T h i s y e a r ’ s t h e m e v e r s e :

“ F o r w e a r e G o d ’ s h a n d w o r k , c r e a t e d i n C h r i s t J e s u s t o

d o g o o d w o r k s , w h i c h G o d p r e -

p a r e d i n a d v a n c e f o r u s t o d o . ”

E p h e s i a n s 2 : 1 0

Mikaela 's Adventure P.1

Cappies Nominat ions P.2

Choir Fest ival P.3

Class Tr ip Photos! P.4

Principal 's Report P.5

Guidance News P.6

OUR MISSIONTo provide a community of learning that challenges students to develop disciplined hearts, minds and bodies according to the full measure of Jesus Christ.

82 Colonnade Road North, Ottawa, ON K2E 7L2 613.723.9262 info@rchs.on.ca www.rchs.on.ca

THIS ISSUEPhoto at right: Mikaela Berg, class of 2012, in Guatemala on a missions trip earlier this year.

May 2013

Mikaela’s Adventure Interview with Mikaela Berg, class of 2012by Marie Cooper, Promotion Coordinator

Upon completing grade 12 at Redeemer Christian High School last June, Mikaela Berg did not know what college or university to attend, or what programs to apply to. Instead of choosing something at random and hoping for the best, Mikaela saw an opportunity to try something very different and began looking at programs that involved meeting new people, travelling, and strengthening her faith. She settled on a one year program at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba, called Outtatown – a discipleship program that focusses on travel and adventure with the ultimate purpose of awakening young people to radical faith in Jesus Christ. (www.outtatown.com)

“My Outtatown group travelled to several different places in Canada in the first semester,” reported Mikaela, “and then spent over three months in

Guatemala in the second semester, where we built a home for multiple families. When I signed up with this Bible college, I thought it might somehow impact my faith life. It did, but I didn’t realize just how much it would impact my entire life!”

“I enjoyed the program so much and would recommend it to anyone looking for adventure, or looking to understand more about themselves,” she said. “It was a good experience to get out of Ottawa and out of my comfort zone and throw myself into totally new environments.The program taught me a lot about different ways people live, but I also learned more about myself and my own struggles and how to work on them.The program Continued on pg. 2

• May 20 - Victoria

Day, no school• May 24 -

Grandfriends' Day, see notice inside

• May 27 - Spring Membership Meeting, please attend!

• June 11 - Last day of classes and Awards Ceremony

• June 12 - Study Day• June 13 & 14 -

Exams• June 17 & 18 -

Exams• June 20 - Grade 12

Grad Dinner• June 24 - Graduation

Ceremony at The Met 7 pm

• June 28 - Report cards issued

• August 29 - Registration Day for next year

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also gave me an opportunity to travel and make connections with people from all over Canada and Guatemala, and I made some great friendships. It was also amazing to hear lectures from so many well-known speakers.”

When asked to look back on her days at Redeemer, Mikaela had lots to say, “Some of my fondest memories from Redeemer include playing a role in each of the drama productions. Every play was a blast with a whole different cast and crew to work with. I also enjoyed being on Student Council and I was able to use the public speaking skills I developed to address larger groups in the Outtatown program too. I really liked my grade 12 IDC class as well because it got us looking at the bigger picture and meaning of life. I appreciated when each of my classmates presented their final project because it revealed a passion of theirs. Grade 11 World Religions was also interesting, learning about the different religions and the meaning behind each one.”

Mikaela is also happy to hear about Redeemer’s expansion plans. “I’m excited. It’ll be great to have new learning

opportunities for the next group of students going through Redeemer and I know Mr. Laliberte has been rooting for a new gym for some time now!” Still not sure what God is calling her to do, Mikaela is home and working for the summer but exploring options for next year. “I have considered being an Au Pair or teaching English abroad, but I’m also open to enrolling in a college program or going on another mission trip.”Mikaela did want others to know what a blessing the past year has been for her. “I really want parents at Redeemer to know that this year spent in the Outtatown program was so beneficial and not a waste! A year of Bible college can really teach a young person a lot about themselves and the world!”

If you are interested in reading more about the pros and cons of taking a “gap” year after grade 12, we encourage you to read an article by Jason Grootenboer, Head of Guidance and Resource here at Redeemer Christian High School. The article, called “Bridging the Gap”, can be found on-line in this month’s high school edition of Christian Home and School Magazine: www.mydigipub.com/publication/?i=157684

Continued from pg. 1

Cappies NomiNatioNsThanks to Ms. Visser and her amazing drama team, our recent school play,

"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" received no less than 12 nominations, as follows:

1. Critics Favourite Musical2. Lead Actress: Raychel Schenk

3. Supporting Actress: Danielle Lemieux4. Supporting Actor: Seth Hogeterp

5. Song: Beethoven Day6. Female Dancer: Hannah Brinkman

7. Featured Actor: River Rietkirk8. Ensemble: The Chorus

9. Musicianship: Catherine Gallagher and Rachel Hummel10. Choreography: Tori Dawson11. Costumes: Rosalynn Berti

12. Sound: Matt Schoenmaker and Alex NaftelCappies Gala is at the National Arts Centre on Sunday, June 2.

Red carpet event is at 6 pm, the program begins at 7:30 pm.Tickets required.

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Community Christian School in Metcalfe has an opening for a Summer Student under the Canada Summer Jobs Program for 8 weeks, 39 hours per week, beginning June 24. The successful candidate will be doing office work, inventory, making teaching aids, as well as painting, cleaning, etc. Candidate must be a student 16 years of age or older who is returning to school full-time in September 2013. Please email or send your résumé and cover letter to: Mr. Rick Dykstra, Principal, Community Christian School, info@communitychristianschool.ca Application deadline is Friday, May 31, 2013.

Timothy Christian School celebrates 50th anniversary! TCS invites everyone to join them June 28-30 as they celebrate a milestone anniversary of the school. Activities that weekend include an Open House Friday evening, a car rally Saturday morning and a dinner and program at Williamsburg Christian Reformed Church on Saturday evening. Please look see the website: www.tcswilliamsburg.ca for details and to RSVP for the dinner.

Ottawa Christian School invites everyone to join them for their annual Golf Tournament and Dinner Auction fundraiser on Saturday, June 8. To register for the golf or the dinner or both, please see the OCS website: www.ocschool.org

30 Hour Famine UpdateThis year's World Vision 30 Hour Famine was a smaller event than in previous years, but still a great success. We had 43 students raise $7550 that will go towards addressing poverty, education, water, and health care issues in needy places around the world. The students who participated overnight were able to pass the time with many activities including movies, sports, board games, our second annual Famine coffeehouse, a midnight '3rd world'

scavenger hunt, and more. Participants were rewarded with pizza on Saturday afternoon at the end of their 30 hours of hunger!

Congratulations to grade 11 student Cole Peck who

won a Silver Medal for his outstanding hockey

performance at the National Championship Telus Cup,

the highest level tournament for Major Midget AAA hockey players. The tournament was

held in Sault Ste. Marie in late April.

Congratulations to grade 12 student Danielle Lemieux for achieving first place at the Kiwanis Music Festival on April 27, for her performance singing "Here I Am" from the musical "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". Danielle was awarded the GOYA Canadian Musical Theatre Award.

Choir Festival UpdatePastor Ron Hosmar, Redeemer Parent

On May 3 & 4 I was privileged to be able to attend the annual Christian School Choir Festival, held in Cambridge. I went because my daughter Sarah is in our school's choir and she asked me to come as a parent chaperone. I also went because when I was in high school I attended this same festival in grades 10 through 12. I had a wonderful time listening to a mass choir of 380 high school students lifting up their voices to God. The two choir directors did a marvelous job of getting

this mass choir ready to sing.

Each choir also had the chance to perform individually during the evening concert. The largest choir was about 70 students strong, and the smallest was Redeemer’s – a choir of eight! Don’t let the small numbers fool you though…they sounded very good during their performance and impressed many in the audience. I was proud of my daughter and the other Redeemer students, and give credit to Ms. Visser, Redeemer's music teacher, for preparing them well. It was great to see so many young people singing praises to God and

I hope this festival will continue for many years to come.

82 Colonnade Road North • Ottawa Ontario • K2E 7L2 • 613-723-9262 • info@rchs.on.ca • www.rchs.on.cawww.facebook.com/RedeeemerChristainHighschool

“Honouring our Past – Building for the Future”

is our campaign theme as we reflect on God’s faithfulness over Redeemer Christian High School’s 37 year history. It takes sincere commitment and diligent effort from many people for Redeemer to keep providing the Christ centered education that we desire for our students. The support of the extended community is essential, and this requires an ongoing commitment, which extends far beyond paying tuition while your own children are enrolled in the school.

The capital campaign and building expansion project illustrates the need for support from staff, students, parents, grandparents, members and supporters in this major undertaking. Thank you to all who have helped to date! There is still much work to be done and we continue to look for more willing workers. We would love to have additional canvassers and more people willing to help with telephone follow up. Contact myself or Marie Cooper if you can help in any way.

Much work is being done in regard to the building plans and financing. Our present mortgage is $625,000 and we anticipate that after the entire project is completed, this would be increased by $650,000. However, during the three years that pledges will be coming in, we need to have additional financing.This is all being arranged through Concentra Trust, for the CRC Extension Fund. Their current rate of interest is 3%, and they provide flexible arrangements whereby we can pay back principal amounts as the pledges come in.

Praise God that as of May 13th the amount pledged is $627,310. We are looking forward to receiving many more pledge forms during the next few weeks as we have now contacted all parent families and more members. Our membership meeting is planned for May 27th and we are looking forward to receiving membership input into the important decisions that will be made at that time. Please plan to attend and be a part of this important step in Redeemer’s life.

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100:5

Mary Ritskes Chair, Board of Directors

Update May 2013

Alumni - don't forget to help us cut Dave Naftel's hair! Dave is pretty

sure he's going to be able to keep his long curls (which he loves!) but let's prove him wrong. All alumni donations will go toward the $100,000 alumni donation goal we need to reach in order to cut Dave's hair on June 11, the last day of school, Lord willing.

Help us contact alumni! If you know alumni who did not receive a package from us, send us their mailing address or their e-mail address and we’ll contact them. We want to give everybody an opportunity to participate in this very exciting building venture! No donation is too small and donations add up quickly, helping us reach our final goal of $1.5 million. Send all contact info to Mrs. Mary Joustra at: info@rchs.on.ca

Seven-hundred and seventy eight students have graduated from Redeemer Christian High School over the past 37 years, and this June another 41, Lord willing, will be added to our alumni list. God has been faithful and has provided Redeemer with a steady stream of students and families to support and grow our school. When our founding members look at the school today, most likely they cannot believe how it has developed into an institution that provides such a diverse selection of courses and holds an excellent reputation in our community. Looking over the list of names on our alumni list, I can’t believe how many different occupations and professions our graduates have gone into. We are proud of each of them and wish them all God’s blessing.

Chuck Schoenmaker Principal

Here is a list of just some of the many occupations and professions Redeemer graduates are now in:

• Business Owner• Lawyer• Hairdresser• Farmer • Accountant/Bookkeeper• Landscape Technician• Pastor • Electrical Engineer• Office Manager• Doctor• Nurse• Dental Assistant• Dental Hygienist• Child Care Worker• Teacher• Musician/Music Teacher• Missionary• University Professor• Cabinet Maker• Interior Designer• Electrician• Financial Planner• Retail/Store Manager• Sales Reps• Urban Planner• Arborist• International Business• Personal Support Worker• Architect• Construction Manager• Principal• Computer Engineer• Pilot• Chartered Accountant• Real Estate Agent• Customer Service Reps• Veterinarian• Artist• Aero Space Engineer• Writer/Editor

As of Monday, May 13, we have raised $627,310

toward our goal of $1.5 million. Now that we are approaching the half way

point, we have put up a barometer in the lobby of the school. Pictured here

are Mary Ritskes, Chair of our Board of Directors

and Capital Campaign Committee and Chuck

Schoenmaker, Principal at Redeemer Christian High

School.

Help us get this excavator going! We are ready to start construction but need more pledges or donations to come in. Have you made a three year pledge to Redeemer’s Capital Campaign? If you don’t want to make a three year commitment, consider making a one-time donation via via the Canada Helps button on our web-site: www.rchs.on.caWe need your support! No gift

is too small - help us reach our goal!

Be sure to follow us on facebook.com/RedeemerChristianHighSchool or on Twitter: @RedeemerCHS to receive regular updates on our campaign!

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Left: Photos from the grade 12 grad trip to NYC.

Above: Our grade 9 class on Canadian Culture Day, where they visited Rideau Hall and The Royal Canadian Mint.

At left: Our grade 9 class went to the Bill Mason Centre where they studied pond ecology.

In Front of Basilica of Ste Anne de Beaupré

Going into La Citadelle

In Front of Chateau de Frontenac

In front of the Observatoire

Left:photos from the grade 10 class trip to Quebec City.

Right: Our grade 11

class went on a service trip to Camp

Iawah for three days to

help open the camp for the

busy summer ahead.

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Principal’s Report

All of our students have just come back from class trips, and we are thankful they have returned safely and without incident. As the photos in this newsletter indicate, our grade nine class enjoyed three day trips around Ottawa that focused on historical or environmental concerns and our grade ten class enjoyed three glorious days in Quebec City where they were introduced to Canadian history in a real and tangible way. Our grade eleven class participated in a service trip to Camp Iawah, where they helped ready the camp for a busy summer ahead, and I had the privilege of accompanying the grade 12 class to New York City where we saw a Broadway show, went on a boat tour of the harbour and soaked in the atmosphere of one of the world’s busiest cities. What a blessing that we can provide our students with learning opportunities while they are having fun and building relationships with their peers. Thank you to every teacher and parent who went on these trips. Our students come back from these

experiences with memories they’ll never forget.

Two weeks ago a Capital Campaign package was sent home to all current Redeemer families. If you have not done so already, I ask that you spend time looking it over and pray about how or what you can give to our building campaign. I also ask that you send back your pledge envelopes by May 27 as we are trying to reach a goal of 1.25 million pledged by June so we can begin construction this summer. We will be voting on this important issue at our Spring Membership meeting on May 27; I look forward to seeing many of you there.

We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,

even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33: 20-22

Chuck Schoenmaker Principal

Please return all books prior to end of the year! All library books need to be returned by the end of semester. Students will be charged the full cost of replacement of any unreturned books. All textbooks must also be returned as soon as the exam for that particular class is over.

Parents, get your Volunteer Service Points Form into the school office, or e-mail a record of all hours completed to Mrs. Joustra or Mrs. Cooper. Every family is required to do 30 volunteer hours per year but we must have a record of those hours otherwise we will cash your $500 volunteer cheques on June 30. Blank forms can be downloaded from our school office or from our website (look under the Volunteer tab).

Grandfriends Day is happening once again at Redeemer, on Friday, May 24, from 10 am to 1 pm. Invitations have been sent out to all names we collected last August on Registration Day. If you have someone else you'd like us to invite, please provide our school office with a name and address and we'll pop an invitation in the mail. All seniors and friends visiting that day must RSVP so we have enough food for lunch. RSVP's can be directed to info@rchs.on.ca

Redeemer Christian High Schoolwill be hiring a SUMMER STUDENT with assistance from the Summer Grant Program.Applicants must be 16 years or older and must be returning to school full-time in the fall of 2013.Employment is for ten weeks thissummer and includes cleaning,painting, dealing with renters, andoffice work. Please send resumeand cover letter explaining why youwould like this job to: Mary Joustra,Redeemer Christian High Schooloffice, or e-mail: info@rchs.on.caApplication deadline isMay 16, 2013, 3 pm

For more information, please seeMrs. Joustra in our school office

Redeemer Christian High School – Position Vacancy

Educational Assistant: Redeemer Christian High School is seeking applications for the position of part-time Educational Assistant for the first semester of the 2013-2014 school year, with the possibility of continuing during the second semester (approximately 13 hours/week - afternoons). Reporting to the Resource Teacher, the Educational Assistant will divide his or her time between working one-on-one with a single student and assisting a small group of students as they work through online courses. An asset for this position would be knowledge of or experience with appropriate educational technology and assistive/adaptive devices. For further information or a complete job description, please contact Chuck Schoenmaker at 613-723-9262 ext. 21 or by email at principal@rchs.on.ca. Applicants should email a resume, Philosophy of Christian Education, and a Statement of Faith to the attention of Chuck Schoenmaker (principal@rchs.on.ca). Application deadline: May 31, 2013.

82 Colonnade Road NorthOttawa, ON K2E 7L2613.723.9262 ph 613.723.9321 faxwww.rchs.on.ca

About the Redeemer Reminder

The Redeemer Reminder is Redeemer Christian High School’s monthly newsletter, managed and edited by Marie Cooper, Promotion Coordinator. If you have any questions, or a story that you’d like to share, contact Marie Cooper at:promotion@rchs.on.ca.

Layout and design by Rebekah DeJong

Redeemer Reminder Issue 15 May 2013

Guidance News Jason Grootenboer, Head of Guidance and Resource

Summer School: Application forms for summer school are in for both the Catholic and the public school boards. You can pre-register for programs in the guidance office for Reach Ahead courses and Make Up courses (retaking a failed course or working to raise a mark). All students registering for summer school must have their application signed by the guidance counselor. Please contact Mr. Grootenboer if you require assistance or would like more information on summer course options.

Graduation: Everyone is encouraged to join us for our graduation celebration, held this year at the Metropolitan Bible Church on Monday, June 24 at 7:00 p.m.

Grade 12 - REMINDERS• Students who are planning to graduate must submit their community service

hours to the office. Diplomas cannot be issued if you are short service hours or have not handed in this form!

• Students completing correspondence/online courses that are necessary for graduation must have completed all course requirements and have the final mark sent to the guidance department in order to receive their diploma. Those students who need the course as a prerequisite for University or College will need to contact the post secondary institution if they are not finished by graduation. This is very important since final submission of marks will not include these grades. If you have questions or concerns, make sure you see Mr. Grootenboer who will advise you on what you need to do.

• University/College Acceptance – Be sure to accept offers of admission by the dates indicated in correspondence received from colleges and universities. This is very important! Also, be sure to pay close attention to deadlines required from colleges and universities to pay for tuition, etc.

• OSAP – Any students interested in applying for OSAP should go to the following web-site to apply. http://osap.gov.on.ca/

Photo below: A photo of the cast from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". Lots more play photos on our Facebook page! facebook.com/RedeemerChristianHighSchool

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