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.
Greetings from the school everyone as we bring the second last week of the school year to an end. After yesterday afternoon’s rain/thunderstorm, we thank the Lord for the beautiful weather we were blessed with today for the annual John Calvin School Play Day (our first one since 2019). It was great that so many parents and grandparents could come out and enjoy the event with us. We thank the Grade 8 students for assisting the staff at the various events. After a hiatus of three years, thank you very much Mrs. Poort and Miss VanderLaan for organizing the day, and thank you very much Ladies’ Auxiliary for the cupcake snack and hot dog lunch that everyone could enjoy.
The last week of school is just around the corner. May our Heavenly Father provide the students and staff with all they need for the remaining days of instruction, and the administration days for the staff during the week following. The June issue of the News and Views will be distributed this Sunday.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those who need the comfort, encouragement and guidance of our Heavenly Father in a special way; be it those who are sick, are dealing with difficult family circumstances, or who are grieving the recent passing away of a loved one.
We congratulate Ryan and Kristin Kingma with the birth of son #6, Oaklen Laurence (enough for a full hockey line, including the goalie🙂). He is a little brother to Logan (7A), Tyson (6A), Holden (4B), and his only sister Rayna (2A). All is well with mom and baby, and the rest of the family too. (Our children all are gifts of God—each one a blessing from the LORD, as heritage on us bestowed. Psalm 127:3, BoP). May the Lord continue to provide Ryan and Kristin will all that they need as they raise their children in the fear of his Name.
A few matters for your attention:
*A digital copy of the class pictures that were taken last week will be sent parents’ way shortly.
*The Grades 7&8 Gauss Math contest results are in: The top three scores (out of 150) in Grade 7 were Jack Ludwig (111), Logan Tenhage (106), and Morgan Ludwig (99). JCS finished 8th out of 48 schools. The top three scores (also out of 150) in Grade 8 were Theo Witten (107), Rylee VanderHoeven (103), and Merrit DeVries (99). JCS finished tied for 19th out of 45 schools. Well done, Mathletes!
*Last week Friday, the track and field athletes had a very good day at the Regional Track and Field meet at the Niagara Olympic Club in St. Catharines. They did their best in their events and had an enjoyable day with each other, and with their peers from other schools (the first time for all the students from all the schools at the regional meet). At the time of writing, we have not received the results from the host school. Hopefully we will receive them in time for next week’s Chronicle. Thank you coaches (Mrs. VanAmerongen, Mr. Witten, and Mr. Joosse) for preparing the athletes for this competition.
*On Tuesday afternoon, at the annual staff vs grade eight baseball game (the first one since 2019), the staff once again prevailed, this time 13 – 3. The grade eight ball players gave a great effort but the staff defence played well.
*Year End Trips: Bright and early on Monday morning, the Grade 8 students and their teachers, chaperons, and bus driver will be heading out for their end destination at Wilderness Tours on the Ottawa River. We wish them a safe and enjoyable trip under the Lord’s blessing and guidance.
Students, staff and chaperons are looking forward to their year-end trips to Safari Niagara and Wet ‘n’ Wild on Tuesday of next week. Please note that the deadline for payment was today. This year we would again ask that all students wear JCS or blue t-shirts while on their trip. Parents are reminded to wear a JCS t-shirt and when participating in water activities to wear modest swim wear. Please do not use your cell phones during the trip unless it is an emergency. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in these matters. Finally, teachers will let the students know what group they are in, along with their group leaders, on Monday.
For the trips, Grades K – 3 and Grades 4 – 6 will be leaving from the school at 8:15 a.m. The buses are scheduled to return between 3:45 and 4:00. Parents are requested to pick-up their children from the school at that time.
*Lost and Found: The tables and coat rack are quite full so when you are next in the school please take a look in the hallway leading to the Learning Resource room for missing items. All remaining items will be taken to the GBF or Value Village at the end of the month.
*Included with today’s Chronicle is the final issue of the Link, the LCRSS newsletter, for the 2021-2022 school year. In this issue, John Wynia (the League Coordinator) writes about being ‘Confessionally Grounded’, the High School Committee shares an overview of the trades/tech/and co-op programs in our Member High Schools, and the Professional Development Committee expresses their appreciation for the work of the Convention Committee over the past number of years — and looks ahead to the future.
Reminders:
*It’s that time of year again, so when you are outside please continue to be wary of ticks and mosquitoes.
*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.
*Library Books: Students in Grades K-7 are reminded to return their library books as soon as possible. Please check your shelves, children’s bedrooms, and any other places a stray library book may be found. We would like our year-end inventory to be complete. The librarians thank you for your cooperation.
*The last day of school, June 24, will be a two-thirds day. You are invited to the year end assembly planned for 11:15 in the gym. The buses will be leaving from the school at 12:10 p.m.
*The JCS Grade 8 Graduation ceremony is on Monday, June 27 beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy Father’s Day Sunday. We hope to touch base again one more time next week Friday.
G. Hofsink
Classroom News
Kindergarten
The students could hardly grasp that their time in kindergarten is nearly done! It feels like it was only a few weeks ago that we started kindergarten. This week, we finished our measurement in math as the students were introduced to standard measurement using a ruler. They were able to measure classroom items using a ruler and were able to compare these numbers to links/cubes. In Bible, we are finishing our Bible stories on the life of Jesus! The students listened very intently to the story of Jesus on the cross. They pondered the nails in Jesus’ hands and feet and expressed how painful that must have been for Jesus. But they also were taught that this pain was nothing in comparison to Jesus experiencing the complete wrath of God. When asked if Jesus had to do this for us, the students quickly responded yes but after further discussion they were beginning to realize that Jesus didn’t have to do this but He chose to do this because He loves us. We also spent time talking about the great gift that we have in the Word of God and in prayer. I explained to the students that there are really only 3 things they need to do every day and if they do these 3 things, everything else will fall into place. Ask your child to see if they remember what they are and in case they don’t remember, here they are: listen to Jesus/God, talk to Jesus/God and praise Jesus/God. The students also have been working on getting the toys and classroom materials ready for the next kindergarten students. If you follow JCS on Instagram, you would have seen a picture of the students outside washing toys! They absolutely loved the break from school work and did such a great job with this. Thanks boys and girls for your help.
Here is the plan for next week:
Monday: regular day for KA
Tuesday: class trip to Safari Niagara. Please make sure your child has lunch, lots of water to drink, sunscreen and a hat to wear.
Wednesday: Rainbow day
Thursday: KA’s last day
Friday: KB”s last day, half a day
Have a great weekend everyone. JB/SV
Grade 2
We’ve had another 5 days in our countdown. The students enjoyed playing with bubbles and sidewalk chalk, eating lunch outside, hat day, buddy reading with the other class, and a treat from the teachers. We only have 5 more days left now! In our Bible classes, Paul has arrived safely in Rome after the storm at sea and being shipwrecked on Malta. This brings us to the end of our Bible curriculum. Next week we will focus on the work of present day missionaries as supported by our Canadian Reformed churches. These will be story and discussion lessons; a break from worksheets! We’re very excited to participate in play day today, another ‘first’ for this group of students! Thanks to the organizers and to the Ladies Auxiliary for providing all the delicious eats! Have a blessed weekend! BV/RG
Grade 3
Yes, it’s almost the end of the year. Grade three worked hard this week, despite all the extra fun activities. In Math, we began a new unit on decimals. Ask your child how decimals and fractions are related. Perhaps they can sing some of the songs that were introduced to help us with decimals. We began a new CKLA unit. Ask us about THE FROG PRINCE. Perhaps you have this book at home. What is the lesson the princess learns in this story? In our Bible classes, we continue to hear how the Lord leads His covenant people in the wilderness. Ask us about Balaam and Balak. At this point, we are looking forward to PlayDay on Friday. Thanks to the Ladies Auxiliary for the yummy snacks and lunch. Have a safe and blessed weekend
Grade 5
Just like that, we are planning for the last week of the school year! At the time of writing, Play Day is shaping up to be a beautiful day. We wrapped up a lot of different things this week, and we look forward to wrapping up a few more things next week, along with many other activities! We are especially excited to go to Wet ‘n’ Wild on Tuesday. Devotions for next week are as follows:
5A – M. Thomas, W. Audrey, Th. Dylan
5B – M. Brooke, W. Ben, Th. Reanne
Have a wonderful weekend! RK/KV
Grade 6
Is it still worthwhile to come to school in the last two weeks of the school year? There are those fun things, like Play Day and year end trips and….a swimming pool party this coming Wednesday. But there is also other learning going on. This week was the last lesson in the series of Health Education where boys and girls were instructed separately. Did they learn? Yes, for sure. You as parents will have talked about that with your son or daughter. There are still some History stories and facts that were shared when we talked about the Explorers. Math is also still going on until the bitter end! But there is more! This is what we heard from the mouths of students in Grade 6 complaining, “Field Day is actually not for Grade 6, we do not even get to compete!” Really? How good that Grade 6 was at school! We could teach the students that they are almost the most important part of the games! They would be the leaders! They would have the opportunity to learn leadership skills! They are in charge of the smooth running of the different games; keeping an eye on the youngest students in the group and taking care of their well-being., encouraging them to play to the best of their ability! Where would Field Day be without Grade 6? The beauty of this kind of discussion is that you see the mood of the students change almost immediately! Of course, they are important on Field Day, they are actually the leaders! They remember how the Grade 6 who were the previous leaders looked so big and tall to them. They were still so small then! Yes, it is so worthwhile to come to school, even in the last two weeks of the school year. Tuesday is the year end trip to Brampton and Wednesday the party with their own class. Who would want to miss that? By the way: Thank you, dear parents who are willing to sit on the bus to Brampton for a couple of hours, engulfed in that noise of sixth graders. We need you too! Thank you for coming along. Also: thank you for the willingness to be chaperones at the class party!
Have a blessed Sunday and we hope to see you all, Friday morning during the Year End Assembly when we thank the Lord for a blessed year and for our beloved principal, Mr. Hofsink!
CvA/IdV
Grade 7A
What a blessing to continue learning in, “unchartered waters”. Given that we have not been at work at this point in the school year for some time, we are thankful for the week ahead of us. Trusting that our Class Trip went well, we are thankful for what we were able to do and where we could go. Students are working on their “Hobbit” project, they were given a choice of three options, be sure to ask your child which project they chose. Slowly but surely the student interviews are being completed and the reports are favorable as students have enjoyed speaking to an expert/professional about their topic. The colony of Canada has received responsible government at last, next week in History we will learn about, “Manifest Destiny”. Why is our school named after John Calvin? We’ll answer that question next week in Church History. Enjoy your weekend.
Grade 7B
Yesterday Gr. 7 had an adventure filled day completing several excursions throughout Niagara Falls. We started the day with a tour of Fort George, complete with a musket firing demonstration! Following the tour we traversed the Niagara Glen, hiking the gorge and exploring various caves and boulders. To complete the afternoon we were thrilled with the Niagara Jet Boat tours getting completely soaked as we went through several different rapids. A highlight of the day to be sure. In the early evening we concluded our day with a touristy stop at the top of Niagara Falls and dinner of student’s choice near Lundy’s Lane. It was an excellent experience and thoroughly enjoyed by all! Special thanks goes to Mrs. Vanluik, our bus driver for the day. Thank you! Have a blessed weekend, Mr. J & Mrs. Ludwig.
© 2015 Canadian Reformed School Society of Smithville and Surrounding District
