HOMECOMING ROYALTY 2020… Crowned as Homecoming Royalty 2020 for Grace Christian School are (from the left): Little Mr. and Miss Patriot, Isaac DesRosiers & Nya Wallace; Homecoming King & Queen, Jaden Aukerman & Julia Harris; Prince & Princess, Brayden DesRosiers & Dezirae Hooten; Jr. Prince & Princess, Donovan Hooten & Melanie Grochow.
Grace Christian School’s Homecoming 2020 features Dress Up Week and Penny Wars (won by young 5’s)
Dress Up week during homecoming is a great opportunity to show Patriot Pride at Grace Christian School. It is a time where students can dress up in funny and crazy ways and just have fun together. The daily themes for Homecoming 2020 held in February were flannel, tourist/beach, crazy hair/mismatch, twin, and blue and gold. Every year the middle and high school classes do a penny war and the money goes towards the homecoming expenses. Each class receives a jar for collecting; each penny is worth one point, a nickel counts as five points, a dollar as 100 points, and so on. This year the elementary classes did one of their own. The elementary winner was Young 5’s and the secondary winner was the 10th Grade. The following is a list of rewards that the students would win if they got a certain amount of money: $400 the principal would dye her hair; $600 for a teacher to get a pie in the face; $800 for a school wide ice cream party; $1,000 for a school wide Little Caesars pizza party. The school reached two of these goals in February. Principal Mrs. McBride dyed her hair red (color chosen by the Young 5’s) and a secondary science and math teacher, Mr. Mantei, got a tasty pie in the face (teacher was chosen by the 10th graders).
Mrs. McBride
Every year for Homecoming Grades 6 through 12 decorate/paint their own wall and ceiling tile. They can choose the area in the gym that they want to decorate with as much blue and gold as possible. The students’ goal is to see who can display the most Patriot Pride for the alumni and guests to see when they come for the games. For the ceiling tiles, the class is given a theme for the week. There are certain requirements to be met for each tile. The tiles are hung in the school trophy area and kept there – past, present and future – for all to see. Crowned for 2020 Grace Christian Homecoming Court were: King Jaden Aukerman, Queen Julia Harris, Prince Brayden DesRosiers, Princess Dezirae Hooten, Jr. Prince Donovan Hooten, Jr. Princess Melanie Grochow, Little Mr. Patriot Isaac DesRosiers and Little Miss Patriot Nya Wallace. This article was written by the Patriot Pen, Grace Christian School’s Newspaper Class.
COLOMA HIGH SCHOOL… “Students of the Month” for February 2020 are (from the left): Senor – Kristal Jimenez, Junior – Kiely Moore, Sophomore – Evelyn Morales, Freshman – Savannah Hamilton.
HPV Vaccination
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. You can get HPV by having oral, vaginal, or anal sex with someone who has the virus. It is most commonly spread during vaginal or anal sex. HPV can be passed even when an infected person has no signs or symptoms. Anyone who is sexually active can get HPV, even if you have had sex with only one person. You also can develop symptoms years after you have sex with someone who is infected making it hard to know when you first became infected. In most cases, HPV goes away on its own and does not cause any health problems. But when HPV does not go away, it can cause health problems like genital warts and cancer. HPV can cause cervical and other cancers including cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, or anus. You can do several things to lower your chances of getting HPV: Get vaccinated. HPV vaccines are safe and effective. They can protect males and females against diseases (including cancers) caused by HPV when given in the recommended age groups. HPV vaccines are given in three shots over six months; it is important to get all three doses. Get screened for cervical cancer. Routine screening for women aged 21 to 65 years old can prevent cervical cancer. All boys and girls ages 11 or 12 years should get vaccinated. Catch-up vaccines are recommended for males through age 21 and for females through age 26, if they did not get vaccinated when they were younger. For more information on HPV and the vaccination, contact the Berrien County Health Department at (269) 926-7121 or visit them online at www.bchdmi.org.
Social Security and Women’s History Month
In March, our nation celebrates Women’s History Month. Today, more women work, pay Social Security taxes, and earn credit toward monthly retirement income than at any other time in our nation’s history. Social Security has served a vital role in the lives of women for over 80 years. With longer life expectancies than men, women tend to live more years in retirement and have a greater chance of exhausting other sources of income. With the national average life expectancy for women in the United States rising, many women have decades to enjoy retirement. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a female born today can expect to live more than 80 years. Women need to plan early and wisely for retirement. Our benefits planner website at www.ssa.gov/planners provides detailed information about how marriage, widowhood, divorce, self-employment, government service, and other life or career events can affect your Social Security benefit. We base your benefits on your earnings, so we encourage you to create your personal “my Social Security” account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount and review your earnings to ensure they are correct. If you find an error, gather proof of your earnings, such as a W-2 form, a tax return, a wage stub or pay slip, or your own wage records, and contact us. Read our publication How to Correct Your Social Security Earnings Record at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10081.pdf for more information. Would you like to learn more about how we support women? Check out our online booklet, Social Security: What Every Woman Should Know. You can find it at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10127.pdf. Sharing it with family and friends could change their lives for the better. Vonda Van Til is the Public Affairs Specialist for West Michigan. You can write her c/o Social Security Administration, 3045 Knapp NE, Grand Rapids MI 49525 or via email at vonda.vantil@ssa.gov.