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.
Good Friday morning everyone as we begin a new month of teaching and learning at John Calvin School. How quickly another month is done and with that ¼ of the calendar year and 70% of the 2021-2022 school year. May our Heavenly Father continue to provide the students and staff will all they need as they carry out their respective tasks to the honour and glory of his name. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Dr. Martin Jongsma, the new principal at Bellstone Christian School for 2022-2023, will be spending six weeks at JCS observing and getting to know more about the teaching/learning process. He will be spending time in six different classrooms: 1A, 2A, 4A, 6B, 7A, 8A.
May the Lord continue to provide for those in our community who need him in a special way; be it those who are sick, are dealing with difficult family situations, or those who are grieving the recent death of a loved one. As mentioned last week, one of our kindergarten students required surgery on his injured hands after an incident involving a tread mill. This surgery was cancelled and has been rescheduled for today. We pray for the Lord’s blessing on the hands of the surgeon so that the desired results will be achieved, and that there will be a good and speedy recovery for the young fellow.
Just a reminder that there are still a number of rapid test kits at the school. If you would like a box or a partial box, please contact the school and arrange to pick one up.
Some in our community may have already seen/read this article, but here is the link to the article about one of our students that appeared in today’s edition of the local newspaper, Niagara This Week. It was written in connection with World Autism Awareness Day which is on Saturday.
A few matters for your attention:
*Final reminder: Now that restrictions have been lifted, we have changed some of the entrances/exits for the students. The Grade 1 students no longer exit and enter the school through the west doors. They will be exiting through the south doors (the same doors as Grades 2&3, like they did pre-pandemic). This will affect parent pick-up and drop-off as pylons will no longer be placed along the driveway between the school and church. They will continue to be placed along the walkway so as to prevent vehicles from entering the children’s play area on the pavement during the day.
*The annual Spring Food Drive for West Lincoln Community Care continues. Please consider making a donation to the drive at some point and time during the next two weeks. Thanks to all who have participated thus far.
*The boys’, girls’, and co-ed basketball teams, along with their coaches (Mr. Joosse & Mr. Witten, Miss Vis & Ms. Stoffels, and Mr. Hofsink) had a very good day of competition, fun, and fellowship at the Guido de Bres Invitational basketball tournament last week Friday. All three teams did very well, making it to the final game in their respective divisions. Sadly, all three teams ended up on the short end of the stick in each of the finals.
*The final for the Grades 4-6 Geography Challenge was held on Wednesday afternoon. It was a very good competition involving 12 finalists. Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top three:
First place: Dylan O.
Second place: Josh V.
Third place: Claire H.
Thanks for organizing the event Grades 4-6 teachers, and thanks to all the parents and grandparents who came out to watch and perhaps even participate.
*Just in case you missed it last week, we have once again included 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. FYI, it remains unchanged from the one that was sent last year around this time. The protocol has been reviewed by the education committee and the board.
*Mr. Joosse and Mr. Hofsink, along with a couple of board members, are planning to attend and participate in the Teach With Us Canada National Strategy meeting on April 8. The objective of the meeting is to determine a strategy for how to attract more career teachers to teach in our schools.
Reminders:
*The Ladies Auxiliary is planning a Pancake Lunch for Wednesday, April 6. Hurray! No lunches to make for a day. Thank you very much Ladies Auxiliary for organizing this delicious event.
*The Easter Concert is scheduled for April 13 (matinee performance beginning at 1:00 p.m.) and April 14 (evening performance beginning at 7:30), D.V.
*Good Friday is on April 15 and Easter Monday on April 18.
*The Spring Membership meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 27.
Have a good weekend and a restful Lord’s Day, and we hope to touch base again next week. G. Hofsink
Classroom News
Kindergarten
This week in kindergarten we celebrated the colour PINK! Not everyone loves the colour pink so it made for interesting conversations in the kindergarten classroom! We reflected on how the Lord God made all the colours in the world and how we don’t have to love every colour but we do need to thank Him for the colours He made! Thank you so much Mrs. den Hollander and Mrs. Tenhage for bringing in a pink day snack and drink. The students absolutely loved the special treats. We will be continuing to learn the Easter Concert songs but will be starting to learn a new text: Isaiah 12: 2. The Easter Concert songs have been added to the Google Classroom so please take some time to listen to these songs at home with your child! Here is the schedule for next week:
Monday – Special Helper – Madilyn
Tuesday – Special Helper – Alex
Wednesday – Library Day/Pancake Day
Thursday – Special Helper – Iain
Friday – Special Helper – William
Have a great weekend everyone. JB/SV
Grade 1
This week both classes will be finished or finishing the work in our Phonics book. Students have been becoming more and more independent in completing the assignments with a good degree of independence. The children in both classes have been doing a great job on writing their own stories. They are also enjoying the fables we are reading in our new reader. We have sent two of the stories home on a handout for the students to read at home. (Please see last week’s Chronicle for a blurb about how we handled the first story.) We can sure tell that many of the children are practising the Easter program songs at home. Thanks so much for you help with this. This week we, will assign the second and third stanzas of How Deep the Father’s Love. This week the spelling words will again come from the CKLA program. Most are decodable, but there is one tricky word which is one we have learned before.
Spelling words: frog, moth, quote wood, took, spoon, tooth, why
Memory Work: How Deep the Father’s Love stanzas 2 and 3
Grade 2
Another week has gone by! Once again we were very busy in Grade 2! We’ve been practicing our Easter songs and are looking forward to the concert coming up! We have finished learning about Martin Luther this week and next we hope to focus on Augustine. The students have been working very hard in Math practicing their double digit subtraction, with regrouping! This has been a tough concept for some of us, but we’re getting through it! Please continue to practice math facts at home. The weather has been changing a lot lately, which means lots of wet and muddy areas… we would appreciate it if you could keep an extra pair of clothes and socks in your child’s backpacks! Thanks! Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday! RG & BV
Grade 3
Another busy week has passed. We are busy learning about how God demonstrates His power, greatness and majesty as He sends plagues to Egypt and how He has led His people out of the life of slavery. The children were able to illustrate the ten plagues as they were told in class. Rev. Swaving came and answered many questions about the plagues. Thank you so much, Rev. In Science, we learned about conduction. Ask us what types of experiments were done. We are nearing the end of our stories about Toad, Rat, and Mole. It is so good to read solid, classic stories. We are reviewing the 2, 3, and 5 times tables and working with money in Math. Please practise the times tables at home as well! Thank you for your help in this matter. Dribbling, stealing the ball, and throwing a basketball keeps us busy in P.E. class. Ask your child about their Barbara Reid art. They are almost finished and looks amazing! Wishing you a wonderful weekend and blessed Sunday.
Memory work: Ps. 124:1; Text: Ex. 20:12-17 (two weeks)
Spelling words: wear, we’re, where, with
Thursday: Bring library books in a bag
Friday: Mission $, Memory work, Spelling test
Grade 4
Friday: Bible quiz (4B)
Spelling words: building, wonder, different, except, able, does, couple, answer, interesting, goes, enough, computer, purple, kitchen, uncle
Memory Work: Hymn 22:1/Matthew 6:19-22
Upcoming Memory Work: Hymn 6:2
Grade 5
During the past week’s Bible classes we have been learning about the death of our Saviour. This is on our minds as we practice the songs for our upcoming Easter program. Grade 5A is also busy practicing our French play and will finish that up in the upcoming week. Bucket drumming is going very well and is enjoyed by the students each day! Devotions for the coming week are as follows: 5A: Jessica (M), Ryley (Tu), Charlize (W), Cedric (Th), Georgia (F) and for 5B: Izabelle(M), Mason (Tu), Tanner (W), Josh (Th), Grayden (F). Have a great weekend! RK/KVL
Grade 6
Congratulations to Dylan, the first place winner of the Geography Challenge. The students have learned many details about the Islam beliefs. They have also gained some more information about the periodic table of elements. Through our silent reading as well as the study of the novel we try to increase our vocabulary knowledge. What a blessing to be able to continue our education in the classroom where we can also be a hand and foot to each other. Have a blessed weekend. IdV/CVA
Grade 7A
The city of Zurich has decided in favor of the Reformation under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli. We will learn next about the opposition to the Reformation from the Roman Catholics and the Anabaptists; we will also learn about the spread of the Reformation to neighboring cantons. We are learning about annotated bibliographies as we examine the journal articles we selected dealing with our Independent Study topic. The challenge will be to present the article ideas, provide a review and include our opinions in under 300 words. Badminton will have our attention in P.E. as we learn the fundamental movement skills, forehand, backhand, serve; we will move on to doubles play later in the unit. Be sure to ask your child how their War of 1812 battle study is coming along. Enjoy your weekend.
Grade 7B
This week in Gr. 7 we continued to enjoy our Novel Study on the Hobbit. The Students (and teachers) especially enjoyed welcoming Mr. Hofsink’s recitation of the Ch. 5 scene where Gollum is introduced! In History we began a battlefield project with students and their partners digging deeper into specific battles that were fought during the War of 1812. In Geography we concluded our study of Rivers and Oceans with a quiz on Friday. In P.E., we were introduced to the sport of badminton with its interesting history and unique fundamental movement skills. Enjoy a restful weekend and we look forward to warmer temperatures on the horizon. Cheers, Mr. J and Mrs. Ludwig
Grade 8
March is full of surprises, and this week has been a bit of a dreary one! Students are busy preparing for the Easter Concert with regular singing and school practices. On Wednesday, we have a pancake lunch (thank you to those helping). Next week, students in both math classes can expect a math quiz on Spheres and Volume (8.11-8.12) – AM on Wednesday and RM will be on Thursday. Great job on this Geometry unit so far! Grade 8B, can expect a test on Thursday, wrapping up our End of Christ’s Ministries unit on information since coming back from March Break. Ask your students about our foot washing assignment! In science, we should be starting our hydraulic project next week – be prepared to bring supplies from home. Have a great weekend!
Michaella and Rachel
© 2015 Canadian Reformed School Society of Smithville and Surrounding District
