Heritage Christian High School

Heritage students have now completed their first semester of school for this year. Exams have been taken and the Christmas break has come and gone. Upon the return to school in 2003 the interim course on Consumer Economics began. This year’s interim class covered topics on everything from Government to Market Systems to Budgeting, Investing, and buying a car or home. Our speakers included: Mr. Eric Ophoff, Mr. Steve Van Drunen, Mr. Peter Van Der Schaaf, Mr. Jim Dekker, and Mr. Edward Ophoff, Jr., Rev. Haak, and Rev. Houck, as well as our own teaching staff. The students also took a field trip to the Federal Reserve Bank and the Mercantile Exchange where everyone had an opportunity to see how trading futures is done. The choir, led by Mr. Don Terpstra, sang to close out each day and gave a program at the end of the two-week interim.

The Board’s Education Committee is actively seeking additional teaching staff for next year. We have been placing ads in the church bulletins and in the Standard Bearer. This is proving to be quite a task with the present shortage of teachers with like-minded faith. The decision to become a teacher is a difficult one. The choices that must be made as to where to teach are difficult too. Mr. Dan Van Uffelen wrote an article which is in the Fall 2002 “Perspectives” in which he tells of the choices he had to make and how it was made clear to him that all our worrying and fretting need not overwhelm us when we know our Heavenly Father is in control. Take time to read this inspiring article.

As we begin the second semester, we have purchased laptop computers for the teachers to be more mobile and help to decrease the amount of room needed for computers in the classrooms. We are seeing that the classrooms we are now using are quite crowded as well as the computer lab, which seems to be getting too small too soon. Next year with another class added to the school, we will need to increase the amount of room that we use. The Building Committee has made arrangements with Calvary to make sure there will be adequate space for students and classrooms.

We ask you to give prayerful consideration to our Building fund, as the need to have our own school is upon us. Christian education is not possible without a great deal of sacrifice. The Building Fund is presently at $460,000 and our goal is $1,600,000. The Lord is faithful by way of your support; please continue your unselfish giving.

We are thankful to our Lord for providing us with such a dedicated staff. They could find teaching jobs in other places which would provide greater financial reward, but they are willing to make sacrifices to provide a good, sound Reformed education for our youth. Their work often seems to go unnoticed and unappreciated. So, remember to pray for them in the difficult task of instructing our covenant youth.

Association members, now is the time for nominations to be made for next year’s board. If there is a name that you would like to recommend, please contact any board member.

If you are considering becoming a member of the Association for Secondary Education, remember that the education of God’s covenant children is not just the responsibility of the parents. As stated in the baptismal vows: “Whether you promise and intend to see these children, when come to the years of discretion (whereof you are either parent or witness), instructed and brought up in the aforesaid doctrine, or help or cause them to be instructed therein to the utmost of your power.” The association is composed of confessing men, with children or without, young and old, single or married. Their job is to see that the vows made in baptism are carried out in our Protestant Reformed schools. Men, take careful thought in this decision whether you should be an association member.

“For the promise is unto you and your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:39

In His Service,
The Board