethaml qualified for Semi-finals in Storytelling, and Mariah Depoy took 3rd place in Prose. Placing Holland 16th overall in the State in class A division. We are so proud of this small but mighty team! Go Dutch!
Start School Ready will run every day, July 8th - August 2nd, 8:15 am-12:15 pm. Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily. Transportation support will be available to families living in the district. Priority will be given to children who live in the district who have little to no preschool experience. Ready for School provides need-based scholarships to applicants who qualify. Apply at startschoolready.org Questions? Call Ready for School at (616) 834 – 0515 or email startschoolready@readyforschool.org
We are pleased to announce that the HPS Bands' online apparel/accessories sale has reopened for all your spring/summer (and because Michigan weather can still be unpredictable) and cold weather needs! Although this is a fundraiser for the Holland Bands, all it requires you to do is have some fun selecting and purchasing what you would love to wear and spreading the word to friends, relatives, and anyone else who would love to support the Holland Bands and enjoy wearing our gear! All the shopping and payment is done online. It's as easy as that! Don't delay, as the sale ends at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 5th, 2019! Just go to https://hps-bands.itemorder.com and start shopping! Orders will be delivered to HHS for pick-up by the end of May. Otherwise, you may have your order shipped to your place of residence for a small fee. Have fun shopping and supporting the Holland Bands! Thank you!
The Spring Elementary Concert will be on May 21. 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade students from each of our 4 elementary schools will be performing. Heights and Jefferson students will be at 6:00pm, West and HLA will be at 7:30pm. The concert will be at Christ Memorial Reformed Church-595 Graafschap Road. (Near West School)
Recently our 4th grade students from HLA, West, Heights, and Jefferson traveled to Hope College's Jack Miller Auditorium to perform with many other area 4th grade students in the first year of the Holland Symphony's Link-Up Program. This unique concert is a program of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute which partners with locals orchestras, schools, and communities to expose students to a live orchestra while incorporating fundamental music skills through a year long curriculum. Students were able to experience singing and playing their recorder along with the Holland Symphony. Many thanks to the Holland Education Foundation for their assistance with transportation and their support to offer this unique experience to all our Holland 4th graders!
Congratulations to 1977 Holland High Graduate Jay Allen who was recently named the new Public Address announcer for the Detroit Tigers.
Click the link below for more information.
Before you see the Marching Dutchmen Tiptoe Through the Tulips, come hear the award winning students of the HHS Bands perform some fantastic music at their Spring Concert/Senior Recognition Night on Monday, April 22nd at 7:30 p.m. in the HHS Performing Arts Center Auditorium. With ensembles ranging from the HHS Percussion Ensemble to the Jazz Band to the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, there is sure to be something for everyone! This will be a very special evening of music-making as we recognize and honor our band seniors! Mark your calendars as you will not want to miss this!
March proved to be a very eventful and successful month for the students of the HHS Jazz Band.
This past Saturday, March 23rd, for the first time ever, the HHS Jazz Band was invited to share a concert with the Holland Christian Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Scott Vandenberg.
Following the performance of the high school jazz ensembles, MSU Jazz Professor and world renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker, along with his band of professional musicians, took the stage to top off an amazing night of live jazz in the Holland community!
During the day, the HHS and HCHS Jazz students had the privilege of working with these incredibly talented musicians, being immersed in rehearsals, sectionals, and improv clinics, which then enabled them to incorporate their learning into the evening performance, proving that the journey is indeed more valuable than the destination. Thank you to Scott Vandenberg and the students of the HCHS Jazz Orchestra for inviting the HHS Jazz Band to share this incredible day of learning and live jazz and for being such gracious hosts!
As luck would have it, this concert came right on the heels of the HHS Jazz Bands' success at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association's District X Jazz Festival at Caledonia HS on March 14th. With their performance of the well-known Mingus tune, "Nostalgia in Times Square," Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday," and "Blue Bossa" by Kenny Dorham, the HHS Jazz Band brought home a Division 1 Superior rating! Congrats to all involved!"
You can go to the link provided to find the links to videos from this.
The HPS coaching staff and athletic department are excited to offer a number of camps for our students this summer.
Online camp registration is available (free of charge) at www.hollandsportscamps.com. Hard copies of the registration form will be available in HPS building offices after April 9th. Please contact the athletic office at 494-2250 or dbecksvo@hollandpublicschools.org for more information.
Congratulations goes to several HHS Band members for their successes at the 2019 Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association's State Solo & Ensemble Festival on Saturday, March 16 at Portage Northern HS.
HHS Senior and French horn soloist, Evelyn VanderVelde, as well as the Woodwind trio of sisters DJ and Geetje Duron along with Caitlyn Prins, achieved Division II Excellent ratings.
Many soloists achieved Division I Superior ratings for the first time at State S&E, including Josh DeVries on trombone, Tessa Munster on tenor sax, alto saxophonist Maddie Fischer, and Conrad Cassar on clarinet.
In addition, the trumpet trio of HHS Seniors Alberto Castillo, Jr., Lilith Sheridan, and Sonny Kun took home a Division I Superior Rating for their performance of "Trumpets of Spain."
Last but certainly not least, the HHS Percussion Ensemble with members Dominic Sanders, Alisha Kun, Hunter Tripp, Julian Sisson, Alberto Castillo, Jr., Andy Lunn, Evan Stokes, Fabian Flores, Ismael Valdiviez III, Giovanni Garcia, Noah Whiteman, Benjamin Logan, and Beatriz Campos took home blue Division I Superior rating medals for their ensemble piece entitled "Mambolicious."
In order to qualify for State Solo & Ensemble, students had to achieve a Division I Superior rating at MSBOA District X Solo & Ensemble Festival held on Saturday, Feb. 9 at Zeeland East HS. HHS is very proud of these student musicians' accomplishments!"
Congratulations to the Symphony Strings Chamber Ensemble, violin soloist Evelyn Timmermann at proficiency 3, and Cello soloist at proficiency 1 Angela Juarez on a fantastic clean sweep of Division 1 ratings. All students and ensembles played well at this festival making Holland Proud with our award-winning performances. Congratulation to Bethany Van Oss and her outstanding percussion ensemble and wind players for their Division 1 performances. GO Dutch!
Two Holland Middle School students have advanced to the next round in the National History Day competition. Ava Wall and Kaleb Duch, both 8th graders from HMS will be competing at the state level after a great showing at the regional competition at GVSU this past weekend. Their website about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge will be competing on April 27 in Bay City, MI to determine if they will advance to the national competition in Washington D.C. this summer.
Congratulations to Tyler Punch for his award received at the Debut Art Show last night! Tyler won the Michael Thomas Stille Memorial Award for his drawing "Mo Bamba!" The Fabiano family, (they own the Peanut Store downtown Holland) gave him this honor. The family is interested in purchasing this piece from Tyler! If you have an opportunity to stop by the Holland Area Arts Council, the show is amazing! It runs until April 28.
The HMS 7th and 8th Grade Bands along with the HHS Concert Band and HHS Wind Ensemble are going to MSBOA District X Concert Festival! The HHS Bands will be attending festival at East Kentwood HS on Friday, March 1 while the HMS 7th and 8th Grade Bands will be attending festival at Grandville HS on March 7.
Holland Language Academy 4th grade teacher Nayeli Venegas was recently featured on the City of Holland website. The video can be viewed below.
Image and video courtesy of The City of Holland.
The HHS Jazz Band, along with the Holland Christian High School Jazz Orchestra, will have the privilege of performing on a concert featuring headliner renowned jazz bassist and educator, Rodney Whitaker and friends, on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 7 p.m. at the Holland Christian HS Auditorium! Get your tickets at the link below or even at the door that evening! Help support live jazz in our school communities and the Holland community at large!
Holland High English Teacher Sarah LeFebre was recently profiled by the Holland Sentinel. Click the link below to view the story.
Image courtesy of The Holland Sentinel
Holland High School’s Vocal Dimensions Presents "The Greatest Vocals Show - 40 Years in the Making" March 21st, 22nd & 23rd at 7 pm, and March 24th at 2 pm. Vocal Dimensions is an award-winning auditioned choir that performs and competes throughout the area in music festivals, state honors choir, schools, churches and more. In "The Greatest Vocals Show” the group will perform the very best songs from Vocal Dimensions Shows spanning the last 40 years since it's inception in 1979. Kerry Daab, founder of Vocal Dimensions and retired Director of Choirs at Holland High School will host the show this year. On Saturday evening's performance, Vocal Dimensions Alumni will join current members performing the annual family portrait. This is a show you will not want to miss! Join us for a night of magic at The Holland High School Performing Arts Center, 600 Van Raalte Av. Holland MI 49423 Ticket Prices: Adults $15 in advance $17 at the door, Students $10 in advance $12 at the door, Groups $12 in advance for groups of 10 or more per show. In person purchase only at HPS Administration Building 320 West 24th Street. Tickets can be purchased online at the link below.
Congratulations to Malachi VanderZwaag, Ian Fritz and Josiah Broussard for representing Holland HS in the MSVMA State Honors Choir on January 26. This is an outstanding achievement as they went through a rigorous audition process and were selected to sing alongside the very best high school singers in the state of Michigan. This is also a big deal for our school because this is the most singers we’ve ever had to make State Honors Choir in the history of the program. We are very proud of you!
Congratulations to Sam Martens on being selected as a finalist for the MHSAA Scholar Athlete Award! Sam is a two-sport athlete at HHS and has earned all-state honors in cross country and track. Click here for more information about the award.
Monday, January 21st, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Writing in The Washington Post in 1983, Coretta Scott King provided a vision of how the holiday honoring her husband should be observed: "The holiday must be substantive as well as symbolic. It must be more than a day of celebration...Let this holiday be a day of reflection, a day of teaching nonviolent philosophy and strategy, a day of getting involved in nonviolent action for social and economic progress." As you make plans for January 21st, there are countless ways to honor Dr. King's legacy and get involved. Please see the link below for just a few of the many local events that are taking place. All would be meaningful ways to reflect, learn, and build community, as we continue to work to realize Dr. King's vision of unity and justice.
Five Holland Middle School Band students were nominated for and chosen to participate in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Associations’ District X Middle School All-Star Band at East Kentwood High School this past Saturday, January 12th. 3 HMS 7th graders and 2 HMS 8th graders diligently rehearsed their band music for this event the entire day with many other middle school band members from school districts all over West Michigan in preparation for their concert that evening. All students participating in this event were nominated by their band directors for their talent, work ethic, leadership, and musicianship that they demonstrate in their normal band classes on a daily basis. Students at this event had the luxury of being able to play band literature of more challenging caliber than what they might not otherwise be exposed to in their home school district bands. They also had the unique challenge of being expected to play and put their individual instrument parts together with students from other school districts whom they had never played with before. In the end, the hard work and long hours of rehearsing definitely paid off, as the students put on a fantastic concert, made new friends, and gained an incredibly valuable experience they will remember for a long time to come! Congratulations to HMS 7th graders Emmett Book, Gretchen Timmer, and Noah Kelly, as well as HMS 8th graders Zak Shanahan and Jaelynn Ybarra-Brandon on a job, well done!
Monday, January 21st, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Writing in The Washington Post in 1983, Coretta Scott King provided a vision of how the holiday honoring her husband should be observed: "The holiday must be substantive as well as symbolic. It must be more than a day of celebration...Let this holiday be a day of reflection, a day of teaching nonviolent philosophy and strategy, a day of getting involved in nonviolent action for social and economic progress." As you make plans for January 21st, there are countless ways to honor Dr. King's legacy and get involved. Click the link below for just a few of the many local events that are taking place. All would be meaningful ways to reflect, learn, and build community, as we continue to work to realize Dr. King's vision of unity and justice.
You are all invited to attend the annual dodgeball tournament on Friday, January 25, at 6 p.m. in the Dome. HHS Student Leaders Initiating Change members are working hard to create a fun evening of music, snacks, and of course dodgeball:) All are welcome to participate and or watch this event. All proceeds will go to the Holland Community Action House. Details and liability forms are attached. New this year, liability forms may be turned in electronically once signed: simply take a picture of the signed form and turn it in using the SLIC google classroom code: uf95ov4 Sign Ups - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TFR-b8ZoEdmt6gkYRt4CZgMDezklsdHnrVaBkP2-Q0Q/edit
During Advisory on December 5th, students were asked to consider the old saying, “Is it really better to give than receive?” That same day the groups decided to discuss the benefits of giving and decided to take action, choosing a cause that they were passionate about, and designing mini community-service projects. On December 12th, groups convened to carry out their projects, and the results were impressive. The link below shows some of their work.
Holland's STEM program was recently featured online in the Holland Sentinel. The link below will take you to the article.
Image courtesy of The Holland Sentinel
Holland swimmers Sage Gettings, Abby Mendels, Evelyn VanderVelde, and Anika Wehrmeyer were named to the Holland Sentinel All-Area Swim team. They were joined by Emma Henninges, Alyssa Ruhf, Greta VanZetten, and Nina Veldt who were named to the second team. Congratulations to all.
Holland High's Award Winning Theatre program was recently featured as a Ludus Spotlight, which showcases the performing arts community. A comprehensive overview of the program can be seen by clicking the link below.
HHS Choir students Josiah Broussard, Ian Fritz, and Malachi VanderZwaag represented HPS at Regional Honors Choir this past Saturday and were named to the State Honors Choir. Their performance will take place at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids on Saturday, January 26 at 3:00 pm. Congratulations to all.
The Holland Sentinel named their All-Area Cross Country teams this week. Named to the first team were Shayna Altvater, Jordyn Elders, Sam Martens, and Brad Carter. They were joined by Olivia DeGraaf, Julia Kooyer, Alberto Castillo, and Jaeger Schippa were who named to the second team. Congratulations to all.
Congratulations to Holland High junior Jonah Gilmore, the 2018 Holland Sentinel Boys Tennis Player of the Year. Jonah finished the season 17-3 and was undefeated in conference play. Senior Sean O'Keefe was named to the Sentinel's All-Area first team, and Neil VanFaasen and the doubles teams of Jaden Grigg/Isaac Stilwell, Christian Krimendahl/Donovan Lance, and Sean Ruhf/Duncan Lam, were named to the second team.
Image courtesy of The Holland Sentinel.
The Ballet Folklorico Sol Azteca will have a Gala Fundraiser on December 20 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. at HHS Performing Arts Center (PAC). Join them for a night of music and dance as Ballet Folklorico Sol Azteca performs to raise funds for the purchase of 6-8 new Nayarit Costumes. You'll also be able to purchase some delicious Mexican treats.
Image courtesy of The Holland Sentinel.
Our Miles of Smiles (MOS) mobile dental unit is scheduled to be in Holland throughout the school year. Our mobile dental unit provides free, preventive and restorative dental services for qualifying students. Please see our school nurse for more information or to obtain a consent form. The consent forms can also be accessed on http://www.miottawa.org/dental or by calling 1-800-467-5905.
There will be a FAFSA workshop on Monday, November 12th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Northside Boys and Girls Club. A representative from Grand Rapids Community College will be present to assist with filling out FAFSA along with Ms. Ramirez and the college advisers from West Ottawa. There will be Spanish speakers there to assist families who prefer/need assistance with filling out the FAFSA in Spanish. You can attend this event regardless if you are a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holland or not.
A CHRISTMAS STORY, The Musical is the Broadway musical comedy gift you will cherish all holiday long! In 1940's Indiana, a bespectacled boy named Ralphie has a big imagination and one wish for Christmas--a Red Ryder BB Gun. A kooky leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a cranky department store Santa and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the obstacles that stand between Ralphie and his Christmas dream. Based on the classic 1983 movie, A CHRISTMAS STORY, The Musical captures holiday wonder with funny and heartfelt songs, show-stopping dancing, delicious wit and a heart of gold. This family-friendly musical is about to take its place among the great musical classics! Holland’s production features 50 students on stage, with performers from 4th grade thru 12th grades and another 20 students working backstage! The production will have sets that include the family house and Ralphie’s school and will be amongst the biggest Holland High has ever done. The choreography is being done by alumni Abbie Page, dance educator June Wygant and many of the big numbers done by Broadway guest artist Lydia Ruth Dawson! The production is musical directed by James Colburn and directed by Hall of Fame director, Kevin Schneider. Performances are Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1, 6, 7, 8 at 7:00 p.m. as well as Dec. 1, 2, 8, 9 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now online or in person in the school main office! TICKETS: Advance tickets: $10 for students and $15 for adults - (Tickets $5.00 more if bought at door the night of performance) RUNNING TIME: 2 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES
Holland High School Marching Band performed their "Salute to Disney" halftime show at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association's (MSBOA) District 10 Marching Band Festival in Zeeland. The band entered this festival one classification higher than last year and received a Division 2 "Excellent" rating for their outstanding performance, being, in fact, half of a letter grade away from a Division 1 "Superior" rating. We are extremely proud of the HHS Marching Band and the hard work and long hours they have put in starting early this past summer and all they way through the fall marching season.
The HHS Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra performed on Mackinac Island on Sunday, Sept. 29th, 2018 in the Mission Point Theater. This was a wonderful opportunity for the students to relax together and enjoy all the island has to offer while still flexing their musical muscles! The HHS Jazz Band Performed "Second Line (Joe Avery Blues)" arr. by Victor Goines, "Blue Train" by John Coltrane, and "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock.
The Holland High School Chamber Orchestra Performed at the Confucious Great Lakes Institute "Friendships Last For Ever" Gala Concert at Millennium Park this last Sunday in Chicago. The concert was attended by thousands as was in cooperation with Valparaiso University.
The Michigan High School Athletic Coaches Association, the professional organization of school coaches and athletic directors, (MHSCA) has selected Mr. Andrew Pratley of Holland Public Schools as Michigan High School Athletic Coaches Association State Coach of the Year. This award will be presented to Mr. Pratley on November 11th at the Ramada Lansing hotel & Conference Center, 7501 West Saginaw Highway, Lansing, MI at the MHSCA Winter Awards Luncheon in which over 28 coaches and athletic directors will participate The MHSCA selection of Mr Pratley reflects positively on his school and community. Coach of the Year selections have been based on the performance of their program over the years and/or their contribution to the sport, school, and community.
It's time to plan ahead for October 24, 2018 to attend the annual DeComposers Festival. The Holland Orchestras and Jazz Band Present Spooky Fun and Music For The Whole Family. 2 shows, 6pm and 8pm.
The Holland High School Jazz Band kicked off the start of a new school year by having guest jazz clinician, Jordan VanHemert, share his knowledge and expertise on improvisation. Seasoned veterans of the jazz band as well as newcomers truly benefitted from Jordan's knowledge and expertise. We would certainly welcome him back anytime!
Bill Boerman, 6th Grade STEM & 8th Grade Advanced STEM Teacher at Holland Middle School recently received National Board Certification. National Board Certification is the highest symbol of professional teaching excellence. Recipients are awarded and judged by their peers in their respective fields. The board congratulated Mr. Boerman on his accomplishment.
HPS will be hosting a series of summer reading opportunities.
Below are locations, dates, and times:
Holland Heights- 856 E 12th St - Tuesdays 6:30-7:30, June 12th-August 7th
Holland Jefferson- 282 W 30th St - Tuesdays 12:00-1:00, June 12th-August 7th
Holland West - 500 W 24th St - Tuesdays 6:30- 7:30, June 12th-August 7th
Holland Language Academy - 461 Van Raalte Ave - Tuesdays 6:30-7:30 June 12th-August 7th
Join the HPS Forensics Team tonight (May 23) for the last performance of the year...FORENSICS NIGHT!
This evening will feature both our middle school team (including the three state champions, Libby LeFebre, Mariah DePoy and Harrison Kooyer) and our high school team (including National qualifying Isaiah Lee and Nick Hoffman and state finalist Abria Franklin) as well as many others!
What is FORENSICS? It is competitive speaking, debating and acting...and Holland Pubic has one of the best teams in the country! SO come out and join us Wednesday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Holland High for a great SHORT evening!
Tickets are purchased at the door! All proceeds go to the NATIONAL qualifying team!
HPS Recieved some fantastic news! Belle Canto, Concert Choir, and Vocal Dimensions who performed at MSVMA State Choir Festival this morning at Hope College ALL three choirs received Division 1 Excellent ratings!
To read more about their achievements and a couple end of the year updates, please see the link!
There are only a few times in our lives that we reach milestones of significance, and there is no greater joy than watching a child achieve one of those.
With this in mind, we are honored to invite you to the graduation of: Holland Virtual Tech's Class of 2018 June 4, 2018 Christ Memorial Church 595 Graafschap Rd, Holland MI 49423 6:00pm.
Please join us in celebrating this incredible accomplishment!
Holland Public Schools will be hosting their annual Athletic Physical Night on April 26. Click below to read more.
Holland Public Schools will be recognized by the Michigan Department of Education for demonstrating strong behavior outcomes at the upcoming Michigan Integrated Behavior and Learning Support Initiative state conference in Lansing.
Click below to read more. GO DUTCH!!!
Students from Holland High School's Concert Band participated in Grand Valley State University's Clarinet Day 2018 on Friday, March 23rd.
The day was filled with students participating in a clarinet master class in which they played sections of solos they are currently working on, receiving critique from Dr. Arthur Campbell, GVSU Clarinet Professor. In addition, students had the unique opportunity of being able to listen to a GVSU Clarinet Studio recital, where current GVSU clarinet students, including HHS alum, Jenni Soles, performed.
As a finale to a day of all things clarinet-related, GVSU as well as participating high school clarinetists performed 2 pieces for clarinet choir in the Cook DeWitt Center on the Allendale GVSU campus.
We are thankful to Grand Valley State University for offering such an enjoyable learning experience!
Join us for the HHS Spring Band Concert and Senior Recognition Night!
Before you get too busy tiptoeing through the tulips, come to the HHS Bands' Spring Concert on Monday, April 23rd, beginning at 7 p.m. in the HHS Performing Arts Center auditorium!
There is something for everyone's musical tastes, from significant, time-honored compositions from the realm of wind band literature to tunes from our Jazz Band and Percussion ensembles that'll get you groovin' in your seat!
Come support the HHS Bands and bid farewell to our seniors in their final formal concert of their high school career!
Our very own Mr.Bill Boerman will get the chance to be honored this year by the AirZoo in Battle Creek MI.
Each year the AirZoo honors both educators and high school students for their excellence and innovation in the teaching of STEM subjects. Mr. Boerman was notified a couple weeks ago that he had been chosen to receive the Educator Excellence Award. This award is given to four educators from 13 total counties in West Michigan! The award recognizes "excellence and innovation in the teaching of STEM subjects, the fostering of deep and meaningful student learning, and generation of exceptional student achievement."
Mr. Boerman will be honored with other winners at the "Hall of Fame Awards" on April 21st at the AirZoo. Along with the ceremony, each Educator Excellence Award winner is given $750 to further the creative learning taking place in their classrooms. Separate from the award, the staff at East has sponsored three 6th grade students to enable them to attend the awards ceremony as well. These students are currently being fitted with new clothes and 'accessories' for our evening at the AirZoo.
Congrats Mr.Boerman! Thank you for continuing to make us HPS Proud!
You're Invited to the HPS 6th/7th Grade Band's Spring Concert!
Having Tulip Time fever already? Come to the combined 6th/7th grade band's spring concert on Monday, March 26th, 2018 at West K-7 beginning at 7 p.m., where you will get a sneak peak of what they will be playing as they march down 8th Street at Holland's annual world-renowned Tulip Time Parades!
There's something for everyone to enjoy from formal concert repertoire to soloists and small ensembles, but of course, we'll save the best for last!
Kudos to Jefferson K-7 and their participation in March is Reading Month!
This month students have done a variety of activities. One of these activities included keeping track of all of the reading they were doing onto a reading log. At the end of the month, students could turn in completed reading logs. Each log became a "raffle ticket" in a drawing for who gets to silly string the principal!
Students from each grade were chosen to have a turn to spray a can of silly string all over the principal while the whole school watched. It was a fun-filled event to celebrate the many, many hours that students have been reading and improving their skills!
We are so proud of all of our students who are becoming life-long readers!
Attention families of 2nd grade - 8th grade students. Please follow the link to learn more about our Winter Softball Camps available in February.
Now that all the holiday stress is over, welcome in the new year by joining us on January 8th, 2018, as the 6th and 7th grade band members from all HPS K-7 schools present their winter concert at West K-7 beginning at 7 p.m.
In addition to full ensemble pieces, there will be a variety of soloists presenting a wide array of musical selections. Just sit back, relax, and listen!
HPS would like to thank Fit Body Boot Camp and their team once again for their generosity this holiday season!
Matt Wilbur's Fit Body Boot Camp on the north side of Holland partnered with HPS in 2016 to gift students in need with holiday gifts. They expanded their giving in 2017 in order to provide gifts to 27 students! Families were recommended by staff members and many are part of the Families in Transition program.
Thank you, FIT Body Boot Camp! We appreciate your partnership with HPS!
Holland Girls and Boys Basketball will be partnering up with The Holland Rec to provide games and clinics for grades K-6 this winter.
The 5th and 6th graders have leagues and games while the K-4 participate in clinics and scrimmages run by the Varsity basketball programs.
Holland Rec is willing to waive the late fee for the 5th and 6th grade leagues for late sign-ups if more girls are interested. All of the info is on the link shared below.
Congrats to our Lady Dutch Swimming & Diving State Team on competing at the MHSAA Division 2 Girls Swimming & Diving State Championship Finals this past weekend at the Holland Aquatic Center. The team finished in 10th place overall with Sage Gettings and Anika Wehrmeyer taking all-state honors.
We are proud of your efforts!
The Lady Dutch of Holland High will be competing for championship gold this weekend as Holland High School hosts the 2017 Michigan High School Athletic Association's (MHSAA) Division 2 Girls Swimming & Diving State Championship at the Holland Community Aquatic Center. Prelims are on Friday, November 17 and the Finals are on Saturday, November 18, beginning at 12 p.m. each day.
Tickets are $10 and are sold at the gate on the day of each meet. No passes will be accepted.
Come show your Red & White pride and help cheer on the Dutch to victory! GO DUTCH!!!
For the first time since 2011, Holland defeated city rival Holland Christian, 46-22 in the annual City Bragging Rights varsity football game on October 21.
Not only does this mark the second victory over the Maroons in varsity football but this win also clinched Holland a Michigan High School Athletic Association's (MHSAA) playoff berth for the third time in school history!
Tune in to the annual Selection Sunday Show on FOX Sports Detroit-PLUS on October 23 at 7 p.m. to find out who the Dutch will be paired with in the MHSAA football playoffs. The show can also be viewed online at the links below. GO DUTCH!!!!
Congratulations to the Holland High School's Boys Varsity Soccer team on winning the 2017 Michigan High School Athletic Association's (MHSAA) Division 2 Boys Soccer Regional Championship for the first time since 2010! "Los Dutch" defeated Grand Rapids Christian, 2-0 on October 26.
The Dutch of Holland High move on to the MHSAA State semi-final on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at Portage Northern High School in Portage at 5 p.m. as they take on Coldwater. Tickets are sold at the gate on the day of the game. No passes will be accepted. The winner of this game meets the winner of the East Lansing/Farmington Hills Harrison game in the finals on Saturday, November 4 at Comstock Park High School at 12 p.m.
Come show your Red & White pride and help cheer on the Dutch to victory! GO DUTCH!!!
Congratulations to Holland High School's Boys Varsity Soccer team on winning the 2017 Michigan High School Athletic Association's (MHSAA) Division 2 Boys Soccer District Championship! "Los Dutch" defeated city-rival Holland Christian, 5-0 on October 21.
The Dutch of Holland High move on to the MHSAA Regional semi-final on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at Holland High School's Soccer/Tennis Complex at 5 p.m. as they take on the Rockets of Muskegon Reeths-Puffer. Tickets are sold at the gate on the day of the game. No passes will be accepted. The winner of this game meets the winner of the Grand Rapids Christian/Grand Rapids Forest Hills game in the finals on Thursday, October 26 at Holland High School at 6 p.m.
Come show your Red & White pride and help cheer on the Dutch to victory! GO DUTCH!!!
Congratulations to Holland High School Cross Country runners senior Nick Hoffman and junior Sam Martens on earning All-State honors!
Martens earned All-State honors at the Michigan High School Athletic Assocation's (MHSAA) Division 1 State Cross Country Championship at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Nov. 4, finishing 20th with a time of 15:48.8. Hoffman finished 59th with a time of 16:19.1 but also earned Academic All-State honors by the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA).
Click the link below to read more.
Congratulations to Holland High School senior Daniel Arellano and Boys Varsity Soccer Coach Greg Ceithaml. Arellano was named to the Michigan High School Athletic Association's (MHSAA) Division 2 First Team all-state on Nov. 6, following Holland's victory over East Lansing in Comstock Park on Nov. 4 to secure the MHSAA Division 2 Soccer State Championship for "Los Dutch".
Holland High School Boys Soccer Varsity Coach Greg Ceithaml was named MHSAA Division 2 Coach of the Year!
Click the link below to read more.
In Quiz Bowl Action, the Holland High Dutch Nerd Army (DNA) hosted the 12th Annual Fall Quiz Bowl Invitational on Saturday, Nov. 11th.
24 teams from 13 different schools competed and Holland did well for themselves. In the varsity bracket, the Holland A team of Alberto Castillo, Adam Chamness, Isaac Cinzori, and Annalise Mancinelli went 6-3 on the day. The highlight was provided by the JV team of Diamante Balcazar, Alex Marko, Jon Noordijk, and Seth Ralph, posting a perfect 9-0 record on the day to take home the 1st place trophy in their division. Well done!
The DNA will be in action again on December 2, when they co-host the Swim N Win Invitational at Berrien Springs High School.
Congratulations to the Holland High School Boys Varsity Soccer team on winning the 2017 Michigan High School Athletic Association's (MHSAA) Division 2 State Soccer Championship!
"Los Dutch" defeated the Trojans of East Lansing, 3-0, at Comstock Park High School on November 4 to secure the first-ever state soccer championship in Holland High School history.
Congrats to Coach Greg Ceithaml and his staff. A huge thank you to all of the family and friends of our team for your support.
Los Dutch!
In Quiz Bowl action, the Holland High Dutch Nerd Army (DNA) opened their season at the Jan Rademacher Invitational on Oct. 14, hosted by White Cloud. The varsity team of Isaac Cinzori, Adam Chamness, Annalise Mancinelli, and Evan Shibley went 4-5 on the day against state-level competition. Isaac Cinzori was one of the top 10 scorers on the day, and the team qualified for the State tournament this spring!
The "B" team had a tougher day. Alberto Castillo was the top scorer for the team. The JV team of Seth Ralph, Jon Noordijk, Diamante Balcazar, and Alex Marko had a 5-5 record on the day.
The DNA will be in action again on November 11, when we host the 12th Annual Fall Quiz Bowl Invitational at Holland High.
Holland fans, it's that time again! Don your RED and show that DUTCH PRIDE for "Paint the Town RED" night on October 20! The varsity football team will once again walk from Holland High School to Holland Christian High School for the annual City Bragging Rights football game (happening at 7 p.m.). The march along Ottawa Avenue will begin around 5:30 p.m.
Holland (5-3) is one win away from playoff eligibility. We would love to see our Dutch Family lining the street to help cheer on the Dutch to victory as they walk to the game!
For the first time ever, the O.K. Green Conference Championship in Boys Cross Country was won in a three-way tie. The Holland Boys Cross Country team, along with the Zeeland East and Zeeland West teams, won a share of the championship at Helder Park near Zeeland, October 18.
This is the second consecutive year our Boys Cross Country team has won the O.K. Green Conference Championship (they won the title outright last year for the first time in nearly 2 decades). GO DUTCH!!!
Congratulations to HHS junior Sam Martens on winning the meet for the second year in a row!
Click the more info link below to read more.
After receiving a Division 1/Superior rating at the 2017 MSBOA District 10 Marching Band Festival, the Holland High School Marching Dutchman Band's successful week just became better. On October 13, HHS alumnus Linda Freestone-Schaftenaar donated $1,836 to the band on behalf of the Class of 1967.
On August 19th, the Class of 1967 came together for their 50th class reunion. At the reunion, the alumni began a collection to help raise money for new uniforms the marching band is trying to purchase. Over $1,800 was collected!
Thank you Class of 1967 for your heartfelt donation!
The Dutch of Holland High will be hosting 1st round action of the 2017 MHSAA Division 2 Boys Soccer District Championship on Tuesday, October 16 at Holland High School's Soccer/Tennis Complex at 6 p.m. as they take on the Bulldogs of Byron Center.
Tickets are sold at the gate on the day of the game. No passes will be accepted. The winner of this game meets Allendale in the semifinals on Thursday, October 19 at Holland Christian High School at 7 p.m.
Come show your Red & White pride and help cheer on the Dutch to victory! GO DUTCH!!!
Congratulations to our 8th grade boys soccer team on another wonderful "UNDEFEATED" 12-0 season! The team wrapped up their season with a win over Muskegon Heights, 8-0, on October 12. This same set of players went undefeated last year while on the 7th grade soccer team, bringing their overall record to 24-0!
The team scored 104 goals this season with 5 goals scored on them. GO DUTCH!!!!
Congratulations to Demetrius White and our Holland High School Marching Dutchman Band on receiving a Division 1/Superior rating at the Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association's District 10 Marching Band Festival in Zeeland this past Tuesday!
This is the band's first time earning a Superior rating at this festival since it's start in 2011. Click the link below to watch their full performance from the MSBOA Festival. GO DUTCH!!!
October 9-13 was National School Lunch Week! At Holland High School, the Holland Food Service placed an invite for guest servers and got some wonderful help during the week, giving students what their recipe of success look like!
Guest servers included HPS Superintendent Dr. Brian Davis, HHS Principal Katie Pennington, and teachers Carl VanFaasen and Tim Plants.
"Thanks so much for joining us this week," said Arletha Banks, HPS District Chef.
The Holland High Choirs present "A Little Night Music...with a Harvest Feast" on October 28 at 6pm at First Reformed Church (630 State St.). This event will include a 3 course dinner, a dessert auction, and a variety show you won’t want to miss!
Tickets are $30 and all proceeds will go toward funding the Holland High Choirs’ trip to perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC in May 2018 and the annual Vocals Show in March 2018! Reserve your tickets by October 25, 2017 by emailing hollandhighchoirs@gmail.com.
Just in time for the holidays, the Holland High Theatre presents this sparkling musical, based on the MGM motion picture version of Ian Fleming's book. Come see this imaginative tale filled with memorable, quirky characters, and, of course, Chitty the "fantasmagorical" flying car!
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will run November 30, December 1, 2, 7, 8, & 9 at 7:00 p.m. and December 2, 3, 9, & 10 at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for students 18 and under, $15 for adults over 18. Tickets are $5 more at the door on day of show.
Advance tickets can be purchased at the link below.
High School Students: if you're interested in joining the award-winning Holland CHAOS robotics team 74 or just want to see what we're all about, be sure to stop in for our open house this weekend!
Open House Date: Saturday, October 14th, Time: 10am-1pm, Place: CHAOS build site at 563 East 64th Street.
There will be food, tours of the build areas, and a chance to drive one of our robots. We need new students from Holland High and Black River in all areas including: electrical, mechanical, design, programming, analytics, marketing, graphics, and photography.
Hope to see you there!
The Holland High School Marching Dutchman Band will be performing at the annual Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association's (MSBOA) District 10 Marching Band Festival at Zeeland Stadium in Zeeland, Michigan, Tuesday, October 10. Gates open at 4:00pm. The HHS Band will take the field at 6:30pm.
Come on out and enjoy a wonderful evening of music and best of all, you can cheer Loud and Proud for our HHS Band as they perform their show! We wish them Good Luck and all the Very Best!! GO DUTCH!!
Holland High School's Class of 1987 toured the hallowed, yet renovated halls of Holland High School, taking that walk down memory lane while celebrating their 30th Class Reunion, October 7.
Thank you Class of 1987 for your visit to your alma mater and we hope to see you again in the near future!
If your class is celebrating a class reunion and you're having no luck finding out where it is taking place, click the link below to visit our Alumni Info page on the Holland Public Schools website.
Congratulations to Holland High School seniors Daniel Arellano and Grace Woudenberg on being crowned Homecoming King & Queen this past Friday.
Holland defeated Byron Center, 16-14, winning Homecoming for the first time since 2010. The Dutch are now one win away from qualifying for the MHSAA football playoffs!
Holland West K-7 teacher Vicki Shearer recently received a $500 grant for her second grade classroom library from Scholastic Book Clubs.
Shearer was chosen to receive a scholarship out of 82,662 teacher entries.
Click the link below to read more.
Holland Jefferson K-7 teacher Julie Mishoe and her third grade class are being featured as this week's "Classroom Spotlight" in the Holland Sentinel!
This is a weekly feature that highlights teachers in schools across the Holland area.
Click the link below to read more.
On Wednesday, October 4, boys from 8 area high schools (49 boys from Holland High) along with the men of the Holland Chorale, will perform a concert of music called Adventures in Harmony for Men.
The men will work with guest composer/conductor Dr. David Brunner that day for 7 hours and perform a concert that evening. The concert will also feature 12th Street Harmony from Hope College (Noah Helmus '16 and Maxwell Lam '16 are HHS Choir alumni in this group) as well as the Holland Windmill Chorus and emerging artists of Opera Grand Rapids.
The concert is free of charge and will be held at the Zeeland East High School PAC at 7:00pm. Don't miss out on this extraordinary opportunity to hear over 250 men sing together!
Parents with students in grade K-12 are invited to hear Attorney Stephanie Tuttle of the Bolhouse, Baar & Hofstee Attorneys at Law firm speak about responsible online behavior, sexting, etc. at Holland High School's Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, September 20 at 6:30 PM.
Mrs. Tuttle will also be speaking to our eighth grade students about the same topic during the school day.
A 79-year-old Korean and Vietnam veteran was presented with an honorary high school diploma, fulfilling his lifelong wish thanks to a recommendation by the Holland Public Schools’ Board of Education.
Retired U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant David Johnson, of Hudsonville, was awarded his long sought-after high school diploma by HPS Superintendent Dr. Brian Davis, HHS Principal Katie Pennington, and HPS Administrative Assistant Beth Kooiker at the HPS District Administration building, September 18.
Johnson, a former Holland Public Schools student, left Holland High School near the end of the 1953-54 school year at the age of 16 (his sophomore year) to join the United States Air Force. He was due to graduate with Holland High School’s Class of 1956.
Johnson served in the armed forces from 1955 until 1975. During the Korean War, Johnson served as an Airman basic at the Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina where he received a Good Conduct Medal and as an Airman First Class at the Travis Air Force Base near Napa, California. He also served in the Vietnam War for 6 years as a Sergeant, an Intel Operations Technician and Intel Operations Supervisor. Johnson retired as a Master Sergeant after 20 years of service.
“We wanted to recognize Mr. Johnson at the school board meeting but he doesn’t drive after dark,” said Dr. Davis. When Superintendent Davis asked Johnson if he would like to be recognized at the Veterans Assembly in November, Johnson said “I’m not sure I’m going to live to that day. I’m taking my diploma to my grave. It will be buried with me. This is one thing my mother always wished and hoped I could do and I was never able to get it.” “I think she’s celebrating with you today and watching you get this,” said Dr. Davis.
“Thank you to the board for considering that. You made a persons day. I hope you can imagine in many, many positive ways,” added Dr. Davis.
Holland High School's Class of 1945 can "meet up" with the best of them. They gathered together at the Macatawa Bank Community Room on September 14.
The "meet up" menu featured pigs-in-the-blanket, cookies, cake, and coffee. Entertainment was provided by the Evergreen Commons RE-actors.
What an amazing group of grads and spouses!
Click the link below to watch highlights of their 72nd Reunion, courtesy of Fox 17 News.
Support our School Nursing partnership! Join the pack of runners and walkers on Thursday, Oct. 5 for the annual Holland Hospital School Nurse 5K Run. Click on the More Info Link below for additional info and the sign-up form.
Thank you Holland Hospital and area sponsors for your support of our students and families!
At Harvard no less!
HHS valedictorian and HHS Choir and Vocal Dimensions alumnus Rowen Von Plagenhoef auditioned for and was accepted into the prestigious world renowned Harvard University Men's Glee Club.
Congratulations to Rowen on this high honor!
The Harvard Glee Club An ensemble of approximately sixty tenor and bass voices, the Harvard Glee Club is among America's oldest collegiate choruses.
Since its founding in 1858, it has sought to cultivate and sustain the art of men's choral music through regular concerts in Sanders Theatre as well as performances on the road at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Disney Concert Hall in LA, and the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.
The most recent tour was to East Asia, where the Glee Club had the privilege of performing in Taipei's National Concert Hall, Tokyo's Kioi Hall, and in Gunsan's City Hall.
The Harvard Glee Club's membership is comprised of both undergraduate and graduate students, with interests and concentrations ranging from Applied Mathematics to Sociology.
The Harvard Glee Club serves as a testament to the preservation of men's choral music and promotes these four virtues: glee, good humor, unity, and joy.
For the first time since 2011, the Holland High School Varsity Football team is undefeated!
The Dutch, now 3-0, defeated the Crusaders of Unity Christian, 36-30 in Overtime at Jenison High School, Sept. 8.
What a great way to begin the season! Click on the link to read the Holland Sentinel recap of Friday nights overtime victory. Go Dutch!!!
Holland High School's Class of 1997 toured the hallowed halls of Holland High School, taking that walk down memory lane while celebrating their 20th Class Reunion, August 11.
Thank you Class of 1997 for your visit to your alma mater and we hope to see you again in the near future!
If your class is celebrating a class reunion and you're having no luck finding out where it is taking place, click the link below to visit our Alumni Info page on the Holland Public Schools website.
Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 - October 15. Add the Tulipanes Filmfest to your calendar.
Holland High School's Class of 1967 recently toured the hallowed, yet renovated halls of Holland High School.
They enjoyed their walk down memory lane on August 19 while celebrating their 50th Class Reunion.
We love to have the alumni come back for tours and events! If your class is celebrating a class reunion and want to know more about it, click the link below to visit our "Alumni Info" page on the HPS website.
Our new school year is underway! From our Young 5’s all the way up to our Seniors in high school, everyone enjoyed getting back to school and checking in with their friends and teachers!
Teachers, principals, food servers, custodians, and bus drivers helped keep understandable first day glitches to a minimum.
Along with our parents and students, our First Day of the 2017-18 School Year was a huge success!
Our Holland Language Academy program is expanding! We'll be welcoming 84 kindergartners this fall, adding a third section of kindergarten this year!
Click the "More Info" link below to read more.
If you have a child who is interested in participating in middle school athletics this Fall, click the link below.
Please take note of the dates, times, and other information.
The Holland football team knows the OK Green is one of the toughest football conferences in the state. The Dutch are up front about it. And their chance at challenging for a league title is up front - with the offensive line. Click the link to read more about five of Holland's six starters on the offensive line. The first varsity football game of the season is Thursday, August 24 at Wyoming High School. The first home varsity football game is Friday, September 15 at Hope College's Ray & Sue Smith Stadium. GO DUTCH!
Image use courtesy of The Holland SentinelThe 2017 Holland High School Marching Dutchman Band will be giving their first performance on Friday, August 4 at Holland High School of their 2017 halftime show entitled: Michael Jackson, The King Of Pop!
Light refreshments will be served upon completion of the performance and we ask that each family brings a baked good/dessert to share at that time. Come on out, enjoy some great music and support these fantastic student musicians of the HHS Band Program!
High School sports tryouts and practices begin the week of Aug. 7.
Click the link below for more information.
Holland grads Chris DeJong and Eric Solis were recently named as 2 of the top 10 high school athletes from the Holland area!
Click the "More Info" link below to read the Sentinel article.
Image used courtesy of The Holland Sentinel.
Nayeli Venegas, a teacher at Holland Language Academy, was recently featured in a Holland Sentinel article on former migrant students who are now working professionally in the Holland area.
Click the link below read more to the Sentinel article.
Image used courtesy of The Holland Sentinel.
The HHS Band Program will be having a carwash on Saturday, July 22nd from 10 am-2 pm at Biggby (1000 Washington Ave, Holland, MI 49423)!
All 8th-12th grade HHS Band students are asked to sign up for a shift (10 am-noon or noon-2 pm) to help fundraise for the needs of the HHS Band Program. In addition to supporting the band with you peers, the carwash is a great time to come and hang out with the HHS Band Family! If you can donate either old towels or sponges to help with this event as we are in need of those items particularly, that would be fantastic! The sign-up sheet will be available on Wednesday, July 19th to sign up. Please do not hesitate to contact HHS Director of Bands Demetrius White if you have any further questions or concerns.
Meet Up and Eat Up, a program from the Michigan Department of Education, provides free food over the summer for kids across Michigan. You can find locations all around the Holland Area by going to this link on our website.
Students are invited to attend HPS this fall using our area's "Schools of Choice" process. Applications must be turned in by June 27. The link below provides all of the details.
First graders at Holland Language Academy have read more than 15,000 books in Spanish this past school year.
Their hard work were rewarded with ice cream.
The link below will take you to the story in the Holland Sentinel.
Holland East recognized 13 students who have put an extra effort in reading. The students, ranging in grades third through fifth, were given a red carpet treatment on May 12.
With the entire school in attendance, the 13 students rode in a limo around the parking lot, walked down a red carpet into school, signed autographs for their classmates who cheered them on and were interviewed by teacher Bill Boerman. This activity was to encourage the rest of the school to read.
Click the link below to read more.
Students of Holland High School were rewarded with free ice cream following their final exams on June 7, thanks to the Holland Department of Public Safety's "Operation Polar Plunge" new ice cream truck.
Click on the link below to read more.
Congratulations to our seventh graders from across the Holland Public Schools district on graduating from our K-7 schools. Eight years ago, Holland Public Schools reorganized its elementary and middle schools as K-7's when these students began kindergarten (2009-10 school year). Good luck at Holland High School next school year!
Pictured above shows Jefferson Principal Maria Yoder placing an award medal around the neck of seventh grader during an awards ceremony, June 7.
A new road sign was recently added under the Holland High School direction sign on westbound 32nd Street near Van Raalte Avenue (next to Jefferson K-7 school). The sign, placed up by the City of Holland Street Department, honors the high school theatre department, stating "Home of Holland High School State Theatre Champions".
Earlier this year, the theatre team won 2 MIFA Division 1 state competitive theatre championships for their productions of "Triumph of Love" and "Agnes of God". This marked the school's 20th state championship in the last 28 years.
Congratulations to Kevin Schneider and the theatre students of the last 3 decades on this "long overdue" recognition!
Seventh graders of Holland Language Academy were recently honored as the first graduates of the Two-Way Bilingual Immersion (TWBI) program during a ceremony at the school on May 31.
Students were presented a special key from 7th grade teacher Terry Gartelman-Gonzalez to wear around their necks as a gift for their years in the TWBI program. Also in attendance was their Kindergarten/1st Grade teacher Jean Schroeder, who founded the TWBI program at Holland West K-7 in 2009.
In front of a large assembly of family and friends at Ridge Point Church, 39 grads from our Holland ViRtual Tech High received their diplomas on Monday, June 5. It was a grand event!
Tim Plants, the HVRT science teacher, was the keynote speaker and he had high praise for the hard work of the grads. Tim was interviewed on WHTC radio the next day and you can click on the link below to hear his five-minute commentary. Way to go, HVRT Class of 2017!
This group of Klompen Dancers from Holland High School were featured on the May 12th broadcast of "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt." The national evening newscast featured the HHS Dutch Dancers in a story they produced on the 88th annual Tulip Time Festival. The televised news story was originally set to air on May 10 but did not air until May 12 due to conflicting news reports.
Click the link below to watch the video clip.
Six compassionate students at East K-7 (including a girl!) recently made a gigantic sacrifice by having their heads shaved in front of their cheering classmates during the school's "Bald for Bucks" fundraiser event on June 1.
"This was a great opportunity for students to give back to others and sacrifice a little bit in the process while learning what it means to be part of a community," said Principal Nick Cassidy.
About $400 was raised in pledges. The money will benefit families at East who are in need of a little extra help for groceries at this time.
Click the news link below to read more.
HRVT's Class of 2017 will be honored and given their diplomas on Monday, June 5.
The ceremony will be held at Ridge Point Church beginning at 7 pm.
Family and friends are invited. A reception for everyone will follow the ceremony.
Click the link below to read more about this great group of hard-working grads!
Would you like a DVD copy of Commencement 2017 held in the DeVos Fieldhouse on May 30? The link to place your order is below. Each DVD costs $15.
Holland High's amazing Class of 2017 received their diplomas in front of nearly 3000 proud loved ones and friends during a heartwarming Commencement ceremony held in Hope College's DeVos Fieldhouse on Tuesday, May 30.
The atmosphere was both electric and unifying as everyone joined together in words and songs.
Holland High's 244 grads achieved an incredible milestone. They earned more than $4.7 million in scholarships and awards.
A new tradition began at Holland High School on May 18th.
On this day (the seniors last day), the "future grads" participated in the first ever "Senior Walk." Wearing their caps and gowns, the seniors walked the halls of all five K-7 schools.
Younger students cheered them on, giving high fives, and sharing in the excitement of their upcoming graduation.
For information regarding Honors Convocation, Baccalaureate, Commencement, and Senior Party, click on the link below.
Grads in Holland High's Class of 2017 began their "official" celebrations at their Honor Convocation on Thursday, May 25.
This event – held this year at First Reformed Church – recognized a wide range of scholarships and awards earned by the grads.
The grads definitely deserved the high praise which came their way. So far, they have garnered more than $4.3 million in scholarships and awards!
Athletic Physical Night is an important first step for current 6th-11th grade students intending to play sports in 2017-2018.
The location is South Washington Family Medicine, 904 S. Washington Ave. The cost is $15. Questions can be directed to the Athletics Office at 494-2250.
Holland High presents "SUDS."
The Rocking 60's Musical Soap Opera" takes you back to the 1960s to tell the story of a young woman who works in a Laundromat, and the guardian angels that teach her how to find true love - romance in the Wash-O-Rama.
SUDS is loaded with clean fun, bubbling energy, and over 50 songs that topped the charts. This laugh riot of a musical features musical hits of the 60's including "respect", "It's My Party", Where the Boys Are", and "Johnny Angel."
SUDS features Holland High School seniors Ellie Wayner (DeeDee), Chyna Schut (Marge) and Anna Ryzenga (Cindy) as well as Junior Isaiah Lee (Johnny angel, et al). The show also features senior Andrew DePree on keyboards, and alumni Micah Stillwell (bass) and Skyler Adams (percussion).
SUDS plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday (May 11,12,and 13) at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available through www.Tuliptime.com.
We want to thank the community for supporting our two ballot proposals on School Election Day, May 2.
The 18 mill "non-homestead" operating millage passed with 83% yes votes and the 10 Year Sinking Fund request with 75% yes.
Dr. Davis was on WHTC radio the morning after the election. Click on the link below to hear the 5 minute chat with host Gary Stevens.
Holland Public Schools was well-represented at the State contest for National History Day, hosted by Bay City Central High School.
Our 8th grade scholars (Teagan Wade, Autumn Bertram, and Camby Ket) presented their projects and handled the tremendous pressure of the judging sessions with the great academic expertise and skills they've been working on since October.
While Autumn and Camby received very high praise from the judges, their project fell short of the top 3 spots in their category (the top 2 are automatic finalists for the National Contest in June, 3rd place is an alternate, if either of the top 2 cannot make it to the contest).
We are pleased to announce that Teagan Wade has taken 3rd place in Individual Website, so she holds the Alternate spot for Nationals. She will not find out for sure if she will be going on to Nationals until May 9, so until then she will continue to improve her project.
We hope she will get that chance to go! Please congratulate each of these amazing young ladies when you see them because they have truly represented their school, their town, and their families and themselves with real DUTCH pride!
Thanks to all of you for your kind/generous support of our kids these 20 years of NHD. It is a wonderful, challenging process that annually builds the best research and presentation skills in our kids we could ever desire.
Holland High's recent graduation rate came in at 91%. Fantastic!
The hard work of our students and staff is appreciated... and there were many other contributors too.
Click on the link to go right to the April 24 article in the Holland Sentinel.
Holland High seniors Marita Ky and Freddie DeLaRosa will be first-generation college students this Fall, the first in their families to attend college. Both have been aceepted to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA.
In addition to academics, DeLaRosa is President of the Student Senate and is also involved in the Youth Advisory Council. Ky is involved with Students for Social Justice and Calling All Colors, a branch of the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance that focuses on fostering inclusive school communities. Both students are also members of the National Honor Society.
Click the link below to read more.
Congrats to the Holland High School Percussion Ensemble for earning a Division 1 Superior Rating at MSBOA District X Festival. Click on the link below to see and hear these wonderful student musicians in action.
Kudos to Director Demetrius White and the HHS Jazz Ensemble for also receiving a Division 1 rating from the judges at the MSBOA District X Jazz Festival in Caledonia, MI back in March.
Congratulations to the Winners of our 4th Annual Power H Education Awards, which took place on April 22 at Holland High School. Thank your for your contribution to the pride and success of our school system!
Click the link below to find out who won Employee of the Year!
A reminder that registration is now open for all HPS summer athletic camps! A registration form and camp information sheet is attached. New for 2017, we will also offer an online registration and payment option for camp attendees! A link to the online registration/payment system is available at www.hollanddutchsports.com. Hard copies of the registration form were sent home to all K-7 students recently.
Please contact the athletic office at 494-2250 or bfarkas@hollandpublicschools.org for more information. Go Dutch!
Enjoy "Music of the Cinema" at the Holland Orchestra Parents annual fundraiser "Cafe Pops." The event is Thursday, April 27 at 7 pm. The place is the Gathering Place at Christ Memorial Church. Tickets are $8 for students and $15 for adults. Ticket price include dessert and punch or coffee. Special details This concert is open to the public. Come and enjoy an evening of yummy desserts provided by K's Bake House and coffee, and enjoy light pop classics performed by the Holland High School Orchestras.
Team 74, the joint Holland High School and Black River Public School robotics team known as Team C.H.A.O.S., has qualified to compete at the 2017 FIRST Robotics World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Team C.H.A.O.S. earned their opportunity after finishing 11th out of 40 teams in their division at the FIRST Robotics Michigan State Championship in Saginaw, Michigan on April 15. With the points earned, Team 74 is currently ranked 33rd in the State (out of 451 teams).
Click the link below to read more.
Holland High School's Class of 1966 recently created a scholarship for their alma mater and awarded it to students who have completed the Early College program.
Thank you Class of 1966 for your generosity and support of our students so they can further their post-secondary study!
Click the link below to read about this wonderful event.
Holland Early College is hosting it's 1st Annual Yard Sale on Saturday, April 22 from 8:00 am to 2:00pm, featuring a car wash, bake sale and yard sale!
Come shop while getting your car washed grab dessert on your way home!
Proceeds from this event will support the Holland Early College yearbook and 10% of all profit will go to the Westshore Animal Reserve.
If you have trouble viewing this image, please call 494-2700 for assistance or click the link below.
The 2016-17 yearbook sale ends on Friday, April 21 at 3:00 pm. At that time the entire school order will be placed and the shipment is expected to arrive in mid-May.
Yearbooks can still be ordered online after this time, but will then be subject to shipping and handling charges. Order now to avoid additional costs.
The 6th annual Holland Heights 5K Run/Walk is taking place on Friday, April 14. All proceeds from this family fun event will be supporting the "All Kids Go to College" program.
To register to run or walk, you can pick-up a registration form in the Holland Heights K-7 office (856 E. 12th Street) or register on the day of the race.
Registration begins at 5:30 pm. Race starts at 6:00 pm. A raffle will take place after the race.
The Holland Band Parents Association (HBPA) presents the 2nd annual "Jazz Gala" on Thursday, April 20 at 7:30 pm at Park Theatre (248 River Avenue)!
The Holland HS Jazz Band will be giving a concert featuring musical guests to help raise money for the purchase of new marching band uniforms. In addition to live music, there will also be dessert appetizers and a silent auction.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the door, from a student in the Jazz Band or from a HBPA representative. Please do not hesitate to contact the Holland Band Parent Association's President Mrs. Sheridan ([email protected]), Vice President Mrs. Curtis or Director of Bands Mr. White ([email protected]) if you have any further questions or concerns.
Come on out and enjoy some great live music while supporting our students in the Holland High School Band program!
Got 5 minutes?
Click on the link below for an easy way to get information about our May 2nd school election. It'll take you to a short podcast.
Superintendent Dr. Brian Davis spoke with WHTC host Gary Stevens on WHTC radio during the week of Spring Break.
Team 74, the joint Holland High School and Black River Public School robotics team known as Team C.H.A.O.S., took 1st place at the FIRST Shepherd District Competition at Shepherd High School in Shepherd, Michigan, April 8, qualifying for 2017 FIRST Michigan State Championship at Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, Michigan on April 12-15!
With the points earned, Team C.H.A.O.S. is currently ranked 26th in the State (out of 451 teams).
Click the link below to read more.
The Holland Orchestra Parents Association proudly presents the Holland High School Orchestras "Café Pops", performing "Music of the Cinema" at Christ Memorial Church's Gathering Place on Thursday, April 27, 2017.
Come listen to light classics and Cinema blockbuster music scores to some of the most favorite movies to date in a nightclub-like atmosphere.
Holland, Michigan's-own mariachi band "Son De Mexico" will also be performing. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students. Reserve your tickets by clicking on the link below.
Your ticket price also includes coffee and desserts from JK's Bakehouse. All proceeds go to the Holland Public School Orchestra program.
Walker Police Officer Shannon VanderHeuvel surprised Holland High senior Jose Marin in front of his peers at HHS, March 30, informing him that he had been selected to receive the Trevor P. Slot Scholarship.
This $1,000 memorial scholarship, given in the memory of Walker Police Officer Trevor Slot, is awarded to students who are interested in a career in law enforcement.
Click the link below to read more.
Jefferson K-7 Principal Maria Yoder awarded a dozen students who met their individual reading goals during National Reading Month to pie her in the face on March 30.
Click the link below to read more.
Earlier this month, Holland West K-7 students took part in a Read-A-Thon fundraiser as part of National Reading Month, receiving pledges from family members, neighbors and friends. With over $4,300 raised, West students and staff got a big surprise during their lunch hour on March 30 and it wasn't what they were eating.
West Principal Dr. Kathleen Ramirez and Site Manager Stephanie Rhoda surprised the students by being duct-taped to the wall of the cafeteria.
Click the link below to read more.
Team 74, the joint Holland High School and Black River Public School robotics team known as Team C.H.A.O.S., recently competed at the FIRST West Michigan District Competition at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, March 25.
The robotics team finished in 10th place out of 41 and ended up as number 7 alliance captain during selections. With the points earned, Team 74 is currently ranked 188th in the State (out of 451 teams). Click the link below for more details.
Team C.H.A.O.S. will be in competition once again at the FIRST Shepherd District Competition at Shepherd High School in Shepherd, Michigan on April 6-8.
Thank you to everyone who came to the Vocal Dimensions' "That 70's Vocal Show" last weekend. We had a record attendance and it meant so much to the students and me to see so many students and staff members come and support them.
In addition to the Vocal Dimensions shows, many HHS choir students took part in State Solo and Ensemble. All of our students achieved a Division 1 Excellent rating and for the first time in the history of HHS Choirs, sophomore Benjamin Leeka qualified as a soloist for Michigan Youth Arts Festival and was deemed one of the top 12 high school soloists in the state of Michigan! Benjamin will go on to compete at the State Finalists Recital in Otsego on April 25 and will perform as a soloist in 2 recitals at Michigan Youth Arts Festival on May 18 and 19 at Western Michigan University.
Please congratulate Benjamin on his significant achievement and the following participants: Jenessa Altvater, Emily Ellis, Rowen Von Plagenhoef, Hannah Johnson, Olivia Loan, Adam Chamness, Michael Landin, Cris Abreu, Eliseo Bustillos, Josh James, Josiah Broussard, Malachi VanderZwaag, Sam Martens, Nick Hoffman, Isaiah Lee, Elena Murray, and Lola Salazar on their Division 1 ratings! Go Dutch!
--- Sarah Cox, HHS Director of Choirs
Two previously approved school funding levies will expire soon.
On Tuesday, May 2, voters who reside in the Holland Public School district will be asked to decide two proposals.
Click the link below for a map of polling stations and more details.
Students of the Holland High School Theatre Department celebrated their recent state championship victory by visiting each school in our district yesterday, receiving cheers from the students and staff.
The theatre team made history this year by being the first school in Michigan to win both The MIFA Division 1 state competitive theatre championships for their productions of "Agnes of God" and "Triumph of Love".
Holland has now won 20 state championships in the last 28 years! GO DUTCH!
On March 18th, the Holland HS Percussion Ensemble of the Holland High School Band Program received a Division 1 rating at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra State Solo and Ensemble Festival held at Portage Northern High School in Portage, Michigan.
Congrats to all the students for their hard work to achieve such high marks. Go Dutch!
On March 16th, the Holland HS Jazz Ensemble of the Holland High School Band Program received a Division 1 rating at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra District X Jazz Festival, held at Caledonia High School in Caledonia, Michigan.
This was the second year that the Holland High School Jazz Band has received an overall Division 1 rating in the ensemble's history and earned straight Division 1 ratings for their performance. In addition to the literature performed as an ensemble, some of the students in the Jazz Band were even complemented on their jazz improvisation solos individually throughout the performance.
Congrats to all the students for their hard work to achieve such high marks. Go Dutch!
Students of Holland High School's Foods for Life II classes will once again be taking part in the annnual Ladles of Love event, a community soup luncheon fundraiser benefiting My House Ministry of Holland, on March 14, 2017 at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holland beginning at 11am.
Foods for Life II students created 2 soups, 3 desserts, and edible arrangements that will be served at the event. Students will also be responsible for a number of jobs on the day of the event.
Click the link below to read more.
The Boys and Girls Club of of Greater Holland will open a third location at Holland Heights K-7 beginning on March 20. It will be open after school from 3:00 - 6:30 pm, Mondays-Thursdays.
The Holland High Varsity Quiz Bowl team captured the league title at the Allegan County Quiz Bowl League, February 27. This is the 7th league title for the team in the last 13 years.
The Varsity Team of Elijah Babinski, Isaac Cinzori, Nate Harder, and Rowen VonPlagenhoef, finished 2nd in the tournament, but tied Berrien Springs for the co-championship.
The JV team of Diana Cardenas, Aaron Curtis, Alexia McColl, and Alex Marko finished 2nd in the tournament and finished 4th in the overall standings.
The team will be in action again on April 21-22 when they travel to Michigan State University for the 2017 Michigan High School Quiz Bowl State Championship.
Holland East student Jake Gainey is once again beating the odds. Gainey, who has cerebral palsy and limited sight, recently took on the role as team manager of the 7th & 8th grade girl basketball "White" teams.
Gainey has been attending every practice and games of the girl basketball "White" teams, giving them pep talks and pointers. He may be the smallest one on the basketball court, but he has the loudest cheers.
"I love being the manager," said Gainey.
Back in November 2016, the East K-7 student body helped raise money for Gainey's family to purchase a lift for a van that would make Jake be more mobile.
Click the link below to watch a video about Jake's new role that was featured on the March 3rd broadcast of Fox 17 News At Ten (and Eleven).
Holland West third-grade student Landen Butch had the oppurtunity to be a meteorologist on a recent edition of the Fox 17 Morning Mix news show, giving the weather report of a lifetime!
Sponsored by West Michigan Chevy Dealers, Landen was chosen (at random) to be the "Fox 17 Morning Mix Weather Kid" for the month of February, after being nominated online by his parents. As the "Weather Kid", Landen got to be on-air during the Morning Mix show on March 3, reporting the weather with Meteorologist Ty Shesky and news anchor Todd Chance. Landen also received a $50 VISA gift card from the news station.
If you missed Landen's appearance on television, click the link below to watch his weather report from the March 3rd broadcast of the Fox 17 Morning Mix.
Nearly 600 students at Holland High Schools, including our Early College, program earned a G.P.A. during the 1st semester of 3.0 or above.
A celebration will take place at school on Wednesday, March 8. This is an amazing way to honor our students who are contributing to the success of HHS and HPS.
Congratulations to Holland High School's combined Vocal Dimensions and Concert Choir on their Division I Excellent rating at Michigan School Vocal Music Association's (MSVMA) District Choir Festival!
This is the second year in a row HHS's top choral ensembles have earned straight 1's in both sight-reading and performance from the judges.
The choir will go on to perform at MSVMA State Choral Festival at Hope College on May 5.
The 8th Grade Band, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble of the Holland High School Band Family participated in the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Festival held at Otsego High School in Otsego, Michigan, Feb. 23-24.
The Concert Band received a Division 2 (Excellent) rating and the 8th Grade Band and Wind Ensemble received a Division 1 (Superior) rating respectively. This is the second year in a row that select large and chamber Holland HS Band Program ensembles have received a Division 1 (Superior) rating.
All ensembles were complemented throughout the event by judges and other band directors on the way they represented our community both behaviorally and musically. Congrats to all the students for their hard work to achieve such high marks. Go Dutch!
So proud of our girls! This article in the Holland Sentinel sums up an exciting and inspirational season.
Congratulations to Holland ViRtual Tech's Red Knights Basketball team - Champions of the Lakeshore Honors League 2016-17 Season Tournament!
The Red Knights won the tournament on Feb. 24, defeating the Anchors of Harderwyk Ministries, 77-69, to clinch the championship for the 2nd year in-a-row.
The team finished the season with an overall record of 12-2. Congrats Red Knights for all your hard work you put in this season! Go Dutch!
{Click here for Video Link} Congratulations to Holland High senior Demetrius Lake on scoring over 2,000 basketball career points at Friday’s senior night basketball game against Byron Center.
Lake now joins 38 other basketball players from across the state of Michigan to reach this high school basketball milestone, surpassing NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson's scoring record!
The Varsity Boys Basketball team will be back in action on March 8 as they compete in the second round of the MHSAA District tournament at West Ottawa High School.
Click the link below to watch Demetrius make his 2,000th career point.
The 4th annual SLIC (Student Leaders Initiating Change) sponsored dodge ball tournament will take place on Saturday, March 4 in the Dutch Dome at 1 p.m. Participants need to sign up no later than 12:30 p.m. at the Dome entrance, public welcome! All proceeds will go to the Barnabas House in Holland.
There will be two FAFSA workshops for any student or parent who wishes to get help before the March 1st deadline!
Date: Tuesday Feb. 21st and Thursday Feb. 23rd Time: 4-6 PM Location: HHS Media Center Please bring with you the following materials: Parent and student 2015 Tax returns Parent and student 2015 W-2
If you have any questions, or would like to make an individual appointment to do the FAFSA, you may contact Celina Flegal at 616-494-2284 or cflegal@hollandpublicschools.org
Congratulations to the Holland High School Theatre Department on winning the 2017 Michigan Interscholastic Forensics Association (MIFA) Division 1 State Competitive Theatre Championship at the State Theatre Festival in Charlotte, Feb. 18.
The team won for their Studio Production "Agnes of God" and Main Stage Production "Triumph of Love" (double state champion), along with winning "The Golden Truck Award" for backstage teamwork approach (observed by judges)!
The HHS Competitive Theatre students will be having an encore performance of these two award-winning plays on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7pm at the Holland High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased in the link below.
Local professionals will be coming together to bring "Show Me the Money" Day at Holland Early College on Saturday, February 18, 2017 from 12:30-4pm.
Hosted by the Community Action House, "Show Me the Money" Day is a FREE statewide event offering FREE resources and information for FREE tax assistance, financial workshops and access to community resources. Click the link below for more info.
Holland High School teacher Sasha Balcazar and her biology students are being featured as this week's "Classroom Spotlight" in the Holland Sentinel!
This is a weekly feature that highlights teachers in schools across the Holland area.
[Click here for Video Link] Elementary students in Chris Bower's technology class at Jefferson and West K-7 schools recently had the opportunity to work with coding using robots.
Instructional Technologist Dr. Anne Thorp, from the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD), helped students learn how to operate two robots "Dash" and "SPRK Sphero" using their iPads via Bluetooth.
Click the link below to read more and view a short video of this wonderful learning in action.
Six Holland High wrestlers have qualified for the MHSAA Individual Regionals after competing at Individual Districts in Hastings, Feb. 11.
Corbin Choummonivong and Mike Visscher came out as District Champions. Yzrael Silguero placed 2nd while Justin Turner, Brain Castro, and Steven Villarreal placed 4th.
GO DUTCH!
January 16, 2017, was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
In honor and recognition of the legacy of this great man, HPS was not in session for students so that they could participate in the many activities that are available throughout the community.
Raya VonPlagenhoef is a Holland High freshman.
She won an award for the essay she entered in both the district's MLK essay contest and the one sponsored by the City of Holland Human Relations Commission.
Raya recited her essay at the Board Meeting on January 23 and received an HPS certificate of special recognition.
A gigantic shoutout to Holland High junior Immanuel Garza.
He was selected as the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holland's 2017 Youth of the Year.
Garza was honored at a celebration ceremony at the Midtown Center on Thursday, February 2.
This marks the second year in-a-row for a Holland High student to receive this honor.
Abria Franklin won the honor last year and went on to be named the Boys & Girls Club's Midwest Region Youth of the Year.
For the first-time since 2011, the Holland High School Wrestling team has secured the OK Green Conference Championship.
The team earned the title at Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville on Feb. 3.
Winning conference championships for Holland were Yzrael Silguero (112), Justin Turner (130), Brian Castro (140), and Corbin Choummanivong (152). Steven Villarreal (145), Israel Anaya (160), Nolan Ricketts (189) and Jesus Martinez (285) were runner-up.
The Dutch now move onto the MHSAA Team and Individual Districts this week. GO DUTCH!
Congrats to our Boys Varsity Basketball Team and Coach Chapman on defeating city-rival (and friends) Holland Christian, 65-56.
This exciting game took place in The Dome on Friday Feb. 3rd. It's the perfect venue for huge events like this one and it was rockin'.
Holland's overall record now stands at 9-6 and 4-3 in the OK Green. GO DUTCH!
Get ready for tournament play right around the corner!
Missing those warm summer evenings in Kollen Park with the melodious sounds of the Holland American Legion Band floating through the air?
Well, you don’t have to wait until June to hear the band. Join the Legion Band at the Jack H. Miller Center for the Musical Arts on Saturday, February 11 at 7:30 pm for their Halfway to Summer Concert with special guest flute soloist Dr. Gabe Southard.
Also joining the band will be a special guest, the Holland High School Wind Ensemble. The groups will perform numbers by John Williams, John Philip Sousa, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Paul Hindemith.
Dr. Southard will perform the virtuosic Carnival of Venice by Giulio Briccialdi. Don’t miss this chance to enjoy a wonderful not-quite-summer’s evening of music.
Know a 7th grader interested in engineering? With 8th grade on the horizon, a new program will be offered to connect students with science, technology, engineering, and math. It's called Project Lead the Way. Parents of 7th graders are encouraged to come to a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 7 pm. All of the details are in the link below.
Congratulations to all of our students who took part in this year's National History Day Competition at Holland Early College, January 26, 2017.
About 200 people attended the event to see the history fair projects created by the 75 students who participated. Students who earned blue ribbons have been invited to participate in the District 4 Michigan History Day contest at Grand Valley State University on March 18, 2017.
These hard-working students will continue to improve their projects and papers for the next level of competition.
Varsity wrestler Justin Turner raised over $1,000 during the school's "takedown homelessness" campaign.
The money will go towards a local homeless shelter.
Justin is a model of how to be elite on and off the mat. #hpsproud #BeElite
Kindergarten enrollment for Fall 2017 is underway.
All parents with 4 & 5 year-olds are invited to come learn more about our preschool, Transitional Kindergarten (TK), traditional Kindergarten, and TWBI Spanish-English Kindergarten programs.
We hosting two more Kindergarten Info Hours on Thursday, March 2 and Tuesday, April 18.
Both meetings begin at 6 pm and will be held at the HPS Admin Board & Training Room, 320 W. 24th St.
Congrats to Holland East K-7.
Thanks to the dedication of students, staff, and parents, the school was named as a Finalist of the National Title I Association's 2016 Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Program.
We're proud to see East honored for its "Excellence in Serving English Learners."
HHS tech integration specialist Dave Bast chatted with Gary Stevens on WHTC radio Wednesday. Dave's excited about how students in Mrs. LeFebre's "Senior Expository Writing Class" are updating their digital footprints. All to better showcase the best version of themselves. (And they're pretty awesome to begin with according to Mr. Bast and Mrs. LeFebre. Click on this link to listen to the five minute radio clip.
Students 4 Social Justice, Student Senate and HHS staff members raised more than $1300 for Barnabas Ministries and their youth home for unaccompanied homeless youth. Thank you for your generosity in raising awareness and funds!
All 8th-12th graders at Holland High and HEC should follow this exam schedule. It reflects the changes made due to the closing of schools on Thursday, Jan. 12. Click on the link below to see the changes.
On Thursday, January 5, three newly elected trustees were officially sworn in to the Holland Public Schools Board of Education.
(L-R) Liz Colburn, Linda Falstad, and Phil Meyer will each serve six-year terms. At Thursday’s organizational meeting, the full seven member Board also elected Jack Gisinger to be President, Susan DeJong – Vice President, Janet DeYoung – Secretary, and Lisa Whiteman – Treasurer.
The first regular monthly meeting of the Board will be Monday, January 23, at 7 pm in the HPS Administration Building’s Board & Training Room.
After ending their 55-game losing streak earlier this month, the Holland High School Girls Varsity Basketball team has their first winning streak since the 2012-13 season. On Dec. 28, the Lady Dutch defeated South Haven, 41-36 to advance to the finals of the Holland Holiday Hoops Tournament. On Dec. 29, the team defeated Portland, 44-42, securing the tournament championship.
The Lady Dutch will play against city-rival Holland Christian on Jan. 6, 2017 at the Holland Civic Center at 7:30 p.m. (boys play at 6 p.m.).
Are you Heart or Brain when it comes to snow? (A very good question for you from www.theawkwardyeti.com)
Holland Language Academy teacher Nayeli Venegas and her fourth grade class were recently featured in add.a.lingua's teacher feature series.
Holland High School juniors Jose Penaloza and Daniel Arellano were recently named as The Holland Sentinel's Co-Soccer Players of the Year. Congrats on the honors!
Click on the link to read more.
[Click here for Video Link] Holland High's vocal ensembles, orchestras, bands and jazz band performed before a packed house at Hope College's Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016.
This was the first year the concert was held in this location.
Click on the link below to view highlights from this year's Holiday Collage (which also features highlights from our holiday music programs across the district).
Five stars!
Co-advisor and English teacher Greg Ceithaml spoke on WHTC radio Wednesday morning. Click on the link to listen to the 5 minute on-air chat.
Students of Holland High School will be bringing smiles to the faces of several kids this Christmas season. Since Dec. 1, HHS students have been donating toys for the annual U.S. Marines Corps Reserve "Toys for Tots" program. On Dec. 20, the HHS Rotary Interact organization helped count the donated toys. Over 260 toys were collected. This amount is more than 4 times as many toys donated the year before by HHS students. Retired U.S. Marine Corps Gy Sgt. Mark Petersen and his wife Michele, a U.S. Marine Corps Cpl, picked up the toys that will be distributed to economically disadvantaged children across West Michigan during the holiday season.
Holland Language Academy teacher Nydia Morin and her third grade class are being featured as this week's "Classroom Spotlight" in the Holland Sentinel! This is a weekly feature that highlights teachers in schools across the greater Holland area.
This is better than finding an acorn in the snow!
Save now on the All Night Senior Party!
The price goes up right after the holiday break. This is a wonderful gift idea for parents and grandparents who have a senior at Holland High or Holland Early College.
Click on the link below. (The party is May 30, 2017, right after Commencement.)
Downtown Holland's annual Parade of Lights was Nov. 29. The HHS Marching Dutchman Band participated wearing their time-honored red noses.
A group of 5th & 6th graders from Holland Language Academy waved to the crowd while riding their float.
Mayor Nancy DeBoer helped welcome Santa and Superintendent Brian Davis represented HPS as part of the Tulip Time Board.
Click the video to watch the annual Parade of Lights. Courtesy of the City of Holland.
Holland East students Nicole Vega, Alasha Greer and Esperanza Cruz recently raised over $400 for SXI student Jake Gainey, a student who has cerebral palsy and an eye disease. The girls, who are 6th graders, raised the money for his family to help fund a lift for a van which will help Jake be more mobile. The girls asked fellow students to contribute silver coins to their fund.
Click the link below for additional info about Jake and his family.
Students of Holland High School recently had the oppurtunity to learn about Fire Safety. On Nov. 18, members of the Holland Fire Department demonstrated to the students on what happens when pouring water on a grease fire. Students also gained experience using a fire extinguisher while gaining an understanding of Fire Safety before the upcoming holiday season.
Click the link below to watch a video of the students learning about Fire Prevention.
A number of HHS students are eager to showcase their creative talents for you!
All you've got to do is come to the Armory on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 7-10 pm.
This the open house for The Big Read – A Student Exhibition of Learning.
The collaborative art project shown in the photo was created by Beth Mawdsley Sherwood's Honors English 9 and Lisa Riley's Sculpture/Metals students
It is one of a variety of art pieces that will be displayed.
The Big Read – A Student Exhibition of Learning will also be open to the public at the Holland Armory from November 18-23 from 11 am to 4 pm.
Holland High School, along with veterans and community members, came together to observe Veterans Day, Nov. 11. During the 79th annual observance, our veterans were honored for their your service in our Armed Forces and sacrifice. These are the brave men and women who protected our freedom and continue to do so today.
Students are crafting their projects for the Big Read student exhibition night at the Holland Armory.
Holland High will hold its 79th Annual Veterans Day Observance on Friday, Nov. 11.
The ceremony will be begin at 10:15 am in the Dutch Dome. Musical performances will be provided by the Vocal Dimensions, HHS choirs, and the Wind Ensemble.
The keynote speaker is Marine Staff Sergeant Jeffrey Draney.
SSgt Draney, an Allegan High grad, joined the Marines in 2004, and has earned many commendations, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Irag Service Medal, the Navy Unit Citation Ribbon, and Meritorious Mast.
The public is invited. Military veterans (and family and friends) are also invited to the Holland High Commons at 9:15 am for coffee, pastry, and fellowship.
On Saturday, Holland High will be hosting the 11th Annual Fall Quiz Bowl Invitational. 24 teams from 14 different schools will be competing in the event, with defending champion and Class B State runner-up from last year Allegan High School in the field. Much like varsity "Jeopardy", Quiz Bowl requires fast recall of knowledge from all academic fields: geography, literature, grammar, science, and math. "We have teams coming in from all over," said HHS teacher and coach Carl Van Faasen. "If any alumni or community members would like to help, I hope they'll contact me at the high school." (Click on the link to hear Carl on WHTC radio.)
Students of Courtney Eaton's first grade class at Holland Language Academy celebrated "Día de Muertos" (Day of the Dead) on Monday with facepainting, snacks, a marigold craft, and a book explaining about the celebration.
Rather than focus on Halloween, students learned about a culture where they speak the language we're learning...Spanish!
Congratulations to Holland High's Nick Hoffman and Sam Martens on qualifying for the upcoming MHSAA Cross Country State Finals. The two Dutch runners earned their oppurtunity to compete in the finals based on their finishes at the MHSAA Regional at Portage West Middle School on Oct. 29th.
Nick, a junior, finished 3rd overall with a time of 16:21. Sam, a sophomore, finished 5th overall with a time of 16:28. The Boys Cross Country team finished in 5th place, missing a 4th place finish by one point. The Girls Cross Country team finished in 12th place.
The MHSAA Cross Country State Finals will take place at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Nov. 5. Congratulations and best of luck, guys!
For the first time in nearly a quarter century, the Holland High School Boys Cross Country team are OK Conference Champions! The Dutch defeated 6 other local teams to win the OK Green Conference at Helder Park, Oct. 19.
Way to go team and Coach Martens!
The team will compete for the MHSAA Regional Championship in Portage on Oct. 29. GO DUTCH!!!
The HHS National Honor Society will be hosting its annual Blood Drive through Michigan Blood on Nov. 30th. It will be held in the A Wing of the HPS Administration Building. If interested in donating blood, please email Sarah Le Febre at slefebre@hollandpublicschools.org
Community may donate blood because of our new venue (not just students)
There will be a student bus available for Tuesday's MHSAA Regional Soccer semifinal game in Vicksburg. The bus will depart from the oval in front of HHS at 5:15 p.m. and return at approximately 10:00 p.m. Cost is $7 (which includes admission into the game) and space is limited to the first 50 students who sign-up.
In order to ride the bus, you must complete a persmission slip (with parent signature) and return it to the high school athletic office. Forms can be picked-up in the athletic office.
Stop in to the athletic office if you have any questions.
Twenty-one students of Holland East officially became safeties during a "swearing in" ceremony during their lunch hour at the school on Friday, Oct. 21. Holland Mayor Nancy DeBoer sworn in the students into the school's safety patrol, along with presenting them a "Certificate of Appreciation" for completing their required training for the Safety Patrol.
There were 168 new cases of breast cancer in Ottawa County. There were 27 deaths due to breast cancer in Ottawa County. 246,660 Women and 2,600 Men were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2016 nation-wide. With early diagnosis there is a 99% survival rate!
Rotary Interact is having a fund raiser for Breast Cancer Awareness. Every Thursday and Friday morning students can get their pinkies painted pink for a $1 donation. All donations go to the Susan G. Kolman foundation.
A fun filled evening of spooky music and laughs for the whole family. The Holland High orchestras present DeComposers Festival at the High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are just $5 and are available at the door. Show times are Wed., Oct 26 at 6PM and 8PM. Come dressed to scare if you dare!!
The 7th Grade White volleyball team captured second place at the Grand Haven Invitational over the October 7-8 weekend. The girls edged out East Kentwood, Jenison, West Michigan Academy, and our cross town rival Holland Christian.
"I was super proud of how well our team served and played. This is the first time in a long time that our middle school team placed this high in a tournament. It has been a joy to see these girls grow as a team and improve on their skills." remarked Coach Janis Johns.
K-7 students and staff took part in "The Big Crunch" on Thursday, Oct. 13. The purpose of this event was to break the world record for eating the most apples at one time. HPS joined schools across Michigan to simultaneously bite into a crisp Michigan apple. What a marvelous way to encourage healthy eating and promote Michigan agriculture!
Freshman students of Beth Mawdsley-Sherwood's Honors English 9 class at Holland High School recently took part in a community-wide reading event known as "The Big Read" with the help of Holland High alumnus and local artist Joel Schoon-Tanis. Click the link below to read more, including a video of the event.
Come enjoy a great night of music. The MSBOA District 10 Marching Festival is Tuesday night, Oct. 11. The Marching Dutchmen will perform their 2016 halftime show entitled "A Tribute to Earth Wind and Fire" for the judges. The location is Zeeland Stadium (9900 Riley St., Zeeland, MI 49464) Holland High performs at 7:15 pm.
Our athletics office wants middle school student athletes (6th-8th grades) to be aware of the information found in the link below.
In the upcoming Nov. 8 election, voters in the Holland Public School District will choose three school board trustees out of a field of six candidates.
To help voters get information, the League of Women Voters is hosting a candidate forum in the HPS Admin Bldg. (320 W. 24th St) on Wednesday, October 12 at 7 pm. The public is invited.
The six candidates are:
• Elizabeth Colburn
• Linda Falstad
• Steve Grose (incumbent)
• Eutimio (Tim) Marroquin
• Phil Meyer
• Jo Trembley
Do you like to run? To walk? Well, you're in in luck. Sign up for the Holland Hospital 5K Walk/Run. It's a great way to help support our tremendous school nursing program. The event is Thursday, Oct. 6. Come to Holland High at 4:30 pm to check in on race day.
Holland High Junior Abria Franklin is the Midwest Region Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year. This is quite an achievement just by itself. On Tuesday, Sept. 27, Abria will compete in the nationals. Click on the link below to check out the competition and wish Abria well!
Adventures in Harmony Women's Edition will take place on Wednesday, September 28. We will be going to Zeeland HS to rehearse with Dr. Sandra Snow (MSU) and 350 women from 8 area high schools as well as women from the Holland Chorale, Opera Grand Rapids and the Sweet Adelines of Grand Rapids.
I have been on the planning committee for this event for over a year now and I am so excited to see it come to fruition.
The concert is at 7:30 that evening at Zeeland High School's DeWitt Auditorium and is free and open to the public. I am proud to share that HHS has the largest number of participants of any school. The girls know they are responsible for any and all work they miss. Come on out and support our girls. Go Dutch!
With wife Shirley on his left and AD Ben Farkas & HHS tennis coach Kevin O'Keefe on his right, former Holland High teacher, coach, and athletic director Dwayne "Tiger" Teusink expressed appreciation for an honor he received at noon on Saturday, Sept. 24.
Tiger has been in leader in the development of youth tennis programs for nearly 5 decades. He's earned many local, state, and national awards for his commitment to tennis, his students, and his success as a coach.
Spectacular weather added to the excitement of the official renaming of Holland HIgh's tennis courts to "Tiger Teusink Tennis Courts" and the enveiling the new archway.
Tiger thanked the School Board, Superintendent Davis, the HPS school family, and the entire community. "I loved teaching," he said. "And that's why I loved coaching."
It's HHS Homecoming 2016. There are fun themes in our schools everyday.
On Monday–Friday there are different “spirit week” themes each day. Students can catch the themes on “Flash.” On Friday, Sept. 23, the Dutch will take on Hamilton at Hope’s Ray & Sue Smith Stadium. There is a parade from the DeVos Fieldhouse to the stadium at 6 pm. Kickoff is at 7 pm. The King & Queen will be announced at halftime.
On Saturday, Sept. 24, there are three special events to note. We are honoring former HHS teacher and tennis coach Tiger Teusink with an 11 am reception at the tennis courts and brief recognition ceremony to follow at noon. The Homecoming Dance is also Saturday night from 8 pm to 11 pm in the HHS Commons. The cost is $10 per student. Go Dutch!
Latin Grammy nominee Mariachi Flor de Toloache, the first and only established all-female mariachi band founded in New York City, gave a sneak-peak performance to students and staff at Holland High School, while in town for the 2016 Tulipanes Latino Art & Film Festival.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month Sept. 15 - Oct. 15 Explore "The Great Inka Road" and how an empire was engineered. Just click inside this caption.
Members of Holland High School's "Calling All Colors" organization pose next to a kiosk, showcasing their art project "Unity Tree", in VanBraght Park during a dedication ceremony for the Holland Area Arts Council "Unity Bridge Youth Art Project" public art display, Sept. 13. The student group was the only high school organization chosen to have their art work displayed in the park near the Unity Bridge along River Avenue, though the actual Unity Tree can be found on display near the front main entrance of Holland High School.
Our students benefit whenever our teachers are provided opportunities to team up and work on their instructional practices together. Experts from the Van Andel Education Institute meet regularly throughout the school year with our talented 6/7 grade science teachers.
Parents of 5th graders are invited to attend one of the upcoming Band & Orchestra information meetings. There are two meetings to choose from: Monday, Sept. 26 and Tuesday, Sept.27.
Both meetings are at East K-7 and begin at 6:15 pm. Come learn about our introductory band and orchestra program, the various instruments, and the Meyer Music Instrument rental/purchase program. Join us in creating music!
HPS K-7 students will get in FREE to the Holland High varsity football game on Friday, Sept. 9. It's K-7 student night! Come cheer on the Dutch and enjoy the game and festivities. Kick-off is 7 pm in at Ray & Sue Smith Stadium on Fairbanks Avenue. The opponent is Unity Christian. HPS K-7 students getting in free must be accompanied by a ticket purchasing adult ($5).
The Holland High Dutch Varsity beat GR Ottawa Hills Thursday night by a score of 21-8. Click in this caption for the link to the Holland Sentinel report.
Holland High's production of the delightfully entertaining musical "Mary Poppins" will premier on December 1. Tickets are on sale online now. Don't wait to obtain your reserved tickets. Click here to go to the link.
Here is the Thursday edition of Holland High's Daily Flash – a student video production Click inside this caption to go to the video link. (1.20)
Varsity Football coach Andrew Pratley is inviting everyone for the return of "Friday Night Football", August 26, at Hope College's Ray & Sue Smith Stadium as the Dutch of Holland High take on the Wyoming Wolves. It's also "Organ Donor Awareness Night" too! Hope to see you there! GO DUTCH!!! Click on the link to watch a video promo on this Friday's game.
It's always fun to meet old and new friends (and old & new teammates too!). Thank you students, teachers, parents, principals and support staff for making our first school day great!
Practices and tryouts for student athletes in grades 6-8 begin Monday, August 22. Click inside this article for the link which has more info. Questions? Call 494-2250.
Parents and 6th & 7th graders will want to take steps to receive a district-owned Chromebook. Please click on the link below.
We're ready for a great new school year!
We look forward to seeing you at our open houses on Monday, August 22.
• The Holland ECC open house is 4:30-6:30 pm.
• The East, Heights, West, Jefferson, and Holland Language Academy open houses are 5-7 pm.
• The Holland High, HVRT, and Early College open houses are 7-9 pm.
The Fall sports season is here. Practices and tryouts begin Monday, August 8. Click in this box. This will take you to the info link and the first week schedule.
Our booth at the City of Holland’s tremendous National Night Out event on Tuesday, Aug. 2 was busy, busy, busy. (Got it? We were busy!)
Families enjoyed stopping by for school information – as the reminders about our earlier start to the new school year were much appreciated.
The young ones also loved our Kollen Park scavenger hunt and the prizes. Thank you City of Holland! And remember (once again) HPS open houses are August 22 and the first school day is Wednesday, Aug. 24
The Young Male Scholars at East K-7 made this video to thank teachers. They filmed almost every teacher at their school and then chose some of the best reactions.
The students also went to the Holland High media production lab and worked with HHS teacher Dave Bast to edit and finalize the project. Check it out via the link below.
Holland High's Class of 2016 was one of our school's best!
This amazing class of 260 grads earned a combined $4.3 million in scholarships and awards. It also included our first group of 12 seniors from our Early College campus.
Kudos to all! (The link below links to the story in the Holland Sentinel.)
HBPA is having an Arby's fundraiser with a portion of the profits from sales at the Chicago Drive and Washington Ave. Arbys locations.
It's Wednesday, June 1, from 4-7 pm .
A portion of sales will be donated to support Holland Bands.
In addition, there will be bake sales at both locations. The Washington Ave location will be selling baked goods from the HHS Marching Band.
The Chicago Drive location will be selling baked goods from the 6-8th grade bands. At both locations, Arbys Scrip cards will be available for purchase if desired.
Holland High School students of Dan Telegenhof's Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics classes had the oppurtunity to serve as the judge, prosecutors, defense attorneys, jurors, bailiffs, court reporters and everyone else in a full-day mock trial at Ottawa County's 58th District Court in Holland, May 26. The exercise, a condensed version of a fictional case put together for law students, was to help inform them of a criminal trial procedure. See the attached article for more info.
We're new. We're excited!
We have a long way to go, but we are getting there thanks to some of our parents who shared their time to help us spruce up our school for our upcoming "walkthrough" on Saturday, June 4, from 10 am to noon.
You're invited to come take a look, too!
Every May, our art teachers select pieces of artwork from the different grade levels in the schools where they teach and thirteen students were selected as winners of this year's District Art Awards. The artwork will be on display in the School Board & Training Room of the District Administration Building during the 2016-17 school year. Click the link below to view this year's winners.
The Senior Recognition Choir Concert is Tuesday, May 17 in the HHS PAC at 7 pm.
This will be an evening that showcases the work and accomplishments the four HHS choirs have done this year and celebrates our seniors.
Admission is free, although we will be taking a free will offering to help with the cost of music, festival fees, bus costs for festival and new outfits for the choirs.
Thank you! Invite your friends and family. too!
Holland High School theatre is performing the musical MARY POPPINS this next fall. Auditions are May 24, 25 and 25 (Please see the info link below).
All students are encouraged to audition, as we will be looking for 4th through 12th grade students. No prior theater experience is necessary.
Any questions regarding auditions can be directed to Mr. Schneider at kschneid@hollandpublicschools.org.
High School students may audition: SINGING: Tuesday May 24 3:30-7:00 p.m. (first come/first serve...it only take 5 minutes) Wednesday May 25 3:30-6:30 p.m. (first come/first serve...it only take 5 minutes) **we can listen later on each night if you talk to us in advance
DANCE: AUDITION TIMES: Wednesday May 25 Session A (6:25 to 7:40 p.m.) Session B (7:45 to 9:00 p.m.) **You only need to attend ONE session, not both.
4th through 7th graders may audition: AUDITIONS: May 26, 3:30 to 4:30 or 5-6 pm. Students will need to be there there for the full hour. Parents may stay in the lobby or waiting room (the Drama room), but may not be in the auditorium or choir room with their student.
We will have a parent or two there who can answer some questions based on their experiences. Students will be asked to sing a song (prepared in advance, see link below) as well as participate in some acting games.
Unfortunately, there are no alternative audition times. Contact Mr. Schneider for more specifics.
The fun of Tulip Time week follows a great celebration at the Civic Center with LAUP's Fiesta.
On Saturday, Mrs. Vasquez-Ochoa, the new director of our Holland Language Academy, and a team of parents (and kids!) operated our HPS Fiesta Booth.
Click on the info link below to see find out who was "almost" our new student sign-up! It's too bad our superintendent (a U. of M. season ticket holder) nixed it!
Holland High School history students Sarah Anderson and Raya Vonplagenhoef became National Finalists of the Michigan History Day 2016 competition, April 30, 2016, qualifying them to compete at the National History Day contest in Washington, D.C. in June.
Click on link below to view a video as HHS history teacher Mark Knolf introduces these two outstanding students and their award-winning projects.
Katie Bast, a 2012 Holland High graduate, was recently named a distinguished Fulbright award winner and will spend the 2016-2017 academic year in Macedonia.
Katie will serve as an English Teaching Assistant to students at the university level. As an English Major at North Park University in Chicago, Katie was named the Outstanding Junior in the School of Education and also won the English Department Academic Excellence Award as a Senior.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program of the U.S. government. It was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator William J. Fulbright of Arkansas.
Congratulations to the Winners of our 3rd Annual Power H Awards. Held on April 22, the same day as our Professional Staff Development training, we recognized the dedication and talents of a great group of people.
The success of our students is enhanced by the selflessness of our staff and adult volunteers.
Click the link below to view this year's winners.
The Holland HS Jazz Band will be performing a jazz concert in combination with the West Shore Community College Jazz Ensemble and special guest Michael Dease (Professor of Jazz Trombone at Michigan State University) on Thursday, April 21st at 6:30 pm at Christ Memorial Church (595 Graafschap Rd, Holland, MI 49423).
There is no cost for admission and everyone of all ages is welcome to attend the jazz performance. Come on out and support our fantastic student musicians here at Holland HS while enjoying some great music!
Vietnam War 50th Commemoration Performance is on Friday, April 29th at 7:00 pm at the Civic Center! The Holland High School Band has been invited by the Human/International Relations Committee of the City of Holland to perform for the 50th Vietnam War Commemoration at the Holland Civic Center on April 29th at 7:00 pm!
Our band program has been chosen by the committee to represent the City of Holland at this historically important and ground breaking event. This is a fantastic way to support the community of Holland and Veterans all across the United States of America!
For the second time in school history, Holland High School's robotics team CHAOS (team 74) has qualified to compete at the 2016 FIRST Robotics World's Competition, April 27-30 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO but need your help to get them there. The team needs to raise $15,000 for this trip by April 25, which will pay for the registration to the event.
The robotics team (combined of Holland High and Black River Public School students) earned their spot to compete at the World's Finals by recently competing against 102 other top teams from around the state at the FRC State Championship in Grand Rapids, April 15, finishing 54th in the state out of 411 teams.
To contribute toward the travel cost, please click on link below. Thanks and GO CHAOS!
Jefferson student Robert Maner's essay on his favorite teacher, Mrs. Lisa Brenton, was selected as the Holland Barnes & Noble Winner for the "My Favorite Teacher" 2016 contest!
See attached article for more info. Congrat's Robby and Mrs. Brenton!
Holland High School's robotics team CHAOS (team 74) recently competed at the Traverse City FIRST Robotics Competition in Traverse City and has earned a spot to compete at the Michigan FIRST Robotics Competition State Championship at the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids on April 14-16.
The robotics team (combined of Holland High and Black River Public School students) won a "Gracious Professionalism" award at the event.
Team CHAOS will be one of 102 top-ranked teams competing for our state's 76 spots to attend the 2016 FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 27-30. This weekend's event is FREE and open to the public. Come and support team CHAOS and join the excitement of FIRST!
Tickets are now on sale for the 2016 Cafe Pops Concert “Tangos To Go”. 7PM April 27, Christ Memorial Church Gatherings Place.
Reserve your table today for this great annual fundraiser for the Holland High School Jazz Band and Orchestras as they play jazz and pops music right in to your hearts for spring as you eat delicious desserts and coffee or punch. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students. Reserve your tickets online today!
Cha-cha cha!!!!
Tickets are now on sale for the 2016 Cafe Pops Concert “Tangos To Go”. 7PM April 27, Christ Memorial Church Gatherings Place. Reserve your table today for this great annual fundraiser for the Holland High School Jazz Band and Orchestras as they play jazz and pops music right in to your hearts for spring as you eat delicious desserts and coffee or punch. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for students. Reserve your tickets online today! Cha-cha cha!!!!
Starting on April 21st and running through April 24th, Holland High Theatre will present the 1920's rip roarin', Charleston loving, football oriented, high octane comedy "GOOD NEWS!" Featuring songs like "The Varsity Drag" and "Keep your Sunnyside Up!", this show combines dance, song and comedy into an enjoyable evening. "Good News" will highlight the newer members of our theatre family, as the cast is composed of only 8th, 9th and 10th graders! In May, Holland High Theatre will present "THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES"...this smash hit takes you to the 1958 Springfield High School prom where we meet Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy, and Suzy, four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts! As we learn about their lives and loves the girls serenade us with classic ‘50s hits including “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” and “Lipstick on Your Collar.” In act two, the Wonderettes reunite to take the stage and perform at their ten-year reunion. The Marvelous Wonderettes will keep you smiling in this must-take musical trip down memory lane! The show runs May 6, 7, and 12th at 7:00 p.m. This great show will also be part of the Tulip TIme Festival, performing 3 more times, on May 13,14 and 15th (tickets for those 3 shows available only through Tulip Time). Click on the "info link" below for tickets.
A big shoutout goes to two of our amazing "educator" leaders – Mrs. Anna Clawson (L) and Mrs. Kathleen Ramirez.
They both earned their Ph.D's from Western Michigan University on the very same day a couple of weeks ago. It was a ton of work, but they kept at it with their eyes on the prize. (Not a bad model to follow, by the way.)
Mrs. Clawson, Ph.D, is the Assistant Director of Student Services. Mrs. Kathleen Ramirez, Ph.D, is the Principal of West K-7.
Congratulations, ladies!
On Friday, March 25, State Superintendent Brian Whiston visited Holland West to see the bilingual immersion classroom and early literacy classrooms, Holland High for advance placement classes, special ed classes, performing arts center and the Virtual Tech High School. He concluded with a visit to Holland Early College. Holland Early College juniors Sanjuana Luna and Annika Carlson and senior Juwan Phipps spoke at length with the state superintendent about their appreciation to have the opportunity to get an early start on college. See attached article for more info.
Holland High School's robotics team CHAOS (team 74) recently competed in the West Michigan FIRST Robotics District Competition at Grand Valley State University in Allendale. The robotics team (combined of Holland High and Black River Public School students) won a Pit Safety award at the event.
The team also won an "Excellence in Engineering" award at the Indiana FIRST Robotics District Walker Warren Event in Indianapolis, IN the week before.
Team CHAOS will be traveling to Traverse City to compete in the Traverse City FIRST Robotics Competition, April 8-9.
On Saturday March 19th, The Holland High School Percussion Ensemble received a Division 1 rating at MSBOA Band and Orchestra State Solo and Ensemble! Congrats to these students for their hard work to achieve such high marks! Go dutch!
The board of education will recognize the HVRT men’s championship basketball team at the beginning of the board meeting on Monday (3.21) at 7:00. Please considering joining us at the Administration Building located on 320 West 24th Street to congratulate our men on a great season.
Holland High's Special Olympians were given a "send-off" by the students and staff of the school this afternoon as they headed for Calvin College in Grand Rapids to compete in the 2016 Special Olympics Michigan State Basketball Finals this weekend. The team placed first in Division 6 of their district tournament, qualifying them for the state tournament for the first time since 2013.
Click on the link below for more info on this event. GO DUTCH!!!
94 cases of water and $411.50 is being donated to the Michigan School for the Deaf in Flint. The water and money were collected by the ASL classes at Holland High School and Holland Early College. The staff and students of MCTI, Community Interpreters, Lowe's of Holland, the What Not Inn, staff of Eaglecrest School and Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services out of Grand Rapids collaborated with us in our donation.
On Friday, March 11th, both the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble of the Holland High School Band Program received Division 1 ratings at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Festival held at Okemos High School in Okemos, MI! This was the first year that both the Holland High School Concert Band has received an overall Division 1 rating and the Holland High School Wind Ensemble earned straight Division 1 ratings for their performance in in the same year in several years!
Both ensembles were complemented throughout the event by judges and other band directors on the way they represented our community both behaviorally and musically. Congrats to all the students for their hard work to achieve such high marks! Go dutch!
We're very proud of Mrs. Garcia, featured in the "Classroom Spotlight" in the Holland Sentinel! Mrs. Garcia is so deserving of this recognition! Proud to be HEC!
Sam Martens recently competed in the 2016 New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York City, a high school track & field meet that brings together thousands of the best high school athletes in America. Sam qualified for the Freshman Mile at an indoor track meet at GVSU on Feb. 20, setting a time of 4:38.12 in the Freshman 1600 meter (qualifying time is 4:40). Sam missed the qualifying time by 7/10th of a second during a meet at U of M two weekends before.
"Qualifying for this meet is a success on its own, despite not having much training because of me doing swimming this season which made it a little tough," said Martens.
Please check out this informative article linked below.
The Holland High School Symphony, Concert, and Chamber Orchestras all earned 1st division ratings at the MSBOA District 10 Band and Orchestra Festival Friday February 26. The festival is held at the West Ottawa Performing Arts Center.
The 6th/7th grade band featuring students from all four K-7 schools will be performing their spring concert on March 28th, 2016 at West K-7 starting at 7 p.m. The concert will feature full ensemble pieces as well as soloists and small ensembles! Plus, the concert will conclude with a sneak preview of what the band will be performing at all three 2016 Tulip Time Parades!
Congratulations to Holland ViRtual Tech's Red Knights basketball team on winning the Lakeshore Honors League 2015-16 Basketball Tournament Championship at East K-7, Feb. 23! The team defeated The Anchors of Harderwyk Ministries, 59-57. This is the second league championship for this team (the first being during the 2009-10 school year.
Congratulations to the HHS combined Vocal Dimensions and Concert Choir for their significant achievement at District Choir Festival!
They received a Division 1 Excellent rating and are one of the top 10 scoring choirs in Michigan School Vocal Music Association's District 10.
This is the first year HHS has achieved a Division 1 rating. We are so very proud of this achievement! The choir will participate in the State Choral Festival on May 5 and 6 at Hope College.
"You Can't Stop the Beat!"
It's the 2016 Vocal Dimensions Show – featuring well-known classic rock, motown, and musical theater selections.
This wonderful entertainment will appeal to all ages.
March 17-20 Holland High Performing Arts Center
Tickets $12. Available online at the link below or at the HPS Adminstration Building at 320 West 24th Street.
Congratulations to the Holland High School Competitive Team. Its production of STRIDER captured the 2016 Division I State Championship at the MIFA Tournament in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Feb. 20.
Bravo! Holland High Theatre and director Kevin Schneider have brought the Champions trophy back to Holland High 18 times in the last 26 years.
It's a "purple out" at Friday night's basketball double-header.
The HHS Student Senate is sponsoring a "Lay Ups for Pups" fundraiser. Supt. Davis is raring to go.
The girls' varsity game begins at 6 pm. The boys play at 7:30 pm. The opponent is Hamilton.
Ruff! Ruff! The proceeds of the fundraiser will go to the Ottawa Humane Society.
The Holland High choirs went to Hope College Wednesday morning "to clinic" with Hope's head of choral activities, Dr. Richmond.
This was a pre-festival performance and clinic prior to Monday's MSVMA District 10 Choir Festival at East Grand Rapids High School. Former HPS music teacher Jim DeBoer (now a music prof at Hope) offered high praise.
"They sounded wonderful," he reported. "Kudos to the Holland High choirs and director Sarah Cox."
Both of Holland High's "competitive theatre" productions earned the highest ratings at last weekend's Regionals. The cast and crews of both plays (and director Kevin Schneider) will now head over to the State Finals this weekend in Grand Rapids.
Under Kevin's direction, Holland High has captured the State Competitive Theatre Championship 18 times in the last 25 years.
The public is invited to come see Holland High Theatre's entries to the state theatre finals on Monday, Feb. 22, beginning at 7 pm.
Tickets are $10 each and it's most definitely a TWO SHOWS for one price kind of event!
General admission tickets are available at the door or at the link below.
Holland theatre will present STRIDER, the haunting play based on a Tolstoy short story starting at 7pm. Following a 20 minute break,
Holland will return to the stage with a shortened version of The Marvelous Wonderettes, a musical that takes you back to proms of 1958. Fun!
We're excited to announce the official name of our new TWBI school opening this fall. Please check out this informative article linked below.
Members of the HHS Jazz Band and Director Demtrious White were invited to perform for the residents of Appledorn North on Thursday, February 11th.
Not only did the residents enjoy the performance but the students also enjoyed the privilege of interacting with the residents and sharing the gift of music.
The members of HHS Jazz Band look forward to their next performance for the residents of Appledorn on March 24th at 6:30 pm.
Seniors Emily Timmer and Elise Dye earned a place at the National Forensics Finals in Salt Lake City, Utah to be held in June.
Both seniors are in their 4th year of forensics at Holland High School.
Emily Timmer will represent Michigan in Informative Speaking (in which she is the current State Champion) and Elise Dye will be representing Michigan in Oratory Speaking (this is her second time going to nationals).
Google has created its own Cultural Institute collection. In recognition of Black History Month in February, click on the link below... and be prepared to explore and learn.
Some of your favorite teachers from Holland East are TAKING THE PLUNGE to support SPECIAL OLYMPICS! You can show your support by making a donation on their page (click on the link below) or by visiting the plunge on Sat., Feb. 20 at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds beginning at 11:45am (plunge will begin at 12pm).
Seniors - Stop in to The Commons on Friday, Feb 12 from 7:40 - 8:00 to purchase your Senior All Night Party ticket and get a free cup of coffee or hot chocolate with Superintendent Brian Davis. If you've already purchased a ticket stop by anyway for the free beverage. You could also win a JPs Coffee Gift Card. Tickets are $60, and you can see your counselor for scholarship info.
On Thursday, January 21, Holland High eighth graders Olivia Loan and Savannah Reinhardt performed alongside 80 of the best singers from all over the state of Michigan in the SSA MSVMA All State Choir at DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids. Olivia and Savannah auditioned for the Regional Honors Choir in late October and traveled all over the state to 6 rehearsals. They are the first choir members at Holland High to audition and make the All State Choir. We are incredibly proud of them and their significant accomplishment! Way to go, ladies!
February marks the time when the achievements and contributions of African-Americans are remembered, recognized, and celebrated. Join our school community in appreciating our wonderful diversity.
The HHS Student Senate will begin meeting for the second semester on Wednesday, January 27. In order to be a more effective voice for students, the group will begin meeting weekly rather than every third week. We are in the process of planning a Winter Spirit Week, a spring blood drive, and a few other events that will support the community.
K-5 music teacher Jim De Boer wore his dress-up performance tuxedo in honor of his much cherished students and his last day in HPS.
Mr. De Boer was the music teacher at Height and West and he leaves HPS to become a professor at Hope College. Congrats, Jim!
DeBoer began teaching music in HPS back in the 1995-96 school year. Jim says one memorable highlight (along with every amazing school performance at holiday time) was when he traveled with his 5th grade ensemble to sing the National Anthem at a Detroit Pistons game at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Pontiac in 2006.
Thank you, Mr. De Boer!
Your students want you to know you've earned all of the hugs and best wishes we can give you.
The Wild West K Round-Up at West K-7 was the first in a three part series of Fall 2016 informational events. It was well-attended by interested regular K and TWBI K students and parents alike. If you have enrollment questions about any of our HPS programs, please visit any K-7 school or our ECC at Maplewood. You may also call Kathleen Hudson at 494-2068.
Howdy Pardner! It's a "Wild West" Kindergarten Round-Up at West K-7. All incoming and interested students and parents wanting to learn more about our Fall 2016 programs are invited. It's Free. The rodeo is Thursday night, Jan. 14, beginning at 5:30 pm. Mrs. Vasquez-Ochoa and Mrs. Shearer whoop, "Y'all come!"
In Quiz Bowl action Monday night, the DNA (Dutch Nerd Army) opened the defense of their league titles in strong fashion. The varsity team of Sarah Anderson, Sam Koch, Evan Overweg, and Rowen vonPlagenhoef took 3rd overall among 24 teams in the varsity bracket. The JV team of Elijah Babinski, Isaac Cinzori, Adam Chamness, and Karen Lin took 1st place among the 12 JV teams there. Great job Dutch! Results for the league will be posted at the following website: https://sites.google.com/a/hollandpublicschools.org/allegan-county-quiz-bowl-league/home/results-2016 The DNA will be hosting matches in the B-wing at HHS next Monday the 11th from 6 - 8:30 PM. Come on by and support the team!
Three cheers for Alex Marko, a 7th grader at West!
Students from fourth through seventh grade at West competed with their classmates to win the classroom competitions. Then they entered the Final Championship with every classroom winner.
Finalists then answered a variety of questions about specific countries, states, National Parks, National Water Trails, and so on. Questions were answered orally and written. Students have 15 seconds to answer each question. Talk about pressure! West students did an awesome job demonstrating their knowledge of geography.
Alex will now go on to take a written test and his score will determine if he gets to go to the next level of competition, which is the State Championship round.
Shown here with Holland High math teacher Kurt Brinks, Evan Overweg is young man who loves to think and learn. He recently qualified as a semi-finalist in the Michigan Mathematics Competition. (More exams to follow!)
Evan enjoys studying mathematics and science. He is looking forward to studying Physics or Computer Science in college. Right now, he's leaning toward attending the University of Michigan.
Kudos to you, Evan!
Get your holiday dancing shoes on. Google wants everyone to learn how to code. Check out the link below... and have fun!
Noah Laman was selected second team Academic All State in football by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association. There are only 24 first team and 24 second team players selected in the entire state regardless of school size. This is a tremendous accomplishment for Noah.
Congratulations to two outstanding students nominated for top honors. Meyer Music Inc. selects top musiciains from area schools to perform as an All Star Honors orchesta and band in November. Under the direction of Western Michigan University's Professor of Orchestras Dr. Bruce Uchimora, Micah Stilwell and Anthony Johnson performed with other area nominated students in the All Star Orchestra. These students rehearsed for the first time that saturday and performed a concert that evening. Additionally Micah Stilwell won by audition a spot on the 2016 All State Symphony Orchestra which will perform in January at the Michigan Music Conference. This will be Micah's 4th year performing with one of the All State ensembles sharing that distinction with HHS Alumni cellist Graeme Richmond. Micah was also selected as an All State Choir Member making this the first time a student at Holland High received the award from two All State ensembles.
This year's High School All State Symphony Orchestra will be under the direction of Conductor Miriam Burns. Miriam Burns is in her fourth season as Music Director and Conductor of the McLean Orchestra in Virginia. She was previously Music Director of the Tallahassee and Kenosha Symphonies, and was a staff Cover Conductor of the New York Philharmonic from 1999—2007, the assistant conductor to Lorin Maazel on his inaugural tour to Asia as then new Music Director. Based in New York City, she is also the Music Director of The Orchestra of the Redeemer in New York City. The concert will be at 8:45AM on Saturday January 23 at DeVos Hall in Grand Rapids. The program will include: Espana Rhapsody for Orchestra—Emmanuel Chabrier, 1812 Festival Overture— Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The Holland High School Marching Dutchmen will be performing in the Parade of Lights here in Downtown Holland on Tuesday, December 1st at 6:30 pm. Please come out and enjoy the festivities while supporting our fantastic student musicians!
Holland High School's Student Senate hosted a Food Drive for Community Action House the week of Nov. 16-20. Items were donated to first hour classes with a theme each day. Monday was canned goods, Tuesday boxed items, etc. We were able to collect 950lbs of food items and 80lbs of personal items.
Brrrr. The holiday season is here... but so is snowy and blustery weather. Click on the link below to see how our HPS handles "weather related" school scheduling decisions.
Click on this Washington Post photo gallery link below. It will take you to 15 school classrooms from all around the world. Our HPS learning environments are something we're thankful for everyday.
5th grade band and orchestra begins on Nov. 17th. Mrs. Mayer encourages every student who is interested to sign up. There is still time. Click on the video.
Join us in the Holland High Dutch Dome on Wednesday at 10:15 am.
Did you know backpacks have been around for years. Check out this great NPR article about them. It'll bring back a few of your school memories.
Mr. DeBoer's music class at West K-7 will be participating in today's (Fri.) largest-ever gathering of K-5 classroom. This gigantic online sing-a-long will happen at 1:15 pm. Students from all 50 states and every province in Canada are joining in. Classrooms in other countries are signing up, too.
High school students! Interested in participating in a winter sport. Tryouts are happening soon. Please read the attached letter with the details.
The Holland High Orchestras are sponsoring the annual DeComposer's on Wednesday, Oct. 28. There are two shows: 6 pm and 8 pm. The cost $5 per person. This is a evening filled full of laughs and spooky music for the whole family put on by the HHS Orchestras. Come dressed to scare if you dare.
Shakira is a colombian singer. She has influenced many people around the world and has also made lots of charities to help out children in need of clothes, food and etc. In 1995, Shakira founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation. It is a Colombian charity with special schools for poor children all around Colombia. She loves helping children out. Shakira has been awarded for donating money to schools yearly.
She is also a singer and dancer. She is the highest selling colombian artist of all time. She honors both latino and arabic heritage in her music. Shakira is known for her belly dances and her strong vocals. She is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Ella es una cantadora colombiana. Shakira ha influido a muchas personas alrededor del mundo y también ha hecho un montón de obras de caridad para ayudar a los niños que necesitan ropa, comida , etc. En 1995 , Shakira creó la Fundación Pies Descalzos . Es una fundación de caridad de Colombia con las escuelas especiales para niños pobres en todo Colombia . A ella le encanta ayudar a los niños. Shakira ha sido premiada por la donación de dinero a las escuelas cada año.
Ella también es cantante y bailarín . Ella es el más vendido artista colombiana de todas las épocas . Ella honra su ascendencia latina y árabe en su música . Shakira es conocida por sus bailes del vientre y su fuerte voz. Ella es también un embajadora de buena voluntad de UNICEF.
On Wednesday morning, three HHS Student Senate leaders were on WHTC Radio to tell the community about Homecoming, especially the 6 pm parade and the big game at 7 pm. (L-R Clara Steeby, Emma Martens, and Anna Giesler)
Jorge Ramos Ávalos was born on March 16, 1958 in Mexico City. He is a Mexican journalist and writer currently working at Noticiero Univision . Throughout his career he has covered five wars: The civil war in El Salvador, The Gulf War, The war in Kosovo, The war in Afghanistan, and The war in Iraq He has interviewed several important politicians among them are: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Enrique Pena Nieto, Evo Morales, Fidel Castro, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Hugo Chavez, and Donald Trump.
Jorge Ramos Ávalos, nació el 16 de marzo, 1958 en la Ciudad de México. Es un periodista y escritor mexicano. Trabaja actualmente como presentador del Noticiero Univision. A lo largo de su carrera como conductor a cubierto cinco guerras: La guerra civil de El Salvador La guerra del Golfo La guerra de Kosovo La guerra de Afganistán La guerra de Irak Ha entrevistado a diversos políticos importantes entre ellos están: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Enrique Peña Nieto, Evo Morales, Fidel Castro, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Hugo Chavez, Donald Trump.
On Monday October 5, 2015, HPS middle school and High School students attended the Fall Calling All Colors Conference at Hope College, sponsored by the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance.
Student groups from Jefferson, East, and the High School attended. Calling All Colors fosters inclusive school communities through a year-long program that features two conferences, creates a safe place to talk about race, and provides tools for increasing positive racial impacts for middle and high school students. The students were able to connect with students from other schools along the Lakeshore to talk about and celebrate diversity.
The Holland High School Marching Dutchmen will be performing at MSBOA District 10 Marching Band Festival at Zeeland Stadium (9900 Riley St, Zeeland, MI) on Tuesday, 10-13-15. Come on out and support these fantastic student musicians while also enjoying great performances from other surrounding area high school marching ensembles!
Hi, my name is Sophia Vazquez and I will be talking about Frida Kahlo.
Frida Kahlo was a famous Mexican artist born on July 7, 1907 in Coyocoán, Mexico City, Mexico. She was considered one of Mexico's best artist and best known for her self-portraits . In 1922, Kahlo enrolled at the renowned National Preparatory School. She was one of the few female students to attend the school, and she became known for her jovial spirit and her love of traditional and colorful clothes and jewelry. She had met her husband Diego Rivera in her school by admiring his art work.
In 1925, Kahlo was in a bus accident and she injured her hip. She began her painting career during her recovery. Rivera and Kahlo had married and Kahlo often followed Rivera based on where the commissions that Rivera received were. In 1932, Kahlo incorporated a more graphic and surrealistic elements in her work. In her painting, Henry Ford Hospital (1932) which was one of her most personal paintings. Kahlo received a commission from the Mexican government for five portraits of important Mexican women in 1941.
Her final public appearance was a demonstration against the U.S.-backed overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala on July 2. About a week after her 47th birthday, Kahlo died on July 13 at her beloved Blue House. She has been a great influence to many artist.
Frida Kahlo era una artista famosa de México que nació el 7 de julio , 1907 en Coyocoán , Ciudad de México , México . Ella fue considerada uno de los mejores artistas de México y era más conocida por sus autorretratos . En 1922 , Kahlo se inscribió en la renombrada Escuela Nacional Preparatoria. Ella era una de las pocas mujeres estudiantes para asistir a la escuela, y ella se hizo conocido por su espíritu jovial y su amor por la ropa y joyas tradicionales y coloridas. Había conocido a su esposo Diego Rivera en su escuela admirando su obra de arte.
En 1925 , Kahlo tuvo un accidente de autobús y ella se lesionó la cadera. Ella comenzó su carrera como pintante durante su recuperación. Rivera y Kahlo se habían casado y Kahlo seguía a Rivera que buscaba en donde las comisiones que Rivera recibió. En 1932 , Kahlo incorpora una serie de elementos más gráficas y surrealistas en su trabajo . En su pintura , Hospital Henry Ford (1932 ), que fue uno de sus más artes personales. Kahlo recibió una comisión del gobierno mexicano durante cinco retratos de mujeres importantes que eran mexicanas en 1941.
Su última aparición pública fue una manifestación contra el derrocamiento apoyado por Estados Unidos del presidente Jacobo Arbenz de Guatemala el 2 de julio Alrededor de una semana después de que cumpliera 47, Kahlo murió el 13 de julio en su querida casa azul. Khalo a influido a muchos artistas.
Hello, my name is Denisse Jimenez and I am going to be talking about Mexico.
Mexico is a country between the U.S and Central America. Mexico started fighting for their independence on September 16, 1810. Mexico was officially founded on September 27, 1821. Mexico City is the Capital of Mexico.
Ancient ruins such as Teotihuacan (Aztec) and Chichen Itza (Mayan) are scattered throughout the country. Mexico also has many mountains, jungles, and deserts. Mexican culture influences the United States a lot.
México es un país entre los EE.UU. y América Central. México comenzó a luchar por su independencia el 16 de septiembre de 1810. México fue fundada oficialmente el 27 de septiembre de 1821.
La Ciudad de México es la capital de México. Ruinas antiguas como Teotihuacan (Azteca) y Chichen Itzá (maya) están dispersas en todo el país. México también tiene muchas montañas, selvas y desiertos. La cultura mexicana influye mucho a los EE.UU.
Hi, my name is Melissa Hernandez and I am a junior at Holland High School. I am in Spanish V and I am going to talk to you about Jorge Ramos and the influence he has on people. He has made a big impact on the world for speaking up and not holding back what he has to say.
Jorge Ramos was born on March 16, 1958 in Mexico City. He attended the University Iberoamericana in Mexico City where he majored in communications. Jorge earned a master's in international studies at the University of Miami in 2008 and that same year became a US citizen. He is a Mexican-American journalist and writer. He is the anchor of Univision News, Noticiero Univision since 1986, and is the host of two programs named Al Punto and América con Jorge Ramos. He covered five wars and has interviewed important people like Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hugo Chavez, etc. He is definitely is against Trump (clip below). He has won eight Emmy awards, Mary Cabot Prize, and the Ruben Salazar Award by the National Council of La Raza for his positive interpretation of Latinos. The Commonwealth Club of California recognized him with the Distinguished Citizen Award for being one of the outstanding individuals who embody the American dream as an immigrant to the United States.
Ramos is one of the most respected journalists among the 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. He is father of two children, plays soccer every Saturday morning, and is considered one of the most eloquent, credible and powerful voices of Hispanic America. It contributes to many people and the world because he defends what he knows is best.
Jorge Ramos nació el 16 de marzo de 1958 en la Ciudad de México. Asistió a la Universidad Iberoamericana en la Ciudad de México donde se especializó en comunicaciones. Jorge obtuvo una maestría en estudios internacionales en la Universidad de Miami en 2008 y ese mismo año debido a un ciudadano estadounidense. Él es un periodista y escritor mexicano-americano. El ancla del programa de Univision Noticias, Noticiero Univision desde 1986, es el anfitrión de dos programas nombrados Al Punto y América con Jorge Ramos. Cubrió 5 guerras y Ramos ha entrevistado a personas muy importantes como Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hugo Chávez, etc. Definitivamente está en contra de Trump (clip abajo). Ha ganado 8 premios Emmy, el premio Cabot María, y el Premio Rubén Salazar por el Consejo Nacional de La Raza por su interpretación positiva de los latinos. La Commonwealth Club de California lo reconoció con el Premio Ciudadano Distinguido por ser uno de los individuos sobresalientes que encarnan el sueño americano como inmigrante a los Estados Unidos.
Ramos es uno de los periodistas más respetados entre los 50 millones de hispanos en los EE.UU. Él es padre de dos hijos, juega fútbol todos los sábados por la mañana, y es considerado una de las voces más elocuentes, creíbles y poderosos de la América hispana. Contribuye a muchas personas y el mundo porque defiende a lo que él sabe que es mejor.
Come on out to the annual PowderPuff football game between the junior girls from the Class of 2017 against the senior girls from the Class of 2016.
The game will be held on Sunday, Oct 11 on the soccer field. Admission to the game is either $1 or a single food item, with all proceeds going to a local food charity.
This event kicks off Homecoming Week at Holland High. You don't want to miss it!
The Holland High Homecoming Dance will be held on Saturday, October 17 in The Commons. Tickets will go be sale at lunch on Thursday and Friday at both Holland High and Holland Early College.
At HHS you can purchase them at lunch in The Commons, and at HEC you can purchase them in the office. They will also be available at the door.
You must have your ID when you purchase and also when you attend the dance. Tickets are $8 for individuals and $15 for adults. The dance is open to 9th -12th grade students.
Holland Early College's 11th-12th grade film "Lights Out!" won BEST FILM and MOST VIEWS at the Energize You! event put on by the Holland-Hope College Sustainability Institute on October 8th.
Students working on the film were Jasper Wieghmink, Millie Luna, Lindsey Whitmer, and Brevin Grigg. All students won a Nest thermostat and a West Coast Cash gift certificate.
It was an awesome event as well as great recognition for the students working on the film! The Broadcast Journalism class at HEC entered three other films that were also very well done! Congrats to Mr. Woods & his students!
Hi, I´m Aided Zuniga from Holland High School and I´m here to talk about a personal story.
If I look too much like this or that, I don’t belong. I should just go back from where I came from. It has been hard trying to be someone I’m not just so I won’t get picked on for who I really am. I’m Hispanic, and yes, I’ve been stereotyped by so many just like many Mexicans have been. I look at myself in the mirror and I don’t see a problem of how I look, but other people see things differently than I ever will. From my point of view, I look like a normal person but that is not the case. I’m different from everyone not just by the way I look but by the way I talk.
Since I was young, I would not worry about how I looked because people didn’t care what race I was. I started getting older and that’s when people started realizing other cultures and started saying the meanest things like, “Go back home, you immigrant. Bet you don’t even have a green card. You look like you haven’t showered in days.” I remember this particular day like it was yesterday. I came home one day and didn’t leave my room at all. I didn’t even eat.
The next day, I woke up early, grabbed my mom’s makeup. Because she’s light skin she uses light makeup, I took it from her. I brought it to school and first thing I did was go to the bathroom and put the makeup all over my face so I could look white. I washed my hands and went outside to see my friends, but instead they saw me and start laughing right away.
I started doing things differently than I would normally do just to fit in. When I grew older I started realizing that it doesn't matter about where I come or what other people think of me. The only thing that matters is the person I am and the person I'm becoming because of all the obstacles in my life. So many things were said and done that it seems unreal but those things make you the person you are today.
I'm proud to have become such a confident person without having to worry about anyone or anything.I’m sharing this personal story for those kids that were or are in the same situation as I was in and to tell them that they aren’t alone.
Hola, yo soy Aided Zuniga de Holland High School y estoy aquí para hablar de una historia personal.
Si me parezco demasiado parecido a esto o eso, no pertenezco. ¿Debo volver de donde vengo? Ha estado difícil tratar de ser alguien que no soy más que por lo que, no se recogió por lo que realmente soy. Soy hispana, y sí, he estado estereotipada por muchos al igual que muchos mexicanos han sido. Me miro en el espejo y no veo un problema de cómo me veo, pero otras personas a ver las cosas de manera diferente de lo que nunca lo hará. Desde mi punto de vista, me veo como una persona normal, pero eso no es el caso. Yo soy diferente a todos, no sólo por la manera en que veo, si no por la forma de hablar. Desde que era joven, yo no me preocuparía por cómo me veía porque la gente no les importaba qué raza era yo. Empecé creciendo y es cuando la gente empezó a darse cuenta de otras culturas y empezaron a decir las cosas más humildes como: "Vuelve a casa, inmigrantes. Te apuesto que ni siquiera tienen una tarjeta verde. Parece que no te has bañado en días." Yo recuerdo este día tan especial como si fuera ayer. Llegué a casa un día y no salí de mi habitación. Yo ni siquiera comí. Al día siguiente, me desperté temprano, tomé el maquillaje de mi madre porque ella es de piel clara que usa maquillaje ligero, la aparté de ella. Lo traje a la escuela y lo primero que hice fue ir al baño y me puse el maquillaje por toda la cara para que yo pudiera mirarme blanca. Me lavé las manos y salí a ver a mis amigos, pero en vez de eso me vi y se empezaron a reír de inmediato. Empecé a hacer las cosas de manera diferente que yo normalmente no deje de encajar. Cuando fui creciendo empecé a darme cuenta de que no importa de dónde vengo, o lo que otros piensan de mí. Lo único que importa es la persona que soy y la persona que me estoy convirtiendo en causa de todos los obstáculos en mi vida. Tantas cosas se dijeron y hecho eso, si no que parece irreal esas cosas que la persona que eres hoy hacen. Estoy orgullosa de hacer convertida en una persona así confidente y sin tener que preocuparse por nada ni nadie.Estoy compartiendo esta historia personal para esos niños que estaban o están en la misma situación que yo estaba en y para decirles que no están solos.
The first practices for early winter 7th and 8th grade sports will be held on Monday, October 19th.
Looking for some inside fun for your little ones? Here are 21 ways to use liquid soap. Get your junior scientists off to a good start and have a blast. (Okay... this may be kinda messy... but think how clean everyone will be!)
Yo soy Jose Contreras de Holland High School y quiero hablar de un gran maestro, Jaime Escalante.
Jaime Escalante is from La Paz, Bolivia. He came to the United States in the 1960’s for a better life. He began teaching math to students at a very troubled Los Angeles school. He helped many and influenced them in taking the AP calculus test and doing well on it. His unique style and profound understanding of math helped his students. He has also influenced me a being a good teacher as he is.
Jaime Escalante es de La Paz, Bolivia . Él vino a los Estados Unidos en la década de 1960 para buscar una vida mejor. Él comenzó a enseñar matemáticas a los estudiantes con problemas en una escuela de Los Ángeles muy violenta y ayudó muchos de ellos para pasar el examen avanzado de cálculo. Él influyó a muchos estudiantes para que tomaran el examen. Su estilo único y profundo conocimiento de las matemática ayudó a sus estudiantes. El también me influye a mi para ser un maestro tan bueno como el
My names Wade Buckman, I go to Holland High, and this is a quick summary of Loreta Janeta Velazquez and her accomplishments for Hispanic Heritage Month.
During the Civil War in the United States, 11 states broke away to form a new nation named the confederates. Loreta, a Cuban American, was the first woman that fought in the war. She disguised herself as a man to fight in the war, and named herself Harry T. Buford, who was 22 years old. Loreta became a general in battle, and worked as a spy later in the war. She was then shot while she was burying her soldiers who were killed in the Civil War.
Durante la guerra civil en los Estados Unidos, once estados se cortó para formar una nación nueva que se llama los confederados. Loreta, una cubana americana, fue la primera mujer que luchó en la guerra. Ella se disfrazó como un hombre para luchar en la guerra, y ¨él¨ se llama Harry T. Buford, que tiene 22 años. Loreta contribuyó a la guerra era como general en la batalla, y trabajo como una espia mas tarde de la guerra. Le dispararon mientras estaba enterrando a sus soldados que murieron durante la guerra civil.
Hello, I am Sophie Accardo. I am in Spanish 5. I would like to share this with you.
Isabel Allende was born on August 2, 1942 in Lima, Peru. She is of Chilean descent. Allende became a U.S. citizen in 1993. Isabel is a writer and journalist. She has written many books and has won many awards. The first book that she wrote was called The House of Spirits. One of the awards that she has won is the National Prize of the Literature. She won it in 2010.
Isabel is an influential person. She has also created a foundation that supports nonprofit organizations in Chile and California. It provides assistance to women and children access to reproductive rights, health, education and protection from violence.
Isabel Allende nació el 2 de agosto en 1942 en Lima, Perú. Ella es de ascendencia chilena. Allende se convirtió una ciudadana estadounidense en 1993. Isabel es una escritora y periodista. Ella ha escrito muchos libros y ha ganado muchos premios. El primer libro que escribió fue llamado La Casa de Espíritus. Uno de los premios que ha ganado es el Premio Nacional de la Literatura. Ella lo ganó en 2010.
Isabel es una persona influyente. También se ha creado una fundación que apoya las organizaciones no lucrativas en Chile y California. Proporciona ayuda a las mujeres y los niños el acceso a los derechos de reproducción, la sanidad, la educación y la protección contra la violencia.
Hi my name is Adela and I would like to mention one of the most interesting places of my country. La bufadora is a marine geyser on the Punta Banda Peninsula in Baja California, Mexico.The spout of sea water is the result of air, trapped in a sea cave, exploding upwards. Air is forced into the cave by wave action and is released when the water recedes. The phenomena repeats every minute and is accompanied by a thunderous noise as well. La Bufadora is one of the largest blowholes in North America, often shooting upwards more than 30 metres above sea level.
Hola mi nombre es Adela y quiero hablar sobre uno de los lugares más interesantes de mi páis. La bufadora es un geiser marino en Punta Banda Baja Californa,México. El chorro de agua que sale asi arriba proviene del mar y es el resultado de aire, atrapado en una cueva marina el aire está atrapado debido a la acción de las olas y se libera cuando el agua retrocede.El fenómeno se repite cada minuto y es acompañado por un fuerte estruendo. La bufadora es uno de los orificios más grandes de Norte America, disparando para arriba mas de treinta metros sobre el nivel del mar.
Hi my name is Rogelio and this is my project for my Spanish class.
Julio es un puertorriqueño que contribuye a la comunidad de Estados Unidos con su página de blogs donde él explica situaciones que involucran a la comunidad latina e hispana además de injusticias hacia la comunidad latina. El ha formado parte de la primera clase latina en graduarse de la Universidad de Harvard. Además de informar a la comunidad con blogs el también tiene una estación de radio donde hace lo mismo que en su página web. Julio fue honrado por el NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists) él recibió el ¨NAHJ Dale Presidential Award¨ que se le otorga a personas o compañías que se aseguran y luchan por igualdad hacia los latinos en los Estados Unidos. Si quiere visitar su página de blogs vaya a: www.latinosunidosonline.net.
Julio is a Puerto Rican that contributes to the United States community by informing people about problems involving the hispanic and latino community as well as injustices towards the latino community. He is part of the first class of latinos to graduate from Harvard University. Informing people with blogs he also has a radio station where he does the same thing that he does on his website. Julio was honored by the NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists).
Julio received the NAHJ Dale Presidential Award which is given to people or companies that fight for equality towards the latino community in the United States. If you want to visit his blog site go to: www.latinosunidosonline.net
My name is Eleanor, and I would like to share one of the many things I learned while in Peru this past summer.
Last summer I went to Peru for two weeks with Ms. Kasic, her husband, and nine other girls. During the trip I learned lots about the culture, the people and the Peruvian traditions. The community in Peru inspired me because they stayed positive even in hard situations. All the people were willing to teach us about the culture. Even though, the culture in Peru has modernized, many people still wear the traditional clothing. I learned about the significance of the traditional clothing. The women in Peru wear skirts, blouses, and bright and beautiful hats. The colors and style represent all the different communities. Over the shoulders the women wear a rectangular cloth secured with a safety pin, called a “llicilla.” Also the women wear wool skirts, called “llamado polleras.” In special events the women wear three or four layers of skirts. Lastly, the Peruvians wear many different kinds of hats. The hats are called “monteras” and they represent social status. Younger kids wear different hats than the adults. When the kids grow up they change hats.
El verano pasado yo fui a Perú por dos semanas con señorita Kasic, su esposo, y nueve otras chicas. Durante este viaje yo aprendí mucho sobre la cultura, la gente y las tradiciones peruanos. La comunidad en Perú me inspiró porque se quedan positivas aun durante etapas difíciles. Toda la gente eran dispuestos a enseñarnos sobre su cultura. Aunque la cultura en Perú ha modernizada, mucha gente todavía lleva la ropa tradicional. Me enseñó sobre el significado de la ropa tradicional. Las mujeres en Perú llevan faldas, blusas, y sombreros muy brillantes y hermosas. Los colores y estilos representan todas las comunidades diferentes. Encima de los hombros las mujeres llevan una tela rectangular cerrado de un imperidible, llamado una llicilla. También las mujeres llevan faldas, llamado polleras, y hecho a lana. En eventos especiales las mujeres llevan tres o cuatro capas de faldas. Último, los peruanos llevan muchos sombreros diferentes. Los sombreros llamados monteras representan posición en la comunidad. Los más jovenes llevan sombreros que son diferentes de los sombreros de los adultos. Cuando los chicos crecen ellos cambian sombreros.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4NNHIQRtU&feature=youtu.be
Officer Andrea Pinner is an incredible support to our staff and students. As this Holland Sentinel article reveals, she connects and care about kids!
Hello, my name is Tanya Pompa and I am currently in a Spanish for Spanish Speakers course studying the Hispanic Culture.
Cesar Chavez is a very important political figure in the Hispanic Culture. This is because he not only dedicated his life to improving treatment, pay, and working conditions for farm workers, but also because he was a dedicated union leader. He knew the harsh working condition all too well because he and his family also worked in the migrant fields. However, instead of using violent actions to bring attention to the harsh working conditions of farm workers, he was unique in that he used nonviolent means of protest. He is most commonly known for his battle against California grape growers in 1965. This labor strike improved the labor conditions and compensation for many workers. As a labor leader, Chavez led marches, called for boycotts and went on several hunger strikes. Some people even believe that his hunger strikes may have contributed to his death on April 23, 1993, in San Luis, Arizona.
Hola, yo me llamo Tanya Pompa y estoy tomando una clase para estudiantes que hablan español y estamos estudiando la cultura hispana. César Chávez es una figura muy importante en la cultura hispana. Esto es porque no sólo dedicó su vida a mejorar el tratamiento, pago y condiciones de trabajadores, sino porque también era un líder dedicado a las uniones. Él sabía las condiciones duras de trabajo muy bien porque él y su familia también trabajaban en los campos de inmigrantes. Sin embargo, en lugar de utilizar acciones violentas para llamar la atención sobre las condiciones duras de los trabajadores, él utilizó medios sin violencia para protesta. Cesar Chavez es más reconocido por su lucha contra los productores de uva en California en el año 1965. Esta batalla mejoró las condiciones y compensación de muchos trabajadores. En su vida lideral de uniones, Chávez condujo marchas, boicoteos y huelgas de hambre. Algunas personas creen que sus huelgas de hambre pudieron haber contribuido a su muerte el 23 de abril de 1993, en San Luis, Arizona.
Hello, my name is Emily Rutledge, and I would like to tell you about Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta is from New Mexico and taught in California. Her students were immigrants and farm workers and didnt have much food or proper clothing. Huerta founded an organization to help the students called the Community Service Organization. Also, she founded the Agricultural Workers Association for human rights for migrant workers. She protested the government with Cesar Chavez for more rights for immigrants.
Dolores Huerta es de New México y enseñe en California. Sus estudiantes eran inmigrantes y trabajadores de los fincas y no tuvieron comida o buena ropa. Huerta fundado un organización para ayudar los estudiantes pobres, la Comunidad Servicio Organización (CSO). También ella fundado la Asociación de Trabajadores Agricultures (AWA) para los derechos humanos para los inmigrantes. Ella protestó el gobierno con Cesar Chavez para más derechos humanos para los inmigrantes.
Hello, my name is Joshua Garcia and here is another person I'd like to introduce you to.
James David Rodriguez Rubio was born July 21, 1991. He is from Cucuta, Colombia. James started his football career in Banfield, a Colombian soccer team, making his debut February 7, 2009. In 2010 James remained in Banfield where he began to make a name for himself. In 2011 James signed to Porto, a Portuguese spanish club. Porto paid 5.1 million Euros for James. Being in Porto, James’s reputation was beginning to become so much better that would eventually lead him to be in one of the most popular soccer clubs in the world. 2012-2013 James spent at Porto, but on May 24 2013 James was bought by the French Team AS Monaco for 45 million Euros. Being at Monaco and moving up in the ladder of the soccer world Real Madrid now had their eye on young James Rodriguez. James impressed Real Madrid especially with his famous goal he made against Uruguay in the 2014 World Cup. July 22, 2014 would be the day James’s dreams would come true by Real Madrid signing him for 80 million Euros. James was now known for his great football skills and for landing a spot on one of the most famous soccer teams in the world, Real Madrid.
James David Rodríguez Rubio nació el 21 de julio de 1991. Él es de Cúcuta, Colombia. James comenzó su carrera futbolística en Banfield un equipo de fútbol de Colombia que hizo su debut el 7 de febrero de 2009. En 2010 James permaneció en Banfield, donde comenzó a hacerse un nombre por sí mismo. En 2011 James firmó a Porto un club portugués. Porto pagó 5,1 millones de euros para James. Estar en Porto, la reputación de James estaba empezando a convertirse en mucho mejor que con el tiempo le llevaría a estar en uno de los clubes de fútbol más populares del mundo. 2012-2013 James pasó en el Oporto, pero el 24 de mayo 2013 James fue comprado por el equipo francés AS Mónaco por 45 millones de euros. Estar en Mónaco y ascender en la escalera del mundo de fútbol Real Madrid ya tenía sus ojos puestos en el joven James Rodríguez. James impresionó Real Madrid especialmente con su famoso gol que hizo ante Uruguay en la Copa del Mundo de 2014. 22 de julio 2014 sería el día en los sueños de James se harían realidad por el Real Madrid ficharlo por 80 millones de euros. James ya era conocido por sus grandes habilidades de fútbol y para conseguir un lugar en uno de los más famosos equipos de fútbol más importantes del mundo, el Real Madrid.
The Holland High Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Band, and the Vocal Dimensions performed at Mackinac Island Mission Point on Sunday, Sept. 27. Click on the link to read more and view the slide show. Kudos to our student musicians and vocalists. Thank you Mr. Reikow, Mr. White, Mrs. Cox, and parent boosters!
Read the Holland Sentinel article about five amazing Holland High grads who are making their mark in NCAA swimming, too!
The NFL is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, also. Check out the link featuring cool interviews and video clips.
Hello, I'm Denisse Jimenez and I'm in Spanish for Spanish Speakers.
Selena Quintanilla-Perez was born April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. At the age of 10, Selena became the lead singer in her family’s band, Selena Y Los Dinos. Selena only knew English growing up, but was eventually taught how to sing in Spanish and then learned how to speak Spanish fluently.
At the 1987 Tejano Music Awards, she won “Best Female Vocalist of the Year” and “Performer of the Year”. In 1993, she won the Grammy Award for best Mexican-American album, for her album, Selena Live! Selena opened many doors for Tejano music. Selena died on March 31, 1995, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez nació el 16 de abril 1971 en Lake Jackson, Texas. A la edad de 10 años, Selena se convirtió en la cantante principal de la banda de su familia, Selena y Los Dinos. Selena sólo sabía inglés cuando era niña pero aprendió a cantar en español y luego aprendió a hablar español con fluidez.
En los 1987 Tejano Music Awards, ganó "Mejor Vocalista Femenina del Año" y "Artista del Año". En 1993, ganó el premio Grammy del mejor álbum de México y Estados Unidos, para su álbum, Selena Live! Selena abrió muchas puertas para la música tejana. Selena murió el 31 de marzo de 1995, en Corpus Christi, Texas.
Hi, my name is Melissa Hernandez and I am in Spanish V.
Quesadillas
National Hispanic Heritage month is being celebrated from September 15- October 15 and quesadillas are not only delicious, but also very popular all over the world. To make quesadillas, you need about 30-60 minutes.
Ingredients:
-6 ounces of cheddar, monterey jack, or colby cheese (thinly sliced)
-1 tablespoon of chopped pickled jalapenos (if wanted)
-1 cup (about 3 ounces) of shredded cooked chicken (if wanted)
-12 corn tortillas
-4 tablespoons (½ stick) of unsalted butter
-(if wanted) salsa or sour cream to add more taste.
-1 pound of vine-ripened tomatoes (2 tomatoes)
-¼ small red onion
-⅔ tablespoons of chopped cilantro
-½ teaspoon of hot sauce (ex: chipotle or Mexican green chili sauce)
-kosher salt
-1 Hass avocado, halved, seeded, sliced.
Lay 6 tortillas on the work surface, divide the cheese, jalapenos (if wanted), and chicken (if wanted) among the tortillas. Put the chicken and cheese inside and press gently to seal and put the butter in a small skillet. Put the quesadilla into in the skillet and fry, turn them once and once they turn gold and little bubbles appear on both sides of the quesadilla, they’re ready in 4-5 minutes. While the quesadillas cook you can make the salsa (if wanted). To do so cut the tomatoes in half and grate them on the largest holes of a box grater into a small bowl and grate the onion into the tomato. Stir together with the cilantro, hot sauce, and salt and it’s ready to taste. Cut the quesadilla into however many slices you would like and serve with the salsa and avocado (if wanted). Enjoy!
Mes de la Herencia Hispana se celebra a partir de el 14 de septiembre - el 15 de octubre y quesadillas no sólo son deliciosos, pero también son muy popular en todo el mundo. Para hacer quesadillas, necesitas unos 30-60 minutos para hacerlos.
Ingredientes:
-6 Onzas de queso cheddar, Monterey Jack o queso colby (finas rodajas)
-1 Cucharada de jalapeños en vinagre picados (si se desea)
-1 copa (alrededor de 3 onzas) de pollo cocido rallado (si se desea)
-12 Tortillas de maíz
-4 Cucharadas de mantequilla sin sal
-(si se desea) salsa o crema agria para añadir más sabor
-1 Libra de tomates madurados (2 tomates)
-¼ Cebolla roja pequeña
-⅔ Cucharadas de cilantro picado
-½ Cucharadita de salsa picante (ex: chipotle o salsa de chile verde mexicano)
-sal kosher
-1 Aguacate Hass, redujo a la mitad, sin semillas, en rodajas.
Coloque 6 tortillas en la superficie de trabajo, divide el queso, jalapeños (si lo desea) y pollo (si lo desea) entre las tortillas. Ponga el pollo y el queso en el interior y presione suavemente para sellar y poner la mantequilla en una sartén pequeño. Ponga la quesadilla en la sartén y freír, gire una vez y una vez que se conviertan oro y pequeñas burbujas aparecen en ambos lados de la quesadilla, que estén listos en 4-5 minutos. Mientras que las quesadillas cocinan usted puede hacer la salsa (si lo desea). Corta los tomates por la mitad y rallar ellos en los mayores agujeros de un rallador en un tazón pequeño y rallar la cebolla en el tomate. Revuelva junto con el cilantro, salsa picante y sal y ya está listo para degustar. Corta la quesadilla en sin embargo muchas rebanadas desea y servir con la salsa y aguacate (si lo desea). Disfruta¡
Hispanic Art in Holland, MI
There are many art forms in Holland, but there are only a few that represent Hispanic culture. The art represents that there are people from many places and cultures here in our city.
Near ninth street there is a mural of a Hispanic man. The mural is called “Tribute to the People,” by Jose Narezo. This mural represents that Holland shares many cultures including the Hispanic culture. This mural was the first public Hispanic art in Holland.
Also, in Kollen Park there is a fountain donated by Holland’s sister city, Santiago Queretaro, Mexico. This fountain symbolizes friendship between the cities.
In the Catholic church, St. Francis De Sales, there is an image of the Virgin Mary. St. Francis is a church with many different cultures as its members. In 1995 there was a fire in the church destroying it. During the remodeling the parish decided that it was necessary for the church to have an image that represented Hispanics and all cultures in Holland.
All these art forms represent all of the people in Holland. The art unites all the cultures and diverse groups that live in Holland.
Hay muchos artes en Holland pero solo hay pocos que representan la cultura de los Hispanos. Los artes representan todas las gentes de otros lugares aquí.
Cerca de la calle nueve hay un mural de un hombre hispano. El mural se llama “Tribute to the People,” por Jose Narezo. Este mural representa que Holland comparte su ciudad con muchas culturas incluyendo los hispanos. Este mural fue la primera obra de arte público de hispanos en Holland.
También en el parque de Kollen hay una fuente donada por la hermana ciudad de Holland, Santiago Queretaro, Mexico. Esta fuente simboliza la amistad entre las ciudades.
En la iglesia católica, St. Francis De Sales hay un imagen de la Virgen de Guadalupe. St. Francis es una iglesia con muchas culturas diferentes. En 1995 hubo un fuego en la iglesia que destruyó la iglesia. Durante la renovación la parroquia decidió que la iglesia necesitaba un imagen que representaba los hispanos y todas las culturas de Holland.
Todo este arte representa toda la gente del Holland. Los artes unen las culturas y grupos diversos que viven en Holland.
This summary comes from an article published by the New York Times September 3, 2015. If you would like to read the article for yourself, check it out here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/us/latina-arizona-news-anchor-vanessa-ruiz-spanish-pronunciation.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1
Diversity should be embraced, not feared or scolded.
Arizona news reporter Vanessa Ruiz has been met with criticism, confusion and praise for her use of Spanish words and pronunciations within her newscasts. In Arizona, which was formerly part of Mexico (pre-cession in 1848 and then through the Gadsden Purchase in 1853; see map), many cities, landmarks and people maintain their Hispanic ethnicity. Even the state itself has a Spanish-derived name. Thus, the pronunciation makes sense, right?
Although over 30% of the Arizona population claims to be Hispanic (and obviously with more concentrated regions), Ruiz’s pronunciations have been met with confusion and misunderstanding. The use of Spanish in the public eye has taken a further step into the spotlight in recent months, through Jeb Bush’s use of Spanish to discuss various topics related to immigration, as well as Donald Trump’s push for everyone to “speak English” in the US. However the “bi-lingualness” of these reports make them more accessible to viewers and the general population, as well as paying homage to the region’s ancestry.
Looking at the situation as a to-be Spanish teacher and a promoter of diversity and interculturalism, I believe Ruiz shows us that our heritage, our ethnicities and our diversity should be celebrated, not ridiculed. Viridiana Gonzalez, a bilingual Arizona mother, speaks brilliantly on the topic. She says of Ruiz: “Hey look, she’s not afraid of her heritage.”
And none of us should be. So let’s look at this month as an OPPORTUNITY to truly celebrate- in ways we’re accustomed to or not- Hispanic Heritage.
Este resumen viene del artículo publicado por el New York Times el 3 de septiembre, 2015. Si le gustaría leer el artículo además de este resumen, siga el enlace arriba.
Se debe celebrar la diversidad no se la reta o teme.
Una reportera de Arizona, Vanessa Ruiz, ha enfrentado crítica, confusión y alabanzas por su uso de palabras y pronunciaciones de español en sus reportajes. En Arizona, el cual era parte de México (antes del año 1848 y más todavía 1853; vea el mapa arriba), muchas ciudades, muchos lugares y un gran porcentaje de la gente mantienen su herencia hispana. También el estado “Arizona” (árido-zona) se deriva de un nombre español. Entonces, ¿la pronunciación tiene sentido, no?
Aunque más que 30% de la población de Arizona identifica con el término “hispano” en el último censo, las pronunciaciones de Ruiz todavía han causado confusión para algunos televidentes. El uso de español en áreas públicas ahora está debajo de un ojo atento más que nunca, por el uso de español por parte de Jeb Bush con respeto a temas de inmigración, además del intento por Donald Trump que todos políticos (y la gente en general) habla solamente inglés en los EEUU. Sin embargo, la “bilinguedad” de los reportajes los hace más alcanzables para televidentes y la población, además de ser un homenaje a la herencia cultural de la región.
Ver la situación de la perspectiva de un futuro profesor de español y defensor de la diversidad y el interculturalismo, creo que Ruiz nos muestra que nuestra(s) herencia(s), etnia(s), y diversidad(es) deben ser celebradas, y no ridiculizadas. Vidriana Gonzalez, una bilingüe madre de Arizona, habla de mucha sabiduría sobre el tema. Dice de Ruiz: “Mira,no tiene miedo de su herencia.”
Y no debemos. Entonces veamos este mes como una gran OPORTUNIDAD para celebrar- en maneras de los cuales estamos acostumbrados y de algunas que no- la herencia hispana.
PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/mexico_1786.htm
Hello, my name is Joshua Garcia and I will be telling you about someone for Hispanic Heritage month.
Mario Alberto Dominguez Zarzar was born January 22, 1977. Mario is the lead singer of the Mexican band Camila. Mario Dominguez is from Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. Camila is very well known in Mexico of course, but they are also very well known here in the United States. Mario’s career helped another famous Mexican singer, Kalimba, produce his album Aerosoul and one of the songs on that album “No Me Quiero Enamorar” became a top ten hit in the United States & another song “Tocando Fondo” spent 18 weeks in the Billboard charts.
Camila started with Mario and Samuel “Samo” Parra, which he met during a song with another artist with the name Reyli Barba. Once Camila had Mario and Samo as the foundation of the group they began to practice with only just a piano. Later on they decided to add a guitar which led them to the third and final member of the group, Pablo Hurtado.
In 2006 Camila released their first album Todo Cambio which became very popular in Mexico and The United States.
Mario Alberto Dominguez nacio el 22 de Enero del 1977. Mario es el cantante principal del grupo Camila. Mario Dominguez es de Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico. El grupo Camila es muy reconocido en Mexico, igualmente en los Estados Unidos. Durante su carrera, Mario ha contribuido en producir discos para varios artistas, incluyendo a orto artista muy reconicodo en Mexico, Kalimba. De ese disco llamado ¨Aerosoul¨, la cancion ¨No Me Quiero Enamorar” se convirtio en un top ten hit de la lista de billboard. Otra cancion de ese disco, ¨Tocando Fondo¨ duro 18 meses en esa misma lista.
En sus inicios, Camila consistia de dos vocalistas; Mario Domm y Samuel ¨Samo¨ Parra. Los dos cantantes se conocieron en una sesion entre Mario y otra artista, Reyli Barba. Despues de constuir una relacion entro los dos, Mario y Samo formaron Camila, que en sus inicios solamente componian canciones con sus voces y un piano. Sintiendo que les faltaba algo a su sonido, llegaron a incluir el tercer miembro y gitarrista del grupo, Pablo Hurtado.
En 2006, su primer album, ¨Todo Cambio¨ llego a ser muy popular en Mexico y los Estados Unidos.
Hi I'm Luke Huber and am in Spanish 5. Here is a quick description of who Cesar Chavez was.
Cesar Chavez was a civil rights activist for Latino farmers in America. He fought for better wages, bathrooms, and more jobs for Hispanic workers. He led multiple strikes to help earn these rights and ended up being able to change a lot. Also he created the National Farm Workers Association. Cesar Chavez has become an icon for Latinos and farmers working rights everywhere.
Cesar Chavez era un activista para los derechos civiles para agricultores latinos en América. El lucha para más dinero para trabajadores, baños, y más trabajos para trabajadores. El guió muchas huelgas para ganar esos derechos, y cambió mucho en la sociedad. También el creído la Asociación Nacional de Agricultores. El era un icono para latinos y agricultores en todo los Estados Unidos.
Hi, my name is Tanya Pompa and I'm in Spanish for Spanish Speakers.
Spanish Heritage Month - I love being Latino! Growing up, I have had the privilege of experiencing both the American and Mexican life. It has been an extravagant experience that I would not want to change. Being Latino is reflected in every aspect of my life and everything that I do. Also, because the Latino population is the largest and fastest growing “minority” group in the United States, our culture is likely to continue shaping the American Culture. I also admire being Latino because I have had the leisure of experiencing various styles of Latino music like mariachi, cumbia, and reggaeton. But best of all, I have had the opportunity of tasting an array of mouth watering foods like guacamole, tacos, mole, and arroz con leche.
For that reason, it does not surprise me that Hispanic food is what has been the greatest contributor to the American culture. I mean, who doesn’t love guacamole? Lastly, having had the opportunity of growing up with a Hispanic Restaurant in the family, I would like to share this guacamole recipe with you in hopes that you may form a greater appreciation for the Hispanic culture. Disfruta!
Ingredients:
2 large avocados,
1/2 cup(s) diced Spanish onions,
1 cup(s) diced tomatoes,
1 tablespoon(s) minced serrano chilies,
1 tablespoon(s) roughly chopped cilantro,
1 tablespoon(s) lime juice,
1 teaspoon(s) salt
Directions: Slice avocados in half, remove pits, and scoop flesh into large bowl. Mash the avocados, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Serve with tortilla chips.
Mes de la herencia Española Me encanta ser latina! Creciendo latina, he tenido el privilegio de experimentar tanto en la vida americana y mexicana. Ha sido una experiencia extravagante que no quiero cambiar. Yo reflejo mi herencia Latina en cada aspecto de mi vida y en todo lo que hago. También, porque la población Latina es el grupo de "minoría" más grande y el más rápido crecimiento en los Estados Unidos, nuestra cultura es probable que siga impactando la cultura americana. También admiro ser latina porque he tenido el placer de experimentar varios estilos de música latina como mariachi, cumbia y reggaeton. Pero lo mejor de todo, he tenido la oportunidad de probar una gran variedad de alimentos como guacamole, tacos, mole y arroz con leche.
La comida hispana es lo que ha sido el mayor contribuyente a la cultura americana. ¿Es decir, a quién no le gusta el guacamole? Por último, he tenido la oportunidad de crecer con un restaurante hispano en mi familia y me gustaría compartir esta receta de guacamole con ustedes con la esperanza de que puedan apreciar más la cultura hispana. ¡Disfruta!
Ingredientes: 2 aguacates,
1/2 taza(s) cortada en dados Español cebollas,
1 taza(s) cortada en dados los tomates,
1 cucharada(s) picada serrano chiles,
1 cucharada(s) aproximadamente cilantro picado,
1 cucharada(s) jugo de limón,
1 cucharadita(s) sal
Instrucciones: Cortar los aguacates por la mitad, retirar y boca carne en recipiente grande. Machacar los aguacates y, a continuación, añadir el resto de los ingredientes y revuelva para combinar. Servir con tortilla chips.
Junior offensive/defensive lineman Mike Visscher was selected by WZZM as their student athlete of the week. He carries a 3.962 GPA and is a two way starter on the football team. He is also involved in the wrestling and track. Congratulations Mike! Keep putting the STUDENT in student-athlete in such a fantastic way!
Hi, I'm Wade and I'm in Spanish 5 and I'm sharing with you my article on Jennifer Lopez.
Jennifer Lopez grew up in a family of five: two sisters, her mother Guadalupe, and her father David. She has a true hispanic heritage with both her parents being born in Puerto Rico. At the age of five, Jennifer started to take dance and singing classes. Her career started when she was a teenager, where she had roles in musicals. Her biggest role in a movie was in Selena, which opened many doors to success for her. Since then, she became the first latina actress to be paid a million dollars for a role in a movie. In 2005, she was paid 15 million for a role in a movie.
Jennifer Lopez creció en una familia de cinco: dos hermanos, su madre Guadalupe, y su padre David. Ella tiene herencia hispana porque sus padres nacieron en Puerto Rico. A la edad de cinco años, Jennifer comenzó a tomar clases de baile y canto. Su carrera comenzó cuando ella era una adolescente, donde tuvo papeles en los musicales. Su mayor rol en una película es de Selena, que abrió todas las puertas de éxito para ella. Desde entonces, ella se volvió la primera actriz latina para ser pagado un millón dolares por un rol en una película. En 2005, ella fue pagado quince millones para un rol en una película.
Hi, my name is Laura Castro. William Gutierrez Levy was a cuban that has succeeded and triumphed in the United States. William Gutierrez Levy was born in La Habana, Cuba, on August 29, 1980 (35 years ago). Before he was 15 years old, he and his family emigrated to the United States of America legally. He is married with a Mexican-American women call Elizabeth Gutierrez. They have 2 children together, a boy and a girl. When he was in high school, he became a great baseball player, and got a university scholarship. He began to study business administration, which he interrupted to take acting classes. He took acting classes in Miami, Los Angeles, and Mexico. He began his career in Miami, and later on other doors opened in Mexico where he became famous. He has made a lot of movies and novels. His novels include: La Tempestad Dancing with the Stars Single Ladies Triunfo de Amor Mujeres asesinas Sortilegio Cuidado con el angel etc…………………
me llamo Laura Castro soy de Cuba y voy a compartir con ustedes mi informacion sobre los famosos que viven en los Estados Unidos. William Gutierrez Levy. Famosos cubanos que viven y han triunfado en Estados Unidos. William Gutiérrez Levy nació en La Habana, Cuba el 29 agosto de 1980 (hace 35 años). Poco antes de cumplir los 15 años emigró a los Estados Unidos de América legalmente. Está casado con la mexicana Elizabeth Gutiérrez con quien tiene dos hijos, una niña y un niño. Estudió actuación en Miami, Los Ángeles y México. Mientras estaba en la escuela secundaria se destacó en la práctica de béisbol, lo cual le permitió una beca para entrar a la universidad y estudiar administración de empresas, las cuales interrumpió para comenzar con los estudios de actuación. Comenzó a actuar en Miami y luego se le abrieron las puertas en México donde le ha ido muy bien. Ha hecho muchas novelas y películas en México y Estados Unidos. Lista de sus novelas : La Tempestad Dancing with the Stars Single Ladies Triunfo de Amor Mujeres asesinas Sortilegio Cuidado con el angel etc…………………
Hi. I am Sophie Accardo. I am in Spanish 5. I would like to share this with you.
I had the privilege to experience the Spanish culture by traveling to Peru. It was the best experience I've ever had. I got use the skills I learned in class. I got to talk to the natives. Spanish is their second language. Their food was interesting but delicious. I was able to experience how they live their life every day. Many of the girls from the villages said that they want to visit America one day. I learned a lot from them. I was so happy that I was able to communicate with them.
Tuve el privilegio de experimentar la cultura hispana viajando a Perú. Era la mejor experiencia que he tenido. Conseguí usar las habilidades que aprendí en clase. Hablé con los nativos. Español es su segunda lengua porque su primera es quechua. Su comida era interesante pero deliciosa. He podido experimentar cómo viven su vida cada día. Muchas de las chicas del pueblo dijeron que quieren visitar América un día. Había aprendido mucho de ellos. Estaba tan contenta que yo era capaz de comunicarme con ellos.
Hi, I'm Eduardo Mireles and in Spanish for Spanish speakers.
George Lopez has built a successful career by finding the humor in his difficult childhood and in the Mexican-American community in general . Born April 23, 1961 in Mission Hills, California. George was abandoned by his mother at an early age, he then was raised by his grandmother who paid little to no attention to him at all. By the late 80’s, using his painful experiences to make him one of the best actors and comedians in today's world.
George Lopez ha hecho unos éxitos en su carrera de comediante, hablando de su vida dificil y de la comunidad Americano-Mexicano. nació el 23 de abril 1961 en Mission hills, California. George fue abandonado por su madre cuando era muy joven, fue creado por su abuela quien no le ponia mucha atencion. A los fines de los 80’s usando su experiencia dolorosas lo hizo uno de los mejores actores y comediante del mundo.
My name is Emily Rutledge and I am in Spanish 5 at Holland High. I am going to share with you my experience in Guatemala. Last summer I went on a mission trip to Guatemala. I learned a lot about the country and the Guatemalan people. It is a very poor country but the people are very friendly and kind. I fell in love with Guatemala and its people and I would really like to go back in the future.
In Guatemala I built 21 houses in a village of indigenous Guatemalan people with 39 other people from my church. The indigenous people were very hardworking and it’s amazing how friendly they are. They also helped so much with building the houses. We didn’t speak very much Spanish but the Indigenous people didn’t care and we could still talk with them. It was very hard to leave the kids in the village, they were so sweet and loved us even though they didn’t know us or even speak the same language.
En el verano de 2015 yo fui a Guatemala para un viaje de misión. Yo aprendí mucho sobre el país y los guatemaltecos. Es un país muy pobre pero los guatemaltecos son muy amables y simpáticos. Me enamoré con Guatemala y los guatemaltecos y quiero mucho ir a Guatemala en el futuro.
En Guatemala yo construí 21 casas en un pueblo de indígenas (guatemaltecos nativos) con 39 otra americanos de mi iglesia. Los indígenas son muy trabajadores y es asombroso que ellos sean muy amables. También ellos ayudaron mucho para construir las casas. Nosotros no hablamos mucho español pero los indígenas no le importaba y nosotros hablaron con ellos. Era muy difícil dejar los niños en el pueblo. Ellos son encantos y nos querían aunque ellos no nos conocieron o hablaron la misma idioma.
Hi, my name is Rogelio Nino.
The Mexican flag to a lot of people is just a rectangle divided in three colors; green, white and red with an eagle eating a snake in the middle, but all of that has a meaning to it.
The green symbolizes independence, independence that we obtained from Spain. Later on it changed to be a symbol of hope. The white represents catholicism and unity. When the flag was being designed the creators wanted to represent the faith the Mexican community had towards catholicism and later on it changed to a symbol of unity.
Initially the red represented the bond between the Spanish European and the Spanish American cultures. Later on it represented the blood from people that died in the war for the independence of Mexico.
Finally the eagle, the eagle with the snake in its mouth recognizes the Aztec heritage that we have in Mexico. Legend says that Aztec gods told the Aztec people to build their capital where they found an eagle eating a snake on top of a cactus.
Eventually they found it and built their capital and named it Tenochtitlan. Now a day that place is found in the center of Mexico City.
Hola, yo soy Rogelio Nino estoy en español para hispanohablantes.
Voy a mandar el proyecto para la pagina de el mes de herencia hispana. La Bandera de México para mucha gente solo es un rectángulo dividido en tres colores; verde, blanco y rojo y una águila devorando una serpiente, pero todo eso tiene un significado.
El verde significa la independencia que obtuvimos de España. También es un símbolo de esperanza . El blanco significa el catolicismo y la unidad. Cuando se diseñó la bandera los creadores querían representar la fe mexicana hacia la religión católica más tarde se convirtió en una representación de unidad.
Inicialmente el rojo representaba la unión entre la gente española europea y la gente española norteamericana pero más tarde se convirtió en una representación de la sangre derramada por todos los guerreros que dieron su vida en la guerra donde su país logró independizarse de España.
Y finalmente la águila, la águila con la serpiente en su boca reconoce la herencia azteca en México.
Según la leyenda los dioses aztecas aconsejaron a la gente azteca construir su capital en donde vieran a una águila comiéndose una serpiente sobre un nopal y eventualmente los aztecas encontraron a esa águila en Tenochtitlan y construyeron su capital ahí. Hoy en dia ese lugar está encontrado en la plaza principal en la ciudad de México.
I’d like to start off the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring the Spanish language and the beauty it has brought to my life!
Being bilingual in the Spanish language has made the world both smaller and bigger at the same time. When I travel to the Spanish speaking world, I no longer experience it from an American perspective because I’m able to talk to people and ask questions about what may seem to me to be an odd or interesting cultural custom. I’m able to connect more with the people and learn about their daily lives rather than just the tourist sites.
I have the opportunity to better understand a person’s joys and heartaches, blessings and challenges. Because of this, I have grown to see the same humanity in all the people of the world. We may have borders that define our lands, but there are no borders that define our connectedness to one another.
Me gustaría iniciar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana por honrar el idioma español y la belleza que español ha contribuido a mi vida. Personalmente, ser bilingüe ha expandido mi mundo por hacerlo más grande y más pequeño a la vez.
Cuando viajo al mundo hispanohablante, no viajo con solo la perspectiva estadounidense porque puedo charlar con la gente y preguntarle sobre sus costumbres y la vida diaria. No tengo que descubrir el país a través de solo los sitios turísticos. Yo puedo conectar con la gente a través del idioma.
Tengo la oportunidad de entender mejor las alegrías y angustias de la gente, sus bendiciones y los retos. Por eso, he llegado a ver la humanidad común de toda la gente del mundo. Tenemos fronteras que definen nuestras tierras, pero no existen fronteras que definen nuestra relación con los demás.
Holland High’s Heritage Speakers/Spanish 5 Class would like you to join them in celebrating a number of the achievements, memorable people, and key moments in history connected to this special time.
The students are eager to share their stories and links with you.
See a new post in this spot every day through October 15 and join in the celebration!
This is the first time in the history of Holland Public Schools that the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade band members have been invited to perform with the Holland High School Marching Dutchmen Band at a Varsity football game.
This is a very exciting opportunity for the younger band members in the district to get a taste of what it is like to be in the Holland High School marching band while, at the same time, having the chance to build relationships with the high school band members and our new high school band director, Mr. Demetrius White!
Come to the Stadium, Friday, Sept. 18.
Parents and students – Are you looking for something different to do this Labor Day weekend? Consider going to the Grand Rapids Maker Faire. It's like a big carnival of creativity, engineering, contraptions, and all kinds of "thinking and doing" stuff for kids. Maker Faires are hosted in cities all over the world. The cost to attend this one ranges between $8 to $3 per person. The place is the GR Public Museum. The link below will give you the scoop!
This parody of Comedy Central's "Teaching Center" introduces new teachers in a fun way! Thank you, Supt. Davis and HR Director Rich Zuker for carrying this off so well. (Our new teachers are amazing!)
The first football game of the year was a tough, hard-fought loss to Reeths-Puffer, 21-13. As you can see, the energy on the field and all around the stadium was sky high!
Watch for the HPS Back to School flyer in your mailbox early next week. Our HPS open houses are on Aug. 31 and the first day of class is Sept. 8. Keep enjoying your summer while it lasts!