General News
“Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28
This was a very eventful week here at JCCS. We enjoyed a Reformation Day assembly where “Opa” Witten came to visit his granddaughter and explain the liberation of 1944. We learned about presumptive regeneration and the struggles of the article 31ers and the synodical church. It was echt goed to have a visitor from the Old Country come here to explain things. We enjoyed the Reformation Day assembly. Thank you to Mr. Witten and Mrs. Bartels for a job well done.
On Thursday we also heard of the news of the passing away of br. Art Witten the father of Ted Witten and the uncle of Michelle Vis. This was a shock as he suddenly passed away at the age of 74 from a heart attack. We pray that God will uphold them as they lay a loved one to rest. We pray that the comfort of God’s eternal kingdom and joy will sustain them through this difficult time.
The school also had the opportunity to get its yearly dose of soup veggies aromas. The grade 8 class worked hard to help with this Ottawa trip fundraiser. Added to the busyness were our regular volleyball and drama practices.
In the upcoming week, we will begin with a series of skating trips. This week the grades 4 and 6 classes will take the lead.
We will commemorate two birthdays this week. A happy birthday to Miss Oosterhoff on Sunday and Mr. Joosse on Wednesday. We wish them the LORD’s blessings in the upcoming year.
Wishing you God’s blessing and care in the upcoming week.
JVI
Week at A Glance:
Sunday – Miss Oosterhoff’s birthday
Monday – Picture Retake Day
Wednesday – Grade 4 & 6 Skate, Mr. Joosse’s birthday
Thursday – HR Meeting
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Classroom News
Kindergarten
We had a great week in kindergarten, we were able to spend some extra time outside to enjoy the beautiful fall weather. We have been busy working on our line formations in language arts. Please keep working on your practice papers at home, we appreciate it! In math, we are starting a new unit on counting and matching. We encourage you to practice counting up to 20 with your child at home. Library day is a highlight for the kids each week, please check at home for any overdue books. Have a wonderful weekend! DV/MV
Grade 1
After two short weeks of school, it was good to get back into a full week of working with the students! This past week, we completed our Bible unit about Joseph. Next week we will take some time to focus on church history, beginning a new unit about the worship service. We look forward to a guided tour of the Smithville church building with Rev. Swaving as our tour guide! This is always a beautiful unit to teach, where we are blessed to speak about how the children of believers belong to the covenant of grace. In our language arts classes, we have been learning many new tricky words. Our ring of words is growing rapidly. Please take a few minutes each day to go over the words. The idea is for the ring to travel between school and home daily, so that it will be readily available for adding new words. Perhaps a special pocket of the backpack could be designated as the place to store it. Both classes are pleased to welcome Miss Lenting as a practicum teacher. She spends most of the week in Grade 1A, where she is also teaching some lessons each day. On Thursday, she is able to observe in the Grade 1B classroom. For a little more information about her, please see the email that was sent out on Wednesday. We wish Miss Lenting a blessed time at JCCS!
Grade 2
This week in Grade 2 we continued with Biblestories about Jesus. The students enjoyed hearing about Jesus feeding the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water. In Math we have started a new unit on shapes and have learned some big math words: quadrilaterals and pentominoes! In Science we have started a new unit about Movement and Simple Machines. With November starting we are looking forward to some fun book month activities and challenges coming up! This is a great month to practice reading at home too. Have a great weekend and a blessed Sunday! BV&MB
Grade 3
The month of November means Reading Month. We cannot wait to see many books around the school and see the students’ love of reading grow! Looking ahead to next week, grade 3 will begin practicing subtraction skills and learning some new strategies. There will also be a new unit starting in science! We will finish up our Bible unit on the life of Abraham and conclude with a test on Friday for both classes.
Memory Work: Psalm 34: 3; Genesis 15: 5, 6
Grade 4
After 2 short weeks, it was good to have a full week of classes and learning! Thank you to “Opa” Witten and his “granddaughter” for teaching us a bit about the liberation in 1944 and God’s faithfulness to his promises at our Reformation Day assembly on Thursday. November is Book Month and we look forward to several reading activities ahead, including our first Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) on Tuesday. Grade 4 will be going skating on Wednesday from 12:15-1:15 pm. Parents, please meet at the arena to help tie skates and please join us on the ice! On Wednesday, the Grade 4B will also have a math test on addition. Next week Thursday, Grade 4 looks forward to a visit to the Theological Seminary in Hamilton in connection with our Church History unit.
4A Devotions – M: Elias, T: Macy, W: Japer, F: Gabriel K
4B Devotions – M: Jackson, T: Veda, W: Edwin, F: Malachi and Reid
Grade 5
Welcome Miss Lof and Miss Homan to our classes! They have observed and taught several lessons in the past week. We hope they are enjoying their time with us as we learn together!
5B will have a mid-unit Bible on Friday. 5A will be reviewing in class; keep an eye on the agenda for the test date. This coming week, 5B will be wrapping up Math Ch. 2, and will move on to Ch. 3, “Multiply Whole Numbers.” 5A is also working on this chapter. Ancient Roman building projects are being worked on and should be finished this week.
Devotions for 5A – Adele (M), Eli (Tu), Emma (W), Nash (Th), Tayson (F). 5B – Jace (M), Scott (Tu), Jocelyn (W), Maelle (Th), Michaela (F).
Enjoy your weekend! RK/KVL
Grade 6A
Finally it feels that with a full week of school we could get back to a more regular routine. We started the novel, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. With the setting of this historical fiction novel during WWII, the students will gain some knowledge about that time period and also find out what it was like as a child their age during that time. A bird has been chosen by each student and we will use our keyboarding time at school to research and type the information. This is to be a project that is completed during school time. In Bible we have studied creation, the fall into sin, and now we approach the impending flood. In P.E. we started our new unit on Volleyball. Have a blessed weekend. CVA MJ
Grade 6B
It has been quite nice to have a full, normal week at school. Sometimes a normal routine is just what the “doctor” ordered. Thursday morning, we enjoyed a Reformation Day assembly hosted by Grade 7. Ask your child about the “Opa” that showed up to talk to us. This week we have been keeping busy with creating slide presentations about the Early Christian Church. Most students spent today putting the final touches on their presentation. Today we also wrote our Bible tests to wrap up Unit 1. Look for these in your child’s agenda early next week for signing. Today also saw us competing in an airplane flying competition. The students really put a great effort into designing and building some very interesting planes. Be sure to ask your child how this competition went. We are almost finished wrapping up our (with Mrs. Oosterhoff) unit in Math. There will be a test on this unit on Friday, Nov. 8. We will be doing much reviewing in class for this test. Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Sunday. SO/EV
Memory Work: Psalm 102:11
Text: Genesis 15:1-3
Monday: Music Quiz
Devotions: M. Nadia, Tu. Seth, W. Jodine, Th. Matthew, Fr. Brooklynn
Grade 7A
After several “unusual” weeks of work with worthwhile interruptions, it feels great to get back into a “normal” week and routine. We were introduced to the Science Fair this past week and to the Scientific Method. Your child has decided upon a topic to work with as well as a question to answer. Next step will be to formulate a hypothesis. Please take the time to “check in” with your student regarding their progress. Students will be acting out part of the short story, “Home on the Range”, next week. The story includes a lot of dialogue and action, as well as kitchen props. After wrapping up our study of rivers and oceans in Physical Geography, we’ll move on to landforms. The plot in 1 Samuel has shifted from Saul to David, as we’ll learn how the LORD fulfills His promises made to David. Enjoy your weekend.
Grade 8
The first full week of school in a while has been a busy one! It was great to see our Grade 8 students, parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. come together to complete our biggest fundraiser for our Ottawa trip. We thank all the coordinators of our Veggie Day fundraiser for the countless hours put in organizing everything from booking the Gleaners, ordering veggies, collecting orders, sending out emails, and so much more to make this fundraiser a success. We also thank the Gleaners for allowing us to use their wonderful facility as well. Next week we breathe a sigh of relief as we can look forward to a “normal” academic week. We look forward to a Math quiz next week and we will wrap up our respective History and Geography chapters. Have a blessed weekend. RT/TB