chairman’s report mr. leen blok - dufferin christian · chairman’s report ... you have probably...

DCS Beacon, Sunday, December 25, 2016

Chairman’s Report Mr. Leen Blok

Another calendar year comes to a close: a year where with thankfulness we can look back on how our God has provided for us. There have been challenges, but our Lord equips us to face them and strengthens us through them. We can share David’s words of Psalm 16: “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” The Board and committee work is ongoing. The Education and Technology Committees have quite a bit of work on their plate. On the policy side there is

enough on the go as well. The combined DCS-ICS Committee is completing its current mandate and will be directed to switch focus towards anticipating new external pressures that we are going to be facing. Our dedicated staff and administration continue to be a huge asset. In my new role as chairman, I must admit that the boots I’m filling feel a little loose. An extra pair of socks isn’t going to help for that, but the good group of people around the Board table sure does. A very big thank-you to the Building Vision Committee, which became the Building Committee and now is the honourably discharged Building Committee. These members have done a mountain of work, from envisioning to planning, working, organizing, executing, supervising, and a whole bunch of other “ings.” We are grateful for all the hours you have put in. You may rest for a while, but don’t turn off your phones – who knows, there may be a project down the road…. The Maintenance Committee will now look after some minor unfinished business in regards to the addition and renovation. According to policy, a regular Principal assessment needs to take place. The Board thanks you for your participation in this process by filling out the surveys. There were surveys for parents, for staff, for Board members, and one for Mr. deBoer himself. The assessor, Mr. Hans VanDooren, spent time at the school interviewing staff and administration. He had several in-depth sessions with our Principal, and met with the Board. I think it is fair to say this was a thorough process. As Board we greatly appreciate Mr. deBoer’s willingness to engage in it. We are thankful for the very positive final report, and are now working on how to move forward with the recommendations that came out of it, both for the Board and Mr. deBoer. Some years ago Mr. VanDooren was also part of the external review of DCS as a whole, and he was impressed by all that has taken place since then, including the development of a strategic plan as well as the follow-through on that plan. We have reason to be appreciative of all those involved with DCS, who have put in countless hours in various ways to make our school the great place it is. We acknowledge that we cannot take credit for any of this, but thank our heavenly Father who has graciously blessed us. You have probably seen the advertisement for the administrative assistant position. This is to fill Mrs. Vandermeulen’s position for the next school year. We are pleased to have received a good number of applications. The deadline for receiving applications is January 9, 2017. This being the day that we remember our Saviour’s birth, on behalf of the Board I want to wish you a joyful day and the Lord’s guidance and blessings in 2017.


Principal’s Report Mr. Chris deBoer

“What will I do to help students practice and deepen their understanding of new knowledge?” This is the third essential question that Marzano puts forth in his book, The Art and Science of Teaching. This is the chapter that will deal with the great question on homework.

But, before we get to homework, we need to think about a few other things first. One of the things we need to do to help students practice and deepen their understanding is to integrate the new knowledge into each student’s current knowledge and understanding library, their schema. The picture (or schema) is changing bit by bit. We either assimilate new knowledge into an existing schema – new knowledge fits in nicely; or we restructure our schema because the new knowledge helps us to see things differently.

In addition to the development of a schema, we also need to develop our practice and understanding of procedural knowledge. These are skills that we are developing. Such skills include “performing long division, reading a contour map, throwing a free-throw, editing a composition for overall logic, sounding out unrecognized words, etc” (p. 60). Procedural knowledge can be mastered to the level of automaticity; that is, they are things that can be done automatically without much thinking. It was interesting to me when Mr. Lodder showed me the following subtraction question: 219-166 = 53. Mr. Lodder subtracted 6 from 9 and then 16 from 21. I, on the other hand, automatically resorted to borrowing. I didn’t look at the different parts of the question, I simply subtracted the way I was trained. For this procedural knowledge to be mastered, it must be practiced. Mr. Lodder and I approached the question differently, probably using methods with which we have been trained. I didn’t think about borrowing, I just did it. That’s also why math requires a lot of practice, as does memory work, new languages, etc.

Declarative knowledge, on the other hand, requires reviewing and revision. This declarative knowledge includes facts or ideas such as the causes of World War II, the rules of basketball, or the makeup of a cell. One important element that Marzano cites is that “Nuthall (1999) found that students require about four exposures to new informational knowledge to adequately integrate it into their existing knowledge base” (62). Of course, these four exposures shouldn’t simply be done in rote, but should be done over a span of about two days. Marzano suggests three ways to help students grow in their understanding of new declarative knowledge:

1. Revision: such activities should require students to add new information to the topic being revised as well as correct errors and clarify distinctions.

2. Error Analysis: types of errors or informal fallacies include faulty logic (such as assuming that something that has occurred once will occur on a systematic basis), attack (trying to disprove a point by discrediting the person making the point), weak references (using sources that have no credibility), and misinformation (confusing the facts).

Many who advocate teaching and reinforcing critical thinking skills view error analysis as a primary intellectual skill (Costa,2001; Halpern, 1996a, 1996b). It makes me wonder if DCS shouldn’t use The Fallacy Detective in grade 6 and 7. Something to think about.

3. Identifying similarities and differences: Four methods for identifying similarities and differences includes, comparing, classifying, creating metaphors, and creating analogies. (62/3).


Finally, we get to homework. This past summer there were a lot of parents passing along a fun facebook meme about homework. It suggested that somehow there was no evidence that homework added any benefit to student learning. I, of course, get the point that parents are trying to express when they share it; they want their children to have time to play and do chores and other things besides school work. I will let Marzano do the talking here. “One of the most common reasons cited for homework is that it extends learning opportunities beyond the school day. This logic might have merit in U.S. K–12 education because “schooling occupies only about 13 percent of the waking hours of the first 18 years of life,” which is less than the amount of time spent watching television (Fraser, Walberg, Welch, & Hattie, 1987, p. 234)” (Marzano, p. 67).

After citing seven different studies of other studies, he cites one study that concludes:

“With only rare exceptions, the relationship between the amount of homework students do and their achievement outcomes was found to be positive and statistically significant. Therefore, we think it would not be imprudent, based on the evidence in hand, to conclude that doing homework causes improved academic achievement. (p. 48) (Marzano, p. 67).

But Marzano doesn’t leave it at that. He shows that grade level affects how effective homework can be:

“The clear pattern is that homework has less effect at the lower grade levels. Interestingly, even

though Cooper (1989a) found little effect for homework at the elementary level, he still

recommends homework for elementary students:

First, I recommend that elementary students be given homework even though it should not be expected

to improve test scores. Instead, homework for young children should help them develop good study

habits, foster positive attitudes toward school, and communicate to students the idea that learning takes

work at home as well as at school. (1989b, p. 90).

Of course, the question for many of us regards how much time should be spent on homework.

We are not left in the dark here either. I cite a large chunk of a section entitled, Time Spent on

Homework

One of the more contentious issues is the amount of time students should spend on homework. The Cooper (1989a) synthesis reports that for secondary students the benefit of homework continued up to one to two hours per night. After that the benefits decreased. Similar findings are reported in the Cooper, Robinson, and Patall (2006) study. Specifically, the authors report on one study indicating that 7 to 12 hours per week produced the largest effect size [benefit]. After that the benefits decreased. Although there are no clear guidelines regarding how much homework should be assigned at specific grade levels, education researchers make various recommendations. Bennett, Finn, and Cribb (1999) recommend 10 minutes per night, per grade level. Good and Brophy (2003) provide the following recommendation:

The same guidelines that apply to assignments done in the classroom also apply to homework assignments, but with the additional constraint that the homework must be realistic in length and difficulty given the students’ abilities to work independently. Thus, 5 to 10 minutes per subject might be appropriate for fourth graders, whereas 30 to 60 minutes might be appropriate for college-bound high school students. (p. 394)

It is also important to remember that the amount of time spent at homework is fairly meaningless in itself. It is not time per se that has a positive effect on student achievement. Rather, it is the proportion of homework completed that appears to produce the strongest achievement gains. By


inference, large amounts of poorly structured homework will not be beneficial and may in fact be detrimental. Small amounts of well-structured homework, on the other hand, may produce the desired effect. (p. 69).

School News

“The people who in darkness walked have seen a great light” Isaiah 9:2

On Friday, Dec. 16 many people gathered together to participate in and enjoy the annual DCS

Christmas concert. The theme for the evening was “From Darkness to Light”. In the careful

selection of songs, Mrs. van Beek took us through the story of Creation, Fall, and Redemption.

With eager voices and with smiling faces, the children sang songs of praise to God. What a

wonderful evening! We thank the students, the teachers, and Mrs. van Beek for their diligent

efforts to make Friday night such an enjoyable one.

Various groups of students (along with their classroom teachers, Mrs. van Beek, and Mr. deBoer)

had the privilege of visiting Boyne Lodge or Boyne Towers to sings songs celebrating the birth of

Christ with and for the residents. While not all the students have the same level of enthusiasm

for singing, I think it is fair to say that they are learning to appreciate how much our singing for

others brings joy. Well done students!

Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th saw our Basketball season formally get underway. The

Senior Varsity Boys basketball team placed third in a tournament in Elm Creek. The regular

practices for Junior and Senior Varsity Boys teams have been going on for a while now. The girls

in grade 7-12 are invited for drop-in practices on Thursday evenings. (We didn’t have enough

young ladies to field a varsity team this year).

On December 9th, the staff and Board were able to enjoy another evening of fellowship at the

school. We had a delicious dinner and a very enjoyable evening singing, chatting, and playing

together. Such evenings are helpful for building stronger relationships and getting to know one

another in different contexts. We are grateful for such gatherings.

December 22nd was our last day at school for 2016. We were able to spend the afternoon at the

Carman arena, enjoying another opportunity for casual conversations with many of the parents,

and interacting with the students in a more relaxed context. I trust everyone will have had a good

time.

Elsewhere in this edition of the Beacon you will notice an Exam Schedule. In the third week back

from school, students in grade 12 will be writing their respective Math Provincial exams and then

in the following week all high school students will be busy with their regular exams.

The elementary students will be looking forward to their Healthy Living Week, taking place in the

week of January 16.

Let me conclude by wishing all of you the Lord’s continued blessings in the Year of our Lord,

2017. I want to thank the many of you who encourage the staff and myself in the important work

we do with the many covenant children in our community. May God continue to bless DCS and

all of us in the year that lies ahead.


Outlining the King By Jordan Ellens

The following mini-essay is an attempt at a few things:

1. To reflect on the topic of Christmas 2. To reflect on a theme in the Gospel of Matthew, which is one of the themes that will be

drawn out in one of next semester’s Reformed Studies Classes and has the added benefit of relating to Carman East Men’s Society Topic

3. To show what I have been teaching to the grade 11 English class about the structure of writing papers:

a. Introductions i. Hooks – supposedly catchy, specific, or concrete first lines that draw in the

reader ii. Links – the gentle leading from general topic raised by the hook to the

thesis statement iii. Thesis statements – clear, concise statement that is measurable and gives

direction b. Body paragraphs – which clearly relate and support the thesis

i. Clear claims or topic sentences ii. Support or proof to back up claim iii. Explanations which “flesh-out” the relationship between the claim and the

proof and extend understanding 4. To open myself up to criticism… while I am away on vacation

a. Out of 5, how well did Mr. Ellens do? Can you identify the hook, the link, the thesis? Do you know what the paper is about? what each paragraph is about? Could you determine the outline based on the essay? Are the claims clear, does the proof relate, and is the explanation helpful; does it dig in to the topic?

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy”

- Matthew 2:10

Worship the King There is a point when the young children in our house reach what my wife and I call “zero hour”. The signs of these times are that the children begin crying and saying things like: “my bones hurt because I didn’t like the song you were singing” (thanks, kid), or because, yes, bonking into those couch cushions really does leave quite a mark. It is then that the adults in our home turn to each other and say: “Ohhhhh. Happy, happy, joy, joy.” The infinite ‘joy’ of our children can only mean that it must be time for food and rest. But, after the meal, the faces are once again lit up, the bones don’t hurt, it is time for devotions, and the phrase is: “Daddy, can we sing?” And as we sing the Christmas song I wonder: was the rejoicing of the travel-tired Magi, the Wise Men of the original Christmas story, similar? What motivated their praise? What rejuvenated them? Their story is recorded by Matthew right after the introduction and the birth of Christ. His record both reveals their motivation and sets up his own. Matthew’s early aim is to show that Jesus is the true King, and that his Kingship provokes strong responses. Matthew uses two titles to make it quite clear that the Wise Men had come to The King. He begins his account with: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David” (Mt.


1:1). Matthew knows his Jewish audience. A Jew reading in his day might have said: “Whoa. Wait a minute. That’s pretty strong language. You’re calling Jesus the Christ? The Anointed One? Only priests and kings are anointed. But you’re giving him Christ as a title? You mean that he’s not just a king; he’s the promised one? He’s The King?” Yes. Matthew’s leading claim is that bold. To show how bold, Matthew emphasizes the Kingship again in the first line of his gospel. He gives Jesus a second title: “the son of David”. Matthew says Jesus is the son of the greatest historical king. God had promised David, in 2 Samuel 7, that David’s “throne shall be established forever”. Essentially this means David would have a child, or heir, who would always rule. Matthew’s linking of Jesus to David shows that Jesus is the promised heir, the prince who would be a ruler. In order to convince the Jews that this was not just a coincidence Matthew uses this titling in the first chapter three more times (Mt. 1: 6, 16, 17). This double titling shows that the Wise Men had found their way to the next great King! As if the titles are not clear enough, Matthew includes a double herald to announce Jesus’ Kingship. Here Matthew records: “behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star and have come to worship him’” (2: 1b, 2). Jesus’ birth announcement comes by way of a heavenly sign and wise proclaimers. Even the stars bow down to their King and they travel to stand before him. The possessive pronoun in “his star” speaks of ownership and mastery. Jesus the King is in charge of the skies. His rule extends beyond the world. There are, however, earthly heralds as well. The wise men come and announce the birth in the King’s home city. They are learned ambassadors who recognize kingly signs. They come to find the king. They come to pay honour and respect. Through these men the heavenly sign becomes actual speech and all of Jerusalem knows that a king has arrived. The double herald proclaims a king has been born who is Lord of heaven and earth. A mighty King demands a strong response. While Herod’s response is wrong in many ways, there is one way in which he is right. Matthew records that Herod: “was troubled” (2: 3). At first glance this might be surprising. Why is a king frightened of an infant? Herod is troubled enough, however, to order the slaughter of the male infants in the town. Like Pharaoh before him, Herod tries to put to death any threat to his authority. Herod recognizes that this child is powerful enough to be a threat. Jesus, even as a child, demands a loyalty that goes beyond the bounds of a political system. The type of loyalty demanded by Christ, is shown in the response of the Wise Men: rejoicing, worship, and giving. Matthew records, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly, with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts” (2: 10, 11a). At the conclusion of a long journey the Magi celebrate! Their travel weariness is gone and with anticipation they rejoice, for they know that in moments they will see a king. It is for this moment that Matthew has prepared us and the Jews of his day: The Wise Men worship the little child. If Jesus had been only an ordinary child, the response is ludicrous, even idolatrous. But as the King this child prompts worship. The Magi give their valuables to display fealty and honor. They have travelled far to do so. And they are now in the presence of their King.

It is no mere child we approach at Christmas: Jesus is the King. Matthew knows this. The Magi also know this. When the star rests, they too rest. They get off their animals and their sore muscles and bones are forgotten. Their faces light up and they turn to each other in double joy. And then they enter and worship. Here we see the wise and proper response. As we give gifts this Christmas let us remember our loyalty. When standing before the King let our hearts be joyful, let us get on our knees and worship.


A Communion of Saints in the

Classroom By Anita Cohoe

A number of months ago, I did a little research on DCS. Although I attended the school for

13 years, I had an entirely new perspective now. I was preparing to write a cover letter for an open teaching position. Although I was familiar with the mission statement of the school, it really struck me this time. For living a life of Christian discipleship in a contemporary society. What an equally powerful, amazing, and frightening statement.

Why would I label this mission as frightening? Well, the world has and is changing dramatically and exponentially. Self-driving cars are already in the works, cashiers are being replaced by machines, there are mind reading robotic hands, and technology continues to develop. What kind of jobs will there be in 20 years? What will our country look like? And most importantly, how do we prepare the children of God for such a future?

A quick Google search indicated that many others are wrestling with the same question. One article I found speaks about a teacher’s role in all of this, focusing on creating collaborative classrooms. Certainly this is not definitive of successful teaching, but it was an interesting article to consider. In this article, Teaching Our Education Students to Teach Christianly, John Van Dyke mentions that a collaborative classroom creates a safe place for students to practice discipleship skills, justifying this by saying, “I have in mind here not only social skills such as cooperation, acceptance and tolerance, but also specific servanthood skills such as love, respect, listening, patience, humility (esteeming the other higher than ourselves) and encouragement. Collaborative classrooms are places where the fruit of the Spirit is emphasized, displayed and practiced” (2016). According to him, key components of a collaborative classroom include:

The learning of one student is related to the learning of all students. If one fails, all the other students feel the pain. If one succeeds, all share in the joy and celebration (1 Corinthians 12:26).

Students are responsible not only for their own but also for each other’s learning. No students are allowed to struggle by themselves. If one has difficulties with a learning task, the other students help him or her.

Gifts and talents, as well as differences, are recognized and mutually encouraged and celebrated. Diversity is considered a gift, not a problem.

To live a life of discipleship includes learning to serve one another and working together. To serve God, we need the strength of the Holy Spirit, and we can also draw from this strength within the communion of saints. For this reason, it is so important that students are comfortable around each other and encourage one another in our work.

In hopes of achieving stronger classroom community, students in Grade 5 participate in compliment circles on Monday mornings. The class sits in a circle, and we work our way around the circle. Each student is to say either “get” or “give”. If a student says get, that means they would like to “get” a compliment. The other students start thinking of ways they can compliment that student, raise their hand, and the student who said “get” selects one student to give their compliment. Compliments can be a thank you for something helpful a student has done, or a comment on a strength or skill of a student. Students are also taught about backhanded compliments and, although this rarely occurs, they are told to try again if their compliment is not appropriate. Once the compliment is received, the receiver is to face the one who gave the compliment and say thank you. If a student says “give”, they choose someone in the circle to give a compliment to.

These compliment circles do not have to be forced. In fact, the students seem to really enjoy them! If I re-schedule a compliment meeting, students immediately notice and ask when


they will get to do it. There has also never been a time when someone said “get” and several hands were not raised. Students are learning how it feels to be encouraged by their peers, and how important it is for them to encourage others as well. This is important now, and will be important 20 years from now. Article: A Journal of the International Christian Community for Teacher Education, Fall 2016, Volume 11, Issue 1

CRTA Reflections

Reverend Cochran’s Opening Devotions at CRTA West By Nathan Kok

Reverend Cochran opened the conference by reading Galatians 5:13-6:10 and leading us in a

prayer of blessing on the upcoming days. He spoke to us on the theme of “Let Us Not Grow Weary

of Doing Good” which would follow four points: 1. The weariness of doing good; 2. The strength

for doing good; 3. The motivation for doing good; and 4. The hope for doing good.

He began by relating some funny but pointed vignettes about how both parents and teachers

experience weariness of doing good “especially to those who are of the household of faith”

(Galatians 6:10). The young people who parents and teachers work with (and often for) are of the

household of faith, but they are not thankful, or always considerate, or always helpful. This is

exhausting and difficult work. And more often than not there is an obvious lack of appreciation

from those who are not mature enough to understand the value of expressing thankfulness for

the sacrifice that goes into such work.

What is the antidote to this weariness? First, we cannot do this work relying on our own strength.

We often try to. But this is a sure way path to burnout, jadedness, and depression. We cannot do

this work in our own strength. We have to rely on the Lord’s strength. We need to intentionally tap

into this strength by going to the Lord in humility, admitting our own sinfulness and weakness,

and pleading for His strength to help us in our work.

Second, we need to have a proper motivation for this work – namely the gospel. Man is not

justified by his ‘works’. We are justified by faith in Christ such that we are seen by God as though

we had performed Christ’s perfect obedience. Thankfulness for this gift must be our motivation

for doing this good work. Often our motivation can be our pride, a desire to show we can handle

things on our own. No, we are miserable sinners who need God’s forgiveness as much as anyone

else. Our best works are far from close to acceptable before our perfect God. Another sidetrack

from gospel motivation can be a question of whether those we are serving in our work deserve

these efforts. Sure they don’t – just the same as we don’t deserve God’s love. Yet he gives it to

us freely – and we are called to follow his example and love and work self-sacrificially in service

to ‘undeserving’ parties.

Third, we need to focus on the hope of doing good - namely a harvest: “for in due season we will

reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). As with any sown seed there will be a delay between

putting the seed into the ground and seeing the plant come out of the ground. God promises a

harvest for the good work we are doing, an eternal harvest in our own lives and perhaps in the

lives of those we are working in service towards. We want fast results in our instant gratification


world; however, looking for such results can make us grow weary. Instead, like the farmer, we

must trust our Father to cause the various ‘under the soil’ processes to take place and to know

that the harvest that is reaped is the exact harvest God had planned for.

Teachers, and parents, we avoid growing weary by relying on God explicitly, meditating on His

Word daily, and trusting his promises unwaveringly. What a blessing it was to have Rev. Cochran

open our teacher’s convention.

Stingers Athletic Update By Justin Raap

The beginning of 2016-2017 has been a very busy year for Stingers Athletics. DCS participates

in Zone 4 sports, which extends as far south as Gretna, as far North as Portage, as far West as

Miami, and as far East as Vita. We are grateful that our zone is generally very accommodating

about catechism instruction on Tuesdays, often willing to schedule

around Tuesdays for DCS. This year, volleyball continued to grow at

DCS, which in addition to our regular involvement in soccer and cross

country in the fall, made for an exceptionally busy time. Based on

feedback from parents and students however, it looks like volleyball may

become a mainstay in the near future anyway. A brief snapshot of each

sport that DCS has participated in so far is included below:

The girls’ soccer team began practicing this summer with games already scheduled for the second

week of September. The team finished the regular season with 5 losses and 1 tie. With a team

composed of only a few senior players, the girls’ team managed to remain competitive in most

games and is looking forward to the next couple of years when they will have a little more

experience which should translate to more on-field success. Thanks to Mrs. Robin Beukema and

Ms. Kiera Bergsma for their time and effort in coaching this year.

The boys’ soccer team also began practicing in the summer, and finished the regular season with

3 wins and 2 losses, and 1 tie, good enough for 2nd place in the North division. In the playoffs,

they fell to Northlands Parkway Collegiate by a score of 4-1. With the boys only losing a few

players next year, they should remain competitive in a zone that generally boasts many strong

soccer teams. Thanks to Mr. Jordan Ellens and Mr. Doug Termeer for their work with the boys

team this year.

While soccer was going on, cross-country practices began in preparation for the Zone meet held

at Lake Minnewasta in Morden. While none of our teams or athletes had top 3 finishes, the team

continued to grow, especially in the lower grades. Thanks to Mrs. Vandenbos and Mr. Kok for

their time (and running!) with the athletes this year.

At the zone 4 level, DCS fielded varsity (11/12) and JV (9/10) girls’ teams. The senior team,

coached by Mr. Raap, finished the season with 7 losses, however showed some promise for

future years as the program continues to develop and the experience gap lessens. The JV team

finished with a record of 4-5, and just missed the playoff round. They also had a good showing

at their home tournament with a 3rd place finish. Thanks to Mr. Winkel for his dedication and hard


work with this team. We are looking forward to fielding both levels of girls’ teams next year, as

well as potentially fielding boys’ teams at both levels.

The grade 7/8 boys and girls also were able to play more this year than last, participating in 5

volleyball exhibition games this year against Carman, Elm Creek, and Miami, while also playing

in tournaments hosted by Immanuel Christian School in Winnipeg. Both teams experienced

varied success and continued to demonstrate enthusiasm and sportsmanship throughout their

seasons. Thanks to Mr. deBoer and Ms. Bultena for their help with this.

For the rest of the year, we are looking at fielding teams and/or athletes in the following sports:

basketball, badminton, and track and field. Our basketball teams have already started practicing,

with their season starting in the second week of January. They also had the opportunity to

participate in a tournament this past weekend, where they managed a 3rd place finish. A special

mention also to Rylan Vanderwoude, who received a tournament all-star award! Watch the

newsletter or see the BEACON calendar for details on upcoming games.

Badminton practices will likely start sometime in February or March, with tournaments beginning

in late March. Track and field will start in May sometime. If there are any questions about your

son/daughter’s involvement, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Raap:

[email protected].

A quick note: it is important to note the level of commitment from volunteers and the costs involved

for our participation in zone play, which requires our student athletes to remain committed not

only to practices, but also to keeping up with their schoolwork and maintaining their spot on a

team. While students are not obliged to play any extra-curricular sport at school, it is reasonable

to expect that once they’ve committed to play they follow through on that commitment. Please

encourage your son or daughter in this.

Lastly, please ensure that any remaining jerseys that belong to the school are returned as soon

as possible. Thanks again to parents and coaches for all of the time volunteered to allow for

student athletes to participate in sports at DCS.

************************************************************************************************************

First Semester Exam Schedule (2016/2017)

Monday,

Jan. 30

Tuesday,

Jan. 31

Wednesday,

Feb. 1

Thursday,

Feb. 2

9:00 AM

Open Classroom Study Time

Gym: ELA 9 Science 10 ELA 11 Worldviews 12

Gym: Soc Stud. 9 Soc Stud. 10 Chemistry 11 World Geography 11/12 Accounting 11

Gym: Science 9 Math 10 E Math 10 Bio 11 P Math 11

12:30

PM

Room C-9: Ref St. 11

mailto:[email protected]


Remembrance Day Contest Winners

Congratulations to all of our Remembrance Day Contest winners!

Presentations will be made at the Carman Legion Jan. 18th at 7:00 pm (All parents will be contacted by Karen Maxwell)

Winners at the Local Branch #18 level: Primary Black and White poster

Dustin Boeve (1st) Thomas Barendregt (2nd) Jayanna Vanderoude (3rd)

Junior Black and White poster Kennedy Bergsma (1st) Megan Bouwers (2nd)

Intermediate Black and White poster

Devon Vanderwoude (1st) Todd Bouwers (2nd)

Senior Black and White poster Tylyn Vandersluis (1st)

Mary Smith (2nd)

Primary Color poster Roxanne Bouwman (2nd)

Junior Color poster Hannah Smith (1st)

Rebekah Kamminga (Hon. Mention)

Junior Literary Poetry Ariena Borst (1st)

Sierra Vanderzwaag (2nd) Kayla Bergsma (3rd)

Intermediate Literary Poetry Josiah Smith (1st) Joshua Blok (2nd)

Senior Literary Poetry David Koster (1st))

Brittany Bouwers (2nd) Mary Smith (3rd)

Junior Literary Essay Hannah Smith (1st)

Kaelin Vanderveen (2nd)

Intermediate Literary Essay Danielle Smith (1st)

Winners at the ZONE #43 level Primary Black and White poster

Dustin Boeve (1st) Thomas Barendregt(2nd)

Jayanna Vanderwoude (3rd)

Junior Black and White poster

Kennedy Bergsma (1st) Megan Bouwers (2nd)

Intermediate Black and White poster

Devon Vanderwoude (1st) Todd Bouwers (3rd)

Senior Black and White poster

Tylyn Vandersluis(1st) Mary Smith (2nd )

Primary Color poster Roxanne Bouwman (2nd)

Junior Color poster Hannah Smith (2nd)

Rebekah Kamminga (Hon. Mention)

Junior Literary Poetry Ariena Borst (1st)

Sierra Vanderzwaag (2nd) Kayla Bergsma (3rd)

Intermediate Literary Poetry Joshua Blok (1st) Josiah Smith (2nd)

Senior Literary Poetry Mary Smith (1st)

Brittany Bouwers (2nd) David Koster (3rd)

Junior Literary Essay Kaelin Vanderveen (1st)

Hannah Smith (2nd)

Intermediate Literary Essay Danielle Smith (1st)


Due to the upcoming retirement of our long-serving school secretary,

the Board of Dufferin Christian School will be exploring options and is seeking applicants for:

Administrative Assistant

Reporting to the Principal, responsibilities include reception, scheduling,

fiscal and clerical administration. Successful applicants must have strong

communication skills, attention to detail, advanced typing and MS Office

(Word, Excel, Outlook, Powerpoint) skills, and be able to maintain

confidentiality.

Please submit your resume to the board secretary.

[email protected]

Only potential candidates will be contacted.

Due Date: January 9, 2017

mailto:[email protected]

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