Principal's Comments Peace is the calm assurance that what God is doing is best. Calm implies a

still, quiet confidence—not stressed, not pacing back and forth, not lying

awake, not wringing our hands or biting our nails. Just still . . . quiet . . .

calm.

Another word for assurance is confidence, which is trust borne of

experience. Those who have done a few laps on the journey of following

Christ, the Prince of Peace, should be quick to recall what He has done and

how He always comes through. True peace isn’t related to your

environment or circumstances. You can’t find it by taking a walk in the

woods or going on a vacation. Peace is a gift, something God gives. That’s

why it’s called “the peace of God.”

While God’s program is never easiest or fastest, He loves us enough to hold

out for our best. Though that path may sometimes lead through suffering,

He gives us peace for the journey. Through thankful, fervent prayer—

articulating our burdens to God—we exchange anxiety for peace. “Do not

be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians

4:6). When we pray, our difficult circumstances aren’t instantly fixed, but

we invite God into the equation. We seize His promises and assurances.

We review His track record. We get peace. “And the peace of God, which

surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in

Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

The peace of God is powerfully vigilant! Imagine peace as a fortress

encircling you. It protects your mental, emotional, and spiritual health;

your stability; your steadfastness; your confidence in God. As you pray and

God gives you peace, the walls grow taller and stronger, protecting you

more and more. Peace guards your heart. So, rather than bracing yourself

and feeling like you’re waiting for a bullet, you live behind the safe

protection of your fortress of peace. Come what may, let the peace of

Christ - the calm assurance that what God is doing is best - rule in your

heart.

Fridge Door

December 7, 2018

Family Matters Miss McCann will return to the kindergarten classroom next week. Please continue to uphold her family in prayer and come alongside her to encourage and support her. Additionally, thank you for your understanding and flexibility: After School Club will be cancelled until the New Year.

A Glimpse into Student Life, with Mrs. Roeper

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, all around our school!” The fun is in full swing. Classes are practicing their songs for the Christmas production, the stage is painted with a new coat of black paint, the set is beginning to come together, and there are practices and more practices happening. Decorating the school has begun. The Christmas tree is up and the students are working on decorating it and the hallways. There are Christmas Trivia questions posted and elves hiding around the school to earn a few more points for our Colour Houses before the first ice cream cake is awarded. At this time, our Red and Green Houses have been collecting quite a few points! On the last day of school before the Break, we will be having a “Dress Up Like Christmas” dress up day. The best costumes in each class will collect an extra 5 points for their teams. The points will be tallied, and the winning team will receive an ice cream cake in January. At that time, all teams will return to zero points and we will pursue another cake to be awarded after March Break! In the midst of all the fun organized by our Student Executive Party Planners, each class is unpacking the most important reason we celebrate Christmas. The birth of our Lord and Saviour is what makes Christmas an amazing time of the year. A tiny baby was sent on the greatest rescue mission ever! As a staff, we have been praying that Jesus would reveal Himself to our students in a personal way, and this Christmas season would be a heartchanging experience for them and for you as a family.

Student Tips Have you ever had the following situation occur? You have been working tirelessly with your child to prepare for a test and it seems like nothing is sticking? I hear this from students sometimes; “Mrs. Roeper, I studied so much, but I can’t remember any of it!” What is happening? Perhaps you experienced it yourself when you were younger. All that studying seems like a total waste of time because somehow it all disappeared overnight! The solution to your problem may be that your child is not using the proper techniques that suit their learning style. Learning style? There are three ways in which we learn: by visually – by seeing, by auditory - listening, and kinesthetic - by doing. If we are not using study techniques that best suit our learning style, it may be a struggle to absorb the information needed to succeed. I have added a couple of links to websites that have learning style quizzes for elementary students. I would encourage you to walk your child/children through the quiz. Once you have completed the quiz, you will also be given some study tips that complement each learning style. If you find that the results indicate strength in a couple of areas, use a

combination of tips that work best for your child/children. These styles my change as they get older and are exposed to different learning scenarios. Over the years, graduates have come back to say that their understanding of their own learning style has made a significant impact on their ability to study for exams in high school. Not only will your child/children benefit from this knowledge, but it should also reduce study time and frustration! They also enjoy taking these types of tests!

https://www.schoolonwheels.org/pdfs/3121/Learning-Styles.pdf http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml

Christmas Share I was recently asked if it was okay to contribute more to the Christmas Share baskets. The answer to that question is” absolutely!” The letters we sent home identified the basic requirements for each basket. If you and your family would like to contribute more than the item/items asked for, we will gladly add it. Any extra money collected will also be used to buy extra items for each of our adopted families! Thank you for being so willing to share with those in our community this Christmas season!

Pizza Day

Next Friday, December 14, is

pizza day. All orders are due by Wednesday; late orders will not be accepted.

Gift Card Reminder This is a great way to support the school

financially without spending any extra

money!

Please submit Gift Card orders to the

office by the 2nd Monday of every month.

The next order is due December 10th by

NOON.

Dates to Remember Dec. 12 – Junior Volleyball Tournament Dec 18 - Christmas Play at 1:30 and 6:30 PM Dec 20 - School Skate 1:00-2:00 PM

Community Board

Community Events Christmas Alive: The night the angels sang - Dec. 7&8 - 7:00pm - Calvary Community Church (679 Dundas St.)

Sing Noel! Pentecostals of Quinte, Belleville - Saturday, Dec. 8th @

7pm & Sunday, Dec. 9th at 7 pm.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! Parkdale Baptist - Sunday, Dec.

16 @ 10:45 am

All I Want for Christmas: Celebrate recovery dinner and program - Dec. 17 - 6pm (free, but RSVP by Dec. 12) - Desert Stream (535 Dundas St.)

BCS Piano 🎄🎹🎶

1. Many students will be playing a

Christmas song between 1:10-1:30pm for the

Tues. Dec. 18 Christmas Program.

2. Piano students will remain scheduled

for Jan-May lessons if I don’t hear from

you by Fri. Dec. 14.

3. Gift Certificates &/or Practice

binders are available to purchase for any

new or returning piano students. Contact

teresa.petrusma28@gmail.com for further

information.

Guitar Lessons: There is a possibility of guitar lessons being offered at BCS in the afternoons starting after the Christmas Holidays. Please contact Jordan Hall at mrhall@bellevillechristianschool.ca for more information.

Kindergarten

A Note from Miss Kuipers misskuipers@bellevillechristianschool.ca

Dates to note:

We will spend extra time this week working on our Christmas practices. We will also need to pay special attention to

our self-regulation, as this time of year brings extra excitement!

Please remember to send your child to school with a water bottle. Thank you!

We will spend some time using our patterning skills and the hearts God gave us to serve by making candy cane

decorations for a local nursing home. We will also write and draw some cards for them. In this way, we can share

God's love with the residents there.

Bible: This week, we will learn about the prophets who told

of Jesus' coming. We will also learn about the angel

visits and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - God with

us. We will reflect on this in different ways, seeking

to find God's love and His heart for His people in

this story.

Our memory verse is Matthew 1:21 "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins." This verse is due December 18.

Math:

Monday is Pattern Day! Students are welcomed to

wear clothing that has a pattern on it! That will

conclude our pattern unit for now.

Over the next two weeks, we will be doing winter

and Christmas mat centres. At these centres,

students learn to make numbers in different ways.

For example, at the snowflake centre, a student who

is working on the number 5 can use 3 blue and 2

white snowflakes, or 4 blue and 1 white, or all blue,

etc. to make their number. Students will learn that

numbers are made by putting smaller numbers

together. It will also provide opportunity to practise

one-to-one counting at their level.

Literacy:

We will use our literacy skills to write cards for the

nursing home. We are continuing to work hard on

finding the onset (first sound) in a world. We will also be

practicing our oral communication as we create our bear

video.

Bear Inquiry

We have really enjoyed learning about the wonderful ways that God created bears to prepare in fall and

survive the winter. We have answered our I wonders and learned so much more. This past week, students

voted to make a video on bears to share with the family community, as a way to share our learning. That will

be in process this week! We will also create winter art of a bear in hibernation.

Dates to Note: - Dec 18: Christmas Play at 1:30 and 6:30

- Dec 19: Class Christmas Party

- Dec 20: School Skate 1-2

A Note from Miss Russell missrussell@bellevillechristianschool.ca

This week students will get to do some Christmas baking in small groups with our classroom volunteers.

They will participate in and learn about measuring, mixing, baking and decorating cookies and rice crispy

squares.

This week in writing, students will be making Christmas cards for the residents of Westgate Lodge Nursing

Home. Our end in mind with this project is to share God’s love with the residents and to share with them the

true meaning of Christmas. When the cards are finished I will deliver them to the nursing home.

Grade 1 & Grade 2

Creation Studies:

For the month of December, students will learn about making healthy food choices. They will also recognize the importance of making wise choices concerning medicine and drugs. Finally, they will learn ways to prevent germs from spreading. This week, students will learn about the four main food groups: fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy, and meat and alternatives.

Physical Education: In the month of December,

students will learn locomotor skills such as leaping and hopping. As well, they will learn underhand and overhand throwing.

Memory Verse: Isaiah 9:6 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Math Learning Goals: Grade 2:

I can count by 2s, 5s, and 10s.

I can tell what numerals odd and

even numbers end in.

Grade 1:

I can use unifex cubes to show

different ways to make a given

number.

Spelling: The spelling list going home focuses on words ending in “ank ,” “ink ,” “onk ,” “unk ,” for grade 1 and grade 2. Please practise these words with your child. They will be tested on their spelling words on December 14th. This will be the last spelling test before the Christmas break.

Bible: students will begin to study the promises of God

through the devotional by Max Lucado called, “God Always

Keeps His Promises.” In the forward of this devotional, Max

Lucado states that the Bible contains over seven thousand

promises. His desire is to acquaint children with these great and

powerful promises, while encouraging them to stand on these

promises when the pain and problems of this life hit. This is

also my prayer. I also hope that through this study the students

will come to believe for themselves that unlike people, God

always keeps His promises.

This week, students will begin hearing the Christmas story.

They will hear about Gabriel visiting Mary, the birth of John

the Baptist and the birth of Jesus.

Mrs. Mackay & Mr. Wicklam mrsmackay@bellevillechristianschool.ca; mrwicklam@bellevillechristianschool.ca

The new class reading goal is going well! So far, for the last 2 weeks, students have each read at least 3 times at home. The RAZ kids app is proving very popular; I get a report on the number of logins and minutes read each week. I am conducting reading conferences with each student in the next 2 weeks to measure reading growth and set new reading goals as needed. Individual academic WIGs (set at student led conferences with you) are being tracked every school day.

Grade 3 & Grade 4

Literacy and Creation Studies: Spelling Lesson 11 will be introduced on Monday and tested on Friday. Look

for Lesson 10 spelling test results in planners. Students have been working hard at using their research skills to write well-crafted paragraphs on Japanese topics. These will form the basis of our "Museum of Japan", the culmination of our unit. Parents, you are invited to tour our 'museum' in the Learning Hub (formerly, the library) on Wed. Dec. 19 between 11 and noon. Students will be there as 'museum curators' to talk to you about their topic and show you artifacts they have collected or made. Alternatively, you could have a peek at the museum (without curators) just before the Christmas program.

Bible: We will see study how Saul lost God’s favour and why David was anointed king. We will see this played out clearly when we study the story about David and Goliath.

Math: We are doing some basic multiplication. This will be new for some and a review for others. We are going to learn some songs to help skip count with the threes and fours. We will also look at the patterns found in the threes and fours.

Music: This week, we will be practising our

songs for the Christmas performance.

PE: We will continue our volleyball unit. Our focus

will be on volleying and working that into our games.

Zone of Self-Regulation: Some of our recent lessons have

involved learning about and using various tools to help us move from one zone to another. For example, we have learned to use 'six sided breathing' to help us feel calmer, or to use fidget tools to help us stay focused in carpet lessons. Students have reflected on 'the size of the problem' and how that might affect our reactions. Coming up is a lesson about self-talk and how we can use this in a positive way.

Art: We have learned about a popular

Japanese form of art - woodblock prints. We are doing simple block printing of winter trees; each student has crafted a drawing and created their own styrofoam 'block'. In our next lesson, students will use a brayer and ink to create prints; these will be used for Christmas cards and to decorate the gym for the Christmas program on Dec. 18. We will also be making some fun Christmas ornaments.

French: Students are working on their Friendship Cube good copies. They will be presenting them in front of the

class to practise oral French skills.

Music: Our song for the Christmas play is starting to come together. We are thankful for Mrs. VanDyke's help with the singing and dance steps.

Book Talk: The final copies were due yesterday. After I

look over the students' written work, they will start practising

for their oral presentations. We watched some videos on how

to prepare and present an effective oral presentation.

Christmas Play: If your child has a role in the play, we ask for your support in helping students learn their lines. Please make sure you check the practice schedule that was emailed to all parents of play participants. It is important that students attend practices. They are happening first thing in the morning for the next couple of weeks.

Grade 5 & 6

Mrs. Visser mrsvisser@bellevillechristianschool.ca

Reading The stories that we have read in Literature

class have all been about the theme "My Floor is Somebody's Ceiling". In each of the stories, the characters learn to view things from another perspective. Students have been reflecting on how these stories have impacted them. We are working on writing paragraphs about how we have seen this theme demonstrated in our stories.

Science: We began our Canada and Its Trading Partners

unit this week by trading goods and services for a piece of

candy. We also explored objects around the school to see

where various products are manufactured in the world. We

found many domestic products as well as items from

Bangladesh, Cambodia, USA, and Mexico.

Work Work: We will be working on our word lists - in the planner. We will be doing word sorts, breaking down words, and we will work on our sentences/stories. Please ask to check over your child’s sentences to see that they are level 4 quality. You can use the rubric in their book for how I will mark these. Spelling sentences and definitions are due this Friday.

7 Habits: Part of being proactive means, "I take initiative".

Since initiative means seeing what needs to be done and doing

it without waiting to be asked, we have made it our goal to

work on our "End of Day Procedures" by working together to

clean the floor, stack chairs, fill out planners, and do our jobs

without waiting to be asked. We also want to look out for

people who may be feeling left out or sad and take the

initiative to go and offer to play with them or talk to them. We

will be sharing "initiative stories" at our closing circle.

Math: We will be classifying triangles and

polygons this week. We will also look at the sum of the angles in those same triangles and polygons.

PE: We will be finishing our volleyball unit. We will review the skills and there will be testing on the three

skills - serving, bumping, and volleying.

Christmas Play: If your child has a role in the play, we

ask for your support in helping students learn their lines.

Please make sure you check the practice schedule that was

emailed to all parents of play participants. It is important

that students attend practices. They are happening first

thing in the morning for the next couple of weeks.

Grade 7 & 8

Mr. Petrusma mrpetrusma@bellevillechristianschool.ca

Bible:

We are continuing to hear and work with the

stories of Jesus and remember, as Christmas

approaches, that His birth and His ministry does

lead to His death.

Spelling:

Spelling test for next week will be on the list of the

most commonly misspelled words in the English

language.

Math:

This week, the concept is solving word problems

and measurement. The page assignments for both

grades are on Google Classroom.

Our Class Mission Statement: We strive to make grade 7&8 a respectful and fun workplace.

Creative Writing:

We are preparing for speeches and grammar

exercises which are due at the end of February.

We are brainstorming how to select our topics and

are completing our flowcharts to show the main

points of our speech.

Christmas Play:

If your child has a role in the play, we ask for your

support in helping students learn their lines. Please

make sure you check the practice schedule that

was emailed to all parents of play participants. It is

important that students attend practices. They are

happening first thing in the morning for the next

couple of weeks.

Science/Geography:

The animal project rubric has been co-created and

the assignment template has been posted and

given in paper copy to each learner. The due date is

Wednesday December 12.

Our class contribution to the Christmas Program will be “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”