Thunder Post

CCS students always look forward to seeing two familiar faces: Melissa Vaughn and K.T. Smith. Melissa serves as the lunchroom coordinator, and K.T. is her dependable assistant. They bring energy, creativity, and warmth (and deliciousness!) to the CCS lunchroom experience.

Melissa Vaughn

Melissa has been part of the CCS lunchroom team since 2018, beginning as a volunteer when her eldest daughter entered middle school. Now, she enjoys seeing her youngest daughter, Sylvia (a fifth grader) daily. Melissa shared that volunteering in the lunchroom has been a wonderful way to connect with the CCS staff and parent community.

Under Melissa's leadership, the lunchroom menu has seen some great upgrades. A favorite among students and staff is the Monday salad bar, where Melissa gets creative with fresh toppings, including chicken and taco meat. She loves seeing the kids build their salads and regularly seeks their input to further improve the menu.

K.T. Smith

K.T. and her family are new and welcome additions to CCS. Her daughter Felicity is in the pre-K program, and her youngest, Melody, is two. With a food service and safety background, K.T. is a natural fit for the lunchroom team. She also appreciates how the role allows her to be involved in the school community while getting to know other families.

We couldn’t resist asking Melissa and K.T. a few fun questions:

What is your favorite food?

· Melissa: "I love most foods, but my favorite meal would probably be filet mignon, smashed redskin potatoes, and green beans or asparagus—followed by a chocolate dessert!" (We might all want to join her for dinner!)

· K.T.: "Chinese food and sushi."

If you could choose one CCS lunch to eat every day, what would it be?

· Melissa: "The salad bar."

· K.T.: "Breakfast."

What’s one thing you wish every student would do during lunch?

· Melissa: "Say please and thank you—and most students do a great job of this!"

· K.T.: "Walk to their tables and say please and thank you, which most do.”

Though there wasn’t enough space to include their answers to all the questions, here’s a hint about their hidden talents: one of them performed with MSU’s marching band at four bowl games (including the Rose Bowl), while the other is a former high school soccer player, studio potter, and ordained pastoral counselor.

We appreciate their talents and service to CCS!

We have a couple of Fun Festivewear Days planned in December .... the first one being this Monday, December 9th. Students can wear Christmas colors along with their jeans. Then on Friday, December 20th we are having an all-school Ugly Sweater Day.

As we reflect on our National Day of Giving campaign, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you who contributed. Your generosity and support have made a significant impact on our school community and the students we serve.

We made 60% of our goal, reaching $27,078! With the highest single donation being $1,750, Dr. Kloosterhouse, our head of school, will be matching that! The students had a great time at the assembly, where some of them were pretty cold and others ate some terrible food!

Thanks to your donations, we are able to enhance our programs, provide valuable resources, and create an environment where our students can thrive both academically and spiritually. Your contributions are not just financial; they are a testament to the love and support that make our school a special place.

We are blessed to have such a caring and committed community, and it is truly inspiring to see how our community comes together to support one another in faith and service. Thank you for believing in our mission and for investing in the future of our students.

We look forward to sharing more about the positive outcomes of your generosity in the coming months!

In the meantime, here are some pictures from our assembly today....

The Ice Challenge 🔼 & 🔽

The Terrible Food Challenge! 🔼 and 🔽

Meet our new mascot!

The middle school teachers didn't get a pie in the face,

but they still had to dig a cookie out of a whip cream pie ... with their face!

Even the youngest of spectators was enjoying the show!

You are invited to join us for a heartwarming Christmas celebration that will fill you with joy and the true spirit of the season! This nostalgic event is free and perfect for the whole family. We can’t wait to share this special evening with you!

We will be having our Cookie Reception directly after the program. If you are able to donate cookies, please sign up here.

Students shopped for friends and family this week at the CCS Christmas Store. It proved to be a wonderful experience for both students and shoppers!

Thank you for taking the time to sit down with your student to fill out the envelope - shopping went smoothly! And thank you, Mrs. Vaughn, along with your band of Merry Shoppers!

Calling all 4th and 5th Graders! Cold is Cool! A Ski and Ride Passport

This passport is good at 29 participating locations in Michigan.

*This is not a school-provided program, but wanted to pass along the information to take advantage of this savings!

Check out https://www.goskimichigan.com/programs/cold-is-cool/ for more information about this program and to register.

Here's just a little info. on what's needed to sign up:

• Proof of 4th or 5th grade status is required. One page of a report card or progress report is sufficient. If the child is homeschooled, the parent or guardian can include a note stating the child’s grade equivalent.

• You must also upload a photo (headshot) of your child, which serves as an ID.

• MSIA charges $30 for the Cold is Cool Passport App, which covers program costs, maintenance and an $8 donation to MIsnow and Share Winter Foundation.

• The Passport is valid through the end of the 2024/25 ski season. Dates vary by ski area.

• In order for fourth and fifth graders to use the free lift or trail passes, a paying adult must accompany them.

• The Cold is Cool Passport cannot be used when an adult obtains a lift ticket with the White Gold Card or other discounted lift ticket programs.

Our November Songs of Jubilee Praise Chapel (the 25th of each month) fell on the same day that our 4th grade class was leading chapel just before Thanksgiving. They did a terrific job of incorporating our November character trait of "compassion" into everything they did, right down to the songs they led the school in! One of the ways they wanted to exemplify compassion was to have students bring in non-perishable items, and they collected 119 items! The class presented the donations to our own Michelle Beaker from the Caring Ministries department at the church, and they were delivered that afternoon to Military Avenue Church, an EPC church in Detroit that Cornerstone sponsors and supports.

On Wednesday this week, our 4th and 5th grade classes (and chaperones) took turns ringing the Salvation Army bell. If you remember, it was pretty cold that day! We've received word from Salvation Army that the official total amount of money collected in their kettle during their scheduled time was $333.32. Nice job students!

The 3rd graders dug for fossils this week as part of their science unit! The anticipation all week long lived up to the experience! And no snow day was going to stop these future paleontologists!

Do you have friends and family interested in what's happening at CCS? We have an Instagram and a public Facebook account. If you're a parent and want a more personal look at CCS, request to be a part of our private CCS Parent Forum on Facebook if you haven't done so already. It's a great source for information.

If you are new to CCS this year ... or realized on our snow-day yesterday that you haven't signed up for our all-school, mass-text tool called Remind.com, please do so now! This is what we use for school closing alerts and other important messages. (If you've already signed up for texts in previous year, you do not need to sign up again.)

We ask that at least one parent be connected to Remind. Here are the instructions:

Text the message: @23336c

To the number: 81010

If you have any issues, please let us know.

If you have a nanny, babysitter, grandparent, etc. who would benefit from knowing about school closures, they are more than welcome to sign up (they just need to understand they will receive all of the messages sent out via Remind).

12/9 - Festivewear Day - Christmas Colors (non-uniform day)

12/13 - Moms in Prayer (please note the day change)

12/13 - Early Release 11:30a

12/13 - Christmas Program 6:30p (please note correct start time)

12/20 - Festivewear Day - Ugly Sweaters (non-uniform day)

12/20 - Moms in Prayer

12/21-1/3 - No School Christmas Break

1/6 - School Resumes

McMastersKossCo

Celebrating 25 years!

Email: office@ccsbrighton.org
Website: https://ccsbrighton.com/
Location: 9455 Hilton Road, Brighton, MI, USA
Phone: 810-494-4040
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristianSchoolBrightonMI/