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The NOIZ November 13, 2015 Volume 5, Issue 1

Editor in Chief: Mrs. Grace Edouard

Journalists: Justine Groenink,

Hannah Koenes, Faith Lubbers,

Tori Martinez, Olivia Miedema,

Josh Pennings, Michael Postma,

Allie Rouwhorst, Julia Timmer,

Thomas Tuinstra, Seth VanDyke

NOIZ Staff

Goal! This year’s varsity boys’

soccer team emphasized the

meaning of “team” using their

theme verse of the year,

Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing

from rivalry or conceit, but in

humility count others more

significant than yourselves. Let

each of you look not only to his

own interests, but also to the

interests of others.” On the first

day, Coach Todd Hoekstra told

the team they had to pull

together to be successful. Despite

the coach’s wisdom, the boys’

ability to play as a team often

wavered. Contrary to their record,

Coach Hoekstra believed this was

the best all-around team he had

coached at Zion. After several

particularly weak regular season

games, the team bonded through

a physically and emotionally

draining practice. Through pain

and exhaustion, the team learned

By Mike Postma and Seth VanDyke

the necessity of focus,

even in their fatigue.

On October 19, the

day of the first district

game, the boys were

prepared to compete with

Tri-Unity. The tension

and adrenaline were rising

as well as the fans’

excitement. After the

clock had ticked eighty

minutes away, the score

was one to one. A few

minutes into overtime, Zion

scored a goal, kept Tri-Unity

from scoring for the rest of the

overtime, and won their first

district game! Throughout the

season, the team players excelled

in different areas. Eleven players

scored the goals, and eight

players made assists. Keeper

Nate Moorman had 151 saves

and a saving percentage of

seventy percent! Colton Pasma,

the team’s striker, scored a total

of seventeen goals. Several

players made it to the all district

teams: Colton Pasma, Nate

Moorman, and Caleb Baker.

Colton and Nate even made it to

second team all conference.

Caleb made honorable mention.

Overall, the team grew in faith,

skill, and knowledge.

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Student Life

Question: I will do anything

to avoid…

Isaac: Snakes

Jenna: Getting up early

Abby: Having to kill a spider

Chad: Long, peaceful walks on

the beach

Hannah: Doing homework

Question: How did I ever live

without… Isaac: A vehicle

Jenna: My license

Abby: Gum

Chad: Peanut butter & jelly

sandwiches

Hannah: Panera Bread and my

camera

Question: Words of wisdom

for next year’s seniors…

Isaac: Get free stuff from the

college reps

Jenna: Go out of your way to

welcome new comers!

Abby: Procrastination is never

worth it

Chad: When faced with an

important decision, don’t ever not

decide

Hannah: Be kind to people.

Everyone experiences a day

differently than you.

Senior Spotlight By Justine Groenink and Julia Timmer

Question: If there were an

extra hour to the day, I

would…

Isaac: Go hunting

Jenna: Spend it sleeping

Abby: Sleep

Chad: Sleep, read, or eat, along

with other pointless activities

Hannah: Sleep longer

Question: I won’t leave home

without…

Isaac: My truck

Jenna: My purse

Abby: My keys

Chad: My phone and wallet

Hannah: My phone and water

bottle

Question: The most

satisfying experience in my

life was when...

Isaac: I got my first deer

Jenna: I had a beautiful week at

Reformed Youth Services. I met

some wonderful people and felt

closer to the Lord.

Abby: I broke 6:30 for a mile

Chad: I came to the realization of

the meaning of life, while on my

regular long, peaceful walks on

the beach

Hannah: I received my first

camera

Five seniors answered questions in a NOIZ survey, allowing us to get to know them better.

We went beyond the typical questions to catch a glimpse into their lives.

Left to Right: Isaac Postma, Jenna

Meyers, Abby Miedema, Hannah Koenes,

and Chad Baker

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Reflection

When you think of church,

what comes to mind? Joyous,

solemn, and reverent are all

adjectives that may come to

mind. For generations, churches

in America have maintained these

qualities. Within the last 10 years

or so, churches have been under

certain attack. Although you do

not hear much about it, it is a

reality. Often, we hear about

shootings in schools and public

places, not because they are more

important or because they occur

more frequently. In fact, where

frequency is concerned, just the

opposite is true. In the most

recent studies of 2012 by the

Church Law Institute, there were

110 more church shootings than

school shootings in that calendar

year. The final tally rests at 115

to 5. After people become aware

of this information, often a debate

on gun control ensues; however,

we propose a far deeper and more

profound cause to this particular

piece of statistical information.

Rather than argue for or against

gun control, a far better use of

time would be to discover why

the stat is like this in the first

place.

As previously stated, there

are far more shootings in church

than in other public places, such

as schools. Often, the media will

misrepresent this fact. After all,

how often do you hear of church

shootings? A couple, maybe

three times a year at most.

Pretend for the sake of

illustration that you are a soon-to-

What Freedom of Religion? By Tori Martinez and Thomas Tuinstra

be mass murderer. If you wanted

to inflict as much damage as

possible before being caught,

where would you strike first: a

church or a school? On any given

weekday, at any given public

high school there can be upwards

of 1,000 students. In contrast, one

day a week somewhere between

50-500 people gather in worship.

Yet, churches seem to be the

choice. What does this say about

society? Who are most criminals

really looking to attack—

innocent people or church goers?

Any reasonable person sees the

real target.

The real target is God and

what His people represent here on

this earth. Mike Huckabee, a

former presidential candidate,

said it this way, “It isn’t a lack of

gun regulation that causes these

heinous crimes. Rather, that we

have removed God from our

schools.” It is time that God’s

people realize that we no longer

live in a country with freedom of

religion for Christians. The attack

on Christianity in America is real.

People call us intolerant because

we do not support homosexuals

and single us out for our beliefs.

As much as we do not want to

believe it to be true, the facts are

right here in front of us. It is

conceivable that within the next

50 years Christians could be

persecuted. For instance, a county

clerk in Kentucky was sent to jail

for about a week for not issuing

homosexual marriage licenses.

In Matthew 10:22a we read,

“You will be hated by everyone

because of me.” Christian peers, it

will not be long for the trials to

come and we must be prepared to

face them. The real beauty of this

whole ordeal lies solely in the last

sentence of the previous verse;

“But the one who stands firm to

the end will be saved.”

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Short Story

Gus ran his fingers over

the golden chain; the diamond

pendant attached to it winked at

him as the sun’s rays reflected

off its surface. He bit his lip in a

nervous habit. Running his

fingers through his snarled hair,

he paced back and forth in the

alley. Guilt bubbled up in his

chest. After a while, he stopped

his pacing and contented

himself with staring at the brick

wall to his right. He fidgeted

with the necklace. It was

probably worth thousands,

maybe more. Suddenly two men

lumbered into Gus’ line of

vision. They were both tall and

dressed in shaggy, dirty clothes.

One was slightly thinner than

the other and walked with a

prominent limp.

“Gus, my boy!” the thinner

man greeted with a wide smile.

The man’s gray hair, peppered

with white, lay in a stringy mob

around his wrinkled face. Gus

quickly pocketed the necklace.

“Jose,” Gus inclined his

head respectfully towards the

older man. “I haven’t seen you

in a while. Who’s this?” Gus

motioned to Jose’s companion.

Jose clapped Gus affectionately

on the shoulder and turned to

his companion.

“This here’s Hart. Met him

downtown a ways. He’s kinda

quiet-like but real nice once you

get to know him.” Gus observed

Hart intently. The man looked

about thirty and was well-

dressed. His pallid face and

Stars and Diamonds By Faith Lubbers

eyes betrayed his ignorance.

“He’s got no place here on

the streets, Jose,” Gus whispered

out of Hart’s range of hearing.

“Look at him.”

“He was fired from his job

not too long ago,” Jose informed.

“Didn’t say why. I reckon he

didn’t do a good enough job for

those rich folks.” Gus remained

silent as Hart rocked on his heels,

hands in his pockets. “How you

doin’ on the streets, Gus?

Adjusted yet?” Gus offered a

weak smile and tried to ignore the

necklace burning in his pocket.

“I’m learning my way

around,” he answered. Jose

chuckled at his response.

“You never really were

one for the streets,” he said

gently. They continued in

conversation, gradually moving

out of the alley and down the

street.

Hours later, Gus lay on the

ground, a thin blanket wrapped

around him. Shivering from the

cold, he watched the stars,

connecting constellations and

trying to figure out

which ones were

planets. His

conscience now

hurt. Every time he

thought about the

necklace still in his

pocket, a pang of

guilt gripped his

heart. Finally, with

a loud groan, Gus

pushed himself off

the ground. He

walked aimlessly up and down

the various streets, deep in

thought till the moon hung high

in the black sky. Stopping before

a large, Victorian home, he

withdrew the necklace from his

pocket. He sighed and looked at

the house; two stone lions stood

guard at each side of the porch.

Gus walked up to one, but he was

only as tall as its nose. His eyes

stared into the lion’s open mouth.

Sweat formed on his forehead

while he shifted his weight

nervously from one foot to the

other. Gus tiptoed around the

house, all the lights were off. He

checked all the doors and

windows; they were all locked.

Sighing, he realized he would

have to do it the hard way. He

withdrew a long iron pin he had

found on the street. Gus ran to the

back door and knelt before the

door handle, inspecting the lock

quickly. Taking a deep breath, he

prayed that whoever lived in the

house was away somewhere and

not just asleep. Without another

thought, Gus gently inserted the

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Short Story

Stars and Diamonds By Faith Lubbers

pin into the lock. He closed his

eyes and felt around with the pin,

drawing a mental image of the

complicated lock inside. Once he

had a good idea of what it looked

like, he began the real work. He

poked and prodded from all

possible angles, feeling for the

perfect fit. When he found none,

he withdrew the pin from the lock

and pulled the two strands of iron

a little further apart. Inserting the

pin in the lock once again, Gus

continued his careful work.

Finally, after several different

tries, the pin clicked in place.

Sighing with relief, Gus carefully

turned the pin. He winced at the

loud click of the lock sliding out

of place and froze, listening with

his ear pressed against the door

for the sound of stirring within

the house. Waiting for a few

minutes, he moved only after all

was quiet. With a shaking hand,

he slowly turned the knob and

pushed open the door. It creaked

loudly. Once again, Gus froze.

Nothing. He edged himself

through the door. It took him a

moment for his eyes to adjust to

the heavy darkness, the moon no

longer serving as a guide. Now,

his instincts took over as Gus

could make out different shapes.

He took a deep breath; this was

going to be difficult. Holding out

his hands and feeling the walls,

he made his way around the room

until he found a door. He quickly

exited the first room and looked

around the new one. From the

vague shapes of couches and

chairs, he could tell that he was

in the living room. He continued

to feel around the house until he

reached the desired room: the

bedroom. By now, he knew no

one was home, so he risked

turning on the light. He winced as

its brightness flooded the room.

Immediately, he began his task.

He moved to the opposite side of

the room where an ivory box sat

on a chestnut dresser and lifted

the top. Silk, crimson cloth lined

the inside of the box and formed

a cushion; however, something

was missing. Gus withdrew the

necklace from his pocket and

held it up. The diamond pendant

twirled and sparkled as the light

played with the gem. Gus

swallowed hard. This one piece

of jewelry could transform his

whole life; he’d be off the streets

and could allow him to afford the

luxuries he never could before.

But he had made up his mind. He

laid the necklace carefully in the

box, fitting it perfectly with its

mold and then closed the box and

retreated to the door. Looking

back at the box, Gus smiled and

turned off the light. He felt

around the house with ease, and

before he knew it he was

standing outside the back door,

pulling out his pin and taking a

minute to lock the door. Turning

around, he ran off the property

and down the main street. He did

not stop running until he reached

the area where he had set up his

small camp. Settling under his

blanket, Gus glanced once more

at the stars. The North Star

winked at him much like the

diamond necklace. It didn’t take

him long to fall asleep. Jose’s

steady snoring and the sounds of

the creatures in the night lulled

him to sleep. Before long he was

dreaming of stars and diamond

necklaces.

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Student Life

Zion’s first cross-country team will enter the books as “the little team that

could.” Known for its little red tent at meets, the small group in the first

year of its program has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Throughout the

season, both the boys’ and girls’ teams raced well, improving their times

every week. On October 31, Zion arrived at Allendale High School,

hopeful for the opportunity to go to state. Despite the cold, wet, and

altogether miserable weather, the girls’ team qualified. Placing third in

Division 4, they headed to the Michigan International Speedway in

Brooklyn, Michigan, on November 7, to race against 236 other girls in the

same division from the entire state. Zion’s team performed well, placing

22nd in the overall rankings.

Both teams from Zion have done a great job, logging more than 300 miles

in practice since August, maintaining a positive attitude in sweltering heat

and frigid weather. They thank Mr. Aukeman, Zion’s coach for both boys

and girls, for being an

awesome leader and

encourager throughout

the cross-country season. “At the beginning I didn’t have

expectations to qualify for state,” Coach Aukeman said,

“but after a few races were finished and I saw that we were

third place in our region, I knew we had a chance. The team

did great considering it was the first season and there

weren’t a lot of runners.” In addition to their practices, the

runners read Scripture passages once a week. Hebrews 12:1

-2 was the team’s theme verse and was also printed on the

back of their warm-up shirts. “Let us run with endurance the

race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and

finisher of our faith…”

Exceeding Expectations By Allie Rouwhorst

“Success” is the word that accurately describes the overall outcome of this year’s annual Zion Christian

School Fall Auction. The entire event brought in a gross revenue of more than $98,000; of this grand total,

$66,000 was collected through the auction alone. The school received the remaining

$32,000 from generous gifts by donors. A new twist to this year’s auction was the sale of

six boxes of chocolates, each containing a prize, ranging anywhere from beef jerky to an

overnight hotel stay. Bringing in a total amount of $2,400 dollars, these chocolate boxes

were especially sought after. Along with the chocolates, other popular items included

personal parking spaces and concrete delivered at no charge.

Fall Auction By Olivia Miedema

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Student Life

After a minor weather delay, the

long anticipated wait was over,

and the annual mixer was

underway on September 23. Fifth

hour had ended, and all students

left their regular afternoon classes

to participate in fun games, such

as a balloon toss, spud, tug-of-

war, a scavenger hunt, an exciting

game of musical chairs and to

meet some familiar and maybe

unfamiliar faces. High school

and junior high students were

split up; the junior high remained

inside the gym, and the high

school students ventured outside.

Junior high began with musical

chairs. After many rounds, Blaze

Pasma won victoriously. The high

school students were also having

fun with games outside,

participating in balloon toss,

spud, and the much-loved tug-of-

war. The red team dominated the

others by going undefeated and

winning all the matches of tug-of-

war. After this was the done, the

junior high and high school

students switched places and

traded games. When asked about

their thoughts on the mixer, some

replied, “The best part about it, is

that we get out of class.” Others

said, “The food is the best!”

Ultimately, the mixer was

designed to encourage interaction

with new students at Zion. At

some point, we were all new, so

we know what it’s like and how

hard it can be to be the new kid.

Whether it was for the food,

games, or the interaction, the

mixer was a great time.

A Mixer to Remember By Josh Pennings

Photography by Hannah Koenes

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Entertainment

Connect the Dots By Olivia Miedema and Allie Rouwhorst

After connecting the dots, the face of the Zion teacher will appear. Who is it?