General News

“O God, our help in ages past,

Our hope for years to come,

Be thou our guard while troubles last,

And our eternal home.”      (Hymn 54:8)

Good Friday morning everyone as we bring another week of instruction to a close at John Calvin School.  We thank the Lord for His blessing and guidance on our work throughout this past week.  Progress reports will be going home with the students this afternoon.  Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled for Tuesday, November 13 and Thursday, November 15.  Please make every effort to attend.  The schedule will be emailed to you either later today or on Monday.  We look forward to getting together to discuss the progress of your child/children to this point in the school year.  If you aren’t able to make your scheduled time, please let the school know.  We thank the Lord for the many gifts and blessings He has provided during the course of the first half of the first term and we pray that He will continue to provide for the needs of the students, staff, and parents during the remainder of the term.

Usually, the students and staff from Grades 5-8 attend the Remembrance Day services at the Smithville Royal Canadian Legion cenotaph.  However, since this year’s Remembrance Day falls on a Sunday, the whole school remembered the event at an assembly this morning.  This year was a special commemoration because of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.  The focus of today’s assembly was the story of Mrs. Z. Linde, a member of the Smithville Canadian Reformed Church and a great-grandmother to several children in the school.  Two of her great-grandchildren (Brooke Linde and Tristen Wielink) read a poem, one to open the assembly and the other to close the assembly.  With a power point presentation, Mrs. vanBrederode told Mrs. Linde’s story.  Mrs. Linde was in attendance and was available to answer questions after the story was told.  We also commemorated the event with a minute of silence followed by a rendition of the Last Post.  We thank our Heavenly Father for the freedom we can enjoy thanks to those who fought and continue to fight for that freedom in ages past and in the present.  We will remember them!

Even though Grades 5-8 are not able to be present at the cenotaph, Liam Mans (Grade 8B) is planning to lay a wreath in behalf of John Calvin School at the Remembrance Day memorial service at the Legion.  He and his family are planning to attend the service after their morning worship service.

We hope to see you all at some point and time at Winterfest tomorrow.  The gym opens for breakfast, flowers, and farmer’s market at 7:30 a.m., and the rest of the rooms and activities open at 9:00 a.m.  We are looking forward to a great event.  The weather looks good for Saturday albeit a bit chilly; mainly sunny in the morning and a mixture of sun and cloud in the afternoon with a high of 3º C.  Once again we thank everyone involved in Winterfest for making the event happen.

A few items for your attention:

*There is still some outstanding chocolate bar money (11 boxes x $90.00) that needs to come in.  Please get the money in as soon as possible.

*Students in Grades 7&8 who have outstanding monies from the Anchor Work Day are encouraged to bring in the money next week as we would like to wrap up this fundraiser as soon as possible.  Thanks for your cooperation in this matter and thank you to the students who have already brought in the money.

*Two weeks of practicum are completed and that means one more week to go for Mrs. Folkerts, Miss Lof, and Miss VanEerde.

*Volleyball practices for all three teams continue after school every Monday and Thursday for the next three weeks leading up to the tournament which is hosted by Guido De Bres Christian high school on Friday, November 30.  An exhibition mini-tournament with Bellstone Christian School is being planned for Monday, November 19.

*The first skating session at the Smithville arena is scheduled for Wednesday, November 14.  Grade 4 will skate from 12:15-1:15 and Grade 6 will skate from 1:15-2:15.  In the interest of safety and concussion prevention, students in Grades K-3 must wear helmets when on the ice.  They can be either hockey helmets or bicycle helmets.  Students in Grades 4-8 are encouraged to wear them.  Those playing hockey must wear them.

*The following is a repeat of what was written in the October edition of the News and Views and last week’s Chronicle:  The John Calvin School PTA is currently in limbo because its duties have been taken over by other committees or organizations.  The school board is soliciting feedback from the school membership to see if there is any interest in retaining the PTA and, if so, what that might look like, i.e. a different mandate, a new structure, different functions/duties.  If you have any thoughts or ideas what a revitalized PTA might look like, please email your local board member or the school, office@johncalvinschool.com

Reminders:

*Please continue to collect tabs for cans for Jude VanVeen so he and his family can get a wheelchair for his sister Anna.

*The second skating session at the Smithville arena is scheduled for Wednesday, November 21.  Grade 5 will skate from 12:15-1:15 and Grades KB and 1B will skate from 1:15-2:15.  In the interest of safety and concussion prevention, students in Grades K-3 must wear helmets when on the ice.  They can be either hockey helmets or bicycle helmets.  Students in Grades 4-8 are encouraged to wear them.  Those playing hockey must wear them.

*Friday, November 23 is a PD Day for both John Calvin School and Guido de Bres Christian high school.  Students can enjoy a long weekend while the teachers of JCS will be busy with professional development coming out of the workshops they attended at the Teachers Convention.

*Grade 3A is scheduled to visit Kilean Lodge on Thursday, November 22.

*Grade 7A is scheduled to visit Beacon Home on Monday, November 26.

*Grade 3A is scheduled to visit Anchor Home on Wednesday, November 28.

*Grade KA is scheduled to visit Shalom Manor on Friday, November 30.

*PLEASE NOTE:  The Fall Membership meeting has been re-scheduled to Wednesday, November 28.  The reason for the change in date is that this will now allow parents from our community to attend the parent evening about Mental Health that is being held at Guido De Bres high school on Wednesday, November 21.  This event precedes the student Mental Health conference on Thursday, November 22.

Have a wonderful Winterfest Saturday and a blessed day of rest and worship on Sunday.  We’ll be in touch in about a week’s time.                  G. Hofsink

Classroom News

Kindergarten

This past week we were able to learn about Remembrance Day. After reading a book and talking about the war the students understood that whenever we see a poppy we have to  remember all of those who fought and who continue to fight for our freedom. This also made us remember the greatest sacrifice, when Jesus laid down his life for all of our sins. Next week we will continue with the story of Joseph and Pharaoh. In math we hope to wrap up our unit on counting. In social studies we will be learning all about road safety and fire safety, this includes going on a walk looking for road signs and a trip to the Fire Hall next week. Have a lovely week! NR

Letter of the week: Ee

Words of the week: blue, like, one

Memory work: Psalm 93: 1, Genesis 8:22

Grade 1

We have finished our Bible unit and tests have been sent home.  We have started the stories in our new unit ‘God Delivers His People in Egypt’.  We will also be finished our unit on Kicking and Dribbling during our P.E classes and are becoming fairly good at kicking, dribbling and passing the soccer ball.  We have been working with fact families in Math and are beginning to complete daily drills.  Some of us could use a little more practice with our Spelling and agenda words.  Thanks for taking the time to review these with your child.  On Friday, we could remember the sacrifice of the many soldiers who fought/fight for our freedom during the assembly.  We thank Mrs. Z. Linde for allowing us to share her story and for being willing to answer the questions we had. We are all looking forward to having fun at the Winterfest!  We hope to see many of you there.  Have a blessed Sunday.

Memory Work for Friday, Nov. 16 – Hymn 54:1;  Isaiah 9:2

Spelling Words:  all, but, not, what, were

Grade 1B has skating on November 21 – 1:15 – 2:15

Grade 1A  has skating on November 28 – 1:15 2:15

Grade 2

The excitement in the classrooms this week has been in  anticipation of Winterfest. Thanks, Mr.Hofsink for the daily reminders over the intercom.Have a wonderful weekend, we look forward to seeing you there! BB/RG

Memory work: Ps.42:3; Text: Micah 5:2

Spelling words: one, won, thing, how, who

Grade 3

Bonjour! Miss D. VanEerde has been busy teaching in grade 3A.  We are totally enjoying the Science unit dealing with the circulatory and respiratory systems. What an awesome God we have who made every artery, vein, capillary, and our heart we can live to do His will. Wow! Ask us how it all works! In our Art classes we will be doing a project dealing with warm and cool colours. Ask us all about it! On Friday, Mrs. VanBrederode and Mr. Hofsink led us in a Remembrance Day assembly.  Thank you for reminding us of the sacrifices made for our freedom today. God keep our land, glorious and free! We finished our Bible unit with a test on Wednesday.  Please check your child’s agenda for the results. That’s it for now! See you all at Winterfest!

Psalm 39:1; Text: Genesis 15:5-6

Words:  first, hopeless, journal, let’s, recycle

Gym clothes on Monday and Thursday.

Library Book in a Library BAG on Tuesday.

Mission $$ on Friday

Grade 4

Grade 4 has been hard at work! Read on to hear a bit about the next couple of weeks. In Math, we are working on geometry. In Science, we have moved on to learning about how the digestive system works. Although we ended our “Church Life” unit a few weeks ago, we have been able to schedule our planned visit to the Teachers’ College, Seminary and Ebenezer Villa for Thursday, November 22. At this point, we will not need any parent supervision for this full day trip. Have a restful weekend.

Memory Work: Psalm 56:1 (Nov. 16) Psalm 60:1 (Nov. 22)  Isaiah 9:6-7 (Nov.16) Spelling: dream, rest, please, friend, they, sleeping, chief, creek, piece, meet, believe, teach, yard, leave (Grade 4B) thaw, symphony, spontaneous, rickety

Grade 5

After more than two months of learning all about Ancient Rome, we are finally done our unit. We really enjoyed it, but we do have to learn some other things in Science/Social Studies this year, and next week we will be moving on to Nutrition. The students were very creative in their building of their Lego scenes, and we have a good start on our next stories. In Math, we’ve started Unit 3 this week, which is all about multiplication. We do multiplication drills in class every day, but a number of students still have a hard time with their multiplication tables. Parents, if your child is one of those, we strongly encourage them to practice at home so that this unit will be easier for them. In Language Arts, we finished our group projects for Call it Courage, so we will be going back to our World of Literature textbook. We’re starting to hear some actual music being made with the recorders, which is great! The students are encouraged to practice their songs at home so they keep getting better. We also want to say a big thank you to all the people who were involved in making Winterfest a success. We know it’s a lot of work, and we really appreciate all that you do! Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Sunday. RK/KV

Memory Work: Ps. 57:1,5; Text (Nov. 23): Mark 12:29-31

Devotions: 5A – M. Caiden, Tu. Micah, W. Jude, Th. Jacob, F. Leanne

5B – M. Mason, Tu. Reuben, W. Trinity, Th. Parker, F. Amanda

Grade 6

We look forward to our skating session next week Wednesday. If you would like to join us, we would love to see you from 1:15-2:15, especially to join and play hockey with the students. Please remember to bring helmets if playing hockey. The students have researched their names for the meaning, origin, history, rank, and interesting facts. They have also filled in a sheet about their names at home. Next week they will use this information to write paragraphs about their names. We look forward to discussing your child’s progress next week. Have a blessed weekend. IdV/CVA

Grade 7A

This past week we toured the Turkstra Lumber Truss Yard and the Mill; this was in connection with our structural strength and stability unit in Science. Next week Tuesday we will visit the Weather Network in connection with our study of climate in Physical Geography. Martin Luther did not recant at the Diet of Worms and now he is declared an outlaw; where will he hide, what will happen in Wittenberg during his absence? Stay tuned in Church History. In Math we’ll wrap up geometry and move on to fractions, percentages and decimals. Please ask your child if they’ve signed up for SCITORY and what documentary they plan to watch for their Independent Study. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B

In Church History, we move to the aftermath of the 95 Thesis, studying the Break with Rome and the Diet of Worms. In LA, we have finished our public speaking unit and have moved into short stories, looking at plot diagrams. In Phys. Ed, we are starting a new unit as well on peer to peer instruction where groups of students will be teaching and running a low order cooperative game. Independent Study continues to go well as we see what a good documentary is. Next week we will be finding our own documentary. Devotions – Victoria L. Have a great weekend and enjoy Winterfest!

Grade 8A

Its Winterfest! That meant a great opportunity to serve on Friday afternoon as we helped set up the school. As a class we did quite well on a recent Math Test, though some continue to struggle with adding and subtracting integers. Have a great day and a blessed weekend.

Grade 8B

Students will have received their marked Bible and Math tests back this week. Please ask them how they did. (Mostly, very well) Thank-you Liam Mans for planning on going to the cenotaph service in Smithville on Sunday morning and laying a wreath on our behalf. Next week students can count on a Geography test on Tuesday. In Church History, we have been talking about Europe on the Eve of the Reformation as an introduction to the unit about the Reformation in England.  Students did a really nice job at preparing pages for a booklet that we are calling Grade “8B Book of Prayers and Lunch Time Devotionals.”  Please help your child to return Anchor work day money and chocolate bar sales money as soon as possible.

Memory Work:  Psalm 44:1 (I John 2:28-3:3, due Nov. 16)

Lunch Devotions:  Caleb, Jeremy, Leah, Avery, Denver