Calvin-Parents E-Newsletter: April 14, 2009

Breakfast for parents of graduates May 23

Come and celebrate with us! Join President Byker, student-selected "2008 Professor of the Year" Dr. Todd Vanden Berg, and other Calvin administrators for this special Commencement event on Saturday, May 23 from 9:00-10:30 a.m. in the Prince Conference Center. Tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased from the Calvin Box Office online or by calling 616-526-6282. Seating is limited to the first 300 parents who place their order. Tickets for this event will not be sold after May 8, 2009. (Note: During this event the graduates will be participating in the annual Senior Breakfast held in the Commons Dining Hall.)

Academic advising

Academic advising days are April 28 and 29. During these days, students have the opportunity to meet with their faculty advisor to discuss career goals and specific courses for the following semester.

If your son or daughter needs direction and/or advisory assistance to sort through possible options, members of the academic services office and career development office are available to meet with your student prior to academic advising days.  Have your student call 616-526-6155 to schedule an appointment with a general academic advisor or 616-526-6485 to schedule an appointment with a career counselor.  Contact the office of academic services if you have any questions or concerns.

Calvin 5k Run/Walk and Karen Muyskens Family Fun Run

Calvin parents, families and friends are invited to participate in the 5k Run/Walk and Karen Muyskens Family Fun Run on Saturday, April 25. In past years several out-of-state families participated and made a fun family weekend of this annual event! There is a 5k Run/Walk scheduled to begin at 9:00 am. A Family Fun Run for kids ages 12 and under (and anyone else who wants to join in the fun) is scheduled for 10:15 am, immediately following the Run/Walk. All kids 12 and under that register for the Fun Run will receive a race t-shirt, race number and runner packet. All ages are welcome to participate, so bring your mom, dad, grandma and grandpa! And, when your fun run is over, there will be prizes and cash give-a-ways for all registered race participants. For more information visit the 5K Spring Classic Web site.

Honors Convocation

Calvin College will hold its 55th annual Honors Convocation at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22 in the college's Fine Arts Center. The event recognizes not only the students who will graduate with honors in one or more subjects, but the Dean's List honorees, many of whom have been on the list every year of their Calvin careers. Honors graduates will receive gold honors medallions and Dean's List honorees from all classes will receive certificates. Families are welcome; tickets not required.

CICW resources: Road to Emmaus, Symposium, John Calvin

Arguably no narrative in all of Scripture is as rich in imaginative possibilities as the Emmaus road narrative in Luke 24. Here a despairing lament turns into Easter joy. Here those who thought they had died with Christ realize they can also rise with Christ. Here we sense the power of Scripture to reframe our understanding of reality. Here we sense how eating and drinking with the risen Christ can reveal what is ultimately true and right.

The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship has recently posted many new resources on their site, including "Walking the Road to Emmaus" and the recap from the 2009 Calvin Symposium on Worship which is hosted annually by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship at Calvin College and the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary.  The Top Ten Worship Planning Ideas From John Calvin are being featured prior to the conference, "John Calvin: Myth and Reality."  That conference is being held from April 16-18 at Calvin Theological Seminary as part of the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth.  Be sure to visit their site to explore the inspirational resources housed there.

Engineering Senior Design Night: May 9

The 2009 Engineering Banquet, which will be the 25th annual, will be held on Saturday, May 9, 2009. The evening's activities will begin at 4:00 p.m. in the Vermeer Engineering Projects Center and Prince Engineering Design Center. You will be able to view the displays and prototypes developed by the design teams and punch will be served. Dinner will be served in the Commons Dining Hall at 6:00 p.m. Following the dinner, presentations of all the Senior Engineering Design Projects will be given from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the Science Building, North Hall, and the Commons Lecture Hall.

Tickets for the dinner ($20) can be purchased through the Calvin Box Office (616-526-6282).  Senior Design students are required to attend and will not need to purchase their own ticket.

Spring exam treat: Order deadline is May 6

Help your hard-working student jump-start spring exams with confidence. The Spring Exam Treat ($18) features a reusable tote box filled with study snacks and treats (popcorn, candy, granola bars, etc.). The order deadline for this treat is Wednesday, May 6; the treat will be delivered to students on Tuesday, May 12. Remember that you can also surprise your student with the popular "Pizza and a Movie" treat, which can be ordered anytime and often! This treat features a certificate for a large two-topping pizza, a bag of popcorn, and a Blockbuster® gift card.

Events for alumni, friends and families

Bookmark the alumni events calendar to keep track of important dates throughout the year, to which you are warmly invited, as a parent, alumni and/or friend of the college.  More information is found there for each of the following events:

Apr. 16: Heritage chapter event on campus
Apr. 23: Prof. Doug Koopman in Iowa
Apr. 25: Calvin 5k Run/Walk and Karen Muyskens Family Fun Run
Apr. 29: Prof. Larry Herzberg in Holland, Mich.
May 22-23: Class of 1959 50-year reunion
Jun. 19: Heritage class reunion