Celebrate This!!!!This was the title for my opening devotions with the full staff and students last week. I used Psalm 145 as my text and encourage you to read it sometime. We have much to celebrate as God has always been faithful to us as a school in so many ways over the years. The 2014-15 school year marks the 75th year of operation for PCHS. That's great!  We've recently been included on a list of the best 50 Christian high schools in America. Yes! We have great people, programs, and property here. Praise God! So please join us this year as we celebrate this place and our mission to educate and nurture each student to serve in God's world.    -  Mr. D 

PCHS WELCOMES NEW FACULTY MEMBERPCHS is pleased to welcome Joel Rietema to our faculty.  Mr. Rietema has taught at the middle school and high school level and most recently had been working in residence life at the collegiate level.  He will teach all of the Bible classes that were taught previously by Nate Van Wyk who has taken a position as youth pastor for Federated Fellowship Church (Pella). Joel and his wife Abby have one son, Brandt. Welcome to PCHS Mr. Rietema!

Prayer OpportunityDo you desire to be a part of God moving at Pella Christian High School?  The PCHS Prayer Ministry Team plans to connect our supporters to our staff through prayer.  If you are interested in praying from home for our faculty and staff, please contact Bonnie Van Wyngarden at vanwyngardenb@pceagles.org.

Vol. 13 No. 1

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE DAILY EAGLEWe strongly encourage every parent to sign up to receive The Daily Eagle announcements. This is an excellent communication tool. We will forward the student announcements daily to the e-mail(s) of your choosing as well as periodic announcements and updates that are important for parents to know. Go to www.pceagles.org. The link is located under Programs -Publications - Daily Eagle Sign Up.

Join the PCEAGLES Text ClubPlease take a few seconds to text PCEAGLES to 36000 and you will automatically join the PCEAGLES Text Club.  By joining you will receive exclusive updates and information on activities associated with Pella Christian High School.  This will be one additional way to communicate with our parents and supporters about activities, school delays/closings, postponements, etc.  All messages are standard rate to whatever your text plan is.  You can discontinue at anytime by simply texting STOP to 36000.  

THANKS FOR THE HELP!The Eagle Booster Board would like to thank everyone for their part in supporting the softball and baseball concessions this past summer.  Thanks to all the concession workers, to those who prepared and donated delicious pies (always a top seller) and to everyone who

supported the boosters by purchasing food at the

games. GO EAGLES!!

WELCOME TO OUR NEW STUDENTS AND FAMILIESPella Christian High School has been blessed with many new families and international students for the 14/15 year. Our total enrollment at the time of this printing is 259. The following is a list of the new students. We pray for a smooth transition to a new school and for many to a new home and country as well.Edoardo Amaniera - ItalyEvan Armstrong - Pella Juliana Carrilho Santana - BrazilElbin Choi - South KoreaBarbara Costa - BrazilYuqing (Lisa) Huang - ChinaCourtney Johannes - CarlisleMara Juffer - Nodaway ValleyAlexandra Krizsan - UkraineSohee Kwon - South KoreaWeston Lively - MichiganBeatriz Oliveira - BrazilDavi Simoes - BrazilMicah Stuetelberg - NewtonHanxi (Catherine) Tang - ChinaYanbing (Jinjin) Zhou - China

CALENDARS & DIRECTORIES The 2014/15 school directory/handbook and calendars are now available and have been included in the packet distributed to PCHS students containing this newsletter. Be sure to review the policies regarding dress code, cell

phones, iPods, iPads, and academic honesty. Please note that athletic events are not listed on the wall calendar. Pocket schedules for fall sports are available in the school office and at local businesses. All events are also posted on the school website at www.pceagles.org.

On-Line Parent AccessParents of first year/transfer students at PCHS have recently been mailed an important letter in the next week containing user and password information for checking student grades on-line. Parents of upperclassmen received this information last year. Parent passwords stay the same for all their children who attend PCHS. If you do not receive the letter soon or have misplaced this information from last year please e-mail Penne Fox at foxp@pceagles.org or call 628-4440.

On-Line Parent UpdatesThere are some new settings this year for parents.  You can receive email alerts for absences or tardies, for missed assignment scores and for when a grade drops below a specific threshold (that you can set). These options are under Alert Configuration on the left hand side after you login. A reminder that hot lunch balances and attendance can also be accessed.

Iowa College Access Network PresentationOn Monday, September 8, a presenter from ICAN (Iowa College Access Network) will be at PCHS at 7:00 p.m. in the music room to make a presentation on the search for a college as well as navigating through the financial aid process.   The Guidance Office highly recommends this meeting to juniors, seniors, and their parents.  It's also a good time to connect with parents who have already experienced sending a child off to college.

School Pictures  Remember that school pictures will be taken between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. on Friday, September 12. All students (except seniors) need to have a photo taken that morning, even if you do not want to place an order. These photos are used for the yearbook.

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PCHS FacebookPlease ‘like’ Pella Christian High School on

Facebook and join the

conversation to get the word out about Pella Christian High School.

2013/14 Yearbooks Are Here! The 2013/14 yearbooks have arrived for those who pre-ordered last fall. Alumni who ordered can pick up their yearbook in the office. A limited number of extra yearbooks will be available for $45 on a first come first served basis after orders have been filled. 

2014/15 Yearbook Orders Order forms for the 14/15 yearbooks will be handed out with the school picture order forms in early September.  Please fill out and return the form even if you do not want a yearbook .   There is a space for "I do not wish to order a yearbook this year."  These orders are for the 2014-15 yearbook that will arrive next fall.  Pre-ordering reserves a yearbook for your student at a lower cost.  Ordering later in the year will be more expensive, and failure to order may mean your student does not receive one.

Come Out And Celebrate! This is an invitation for all new families at PCHS, PCHS Alumni and anyone who has been a member of the Eagle football team or coaching staff since the beginning of the football program, to attend the home football game against Eddyville-Blakesburg on Friday, September 26. We will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the PC football program, welcoming new families to PCHS and showing our appreciation for PCHS alumni who have provided tremendous support and faithfulness to PCHS over the past 75 years. Watch for more information coming soon!

FundraiserSave the date! The PCHS cheerleaders will be bussing tables for tips at Pizza Ranch as a fundraiser on Monday, September 29, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Make plans to visit and support the squad.

Senior Photos As you choose poses for your senior, please be sure to have at least one pose taken that is a head and shoulders shot in attire that meets the PC dress code.  These photos are used in the yearbook and also on the class composites. You are not required to have a professional photo taken.  We would be happy to work with you to get a nice yearbook photo. Senior photos should be submitted to Mrs. Vander Wal by April 1.  Photos may be submitted digitally in high resolution or a wallet size may be turned in as well.

Iowa Assessments & CPRThe 9th and 11th grade students will be taking the Iowa Assessments on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 23, and the morning of Wednesday, September 24.  It would be very helpful if you could avoid any kind of appointments or other absences during those times to avoid the inconvenience of making up the tests before and after school. Please contact Dr. Eggink if you have any questions. Thanks for your help with this. During that same time period, the seniors will be excused from their Government classes to take the CPR training that is required for graduation. This will take place in the school gym.

iPad Information RemindersPlease remember that as parents there are options available to you for iPad restriction/control at home: 1. You may require that your student leave his/her iPad at school each day. They will need internet access at home for homework but they do not need their iPad. 2. You may also have us remove your student's access to the App store. This would leave only the apps they need for school but not allow them to download any games or other apps. 3. We have several "Parent Tools" available for

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you on our website (under the "Technology" and "1:1 Program" tabs).  These can be very helpful to you at home and you are encouraged to check them out and use them. It is our desire to work with you and assist you in this area so please be sure to contact us if you need some help with these tools.

ACTIVITIES UPDATE AND ATHLETIC PASSESAnother school year has started and extracurricular activities are in full swing as well. The drama students are busy preparing for the fall musical production of ‘The Scarlett Pimpernel’ and the music department is rehearsing for their Fall Concert. The cheerleaders have been fine-tuning their cheers and routines. The volleyball, football, and cross-country teams are practicing and some have already started competing. Admission to home athletic events is $5 for adults and $3 for K-8th students. The athletic department also has 10 and 20 punch card options available. Punch cards are good for admission to any home regular season events throughout the year. The cost for a 10 punch card is $38 for adults and $22 for students. 20 punch cards are $75 and $45. These punch cards represent about a 25% savings and can be purchased at home athletic events or in the school office. PCHS students will be admitted free to our regular season home games and plays. We look forward to seeing you at our school events and activities. GO EAGLES!!

Little Eagle Cheerleading ClinicMark your calendars! The annual Little Eagle Cheerleading Clinic will be held on September 20, at PCHS in the music room.  The clinic will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Parents are welcome to come watch our end of the day performance at 11:45. The clinic will be offered to anyone who is in pre-school through 5th grade. All cheerleaders who participate in the clinic on September 20 will cheer in the half

time performance on September 26 during the varsity football game! Look in your school office for registration forms or email Nicole Van Wyk at vanwyk@pceagles.org

New Security SystemOver the summer a new security system was installed at Pella Christian High School. The school building will now be completely locked down during the school day from 8:25 a.m. – 3:20 p.m. During that time, visitors (including students) who desire to enter the school will need to be buzzed in to gain entry. A new entry keypad is located on the east wall by the doors where a button can be pushed to ring the office. Once given access the doors furthest to the east will be unlocked. Also, additional cameras have been installed both inside the building and outside the building as we strive to make our campus as safe as possible for our students and staff. 

“Drive One 4UR School”SAVE THE DATE! PC and Ulrich Ford are once again teaming up to “Drive One 4UR School” on Saturday, October 4 between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Last fall our school received over $4,000 to be used for various student activities and teams. Keep an eye on the Daily Eagle for more details!

Coaching Position Pella Christian is searching for a head coach for the 2014-15 Shine Drill Team. Anyone interested in this position should contact Brad Engbers at engbersb@pceagles.org.

Boosters Discount CardOn behalf of the local Booster Clubs and select local businesses, the Pella/Pella Christian Booster Card, is once again available for $20. All money from the Booster Card will be given to the Pella Community Booster Club and the Pella Christian Booster Club. The very best deals for several popular local businesses are

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included on this card and nowhere else. The discount card is the perfect way to support local businesses and the schools. Cards are now available at Pizza Ranch, Pella High School, Pella Christian High School, Pella Middle School, and Pella Christian Grade School.