General News

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Greetings readership as we conclude another week of instruction at John Calvin School.  This edition of the weekly newsletter will serve as a two-week Chronicle since next week is a three day in-school week because of the annual two-day Teachers’ Convention.  The staff is looking forward to a couple of days of professional development.

                Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all who need the Lord in a special way. We think especially of the Huizinga family (Wellandport URC) whose son, Daniel, was killed in a farming accident last week.  He was a school friend of one of our staff members, Miss A. Linde.  May our God of all comfort surround the family with His grace and mercy during this very difficult time.    

 A few items for your attention:

*There is still a little bit of outstanding chocolate bar money that needs to come in.  Please get it to school  as soon as possible.

*Last week Friday, Grade 7 delivered 450 pounds of non-perishable food items to West Lincoln Community Care.  Thanks again everyone for your participation in the annual Fall Food drive.  

*As mentioned in last week’s Chronicle, the Grades 5&6 boys’ team finished in second place in the junior division at the inaugural Golden Horseshoe Invitational Cross Country meet at Southward Community Park in Grimsby.  Last week Friday, the Grades 7&8 boys’ team finished in third place overall at the annual Guido de Bres Invitational Cross Country meet.  Janaye J. finished in third place in the girls’ race.  Well done!  Thank again Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Heemskerk for training the athletes for the two meets.

*Apple Theme Week:  Thank you everyone for the great week we had celebrating Les Pommes. We especially thank Mountainview Orchards (the Feenstras) for taking the entire school on a tour of their orchard and apple processing plant.  A great experience for everyone!  On Thursday, about 30 students participated in the first ever Apple Bobbing contest at JCS.  It was a lot of fun for the participants and the audience.  Apple Bobbing winners were:  Colton M., Mason S., Kyler V., Noah P., A.J. S., Keegan S., Logan K., Kathryn H., Noah T., Kierstin S., and Levi V.  Well done!  The week wrapped up with today’s Community Appreciation barbecue.  We thank the Lord for blessing us with a wonderful week.

*The annual ANCHOR WORK DAY is coming up next week.  Students are reminded that the confirmation slip needs to be returned on or by Monday, October 21.  It is good for the students in Grades 7&8 to be involved in this community service for one of our Reformed institutions.

*On Monday, October 28 our school is looking forward to welcoming three student teachers from Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College.  Miss Tyneesha Petter will be teaching with Miss Buist and Mrs. DeBoer in Grade 8B, Miss Maria Ravensbergen (a former student at JCS) with Mrs. Gansekoele and Mrs. Feenstra in Grade 2A, and Miss Hailey Jongbloed with Miss VanderZwaag in Special Education.  We wish these prospective teachers all the best and the Lord’s blessing during their practicum at John Calvin School. 

*Mr. K. Sikkema (former teacher at JCS) will be our special guest at the Reformation Day assembly on Thursday, October 31.  The school community is invited to join us at the assembly which begins at 8:15 a.m.

*With Remembrance Day not being too far off, the students will soon begin work on their Royal Canadian Legion Poster, Poem, and Essay contest.  Entries need to be in on or by Friday, November 1.  There will be a Remembrance Day assembly for Grades K-4 on Monday, November 11 beginning at 10:45 in the school gym.   Grades 5-8 are planning to visit the Smithville cenotaph and participate in the Remembrance Day service there.

Reminders:

*Friday, October 18 is a 2/3 day because of the Community Appreciation barbecue. The buses will be taking the children home at 12:15.

*The October issue of the News and Views will be distributed on Sunday.

*Grade 6B is planning to visit Anchor Home on Wednesday, October 23.

*The Calvin Chronicle will not publish the week of October 21st because of the short week due to the two-day Teachers’ Convention.

*Mini-concert by the Greijdanus School Choir on Tuesday morning, October 22 beginning at 8:15 in the school gym.

*Picture retakes are scheduled for November 6.

*Winterfest is on Saturday, November 16.

                Have a wonderful weekend and a restful Sunday.  We will touch base again in two week’s time, D.V.  Enjoy the extra long weekend beginning next week Thursday whether you are spending it at home or taking a few days’ vacation. G. Hofsink

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Classroom News

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Kindergarten

Another week completed for kindergarten and what a week it was! On Tuesday KB enjoyed the trip to Mountainview Orchards where they could learn all about apples from Mrs. Feenstra.  Thanks so much for hosting us and letting us pick our very own delicious apple! On Wednesday KA dressed in their favourite apple colours and on Thursday they made their very own applesauce! Next week is a short week for the school as the Teacher’s Convention is on Thursday and Friday.  In Bible the students will continue to learn Jacob and the blessings that Jacob receives from the Lord.  In Language Arts we will be learning about the letters Nn, Cc and Kk.  As we learn a new letter every week, it is very important to practice these letters at home.  The more repetition and practice the students have with the letters, the better it will be for them!  Have a great weekend!

Grade 1

We have had a busy, and fun filled week learning all about apples.  We enjoyed apple stories, apple snacks, apple cupcakes (Thanks, Mrs. Trish VanEs) etc.  It was a good week!  We also had a lot of fun smelling, tasting and feeling some things in Science.  We will have the same Memory Work, sight words and Spelling words this week and will be tested on Wednesday, Oct. 23. We have started our new unit in Bible. We are learning about how God is good and cares for His people. We are focusing on Joseph’s life. We will have a Bible test on Friday November 1 to end this unit.  This week we also began a new unit in Math. We are focusing on addition and subtraction. We have learned how to count, using a number line. Our new focus in Phonics is the short sound of the letter /a/. We continue to review the consonant sounds as we work on sounding out words that have the short /a/ sound in them. As the weather begins to cool, please make sure your child’s hats and mittens are labeled with their name. Enjoy your extra afternoon off and have a great weekend.

Grade 2

This week we began our new Science unit on Investigating Health and Safety. We will be spending some time on learning the food groups over the next few lessons.  The students jumped right into the new unit with great enthusiasm. It’s so fun to teach when the students are so eager to soak it all in!  In mathematics,  we’ll be adding more facts to our bags both next week and the week after. Keep practicing! After the teachers’ convention next week, Grade 2A will be welcoming a student teacher for 3 weeks into their classroom.  Miss Maria Ravensbergen is surely no stranger to many of our students! We hope and pray that she will feel right at home,  and grow in her teaching skills while at JCS.

We hope the students will feel refreshed after their short break next week. May we as teachers also be refreshed and challenged in our abilities from attending the convention. Have a wonderful weekend! BV/RG

Memory work: October 23: Psalm 95:3   November 1: Psalm 71:3, Text:Isaiah 9:6

Spelling:October 23: Review(same list)

 November 1: of, crashes, played, when, has

Bible quiz: Wednesday,  October 30

Grade 3

Apples, apples, apples! Wow!  What an “applelicious” week we had! Johnny Appleseed, apple stories, apple poems, colouring contests, apple bobbing, apple songs, dress up day, apple snacks, and the tour of Feenstra’s Apple Orchard! Thanks to EVERYONE  for making it a success. Thanks also to the parents and grandparents who came in to read us apple stories! Remember…an apple a day, keeps the doctor away! In our Bible classes we continue to hear how God keeps His covenant with Abram. Just a reminder to bring in items for the Winterfest Theme Basket.  Our theme is baking.  A list went home regarding what to get or they can bring money. On Thursday, Mrs. H. Buikema visited grade three and gave us a wonderful presentation on pioneer items.  Ask us what she brought in!  Thank you Mrs. Buikema for sharing the antiques and stories with us!  We now have precious memories. Just a reminder that our pioneer trip is just around the corner. October 23 is the BIG day.  We can’t wait to see your outfits, Grade 3! That’s it for now and have a safe and blessed weekend. J.B./M.P.

Words: city, community, countries, exciting, getting, laughed, pretty, prettier, prettiest, schools, to, too, two, was (Friday, November 1)

Hymn 52:1 (Tuesday, October 22)  Psalm 23:1 (November 1)

Text:  Genesis 12:1-3 (November 1)

Gym clothes on Tuesday and Friday

Library books on Thursday

Mission $$ on Friday

Grade 4

Since next week is such a short week, we are combining the next two weeks into one posting. We will begin our new units in math and Bible. By the time you get a new Chronicle, students will also be almost finished with their science units on Light and Sound as well. Look for the review papers that students can use for studying. Please continue to work on reviewing the times tables. Next week Spelling Unit 6 will be tested and the following week will be unit 7. Spelling words for Unit 7 are rode, cabin, sail, throat, camp, rope, said, know, boats, blow, alone, float, own, closed (4B extra words — gratitude, recommend)

Mon Oct. 21: Trip to the Theological School and Covenant Teachers College (bring $1 for the bus)

Wed Oct. 23: Spelling Unit 6 test, Memory work Hymn 60: 1 & 4

Thurs Oct. 31: Sound Test 4B

Fri Nov 1: Spelling Unit 7 Test, Memory work Psalm 20: 1, Bible Memory Psalm 100: 4-5

Grade 5

Our classrooms are filled with materials for our Social Studies projects, and they’re starting to look like something! We’re very excited to see the final products that the groups come up with! We will be done with these projects by Wednesday of next week, and then we will be finishing up our unit on Ancient Rome by learning about Roman armies and the Punic Wars. In Bible class, we continue to learn about Jesus’ early ministry on earth. We’re starting to hear some actual songs from the recorders, and it’s great to see the excitement the students have to learn more! They are encouraged to practice at home to continue improving. Sorry parents 🙂 Apple Week has been very enjoyable, and it was nice to see so many people dressing up in apple colours and bringing in apple food on Thursday. Have a wonderful weekend and next two weeks! RK/KV

Devotions: 5A – M. Aaron, Tu. Morgan S., W. Meghan, M. Madden, Tu. Maraya, W. Sierra, Th. Linden, F. Laura

5B – M. Taiya, Tu. Jenna, W. Camrynne, M. Taylor, Tu. Abigayle, W. Reuben, Th. Ryeanne, F. Daeton

Grade 6

Another week just flew by! It sounded like all the students had a very enjoyable thanksgiving holiday. This week we wrapped up our Science unit on flight, and started a new novel study “Number the Stars”. The students were very enthusiastic about beginning this novel study and had a lot of stories to share about Oma’s and Opa’s who experienced the effects of World War 2. We are starting to see more and more how blessed we are to live in a free country! Next week we will begin our Social Studies unit on Canada and its trading partners. The Greijdanus Choir will be performing for us on Tuesday morning, and Grade 6B is off to anchor on Wednesday afternoon! Just like that, another week is in the books. Have a wonderful weekend! AF/CV

Grade 7A

This past week we transitioned from Bible History, “Samuel, Saul and David”, to Church History, “The Reformation in Germany”.  Appropriate to this time of year, we’ll learn how the Protestant Reformation began. In independent study, the book reports will wrap up and students will move on to their author profiles, learning what makes their author an expert on their topic. In Science, we’ll learn about forces in structures. We’ll learn about everyday life in New France and do so through a unit ending project. Thanks again to the parents who joined us on the shores of Lake Erie and at West Lincoln Community Care. Enjoy your weekend. 

Grade 7B

As we come to the end of a short week and another short week on the horizon, we continue on with our work! We have finished our Bible History unit on Samuel, Saul, and David and now we will begin our first Church History unit on Martin Luther and the Reformation. In History, we will egin our chapter on everyday life in New France. We have come to the conclusion of reading our non-fiction book and completing our book report. Next step is making an author profile based on that book. Devotions – Josiah K. Memory Work – Ps. 112:1 and Colossians 3:16-17. Have a great weekend!

Grade 8A

With two back to back shorter weeks we have lost our rhythm a little bit in 8A. Next week is a short one with the teachers gone to the convention on Thursday-Friday. Students will have a few quizzes next week as well as a project due the week after. Have a great weekend. Cheers, Mr. J

Grade 8B

Congratulations to Levi V, apple-bobbing champ (2 seconds).  We began our week with an informative trip to Mountainview  Orchards and enjoyed a variety of apple activities throughout the week.  Next week is a short week in time with a long memory work assignment. Students can expect to sing their memory psalm on Wednesday, but they may choose to memorize one of the verses rather than both.  We will be conducting a number of investigations on osmosis and cellular respiration in the coming week.  Bible lessons continue to focus on the beginning part of Christ’s ministry.  Some students have already contributed to our Winterfest theme basket.(Stuff Men Love)  It will be picked up on Wednesday, so the rest of the contributions should be in before then. 

Memory work:  Psalm 34:4,5 (Oct. 23);  Psalm 36:3 , John 14:6,7 (Nov. 1) 

Devotions:  Braedyn, Levi, Selena (Oct. 21-23); Ava, Mya, Jewel, Melissa, Arie (Oct. 28-Nov. 1)