General News
Greetings and salutations everyone on this chilly, autumn morning as we bring to an end the first month of learning and teaching at John Calvin School. This week we could also nicely segue into the month of October, already! We are thankful that the cold bug has pretty much finished making its way through the school. Absences are once again at the more usual rate for this time of year, between 0 and 10. We pray that each day our good and gracious God will provide students, staff and parents with health and strength to carry out their respective tasks.
The following is a news release given yesterday by the government of Ontario regarding revisions made to COVID-19 screening guidance. For additional information, you can check out the following CBC link as well:
Ontario Revises COVID-19 Screening Guidance for Schools and Child Care, October 1, 2020, Updates Reflect Latest Public Health Advice
TORONTO — In consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, the Ontario government is updating its COVID-19 school and child care screening guidance. This additional information will help parents determine when it is most appropriate for students, children and their families to seek a test for COVID-19.
The school and child care screening guidance is being updated with two sets of questions about symptoms and information to help parents make informed decisions about whether their children should attend school or child care, need to consult a health care provider, or get tested for COVID-19. The guidance can be found immediately at the COVID-19 Screening Tool for Children in School and Child Care, and the refreshed online tool will launch on Friday, October 2 for download.
“Ensuring that children can attend school with minimal interruption is an important part of their healthy growth and development,” said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “Based on a review of the current evidence and consulting with pediatric infectious diseases experts, we are updating the list of symptoms in the COVID-19 screening tool for schools and child care to ensure that our children receive the education and care that they need while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission.”
The first set of questions asks about symptoms such as fever or cough. Students and children with any of these symptoms will still be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a health care provider and receive an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test.
The second set of questions asks about other symptoms that are commonly associated with other illnesses, such as a runny nose or headache:
• Students and children with only one of these symptoms will be advised to stay home for 24 hours, after which they can return to school or child care if their symptoms are improving.
• Students and children with two or more of these symptoms will be advised to stay home until they are able to consult with a health care provider and receive an alternative diagnosis or a negative COVID-19 test.
In addition, based on the latest public health guidance the symptom list for children in school and child care no longer includes abdominal pain or conjunctivitis (pink eye).
“We are grateful to Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health for contributing significantly to the development of Ontario’s Back-to School Plan,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “Our focus continues to be on limiting the spread within our schools by listening to and acting upon the best available medical advice, which includes ensuring all layers of prevention are in place to keep kids safe.”
A few items for your attention:
*The annual food drive for the West Lincoln Community Care Food bank continues until next week Friday at which time, the goods will be delivered to, or picked up by Community Care. Baskets have been set up in different locations in the school and a number of them are filled to overflowing. That is great to see. Grade 7 students have been diligent in reminding us of this venture. Thank you again everyone for your consideration and participation in this act of service for the broader community.
*New fundraiser: Earlier this week, an email was sent to the school community about this new opportunity to raise funds for the school, in particular class trips. Here it is again in print form:
As you know, we were unable to run our annual World’s Finest Chocolate fundraiser in September, but our fundraising needs have not gone away.
We have found a remarkable new eco-friendly product our families can purchase through an online store created just for our school. Our school will earn 20% of the profit from every purchase, which will help fulfill our fundraising needs while doing the earth a great deal of good! All products purchased ship directly to the purchaser, with no shipping charges.
Tru Earth Eco-Strips are the smartest way to clean laundry, period. They are ultra-concentrated, hypoallergenic, and eco-friendly; just one strip will power through dirt and grime in all types of washing machines, including high-efficiency (HE). Additionally, they are:
· paraben-free
· phosphate-free
· free of added dyes
· free of chlorine bleach
· free of 1,4-dioxane
· biodegradable
· vegan
· NO PLASTIC BOTTLES! ZERO WASTE!
· MADE IN CANADA!
· the perfect choice for a fundraiser we can run all year!
You’ll find several other eco-friendly products on our online store (produce bags, wool dryer balls, washable makeup remover pads, metal straws, bamboo cutlery… Our school earns a 20% profit on every purchase we make through our online store for the entire school year. Prices start as low as $12.95. Visit our online store at https://fundraising.tru.earth/JohnCalvin All products purchased ship directly to the purchaser, with no shipping charges. The campaign remains open until the end of the school year, so you can place orders at your convenience and replenish your stock as needed while supporting our cause.
When you use Tru Earth Eco-Strips, you will feel confident that you are taking care of your family and their future on this planet. If we all make the switch to Tru Earth, our profits will really add up!
Please share our school store with friends and family everywhere https://fundraising.tru.earth/JohnCalvin. Our school will earn profits on their purchases as well. Our school store is open now. Be sure to check it out and place your orders right away!
*Veggie Chop-Chop: The grade eight students along with their parents and teachers have already solicited many of you to buy chopped veggie packs and jars of red pepper jelly to help raise funds for their year end trip to Gatineau Park and the nation’s capital. Once again, the grade eight classes have been given permission to use the facilities at Niagara Gleaners in order to chop their veggies. The veggies will still be bagged at the school, so the pick-up place is the same. We are again very thankful to the Niagara Gleaners for the opportunity to use their facility.
*Special Lunch: Students and staff alike are looking forward to today’s hot dog lunch. Thanks again JCS Ladies Auxiliary for providing this treat. It is much appreciated. Proper protocols will be followed for preparing and serving the food.
*N.B. School Calendar change: We received word from ASC (Assisting the Special Child) that the EA/TA conference originally scheduled for December 4 has been changed to Friday, February 12.
Reminders:
*A couple of reminders from the Library:
*If students are unable to find a library book, they need to pay $10.00 for the missing book. Some students have been bringing in book donations as a “payment” for lost library books, but this means that the library often receives multiple copies of books already in the library. The $10.00 allows the librarians to replace lost books.
*Please send back overdue books from last school year with your child/children as soon as possible. The librarians will appreciate it. Any books not returned will be presumed to be lost and students (parents) will be asked to pay whatever they owe for the lost books.
*Bullying Awareness Week: We are planning our first theme week from October 13-16. This year it will focus on raising awareness about bullying. The theme chosen for the week is: Being A Light! The theme text is 1 John 2:9,10, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brighter is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” We are still in the process of determining a theme song(s). Several activities have been planned for the week including: each class involved in making posters, virtual “assembly” messages, in-class activities, heightened awareness about cyberbullying, reviewing the revised Bullying Awareness Protocol, and reading and sharing books about bullying awareness.
*Thanksgiving Day is on Monday, October 12.
*Due date for News and Views contributions is Monday, October 19.
Have a good weekend everyone and a blessed day of rest, and we will touch base again next week Friday, D.V. G. Hofsink
Classroom News
Kindergarten
This week in kindergarten, we had a busy yet fun week. In social studies, we were learning about apples. We learned where apples grow, what happens to apples after they are picked and how they end up in the supermarket. The students also were able to enjoy apple tasting. Four different apples were brought in and the students could taste each apple and decide if the apple was delicious or just ok or not very yummy. In Bible this past week, the students began learning about Abram and Sarai. They were absolutely amazed that the number of Abram’s descendants would amount to more than the stars in the sky. They can’t wait to hear about how the Lord enables old people to have a baby! How great is our God. Thank you to the ladies who provided hotdog lunch. KA especially is grateful as they too were able to enjoy a hotdog lunch on Thursday! Thanks so much for this! JB/NV
Grade 1
The end of week four and the first month of grade 1 are completed. We have learned a lot. We are getting more comfortable in our routines. This week we completed another Bible unit with a test on Friday. You will see these in your child’s agenda bag soon. Our new unit will be focused on Jacob’s life. This week we also completed unit 1 in Math and had a test. The children did well, but can use some review practice on number recognition. Both classes have a Google Classroom account. On here we post work missed if your child was absent. We also use this as a communication tool for announcements. If you are not already in the Google Classroom, please email your child’s teacher for another invitation. Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday.
Memory Work: Psalm 131:3 (Due for Oct.9) Text: Genesis 17:7 (Due Oct. 16)
Spelling Words: as, his, I, they, with
Sight Words: your, his, I, now, of
Grade 2
Hello October! We can’t believe we have been in school for almost a month already. We have established our routines and are starting to work very well together. Most of the students have been at school this week for which we are very thankful. This week we continue to look at the early ministry of Jesus. We will have another quiz on Wednesday. In science, we’re continuing our study of the body by learning about our muscles. What an amazing creation our bodies are! Please continue to practice math facts at home. Have a great weekend! LS/BV
Memory Work: Hymn 15:1; Text: Names of the Apostles
Bible Quiz – Wednesday
Spelling Words: why, have, saw, family, came
Grade 3
We are hearing stories about John Eliot. Ask your child how the Lord used him to spread His Word in New England. We began a new unit in Math dealing with addition. What are some different strategies for adding numbers? Our Joan Miro artwork looks fantastic. Lots of lines and shapes indeed, grade three! Thanks to Mrs. Poort who introduced this artist to us. How did the Aboriginals help the pioneers? We certainly heard how helpful they were. Ask your child all about it. Stay tuned for the pioneer dress up day coming in October! DV Thanks to the ladies who prepared hotdogs for us today! Much appreciated. What a nice way to end the week. Many thanks to all the children who brought in food for the FOOD DRIVE! Give thanks to the LORD for He is good. Have a blessed weekend. J.B./M.P.
Words: city, community, country, exciting
Memory Work: Hymn 53:2 Genesis 3:15
Thursday: Library books in a plastic bag.
Friday: Mission Money
Grade 4
We are already into month two of the school year. What a blessing that we are still able to be together in the classroom. Students are encouraged to keep reading a minimum of 20 minutes from chapter books daily, and continue to review and practice the math drills.
Spelling Unit 5: alive, bikes, kids, drive, tie, seat, till, tied, life, cried, went, wide, die, hike
Friday: Spelling Test 5
Memory work: Hymn 13: 1 + 2, Next week: Psalm 130: 2, Bible Memory work is 1 Samuel 15: 22
Grade 5
We are thankful for another week in which we could accomplish many different things! We will be having a test for Social Studies on Friday. The test will cover everything except for the Roman army; we’ll study the army, along with the Punic Wars, after the test. We are wrapping up our first unit in World of Literature about what it means to do a good job, and we will be starting our next theme, “North American Voices,” next week. Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday. RK/KV
Grade 6
We have been very successful in moving along more quickly now that we have all or most of the students. In Church History we are discussing Charlemagne’s methods in protecting and encouraging Christianity. A variety of early flying machines were looked at and discussed this week. Thanks to the ladies who provided the hotdog lunch. Please bring an item for the community food drive if you haven’t already done so. Have a blessed weekend. SO/CV
Grade 7A
As we close in on the first month of Grade Seven, things are going well by all accounts. The divided Math class is a benefit to those of different abilities; both classes work through the same curriculum and complete the same assignments. In Bible History, Saul has been rejected as king and now the LORD will search out a man after His own heart. Soon we will transition to our Church History unit dealing with Martin Luther and the Reformation in Germany; just in time for Reformation Day. Students have now borrowed and bought their Independent Study topic books and will soon write a book report after they read them. Our focus in Short Stories in L.A. will be characterization. In connection with that we’ll read the story; “The Strangers that Came to Town”. Enjoy your weekend.
Grade 7B
In Bible History, we have come to the end of our first unit on Saul. We will be finishing next week and then moving to our first Church History unit on Martin Luther. In LA, we continue working through our Short Story unit, where we will focus on the setting of a story. In History, we have moved on to the Fur Trade and Missionaries, where we will see how the fur trade operated and developed New France, as well as the Jesuits and the Counter-reformation. Independent Study continues with reading our books. Thank you for all the effort that went into finding good, adult non-fiction books. We will be using them for the next couple of weeks. Have a great weekend!
Grade 8
Just like that we have completed our first month of school – excellent job grade 8! With our first test out of the way, we have started our new unit about Christ’s ministries in Bible class. Students have been researching various Jewish sects spoken about in the New Testament and will soon be comparing the various Gospels. Everyone will be an expert soon! In Science class we’re learning about the history of the cell theory and the different parts of a cell (ask your children if “Schwaan” and “mitochondria” ring a bell!). Math is going well and we continue to get used to the “language” of numbers; we plan to have our first unit test sometime next week. Lord willing we will be able to continue our soccer unit for a bit longer. Have a blessed weekend! Mr. J & Miss P
© 2015 Canadian Reformed School Society of Smithville and Surrounding District
