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School Matters
HMDCS
Holland Marsh District Christian School • Tel. (905) 775-3701 • Fax. (905) 775-2395
www.hmdcs.ca
[email protected]
volume 20, issue 10
Mission: The mission of HMDCS is to equip students to positively impact society through a Christ-centred education in a supportive and dedicated community.
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Vision: As a vibrant, connected partner in our community, HMDCS integrates 21 century learning skills, resources and strategies to engage students in a
Christ-centred education.
Calendar – November, 3 2014
Wed. Nov. 5
Fri. Nov. 7
Tues. Nov. 11
Wed. Nov. 12
Fri. Nov. 14
Wed. Nov. 19
Fri. Nov. 21
Mon. Nov. 24
Wed. Nov. 26
Hotdog Lunch
Parent Teacher Conferences JK – 8
P.A. Day ~ No Classes
Gr. 8 Flag Football Tournament & Argos game
Remembrance Day Chapel 11:00 a.m.
Popcorn Snack
Bring a Friend to School
Pizza Lunch
Membership/Society Mtg. ~ 7:30 p.m.
Dairy Farmers Presentations for JK-7
Chapel
Pizza Lunch
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1 term report cards
Sub Lunch
From the Principal’s Desk
How Majestic is Your Name! Jehovah-Sabaoth, The LORD of Hosts
When things are difficult, we can look at the situation and feel overwhelmed, afraid, and discouraged or worried. Or we can
remember how much bigger God is than our problems and trust them to Him. In 2 Kings 6, the prophet Elisha’s house was
surrounded by the King of Aram’s chariots and horses to do him harm and Elisha’s servant was terrified. Elisha assured his
servant that “those who are with us are more than those who are with them” and asked God to open the servant’s eyes to
see that there was an army of heavenly hosts protecting Elisha. Our God is the LORD of Hosts, who has armies of angels to
protect and fight for his people. Just because we don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Let’s trust JehovahSabaoth with our problems, fears, and discouragement this week!
Parent/Teacher Conferences – Wednesday, November 5
We’re looking forward to hosting parent/teacher conferences again this Wednesday. These conferences are wonderful
opportunities to work together in community for the benefit of the children in our care. Please note that childcare will be
available in the in-school library.
PA Day – Friday, November 7
Friday has been set aside as a report card writing day for the teachers. Please pray for the teachers as they collate their
thoughts, observations, and assessments into report cards that best describe the children they are called to teach and
disciple.
Flag Football Tournament/Argos Game at Rogers Centre – Friday, November 7
The Grade 8 class along with 4 chaperones will be leaving the school parking lot by bus at 6:30 a.m. for their flag football
adventure at the Rogers Centre. Students need to bring food and drink for the day and/or they can use the concession
stand which opens at 10:00. Each team has been promised some pizza close to supper time, but that won’t sustain them for
the day. We expect to return to school at 12:30 a.m. after the Faith Night testimonies are finished.
Bring a Friend to School Day – Friday, November 14
Our November Bring a Friend to School Day last year was a huge success and we need your help to make this year’s day a
success as well. Have you had conversations with friends at church about HMDCS and you’re wondering how to promote
the school for your friends’ children? We’re asking our students if they have friends at church who’d like to spend a day at
HMDCS on Friday, November 14. This is a PD Day in York and Simcoe regions and we’d like to host an Open House for
their friends that day. All parents are required to do are to register their child(ren) and transport them to and from school that
day. Please see attached to School Matters the invitation that your child(ren) can hand out to their friends.
Task Force Opportunities for Program Committee
The Program Committee is looking for a few good volunteers to form two short term task forces to research before and after
school care as well as full-time kindergarten. Much of the required work will be researching, but there may be a couple of
meetings. Please contact Cindy Bodini at [email protected] if you’re interested in participating in one or both of these
task forces. Thank you for considering this!
General News & Information
HMDCS Thrift Store
We are so excited to finally get started on the possibility of opening our own thrift store! We will be working with CCEF
(Canadian Christian Education Foundation) whose purpose and mission for thrift stores is that:
re-Source Thrift Shops are established with the sole purpose of supporting Canadian Christian Education locally,
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provincially and nationally.
re-Source Thrift Shops are not-for-profit retail shops selling clothing, furniture, home and sporting goods, small
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appliances, books and more
re-Source Thrift Shops are operated 100% by dedicated volunteers and by donated goods for the purpose of
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supporting Christian education.
re-Source Thrift Shops are 100% Canadian with the revenue staying in Canada to disciple our future leaders in the
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fear and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
We are ready to take the very first steps required, but to do this we will need a Thrift Store Committee that consists of 8-10
people. If anyone is interested in joining this committee, then please contact Maria Wilcox at [email protected] or 905939-7099.
Volleyball Practices
Girls’ volleyball practices will happen on Tuesday and Wednesday from 3:30 to 5 pm. Please make arrangements to pick up
your child at school. Boys’ volleyball practices will continue during lunch breaks this week.
Trip Matters
Over the past two months I have been in touch with many of you, asking about your experience with TRIP, and I want
to thank you for sharing your stories with me. Your input has been very helpful!
A few years ago, HMDCS opted to focus on four key fundraising events. These were deemed the “Fab Four,” and the
expectation was that these four would do the bulk of the fundraising for the school.
TRIP, one of the Fab Four, is budgeted to raise $20,000 this year. We have raised $2,700 so far, which is slightly
behind budget.
The Christmas Order Form is coming out next week; orders will be due Nov. 26 and sent home Dec. 3. Do you know
somebody--a family member, a neighbour, a co-worker—who might order gift cards for Christmas? Do you know a
businessperson who might order cards for his or her clients or employees? This is a good opportunity for us to
generate extra sales, so please consider passing on an order form to get others involved. Or, send me their contact
information, and I’ll make sure they get an order form.
“How Majestic is your Name!” Psalm 8
Thank you for your continued support, -Tess Terpstra [email protected] 905-778-0205
Volleyball Drivers Needed
Our volleyball teams will compete in two tournaments this year. Our first tournament is on November 12. Our girls’ team
will compete at Toronto District Christian High School (377 Woodbridge Ave., Woodbridge, ON, L4L 2V7) and the boys’ team
will compete in Brampton at John Knox Christian School (82 McLaughlin Rd. S., Brampton, ON, L6Y 2C7). Please contact
Mr. Geertsema if you are able to help our teams get to this first tournament. Thank-you!
Our second tournament will be on December 2 at Timothy Christian School in Barrie (750 Essa Rd, Barrie, ON L4N
9E9). We will also need drivers for this tournament. Again, please contact Mr. Geertsema if you are able to help our teams
get to this second tournament. Thank-you!
A Royal Celebration!
Prince (ipal) William (Groot) invites you and your family to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, on stage December 3-6
at TDChristian High School. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students & seniors, or better yet, reserve your seat (or table)
for our delicious dinner theatre show and silent auction on Saturday, December 6th for $60 a person. Get full details at
www.tdchristian.ca, and send your ticket request in today to [email protected].
Open House Night
All families are invited to TDChristian's Open House Dessert Evening on Tuesday, November 18 from 7-9 pm. Tour the
school, talk to teachers, and find out about all the opportunities at TDChristian High School! Show up anytime, or RSVP to
[email protected].
Classroom News
JK/SK – We have been reading If You Give A Pig A Pancake by Laura Numeroff and making pig puppets, graphing our
favourite pancake toppings and counting with pompoms. Our Bible story is about the prodigal son. You might have guessed
that we are also learning about the letter P. Thank you for all the great questions about carrots that came to school about
what you would like to learn. We are going to start investigating this week. I am looking forward to exploring God's
creation. Memory work for Wednesday is Psalm 8:7. ~ Mrs. Robinson
Grade 1/2A – With the arrival of a new month, snow, and clocks "falling" back, it is a perfect time to begin our new Math
Unit, Time, Temperature and Money. Parents will find the specific details about the expectations in math this month in a
letter inserted into your student's turquoise duo-tang. It is a short week so our Spelling test will be on Thursday. Grade 1's
will work with a list of short o words that rhyme with clock. My grade 2 students will work with list words that have the short i
sound, plus suffixes. Our Memory Verse will be another verse from a Christmas Carol, glued into each agenda.
~ Mrs. McKinley
Grade 2B/3 – The “Wright” Newsletter for Grade 2/3 is coming home today with all the information you need to know about
the coming week. We will continue doing some scientific investigation in our unit on Solids, Liquids and Gases. The
Spelling words and words from a Christmas song will be tested on Thursday. We are excited about our field trip to the
Community Safety Village tomorrow. Don’t forget your bike helmet and to dress appropriately for the weather. Have a great
week! ~ Mrs. Wright
Grade 4/5A – Happy Monday! This week is a short week but a busy one. Grade Four has a Math test on Thursday. Grade
Five will have their Math test next Monday. The Math Review comes home today. Spelling and Memory Verse will be tested
this Thursday as well. Science tests come back this week. Please go over them with a parent, get it signed and return it to
school by Monday. Grade 5 has a French test on Unit 1 on Thursday. Have a great week! ~ Mrs. Pranger
Grade 5B/6 – Welcome to a 4 day week. We will be continuing our study of the covenants that God made with his people in
our Bible classes this week. We have a Math test on Unit 2 on Tuesday. Much of Unit 3 uses a math set. It may be helpful
to have one at home to complete the Math Practice and Homework pages. Grade 6 students should have one to use at
school as well. Memory work for Wednesday is Jeremiah 31:33-34. There will be a French test for Grade 5 on
Thursday. Review sheets were handed out last week. This week's Spelling test will be on Thursday. There are 4 activities
to complete at spellingcity.com. Be sure to take the time to complete them. Parents, it was great to meet with some of you
this past Thursday and I am looking forward to meeting more of you on Wednesday. ~ Mrs. Schenk
Grade 7 – I hope everyone stayed warm and dry over the weekend. We have s short but busy week full of excitement and
adventure. As part of our preparation for the Unit 3 Math test, students are using deconstructing and reconstructing cereal
boxes. The goal is to create a cube from a cereal box that has the same volume as the original structure. Our Memory Work
and Spelling for this week will both be on Thursday. Our class is starting to prepare for the Remembrance Day chapel on
November 11th. Please mark it on your calendar if you are able to join us. I have started the initial process for Google
Classroom for our grade 7 class. This new feature from Google will allow me to post assignments, tests, quizzes and dates
of importance online. I am still in the learning process for this resource and ask for your patience as we all try something
new. Have a great week! "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."- Albert Einstein
~ Mrs. Brickell
Grade 8 – This is a big week for our grade eight students! We look forward, with lots of anticipation, to Friday - when we’ll
attend the Toronto Argonauts’ flag football tournament! Remember, the bus leaves HMDCS early at 6:30 am! We also
expect to return quite late. Please make arrangements to pick up your child close to 12:30 am. Between then and now, our
students will complete a Math test for Unit 2 on Tuesday. We’ve finished reading our class novel the Giver and students will
complete a summary assignment and an Accelerated Reader quiz. In Language Power, Lessons 22, 23, Review and Using
What You’ve Learned sections will be due on Thursday. The unit test is on Thursday, November 13. We’ll conclude our
Bible unit with a test on Tuesday, November 11. Our cells unit in Science will conclude with a unit test on Friday, November
14. There will be a test this Thursday in French on all the material covered in Unit 1. Review sheets were handed out today.
~ Mr. Geertsema