Calvin-Parents E-Newsletter: November 15, 2011

There was a lot of athletic action taking place around the Midwest for Calvin this weekend. 

Here are the headlines so you can catch up:

• Men's soccer will face U. of Redlands in a sectional semifinal game after defeating Loras 4-0 in the regional final. They are heading to Round 16 for the third straight year.
• In swimming and diving, the women claim 164-135 win over Hope; the men edge Hope 148-146.
• After defeating Hope in the 2nd Round of the NCAA volleyball tourney, Wittenberg handed Calvin their first loss of the season in the regional final.
• The cross country teams capture Great Lakes Regional titles and earn berths to the national meet.
  

Thank you for ordering apples!

250 fall student treats were delivered yesterday with personalized messages from home. If you ordered one of these special treats your student will receive a note card in their dorm mailbox which they can turn into their deskie for a delicious gourmet apple. Off-campus students have been notified that they can pick up their apple at the education department office which is centrally located on campus.

Thank you for ordering Student Treats! Read on to find out what treat will be offered next.

Last week for Psalms study

Have you been following along in the study of the book of Psalms? This is week 10, the final week, and the focus is Psalm 150, Praying Our Praise.

We have been featuring a blog for parents with a new post weekly. This week you'll see some pictures from the groups that have been meeting, such as the women's swim team Bible study (pictured at right).

Join us for worship for daily Chapel services. The live feed is available 10 a.m., Monday through Friday. At 8 p.m. on Sunday evenings the live feed is available for LOFT (Living Our Faith Together) services. Click here to view archives of Chapel. Click here for the archives for LOFT.

Jubilee Fellows

Fourteen Calvin juniors were selected to participate in the 2012 Jubilee Fellows Program. Read more about them.

The Jubilee Fellows Program is designed for twelve promising students who are strongly inclined toward spiritual leadership and Christian ministry, and it aims to foster the next generation of church leaders. Students sometimes have a sense that God is calling them to ministry, others may have a strong sense that God is calling them to continue their studies in seminary, or pursue church ministry. In either case, the Jubilee Fellows program seeks to help these students explore their vocational calling through interdisciplinary learning, mentoring, and ministry experience.

Read more about what a Jubilee Fellow does or watch the video about the Jubilee Fellows Program.

Winter exam treat

Parents may send their student some "love" by having the parent relations team deliver a treat to them during the school year. There are birthday, exam, holiday and special event treats to send for on- or off-campus students. The full list of treats is available on the Student Treats page and you can order online now!

The next treat offered is the Winter Exam Treat which is a reusable tote filled with nut-free goodies and supplies for students heading into final exams. The deadline to order the Winter Exam Treat is November 29, 2011. Treats will be delivered on December 7 to on-campus locations only, but may also be ordered for students who live off campus. Your son or daughter living off campus will receive an e-mail notification and can pick up their treat in the registrar's office.  Order your treats online today!

Are you new(-er) to Calvin (-ism)?

Calvin professor of philosophy and Worship Institute research fellow James K.A. Smith has written a "less grumpy," more "winsome" portrait of Calvinism. Parents and families that are new to Calvin might find this book interesting. (Another book by Prof. Smith, "Desiring the Kingdom," was awarded a "Christianity Today" 2010 Book Award.) There are also some general Calvin College terms that might be unfamiliar. Will this Calvin lingo guide help?

Here's more information about Calvin and what some alumni are doing: the most recent issue of the Spark magazine for alumni and friends is available online (with the Winter issue going online soon).

Survey link, Thanksgiving details

Thanks for visiting us for Family Weekend. If you were here that weekend and haven't had a chance to give us some feedback, would you complete a Family Weekend survey to help us plan for next year? Please click here to begin.

While students will be celebrating Thanksgiving in the dining halls this week Thursday, the full details of what dining halls will be open when next week during Thanksgiving break is found here. (There will be lunch options on Thanksgiving Day.) Thanksgiving break begins at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23. Residence halls remain open during break, with classes resuming at 8 a.m., Monday, November 28.

If you ever need to contact us, e-mail parents@calvin.edu or call 616-526-6142. And, as always, photos from many activities are posted to the online photo galleries by our student photographers that roam the campus.

Recommend

Community Dining

Are you looking for a Christmas gift this year for your son or daughter who lives off campus? Or, a great complement for the student treats received from you last year? Does your son or daughter have a busy class, sports and activities schedule with no time to commute home for dinner?

Calvin now has a Community Dining Program that offers 30, 60, 100, and 150 block meal plans per semester to students who live off campus, at Knollcrest East, or the Timmer studio apartments. These are affordable and flexible meal options. Check out more information about the plans.

--Shirley Hoogstra, vice president of student life

Check the Parent Calendar for important dates

Here are several alumni and friends events coming up. Parents and family members are invited--encouraged---to join us!

• Juried painting exhibition submissions due for alumni artists: December 1, 2011
• Christmas at the Campus Store: December 3, 2011
• Detroit Institute of Arts/Rembrandt exhibit: January 14, 2012