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.
Hello again everyone as we bring to an end another week of learning and teaching at John Calvin School. For the most part, it was a very nice week weatherwise; especially Tuesday and Wednesday when a couple of grades could go on what were mostly outdoor class trips. The weekend, however, is looking a little chillier; more fall-like.
Our Heavenly Father has richly blessed us in that we could once again educate His covenant children in freedom in our Reformed, Christian school to learn more about him, his Word and his world; freedom that we are so thankful for and can reflect upon at this time of year.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those in our community who need the Lord in a special way, whether they are coping with serious illness, grieving the death of a loved one, or are dealing with difficult or challenging family circumstances.
Parents and grandparents are invited to join the students and staff for the Reformation Day assembly on Thursday afternoon beginning at 1:30. Grade 7 is looking after the assembly.
A few items for your attention:
*Here’s installment #5 of the service tasks carried out by the JCS Service Teams. This week we will look at the services provided by the Office Administrator Assistance Team. The students in Grade 6 help out the office administrators by collating the News and Views, helping out with Scholastic Flyers, carrying boxes from the office administrator’s vehicle into the school, and running errands in the school as necessary. A wonderful service opportunity for the boys and girls in these classes.
*We are still waiting for the money from 4 more chocolate boxes. Let’s git’m in!
*Veggie Packs/Red Pepper Jelly: Wow! The fundraiser raised between $9,500 and $10,000 for the Grade 8 year end trip. Thank you everyone for your participation in this event.
*Horse Week: The Colouring Contest results are in, the final event of our exciting theme week. We thank all the students who participated in the contest, and extend our congratulations to the top two contestants from each division:
K-2 1st place: Helayna 2nd place: Jasmine
3-5 1st place: Zion 2nd place: Audrey
6-8 1st place: Kali 2nd place: Lani
*On Monday, October 25, John Calvin School is looking forward to welcoming three student teachers from Covenant Canadian Reformed Teachers College. Miss Kylie Enter will be teaching with Mrs. Fledderus in Grade 4A and is in her first year of the three-year program at the CCRTC. Miss Marisa Petter will be teaching with Ms. Stoffels in the Learning Resource department and is in her second year of the three-year program at the College. Miss Patricia Bouwman will be teaching with Miss VanderLaan in Grade 5B and is in her third year of the three year program at the CCRTC. We wish them all the best and the Lord’s blessing during their practicum session at JCS.
*Next week Thursday, October 28 is our first School Spirit Day, 80’s dress-up day. This event is organized by the JCS School Spirit service team, made up of student representatives from Grades 4-8 and the Learning Resource department. Pull out your old neon shirts, bandana hair ties, tease the hair (i.e. Big Hair), and join in the fun!
*Friday, October 29th is a PD Day. The staff will be attending the LCRSS Teachers’ Convention at our school, and the students get to enjoy a day at home.
*Included with today’s Chronicle is the fall ASC Newsletter to update you on the activities of this LCRSS (League of Canadian Reformed Schools) committee.
Reminders:
*The October issue of the News & Views will be distributed by email later today or on the weekend.
*The annual Grades 7&8 Anchor Work Day is coming up next week Friday. The students were to have returned their confirmation slips this week. Once again, when considering job opportunities with your son or daughter, please keep in mind covid protocols. It is good for the students in Grades 7&8 to be involved in this community service for one of our Reformed institutions.
*Hotdog Day is planned for Wednesday, October 27, courtesy the JCS Ladies Auxiliary. Yippee! No lunches to make on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.
*Picture retakes are tentatively rescheduled for Wednesday, November 3.
*Please continue to collect pop can tabs to help support children who are in need of a wheelchair. Our bucket is located in the foyer by the offices.
Have a good weekend and a blessed day of rest and worship on Sunday. We’ll be in touch again next week Thursday, D.V.
G. Hofsink
Classroom News
Kindergarten
This week the kindergarten students went on a class trip to Warner Ranch and Pumpkin Patch! This was a great trip filled with many different adventures. There was a horse drawn wagon ride, a large playground, ponies, goats, bunnies and even a unicorn! The students loved being able to pick a pumpkin to take home! Thanks so much to our parent volunteers for being willing to come along on the trip and help out! We are continuing to learn our letter sounds and have begun to read short CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words! Each week there will be a parent letter coming home explaining the concepts that we have learned along with a small exercise for the students to do using the skills they have learned. Please do these small exercises with your child to help with the learning taking place in the classroom. Have a great weekend. JB/SV
Grade 1
We are coming to the end of another Bible unit and hope to have a test about the Joseph stories near the end of the week. Grade 1B will also have a Social Studies test near the end of the week as well. The agendas will keep you posted as to which day specifically. Watch for the notebook pages to come home in the agenda bags. Grade 1A will hopefully reach the end of the second unit in Math by the middle of next week and we will have a test as well. Some of our students are struggling with recognizing and writing numbers larger than 30. If you can find a way to play a game to help them solidify that concept, that might be very helpful for them. (I will add some links at the end of this section.) Friday is a PD day, so Memory Work will be due on Thursday, as will the spelling and sight words.
Memory work: Psalm 93: 1 and Sons of Jacob
Spelling/Sight words: as, his, I, they, with
Math links: https://youtu.be/AKXVziZ-kdw
https://www.abcya.com/games/number_bubble_counting (fun)
Grade 2
This week, we wrote a lot of tests and quizzes in Grade 2! We finished our Science unit on bones and muscles, our next unit will be on health and safety! We’re moving on to our next Phonics unit which is going to focus on long vowels instead of short. In Math, we finished our unit on addition and subtraction and will move on to geometry and measurement. Please continue practicing math facts at home! Due to all the rain please pack an extra pair of socks in your child’s backpack! Thanks! Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday! RG & BV
Grade 3
In Bible, we could hear how the LORD made a covenant with Abram. It is so neat to hear the children participate reciting their text within the Bible story; it’s great seeing their eyes light up. We have begun with our new Language program. We are practising short vowel sound words in Phonics, and we are learning to use complete sentences in writing class. Continue to practise the spelling words on a regular basis at home, boys and girls! Warm and cool colours have been introduced in Art class. Ask us all about it. The wait is almost over; we are so excited! Next week Tuesday, Grade 3A will go to Jordan School house, and 3B will go on Wednesday. Parents, please make sure your child is dressed in pioneer clothing. Bring along a mask as this is a requirement of the museum. Also, bring along a non-microwavable lunch; check the letter sent via Google Classroom for some pioneer lunch ideas. We are so looking forward to going ‘back in time’ for a day with the students. Greetings!
Memory work: Hymn 52:1 Text: Gen. 49:10 (two weeks)
Spelling words: laughed, schools, to, too, two, was
Thursday: Bring library books in a bag Friday: Mission $
Grade 4
Grade 4A welcomes Miss Kylie Enter as a student teacher beginning on Monday, October 25th. She will be with us for three weeks. For the rest, the Grade 4 students continue to work hard. We’ve been working on learning about subtraction in math, our church family in Church History and sound and light in Science. Here are a few things to keep in mind for next week: Have a blessed weekend. YF/KO
Thursday: Grade 4A Science Quiz: Light
Friday: Spelling Test: cry, close, surprise, off, spy, too, nineteen, closer, smile, bigger, lying, write, stranger, trying
Memory Work: S: Hymn 60:1-2/T: Psalm 100:1-3
Upcoming Memory Work: Psalm 20:1
Grade 5
As we wrap up another week here in Grade 5 we continue to be thankful for the time we can spend together in class! We have written our social studies test that covered a large portion of the Ancient Rome unit. We will continue with this unit for a little longer, including an exciting building project! Theme 2 in our World of Literature book will wrap up shortly and we will begin our first novel study, Call it Courage. Miss Patricia Bouwman will be coming to Grade 5B for a 4 week practicum starting Monday. She’s in her third year of the 3 year program at the CCRTC. We look forward to meeting her! Devotions for the week are as follows: 5A – M. Gideon, Tu. Augie, W. Georgia, Th. Cedric and for 5B M. Reanne, Tu. Evelyn, W. Reece, Th. Tara. Have an enjoyable weekend! RK/KVL
Grade 6
Grade 6 is enjoying life at school. We are learning a lot in many different areas. Phys.Ed is very much appreciated and the students are trained in self-control, controlling the ball and aiming to score. So there is so much more to soccer than just kicking the ball. Teamwork proves to be of major importance in order to score a goal. We ask your attention for the correct Phys.Ed equipment. We need good indoor shoes and a JCS shirt on the proper days of Phys.Ed. On Tuesday we could have a great class trip. The students were allowed to touch all the instruments in the cockpit of the planes. They could not stop exploring. After the visit to the RCAF in Dunnville we walked at the pier and did research in the world of nature. As some students said, “This was the best trip ever!” We agree. Science has changed in the subject of Social Studies and soon we will travel through Europe and the States to find trading partners. Never a dull moment in Grade 6.This coming week we hope to pay attention to how the Lord has used Dr. Marten Luther to discover the full Gospel of grace. We are convinced that we still experience Gospel blessings by what happened in the 16th century. We wish you a blessed Reformation Day as family and hope that you also enjoy learning the memory work with your children. So much better than thinking of how NOT to celebrate Halloween. CvA, IdeV
Grade 7A
While Grade 7 uses Language Arts class to prepare for the role as hosts for next week’s, “Reformation Day” assembly, we will use some L.A. time for our first official unit dealing with the “Short Story”. This past week we wrapped up our P.E. Flag Football unit with scrimmage games; next we’ll move on volleyball and the multi-stage fitness test; BEEP TEST! Each student has had a conference with their teacher about their Independent Study book selection, they will show what they learned from their reading by completing a book report form. Be sure to ask your child how (un)stable their table was. Enjoy your weekend.
Grade 7B
We have finished up another chapter in Math, so a test was written on Tuesday and should have been brought home to be signed. Our new chapter is on fractions. In Bible class, we are following David as he is continually chased by Saul. Time and again we can see how the Lord protects David, even as it is shown that he is also a sinner. What a comfort! Our play is coming along nicely and we have begun rehearsals in the gym at lunch time. It is exciting to see it all come together and we can’t wait to perform it next week Thursday afternoon! We are beginning a short stories unit in LA, and our vocab work continues, so please don’t forget to study for the weekly tests!
Have a great weekend! MJ and AL
Grade 8
What a beautiful sunny week this week! Students enjoyed starting soccer intramurals – great fun during recess. Personal Essays are due for both classes on Thursday. We have a History test on Tuesday covering Chapters 1 and 2 (including John A. MacDonald), and a Geography test covering Chapters 1 and 2 on Wednesday (8A) and Thursday (8B). After veggie chopping, we are getting right back into things. We encourage you to check in with your students, things are getting busy! Memory work is Psalm 34:4,5, and Joel 2:28-32. Have a great weekend, Mrs. VA & Mrs. T
© 2015 Canadian Reformed School Society of Smithville and Surrounding District
