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.

Hello again school community on this beautiful, sunny Friday morning (albeit cooler than the last few days but a bit more spring-like) as we bring to a close another week of instruction at John Calvin School.   May the Lord continue to bless the work of the parents and teachers as, together, we instruct his covenant children in the fear of his Name.  “Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.  (Job 28:28)

FYI, it’s one year ago today that we started the 2020 spring break that turned into the longest stint away from JCS for students (25 weeks, from March 13 – September 8) in the history of the school.  We thank and praise the Lord that, aside from five weeks in January/February, we have been able to be at school for 2020-2021.  We hope and pray that will continue to be the case until the end of June, D.V.

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 continue to pray for the Kamphuis family and their relatives.  We also think of several students who sustained injuries during the last couple of weeks whether at home or at school, i.e. a broken collar bone, a broken leg, a broken arm, or facial injuries.  May the Lord continue to grant healing.

A few matters for your attention:

*Regarding morning parent drop-offs:  Several parents have expressed concern about safety during morning drop-offs.  When dropping off children, please keep in mind the queue behind as you drop them off; we’ve had it that there was a half-dozen vehicles in the queue on the driveway.  If you anticipate the drop-off taking longer or you have several children that you are dropping off, please pull into a parking spot.  We need to keep the line moving.  Also, please use the lanes when entering and exiting the parking lot (rather than cutting across parking spots), stick to the right, and be mindful of children.  Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

*As school community, we are planning a Spring Food Drive in support of West Lincoln Community Care.  The food drive is scheduled to take place from Tuesday, March 16 to Friday, April 9. 

*An invitation from River’s Edge Haven of Hope:  River’s Edge is hosting free family tours during the April break to experience the farm/horses, etc.  Their newsletter was included with last week’s Chronicle.

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

*Daylight Saving Time kicks in on Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m.

*Monday, March 15 is a day off for students and staff.  Enjoy it!

Enjoy the long weekend everyone and have a blessed Sunday.  We’ll communicate via the Chronicle again next week Friday, D.V.                                      G. Hofsink

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Classroom News

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Kindergarten

The students enjoyed the warmer weather this week especially because it meant no more snow pants, hats or mittens to wear!  It does mean that there are puddles and lots of mud to play in at school. Please remember to send an extra pair of pants and socks in case of dirty or wet clothes. The students have begun learning how to write in sentences. They are creating their first dictionary which allows them to write words independently without asking a teacher. It is so fun watching the students grow in their learning. Keep up the good work, kindergarten. Next week Monday KA will enjoy a PD day. A reminder that both KA/KB students will be coming to school on Wednesday for a combined day. Thank you to Mrs deBoersap who will be team teaching with Miss Broersma on Wednesday. Have a great long weekend!  JB/NV

Grade 1

Students have really enjoyed the mild weather this week.  Please note that almost all of the areas around the school are quite wet.  It really is very helpful if the children have an extra pair of socks and pants in their backpacks. We are almost at the end of our long vowels unit in phonics. We hope to have a test after the coming week. Enjoy the day off on Monday.

Memory work:  Psalm 100:4, Isaiah 9:2

Spelling words:  give, me, over, saw, want

Sight words:  each, month, through, thought, Mr.

Grade 2

We have enjoyed the beautiful temperatures this week! It’s always such a blessing to feel God’s faithfulness as promised in Genesis 8:22. In our Church History lessons, we have begun learning about Martin Luther in his work as a translator.  We will have another quiz on Friday. Friday promises to be an exciting day. Get out your magnifying glasses and detective hats…it’ll be Detective Day in Grade 2A and B! We’ve been busy reading Nate the Great; learning about following a hot trail! As part of our fun, the students will be provided with pancakes for lunch. Students do not need to bring any supplies; we’ll provide the plates and syrup for rip and dip! That’s all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend! BV/RG

Memory work: Psalm 24:5; Text: Matthew 5:14-2

Church History quiz: Friday

Spelling: skate, children, best, phone, ride

Grade 3

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24. Another week of teaching and learning has passed.  We are so thankful that we may continue to teach His covenant children. In our Bible lessons, we continue to hear how the LORD continues to equip Moses to be the leader of Israel.  Ask us to describe the ten plagues. What did the LORD demonstrate in the ten plagues? We just started another novel called Mr. Popper’s Penguins! We are all loving it! What are insulators and conductors?  Ask us all about the experiments that we did! Yes, we are telling time in our math classes.  Ask us to tell the time at home too! That’s it for now. Have a blessed weekend. J.B./M.P.

Psalm 108:1; 

Text:  Exodus 20:1-6

Words: something, sometimes, unhappiness, your, you’re

Thursday: Library Books

Friday: Mission $$.

Grade 4

Grade 4 continues to work hard. We are moving along well in our novel study, “From Anna”. We have been discussing how Anna is adjusting to life in a new country, but also how her new glasses and school have been making a big impact on her attitude and confidence. In Math, we have wrapped up a unit on long multiplication and we are moving on to a new unit on fractions. We have also come to the end of our Church History unit about John Hus. We learned how the Lord used John Hus, even though he was a weak and sinful man, to preach His Word in the kingdom of Bohemia during the 15th century. We will now turn our attention to the kings of Judah. In Science, we have been learning all about body systems, with a specific focus on the digestive system. We stand in awe of our awesome Creator.We hope that you enjoy your long weekend and have a blessed Sunday.

Spelling Unit 25: faced, crash, city, picture, mice, rocket, space, poem, ice, cricket, adventure, police, club, o’clock

Wednesday: John Hus Test Gr. 4B

Friday: Spelling Unit 25 Test, Memory work Psalm 6:1

Upcoming memory work: Hymn 42: 2, 3

Grade 5

Another week has passed, and we thank the Lord that He continues to provide us with all we need to do our tasks from day to day. Today, Grade 5A had a great afternoon celebrating Mrs. Kelly’s birthday (March 13)! We wrapped up a number of different units/sections this week. In Math, we are now moving on to Chapters 8 & 9, where we will learn about integers and fractions. In World of Literature, we are starting Theme 5, “Growing and Changing”. In Social Studies, we have learned a lot about Ancient Egypt already, and we will continue next week with lessons about the different kingdoms, their art, and their scripts. Have a wonderful long weekend! RK/KV

Devotions: 5A – Tu. Emersyn, W. AJ, Th. Victoria, F. MacKenna

5B – Tu. Liam, W. Kensi, Th. Reuben, F. Ella

Grade 6

Grade 6 finished off or is getting close to finishing off a number of units. In LA we are drawing our novel study on Underground to Canada to a close. After reading this book we recognized once again how sinful mankind is, and how desperately we need our Lord and Savior! We are also drawing our Science unit on the immune and nervous system to a close. Grade 6B will be creating models of different parts of these systems as part of their learning consolidation. In Phys Ed we are learning the skills necessary to become knowledgeable and skilled basketball players! It’s a lot of work, but we are enjoying the process! Have a wonderful long weekend! CV/AF

Grade 7A

Hello from Grade 7A! Another eventful week has passed in which we were allowed to continue our training for a life of service to God and the neighbour. Next week we hope to wrap up our study of Ulrich Zwingli and learn how the Lord used him to pave the way for Jean Calvin. We’ll transition back to Bible History for a unit on King Solomon. Our History War of 1812 project is coming along nicely; the written and visual components are done and next, students will construct the interactive battle map. Be sure to ask your child which battle they are researching. In Science, we’ll examine energy transfer systems in our next chapter; the study is part of our unit, thermal energy and heat technology. We’ll learn about radiation, conduction and convection. Volleyball has our focus in P.E. and some students find the sport a bit challenging, especially the fore arm pass and volley. Enjoy your long weekend.

Grade 7B

In Church History, we have come to the end of our Ulrich Zwingli unit, and will be moving on to Solomon and his kingdom of peace next week. In Language Arts, we continue to make our way through our novel study on “The Hobbit”, doing assignments and comparing the book to the movie. In Math, we are learning about converting measurements and comparing metric units to imperial or customary units. We will be coming to the end of this chapter around the middle of next week. Independent Study continues to roll along, as we create annotated bibliographies on our journal articles. Next we move on to one of the last steps of the process, the interview! Have a great long weekend!

Grade 8

One meteorologist remarked that this week we saw the highest temperatures since November! It sure has been nice to enjoy the longer days and warmer temperatures. In Gr. 8 this week, we continued our study of the Reformation in Scotland with stories on John Knox and the return of Mary Stuart. In History, the students continued work on their essays and we reviewed what was needed in a proper introduction. In Science, students were able to complete a unit test on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, the accelerated math students were able to complete a culminating assignment for Ch. 7. Have a blessed long weekend! Cheers, Mr. J and Ms. P

8A Devotions: NT, NVA, JVD, DV

8B Devotions: MdB, TB, DT, JS