Calvin-Parents E-Newsletter: April 27, 2010

Calvin 5k Spring Classic run/walk; Gift of Life/iPad drawing

Everyone can get in on the fun when the 20th annual Calvin 5k Run/Walk and the Karen Muyskens Family Fun Run hits campus on April 24, 2010.  There will be a new USAT&F-approved course with start and finish lines near the new Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex. The Grand Rapids and Lakeshore area alumni chapters of the Calvin Alumni Association host this race. Because of our generous corporate partners, all entry fees go toward student scholarships!  Sign up today [online registration].

NEW! Give the Gift of Life/Win an iPad

The Calvin 5k Spring Classic is excited to partner with Gift of Life of Michigan on Saturday, April 24, to encourage people to give the gift of life by signing up as organ donors.  Every person who signs up on April 24, or who has a red heart donor sticker on their driver's license, may be entered in a drawing to win a 32GB iPad!  To be eligible to win the iPad you must:

*Bring  your driver's license or State Identification (ID) Card with you.
*Sign up at the Gift of Life table in the Hoogenboom Health and Recreation Center, or show us your driver's license with the organ donor red heart sticker between  7:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
*Be present to win. The drawing will take place after the race during the award festivities at 10:30 a.m.

For more information about giving the gift of go to www.giftoflifemichigan.org/.

Senior Design Banquet and Projects Night, May 8, 2010

Senior Design Projects Night is the perfect time for friends, family, and the public to come together to see what Calvin's engineering students have been working on all year!  The 26th Annual Senior Design Banquet and Projects Night will be Saturday, May 8, 2010.

The evening's activities will begin at 4:00 p.m. in the Vermeer Engineering Projects Center and Prince Engineering Design Center. During the open house guests will be able to view the displays and prototypes developed by the design teams, ask questions and talk to faculty. Following a wonderful dinner at the Commons Dining Hall (read more about dinner/tickets below), the teams will divide into small groups and give a formal presentation of their team project. The small groups presentations will be held in the Science Building 010, Science Building 110, the Chapel Undercroft, and the Commons Lecture Hall.

This evening is open to the public.  We'd like to extend a special invitation to high school students considering an engineering program at any school to attend.

Dinner is at 6:00 p.m. and tickets are required. Tickets can be purchased through the Calvin College Box Office. If you have any questions, please contact the engineering office.  If you cannot come to the festivities, please take a few minutes to visit the Web site which includes links to each of the 17 teams in this year's class.

Honors Convocation - April 21, 2010

Calvin College will hold its 56th annual Honors Convocation at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21 in the Calvin College Chapel.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.

Read more about the Honors Program from students in the program and recent graduates.

Commencement: Breakfast for Parents of Graduates

Join President Byker and other Calvin administrators for a special Commencement weekend event, the Breakfast for Parents of Graduates, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., on Commencement morning in the Prince Conference Center.  Seating is limited to 300 parents.

Tickets must be purchased in advance and are $15/person. The ticket order form was included in the Commencement letter mailed to parents in December.  Beakfast tickets may also be purchased online, or by calling the box office at 616-526-6282. Tickets will be on sale until May 14 and will be mailed directly to the parents' home.

See the Commencement site for information on tickets and the full event schedule.

Academic advising (dates corrected)

On April 27-28 (please note date correction), Calvin schedules two days of academic advising recess.  This is a time when classes are not in session so that faculty can meet with their advisees.  Students are instructed to meet with their advisor during this time (per faculty schedule) and prepare for registration.  In fact, students must meet with their assigned advisor in order to be cleared  for KnightVision registration.  Please do all you can to encourage your student to take full advantage of academic advising.  In addition to meeting with an advisor, academic advising recess is a good time to get caught up on reading assignments and writing papers.  It should not be a time to leave campus for a long weekend getaway.

Here's more information about academic advising services.

Commencement gifts

To make your Commencement celebration as simple and enjoyable as possible, the Campus Store and a number of partnering businesses offer special memorabilia and gifts (photos, flowers, Prism yearbooks, rings, nursing pins...) for Calvin graduates and their parents. Visit the Commencement gifts page for more information about all that is offered. 

We'll see you for Commencement on Saturday, May 22, 2010!

Spring Exam Treat

Help your hard-working student jump-start spring exams with confidence. The Spring Exam Treat ($20) features a reusable tote box filled with study snacks and treats (popcorn, candy, granola bars, etc.). The order deadline for this treat is Tuesday, May 4; the treat will be delivered to students on Monday, May 10. 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.

The Summer Academy

The Summer Academy is a real life "Calvin try-on" for ninth through 12th graders looking for an early or pre-college experience that will test and improve their academic readiness for post-high school studies.  Real college credit, real campus life---all in Calvin's distinctively Christian learning and living environment.  See all the pre-college programs that are offered, such as ACE International, Entrada Scholars Program, and Pathways to Possibilities to name a few. To apply, complete the application, for which there is no fee, available online and return it with the required documentation by April 30, 2010.
-Julie Veeneman, program manager

Check the Parent Calendar for important dates

Bookmark the Parent Calendar page to keep track of important dates throughout the year, including:

Apr. 20: Tuition, room & board payment due
Apr. 21: Honors Convocation 7:30 p.m.
Apr. 27-28: Academic Advising (no classes scheduled)
Apr. 29: Registration for Fall 2010 begins
Apr. 30: Last day to drop second-half semester courses; last day to change second-half semester courses from credit to audit

Calvin senior biology major Amanda Hoffmeyer has dealt with a lot of medical issues during her time at Calvin. Doctors told her she'd never be able to run again. Not only has she overcome the odds, she's helping a current student with a similar story. This short 3-minute piece shows how a student is inspiring a community to RUN4OKEYO.

The Calvin Center for Innovation and Excellence in Business is officially up and running; and the folks who are behind this startup are hoping that the center will raise the level of business education and scholarship at Calvin. “We want Calvin to be one of the top schools in the nation to study business,” said Calvin president Gaylen Byker, “and the center is a big part of that.”