General News

We continue with our monthly theme: Intellectual Humility. “Because it goes against both the currents of our culture and the pride that is so deeply rooted in all of us, intellectual humility is probably the most difficult of the virtues to develop. Yet once we begin to build up a pattern of humble thinking, the rewards will be profoundly life enhancing. Beyond the unadulterated joy we will experience as our world grows in depth and richness, we will almost certainly find other intellectual character traits such as fair-mindedness and honesty naturally tagging along. That’s the way humility works. It is a facilitating virtue. It invites everyone to be a part of the party. (from Virtuous Minds, p. 75)

Greetings from the school everyone as we bring another week of teaching and learning, and the second term to an end. The term two report cards are coming home today with your children. Once again, we encourage you to review and discuss these reports with your child(ren). If you have been requested to come for an interview, or wish to make such a request yourself, please do so by completing the accompanying interview slip and return it to school on Monday, March 28 so that Mrs. Elgersma can make up a schedule for Parent-Teacher conferences planned for Wednesday, March 30. May our Heavenly Father be near to all of us and keep us safe and in good health during the two-week March Break; whether we are spending it nearby or on vacation somewhere.

On the Christian calendar, beginning on Sunday, March 20, Christians around the world commemorate the Passion Week which culminates in the death (Good Friday) and resurrection (Easter Sunday) of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. We look forward to remembering those important events at the end of the March Break.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Feenstra family. Earlier this week, they laid to rest Mrs. Maggie Feenstra’s (one of our regular volunteers) mother, Mrs. Aikema, who passed away last weekend. She was also a great-grandmother to several students in our school. May our Heavenly Father continue to surround them with His love and mercy. May He continue to be with all who need Him in a special way.

This week, the bricklayers were able to complete the walls for the storage room as well as the interior hallway walls for the classrooms. Also, I-beams were installed at various points in the addition, and framing for the exterior walls of the addition are also just about completed. Once again, we thank the Lord for the favourable conditions that has allowed for the progress that has been made. .

A few items for your attention:

*Today, we say farewell to Miss Bouwman who has been student teaching in Grade 4B for the past four weeks. We hope and pray that her practicum was a good and helpful experience on her journey to becoming a teacher, D.V. in John Calvin School next school year.

*On Thursday afternoon, twelve students from Grades 4-6 participated in the Junior Grades Great Canadian Geography Challenge. First of all, we congratulate all the competitors for their fine effort as they wracked their brains searching for the correct answer to a variety of questions, some quite challenging. Secondly, the top three students for the contest were as follows: 1st place- Ryan Stel; 2nd place- Elora DeVries; 3rd place- Eliana Gansekoele. Well done! By the way, Ryan followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Matthew, who earlier won the Intermediate Challenge.

*As school community, we are planning a Spring Food Drive in support of West Lincoln Community Care. The Food Drive will take place over the course of three weeks from Monday, March 28 to Friday, April 15.

*Basketball practices will continue after the March Break on Monday, March 28 (Mr. Hofsink’s boys’ team and the girls’ team), Wednesday, March 30 at lunch time (Mr.Joosse’s boys’ team) and Thursday, March 31 (both boys’ teams).

*The students and teachers have begun singing and reciting in preparation for our Ascension/ Pentecost concert, Spreading the Good News, which we hope to perform on Friday evening, May 13 n the Smithville church building.

*Please Note: As of April 1st our email address, johncalvin@bellnet.ca, will no longer be available. It will be permanently be replaced by office@johncalvinschool.com which many of you are using already.

Reminders:

*Due to construction, please do not park in the parking lot by the kitchen during the day.   Thank you for your cooperation.

*Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday morning, March 13.

*First day back after the break is Monday, March 28, Easter Monday. You are invited to attend the Easter Assembly planned for 11:00 a.m..

*Grade 1 is planning to visit the Agape Sugar Bush on Tuesday, March 29.

*Parent-Teacher conferences (by request) are scheduled for Wednesday, March 30.

Have a great March Break everyone and we hope to touch base again in three week’s time.                       G. Hofsink

Classroom News

Grade 1

Greetings from Grade One. The March Break is here already and with it, the second term report cards which you should find in your child’s agenda. Please return the enclosed form if you are requesting an interview. In Bible we have been learning about Saul and David. We have almost come to the end of another reader and in Math we have been learning about place value. We have (almost) finished learning all the different ways to make long vowel sounds but will continue to practise them so that we will be able to use them in our reading and spelling. We have a trip planned to the Agape Valley Sugar Bush on Tuesday March 29. Please send along a loonie for the bus. Please dress your child according to the weather conditions that day. Enjoy your March break, and for those who are going away, safe travels. May the LORD keep us all in His care and return us to school safely on Monday March 28. JvB & HB

Memory work for April 1: Hymn 36:1 Psalm 111:10

Grade 2

This week we have studied how God used Polycarp to gather and care for His Church. The story was quite intense and we are sure the students were impressed with the importance of confessing God’s name before men. The quiz was written on Friday and was sent home as well. After the break, we will study how God used Martin Luther as a writer. The students are looking forward to the break and the weather seems quite promising. Have a restful and safe holiday wherever you may be! RG/HV

Memory Work: Hymn 32:1

Spelling: green, float, clock, hurt, joke

Grade 3

The children have received their report cards. It is a blessing we could finish another term and the children could use their talents to honour their Lord. Please take the time to go over the report card with your child. In Social Studies we continue to learn about different communities. In French we are having fun writing answers to questions about the play. The children continue to practise the songs for the concert; they sound beautiful. In the Bible stories we could talk about the Perfect Lamb; so fitting as we approach Easter. In the March Break we may remember the death of our Lord and Saviour, Who died on the cross for all our sins. March Break is here. We wish you a safe and wonderful vacation, whether close by or far away. JB/MP

Memory work: Ps 87:1, 3, 5; Text: Joshua 24:15

Spelling: we’re, wear, where, with

Grade 4A

During the past week we were busy with the Great Canadian Geography Challenge. First we selected two of our students and on Thursday afternoon they competed with students from Grade 4, 5 and 6 for the best Geography student. Great job John and Carter! After the March break we will take some time away from our regular spelling routine to see how the students do at spelling in general. They will be given word list of 50-100 words at a time to see how well they do. In science we discovered the different fascinating aspects of light and combined this knowledge with the thoughts of Good Friday and of Easter. What a message we have! Jesus Who is the light and knows every thought is willing to forgive! Report cards have gone home. The students have done well this past term. Keep using the talents the Lord has blessed you with in the last term as well, boys and girls. Please return the signed envelope on Monday March 27th. We wish you a wonderful holiday and a blessed Easter. May we all receive traveling mercies; whether we stay close to home or travel far away. God bless!

Devotions: Tuesday- John, Friday-Wesley

Memory Work: Hymn 42:2&3 Daniel 2:20-22

Grade 4B

These last 4 weeks have flown by so quickly; it is hard to even imagine our classroom without Miss Bouwman. But four weeks have past and her time with us has come to an end. We will miss you, Miss Bouwman! We have thoroughly enjoyed your time with us and wish you the best as you go back to the college to finish off your year. Report cards have gone home today. Please read them with your child and discuss their goals for next term. There is a form to fill in and send back if you wish to have an interview. The date for these will be March 30th. Have a restful and enjoyable March break and we will see you here, again, in a couple of weeks.

Memory Work: Hymn 81 –we are switching to memorizing our songs for the Ascension Day/ Pentecost assembly already as there are many songs to learn. No text this week

Devotions: M. Mrs. Oosterhoff, Tu. Stephen, W. Eli, Th. Alayna, Fr. Reuben. **Please note that your child is now also responsible for choosing a Bible passage–no longer than 10 verses–themselves.

Grade 5

Don’t forget to ask your child for his or her report card. They were handed out today. The students have already had a chance to look them over. After the March break, we hope to wrap up our Ancient Egypt unit. After that, we will begin working on learning aspects of government in Canada. Some children would probably enjoy it if you would discuss with them some issues of government that are in the news. We are often asked by students if they may microwave food, even on a day that is not assigned to them. Can we please stick with the schedule? When we start to make exceptions, we soon have many requests and it is hard to have all food heated and eaten in the time allotted for eating. Mrs. Boersema and I want to wish all of you an enjoyable break and a blessed Easter.

Memory Work: Psalm 149:1

Spelling Words: terrible, voice, painter’s, father’s, lizard, crooked, enough, noise, scary, spooky, editor’s, drank, writer’s, cousin’s, laughing, though

Lunch Devotions: Kiera, Aidan, Lucas, Jordan, Brody

Grade 6A

The students enjoyed participating in the Gr.4-6 Geography Challenge. Simon and Elora represented our class at the finals. Congratulations to Elora for getting 2nd place. (a nice birthday present) After the break we will start new units. We will discuss the book of Numbers, read stories with the middle ages as their setting, and look at matter during Science. Have an enjoyable break. May the LORD bring us safely back and in good health to complete our final term. We pray that Caleb’s operation may go well and that the LORD will grant healing. CV

Devotions: T-Matthew   W-Reuben Th-Leanne   F-Jenna

Ps.78:1,2-Apr.1; Deut.30:11-14-Apr.7

Grade 6B

This week in 6B we finished our Literature unit on journeys. We took some time today to watch the second Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader with the Grade 6A class. When we return from the March break we will begin looking at stories about the Middle Ages. Students have completed and handed in their state projects and we have finished our unit on Japan. After the March break students will present their favourite pages from their projects to the class and then we will move on to our next Science unit exploring Matter! This week students participated in the Great Canadian Geography contest, Eliana and Ryan went on to the school competition. All of the students did a great job and had a lot of fun! Most of the students are done their bean bags, those that are not have brought them home to finish over the March break. They will all be due back at school on Thursday, March 31. As the weather gets warmer and wetter please remind your child to wear appropriate clothing to school and to bring along extra clothes in case they get very wet! Report cards went home today, please sit down with your child and go over the report card together. The envelopes and interview slips are due back at school Monday! Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the March break! MDB

Memory Work Song: Psalm 130:1 (April 1)

Memory Work Text: Deut. 30:11-14 (April 7)

Devotions: M. Jordan, T. Emily, W. Nathaniel, T. Tara, F. Ryan

Grade 7A

Our look at ratio, proportion and percent will carry on after the Break with percentages and consumer math involving taxes and discounts. Poetic form will be our focus in Language Arts as we examine poems with end stopped and run-on lines, free verse, haiku and concrete poems. As we continue to learn about regional climate factors, we’ll familiarize ourselves with orthographic precipitation and bodies of water; next we will examine the connection between climate and natural vegetation. After looking at how Upper Canada developed in history, we’ll look at everyday life in the colony during the mid-1800’s. In Science we’ll look at sugar in solutions and mixtures. Enjoy your Break.

Grade 7B

It’s here already! Term 2 is now history, and reports are going home today. By the time you read this, we also hope to have completed building a model of Solomon’s temple. The whole class was busy with this today, building it all to scale. I wish you all a safe and enjoyable March break, also as we commemorate Good Friday, and celebrate Christ’s victory over the grave on Easter Sunday. KB

Devotions March 28 – Leah J.

Devotions April 4 – Leah M.

Grade 8

Overall it was a good and busy week in Grade Eight. Enjoy the longer March break and don’t forget about our ongoing Bottle Drive! Cheers, Mr. J