Disciple Dispatch

May 8, 2026

From the Principal's Desk

Hello IHM Families!

What a beautiful week we had! Wednesday was a gorgeous day as we honored Mary with our 8th grade class. This is such a special group of kids! It is the largest group to graduate since I have been here, and they are absolutely delightful! It's been a true pleasure to watch them grow and mature, and I was just struck by that as I watched them take their crowning of Mary so seriously. I will be missing them as they wind down their year!

We will have some construction traffic to work around these last couple weeks of school. It's so exciting to see the constant action over there! This is the phase with the big trucks and equipment, unfortunately, so we will have to adjust our pick up routine. I appreciate how accommodating everyone has been! We are still efficiently delivering kids for pick up! I would anticipate that by fall we won't have as many giant trucks around and it will be closer to normal. The new green gates that are out there are to keep the kids safe during the day when they go to and from the playground, but still allow the trucks to come in. Thank you for making your adjustments and thank you to Ken and Luke who have to keep moving things around at different times of the day!

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day all you wonderful moms out there everyday working so hard for your kids! May God bless your day and all your days!

Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Holly Lake

Congratulations to our First Communicants!

What a beauiful evening it was for 36 Disciples of Christ to recieve their first Holy Communion. May your hearts be filled with His love and grace and you continue to grow in your faith!

Teacher Appreciation Week Was Fantastic!

Home & School Association worked so hard and pulled off a wonderful week where teachers and staff felt truly appreciated! Thank you for everyone who covered classrooms, helped with the luncheon, donated to the prize closet and stocked the lounge. You make this the most blessed place to work!

If you are planning to attend, please park in the church parking lot and enter through the gym doors. If you are joining us after the 9:00 am Mass, you are welcome to walk over afterward and enjoy some light refreshments before the ceremony.

All Lunch Balances MUST Be Paid!

Per the email that went out yesterday, starting May 18th, we are planning to start providing FREE breakfast and lunch to ALL students through Michigan's School Meals for All Program. However, we cannot begin this program untill all student lunch accounts are no longer in arrears. If student lunch accounts are not paid by Friday, May 15th, the balance will be applied to student's FinalSite account. Please do your part to make sure your lunch account is up to date and all balances are paid so we can provide this program to all students of IHM. To make a food service payment, CLICK HERE.

Meet Our Principal For the Day!

Next Friday, May 15th, 8th Grader Sam B. will be our Principal of the Day thanks to the Fall Fundraiser. At his request, Friday will be a comfy day. Please remember to follow the non-uniform day dress code (no pajama pants, no slippers or Uggs etc.)

It's Gonna Be May...

The last few weeks of school are always such a whirlwind filled with end of year activites, field trips and celebrations. This week has been BUSY. Check out what we've been up to! Check out our social media pages for more photos and videos of all things happening around school!

First Grade Field Trip to Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park

5th and 6th Grade Trip to the Whitecaps Game

May Crowning Mass Led By Our 8th Graders

5th Grade Spring Farm Week

Diocese of Grand Rapids NEEDS Bus Drivers!

The Office of Catholic Schools is in immediate need of Transportation Drivers (Bus or Van). Drivers are scheduled 20 + hours/week during school year (mostly morning/afternoon school hours but some hours may be available for events during evening and weekends)

Responsibilities:

Safely transport high school and elementary students to and from school, or school related activities following a set route and schedule.
Ensure the safety and well-being of students during transportation.
Conduct pre-trip and post-trip inspections to ensure it is in good working condition.
Adhere to all traffic laws and regulations.
Maintain a clean and organized bus/van interior.
Commitment to promoting the mission centered work of the schools in daily interactions with students, coworkers, parents, and members of the community.

Qualifications:

Bus Drivers - Maintain a valid State of Michigan CDL. (Starting pay $21/hr.)
Van Drivers- Maintain a valid State of MI Chauffeur’s License.(Starting pay $19/hr.)

Applications can be found here: https://grdiocese.org/employment/.

Q: If a friend or relative was driving towards a cliff and you had the ability to put on the brake, you would, right?

Q: If a friend or relative's soul was in danger of spending eternity off the same cliff, and you had the ability to invite them towards eternal life, you would, right?

The new ORDER OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION FOR ADULTS (OCIA) requires those adults and children over the age of reason (7+) who wish to be baptised (and be received in the Catholic Faith at the Easter Vigil 2027) to be registered on or before the Feast of Pentecost (Sunday May 24,2026)

Those already baptised but wishing to be formed and Confirmed in the Catholic Faith may join/register after that deadline but preferably before classes begin in September.

We are happy to extend the invitation after you have. Give us a call: Pastoral Associate Colleen Lowe 616-241-4477 ext 1101.

Catholic Identity Survey for Parents

The Office of Catholic Schools sent out the survey link to all parents of students in grades 5-8, and 9-12 via Infinite Campus on Wednesday, April 29. Please answer each question honestly. There is space at the end of the survey to clarify any of your responses. The survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. Please complete by Friday, May 22.

Parent Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/H3QYBQV