General News
Celebrate 1517: Today, the focus is on Sola Fide (By Faith Alone), the Only Means. Our justification before God is by faith in Christ alone, and not by works.

Greetings everyone as we bring another week, and the month of September to a close. Just like that 10% of the school year is over. When we return on Monday we will already be a couple of days into October. May the Lord continue to provide parents and teachers with all they need as, together, they instruct His covenant children about His Word and His creation.

We congratulate Kyle and Nikki VanBrederode with the birth of their fourth daughter, Danika Joy. She is a new sister for Jenna in Grade 3B and Cohen in Grade 1B. All is well with mom and daughter and the rest of the family too, including Beppe. (“Our children all are gifts of God, our sons and daughter his reward—each one a blessing from the LORD, as heritage on us bestowed. Psalm 127:3, BoP). May our Heavenly Father provide Kyle and Nikki with all they need as they raise their children in the fear of His Name.

Please continue to keep Mrs. Visser in your prayers. We are thankful that this week she received news that she has a consult date on October 12. May our Heavenly Father continue to provide her with all that she needs during this waiting period for further testing.

By doctor’s orders, Mrs. DeBoer needs to begin her maternity leave a couple of weeks earlier than originally planned. We thank the Lord that Mrs. Inge DeVisser was available to take over from Mrs. DeBoer on October 11. However, she had a couple of commitments prior to be being hired, so we are thankful that Mrs. Winnie Bos is willing to teach Grade 6B from October 30 to November 10. Mrs. DeVisser will begin again on November 13 and teach for the remainder of the school year, D.V. We are also pleased to announce the hiring of Miss Danielle Aalbers as part-time EA for Special Education and Special Needs. This was due to the increased student need in both departments.

From the school, we wish to extend a great big thank you to the Voucher Committee for all the work that they do in helping to keep the tuition rates reasonable for the school through the voucher program. Currently, over $75 000 is raised each year for John Calvin School. If you are not making use of this fundraiser, we encourage you to consider using vouchers for your grocery purchases. The entire school community benefits when that amount of money, or more, is being raised each year. May the Lord continue to bless the work of all those involved in the Voucher Committee.

A few items for your attention:
*The annual fall food drive for the West Lincoln Community Care Food Bank continues until next week Friday, October 6 at which time the goods will be delivered to the Food Bank. Currently, the shelves at the bank are quite empty, indicating that there is a need in this community. Baskets have been set up at different locations in the school and are starting to fill up; in fact, some are getting near to their saturation point. That is great to see. Grade 7 students have been diligent in reminding us of this venture. Thank you very much, everyone, for your continuing participation in this act of service for the broader community.

*A good chunk of the money from the chocolate bar fundraiser is in; however, there is still quite a bit more that has to be submitted. Let’s strive to get that in by the end of next week so that we can wrap up the fundraiser before the Thanksgiving weekend. Also, there are still two more boxes of chocolate remaining to be sold.

*Fire Prevention Week runs from October 8th – 15th with the theme being, “Every second counts – plan two ways out”. It is a reminder for families to have a home escape plan that included two different ways to exit your home in the event of a fire. The West Lincoln Fire and Emergency Services will be conducting a fire drill and inspection of all schools, including John Calvin. No notice of the date and time of the inspection will be provided in advance. This year our Grade 4 students will once again be participating in the “Fire Chief for a Day” contest. Participants will be drawing a home escape plan showing two ways out of the home. Contest forms and escape planning sheets will be provided by the Fire Department. All the best students!

*On a sunny, hot September Saturday, the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams had a very good day at the annual soccer tournament. They worked hard and did their best. The girls’ team won the championship for their division for the first time since 2004-2005. They also did not allow a single goal in the entire tournament. Congratulations! The boys’ team did not make the playoffs but they had an enjoyable tournament nonetheless. Thank you, coaches (Mrs. J. Groen, Miss K. Vanderlaan, and Mr. T. Witten) for the time and effort you put into getting the teams ready for tournament day. It was great to see so many parents and grandparents cheering on the teams from the sidelines.

*At-school training wrapped up today for next week’s cross-country meets at Agape Valley Bible Camp (NACE competition) and the annual Grades 7&8 Canadian Reformed Elementary Schools meet scheduled for Friday, October 6 at Dundas Valley Conservation Area. This event is hosted by Guido De Bres Christian High School. All the best at the meets, runners! Thanks again Mrs. J. Heemskerk and Mrs. K. Groen for training the athletes for this year’s run.

*While the students are running on Tuesday, the Grade 7 students who are staying at school will be preparing and serving lunch to the residents of Anchor in our school gym. We are thankful for this service opportunity for the Grade 7 students. We are looking forward to hosting the Anchor residents at our school.

*We are planning to hold a bus evacuation drill and review of bus expectations with all the students on Wednesday, October 11. This has been changed from the week of October 2 because several grades are going on class trips that week.

Reminders:
*Parents, grandparents and other members of our supporting community are welcome to join us for the Thanksgiving assembly on Friday, October 6th at 1:30 p.m. in the gym.

*Thanksgiving Monday and PD Day Tuesday means no school for students on those days.

*Due date for News and Views contributions is Tuesday, October 10.

*Wednesday, October 11 is the first Hep B vaccination for the Grade 7 students.

*A head’s up for the students in Grades 7&8: The annual ANCHOR WORK DAY is coming up in four weeks’ time. The usual information about the event will be sent home next week. Perhaps the students and parents can begin to think about the odd jobs in which students can be involved.
Enjoy a more seasonable weather weekend and have a wonderful day of rest. Until next week Friday, D.V.

G. Hofsink

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Classroom News
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Kindergarten
We survived a few very hot days this week and were very thankful for our nice, cool classrooms in the basement of the school. We have also enjoyed our first colour day and will happily sing the Red Song for you. Our new letter next week will be Pp, and our new sight words are “at” and “yellow”. Please continue to practise printing our names! Many students still struggle to form the letters correctly, let alone remember which ones. The students have been working hard on holding their pencils correctly, so please commend our efforts on this too! The students will also be taking home an orange printing duotang. This is for practising at home, and it does not need to come back to school. Some students will love this, while others have no interest. We encourage you to encourage your child to practise printing with you, but keep it fun! Do not worry if your child is not interested, as this will all fall into place in due time. In Math, we have started the new chapter on patterns. Let us show you an AB pattern using shapes or colours! In Bible, we will continue learning about Abraham, patience, faith, and Isaac. Our new memory work is Psalm 75:6 and Genesis 1:1. The students have done very well on the super long theme text! The new one will be a piece of cake in comparison. Please continue to work with the agenda sheets. We love using the agenda as a learning and communicating tool! A little health note: we do have a case of chicken pox in our grade. Hopefully, this is not a concern for anyone, but just something to be aware of. Have a blessed weekend! NR & FVI

Grade 1
We had some exciting news to tell in Grade 1B (Grade 1A too) on Monday morning. Congratulations to Cohen vanBrederode (and family) with the birth of a new baby sister, Danika Joy! We had a very hot few days in the classrooms this week, and were very grateful to have the afternoon off on Tuesday. Thankfully the weather has cooled down, making the classrooms much more comfortable and the students more eager to learn. This coming week we will be going to the Safety Village in Welland, so exciting! We will be spending the morning there and will have our lunch in a park nearby (weather permitting). Please do not send microwave lunches that day. On Wednesday, we hope to wrap up our Safety unit with a test. Bible tests were completed on Thursday and tests should have come home by now. A lot of the students have done very well on the weekly vocabulary words in the agendas; however, they do not always recognize previously learned words in their readers. Please continue to review old words lists as well. Thanks for taking the time to help your child in this. Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday.
Memory Work for Friday, Oct. 6: Psalm 131:3; Gen.17:7 (Oct.13)
Spelling Words: as, his, I, they, with
Vocabulary words (recognize only): make, look, run, jumped, at, new, a, fish, the

Grade 2
Grade 2 had a busy week but we are very thankful that the temperatures have cooled down! We have a Bible test on Tuesday, and so the duotangs will come home on Monday so that you can study with your child as needed. Please remember to send the duotangs back with the paper package still inside them. Students were excited to receive 16 new Math flashcards. Please continue to practice these facts with your child. It only takes a minute or two each day, but it helps tremendously! Have a great weekend! RG & JA
Spelling words: why, have, saw, family, came
Memory Work: Hymn 15:1, The 12 Disciples

Grade 3
Who would have thought we would have an afternoon off? The temperatures soared to almost mid-thirty degrees by last Tuesday. We were thankful for the time off as some of the students were affected by the heat. Congratulations go to Jenna VanBrederode and her family with the birth of little Danika Joy. What a great blessing from God for the family again. In Church History, we heard the stories about John Eliot as he brought the gospel to the ‘Red People” some 400 years ago. Ask your child about the joys and challenges he had to face. In Social Studies we learned how the Aboriginals were a great help to the settlers/pioneers. They taught them about farming, winters, hunting, clothing and much more. Every Friday is mission money day. Please send some money along with your child for this worthy cause. Every Monday and Thursday the children have P.E. If their clothes are in the laundry, provide another t-shirt and shorts for that day. Thanks so much for your help in this regard. Have a blessed weekend. MP/JB
Memory work: Hymn 53:2, Text: Gen. 3:15
Spelling words: countries, community, city, exciting

Grade 4
We have started a unit in Church History on the Church Family. We love discussing how we are adopted into the body of Christ. We have talked about sister churches and how we are united together. In Science, we continue studying habitats. In Math, we will be starting an addition unit. We will be practising patterns as well. Miss Hoeksema and Mrs. Lemstra
Spelling: Lesson 5: alive, bikes, kids, drive, tie, seat, till, tied, life, cried, went, wide, die, hike
Memory work: Hymn 13:1,2 (October 6) Psalm 130:2 (October 13) 1 Samuel 15:22 (Text)

Grade 5
Although the beginning of the week was very warm and summery, we are grateful for the cooler, fall-like temperatures that the end of the week has brought. In Bible, we are nearing the end of our unit about the early life of our Saviour, and we will be having a test on Thursday. Duotangs will be going home on Tuesday. We are learning about the entertainment of the Romans in Social Studies, and our art projects are coming along quite nicely! As a prize for being the winning school at the Spelling Bee in the first week of school, we have received some money to spend in our classes. We have decided to use this money for a pizza lunch with Grade 4 on Friday! Have a wonderful weekend. SO/KV
Memory Work: Psalm 26:2; Text: Luke 1:46-50 (next week)
Thursday: Bible Test
Devotions: 5A: M. Eli, Tu. Erin, W. Noah, Th. Kendra
5B: M. Kara, Tu. Natasha, W. Josh, Th. Danya

Grade 6
We had a busy week here in Grade 6! In Church History we have been looking at the Church during the time of and after Charlemagne. In Literature we have been busy with our unit on perspective and how to view things from another person’s point of view. In Science we have been busy with our unit on Flight and looking at gravity and lift. On Wednesday October 4th we will be heading to the Warplane Museum in Hamilton. Students please remember to pack a non-microwave lunch and to bring $1 for the bus. No parent volunteers are needed as it is a guided tour. We hope that you all have a lovely weekend! MDB/CV
6A Devotions: T. Kierstin Th. Avery F. Ava
6B Devotions: M. Kyle T. Kyara Th. Reuben F. Susanna
Memory Work Text: Genesis 9:12-16
Memory Work Song: Hymn 74:1 (Oct.5); Hymn 74:4 (Oct. 6)

Grade 7A
Our trip to the St. Catharine’s Central Public Library went well; we learned how to research and use a library catalogue, special collections and microfilm. Next week we plan to run in two cross country competitions, serve lunch to Anchor guests and visit West Lincoln Community Care with our JCS food drive donations. Please ask how your child’s independent study is coming along; we’ve been reading our selected topic books and conferencing. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B
The weeks continue to fly by here in Grade 7B. We continue with our Bible History unit on the decrease of Saul as king in Israel and how the LORD raises David as a king after His heart. We continue with our public speaking unit in Language Arts as well, in preparation for the public speaking contest. We had a wonderful trip to the St. Catharines Central Library where we had a workshop on how to use the library as a resource for our research projects. Next week will be a little hectic with two cross country meets on Tuesday and Friday. For the students who are not participating in cross country, we will be serving the Anchor residents lunch on Tuesday and we will be touring the West Lincoln Community Care facility on Friday. Devotions – Weston B. Have a great weekend!

Grade 8A
This week we rolled up our sleeves and completed our first Bible and Math tests of the year. It was good to reach that first major step of the year and also have an idea of where we stand after our first month of school. Next week promises to be a busy one as the cross country team participates in its two meets on Tuesday and Friday, while on Thursday we anticipate a busy day preparing our soup packages for our annual fundraiser. Have a blessed weekend. Cheers, Mr. J

Grade 8B
This coming week we hope to have two cross country meets, one on Tuesday and one on Friday. Just a reminder to all Gr.8 s that their Science Lab is due this coming Wednesday. In Art we continue to work on our hubcaps. Thanks to all who contributed we have more than enough! We also are working on our Independent Research projects; the students should be done, or almost done their book report. Have great weekend. KG