April 2017

April 26 is Administrative Professionals Day.

It certainly is appropriate to set aside a day for administrative professionals. These people are, in most situations, the “front line” staff.

At Calvin Christian School, our front office personnel are Marlene Gallea (Office Manager) and Lianna Reitsma (Office Assistant). Although differing in job descriptions, these two women have many tasks in common. In fact, these tasks amount to just about everything, the unwritten yet presumed.

Without a doubt, these ladies are the pulse of the school. They know what is going on. They are the people to go to when you need to know what is going on, and if you need advice, suggestions, and guidance. They respond to staff and students and parents gathered in the office, while responding to door bells and deliveries and telephone calls. They deal lovingly with injuries, the serious and the not so serious but deemed serious. They follow up on Board of Director and committee requests, gather and distribute cheese orders, and ensure hard copies and e-blasts of the Courier are sent out. They also... I am sure you can fill in the rest.

We would like to celebrate Administrative Professionals Day in their honour. Marlene and Lianna have the gifts, skills, and personalities that make our front office run smoothly. They have a heart for the well-being of students, staff and parents. They serve to make a difference. We thank God for placing Marlene and Lianna in our school and we gladly celebrate this day in their honour. Thank you, Marlene and Lianna, for all that you do at Calvin Christian School.

T.P.

What happens when the stimulating author Sigmund Brouwer comes and talks to Kindergarten students? Books get written! After Sigmund Brouwer's visit to Calvin Christian School, the Kindergarten students have been inspired to write books. It began with one child who wrote a book at home that he wanted to share with his peers. Mrs. Wiebenga quickly provided an author's chair so he could share his story - and this is how the "grabber" happened! Since that day, the children have created lots of books! Big ones, small ones, some with words and others simply with pictures. We have seen stories about Pokemon, insects, Jesus and so much more. Learning has exploded as they explore how to bind a book - should they use glue? tape? or a stapler? Do they want pages made of white paper or coloured construction paper? May they start a book at school and then take it home to continue working on it? Words needed to be sounded out.  Library books were used to research facts. Computers were used to find pictures, so their illustrations were clear representations. Stories needed to be practiced so they could give high quality presentations. Great learning happened! Thank you Sigmund Brouwer for your inspiration, and for creating "Story Ninjas" in Kindergarten!

~Mrs. McKnight

Another exciting tournament of the Battle of the Books is behind us. We had a very successful season, with a great turnout of students wanting to be part of the battle. The requirements to becoming a member on a team involve reading eight books and completing a short report on each book. There is a junior and a senior level. The books for both the junior and senior team were well enjoyed! We ended up with four teams that represented Calvin on April 5th - our Battle Day - with approximately 6 students on each team as we headed to Grimsby Mountain View CRC - where the day was hosted by Covenant Christian School. There were a total of six schools participating.

Prior to the battle date, many, many recesses are spent studying the books, and becoming familiar with every little detail of the stories, as well as knowing the title and author of each novel. Mr. Veldhuis, Mrs. Goodwin, Mrs. Vanderwindt, and Mrs. Eising are the coaches for the teams, and they assist the students in their preparation. On the day of the battle, two types of questions are posed to the contestants: battle questions and lightening questions. Calvin was well represented on our Battle Day: Teams ‘Senior A’ and ‘Junior B’ both won third place and were awarded with two new books that will be placed in our school library. Way to go!

Many thanks for the hard work the students put into preparing for the day, and for the many parents that encouraged us, drove us, and cheered us on. A special thank you to Mrs. Goodwin, who as a chair person put in many hours of preparation for this exciting day. Lastly, we thank our heavenly Father for the gift of creative writing and the joy that books bring us. Grade 8 students, we hope you will continue to enjoy the pleasure of reading for many more years! For the rest of the students: we hope to see all of you back again next year! Thanks for being part of BOB! It’s been a great year!

~Mrs. Eising