General News
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.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16,17 (NIV)
Good Friday morning on Thursday John Calvin School community, as we bring this short week of learning and teaching to completion in his service; a special week as we reflected on the events of the Passion Week that led to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. May our Heavenly Father continue to provide students and teachers with all they need as they carry out their respective tasks to the honour and glory of his Name.
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 (quite a number of cases in our community, thankfully none in the school itself), who are dealing with difficult family situations, or those who are grieving the death of a loved one.
At the beginning of the week, we received the news that, due to personal reasons, Mrs. Folkerts felt it necessary to resign her teaching position in Grade 6B. She was in her second year of teaching at JCS and, while here, enthusiastically went about her teaching task. We thank her for her contributions to the school, especially in the Music program. May our good and gracious God continue to provide Mrs. Folkerts with everything that she needs.
This morning at our Easter assembly we paid attention to both Good Friday and Easter Sunday in word and song. The focus of the assembly was Our Sin and how God provided the solution for sin; he would pay for it himself, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) Jesus died for our sins but that was not the end. Our resurrected Lord sits at God’s right hand and says for every one of our sins, “I have paid for that!”, and so we are righteous before God and we can look forward to living with him eternally.
A few matters for your attention:
*Student Teachers: Week #2 is completed for the student teachers. We hope and pray that their first two weeks have gone well. Next week, Miss Jongbloed and Miss Tenhage will be on their induction week where they will be on their own in the classroom, i.e. no associate teacher present, with supervision by the principal. All the best for the week, ladies.
*The Spring Food Drive in support of West Lincoln Community Care continues until next week Friday, April 9. Thanks to all who have contributed so far.
*Thanks to all who participated in the Toonies for Anchor fundraiser which wrapped up today.
*The JCS Ladies Auxiliary is planning a pancake lunch on Friday, April 9. Yippee! No lunches to make. Thank you very much for this upcoming treat, Ladies Auxiliary.
*An invitation from River’s Edge Haven of Hope: River’s Edge is hosting free family tours during the April break (April 12 – 16) to experience the farm/horses, etc.
*The School Spirit Team is planning a School Spirit Day for Friday, April 9. The theme is Time Warp- The 1980s. On that day, the students and staff get to dress up in the style of the 1980s: clothing, hair, accessories, etc. We will also reflect on special events during that decade, e.g. the 25th anniversary of the school, the retirement of the first principal, Mr. VanderVelde. If parents or grandparents can think of any other significant event that occurred during that decade, please let us know.
*Students and staff are looking forward to the “March Break in April” from April 12-16.
*Book Week is planned for April 19-23. The theme for the week is READ. For the school goal, we are planning to read across Canada (5514 kilometers, 1 book = 1 km). We will be following the children’s progress on a large map of Canada which will be located in the main foyer. The reading challenge will take place over two weeks (April 19 – 30). Other activities include a book character day, DEAR (drop everything and read), Reading Bingo challenge, and Book/Reading Trivia contest.
*The Spring Membership meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 28.
*From the Ministry of Education: As per yesterday’s announcement by the education minister, financial support is once again available for families; more information to follow regarding application and contact once we receive it from the Ministry of Education. This time around, an expanded COVID-19 Child Support program is providing:
$400 for each child/youth up to Grade 12, and;
$500 for each child/youth up to age 21 with special needs.
If you have previously applied for the COVID-19 Child Support, the $400/$500 will be sent to you directly; there will be no need to re-apply.
The staff and students of John Calvin School wish you a blessed Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Enjoy the long, Easter weekend and we’ll touch base again next week Friday, D.V. G. Hofsink
Classroom News
Kindergarten
Another week is complete in Kindergarten, albeit a short week especially for KB! We loved being able to celebrate the colour purple. Many of the students had purple drinks and treats. There also were many purple toys shared for show and tell. In Bible this week, the students learned about some of the stories of David. The story of David and Goliath absolutely intrigued them because all it took to kill a giant was one small stone. How great is our God. Next week, we will be having our annual Teddy Bear Picnic day. The students are welcome to bring in one stuffie of their choice; it does not need to be a bear! It also will be PJ day for us. The rest of the school will be dressing up for 80s day but kindergarten students only need to get dressed in their pjs. Have a blessed weekend reflecting and remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. JB/NV
Grade 1
It was nice to welcome Mrs. Jonker to the Grade 1 team this week. She is helping out mostly with the students in Grade 1A while Mrs. Boersema spends a little more time in the Grade 1B classroom. The Grade 1A class is continuing to enjoy the contributions of our student teacher, Mr. VanGameren. He picked up most of the teaching in the mornings. It is fun for our students to have a ‘boy’ teacher. We hope to complete our Phonics unit on consonant blends before the end of the week and do our final assessments before our weeklong break. There is a Social Studies test scheduled for Thursday in Grade 1A. Grade 1B has enjoyed studying about changes in Science and seeing if they can recognize each other’s baby pictures. Wishing all of you a blessed Good Friday and Easter. What a blessing that many of us can celebrate in person in Church this year!
Memory work: Hymn 57:1
Spelling words: same, green, stone, line, hide, seed, they
Sight words: people, friends, laugh, toward, already
Grade 2
This past week, Grade 2 completed our Science unit on Solids, Liquids, and Gases with a test on Wednesday. We look forward to beginning a new unit on Investigating Animals. This unit is often a favourite. Next week we will also turn our attention back to Bible with the church after Jesus’ ascension. In Language Arts, we have begun a novel study on The Drinking Gourd by F.N .Monjo. This is a story of the Underground Railroad. The students learned about Abraham Lincoln this week and find the concept of slavery very difficult to understand. We will be studying this unit for the next few weeks. That’s all for now. Have a very blessed Easter weekend! BV/RG
Memory work: Psalm 147:5
Spelling: it’s, junk, only, little, gym
Grade 3
Hallelujah, praise be the Son, for His redeeming work is done! (Hymn 37). What privilege for us to know we have been redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May this give you much comfort as we stand in awe at what Christ did on the cross on Good Friday and rejoice on Easter morning when He arose. In Bible History we can hear about the covenant the LORD made with His chosen people. Christ fulfilled the law perfectly; how awesome, we can connect what happened in the OT to the NT. The children have written their Science test; well done, boys and girls. In the coming weeks, we will learn about soils in our new Science unit. We are enjoying the geometry unit in Math. And oh, how we love reading about ALL the penguins in Mr. Popper’s household. Next week, DV, Miss Tenhage will have her induction week. This means she will teach solo, with supervision from the principal. We wish her much strength. We are praying for a speedy recovery for Quinten from his surgery. May God bless this and give you relief, Quinten. Enjoy the special, long weekend.
Memory work: Hymn 37:1,2 Text; Exodus 20:12-17
Spelling words: independent, lovable, hole, whole
Library books in plastic bag on Thursday, Friday: Mission $
Grade 4
We wish everyone a blessed and restful Easter break. Please keep up with both reading and practice for math drill work.
Spelling Unit 28: building, wonder, different, except, does, couple, answer, interesting, enough, computer, purple, kitchen, uncle, goes, able
Wednesday: 4B Kings of Judah Test
Thursday: 4B Science Test The Digestive System/Urinary System
Friday: Spelling Lesson 28 Test, Memory work Matthew 6: 19-21, Hymn 22:1
Next memory work: Hymn 6: 2 (upcoming Daniel 2: 20-22)
Grade 5
Grade Five has been studying the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His appearance to the disciples. We are so thankful for the gift of Christ’s death to pay for our sins and His victory over the grave! May this knowledge give you joy this Easter weekend! This unit in Bible History will wrap up with a test on Friday. In Math, students have been successfully adding and subtracting fractions. We hope to continue this topic into next week as well. Our Social Studies unit on Ancient Egypt is nearing completion. We spent time on Wednesday afternoon participating in a mummification ceremony. Ask your son or daughter about his or her role in preserving the body of Pharaoh! There will be a small test on Wednesday to conclude this unit. Devotions for the week are as follows:
5A Tu. Madelin, W. Evan, Th. Emersyn, F. A.J.
5B Tu. Tanya, W. Keagan, Th. Blake, F. Kali.
Have a blessed weekend! RK/KVL
Grade 6
Next week we will be starting a new novel study on Lost in the Barrens. We will also be discussing the crusades, looking at the positive and negative results. In Math we continue working with fractions. Grade 6A students are researching information for one of the 118 elements. They should be able to tell you something about what they discovered. Enjoy the long weekend. SO/CV
Grade 7A
As part of our study of energy transfer systems, the class will be using a tea light and 100ml of water to create their own transfer system. The students are asked to bring in their materials next week Thursday for in class construction. Parents should have received an email from the Grade Seven teachers informing them of next week Friday’s Niagara battlefield tour. After researching several battles that took place in the Niagara Peninsula, we hope to visit the locations; Beaver Dams, Lundy’s Lane and Queenston Heights. As your child continues to work with their Independent Study topic, they will be required to interview an expert/professional on their topic. Over the next few classes, students will need to complete a proposal outlining who they wish to interview. Although the wisest King to ever live, we will learn how Solomon was not perfect and how his glorious reign foreshadowed that of Jesus Christ. Enjoy your long weekend.
Grade 7B
As we finish off our final week before April break, we will be closing up a number of different chapters. In Bible History, we have come to the end of our Solomon unit and will be finishing it off with a test next week. In History, we are closing out our War of 1812 project with the presentations of our research and the interactive battle maps. In LA, we will be finishing off “The Hobbit” novel study. We will be completing a “Movie vs. Book” essay when, DV, we are back from April Break. In Math, we have moved on to Chapter 2 of our Financial Literacy unit where we will be learning about credit and debt! Have a great long weekend!
Grade 8
Easter weekend is here after a week of reflection on Christ’s journey to the cross over 2000 years ago. We are starting a new unit in Bible all about the end of Christ’s ministries – very fitting for this time. In regular Math, we are learning all about probability – students are discovering how many different combinations there are and how much order affects this!. This week and next, are filled with hands on work in Grade 8 – we are starting some big projects in Language Arts, and Science, painting and building simple hydraulic systems.
Have a (long) blessed Easter weekend! Miss P & Mr. J
8A Devotions: ET, NT, NV, JV
8B Devotions: WD DvW KN AS
© 2015 Canadian Reformed School Society of Smithville and Surrounding District
