Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Mission:  The mission of Immanuel Christian School is to prepare students to meet the challenge of the world and culture they live in as young and growing Christians.  Thus, students are taught the skill of discernment in the light of God’s Word, the practice of stewardship for creation, the required commitment to a life of Christian service, and the beauty of witness through modeling God’s love in a broken world.

School’s email address:  immanuel@amtelecom.net

Principal’s email address:  icsprincipal@amtelecom.net

ICS Website:  www.immanuelchristianschool.net    519-773-8476

Check us out on Facebook:   facebook.com/ICSAylmer      

         Twitter:  twitter.com/ICSAylmer

LDCSS Website:  www.ldcss.on.ca   519-455-4360

Christian Education Foundation (endowment fund): www.ldcef.org

Upcoming Events

May      10  Gr. 8’s at LDCSS 4-9:30

             15  Chapel 8:55

             16  JK/SK to Children’s Museum in London

             17  Science Fair at Redeemer (rescheduled)

                   Friday Family Fun Night Dinner

          18   Annual Golf Tournament at Pine Knot

             20  Victoria Day Holiday – no school

             22  Chapel 8:55

             23   Gr. 5-8 Health Unit Presentation

             24   Notes of Joy (rescheduled); LDCSS PD day

             27  Track & Field Day rescheduled (also an

                 extra JK day)

             28   New JK Orientation 8:40 – 12:30

             29   Chapel 8:55

             31   Gr 1-4 to African Lion Safari

June      1   Touch a Truck Event   10 a.m.-3 p.m.

              2    Participation at Tillsonburg C.R.C.

From the Principal's Desk:

Over the last week, our staff was able to take in a day at the Ontario Association of Mathematics Educators conference at Seneca College in Toronto. In light of our school goal to increase our math computation abilities, we choose to focus our professional development in mathematics this year. In the company of thousands of educators across Ontario, we participated in diverse workshops ranging from teaching strategies, use of technology, and particular mathematics teaching tools! There is a wealth of ideas out there, and as Christian educators, we want to be engaged in the contemporary discussions on education, evaluating ideas for what will work in our class, and what we can use to increase engagement, hone basic abilities, and develop a Christ-like view on the world. We may sometimes wonder if there is a "Christian" way of mathematics instruction. Firstly, if things are good and true, then they are of God (Phil 4:8). In that context, math as an expression of pattern and order can be seen as part of God's character. We can marvel at mathematical patterns in nature, and reflect on our creator. But, Christian teaching is not just the explicit links, it is how we run our classes, recognizing each student as a unique gift from God, working our problems to direct student attention to faith, hope and love. For example, we might focus on giving rather than gaining, justice rather than maximum profit. We can use the same tools as our secular counterparts, but re-orient them to reveal more of God and his world. That can be done in any subject. You may read more from the teacher's point of view below.

in Christian instruction,

Keith Cameron, Principal

Praying for our Families:  Last week we prayed for Jim & Jill Vording and Albert & Grace Weesjes.

Praying for our Staff:  This week we will pray for Mrs. Robinson.

Teacher Reflections from the Mathematics Conference:

                Mr Cameron: My best workshop was a dynamic walk-through of how a simple 100 grid (laid out on a carpet, on a floor or in a playground) can be used to physically illustrate many, many mathematical themes.  Numbering, counting, mental math, area, perimeter, patterning, graphing, multiplication and division and more can all be physically worked out, allowing students to see and "act" math, individually and in teams!  We already have a 100 grid for our primary classes, and we now have many ideas for grades K -8...  I also took in excellent workshops on technology (iPad and Google Apps) in class, blogging to develop student understanding and math conversations, and the Mathletics online hosted program we are considering as one option for next year.

            Ms. Pieters: Going Digital:  Here is a sample activity we enjoyed solving at the math conference.

*  The digit in the one's place is one more than the digit in the 100's place.

*  The digit in the 1000's place is twice the value of the 10's digit.

*  The 100's digit is ½ of ten.

*  The 10's digit is an even number, greater than two, and is also the digit with the least value in the number.

What is the number?_____________

                Ms. Buma: In the workshop, Go Bananas 4 Math, (OAME Conference), presenters James Brennan, Shirley Clarke and Janet Kershaw, encouraged selected use of various math manipulatives including Counters, 10 Frames, Cubes, Rekenreks, Number Lines, 100’s Charts, Playing Cards and child friendly banana-shaped Calculators. The Rekenrek, also known as NumberFrameMate, combines various strengths of other manipulatives, (e.g., number lines, base-10 blocks, counters etc.) in one accessible tool!  It is comprised of two rails of ten beads each that are broken into two groups:  five red beads, and five white beads.  The rails of red and white beads (in groups of 5) provide a visual model that encourages young learners to build numbers based on groups of 5 and 10.

                Mrs. Drop:  One of the highlights from the recent math conference was the workshop, "Technology Integration and Collaboration in the Classroom."  It featured UMathX from www.neufeldlearning. com.  It is a browser based program beginning at grade 3.  This highly interactive program helps to deepen mathematical understanding.  The workshop leaders showed how the program helps to incorporate minds on activities (review), which includes daily homework in preparation for lessons, investigation, discussion and consolidation of new material through independent practice. 

                Ms. Jones:  I was glad to attend the OAME math convention last Thursday in Toronto. It is so funny and ironic because I would have never expected to be at a math convention as a teacher since math was terrifying to me in grade school - I’m not exaggerating. Even into Teacher’s College I had a hard time understanding some concepts taught especially in the time given to perform a task or complete a test. Building our understanding over time and with various activities helps us explore and take risks. One speaker suggested math be like how we play video games. None of our students will use a tutorial to learn how to play Angry Birds! They take simple cues to explore and learn, make mistakes and try again with the opportunity to improve if you fail the first time. Now only to get students to sit and “play” math for hours on end!

                Mrs. VanderHoek:  In his talk, featured speaker Dr. Daniel Ansari presented evidence from both behavioral and brain imaging studies that developmental dyscalculia is associated with basic number processing.  Previously the focus for symptoms and causes of dyscalculia was on the working memory, speed of processing, executive functions, and calculations with related, domain-general processes.  Recently, research has also focused on the development of basic number processing, from the intuitive, to the non-symbolic, to the symbolic discrimination of numbers.  According to Dr. Ansari, for some students, the lack of understanding of the numeric magnitude processes may lead to difficulties of learning numerical expressions and maintaining them in their memory.  In particular, discriminating number symbols and the mapping of these symbols may be presented as deficits in dyscalculia students’ skills.

Surplus IT Equipment: ICS has replaced our lab 12 and 24 port switches with newer 48 port switches, resulting in much faster computer internet connections. The maintenance committee is currently replacing the lab cabling to take advantage of the new switches. We have a surplus 12 port switch and a surplus small-business 4 port router to go to a good home for a very small donation. Please speak to Mr Cameron for details.

Nicole Clark Cover Girl Workshop for Gr 5-8 Girls:  Working with our health unit and area public and separate schools, we have agreed to host a workshop by Nicole Clark entitled, "How to Get Kung-Fu Self-Esteem!" for grades 5-8 girls on Thursday May 23rd from 1:15 to 2:15 (http://nicoleclark.com/).  Former Elite model, Nicole Clark, shares how she kept her strong self-esteem no matter what the media told her.  Nicole presents an interactive workshop for girls to share their feelings about body image and pressure from the media to conform.  Girls also learn to DECODE ads and shield themselves from being bullied by the media.  Bullying is directly linked to media and Nicole addresses this critical topic.  Immunize girls against media manipulation and help them build their self-esteem muscle.  Parents are welcome to join us as we host area gr 5-8 girls and discuss an important challenge of our modern culture, and one we already discuss with our students in a Christian context in health class and devotionals, among others. 

Notes of Joy: Save the date! Our annual music recital for our students is Friday, May 24th. Sign up sheets are now posted on the Student Centre board.

Rescheduled: ICS Track and Field is now on Mon May 27 due to a booking conflict at EESS.  JK students are asked to be at school on this Monday as well.  Parents, if you are able to take time to volunteer, your participation is essential to the running of many simultaneous events, and is a great chance to be involved with your child's class!  Sign up form at the end of the Journal.

The OACS Latest Memo to all parent donors to CEAF is attached:  (12-PS-08 Establishing groundwork Phase II.pdf)

OACS strategy if no settlement is reached:

The OACS Advisory Team will assist all parent donors who wish to appeal their reassessment by providing a template “Notice of Objection” letter based on the Woolner case. Allow me to underscore how we will proceed.  We will provide a detailed argument for your Notice of Objection based on the researched position our legal and tax counsel has already developed. We will not be your legal representative in this phase; you and or your accountant will need to represent yourself albeit with our expert assistance. 

If you have signed up with the OACS and did not receive this update from Judy Tomzcak directly, please contact her at judyt@oacs.org.  Your help with this is much appreciated.

Reminders:  Meat, Baked Goods and Epicure Orders due Thurs. May 16 (please no late orders) with pickup on Thurs. June 6 between 2:30-4. Stock up for the summer bbq season!  Our next order will go out in Sept for Thanksgiving delivery.  It is much appreciated that coolers are dropped off before hand with your name on them!

                        T.R.I.P. orders are due tomorrow, May 9 with pickup on Thursday, May 16^th.

                       

                        GIFTS Program: How are your GIFTS hours coming along?  June 30 is the deadline. If you have completed your hours feel free to send your form to the school office. 

Mom's the Word! Treat Mom to a night out - no cooking, no cleaning!  This month’s Friday Family Fun Night is to celebrate and thank the Moms, Grandmas, Sisters and Friends in our lives.  Enjoy a hearty dinner of Pulled Pork Buns, Cheesy Casserole, Beans + Fresh Salad on Friday, May 17 from 5pm-7:30pm in the school gym. Cost is Adults $8 and Children (12 + under) $5 and all proceeds go directly back into the school! Delivery to Heritage Place and Takeout is also available.

ICS is hosting a Touch A Truck June 1^st from 10a.m – 3p.m.  We are need of many volunteers to help run this event, from parking attendants, cleanup crews etc….  Please contact Dean Mantel by email dmantel@eastlink.ca or by phone 519-282-3115.

  

We are looking for someone to take care of our pop cans:  After many years of service the Noorland family is going to pass on the job to someone else.  We thank them for the many years of service they did this for the school.

This involves picking up the bags of pop cans from the red bin beside our Newspaper shed at Martin’s Lift Truck Service (old location) and eventually bringing them to the re-cycling depot. This is emptied out on a every 2 week basis, cans are stored at your place, or wherever you have a storage location and then when there is a truck load drop them off at Zubicks in London or at Force in St. Thomas.  (This project with get you all your 25 volunteers hours at once.)   If you are interested please let the office know.  The money raised goes to the Auxiliary.  We usually collect an average of $1000 per year so it is definitely worthwhile for us to keep this fundraiser going. 

Sandwich Bag Recycling AGAIN:  The program is started up again so we will resume collecting all types of plastic food bags and food storage containers to be recycled until Dec. 31^st, 2013.  Please send all your plastic bags and containers to school again.

Note:  We do not collect the Keurig k cups only the Tassimo T Discs.  

Pizza Lunch: The Auxiliary will also be looking for volunteers for their track and field lunch crew. It’s a wonderful way to increase

your volunteer hours.

Note: All our track and field volunteers will get free lunch tickets (1 pizza, 1 drink, and 1 freezie).  Volunteers may purchase extra items also.  As soon as we have our volunteer list finalized it will be sent home with your child.  Thank you, Ms. Pieters, Ms. Buma

Greetings from Christian Reformed World Missions!  We were delighted to receive 398 posters for our 2013 poster contest.
We are also very excited to inform you that 3 posters created by your students were awarded in their age category. They are:

                ages 6 and under - 4th place/Honourable mention - Sarah Janssens

                age 7 - 8  1st place - Megan Friesen

                age 7 - 8 - 3rd place - Caleb Poortinga

Congratulations!  They hope to have an opportunity to visit our school in later May and make a personal presentation to the students.

Badminton: The ICS badminton team represented us well at last Saturday's tournament at LDCSS! Playing for ICS were: Kristy Korevaar, Kassidy Saarloos, Charlotte Rollins, Cassie Vannoord, Ben VanderDeen, Austin VandenBrink, and Jordan Hiemstra. Kristy and Kassidy, and Charlotte played in the consolation finals. Good playing and sportsmanship, all!

Yearbook:  - Business Card $40, ¼ page $60, ½ page $100, Full page $160, Inside Cover $300

-  if you have photos of school events and kids, please send to school

- if you would like to help please contact Amanda Cameron 519-550-7312 or e-mail keith.amanda.cameron@gmail.com

2013 ICS GOLF TOURNAMENT Saturday, May 18^th, 2013 at Pine Knot Golf and Country Club.  There will be a Shotgun Start at 1:00 p.m.  The price per golfer will be $110.00 – which includes lunch, green fees, cart and steak dinner.  Enter your team today!  Questions – call Lisa Vankemenade at 519-775-2622 or Tammie Vannoord at 519-773-5593.

PICK UP AN ENTRY FORM AT THE ICS OFFICE OR FROM ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS – Harry Knibbe, Dean Mantel, Tracy Mantel, Ken Vandendool, Lisa Vankemenade, Jeff Vannoord, Tammie Vannoord, Jim Vording, Harley Zylstra or Jeff Zylstra

COVENANT CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, SMITHVILLE - 25^TH ANNIVERSARY

Psalm 86:11a – ‘Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth’.

With thankfulness to God, we will celebrate our school’s 25^th anniversary on Saturday, June 1^st and you’re invited! Join us for Open House (3:00-5:00), an outdoor BBQ supper (5:00 – 6:30) and an evening program (7:00pm) followed by refreshments.  All events, refreshments and BBQ supper are free of charge!  RSVP by May 17 to anniversary@nace.ca  so we can plan appropriately!  Share this information with former families and graduates.  You can also find the above information on our school’s website (www.nace.ca) and our Facebook page. 

FROM THE CLASSROOMS:

JUNIOR / SENIOR KINDERGARTEN – Mrs. Groeneweg

Egg-citing News!!!!

78 eggs hatched!!!

We are enjoying the happy sounds of peeping and chirping in the classroom. Some students are bringing chicks home for long term and others for a week. The chicks will be leaving the school on Friday, May 10 for their next destination.  A big thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Alec and Elaine Saarloos for bringing such an enjoyable experience to our school.

Some of the things we have done in Kindergarten:

                Bible: Elijah

                Math:  SK- All About Number: 20, counting by 5's  

                          JK- All About Numbers 6 - 13

                Review letters and sounds, sight words

                Nutritious Foods

                Track and Field Skills

We will be going on a field trip to the Children's Museum in London on Thursday, May 16th.   This will be an extra SK school day.  To make this trip successful we are looking for 2 more volunteers. We will leave school at 9: 30 am and hope to be back at 3: 00 pm.   Please call or send a note if you are willing to come with us.

Also, Monday, May 27 is an extra JK day so they can be part of our Track and Field Day.

              

GRADES 1 and 2 - Ms. Pieters

Memory Work: for Wednesday, May 8 is verse two of See, the Conqueror Mounts in Triumph

He who on the cross did suffer, he who from the grave arose,

he has vanquished sin and Satan , he by death has spoiled his foes.

While he lifts his hands in blessing, he is parted from his friends.

While their eager eyes behold him, in the cloud the Lord ascends.

Spelling: Spelling Dictation for Friday, May 10

Grade 1: saw, paw, law, lawn, fawn, then, this, what

Grade 2: they, their, many, any, anything, than, because, know, water, very

Scholastic Book Club: If you would like to place an order for May please have your child bring the order form with the payment (cash or cheque) to school by Thursday, May 9, 2013. Thank-you.

GRADES 3 and 4 – Ms. Buma

Congratulations:  We would like to wish Jocelyn Shelton a very Happy Birthday.  Jocelyn will be turning 9 years old on Monday, May 13.  Happy Birthday, Jocelyn!  May God richly bless you in your new year of life!

Fri. May 10 – Spelling Dictation:  (Review List) Grade 3 words are:  colour, calendar, doctor, weather, phone, alphabet, enough, half, physical, neighbour, wrong, written, uncertain, through, because, watch, brake. Grade 4 words are:  listen scent, wrist, doubt, answer, fiction, mission, attention, education, musician, flavour, pilot, climate, program, vacant, heard, clothes, their, straight, medal

Memory Work:  Wed. May 15 – (Nehemiah 9: 11)   You parted the Red Sea for the people of Israel.  They passed through it on dry ground.  But you threw into the sea those who chased them.  They sank down like a stone into the mighty waters.  (Kids’ Study Bible, NIRV)

Student of the Week:  This week’s Student of the Week is Randall Drop.  Next week:  Megan Friesen.

Scholastic Book Orders:  Book Orders are due this Friday, May 10.

Tech: we are approaching the end of our trial of Timez Attack for improving times table recall.  We will evaluate results over the next few weeks.  If your child still hesitates with his / her multiplication facts, please consider at-home practice to consolidate these facts. Multiplication tables form a foundation for future math, and an inability to correctly and quickly recall or work out math facts to at least 10 may hinder a child all through school.

GRADE 5 and 6 – Mrs Drop

Happy birthday to Victoria Krahn! She turns 11 years old today!

Memory Work:  Colossians 4: 5 - 6

Students are completing a Language Arts web quest based on the novel, Underground to Canada.  The focus is on the plantations. Please finish it for Fri., May 10.

Spelling Dictation will be on Fri., May 10.

We are finishing the math unit on transformational geometry.  Please work carefully on the review, "Show What You Know", in class this week.  There will be a test on the unit on Tues., May 14. 

Social Studies:  Students will be beginning work on their "museum project" which brings together the work they have done over the course of this unit.  Each student has individual components to contribute to the group "building project."  We will complete our Greek unit with a potluck lunch on Wed May 22.

GRADE 7 and 8 – Mr. TenBruggencate / Ms. Jones

Le Français:  Quiz du Vocabulaire:  jeudi le 9 mai

Tech: a reminder that all students need to have posted a blog response on the Mars Curiosity Mission by Thu at lunch at our class blogspot :http://icstechblog2013.blogspot.ca/

Spelling lesson and dictation on "Focus on Q"
Bible: Journal on Proverbs rewrite for a number of students
Memory Work:  2 Corinthians 4:16 & 18

Reminder to Grades 8’s to LDCSS this Friday evening

Redeemer Science Fair is rescheduled for Friday, May 17th.

P.E. :  Please remember to bring water to class since we will continue with Endurance Running, preparing for Fitness Tests and Track. Thanks! Ms. Jones

Parent Volunteers Needed:   Friday May 31 8:30am - 3:30pm - Field Trip to the Engineering Building at the University of Western Ontario. We will be attending a Lego Robotics Workshop (building and programming robots!) and need drivers. Two parents are needed to attend this trip. Please contact the office or Ms. Jones (k.jones@immanuelchristianschool.net) by the end of the week. Thanks :)

Track and Field Volunteer

Name: __________________________________________________

                (Please print name)

Please check times that you would be able to help:

                Monday, May 27                                                Wednesday, May 29 Raindate: (if necessary)

                Anytime _______                                                              _______

                      A.M. _______                                                                _______

                      P.M. _______                                                                _______

Pizza Order Form – Monday, May 27 __________________would like to order the following:      (child’s name)                                     ______ 1.00/slice                                                                                                 ______ juice .50 cents                 ______ freezie .50 cents                 ______ Total enclosed Parent Signature___________________________ Orders and money must be in by Thursday, May 16.   No late orders please!