Adventure Club Update Feburary 7, 2012: Ski Trip Up North: 18 skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels headed to Schuss Mountain on Saturday to enjoy 41 degree temps and perfectly sunny skies. Steep skiing, some tree skiing, and of course the terrain park kept the group busy. Tailgaiter with burgers and Cokes at lunch and lawn chairs in the snow made it feel like spring break in Colorado. Tentative second trip scheduled for March!
Adventure Club Update August 29, 2011: Back and better than ever! We run weekly mountain biking and rock climbing events, hold day trips skiing and paddling, and longer weekend trips backpacking. The best part about Adventure Club is that it is 100% open to anyone and students can come as much or as little as they want. Outdoor adventure activities teach confidence, help students meet other great people, build strength and coordination, and develop the ability to know God through the natural world. We also eat a lot of cookies. Our kickoff meeting will be Saturday, Sept. 10 from 1-9 p.m. where we’ll start with a service project helping build a brand new hiking and mountain bike trail at Ken-o-sha school before heading to Carey Seven’s house for a super fun adventure race, dinner, and year preview. The emphasis in Adventure Club is trying new things and having fun! Sign up in Mr. Koning’s room (222) as soon as you can!
Adventure Club Update May 16, 2011: In addition to the mountain biking, skiing, rock climbing, and paddling we’ve been doing this year, Adventure Club added backpacking to its list of activities as 14 students hiked the Manistee River Trail near Cadillac. Following a training session this past Wednesday held at the high school, where students learned to cook over backpacking stoves, how to pitch and care for a tent, and how to dress and pack, the group headed out this weekend for a 2-night excursion. Carrying all of their own food, shelter, and clothing, students worked in tent teams of 3, hiking together and preparing all of their own meals. Rain meant nothing to this go-anywhere, do-anything crew, who smiled and laughed the entire time. A second trip is slated for the weekend of June 10. Check out pics at https://picasaweb.google.com/dkoning73/ACBackpackingMay2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKqIybPgi_mJWQ#
Colorado Ski Trip: 14 high school students experienced the demanding terrain and stunning beauty of Colorado mountains this spring break on the Adventure Club’s inaugural Colorado Ski and Ride trip. On skis or snowboards, for 5 straight days each student rode approximately 24,000 feet per day–that’s the equivelent of going from the summit of Everest to basecamp…twice. Evenings involved resting very tired legs, hotel dinners (yea, chili mac!), ski movies, and even a little March Madness. As we left the Copper Mountain’s parking lot on the last day, the first thing spoken was, “I can’t believe that it’s over already.” Plans are for the trip to be every other year, so start dreaming. More powder and more bluebird skies await.
Update February 18, 2011
Futsal: Continues going strong! Futsal is a fun, fast-paced indoor soccer game played on gym floors. Regular time is 6 a.m. on Fridays (yes, students come! we fill 6 teams every week) and occassional evening slots. Team athletes, friends, any grade level, boys or girls–anyone and everyone is welcome! As students transition out of winter sports, futsal serves as great cross training that also happens to be ridiculously fun.
Rock Climbing: Adventure Club continues its weekly rock climbing events on Thursday nights. New climbers come each and every week. As of this past Thursday, we have officially had over 90 students participants…that means 1 in 10 students has experienced at least one Adv. Club activity! We have an upcoming cross country ski trip and then we’ll transition to mountaint biking and paddling after Spring Break.
Middle School Summer Adventure Camps:
Mountain Biking: Mountain biking is fun, challenging, and easily accessible. GRCH teacher and Adventure Club sponsor, David Koning, is offering Mountain Bike Camp June 13-17, boys 9-11:30, girls 12:30-4:00, open to current 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. All you need is a bike suitable for dirt trails and a helmet! All experience levels welcome! Focus is on skill development, knowing your bike, and on-trail riding.
Rock Climbing: David is also offering a Rock Climbing Camp June 20-24, 9:00-11:30 a.m. at Inside Moves Rock Gym. Campers must be at least 13 years of age as of the first day of camp. Rock climbing develops confidence and determination and is a graceful, beautiful sport. Camp instruction will focus on developing a solid technical foundation, teach basic knots, and offer lots of time for climbing. David is an avid climber, has taught classes at Calvin College, and holds an American Mountain Guides Association Single Pitch Instructor certification.
Space is limited for both camps so sign up soon! Both climbing and biking are regular activities of the Christian High Adventure Club. Contact David at dkoning@grcs.org or pick up flier in the Middle or High School offices.
David Koning
English Department
Grand Rapids Christian High
616.574.5557
Update- January 27, 2011
Adventure Club Rock Climbing: Each and every week, around 35 students continue to head south to Inside Moves Rock Gym for their weekly dose of rock climbing. The group works on technique and “project climbs” (a climb that is very difficult for you) and continues to get stronger with practice. Next week is “Bring a New Climber Night” and, watch out parents, we’ll be hosting “Bring a Parent Night” in two weeks! Adventure Club activities are open to any and all students, who are free to come as many or as few times as they please. New climbers are always welcome! Be sure to have your student get a waiver from Mr. Koning–”No sign, No cimb” we say–before coming for the first time.
Update – December 10, 2010
Adventure Club: Adventure Club once again drew over 30 students for our weekly rock climbing event at Inside Moves rock climbing gym. Students are trained to belay, enjoy a short technique session, and always get some homemade cookies made by someone in the group. Any and all welcome. Passes are $55 for 7 visits (includes rental and safety lesson) or $15 for a one-time visit. Now that the snow is coming, we’ll also be hosting 3-4 cross country ski outings. Updates can be found on our Facebook page–Christian High Adventure Club–or in morning announcements. We are also running a Colorado Ski Trip this spring break. Deposits are due on Friday, Dec. 17. Contact David Koning (dkoning@grcs.org) with any questions.
Futsal: Bringing playground soccer to Chr. High, futsal is a fast-paced, fun version of indoor soccer played on a gym floor. Over 50 students of all ages and abilities play most weeks on Wednesday night in the All-City Gym and we’ve just started weekly Friday morning sessions from 6-7:15. Futsal is open to anyone who wants to have fun playing soccer! Contact David Koning (dkoning@grcs.org) with any questions.
Update- November 18
Futsal: this week marked the beginning of futsal once again at Christian High as 45 students of all types–freshmen to seniors, boys and girls, team players and rec players, traditional students and international–played 90 minutes of hard-played soccer on 3 courts. Futsal is a fast-paced indoor soccer game played without walls and with a low-bounce ball; it places emphasis on skill, speed, and quick decision making. Futsal is open to everyone! We generally play once a week, but playing times vary, so check morning announcements for details.
Update- November 12
Adventure Club: This past week, 21 students went to Inside Moves Rock Climbing Gym for the first time, learning to belay (stop falls with the rope) and spending two hours climbing. Students are able to purchase a 7 visit punch pass and the group, whose numbers will likely approach 30 in coming weeks, is scheduled to climb every Thursday night for the rest of the semester. Climbing offers students a total body workout, requires skill and technique, and promotes teamwork and trust. New climbers are always welcome! Feel free to contact David Koning (dkoning@grcs.org) with any questions.
Update- October 16
Adventure Club: This past Saturday 18 students, 4 leaders, and a handful of children paddled the Flat River north of Fallasburg Park. In addition to enjoying a gorgeous river and beautiful skies, the group received instruction on how to toilet in the woods (always useful!) and basic paddling technique, heard a short devotional at lunch, learned about aquatic insects right there in the field, and shared a burrito lunch on an island. All in all, a marvelous day. As for our weekly events, we shift from mountain biking to rock climbing next week with after-school outings to Calvin College’s new wall. Check out pics on our Facebook page under Christian High Adventure Club. Contact David Koning (dkoning@grcs.org) for more information.
Update- September 29, 2010
The Adventure Club’s slogan is ”Be Active, Be Outside, Be Social, Be Challenged”, and this past week 14 students, 3 leaders, and one tag-along family member rode mountain bikes for the third week in a row. The leaders are impressed with the improved riding ability and the camaraderie among the students! The entire group then caravanned to leader Carey Seven’s house for a pizza party and bike maintenance clinic. Being a club, any and all are welcome to participate. Mountain biking will continue through October, we have a canoe trip planned for October 16, and come November we’ll be transitioning to rock climbing. Please don’t hesitate to contact David Koning or David Buth at the high school if you’d like more information.
Welcome Message
Adventure Club is off and running with a great start. Even with the business of the first week, I had 20+ kids in my room and I have 13 signed up for our first event tomorrow, mountain biking (over half are girls!). 9th graders were too scared to show up to the meeting, but I know for certain there’s some interest, so I’ve got some juniors and seniors doing some recruiting for me. 
I’m hoping we can build some momentum this year and grow participation levels. I’ve got David Buth on board as well as Carey Seven from Rockford Middle.
I’ve always been more involved in non-traditional sports myself, and I’m really excited to give kids the opportunity to be active and athletic who maybe don’t fit in with the more conventional high school sports. I told kids that the main goals of the club are
1. To be available to nearly anyone
2. Get us active and outdoors
3. Have a place to get introduced to a new sport
4. Definitely a place to meet new friends
I just wanted to keep you in the loop, and please don’t hesitate to spread the word to parents or students who might be interested. In fact, I just learned of a newly forming high school mountain bike league. That’s a ways down the road, but who knows?
David Koning
English Department
Grand Rapids Christian High
616.574.5557
