General News
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2
We look back with thankfulness on a beautiful week. Last weekend we hosted the Soccer Tournament. All of our teams did a wonderful job, even garnering some compliments about sportsmanship, which I was delighted to hear. All teams made it to the finals, and the mixed team even brought home a trophy! I believe this is the first time we get to engrave JCCS on this particular trophy. Congratulations Defenders, and thank you to our coaches: Mrs. Rozema, Mrs. Schulenberg, Mr. Tenhage, Mr. VanVeen, and Miss Smouter. We thank you for your dedication and time!
The Cross Country Team will participate in its first run this year at Dundas Valley Conservation Area today! They will participate again on Thursday in the Golden Horseshoe Cross Country Run, locally at Southward Park in Grimsby. The races start at 11:00 with the grade 3 and 4 girls, then boys, and then progress to the higher grades. This means that timing is not exact if you want to know when your child is participating. We thank our coaches, Mrs. Schulenberg and Miss Aalbers.
This past week we really were on the hook for a great time! We tackled the theme week of Fish in Ontario. The net result was that we learned a lot about salmon, fishing, and the fascinating fish of Ontario. We saw a few salmon on the Salmon Run while enjoying a nice walk along the Twenty Mile Creek by Bailey’s bridge. We thank our Theme Week committee for a great job in getting this week put together. Students took the bait of great colouring for prizes; we now know that they have the ability to put out some quality work . We had, altogether, a “fintastic” week!
On Wednesday we were treated to a delicious hotdog lunch! We thank the Ladies Auxiliary for coordinating this effort. It was a delightful way to enjoy our School Spirit Day!
Looking ahead, we have two shorter weeks of school. With Thanksgiving, we have a PD Day attached to it, making next week a shorter school week. Staff hope to tackle Social Studies, French, and Church History on the PD Day. The next week is only a two-day week. JCCS will host the Compass Reformed Educators Conference, which will have about 400 teachers descend on Smithville to get their fill of PD with the conference theme of “Christian Education in a Post Christian World.” We hope to have a keynote by Jonathon Van Maren, and a devotional by Dr. W. den Hollander.
This means this Chronicle covers the next two weeks of school due to the shorter nature of the next two weeks. We hope to send the next Chronicle out on October 20th.
On October 19th Mrs. Tesfaye hopes to celebrate her birthday. May God continue to richly sustain and bless her in the upcoming year!
We have already reached the Thanksgiving long weekend. May we use this time to celebrate God’s faithfulness as we live in the grace that He has provided through the saving work of His Son.
JVI
Mon 12 – Thanksgiving
Tues 13 – PD Day
Wed 14 – Grade 6 – Latitude
Thurs 15 – Golden Horseshoe Cross Country Run @ Southward
Fri 16
Sat 17 – Fallfest
Mon 19 – Mrs. Tesfaye’s Birthday, Board Meeting
Tues 20 – Grade 7&8 – ROM
Wed 21 – CREC Prep – no school
Thur 22 – Compass Reformed Educators Conference (CREC), EmbrACE evening at Grace
Fri 23 – CREC
IT Committee Member
Ever solve a problem by turning it off and on again and feel like a wizard? We need you. The JCCS IT Committee has an open slot. If you love tech, know your way around cables and Wi-Fi, or just want to help keep our school’s tech stack running smooth, come join the party.
Ready to connect? Send a ping to the Principal at principal@johncalvinschool.com
Classroom News
Kindergarten
We have been busy learning a lot of new things in Kindergarten. The children are having fun building and extending patterns in math. We have also been working on forming lots of different lines, shapes, cups, and humps. Wednesday was a busy day! Thank you to all the parents who came along on our field trip to Mountainview apple orchard. We enjoyed a tasty hotdog lunch provided by the Ladies Auxiliary, followed by a story and visit from Mrs. Deboersap. Thank you to everyone who helped make our day so special. This week, we finished our Bible stories about Abraham and Isaac. Next week, we will be hearing about Jacob and Esau. Please note the upcoming PD days. There will be no school on Oct. 13, 14, and Oct. 21, 22, 23.A reminder that we will be going to Bry-Anne Farm on Oct. 14. Please send a bag along for your pumpkin. We hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving weekend and look forward to seeing you back on Wednesday. DV/MV
Grade 1
What an exciting week we enjoyed together! We began with a wonderful PowerPoint presentation on salmon, enthusiastically explained by Mrs. Gansekoele. The children had a blast dressing up as fish and/or fishermen/women, and the Ladies Auxiliary spoiled us with a delicious hotdog lunch — thank you so much! We also went on a hike to see the salmon run, and on Friday the students enjoyed fishing‑themed games in the gym. A big thank‑you to all the organisers for providing such a fantastic and educational experience. And yes — we still fit in our regular learning! In math we continued moving forward, learning about shapes. In reading, we have begun reading words built on the board. It is so exciting to see the kids’ wonder as they discover they can read. We connected our fishing theme week to our Living Things unit, making meaningful links between our activities and our science learning. In Bible stories, we listened to how Jacob was chosen by God, how he and his mother Rebekah took matters into their own hands, and how consequences followed their choices. These stories remind us of God’s faithfulness even when His people falter. The next two weeks will be shorter school weeks. We hope you enjoy the extra time at home with your children as you rest and recharge together. Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving as you praise and thank God for all His good gifts.
Grade 2
Grade 2 had a fun, fishy week! We learned about the life cycle of salmon and even went to see them spawning on Thursday. There was a colouring contest, fish games and a dress up day. In the midst of all the fish activities, we also were treated to a hot dog lunch – thanks to the Ladies’ Auxiliary! We ended the week with a Thanksgiving assembly. Please look in your child’s agenda for due dates for memory work, text and spelling words. Some have changed since the schedule given at the beginning of the year due to the two short weeks coming up. Wishing everyone a blessed Thanksgiving! MB/LS/BS
Grade 3
Something smells fishy around here!!
We had a fishtastic week at JCCS!
From colouring contests, to a beautiful trip in God’s creation, to fish flip books, and more, we sure know a lot more about these slippery creatures.
Thank you to the committee for putting this interactive and exciting week together.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Henrietta Buikema came in and showed us many different pioneer artifacts. Ask us about the song, “and the green grass grew all around.”
We also had a yummy hotdog lunch in the middle of the week! Thanks to the ladies you served us with a smile.
We indeed have so much for which to be thankful. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving weekend!
Psalm 19:1
Psalm 8:4,5
Text: Genesis 12:1-3 (two weeks)
Please check your child’s agenda for the spelling words.
Miss A/Miss B
Grade 4
Gobble, Gobble One! Gobble, Gobble Two!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
What an amazing week we had with Fish Week! We loved the energy and interest the students brought each day. Our dress-up day was especially fun, and it was great to see all of their creative ideas. What a blessing it is to be able to share these fun experiences together!
Mr. Reinink may have just lived through his most glorious week yet—with Grimsby Tackle, a fish fry, and a free range to talk about fish and fishing! Needless to say, he was pretty happy.
The next couple of weeks should be fairly “low-key,” as the kids would say, outside of our days off. In Language Arts, we are aiming to wrap up our novel, Owls in the Family. In Science, we will be finishing up our unit on Rocks and Minerals.
In Math, we have noticed some confusion with place value and estimating. As teachers, we want to continue reinforcing these concepts throughout the year so that students can recognize and understand the patterns in numbers.
To help motivate students and make number sense more enjoyable, we have given each student a username and password for Prodigy Math. Prodigy is an online game that focuses on math skills, problem-solving, and number sense. Students are welcome to use it at home. If your child does not know their login information, please feel free to reach out to us and we would be happy to provide it.
Lastly, we want to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed to our community food drive! We are looking forward to creating a bit of a “domino effect” next week as we bring all of the boxes together before taking them down to the local food bank.
We likely did not surpass last year’s total when it comes to the number of items collected, but that is okay! Our goal is not simply to collect the most items. We want our students to recognize that there is a real need within our local community and to develop a heart for helping our neighbours. If you could reinforce that message at home, we would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks for your support again!
Miss Jes & Mr. Reinink
Grade 5
What a beautiful week!! The students enjoyed learning about the different types of fish in Ontario, participating in various activities around the school, and loved the hike on Thursday where we got to see some salmon on their journey upstream!
As we look ahead at the next two weeks there are a number of things to note. First, both classes are moving on to our second unit in Bible where students will be learning about Jesus’ early ministry. 5B will have a French quiz on les saisons, les mois, les repas, and la journee, on Tuesday (20th). Both classes will have a quiz on the notes in the treble clef on Friday (16th).
A reminder for parents to please practice the spelling words with your child to prepare them for their spelling test each Friday.
Devotions for the next two weeks are as follows:
5A: Merri (W), Kyla (Th), Rebecca (F), Abby R (M), Hunter (Tu)
5B: Grayson (W), Thatcher (Th), JJ (F), Laura (M), Maddy (Tu)
We hope that you enjoy your long weekend as you remember all of the blessings that God has granted to us! CDV/CL
Grade 6A
Thanksgiving weekend is already here! Students, we hope you enjoy a well-deserved break from the busyness of the school season being in full swing. Fish week was well enjoyed in grade 6, and students will be completing their “Flash Research” projects on Musky next week – be prepared for many interesting facts about this fish!
LA: Power of the Powerless Quiz, Vocab Word List 3 Quiz- Friday, Oct 16. Students are working in groups on a Disability Research Project. They will continue working on this during computer time.
French: We are beginning our first official unit – Ma Famille!
Memory Work: Psalm 1:2 (Oct 16); Psalm 14:1 (Oct 20); Gen 9:12-16 (Oct 20)
Music: Students are reviewing note names. Please encourage your child to practice when they bring their recorder home!
Devotions: Julia (W), Malachi (Th), Lily (F)
Have a wonderful long weekend!
MD & MVA
Grade 6B
Math: A new unit has begun, and we will spend the next few weeks looking at multiplication, prime factors, and exponents.
Science/Social Studies: Students will soon get the opportunity to put all the things they have learned about what makes flight possible into practice!
French: As we wrap up our review materials, we will begin to learn about Ma Famille!
Devotions: Hailey F, Elias, Shawn
The couple of short weeks ahead look to be busy and exciting! Enjoy the extra long weekend. Happy thanksgiving!
BK
Grade 7
How is Thanksgiving already here? Between the long weekend, the upcoming teacher’s convention, and a field trip to the ROM the next few weeks in Gr. 7 are going to be a juggling act. Oh yah, somewhere in there its also Ms. Van Iperen’s birthday! Have a blessed long weekend!
P.S we have no parent chaperone for the ROM trip yet, we would love to have you along!
Cheers, RK, MVI, MJ
Grade 8
It’s incredible how fast the school year goes each and every year. We blink and find ourselves at Thanksgiving weekend already! The next two weeks will be short ones: next week we have Thanksgiving Monday and a PD Day, and the following week we have three PD days for the Compass Reformed Education Conference.
A reminder that on October 20, Grades 7 and 8 head to the ROM. We are still in need of lots of chaperones, so if you would like to come along, please let me know!
We look forward to seeing most of you at Fallfest as well. Enjoy your long weekends!
TB/RT