Weekly Parent Newsletter

Week of January 20, 2025

Good morning! Here’s everything you need to know this Homecoming week:

eLEARNING TODAY

As you know, due to the frigid temperatures, students are eLearning today. Policies and protocols for eLearning can be found here.

LUNCH SERVICE

• Lunch orders are available on our BOONLI website! Make sure to place orders by Thursday at 11:59pm for the following week's lunch options.

• Click here to download the instructions.

HOMECOMING WEEK INFO

THIS WEEK is Homecoming week! Our student government has planned what promises to be a fun week for everyone:

Dress-up days

• Wednesday: “Outrageous fit”

• Thursday: “Twin day”

• Friday: UCA gear (or violet clothing)

Drive days - Homecoming week will include special donation days this year, and each class will receive points for outperforming the other classes.

• Wednesday: Non-perishables

• Thursday: Toiletries

• Friday: Gently-used clothes and shoes

  
  

*Whichever class accumulates the most points between the drive days and dress-up participation will receive $10 off the price of their Homecoming dance ticket.

Homecoming Court

New this year, UCA will announce the Homecoming Court during our pep rally on Friday afternoon (Jan. 24). Each class will have 4 representatives on the court, and students are welcome to campaign for a spot on the court.

Homecoming Basketball Games

Friday, January 24 at Freedom Church (2261 Indiana Ave, Lansing, IL)

• Girls @ 5:30pm vs. Islamic Foundation

• Boys @ 7pm vs. Islamic Foundation

• $5 entrance, $3 for students

All attendees are encouraged to make the game a “Purple Out” by wearing UCA colors.

Basketball Game “Fifth Quarter”

The 5th Quarter will take place right after the boys basketball game. Enjoy a time of fellowship with UCA Families in the hall across from the gym at Freedom Church.  Please RSVP to aveldboom@weareuca.org by Thursday afternoon, January 23rd if you plan to attend the 5th quarter so we can know how much food to provide.

Homecoming Dance

Saturday, January 25 at UCA, from 7–10pm

• Tickets are $20 and will be sold at lunch every day until the dance.

• The theme is “Night Under the Stars”

• Outside guests are permitted, as long as students submit a form, which is available at the front office.

PROGRESS REPORTS

Quarter 2 Progress Reports will be sent home with your student no later than next Monday, January 27.

DATA DAY

Our second Data Day is coming up on Friday, January 31. Students, should bring their charged chromebooks to school on this day. Students will be testing from 8:30-11:30am. After 11:30am, the school day will follow a normal Friday schedule.

UPCOMING ADMISSIONS EVENTS

The following events are great ways for families interested in UCA to experience our community. Please consider joining us if you have a middle schooler in your family, or please pass along this info if you know someone with middle school students that are considering UCA!

WALK-IN OPEN HOUSE

Thursday, January 30, 2025  |  9am–5pm

Come and see how your family can be transformed through UCA

Stop by for a tour of our building as well as casual conversations with our admissions staff, student ambassadors, and teachers. You’ll have a chance to see our 10-acre campus, with our new building and beautiful worship space. You’ll learn about our authentic and collaborative classes — and might even get to drop in on one yourself. You’ll learn about our successful and growing extracurriculars, like basketball, esports, and mock trial. And you’ll be able to talk to existing students about our Christ-centered approach to learning and living with excellence.

We also hope you’ll catch a vision for your own family as part of the genuine, relational, and compassionate community that is Unity Christian Academy.

Stop by for a few minutes and we trust you’ll start to believe the same thing we do:

Who you learn with matters.

MIDDLE SCHOOL NIGHT

Friday, January 31  |  4:30-6pm

Any 7th & 8th graders are invited to enjoy a fun-filled Friday evening at UCA — and a slice of pizza too! Participants will enjoy games and activities at UCA, and have a chance to get more familiar with our campus.

Plus, all students that participate will receive a free UCA T-Shirt!

BLACK HISTORY MONTH OPPORTUNITY

The Midwest Underground Railroad Network (MURN) is a nationally-recognized organization dedicated to telling the stories of Freedom Seekers and those who helped them. Did you know that over 3,000 Freedom Seekers escaped slavery and passed through our region, many of them stopping right here in South Holland!

On February 21, from 6:00-8:00pm, MURN will be hosting a celebration at First Reformed Church (15924 South Park Avenue, South Holland).  This will include music, stories, and historical presentations.  And UCA students are invited to help out!

MURN has asked for:

• ushers (dress semi-formally and help attendees to their seats)

• servers (dress semi-formally and help serve desserts and drinks after the event)

• set up help (arrive 2 hours before the event to help get things ready)

All of these opportunities can count for service hours.

In addition, MURN has invited UCA students to present during the program.  If you are interested in writing, directing, acting, or presenting, Dr. Larry McClellan (who has written many books on the Underground Railroad in our region) will meet with you to share the story of Caroline Quarrls, a 16-year-old who escaped from slavery in Missouri and passed through Illinois and Wisconsin on her way to freedom in Canada.  You'll work on writing a script, producing a short play, and presenting it at the event on February 21.

Please see or email Mrs. Bootsma (cbootsma@weareuca.org) by January 29 if you would like to participate in this great opportunity.

DRIVER’S ED

Driver’s Ed is underway at UCA. The official vision and permit test is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19 at 4pm at Thornwood High School. The $20 permit fee and $250 behind-the-wheel fee will be due on March 19 upon arrival at Thornwood. Please make arrangements to ensure that your student is present for the permit and vision test. 

Click here for detailed payment instructions and new important updates about the course. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Pointer (mpointer@weareuca.org) or the Driver's Ed instructors:

• Unity Christians Driver's Ed Instructor: Ross Howatt  thehowatts@comcast.net

• Thornwood Highschool Driver's Ed Instructor: Gus Yiakos  yiakos.gus@district205.net

LOOKING AHEAD

• Upcoming days that we won’t have school:

  • Friday, February 14, for Faculty Institute Day

  • Presidents’ Day, which is Monday, February 17.