General News
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Eph 6:11
After a few short weeks, we’re ready to jump into some longer, exciting educational weeks right in the heart of Fall!
I had an enjoyable time at Fall Fest this year! The weather was simply spectacular, and those amazing ladies even managed to keep the water in the dunk tank surprisingly warm! A huge, cheerful thank you to them for that fantastic detail!
The amount of sheer work and love poured into the Fest by our incredible organizing team was truly magnificent. To watch them work together as a seamless unit, tackling every challenge with a can-do spirit, was a powerful testament to their incredible grit and dedication. They truly showed us that nothing is insurmountable!
You still have a few more days to hop on over to the auction and support this wonderful cause! The link is right here. Trust me, there is a perfect little something for absolutely everyone!
My challenge to all of you is this: Please take a moment to find one of those remarkable Fall Fest ladies and give them the biggest, warmest thank you you can muster. Critique is often easy, but a heartfelt thank you is sometimes too easily forgotten.
Our staff will be attending the 2025 Compass Reformed Educators’ Convention at Guido de Brès Christian High School on October 23–24 for two days of learning, sharing, and fellowship. Keynote speaker Andrea Kampen and devotional speaker Rev. William den Hollander will explore this year’s theme: Cultivating Joy and Resilience in Reformed Christian Schools. We look forward to this professional development and hope that it continues to shape and mold us as we seek to improve our profession.
This coming week, we’re very happy to welcome a number of pre-service teachers into our school. We will have some first-year students joining us: Kristen Van Iperen will be in Grade 1 with Mrs. Gansekoele and Mrs. Poort, and Lauren Van Leeuwen will be with Miss Oosterhoff. Additionally, we have some third-year students coming in, including Megan Van Iperen with Mr. Breukelman and Clarissa Lof with Mrs. Tesfaye. We welcome them all warmly to our school and wish them God’s blessings on their educational journey with the JCCS community. We hope their stay here is a warm, welcoming, and valuable educational experience!
On Thursday evening, ACE (Assisting Children with Exceptionalities) will host an Embrace with ACE evening where Shannon Wassenaar will present on Anxiety in Children. This will be hosted at Grace Christian School at 7:30. We’d love to see you there!
We welcome you for an assembly on Friday at 8:30 a.m. to celebrate Reformation Day. Mr. Witten will lead this assembly. I fondly remember ‘Opa Witten’ last year, I wonder what is up his sleeve for this year’s assembly?
Wishing you all a blessed week!
JVI
Calendar
Monday –
Tuesday – HR Meeting
Wednesday – Veggie Chopping
Thursday – Veggie Chopping, Embrace with ACE Evening
Friday – Reformation Day Assembly @ 8:30 a.m.
Classroom News
Kindergarten
Another short and exciting week in kindergarten. The students were thrilled to share all the fun they had at Fall Fest. We are so thankful for the many hands involved to help make this event so successful. As we write this, we are looking forward to the pumpkin patch field trip. This is always a fun trip for all; with a tractor ride, corn maze, talking scarecrow and picking our own pumpkin to take home. Thank you to all the volunteers joining us on this trip. In Science we’ve been learning all about our 5 senses and one of the highlights was the taste test experiment. The students loved exploring different flavors! This week we wrapped up our math unit on patterns; it was great to hear that many students are continuing to make patterns at home using Lego, cereal, cars and even their snacks! In language arts we will start to learn about letters, how to form them and the sounds they make. We hope you all have a wonderful extra long weekend. DV/MV
Grade 1
What a wonderful time we had at Fall Fest! The children were full of excitement as they shared stories about the candy they bought and the games they enjoyed. A big thank you to the Fall Fest Committee for creating such a memorable and fun experience for everyone! Although it was a short week, it was certainly packed with learning. We wrapped up our math unit on counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, reading and recognizing numbers on our 100 chart, and identifying various shapes. In Bible, we continued learning about God’s faithfulness through the story of Joseph. Even when Joseph was wrongfully accused and sent to prison, God was with him and ultimately restored him, making him the second most powerful ruler in Egypt. In CKLA, we are busy reviewing our letters and their sounds. This foundational work is especially important as we prepare to begin our spelling word practice next week. These words can be tricky—they often can’t be sounded out using finger tapping—so knowing how to read and spell them correctly will be key. We’ll practice these words in class, but a little extra review at home will go a long way. Thank you for your support!
Grade 2
Fall is finally here, bringing cooler, windy days — we’ve even needed our coats a few times already! It’s been a short but productive week in Grade 2. In Math, we’re wrapping up our unit on addition and subtraction and getting ready to explore Geometry. In Bible, we’ve been hearing stories about some of Jesus’s miracles, learning how He showed love and power through His works. We’ve also begun a new Science unit on Movement and Simple Machines, discovering how things move and what helps make work easier. The students are looking forward to an extra-long weekend to rest and recharge!
Grade 3
It has been another short and busy week at JCCS.
Last week Thursday, Mrs. Chelsea Bartels came in and made butter and buns with grade three. What a treat and joy to have homemade buns with butter and jam, pioneer style!
Thank you, Chelsea!
Fall Fest was a beautiful day. We thank the LORD for the communion of saints and fellowship.
Today was Wacky Hair Day!!! Oh! Oh! Oh! Thank you for your participation!
We finished our Social Studies unit on Communities in Canada.
Grade 3B will be welcoming Miss Lauren VanLeeuwen for the next three weeks. We pray she is blessed during her time with us on her first practice teaching experience through CCRTC.
Psalm 23:1
Text: Genesis 15:5,6
Please check your child’s agenda for the spelling words for both 3A and 3B.
Grade 4
Grade 4 has been buzzing with excitement over the past couple of weeks! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Rock Point, zooming in with Mr. Justin to hear about his life as a coal miner in Kentucky, and collecting many items for the food drive. On top of it all, Mr. Reinink had to leave Miss Jes to run the Thanksgiving Assembly while he helped welcome a healthy baby son named Miller!
In the coming weeks, students are invited to participate in the annual Remembrance Day Poster Contest. All forms and submissions are due by October 30, 2025.
Next week, we will begin our first Social Studies unit on Canada. Students will learn all the provinces and capitals, improve their mapping skills, and build a deeper appreciation for our wonderful country. We will also continue reading Brown Girl Dreaming, a powerful story that explores themes of inclusion, personal identity, and the dangers of discrimination.
In Music, students are making steady progress on the recorder. Our apologies in advance to families hearing plenty of practice at home—thank you for your patience and encouragement as students learn this new instrument!
Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!
— FR / JB
Grade 5
We have had a busy past few weeks in Grade 5! Both classes have begun their Ancient Rome building projects which has been a highlight of our week. Students will continue to work on these projects during the coming weeks and we look forward to seeing their creativity and knowledge shine through in their work! 5A will have a mid-unit Bible test on Thursday. Parents, please take the time to study for this test with your child. Students are encouraged to continue practicing their spelling words and to keep up the good work with bringing in Mission Money!
Devotions for next week are as follows:
5A: Noa (M), Edwin (Tu), Julia (W), Hailey (Th), Reid (F)
5B: Landon (M), Veda (Tu), Ivan (W), Payton (Th), Malachi (F)
Have a great weekend! CDV/KV
Grade 6
A short week means a short chronicle! With board visitors roaming the hallways and the sweet smells of hair spray gracing our rooms on Wednesday we enjoyed another beautiful but short fall week in Gr. 6. For the next two days the teachers are off to the annual convention, this year at Guido! In our Gr. 6 class we wrapped up our first Church History unit as well as our Soccer unit. Students can expect a Church History assessment next week while 6B also has a Math test next week. Have a blessed weekend and put those students to work! 🙂 CVA BK MJ
Grade 7A
We’ll wrap up Ch. 3 in math next week as we bring fractions and decimals to a close. Our next chapter will be expressions and equations. The reign of King Saul is coming to a close and the LORD’s promise to David is about to come true as we bring 1 Samuel to a close in Bible history. In physical geography we learned how the LORD uses “natural” disasters to urge us to repent and anticipate the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We’ll look next at the changing patterns of climate. Two highlights next week will be the hike at Short Hills PP on Tuesday, and tour of Turkstra Lumber on Wednesday. Enjoy your weekend.
Grade 7B
Students have presented their eulogies written to reflect what they’ve learned about Champlain. We will continue to learn about the various key components of the fur trade in the 1600’s. Parents should have received an email about an upcoming trip to Short Hills. If you would like to join us, please let the school know! There will be a Chapter 2 Vocab quiz for French on Wednesday. Enjoy the weekend! RK
Grade 8
Another week in the books, albeit a short one! Next week, we’re excited to welcome two student teachers into our classrooms: Ms. Megan VanIperen and Ms. Clarissa Lof will be joining the Grade 8 team. They’ll be with us for four weeks, observing, teaching, and interacting with students and teachers. We trust our students will make their time here enjoyable and memorable.
Looking ahead to next week’s activities:
Students will present their History research projects on whether their assigned colony should join Confederation
- Demonstrative speeches will take place on Thursday and Friday
- Our biggest Ottawa fundraiser of the year—Soup Veggies—kicks off! We’ll be working at the Gleaners on Wednesday and packaging in the gym on Thursday. Thank you to all our volunteers, especially the coordinators, for making these events possible!
Have a great extended weekend!
TB/RT