General News

---

The purpose of John Calvin School is to assist and support parents in the education of their covenant children to the glory of God.  In accomplishing this mission, the vision of John Calvin School is to provide excellent Christ-centered education in service to God and our neighbour.

Greetings everyone as we bring another week of teaching and learning, the first full week of November, to a close at John Calvin School.  May our good and gracious God continue to provide students, staff, and parents with all that they need as they carry out their respective tasks at school and at home in his service.

At this time, teachers and admin are busy with writing and reviewing mid-term progress reports.  Next week Friday, we plan to send them home with your child(ren).  The following week, we are planning parent-teacher conferences on November 16 & 18.  Here is the protocol that has been put in place for the conferences:

• Parents are expected to wear a mask/face covering when in school for the conferences. If wearing a face covering is problematic, arrangements can be made with the teacher(s) for a telephone or Zoom conference.

• Proper distancing in the classroom will be enacted in agreement with the classroom teacher.  Please do your best to maintain proper distancing when meandering the halls of the school.

• If you are unable to attend the conference(s), please let the office know so that the teachers can be informed and, thus, alternate arrangements can be made.

• We look forward to these important conversations about working together as home and school to help our covenant children learn to the best of their ability.

We congratulate Brad and Taylor Ludwig (one of our EAs) with the birth of their first child, a son, whom they named Hayden Johann Bartholt.  All is well with mom and son, and dad.  (“Our children all are gifts of God, our sons and daughters his reward—each one a blessing from the LORD, as heritage on us bestowed.”  Psalm 127:3, BoP).  May the Lord provide Brad and Taylor with all they need as they raise their son in the fear of his Name.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those in our community who need the Lord in a special way.  In particular we think of the family of Mr. D. DeVries, well-known to many in this community, who passed away last week.  He was the father, grandfather and great-grandfather to a number of families in our community.  May our Heavenly Father continue to comfort the family.

On Thursday of next week, our nation will be celebrating Remembrance Day and, once again, in a manner different than what we are normally accustomed to (hopefully for the last time). A week or so ago, we received confirmation from the Royal Canadian Legion that students and staff in Grades 5-8 are welcome to participate in the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Smithville cenotaph. The only stipulation for those in attendance is that they need to wear a mask/face covering.  Even though the event is outdoors, proper distancing will be a challenge because of the number of people in attendance thus the requirement to wear a mask.  We are planning to attend the event with approximately 24 students from Grades 5-8 (3 from each class) who are able to wear a mask. They will be accompanied by a couple or three staff members. When at the ceremony, our school has been invited to sing two hymns, Amazing Grace and O God Our Help in Ages Past. Also, one of our students will be laying a wreath in behalf of John Calvin School.  Parents are welcome to join us at the cenotaph provided they abide by the Smithville Legion’s protocols. On November 11, there will be a Remembrance Day assembly in the gym beginning at 10:45. Teachers from Grades 1 and 2 will be looking after the assembly. 

For a small donation to the Royal Canadian Legion poppy fund, students will be able to receive a poppy on Thursday, November 11 to help in remembering why we pay attention to this important event. We thank our Heavenly Father for the freedom we can enjoy thanks to those who fought and continue to fight for that freedom, in ages past and in the present. We will remember them!

A few items for your attention:

*Here’s installment #7 of the service tasks carried out by the JCS Service Teams. This week we will look at the services provided by the Recycling and Composting team. This actually involves all students. The Grade 6 students, however, are in charge of recycling and composting.  Each class is responsible for bringing its recycling and composting to a central location for Grade 6 to collect and bring it to the garbage/recycling compound or to the green bin. This is another great service opportunity for students in the school and an opportunity to be good stewards of his creation.   

*Two weeks of practicum are completed and that means one more week to go for Miss Enter and Miss Petter, and two more weeks for Miss Bouwman.

*Students in Grades 7&8 who have outstanding monies from the Anchor Work Day are encouraged to bring in the money next week as we would like to wrap up this fundraiser as soon as possible. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter and thanks again to the students who have already brought in the money.

*Mission Money: We continue to encourage students to contribute what they can (usually about a loonie per week), so that we can maintain the support of our five sponsor children, three through CRWRF and 2 through Word and Deed. We encourage the students to give spontaneously and joyfully. Let us share generously from our abundance.

*Triple Ball:  Practices continue every Monday and Thursday after school and every Wednesday at lunch leading up to the tournament scheduled for Friday, November 26. The boys’ and girls’ tournament is planned for Guido de Bres Christian high school and the co-ed tournament for Timothy Christian School. 

*Winterfest:  Soon the online silent auction will be coming to the Winterfest website. When it does, check it out at www.johcalvinfundraising.ca and then place your bid(s). The next pick up day for Winterfest goods is tomorrow from 11:00 – 12:00 and from 2:00 – 3:00. A Kid’s Winterfest is being organized for the JCS students on Wednesday, November 17.  More details to follow in next week’s Chronicle.

*Doorbell: FYI, the school now has a doorbell outside the main entrance. You no longer have to knock or use your phone to get the attention of the office. 

Reminders:

*Time changes on Sunday morning so enjoy the extra hour of sleep.  For some of you this is round two🙂.

*Picture retakes were scheduled for this Wednesday.  However, Lifetouch forgot about the appointment so retakes have been rescheduled for a later date which still needs to be determined.

*Friday, November 19 is a PD Day for JCS.  Students can enjoy a long weekend while the teachers will be busy with local professional development consisting of convention workshop follow-up and curriculum work. 

*The Fall Membership Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 1.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your day of rest and worship.  The Lord willing we’ll be in touch again in a week’s time.

G. Hofsink            

---

Classroom News

---

Kindergarten

This week in kindergarten the students worked very hard to master the letters sounds for “o” and “c”. The students are now able to blend many CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words.  Students are encouraged to practice the letter sounds that we have learned at school to continue to develop and hone these new skills. Next week we will be learning the letter sounds for “g” and “i”. In math the students are learning how to identify and write the numbers 0-5. Please ask your child to write these numbers for you in numerical order! They are so excited to show off the new skills they have learned. We completed our science unit on “Our Five Senses”. The students did very well on the assessment and I am looking forward to the new unit on “Seasons and Weather”. The students love doing science experiments and their eyes light up seeing all the changes that happen during the experiments. They continually stand in awe of our Lord and Creator.  Have a great weekend.  JB/SV

Grade 1

We are heading into the cooler months and so for recesses, warm coats are needed and so are hats and mitts.  The playground continues to be quite mushy.  If your child has rubber boots, that is a good option for outdoor footwear.  (The children also like boots, because they are easier to jump into at recess time.)  This may also be a good time to make sure that your child still has a set of extra clothes for school.  In the coming week the grade 1 and 2 classes with their teachers will take responsibility for the Remembrance Day assembly.  Please remember to send a donation for a poppy or have your child bring a poppy to wear on Thursday.  (Again, please write: poppy donation on a baggie or envelope.  Grade ones have a habit of putting all money in the mission pot.)

Memory Work:  Hymn 54:1, Exodus 1:2-3

Spelling/Sight words:  by one, had, word, or

Grade 2

This week truly felt like autumn! With some chillier days, we have needed to remind our students that sweaters and coats are to be worn when they go out for recess. Some students would happily go out in a t-shirt and shorts, while the next is wishing he had a parka. In our Art classes this week, we have been busy with several fun projects. Grade 2B, was making art based on Andy Warhol’s soup-can art. (Thanks for sending in the abundance of cans!) Both Grade 2 classes will also be working on Remembrance Day Art. We look forward to displaying our work next week for the assembly. That’s all for this week! Have a wonderful weekend! BV/RG

Grade 3

It was a very busy study week for Grade 3. Well done on the Pioneer test, boys and girls. We will turn to Science next to learn about two body systems. Our addition unit in Math was finished with a test as well. Again, great job, boys and girls. Our spelling test, too, was quite challenging. Keep up with studying the words at home, boys and girls!  In Bible, we have come to the end of the unit about Abraham. We hope to have a test on Tuesday. In Art, the children have been learning about warm and cool colours. Ask us all about it. Je m’appelle….. and, et toi, comment t’appelles tu? keep us busy in French class. Un, deux, trois and so on keeps us busy as well. Great job learning to recognize  the numbers in French, boys and girls. Throwing and catching are some of the fun activities we do in gym class. Thank you for your ongoing support and prayers, parents. We continue to pray for you too. Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Sunday.

Memory work: Ps. 34:3    Text: Prov. 3:9,10 (two weeks)

Spelling words: beautiful, before, discover, enough

Thursday: Library books in a plastic bag

Friday: Mission $

Grade 4

In Math, we’ve taken a break from the textbook work and are now turning our attention to financial literacy. We will be adding and subtracting money, discussing various methods of payment, the concepts of saving and spending and how to be an informed consumer. In Reading, we’ve started an exciting new novel study, “Owls in the Family”, by Farley Mowat. In Science, we’ve been learning all about rocks and minerals. Grade 4A has enjoyed having Miss Enter as a student teacher, and we wish her all the best in her last week with us. Have a blessed weekend. YF/KO

A few things for this week:

Wednesday: Grade 4B Music Quiz

Friday: Spelling Test: dream, rest, please, friend, they, sleeping, chief, creek, piece, meet, believe, teach, yard, leave

Memory Work: S: Psalm 21:1/T: Psalm 100:4-5

Upcoming Memory Work: Psalm 56:1

Grade 5

The hallway around Grade 5 is looking extra colourful this week!  All along the walls and across the ceiling you will see our Haring-inspired artwork in many vibrant colours. Well done, students! Our Ancient Rome building projects will be finished by today as well.  We have more to learn about the Roman army in the coming week.  Grade 5B will be writing the Chapter 2 math test on Tuesday.  5A has already begun chapter 3 and is enjoying learning some interesting things about multiplication! Devotions for the week are as follows: Gr. 5A – M. Aubrey, Tu. Nolan, W. Cohen, Th. Dylan, F. Audrey.  And for Gr 5B – M. Joshua, Tu. Grayden, W. Dayna, Th. Austin, F. Trevin.  Have a wonderful weekend! RK/KVL

Grade 6

We had a regular full week of school where we could complete a lot of different things. The fall leaves with zentangle patterns are decorating our hallways. Genesis 1-3 has been completed with a focus on being created in the image of God and the covenant promises. The students have used items that they found and placed the location of where they were made on the world map.They are also using the computers to research information about a bird. We are thankful for all that God has given us during the course of this week. Have an enjoyable weekend and a blessed Sunday/ IdV/CVA

Grade 7A

Over the next few weeks several projects will start in Grade 7A. Our Science unit, “Structural Strength and Stability”, will culminate in a bridge building assignment involving wooden stir sticks. The History unit, “New France”, involves a project that will allow the students to learn more about an aspect of Canadian culture. This will involve student decisions on how to learn/present acting, making models, formatting, or cooking. We’ll transfer to Jesus Christ’s work of gathering, defending, and preserving His church as we start our Church History units with the start of the Reformation in Germany. Our Independent Study continues as we create an author profile based on the books we each read; we’ll even try to contact the author. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B

We have had another week filled with lots of learning! In Math we have been working with fractions once again and making sure we know the different rules for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing them. Next week, we will work with decimals, and wrap up chapter 3 with a test. Our short story unit is well underway in LA. We read a really gripping tale of a ‘Kid at the Stick.’ Ask your child what they thought of it! Vocab works continues as well, so don’t forget to prepare for the weekly quiz. This week, also wrapped up our Bible unit as we came to the death of Saul. We are taking a leap in time to Great Reformation where we see God continues to work to preserve the Church, throughout all of history. Have a great weekend! MJ and AL

Grade 8

We are beginning new units in LA (novel study) and Church History. We are also beginning an oral speaking assessment. Students should be preparing and practicing for their demonstrative speeches. Have a restful weekend!

Memory work: Psalm 41: 4, John 14: 6 – 7