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.

Greetings everyone on this beautiful fall Friday morning. We thank the Lord for His continued blessing and guidance during the first four weeks (already!) of our school year. In particular we can be thankful for the relatively good health experienced by staff and students. Granted there have been cases of colds and the flu but over all, it has been a good start to the year and nothing too out of the ordinary for a regular school year. Thank you parents for being vigilant towards any signs and symptoms and acting accordingly.

This week I would like to specifically mention and give special thanks to the work of the Property Committee. Every week again new maintenance issues pop up and every week again they are in and around the building repairing or replacing different parts of the school to keep everything running smoothly. You may also have heard this week of the vandalism to our back soccer field. It appears someone took a pickup truck into the back field and tore up the sod all over the place. This, just before a much-anticipated soccer tournament on Monday! Thanks again to property for looking after that emergency repair at late notice. Their work is often thankless and overlooked and I thank them here for the many hours they spend (often in the evening) to keep everything running as smooth as possible. If you pass by one of the committee members or even a member of the janitorial staff, be sure to give them some extra appreciation!

On that note, if you or someone you know has time and ability to be a handy-man for the school in their spare time please let Kevin North know! Maybe you are semi or recently retired and are looking for a unique way to serve, this is it! P.S. your grandkids may be right around the corner! How great would that be! There are often so many quick and little repairs that need doing and we feel this would be an excellent and unique way for members to get involved as well as greatly relieving the property committee’s workload.

Finally, this past week Mr. Hofsink attended the National Principals’ Conference at the Muskoka Bible Center, which is located about fifteen minutes south of Huntsville on Mary Lake. The major theme of the conference was a focus on doing Christian Education intentionally. We look forward to hearing of his key takeaways and lessons in the coming weeks.

Have a blessed weekend!  Cheers, Mr. J

A few items for your attention:

*The annual food drive for the West Lincoln Community Care Food bank continues until next Friday, October 8.  Baskets have been set up in different locations in the school and are starting to fill up.  That is great to see. Thank you very much everyone for your consideration and participation in this act of service for the broader community.

*A good chunk of the chocolate money is in; however, there is still more that needs to be returned.  Let’s strive to get that in by the end of next week so that we can wrap-up the fundraiser by the end of the month.  Again, thank you to all the children in Grades 4-8 who sold chocolate for their hard work in this fundraising venture for their field/class trips.  

*In lieu of the cancelled soccer tournament, a mini-tourney has been organized with three other schools (ACRES, Bellstone and Hope).  On October 4, the boys’ teams from the four schools will be playing on the two fields at JCS, and the girls’ teams will be playing on the two fields at ACRES.  It is great that we were able to pull something together for the students in the intermediated grades.  For the games at JCS, the teams will be playing from 8:00 – 10:00, 10:30 – 12:00, with the final game at 1:10.  The participating schools have decided that no spectators will be permitted at the games; other than parent drivers.

*There will be a Tuck Shop at both venues where players will be able to purchase drinks & snacks. Proceeds will go to the Gr. 8 year end trip.

*Horse Week:  We are planning our first theme week from October 13-15.  We are looking forward to a fun-filled week learning more about this popular animal.  Here are some of our preliminary plans for the three days:  

• Presentation by Mr. J.W. Jonker, a horse farmer and a brother to Mrs. Gansekoele, on the Friday.

• Doing a Bible search for passages about horses.

• Dress-up as a cowboy, cowgirl, rancher, or a horse on the Friday.

• Learning more about the history of horses, care for horses, etc.

• If anyone has any horse paraphernalia that we can borrow for the week, please drop it off at the school anytime between now and October 13.

• Read a good horse book during the week, e.g. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, War Horse by Michael Morpurgo, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, The Black Stallion by Walter Farley

Reminders:

*You are invited to join us for the Thanksgiving Assembly on Thursday, October 7 (please note the change in date) beginning at 1:45 p.m. in the school gym.  Mrs. deVisser will be leading the assembly.

*The annual Guido De Bres invitational cross-country meet for LCRSS elementary schools is tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 8.  Grades 5&6 are also training for the Golden Horseshoe Invitational Cross Country meet scheduled for Thursday, October 14.  The plan is for students from Grades 7&8 to participate in this meet as well. 

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Classroom News

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Kindergarten

This week, the students participated in their very first math test.  The students did very well remembering all of the concepts though many struggled to differentiate between left and right.  This is a difficult skill to master and we will continue to work on it throughout the school year!  One of the highlights that we have every week is singing with Miss B’s grade 3 class. The students love to be able to show Miss B the memory work they have learned but they especially love learning all of the silly songs like Elephants Have Wrinkles!  Perhaps you can ask your child to show you all of the actions for this song!  In Bible class, we began our new unit on the life of Abraham.  The students were absolutely amazed that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.  Next week, we will be learning all about patterns: how to copy these patterns as well as how to create their own patterns.  This is one of my most favourite units to teach the students.  They pick up the concept so well and love to share the patterns they have learned with their friends.  So much cooperative play happens throughout this unit.  In Language Arts, we have started to learn how to differentiate between beginning, middle and end syllables in words!  Students will then use this skill to blend the syllables into words!  So much learning is happening in the classroom and outside the classroom, on the playgrounds. Have an enjoyable weekend.  JB/SV

Grade 1

The children wrote a lot of tests last week. Look for the returned tests in the agenda bags in the coming week. Some should already have been brought home. Grade 1B will write a Science test on Tuesday.  From now on, in addition to the Memory work, the children will also be assigned a list of words that they must know how to read and spell by Fridays. These tend to be the ‘tricky words’ that are not so easy to decode. We practise them daily at school, but practice at home is also essential. On Thursday we are looking forward to attending the Thanksgiving assembly. Our big event for the week will be the trip to the Safety Village in Welland.  Please make sure that your child has a mask to wear.  JCS exemptions do not apply for this venue.  Without a mask, your child will not be able to participate in this fun activity.  They are excited about being able to drive around the mini village in the car-bicycles.  Many of the children wear jackets and sweaters that are very similar, it would be very helpful if their belongings are labelled with your family name. 

Memory work:  Psalm 131:3 (Oct. 8) Genesis 17:7(October 15)

Spelling words:  a, of, to, and, the

Grade 2

In Grade 2, the students have enjoyed reading in our Green Fern Zoo readers! We’ve been able to learn about lots of different animals so far this year. The students are encouraged to complete the “Take Home” papers and to read the stories to a family member for extra reading practice. In Music this week we learned about dynamics!  Dynamics in music tell us how loudly or softly to play or sing. We listened to the “Surprise Symphony” by Franz Joseph Haydn. The students pretended to sleep during the soft parts and were quite surprised at the trick Haydn played on his listeners!  We’re looking forward to our Thanksgiving assembly next Thursday. Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday! RG/BV

Grade 3

Bonjour! We continued to work hard in grade three. Ask your child how the Lord used John Eliot in His work of gathering a church in New England. We finished our first math unit on place value with a test and now move on to addition. We finished our Joan Miro pictures and they are hanging beautifully in the hallway. Lots of lines and interesting shapes, grade three! Well done! How did the Aboriginals help the early settlers? Ask your child all about it. Our gym classes are tons of fun with lots of dribbling, lofted soccer kicks and trapping! That’s it for now. Have a blessed weekend. J.B./M.P.

Words:  city, community, countries, exciting

Hymn 53:2; Text:  Genesis 12:1-3

Library books in a library bag on Thursday.

Spelling Dictation and Mission $ on Friday.

Grade 4

We’ve wrapped up our first math unit about place value and we are moving on to a new unit about addition and patterning. Grade 4A is moving onto “Light” in science and Grade 4B is moving on to “Sound”. In Bible, we continue to see how the Lord protects His servant David and is faithful to His promise of making David the king one day.

Friday: Spelling Test 5: alive, bikes, kids, drive, tie, sea, till, tied, life, cried, went, wide, die, hike

Memory Work: Hymn 13:1-2/1 Samuel 15:22

Upcoming Memory Work: Psalm 130:2

Have a blessed weekend. YF/KO

Grade 5

We are thankful for another week in school in God’s service! Grade 5 has been busy wrapping up a number of units, which means a couple of tests are coming up. We will be having a Unit 1 Bible test on Wednesday, Oct. 6. Duotangs will be sent home on Monday and Tuesday night to study. Parents, please make sure your child studies; even those who may not have had to study much previously will need to study this year. We will also be having a Chapter 1 Math test on Tuesday. However, the review for that will be done at school, so the students shouldn’t have to do much/anything at home to prepare for it. We’d also like to kindly remind you to order a recorder for your child if you haven’t done so yet. Thank you! Grade 5A will be starting student-led lunch devotions next week as well. The schedule for each class is as follows:

5A – M. Teagen, Tu. Aubrey, W. Nolan, Th. Cohen, F. Dylan

5B – M. Izabelle, Tu. Mason, W. Tanner, Th. Joshua, F. Grayden

Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Sunday. RK/KV

Grade 6

In our discussions about Charlemagne, we heard how the LORD used a sinful man to spread the Gospel. We also realized that his use of force was wrong and that the Holy Spirit works faith through God’s Word. While reading the autobiography about Jean Fritz, we noticed the challenges that someone would have moving to a different culture and were able to witness her perspective. We continue to enjoy the beautiful weather in our outdoor activities. Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday. IDV/CVA

Grade 7A

By God’s grace we are approaching the one month point of our return to work; what a blessing. Students seem to have settled into the routines and flow of work in Gr. 7A, and are, “firing on all cylinders”. Be sure to ask your child how they are faring in Gr. 7. With regards to curriculum, we are practicing for the Reformation Day Assembly, where we will present the play, “Martin Luther, I Presume?”. Students should all have an appropriate book for their Independent Study topic and are actively reading them. Next week in P.E. our “soccer” unit comes to a close and we will move on to “flag football”. All the best to our Gr. 7’s representing J.C.S. at two events next week, the Soccer Tournament and the Cross Country run. Enjoy your weekend.   

Grade 7B

This week we finished up our first chapter in Math. Students in the accelerated class wrote a test that should have been brought home to be signed and returned. In Bible class we are continuing to work through the story of Saul and how he established his kingdom. We have seen how Samuel’s warnings to the Israelites are starting to become their reality. Saul is focusing on building his kingdom and slowly forgetting to rely on the Lord. We have also been having fun preparing for the Reformation assembly in LA. Vocab words are tested every Friday. Please remind your child to be prepared. Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Ludwig, Mr. Joosse

Value Village Fundraiser

The Value Village fundraiser is underway and people have been letting us know how excited they are to be clearing some stuff out of their homes! Don’t forget to tell your friends and family to bring a garbage bag or a box of donations to Thanksgiving dinner! Every little bit helps as we will be paid by the pound for the goods we collect! Our first collection date will be at the school on October 15th so Thanksgiving is the perfect time to go through those cupboards and drawers and start your donation bags!