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Hello again community as we enjoy the third day of spring and bring the first week of instruction after the March Break to a close.  Hopefully you had an enjoyable and relaxing March Break, whether you spent it at home or elsewhere.  May the Lord continue to provide students, staff, and parents with all that they need through the course of the second half of term two.

We congratulate Bayak and Rose Chien with the birth of their daughter, Rachel.  She is a little sister to Nyawech (Grade 6B), Marna (Grade 4A), and Nyajuok (Grade 1B).  All is well with mom and the baby, and the rest of the family too.  (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, B0P)  May our Heavenly Father provide the parents with all they need as they raise their children in the fear of His Name.

May our Heavenly Father continue to provide for those in our school community who need Him in a special way.  We pray for Mrs. deVisser who continues with her chemotherapy treatments; in fact, she was scheduled for her second treatment today.  In the Springcreek bulletin of March 17 the following update regarding our bus driver, Mrs. Brandy Stieva, was included.  I quote, “There’s some very encouraging news about the health prospect of sr. Brandy Stieva.  Initially it was thought that brain surgery (with its significant risks) would be needed but it now appears that doctors can access the malformation of cells (and the three blood vessels feeding them) by going up through the main artery in the groin.  The plan is to insert a glue that will close off the blood vessels permanently.  It may even be that this procedure can “kill off” the entire malformation.  The Stievas are very thankful to the Lord for this development and quite hopeful for good results.  The procedure has not yet been scheduled but it is expected within a couple of months.  We rejoice in the Lord for this good news and pray for His blessing over these plans.”

It was good to get together on Wednesday evening at the special membership meeting to discuss the revised mission and vision document.  It was good to be able to do so in an open and brotherly/sisterly manner.  We thank the chairman for conducting the meeting in an effective and efficient manner.  May the Lord continue to bless the JCS supporting community and the board as it carries out its work in behalf of the community. 

A few items for your attention:

*The Spring Food Drive in support of West Lincoln Community Care began this week and will continue until Friday, April 5.

*Today we say farewell to one of our student teachers, Miss Natalie Breukelman.  Her four-week practice teaching session has come to an end.  We hope and pray that her practicum at John Calvin School was a good and helpful experience as she works toward a career in teaching.  We wish her all the best and the Lord’s blessing as she heads back to the Teachers College for her last couple of months of instruction and exams.   We wish Mrs. Folkerts and Miss Vis all the best as they enter their final practicum week at John Calvin School.

*Today, half of the students from Grade 8 and a few from Grade 7 are participating in the annual Guido de Bres invitational tournament being held at the Arcelor-Mittal Dofasco Center in Stoney Creek.  We wish the players on the girls’ and boys’ teams and their coaches a great day of fun, competition, and interaction with their peers from other schools.  We will share with you the results next week.  Reminder:  Parents of the basketball players will need to pick-up their children from the venue.

*Included with today’s Chronicle is the Protocol for Class Re-distribution.  Class lists will be developed in June from the considerations, criteria, and procedures included in the document.  Please add it as an appendix to your copy of the Parent Handbook. The protocol has been reviewed and approved by the education committee and the board.

Reminders:

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

*Vacations:  When you are planning to go away on a family vacation and it includes time away from school for your children, please contact your children’s teachers several days in advance.  That would be much appreciated.  We thank all those parents who do make a point of contacting the teachers and/or school with their vacation plans and for how long they will be away.

*From the Library:  Please check your shelves or your children’s bedrooms for copies of the Book of Knowledge Encyclopedia (the volumes in the set have a green cover).  We are missing quite a number of books from the set.  Thank you.

*The JCS Ladies’ Auxiliary is planning a pancake lunch on Friday, April 5.  Hurray!  No lunches to make.  Thank you very much for this upcoming treat Ladies’ Auxiliary.

*Good Friday is on April 19 and Easter Monday is on April 22.

*Please note the following changes to the school calendar:  The Special Membership meeting re:  Mission and Vision document is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, and the Spring Membership meeting originally scheduled for May 22 has been re-scheduled for Wednesday, April 24.

                Have a good weekend everyone and we’ll touch base again next week Friday, D.V.                G. Hofsink

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Classroom News

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Kindergarten

In kindergarten this week we learned all about the letter V. During Math class we continued to take a look at numbers 10-20.  The students are encouraged to review these numbers at home as well. In Bible class we listened to the story of David and Goliath.  The children were intrigued and had a lot of interesting questions. Next week is a short week for kindergarten! On Friday, Jessica and I will be attending a Kindergarten Conference in Hamilton. Next week Monday and Tuesday is ORANGE day. Please send your child to school wearing orange. On Wednesday and Thursday we are planning to have a home-made pizza lunch and fruit salad in connection with our health and nutrition unit. If your child doesn’t like pizza please send a sandwich along with them. I hope you all have a lovely weekend! NR&JB

Letter of the week: Yy

Words of the week: are, orange

Memory Work: O Church Arise (especially the chorus and stanza 3 & 4)

Grade 1

Finally, a full week of school! Bible tests have been written and should come home on Monday.  We will be finished our Math unit next week and will follow up with a test on Friday. We have learned a lot about some famous Canadians; ask your child about them.  It has been rather wet on the playground this week and students have come in needing to change into extra clothes.  Please send an extra set of clothes in your child’s bag.  The food drive has started this week. A big thank-you to Mrs. J. Bijlsma for painting a beautiful beehive on our hallway wall.  We hope to have our bees finished and hanging up soon.  Come and take a peek in the near future.  Have a blessed Sunday.

Memory Work for Friday, March 29 – Hymn 24:3; Isaiah 53:6 (April 5)

Spelling Words:  come, good, made, may, part

Grade 2

Welcome back to school! Hopefully you all had a wonderful March break.  It’s always fun to hear stories of exciting events and outings.  This week we completed our Social Studies unit on Zimbabwe. The students enjoyed our guest speaker (Mr. Hofsink). He started many pictures and stories from his trip to Zambia approximately 5 years ago.  Thank you,  Mr.Hofsink! We also completed a test on this unit on Thursday.  Grade 2B is going to Beacon Home on Monday to visit with our special brothers and sisters in Christ. Have a great weekend! BV/RG

Memory work: Ps. 139:1; Text: John 6:35

Grade 3

The Lord has been watching over us and brought us back together again to work and serve. We thank the LORD for a wonderful March Break and we are excited to get back to our daily task. In our Bible classes we hear how the LORD provides for His people by raising up Moses for future leadership. Math is still all about geometry. Ask us about perimeter and area. We started a new Social Studies unit on urban, suburban, and rural communities.  Ask us to define each type of community so far. Don’t forget to bring food for the Spring Community Food Drive.  This connects nicely to our unit. That’s it for now and have a blessed weekend. J.B./M.P.

Words:  it’s that’s, threw, through, vacation

Hymn 37:1,2; Text: Exodus 20:1-6

Gym clothes on Monday and Thursday.

Library books on Tuesday.

Dictation and Mission $ on Friday

Grade 4

This week we will be working hard on our Canada projects. Students may need to do some additional research at home on the following main points (geography, climate, industry, points of interest/tourist attractions, plants and animals). Please continue to encourage your child to study the multiplication tables and read at home. Spelling Unit 25 is as follows: faced, crash, city, picture, mice, rocket, space, poem, ice, cricket, adventure, police, club, o’clock (4B extra words: remedy, bedlam, casual, cantankerous)

Tues: French Quiz 4B Vocabulary, Bible Test Unit 5 4A

Thurs: French Quiz 4B Descriptions

Fri: Spelling Unit 25, Memory work Hymn 35: 4, Daniel 2: 20-22

Grade 5

We hope you all had an enjoyable and restful March Break! It’s been a good first week back after having a week off, and nice to have a week with five days again! We are enjoying some new units in a number of different subjects. We are being reminded of exactly how much suffering Christ went through at the end of his life on earth, and we are so thankful he was willing to do this for our sake! We will be having another quest in Social Studies next Friday, March 29, on the three kingdoms, art history, and scripts in Ancient Egypt. Have a good weekend and a blessed Sunday. RK/KV

Memory Work: Hymn 2:2,3; Text (for April 5): 1 Peter 2:9-10

Devotions: 5A – M. William, Tu. Rebekah, W. Lani, Th. Rylee, F. Kiera

5B – M. Kelty, Tu. Morgan, W. Joel, Th. Eden, F. Mason

Grade 6

This was the first full week of school in a long time and we got a lot accomplished. Most students have gathered enough information for their state research project. The next step will be to type the information. The students are encouraged to look for pictures on the computer or in magazines and bring them in. For the beanbag project, the students will need stuffing, preferably the soft cotton ball type. If you have old cushions that you want to dispose of, please send the stuffing to school so that it can be reused for our projects. In our study of the book of Exodus, we saw that the element of blood was very important in Israelite history. It was how the relationship with God was restored. Have a blessed weekend. SO/CV

Grade 7A

The past week was a busy one…science experiments and write ups, a trip to Niagara Christian Gleaners, researching a battle from the war of 1812, finding percents of numbers, and acting out kitchen disasters. Next week also promises to be another opportunity to continue our training for a life of service to our God and neighbour. Of special note, we’ll narrow down candidates for our independent study interviews as well as move on to Foundations in Personal Finance. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B

In Bible History, we are looking at Solomon’s Kingdom of Peace where he, under the LORD’s blessing, builds the temple. In Math, we have moved on to percentages, decimals, and fractions and will be looking at how to calculate discounts and taxes. In Language Arts, we will be beginning a new unit on our Digital Footprint and Digital Citizenship, particularly looking at cyberbullying and the effects/dangers of social media. Our History project continues on the War of 1812, looking at individual battles. Independent Study has taken the next step in the process where we will be finding a professional/expert to interview. Please talk with your children about who they could possibly interview and also please sign the Interview Proposal Form that should be coming home by Tuesday. Devotions – Titus H. Have a great weekend!

Grade 8A

It was great to come back this week and see all the tanned (and not so tanned) faces return from their vacations! From the stories I heard, the students all had an exciting and well-deserved break. After a day of review, we got back into the swing of things and resumed our regular routines. The students wrote a science test on Thursday, and have an upcoming Bible test on Paul’s 1st and 2nd Missionary journeys this coming Tuesday. Today we toured the Niagara Christian Gleaners and enjoyed a pancake breakfast, and pizza lunch while the rest of our classmates were participating in the basketball tournament. It was a great way to end the week! To the students of Grade 8A: Thank you for making my induction week a great one, you’ve taught me so much! Have a great weekend! –Mrs. Folkerts

Grade 8B

We had the opportunity to start two new things last week.  We have transitioned from Geography studies to Science and from Bible to Church History.  Our student teacher, Miss Breukelman has ably taught lessons about the use of the microscope as well as about the reformation in Scotland.  We hope to have a Math test near the end of next week.  We have also been working at learning how to construct sentences in the past tense using passe compose in French.  We will have a quiz next Thursday to see how well we are able to do that independently. We say farewell to Miss Breukelman today and thank her for her work in our class during her practicum. We also want to wish her the LORD’s blessing as she continues her studies at the Teachers’ College.