General News

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The purpose of John Calvin School is to assist and support parents in the education of their covenant children to the glory of God.  In accomplishing this mission, the vision of John Calvin School is to provide excellent Christ-centered education in service to God and our neighbour.

Greetings readership as we bring to an end an extra short but busy week of learning and teaching at John Calvin School.  Hope you had an enjoyable Family Day and could get out on Tuesday and enjoy the copious amount of snow left behind by Monday – Tuesday snowstorm.  In speaking with a local landscaper/snow clearer he said that it’s been a bit since we have had a dump of snow like we did this week.  Nice to get a fresh covering of snow this morning. The students certainly have lots of snow for building forts, playing follow the leader through the snow, snow hills to climb, and Mount Calvin to sled down. May the Lord continue to provide the students and staff with all that they need for their respective tasks as they head into the last week of February.

Regarding March Break:  This week, in conjunction with Guido de Bres Christian high school and the other Feeder Schools (as well as being consistent with what other schools are doing), the board of JCS made the decision to move the March Break (March 12-19) to April 12-16. Also, the day off planned for Friday, March 12 has been moved to Monday, March 15, thus creating a long weekend in the middle of March. This, also, in alignment with the high school and the feeder schools.   

Parent-teacher conferences: The conferences are scheduled to take place on Tuesday of next week.  For those who signed up for conferences, the teachers will be contacting you either by telephone or by Zoom on Tuesday afternoon or evening to discuss the progress of your child(ren).  

May the Lord continue to provide for those in our community who need Him in a special way; be it those who are sick, who are impacted by the virus, who are dealing with difficult family situations, or those who are grieving the death of a loved one. 

We congratulate Mike and Melissa Smouter with the birth of their son, Connor.  He is a brother to Logan (2A) and Emma (1A).  All is well with the baby, mom, and the rest of the 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, BoP).  May the Lord provide Mike and Melissa with everything they need as they raise their covenant children in the fear of his name. 

A few matters for your attention:

*The News and Views is scheduled for distribution this weekend. 

*Book Week, originally scheduled for February 16-19, has been rescheduled to April 19-23.

*Just a reminder that the school is still collecting can tabs for wheelchairs.

*The JCS Easter concert has been postponed to April 13 & 14, 2022, D.V.

Have a good weekend everyone and a blessed day of worship.  We hope to touch base again in a week’s time.  G. Hofsink

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Classroom News

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Kindergarten

Another week complete in Kindergarten, albeit a short week especially for KB who only had one day of school this week.  The students were very excited to share their valentines with their friends and to make Valentine’s Day crafts.  Miss Vanluik and I thank you for the treats and the cards! Next week, Monday/Tuesday we will be having ORANGE DAY.  Please remember to dress your child in something orange and perhaps send an orange snack in his/her lunch pail.  The new calendar for the month of May will be coming out as soon as the decision has been made as to whether we will have a March break or an April break.  It will be very helpful if you packed an extra pair of mittens and socks for this season.  Many of the students have wet feet and would love to change their socks.  Also with the snow, the mittens do not have enough time to dry prior to the next use so an extra pair would be greatly appreciated. JB/NV

Grade 1

We managed to pack a lot into a really short week. Thanks for all of the Valentine’s treats. It was hard to staple all of the children’s bags shut…so they all got a lot of good wishes too. The children are really enjoying playing in the snow at recess times. Please make sure that they take their snow pants to school. It is a wet afternoon otherwise. We have completed the Bible unit. Grade 1A will have had their test on Friday and Grade 1B can expect to write it on Monday. Grade 1B, will also expect to write a Social Studies test on Thursday to conclude their unit about transportation. If you have not already done so, please return the report card envelopes to the school. There are also still some ‘Gran’ readers that have not been returned.  (We are using them now and we are several copies short.) You will recognize them because the covers have bright yellow on them. Please return them to the school so that each student can work with a reader.  We are going to work with the same Memory Work, Spelling and sight words as last week.  

MW:  Psalm 132:6,  T. Psalm 8:1

Spelling words:  come, may, many, part, good

Sight words:  father, mother, some, come, two

Grade 2

Spelling: use, quit, aunt, uncle

Memory work: Psalm 110:1

What a treat to enjoy an extra long, long- weekend! The students were very glad to share stories of sledding, skating, building in the snow, etc. To top off the excitement, the school’s driveway had been plowed and giant snow hills were left behind for the students to play on. In class, we completed our Social Studies unit on Zimbabwe. We plan to turn our attention next week to learning about Solids, Liquids, and Gases. It looks to be a fun filled unit!

We’ve also turned to our next Church History unit on People in Church History. The students will be learning how God uses weak and sinful people from all times and places to gather and care for His Church. We have begun with studying John Chrysostom. That’s all for this week! Have a blessed weekend! BV/RG

Grade 3

He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs swiftly. He gives snow like wool; He scatters frost like ashes. Ps. 147:15,16 An extra long weekend due to the snowfall earlier this week gives us pause to stand in awe of God’s majesty. The children are loving the snow and sledding on Mount. Calvin. Due to the shortened week, we will give extra time to practise spelling words as some of these are especially tricky. Please practise these daily as well as memory work and the three times table. Reviewing states of matter in Science kept us busy during Science class. Knowing the numbers (1-20) in French is practised every day. Reading about penguins, gathering information, and writing the information in our own words holds our attention in reading class. And, ‘the wild things’ and texture keeps us busy in art. Ask us about it. Have a blessed Sunday.

Memory work: Hy. 11:2,3   Text: The Ten Plagues

Spelling words: about, especially, except, friendly, knew, new, know, no, myself, really, probably, then, usually, what

On Thursday bring library books in a plastic bag, Mission $ on Friday

Grade 4

We had a short, but productive week behind us. We are so thankful that Mrs. A. Tenhage is able to fill in for Miss Hoeksema, while she has been home ill, and we pray that she may be granted the health and strength to return to her work here at JCS. Please keep working at the times tables drill work. Encourage your child to keep reading at least 20 minutes daily.

Spelling Unit 22 — grandfather, popcorn, thank, cupboard, grandmother, playground, third, being, newspaper, cowhands, thirty, doing, these, think

Tuesday: Bible Test gr 4A

Friday: Bible Test gr 4B, Spelling Test Unit 22

Memory work: Psalm 67:1, next week, Psalm 9: 4 & 5,  and Psalm 121: 5- 8.

Grade 5

Another week has flown past! With the shortened week we remained very busy working on our dioramas for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Students are doing a wonderful job recreating scenes from the book. Much creativity has been shown in this project! Next week we will be going back to our World of Literature textbook. Theme 4 is all about Amazing Worlds in Creation. We also hope to switch from Science to a Social Studies unit about Ancient Egypt.  Devotions for the week are as follows: 5A M. Chloe, Tu. A.J., W. Victoria, Th. Mackenna, F. Kayden.  and for 5B M. Ella, Tu. Chelsea, W. Connor, Th. Mikenna, F. Kingston. Have a great weekend! RK/KVL 

Grade 6

We are starting some new units in Math and Science. In Math we are studying fractions. The theme of this chapter is the heart. On each page a Christian perspective will be given about the heart. As the students learn about the physical heart, we are encouraged to assist them in developing their spiritual hearts through loving and serving God and others. The students also memorized a very fitting text to go along with this. In Science we are going to learn more about the brain and how to protect this very important part of our body. Have a blessed weekend. AF/CV

Grade 7A

Our “War of 1812” project is up and running. Students have been placed in groups of two and are investigating a battle of their choice from the war. They will submit a written report of the battle and present the battle in 3-D form using a plane and pieces. Please ask your child what battle they chose. In LA we’re enjoying, “The Hobbit”, as well as the recently released movie; we’ll compare the book with the movie. We’ll wrap up our look at ratios and rates as we find the percent increase and decrease. Our next Math unit will be measurement. After creating a pastel portrait this past week in Art, we’ll move on to printmaking, specifically intaglio. We’ll see how the Lord will use Ulrich Zwingli to bring about the Reformation in the Swiss Confederation in Church History. Enjoy your weekend.

Grade 7B

In Church History, we have been introduced to the Swiss Confederation and the context in which our Reformer, Ulrich Zwingli, was born into. Next week, we will see the early life of Zwingli, and how the LORD works in His providential care to lead Zwingli to be a Reformer. In History, we have started our major War of 1812 project, where students will work in groups to research and create a battle from the War of 1812. In Geography, we are coming to the end of our Geography chapter on “Our Needs and Wants and the Environment”, and will be beginning our chapter on Renewable Resources. Independent Study has started up again, and we will be learning about Journal Articles, specifically on Google Scholar! Have a great weekend!

Grade 8

Week two of returning to school has come and gone quickly thanks to our first snow day! School has been covered with snow lately, which is great for enjoying Mount Calvin. This week students have been continuing to wrap up assignments from at home learning. In Church History students are writing a letter to a friend in a far away place, imaging themselves in 16th century Scotland. In regular math we’ve also had the chance to make model arks; great work! Have a blessed week! Mr. J & Ms. P