General News

The monthly theme for January is Intellectual Curiosity. “As a young man, Isaac Newton had become so alive to the wonder of creation that his thirst for truth occasionally led him to risk his own safety. In an attempt to understand how people perceive light and colour, the young Newton went so far as to wedge a flat stick between his skull and the back of his eye. By pressing the stick again the backside of his eye, Newton wrote, ‘There appeared several white, darke and colored circles which were plainest when I continued to rub my eye with ye point of ye bodkin.’ It’s enough to make an optometrist squirm, and it certainly isn’t something you should try at home, but it does illustrate both the rewards and potential pitfalls of intellectual curiosity. Without it we will never grow in our understanding of anything; yet, unbridled curiosity has the capability of doing real and lasting harm. Our world is a far richer place because Newton was curious, but that would not have been the case had he blinded himself in the pursuit of truth.” (from Virtuous Minds, Intellectual Character Development by Philip Dow)

Greetings everyone as we wrap up another week of learning and teaching at John Calvin School. We thank the Lord for the many blessings He has graciously provided during the course of the week. May our Heavenly Father continue to provide each of us with what we need for our respective tasks.

Not too much happened on the building front this week as the weather had a role to play in not much visibly getting done on the project; until today, when Wassenaar Construction was on site again to build the forms for the footings of the fire wall.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who need the Lord in a special way.   We think especially of the family of Mr. Herman Faber who was laid to rest earlier this week. He was a well-known lawyer in our Reformed church community. A branch office of the VanderWoerd, Faber, and Olij law firm is, of course, located here in town.

A few items for your attention:

• The annual PTA meeting is scheduled for next week Wednesday, January 20 beginning at 8:00/7:30 p.m.. Dr. Christine vanHalen-Faber has been invited to speak on the topic of ‘The school as community…learning for service in an era of educational narcissism’. Here is a brief summary of her presentation: The title of this presentation is borrowed from a chapter in Foundations of Education: A Christian Vision, a collection of essays dedicated to a well-known Christian educator, the late Prof. Dr. Harro Van Brummelen. Together we will begin by unpacking two key terms: “school as community” and “educational narcissism” and will then re-position these terms in the context of Reformed Christian schools. What might be the implication of “learning for service” when we consider God’s Word as summarized in our confessions? What might this look like and sound like in our every-day classrooms and staffrooms? What does it mean to be created “to the end that man may serve his God”(Belgic Confession Article 12)? Join us in a conversation in which we explore both the foundational and practical applications of learning to serve– also in school.
• The students in Grades 7 and 8 are participating in the bi-annual Public Speaking and Poetry Recitation contest. Parent/Grandparent volunteers are needed to judge the classroom finals on Monday morning, February 1 and for the school final on Wednesday afternoon, February 3. Please contact Mr. Witten at ta_witten@hotmail.com if you would like to be involved in serving as a judge for either or both of these events.
• On Monday, January 25, at 8:30 a.m. Mr. R. VanAndel, the vice principal at Guido De Bres Christian high school, will be speaking to the grade eight students about Grade 9 course selection and life at Guido. The students will need to fill in a course selection sheet as part of their grade nine registration.
• On Monday, February 1, Guido de Bres Christian high school will be hosting a parent information evening for parents with children in Grades 6-8. This meeting is especially helpful for parents whose oldest child will be entering Grade 9.
• Hockey practices continue as the team gets ready to participate in the tournament scheduled for Friday, February 5 (not February 4 as was mentioned in last week’s Chronicle). They are planning to play an exhibition game against Heritage this afternoon at the Smithville arena from 3:45-4:45. This will be helpful as the team gets ready for the tournament.
• The JCS Student Choir is planning to perform a mini-concert for the residents at Shalom Manor on Monday morning, February 8. The students and the director are looking forward to singing several selections for seniors from Shalom.

Reminders:

• Scholastic orders are due on or by January 22.
• Grade 4 is planning to visit Beacon Home on Monday afternoon, January 25th.
• Since Guido de Bres high school has a P.A. day on February 1st, the p.m. routes for the buses will be reversed for the morning run. Please be aware that the pickup times may be different than usual.

Enjoy your weekend everyone; especially your day of rest. Until next week Friday, D.V.

G. Hofsink

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Classroom News

Kindergarten

Well it is here…. the snow, slush, wet socks, lost mittens and yucky, soggy messes. The kids are so very excited about playing in the snow, and especially sledding down Mount Calvin! That being said, they are coming in soaked. It is very important that all the children come dressed warm, in snow pants, hats, mitts and proper boots. It is also very important to stock your child’s backpack with extra pants, socks, and underwear! Please label all of your child’s belongings; otherwise they will most likely be swallowed by the mitten monster who inhabits our halls after dark. S.L, M.DS

Memory Work: Psalm 100:1 Text: Psalm 136:1 Both Due January 28/29

Letter of the week: Uu

Word of the week: Are

Grade 1

Memory Work: Friday Jan. 22 Psalm 142:1 for Jan. 29 Matt. 7:12

We have had another busy week in grade one. We are enjoying the stories about Maria and the things she learns about church. Ask your child what their job is in church. We took a tour of the Smithville church building and even got to climb up on the pulpit to see what the minister sees every Sunday. In Math we are learning how to count money – it is quite a challenge to switch from counting by 10s to counting by 5s when we are counting dimes and nickels- some practice at home would be great. Please remember to encourage your child to read at home – they were quite excited to get their Bibles and Books of Praise this week. Please encourage them to look up the psalms and hymns in church on Sunday. There are also some children who have not brought back the readers they took home before the holidays- please send them back asap. We are having a great time working with the Grade 8’s making our “bodies”- look for them in our hall way in the near future. Have a blessed Sunday. JV/HB

Grade 2

Memory Work: Psalm 90:1

Words: there, they’re, their, didn’t

This week once again, we have been testing the students on their Math facts and have handed out several certificates. We would like to have this all wrapped up by next week Friday so that we can move on to subtraction. Please remember to practice with your child to help them in this. We will have two tests next week. Social Studies will be on Tuesday and Church History will be on Wednesday. The snow was a lovely treat this week. The students have really enjoyed the many piles of snow. Hopefully this continues for a little while yet! Have a lovely weekend! RG/HV

Grade 3

Memory work: Ps 139:13; Text: Ex. 20: 1-6

Words: about, especially, except, friendly, knew, new, know, no, myself, probably, really, then, usually, what

Bonjour and welcome back! Oh, how fun it is to play in the snow! We may see the Lord’s might also in the weather. In Bible we continue to learn about Joseph and how the Lord used a sinful person to save His people from death. The children just love to listen to these Bible stories. In Science we are learning about the different types of forces and are paying particular attention to magnetism; fun stuff! The children are almost finished their art work; and it looks amazing. They followed Barbara Reid’s lead using plasticine, and used a lot of detail and texture in their work! Great job, boys and girls! It would be beneficial for the children to review the timetable of 4 every day! We will have a spelling review; study, study, study! Have a wonderful weekend. MP/JB

Grade 4A

Memory work: Hymn 6:1 /Text: Isaiah 48:28,29 (2 weeks)

North, South, East, West…we are traveling in many directions while learning about our country. The children are becoming very familiar with the capital city of each province and territory. Keep up the great effort, boys and girls! On Tuesday we will have a Bible Test covering the life of Solomon, and all that we have learned about him and the temple. Have your child tell to you about the stories they have been working on in Writing Class. In P.E. we are climbing, stepping, balancing on equipment scattered throughout the gym. Have a good SundayWednesday: Library

Monday & Thursday: PE clothes

Tuesday: Bible Test

Wednesday: Library

Friday: Mission$ Spelling dictation

Devotions: M-Annika, T-Jewel, W-Anjelica, Th-Melissa, F-Keira (prepare a prayer+ Bible reading)

Grade 4B

Memory Work: Hymn 6:1, Isaiah 40:28, 29

Hello again from Grade 4B. Work continues to move along at a good pace. The students are happily learning about this country we live in during our Social Studies classes as well learning a few songs about Canada. In French class we have taken a break from our story as we are making “cheat sheets” to help us remember how to ask questions en francais. Our Bible studies have us studying David’s life as the king of Israel and we continually see how important it is to serve God in His way not ours. I have finally gotten caught up with marking and so a number of projects are coming home. Please remember to sign and return rubrics and tests. Thanks and have a good weekend. SO

Phys. Ed. — Monday and Thursday

Library — Wednesday

Grade 5

Memory Work: Psalm 109:1

Spelling Words: photograph, possible, famous, Calgary, Manitoba, station, amount, oil, beneath, area, Canada, reason, Alberta, continent, millions, country

Devotions: Zachary, Kade, Jeremy, Leah, Luke

Spelling Quiz – Thursday

We are getting ready to embark on a new novel study beginning on Monday. We will be reading the well-known novel, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”. Students are and should be working in earnest now to memorize their lines for the French play: “L’arbre Ungali”. We hope to perform it sometime before the March break. By the time you read this, we should have completed our presentations of the Roman structure projects. By the end of next week, we hope to have put away this work for good. There is a pink water bottle that has remained unclaimed in the classroom for several weeks. If a student doesn’t soon claim it, I will put it in the Lost and Found. We are completely out of tissues. Would each family consider making one more donation?

Grade 6A

Memory Work: Hy.38:1- Jan.22 Text: Ps.47:5-9-Jan.29

\Another busy week made the time go by very quickly. The students will be presenting the disease that they researched next week. We look forward to learning about them. In our Science class we learned about the parts of the brain. We tried to figure out if we were left or right dominant. After studying this we became even more amazed at our awesome Creator. Along with reading the novel, we are also listening to stories about slaves. We enjoyed listening to the true story about Henry ‘Box’ Brown. The students are also writing diary entries as if they were Julilly and writing it as if she is speaking (speakin’). In art we are designing and colouring our beanbags. Next we will be sewing them and will need to bring in some stuffing (nonedible) from home. Have a blessed weekend. CV

T-Simon   W-Malachi   Th-Kaitlyn F-Meah

Science Quiz-Jan.21

Grade 6B

Memory Work: Psalm 49:1 (Jan. 22), Text: Psalm 47:5-9 (Jan. 28)

We had a busy week here in 6B! Students are busy working on their research projects for science. Most of the research is done and they are busy typing their paragraphs and putting together their boards. In church history we have begun looking at the life of Mohammed and the birth of Islam. In literature we are continuing our novel study and discussing how life was for a slave in the deep south. In art we are busy making our bean bags, students need to bring in their own stuffing, either rice or pillow stuffing to stuff the bean bags. Please remember to look in your children’s agenda and sign them! Have a lovely weekend! MDB

Recorder: Psalm 49:1 (Jan. 22)

Devotions: M. Norah, T. Marissa, W. David, T. Jordan, F. Emily

Grade 7A

With their speech topics and poems chosen, the students are well on their way to putting to good use their public speaking skills. Our classroom contest will be held Monday, February 1 starting at 8:30. The school final will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 12:45. If you would like to be a judge please contact me at ta_witten@hotmail.com. In Science we’ll wrap up our look at radiation, convection and conduction and turn our attention to energy transfer systems. We were introduced to Dr. Alfred Wegner and the Romans doxology in Geography as we learned more about plate tectonics and Pangaea. After we learn about King Saul we’ll switch to Church History; Ulrich Zwingli and the Reformation in the Swiss Confederation. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B

Memory Work -Psalm 31:13

Another fantastic week has gone by. We continue to study how the LORD established his plan of salvation despite the sinfulness of his servants along the way. This especially became evident through David’s life when he took Bathsheba as his wife. In Language Arts, the emphasis is on public speaking. Students are busy preparing for the public speaking competition which is scheduled to take place on February 1 & 3 at the school. Looking ahead to next week:

Devotions week of January 11 – Benjamin

Devotions week of January 18 – Shelby

Monday – French Quiz – Future Proche (doughnut challenge?)

Thursday – Math Test – Integers

Grade 8

Memory Work – Ps. 82: 2; 1 Cor. 13: 8-14

As the winter winds (geographers refer to it as an ‘Arctic blast’), descended upon us this week, Gr. 8 plowed on. In Math we wrote our unit 4 test on Rational Numbers. In History we discussed the rise and fall of the gold rush in British Columbia. Next week we will continue to prepare our Geo pamphlets for presentation. Our time with Gr. 1 has also been a pleasure and we look to finish that up soon. For next week:

Science quiz on Wed.

Please discuss with your student what they are doing for the public speaking contest.

Devo: TH

Cheers, Mr. J