General News

Next week, we will conclude our look at the second cluster of Fruit: patience, kindness and goodness which was our focus for the month of May. Today, I would like to say a few words about the third fruit in the cluster, goodness. Many people try to be good, honest people who do what is right. Jesus says that the only way to live a truly good life is to stay close to him, like a branch attached to the vine (John 15:5-8). Apart from Christ, our efforts are unfruitful.

Greetings everyone as we bring another week of learning and teaching to a close at John Calvin School. We thank the Lord for the work that could be accomplished as we enjoyed beautiful, spring weather. May He continue to bless the work of the teachers and parents as we move closer to the end of another school year.

Last week Friday, the school community could celebrate the Ascension of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in word and in song. What a beautiful evening! We thank again our director, Miss Breukelman, and the accompanists: Dr. DeVisser, Nathan Ravensbergen, Mr. John VanEerde, Mrs. Jane Stulp, Jordan Schutten, and the student violinists- Madeleine Ravensbergen, Amy Ravensbergen, Leanne DeBoer, Liam Feenstra, and Reuben Feenstra. What a blessing it is to have such a variety of musical talent in our community.

Miss Buist continues to make slow but steady progress in her recovery. Soon, she said, she will be able to drive and thus become a little more mobile. May the Lord continue to bless her recuperation.

Construction update: This week has been another productive week on the addition- concrete was poured for the sidewalk outside the storage room, the pad for the garbage and recycling bins; drywall installing, taping and mudding was done in the hallways and classrooms of the addition; and the various other sub-trades continued their work. Open House: The Expansion Committee is pleased to announce that the new addition is moving along very nicely. Most of you have been able to see the progress from the parking lot and we know a lot of you are hoping to see what is happening inside. By the end of the month, it will be safe to host an open house and so on Saturday, May 28 from 10-12 we will be hosting an open house. The site will be set up as safely as possible but please try to remember it is still a construction site so watch that the children don’t get too excited and run around. Refreshments will be available.

See you at the Spring Membership meeting next week Wednesday, D.V.

A few items for your attention:

*Today, we say farewell to our student teacher, Mrs. Katrina Groen (Grade 3B). We hope and pray that her practicum session at John Calvin School was a beneficial and rewarding experience. We look forward to Mrs. Groen joining the JCS staff in August, D.V.

*This week Tuesday, on the spur of the moment, the students and teachers in Grades 7&8 were able to visit General Synod Dunnville on Tuesday. What a unique opportunity. Thank you Mrs. VanLuik and Mrs. Vis for your flexible schedules.

*Year End Trips: Soon, D.V., it will be the month of June and all of what that month represents on the school calendar. One of the exciting events is the annual year-end class trips. This year Grades K-6 are planning to visit Marineland on Tuesday, June 21, and Grade 7 is planning on going for an overnight stay at Fort George on Thursday, June 2 before heading off to Niagara Falls on the Friday. Once again, we will be following the same procedure as last year for parents who wish to accompany the classes on the trips. After re-reading the fine print of the contract with Marineland, the ratio for free admission is 1:10. This will cover the teachers only. Therefore, class moms and classroom volunteers will also have to pay the $15.00 group rate. If more parents would like to come along, they are welcome to join but they will need to pay the group rate which is $15.00 (up to 45 parents; thereafter the cost will be the full price which is $44.00) for Marineland, and $25.00 for the Grade 7 outing (Niagara Falls only). Our apologies for the misinformation in last week’s Chronicle. As there will likely be no room for parents on the buses, they will have to car pool to Marineland. Parents were reminded of the protocol for class trip volunteers (it’s been included with this edition of the Chronicle). Parents who wish to join the trips may not take along their pre-school children. All parents who come along will be assigned a group of students to chaperon for the grade that they wish to accompany. Parents need to email the school if they are interested in coming along on a year-end trip.

Lost and Found: The box is past overflowing so when you are in the school please take a look on the table by the box or in the box itself for missing items. All remaining items will be take to the GBF at the end of the month.

Reminders:

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

*Please continue to be wary of ticks and mosquitoes.

*The final baseball practice for the boys’ and girls’ teams is next week Thursday. The tournament is scheduled for Saturday, May 28 in Dorchester, the same venue as last year. The boys’ and girls’ schedules are as follows:

Girls                                    Boys

8:30            JCS vs ACRES            9:30     JCS vs Maranatha, Fegus

11:30          Timothy vs JCS         12:50   DACS, Laurel vs JCS

1:50            JCS vs Covenant        2:50     JCS vs ACRES

*Victoria Day on Monday, May 23.

*Teachers College graduation on Friday, May 27. The Lord willing, three ot the graduating students will be teaching at John Calvin School next year- Miss Janita Bouwman, Mrs.Katrina Groen, and Mr. Tim Breukelman.

*KA is planning to visit Kilean Lodge on Monday morning, May 30.

*Grade 6 is planning to visit Crawford Lake on Monday, May 30 and Anchor Home on Wednesday afternoon, June 1.

*Kindergarten Day on Wednesday, June 1.

Have a great long weekend everyone whether you are spending it at home or camping/at the cottage. May our Heavenly Father grant us a blessed Sunday. We hope to touch base again in a week’s time.

1. Hofsink

Classroom News

Kindergarten

Next week is a short work for KA as they only have school on Thursday. KB has all three days as regularly scheduled. We hope you enjoy a beautiful long weekend with family and loved ones. Next week we will be learning more about Daniel in Bible times, about his time in the Lion’s den and God’s unfailing love for us. We have learned about Jonah and the fish this past week and the children are amazed hearing about God’s unfailing mercy. Next week Thurs/Fri we have Pink and Grey day, the children can choose to wear or share both or one or the other. We are now doing review and assessments in Math and Language. You will notice less work will be coming home as we will be counting much of it for the final report binder. SL and MD

Grade 1

We have come to the end of our Church History unit about people who were used by God to spread His Word to other nations and people in all times and places. We hope to have the tests marked and returned by early next week. On Tuesday we will start a new Bible unit about how God blesses and punishes His people. We are moving along well in Language Arts, nearing the end of our official Phonics program and continuing with our last reader. Thanks for helping your child review the words in their agendas. It is really noticeable when they read orally. We are almost finished another chapter in Math, and plan to start Chapter 10 (about graphing and mapping) by the end of the week. In Science we are learning about many changes which occur in our lives. Please remember to return, by Tuesday, the paper about your child as a baby. We hope you will all enjoy your long weekend and have a blessed Sunday. HB &JvB

Memory Work Psalm Hymn 72:1,3

Grade 2

We really enjoyed our trip to St. John’s. Thanks to all the volunteers for making our day so lovely. We saw many of God’s creatures in their natural habitats and could marvel at how awesome our creator is. Next week, we will have another trip to Balls Falls Conservation Area where the students will be given a presentation about amphibians. We were very surprised to also see that our butterflies have begun emerging from their chrysalis. Have a beautiful long weekend! Enjoy the sunshine! HV/RG

Thursday: Bible test

Memory Work: Psalm 96:8; Psalm 25:4,5

Words: thought, trip, work, favourite, your

Grade 3

What a beautiful concert evening we had last Friday. We hope you enjoyed the praises we sung to our Lord. Thank you Miss B. and musicians for accompanying the school choir. Mrs. K. Groen has wrapped up her induction week and practicum in Grade 3B. The children and I (Mrs. Poort) want to thank her for the great teaching and learning time. We wish Mrs. Groen well, also when she graduates next week Friday. Congratulations! The Lord willing, we will see her again next school year, then as Grade 5 teacher! This past week, the students learned more about the mission field and all it encompasses. A reminder: every Friday we collect Mission money, please contribute some monies to this worthy cause. We want to encourage all students (with parent help) to study math facts and spelling words on a daily basis; it will benefit them for life. Our community projects are nearing the end, and soon the groups will present their community to the class. We are looking forward to this. Have a wonderful, long weekend! See you on Tuesday DV, boys and girls!

Memory work: Ps 86:1; Text: Ps 24: 1-3

Spelling words: mining, fishing, farming, forestry, presenting

Grade 4A

By now the students have finished their Bible tests, and have done well. Since we are finished that unit, we will move on to the next, Mission Work. In Phys. Ed. we are preparing for Field Day….Wow, are our students ever competitive! It is promising for June 17. Social studies gives us many opportunities to see our own blessings. Ask your child about the Magna Carta. It was very interesting to notice what your children mentioned as ideas to improve the situation of the poor people! The big book is being filled with our stories and the students are looking forward to bringing it home. They will have to wait until June 3! On a musical note: ask about Franz Schubert’s Forellen quintet…..the students will share about the Trout fish, playing in the river! Enjoy your time with your family this long weekend!

M: No School W: Library Th: PE clothes F: MM$, Memory Work, Ps46:1, 2Tim3:16,17,   Spelling #30

Devotions: T; Abigail F; Jazmin

Grade 4B

We have spent this week hearing how Johannes Veldhuizen brought the gospel to the Korowai people. The thought that there may still be people on this earth who have absolutely no idea about God and salvation through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, just boggles the minds of our class. Next week we will be learning a bit about how MAF and Wycliffe Bible translators and what their place is in the spreading of the gospel. I have mentioned in previous Chronicles that there would be a French play presentation. Life in the Grade 4 classes is becoming very busy and there is never enough time to do everything we would like. So, unfortunately the play presentations are not going to happen. In Social Studies we have spent the week learning about castles, lords, ladies, serfs, and knights. The children are busily putting together their lapbooks with all this information. In Math we are learning and working with the concepts of area and perimeter and how this helps us figure out the factors of numbers. As you can tell, life in Grade 4 is oh so interesting but very busy. Have a wonderful long weekend and a blessed Sunday. SO

Memory Work: Psalm 46:1

Text: 2 Timothy 3:16 &17

Devotions: Tu. Reuben, W. Nevaeh, Th. Susanna, Fr. Elijah

Grade 5

Hello from grade five 🙂 This coming week we will be finishing our math unit on two and three dimensional shapes, tangram puzzles and probability. We hope to have our concluding test on Friday. Thank you for having baseball gloves available for our PE classes. Soon we will begin practicing for track and field. We continue learning about our Canadian government… ask your child about how the Speaker of the House “acts” when he or she is appointed to this position, and why he or she does so. The students did very well on their Church History tests 🙂 Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone!

Spelling words: pyramid, decide, signal, business, rectangle, sign, decision, southern, busy, south, young, bank, blocks, youth, thieves, layer.

Memory Work: Hymn 31:1, John 14:1-3

Grade 6A

We will continue to discuss the early natives of Canada by looking at the effect of their environment on things such as their clothing, food, and shelter. This ties in nicely with how Jamie and Awasin prepare for the winter. We will start to practise some of the activities for track and field. Next week we will have a quiz on John Hus and begin discussing one more forerunner, namely, William Tyndale. We are thankful for favourable temperatures to be able to complete our work. Please have your child bring a reusable water bottle to school if they don’t already have one. We pray that Caleb’s operation may relieve him of his pain and give him full use of his leg. Have a blessed weekend. CV

Devotions: W-Quinton Th-Abby   F-Jayden

Ps.98:1-May 27 Ch.History Quiz-May 26 Crawford Lake-May 30 (no volunteers needed)

Grade 6B

We had a busy week here in 6B. In Church History we have been looking at the life of John Huss and his followers and next week we will begin to look at William Tyndale. In Math we have been busy working with unit rates. In Literature we await eagerly as Jamie and Awasin prepare for winter in the cold barren lands of Northern Canada. In Social Studies we continue to look at how Aboriginals lived, especially what their homes were like. We are looking forward to seeing a longhouse at Crawford Lake in two weeks’ time. For this trip we have a guided tour so no volunteers are needed. Have a lovely weekend! MDB

Church History Quiz: May 25

Crawford Lake: May 30

Memory Work Song: Hymn 11:5,6,9, (May 28)

Memory Work Text: Name of the Judges (June 3)

Devotions: T. Ryan, W. Sylvanna, T. Shaelan, F. Cameron

Grade 7A

Regrettably Miss. VanAmerongen wasn’t able to visit us and discuss her poetry due to illness; we’ll postpone her visit to a later date. We’ve moved on to drama in Language Arts, specifically we’re learning about radio plays and using the invasion of Martians in up-state New Jersey to help us appreciate the medium. Students are enjoying the change in Math as we work with plane geometry. After being forced to leave Geneva by City Council, we’ll learn why the city wants/needs John Calvin to return. We’ll wrap up our river basins by identifying the watershed features in Physical Geography and then we’ll learn about agriculture. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B

Another beautiful week has passed for which we are very thankful. On Tuesday students had a rare opportunity to witness a session at General Synod in Dunnville, to help them understand what Synod is all about. We have also been able to firm up our track & field teams, so students can now focus on their specific events in preparation for the big event on June 10. KB

Devotions week of May 23 – Shelby

Devotions week of May 30 – Emma

Friday – MW – Hymn 14:1; Ezekiel 34:11-13

Grade 8

Another week has flown by. On Tuesday we had the pleasure of observing synod Dunnville which also coincided with our study of the Synod of Dort this week and next. In geography we continued our study of immigration and migration. Here are some things for next week: MW is due Tuesday! Col. 1 due on Friday. Our migration study is also due Wednesday. Have a blessed weekend. Cheers, Mr. J.