General News

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…” (Ephesians 4:1) Throughout the year, the teachers will be taking the theme text and weaving into it the six pieces of the Armour of God. We are surrounded by a world that operates on hard facts.  The spiritual side of life seems so unreal in this age of megabytes and cellular phones, yet its existence is very much a reality. The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesian church warning them about the enemy of their faith, a foe that must be fought on a spiritual battlefield.  Paul uses the term “powers of this dark world” to aptly describe Satan’s forces.  To Paul, this battle was not a mini-series or best-selling novel.  It was a real struggle grounded in truth. Fear was not an issue to the apostle, but deception was.  His instruction to the Ephesian church was to be aware of the “devil’s schemes”—to stand strong against the one who desired to destroy the life example which was familiar to his audience…the Roman army and its armour. (Jim Warren, Work of His Hand)

Greetings readership as we conclude another week of instruction at John Calvin School.  This edition of the weekly newsletter will serve as a two-week Chronicle since next week is a three-day in-school week because of an in-house PD Day on Thursday and the annual Teachers’ Convention on Friday.  The staff is looking forward to a couple of days of professional development.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Mrs. deVisser, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  She has an appointment with the doctors on Wednesday of next week to determine next steps.  May our Heavenly Father be near to her and grant her and her family much patience during this difficult time.  May He continue to surround them with His love and grace. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the Bouwman family.  Yesterday, Mr. Tom Bouwman, brother and brother-in-law to Jason and Debra Bouwman and uncle to Jewel (Grade 7A) and uncle to Trish and Pete VanEs (Abigayle, Grade 4A and Victoria, Grade 3B), died in a workplace accident.  May our God of all comfort surround his wife and family, as well as the extended family, with His grace and mercy during this very difficult time.

We congratulate Shane and T.J. VanBrederode with the birth of their daughter, Hadley Jennifer.  She is a new sister to Madden (Grade 4B) and Nolan (Grade 2B).  All is well with mom and daughter, and the rest of the family too.  Beppe is also thrilled (“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 our Heavenly Father provide Shane and T.J. with all they need as they raise their children in the fear of His Name.

A few items for your attention:

*There is still some outstanding chocolate bar money that needs to come in as soon as possible.

*Pork Theme Week:  Thank you everyone for the great week we had celebrating Suidae, aka Swine.  From the pages of the Chronicle, we congratulate the following students who were winners in the two contests that were held that week:

Colouring Contest winners: Geneva Stel (Grades K & 1), Ella Bartels (Grades 2 & 3), Declan Mans (Grades 4-6), Angelina Smouter (Grades 7&8)

Hog-Calling Contest winners: Travis Scholtens (Grades K-2),  Angelina Holtvlüwer (Grades 3-5), Nevaeh Gouldstone (Grades 6-8)

*The annual ANCHOR WORK DAY is coming up next week.  Students are reminded that the confirmation slip needs to be returned on or by Monday, October 22.  It is good for the students in Grades 7&8 to be involved in this community service for one of our Reformed institutions.

*On Monday, October 29 our school is looking forward to welcoming three student teachers from the Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College.  Miss Debra VanEerde will be teaching with Miss VanderZwaag in the Special Education Department and Miss Breukelman in Grade 3A; Miss Brianna Lof will be teaching with Mrs. Lemstra in Grade 4A; and Mrs. Alanna Folkerts will be teaching with Mr. Witten in Grade 7A.  We wish these prospective teachers all the best and the Lord’s blessing during their practicum at John Calvin School.

*JCS Library:  The students in Grades K-8 have received plastic bags for library book care and protection.  Please use the bags to keep the books in good condition.  We also ask that the students show proper care and respect to the book bags as well.  Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

*We plan to pay special attention to the 400th anniversary of the Synod of Dort (Canons of Dort) at an assembly on Wednesday morning, October 31st.  Mrs. deVisser is planning to tell us more about this event in the history of our Reformed churches.  The school community is invited to join us at our assembly as we celebrate Reformation Day.  It begins at 8:15 a.m.

*With Remembrance Day not being too far off, the students have begun work on the Royal Canadian Legion Poster, Poem, and Essay contest.  Entries need to be in on or by Friday, November 2. There will be a Remembrance Day assembly on Friday, November 9 beginning at 10:45 a.m. in the school gym.

Reminders:

*Please continue to collect tabs for cans for Jude VanVeen so he and his family can get a wheelchair for his sister, Anna.  We have a good collection going at JCS.  Thanks to all who have contributed so far.  Check out the video at this link http://ctv.news/iZiDJ6j Because of the family’s appearance on CTV News Kitchener, I was told that the family received a donation of over 900 000 tabs to the cause.   Amazing!

*The October issue of the News and Views will be distributed on Sunday.

*Students and parents may enjoy a four-day weekend from October 25-28.  The staff has a PD Day on Thursday, October 25th and the Teachers’ Convention on Friday, October 26th.  Regular classes resume on Monday, October 29th.

*Grade 2A is planning to visit Beacon Home on Monday, October 29.

*Grade KB is planning to visit Anchor Home on Wednesday, October 31.

*Grade 4A is planning to visit Kilean Lodge on Thursday, November 1.

*Picture retakes are scheduled for Wednesday, November 7.

*Winterfest is on Saturday, November 10.

Have a wonderful weekend and a restful Sunday.  We will touch base again in two week’s time, D.V.  Enjoy the extra long weekend beginning next week Thursday whether you are spending it at home or taking a few days’ vacation.  G. Hofsink

Classroom News

Kindergarten

It was a very busy week in Kindergarten! We reviewed all of the letters that we have learned so far; if you could review these letters at home as well that would be very helpful! On Friday we could enjoy a fun-filled morning at the pumpkin patch, although it was a tad chilly, the sun was out and everybody had an enjoyable time! Kindergarten did a fabulous job listening and had a blast learning all about pumpkins! (Make sure you ask them about it!) Next week we will be learning the letter I as well as finishing up our math until on patterns. In bible class we will listen to the story about Jacob’s dream at Bethel. Just a friendly reminder that next week is a 3 day week and our memory work is due on October 23 and 24. We plan to make applesauce on Tuesday and Wednesday, if you could send along an apple along with your child that would be greatly appreciated! 🙂

Memory work: Psalm 81:1 & Genesis 1:1

Review letters: S L A P T C

Grade 1

We were glad that Sam could finally join us in Grade 1A last week Friday. Students should have their Bible tests in their school bags today. We have begun a new unit in Bible. On Tuesday we will have a phonics test covering all the consonants.  Some students could use a little more practice on the spelling words.  Thanks for your help in this area.  We are working hard learning our numbers to twenty.  We will have finished our second unit in Math on Tuesday, Oct. 30 and will follow up with a test on Wednesday.  Since next week is a short week we will not be testing Memory Work or Spelling words.  Enjoy the extra days with your children.  Have a blessed Sunday.

Memory Work for Friday, Nov. 2 – Psalm 24:1; Ex. 20: 2,3

Spelling Words for Friday, Nov. 2 – at, be, from, have, this

Grade 2

This week we completed our Science unit on Bones and Muscles.  The tests were quite well done.  We also began our new unit on Investigating Health and Safety. We will be looking at the food groups next week and talking about the importance of eating a variety of foods. The students are looking forward to a short week next week. Enjoy! BB/RG

Memory work: Psalm 95:3 (October 24); Psalm 71:3 (Nov 2)

Isaiah 9:6 (Nov 2)

Spelling: Review for Oct 24 – check agenda for Nov 2 words

Grade 3

The pigs have left the building!  We would still like to congratulate Ella Bartels with winning the colouring contest of the primary division! Nicely done! Grade three has had another great week. On Wednesday, we visited Ireland House in Burlington and dressed up as pioneers! Did we ever look good! Thanks  parents and family for making us look so ‘pioneerish’!  Thanks also to Mrs. W. Vis, our bus driver, and to our class moms, Mrs. K. VanderHoeven, Mrs. M.J. Porter, and Mrs. M. Visser. Guess what we did? We made scones and butter!  We ate them too!  We learned to sew on buttons and got to plant turnips!  We carded wool and played some outdoor games.  Ask us all about it! In our Bible stories we continue to hear of God’s covenant with Abraham.  Ask us why his name was changed. In Math, we are finishing up our unit on addition and hope to move on to subtraction strategies next week. Some students are not practicing their spelling words on a regular basis and it shows in the dictation marks.  Study, study, study! Just a look ahead to Winterfest…grade three will be putting together a theme basket,  Holiday Baking.  Some items to bring are as follows:  sugar, cake mix, vanilla extract, marshmallows, spatulas, bowls, cookie cutters, cookbooks, recipe cards, icing, sprinkles, parchment paper, measuring cups, cinnamon, candy, canes etc. A BIG thank you to Mrs. Chelsea Bartels for coming in and making butter with us on Friday. What a great pioneer experience! That’s it for now. J.B./M.P.

Words:  city, community, country, exciting, getting, laughed, pretty, prettier, prettiest, schools, to, two, too, was

Hymn 52:1(Wednesday, October. 24)

Text: Genesis 12:1-3 (November 2.),Psalm 23:1 (November 2)

Gym clothes on Monday and Thursday; Library books in a library BAG on Tuesday; Mission $ on Friday

Grade 4

The next two weeks are very busy! Grade 4B has a science test on Wednesday, October 24 (Mrs. Lemstra). Grade 4A has the science test on Friday, November 2 (Miss Hoeksema). This will be a test with a lot of information, so they will need to study! In Math, we continue with subtraction.

Math Test: Grade 4B Wednesday, October 31 (Mrs. Lemstra)

Math Test: Grade 4A Tuesday, November 6 (Miss Hoeksema)

Bear pamphlets: Due Wednesday, October 24 (both classes)

Spelling: cry, close, surprise, off, spy, too, nineteen, closer, smile, bigger, lying, write, stranger, trying Grade 4B boost, barrier, recommend, gratitude (November 2)

Memory Work: Hymn 60:1,4 (Wed. Oct. 24) Psalm 20: 4 (Nov. 2) Psalm 100:4-5 (Nov. 2)

Grade 5

It’s been a good and busy week in Grade 5! In Social Studies, we have been transported back in time to the Ancient Roman era, where we all have to make uniforms for the soldiers. We hope to have presented those costumes by the time you read this. Next week, we will be starting the topic of the Punic Wars, and we will be making booklets about those wars. We will be starting recorder in Music class on Oct. 24, so parents, please make sure your child brings a recorder to school before then. Our next Art project will be making linographs with styrofoam trays, so each student needs to bring a tray in – the bigger, the better, and please make sure they have a flat, smooth middle. Thank you! We hope to have a mid-unit Bible test sometime during the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 2, so please keep an eye on the agendas to see exactly when that will be. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the short week next week! RK/KV

Memory Work: Oct. 24: Ps. 41:1, Luke 2:10-14; Nov. 2: Ps. 46:2; Nov. 9: John 3:14-16

Devotions:

5A – Oct. 22-24: M. William, Tu. Rebekah, W. Lani, Oct. 29-Nov. 2: M. Rylee, Tu. Kiera, W. Madison, Th. RaeAnna, F. Landon

5B – Oct. 22-24: M. Amanda, Tu. Declan, W. Kaden, Oct. 29-Nov. 2: M. Tabitha, Tu. Nate, W. Theo, Th. Gabby, F. Mya

Grade 6

Again we are having interesting week. We are mapping and  using large atlases to find places on earth that are important. Of course we have to know the provinces and capitals of Canada. In Social Studies we are learning about Canada and its trading partners, so we have to know  where we live ourselves. After that we will need to know about the United States, the continents and the oceans and other bodies of water. If you have to travel across the world to sell your products, you better know your  places. Maybe you as parents think that we should teach your children how to Google places instead of teaching map-reading-skills. Yes, we do that too, but that is in another subject. So far the students have really enjoyed the map activities, especially because we get to watch beautiful videos about the countries we are trading with. Interesting stuff! Next week is short, but we hope to work on our posters for Remembrance Day. This ties in well with our novel study Number the Stars for which we are learning Psalm 147:2. Ask your children how these two topics are related. Have you noticed the improvement in our recorder playing? Thank you so much for the home support! The music really starts to sound harmonious…….it took a while, but we move up on the scale! 😊Have a blessed weekend. CvA/ IdeV

Grade 7A

This past week we wrote our first Bible History test. Students were given their choice of questions to answer; 8 out of 21. Each question provided a proof text and students were allowed to use their duotang “notes”. Each answer was worth three marks and it was pointed out that each answer would, therefore, need to provide three points. Many students earned a disappointing mark; they didn’t use the proof texts, didn’t include three points and were unable to use adequate duotangs “notes”. While our goal is to use our God given talents to our fullest ability and His glory, ask your child how they did. In our Independent Study we have completed our “Author Profile”; knowing who the author is helps us understand the book better. Next we’ll learn what a documentary is/isn’t, find a suitable topic, get parent permission to view it, watch it, and then review it. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B

We come to the end of another week and look forward to a three day week next week. We have begun our Martin Luther Unit, looking at why we study Church History, as well as how God uses real, sinful people for His work. In History, we are working through a project on Everyday Life in New France. We will be starting the production stage next week. In Independent Study, students did really well on their book reports/author profiles, and now we will be moving on to the next step in our research, the documentary! Devotions – Elijah J. Have a great weekend!

Grade 8A

It was a ‘choppy’ week indeed (terrible dad/teacher pun intended)! After much work and a lot of dedication from some really special volunteers, Gr. 8 was able to chop and process over 7000 cups of soup groente! Wow! Great job team! Special thanks to Mrs. Bos, Mrs. Gelms, and so many other volunteers that spearheaded the effort. We still have extras to sell by the way! On Wednesday our week kind of really began and it was a productive finish to the week. Have a restful and blessed weekend. Cheers, Mr. J

Grade 8B

We’re moving right along in all areas of the curriculum.  Soon it will be time for another Math quiz and History quiz.  A mid-unit review will be completed and evaluated by the end of this week.  We will do a mid-unit Bible quiz on Wednesday.  By the end of next week, I will expect to see stories or essays from all of the students.  Many have already handed them in.  I will review the last five or six rough drafts this week.

Devotions:  Leah, Avery, Denver, Natasha, Aidan

Memory Work:  Psalm 34:4,5;  Joel 2:28-32

Theme baskets are getting well stocked! If you have not yet brought in a toonie, or an item to help fill your class basket, please do so by October 24th. Thank you for all your help in making these baskets a success!