NACE NOTES

LIVING • LEARNING • SERVING

John Knox Christian School795 Highway #8, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 5J3

Tel 905.643.2460 | Fax 905.643.5875Email jkcs@nace.ca

Covenant Christian School6470 Reg. Rd. 14, P.O. Box 924,

Smithville, ON L0R 2A0Tel 905.957.7796 | Fax 905.957.7794

Email ccs@nace.ca

www.nace.ca

NACE NOTES: Published by the Niagara Association for Christian EducationEditor: Tony Kamphuis; Committee Members: Diana Kingma, Wendy Colyn, Bonnie Desjardins

Summer 2015CCS Student Artwork

Violin: Katrina M.Sports: Shannon D.

Calculator: Jared. A.

2 summer 2015

June 18 CCs Graduation

19 JKCs Graduation

19 Last Day of school

Aug. 24 Peaches arrive

26-27 Peach Peeling in JKCs gym from 9:00 - 4:00

Sept. 8 First day of school for 2015/2016

greetings From the nace boardWow! A whole school year is almost completed! So much has been accomplished in such a short amount of time!

Our schools are always buzzing with activity . . . devotions, chapels, tests, assignments, projects, class trips, pizza days, spirit days and athletic activities . . . just to name a few!

God has been faithful and has richly blessed the NACE community of learners, teachers and parents. As a Board, we would like to thank the teachers and principals for their dedication and commitment in educating the students at Covenant and John Knox. We wish you all a restful summer, and an opportunity to refresh and reboot! We say good-bye to some of our teachers: Mrs. Joanne Monster, Mrs. Liz Meijer and Mrs. Tina Van Beveren who are moving onto the next chapter in their stories (aka retiring). May God bless you! You will be missed.

Also, we say good bye to board members: Liz Kikkert, Sandra Van Geest and Jeff Zondag. Thank you to these members for four years of dedication and hard work! We look forward to our newest members joining us soon - Paul Heerema, Danielle Vandenberg, and Andrea Van Geest.

Enjoy your summer holidays.

CCS - Covenant Students raised over

$8000 for West Lincoln Hospital

JKCS - Science Fair at

Redeemer University College

CCS - Jessica and Leah love theDress Up Center in the SK classroom

JKCS - Grandparents Day

Nace Notes / Keeping In Touch 3

CCS principal's Report

We are at the end of the year, and as the yearly rhythm goes, we are preparing for another. There’s something comforting about that rhythm…. knowing how a story will progress and unfold to some extent. There will be Christmas, Easter, Summer, and Fall again. There are always surprises and details that make and flesh out that story that will add to its richness and unique character, but there is a consistency and pattern as well. Good stories know this pattern and can follow it, enriching our lives each time.It’s that theme we’ve followed this year at Covenant: “Taking Hold of God’s Story”, taking our cues from Psalm 139:16 and Ephesians 2:10. The psalmist reminds us that God knew us before our story began, knitting us together. Paul reminds us that God was preparing us for good works already at that time. The story unfolds: We know who we are, where we are from, and that we have work to do!!!

At the beginning of the year, each student’s picture was put up in the front lobby under our theme, and we challenged everyone to give evidence of either ‘How we know we belong to God’, or ‘How God is working out his story in our lives’; to write it on a stone (construction paper facsimile!) As the year went on, stones were added, and we now have a winding pathway documenting our journey along God’s Story this year, and how we have been Taking Hold. There are so many ways in which that has happened, and we are thankful for God’s continued faithfulness to and through Covenant Christian School.

Our story has had the normal rhythm of any school year: Drama productions, sporting events, class trips, grandparents day, Christmas program, weekly chapel, Bazaar, fundraisers, class trips, report cards, interviews, celebrations and sharing grief together. Oh yes, and classes, curriculum, reading, writing, arithmetic, creation studies, arts, and Phys. Ed. too. We can count on many of these things happening again next year and the year after. These make the school year what it is, and carry a comforting rhythm. What were the details, though? Surprises? How did we meet those challenges? How did we celebrate and honour God together in community?

As I walk through our hallways and listen in on the teaching and learning happening in each class, and as I pass each of the stones on the wall, I’m reminded that it is in RELATIONSHIP that this story finds its theme and richness.

• How did we deal with the excitement of a new year, new classmates, a new teacher, a new principal? We opened our arms and began with hospitality.

• How did we prepare our work, question each other, encourage each other in their gifts? We took our cues from the sermon on the mount and tried to live out the fruits of the spirit.

• How did we respond when stricken with the loss of a family member? How did we treat those who were vulnerable and needing support and love? We enfolded, prayed for, and met their basic and immediate needs with a hug, a smile, by being there, and listening.

• How did we respond when hurt by others? What happened when we felt victimized, or when others accused us of hurting them? We listened, we shared, and we tried to make it right.

• How did we respond when hearing about problems in the world - injustices down the street, in our own community, across Canada, in the world? We paused, we reflected on the brokenness in the world, and then rolled up our sleeves attempting to shine a light into the darkness.

• What did we do when faced with a challenge to raise awareness and funds for those who need it? We got creative, we picked up the phone, we pounded the pavement, and we let God work through our actions to be glorified in our efforts.

• What did we do when given the opportunity to work with new gifts such as technology or with the introduction of learning opportunities? We got excited, we were thankful, and we looked to see what God was showing us.

Was this a perfect story? No. We don’t always get it right. We are a fallen people in need of grace. We hurt one another, we spoke ill, we did things out of selfish gain. And we repent of those, looking to make it better in the future, by God’s grace. Every good story ends in hope.

4 summer 2015

How will we take hold of next year’s story? What details and surprises are in store for us next year? How will we learn of God’s faithfulness in the rhythm of a school year? How will our RELATIONSHIPS image our Creator?

Right now, we will end in the celebration of a graduation - the rite of passage for 10 young men and women who are learning God’s story and their place in it! In the words of one of our graduates: “Thank you for not giving up on us and teaching us about God in every subject. It has structured me to be a strong Christian and learn something new every day.” That continued focus on living, learning, and serving is our prayer for them…. that they take hold of their Creator and Redeemer and continue to seek Him in all they do.

For next year, we will again seek out how to best develop our relationships with God, with others, and with the world we live in. How will we live for Jesus, learn for life, serve with gladness? I can’t wait for the next story as we welcome in new young children, new families, and new opportunities that God has placed before us as a community. May God be glorified in the next chapter of the story!!

Kevin Huinink, Principal, Covenant Christian School

The school year theme invites each visitor to CCS into our story

Parents and Supporters take part in our theme.

Nace Notes / Keeping In Touch 5

CCS gRAduAting ClASS

Jared Attema

Lucas Gerryts

Eric van den Boogaard

Charlize Breukelman

Tyler Glasbergen

Keturah van der Wier

Aaron Cook

Mackenzie Langendoen

Shannon Damm

Faith Ludwig

Mrs. RamseyCCS - Grade 8 Teacher

2015

6 summer 2015

CCS VAlediCtORiAn AddReSS By Faith Ludwig

Many graduation ceremonies are events where a speaker or teacher tells an entire class, dressed in the same gowns, that 'INDIVIDUALITY' is the key to success. Although that isn’t really what I want to convey, we do have some pretty unique individuals in the graduating class of 2015. And ironically, we are all wearing the same gowns! Let me introduce the unique characters who God put together to make up this class.

First of all, there’s Jared. We all know that if you ever have a question about cows, farming, or anything to do with why you should not buy a John Deere tractor, you should ask Jared. He also knows a little bit about running too. Next, there’s Char. Char’s quick wit and bright spirit can lift anyone out of a down time. Also, either Char or Shannon are the go-to girls if you ever need help with your homework. Both have been willing to help their friends in a pinch. Shannon also shares a love of art. She will work tirelessly to get the angle just right. It’s Aaron who loves to make people laugh. He’s not afraid to say what he’s thinking. Then if you need some technical help, it would be Lucas that you would go to. He designs in Lego, loves to play video games and even made a couple games of his own. Tyler loves to play the drums and his favourite sport, without a doubt, is soccer. Like Aaron, he too has a knack to make people laugh. Mackenzie loves horses, and any other animal for that matter. I don't think I'll ever understand how she can draw such a realistic horse. Beats my artistic talent anyway. Eric is that guy who knows how to make an explosion out of any type of drink. In grade 7, he successfully made a yop drink and a pop can explode. Eric is a person who everyone wants to be friends with. Keturah loves art and music. Whenever she gets a chance, she is the one willing to help. Along with me. This is our class!

Now, our class has always been small, which has allowed us get to know each other extremely well. Through the years, we have experienced many things that have allowed us to become such a close group of friends:

It didn’t start out that way! The first day of school was the scariest!! Most of us didn’t know anyone else - Well, okay . . . there were those of us related to the VanderWier clan. I guess I knew a few people at the school, even before I got started. But I know that for most of my classmates, that first day of school was quite difficult.

In SK, we started to get to know each other. I guess we were doing quite well. You see, at the end of the year, during the marriage of Q and U, I remember some first kisses. I know that the people involved would tell us that it was all "accidental", but perhaps it was just a sign that we would be a close-knit group.

Soon we went on to grade one. Going to school every day! What a nightmare we thought! We were so afraid of those grade 2 students! But before we knew it, we were those scary grade 2 students feeling all the power over the grade ones. Then again, there were the grade 8’s who we thought were as old as the teachers! If I think about it, even at this young age, God was shaping us to be leaders and followers.

When we were seated in the portable with Mrs. Zwiers, our numbers grew. The Wellandport three made our class bigger! What a great addition to our class, we now felt complete. It was at this time that we could see that God was giving us the opportunity to learn to welcome new people into our group.

Through the next couple of years we continued to grow as a class. The boys were still afraid of the girls and vice versa, but, for the most part, we got along!

By the time we were in grade seven, we had developed our own groups, and our own names for each other. That is until we walked into Mr. Kingma's class and were given all new nicknames. You see, Mr. Kingma has this way of giving names to everyone. One of the names we picked up as a class was the 'Intermediates!' Every time we were called that as a group we were told to add an angelic note behind it. Kind of like a choir. Let’s try it for old time's sake: (grade eight makes the o sound.) Our grade 7 year was a year where God was helping us to realize that we could have a good time at school, and make the most of everything! After what seemed like a year of laughs, fun, victories, and so many inside jokes, we went to our final year:Grade eight!

This past year we have learned to be independent, somewhat more mature :), to be good leaders, and create a good example for the rest of the school. God truly has been working on our character as we have progressed through our years at Covenant.

Nace Notes / Keeping In Touch 7

CCS VAlediCtORiAn AddReSS By Faith Ludwig

Here at Covenant we have been taught that in our actions and decisions, that God will lead us. The Bible verse that we picked for our theme confirms what we have been taught. Psalms 31:3 tells us that "Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name, lead me and guide me."

We learned that since we can trust God with everything, he will lead us and guide us in our lives. For example, we were able to help our community hospital during the Peach Bud run! We were challenged to raise about 5,000 dollars and we ended up with over 8,000 dollars! We felt good about our challenge to the teachers! For every thousand dollars, another teacher would participate in the run. We can be proud that God used us to encourage the school to raise more money for the hospital!

We have all different gifts and when we use them to assist others or to help things to run more smoothly we are following God’s lead. We have played music for churches, in band and chapels at school. We are using our gifts of music there. Even the small things matter: from helping a small child on the playground to setting up sports equipment for gym class. All of these things matter!

Yes, we can see that God has been leading and guiding us these past years. But, now we have reached our graduation. This Graduation is a stepping stone in our lives. After this evening, we will go on to high school. We have the opportunity to make new memories and friends. Because of God’s faithfulness so far, we can continue to trust that God will continue to lead us. We can know that even during struggles that we may experience, God will be with us.

In our future we need to let God lead us. It is easy to think that our own judgement would be best, but we need to remember to rely on God. If we recognize that when God is in control of our lives, we can overcome even the difficult situations that we may face. It is in his name that we can succeed.

Today, I am honoured to have the privilege to reflect on these things on behalf of my classmates. All of us realize that we have several groups of people to thank for helping us to come to these realizations. Many of you attending this graduation have helped to influence our lives in so many ways.

First of all, I would like to address you, parents. Tonight you sit there very proud of your graduating child. We acknowledge that we couldn’t have done it without your help! Thank you for sending us to a Christian school, and for working hard to pay for this education! Thank You for always being there for us. You consoled us during the hard times of our lives. You helped us with our homework right from the start. I remember when my parents were helping me read way back in grade one, there were even times when you had to force us to do our work. I know that my parents had to force me to practice my band instrument :). For all of these things, Graduates, let’s show our parents how thankful we are!

Secondly, teachers!! You have had so much patience with us over the years! You have taught us some of the important things in life and then you added algebra! I’m not sure how I’m ever going to use that in life; but hey, maybe it will help someone like Lucas when he becomes an engineer. Anyways, I would like to thank you for coaching us, sharing your beliefs about Jesus, and helping us to develop our character. A thank you to the teachers!!

Thirdly, I would like to thank the larger supporting community. You know who you are: grandparents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and family friends. We want to thank you for all that you do too. We, as students, appreciate your support when you came to our school events to listen, to our sports events to cheer us on, but mostly, of course, when you brought us treats at grandparents day and other events :). By the way, thank you Oma for the pears and yogurt back in grade five. At the time I wasn't thankful, but now I see the love :). Thank you for coming tonight and for sharing this evening with us.

I would like to say thank you to my classmates. I have enjoyed being your classmate. I feel honoured that you allowed me to speak on your behalf. God has lead us to be leaders, as unique individuals. He has helped us to become a fun loving group with a real sense of community. We have worked together through thick and thin, and now here we are . . . GRADUATING!!!

Let’s remember this moment. Let’s leave this place with the assurance that God will lead and guide us. Let’s allow God to continue his work in shaping us.

Thank you.

8 summer 2015

CCS photos

CCS - Students welcomed their pastors and youth leaderson our annual Pastor's Visit Day in April

CCS - Katrina catches air in the long jump

at the Covenant Christian School Field Day

CCS - The Red Team using all their strengthat the Tug of War on Field Day

CCS - The Yellow Team finishes in first placeat Covenant's Field Day

Retiree at CCS: Mrs. Joanne Monster

Field Day

Nace Notes / Keeping In Touch 9

JKCS photos

JKCS - Ready, Set, Read Students

JKCS - Kindergarten Students having fun on Field Day

JKCS - Various Field Day Activities

Retirees at JKCS:Mrs. Tina Van Beveren and Mrs. Liz Meijer

Field Day

10 summer 2015

JKCS principal's Report

It’s June! Praise God! On September 2, 2014 we opened our doors to a ton of excited, energetic, sun-tanned students who were eager for the first day of school to begin! Teachers were excited about the new year that lay ahead, especially after spending time decorating their classrooms in such a way that each student would feel welcomed and valued. And now, here we are, ten months later. Teachers are still excited about welcoming their students each day, and students are still energetic for the most part. The year has gone by quickly, and a great deal of learning has taken place within the walls of JKCS. The journey we embarked on last September will be coming to a close at the end of June, and, following a bit of a break this summer, we hope to greet everyone again on September 8.

Our theme of “Living for Jesus” is one that provided us with many opportunities to discuss a number of biblical characters who intentionally chose to live lives of service to God. At our last chapel we were able to name every one of the characters that we studied during chapel and what specific characteristic they possessed that we ought to emulate. Ask your child to name a few; I’m sure they’ll be able to do so rather easily.

We are grateful to God for the many highlights that have been experienced during our journey together this past school year. Our school community has been blessed and enriched by the interactions that our students have had with subject matter, with creation, and with each other. The continued support of a passionate community dedicated to the cause of Christian education is evidenced on a daily basis. The end of a school year provides a wonderful opportunity for us to look back and reflect upon God’s faithfulness, and then to look ahead to a new year of Christian education.

While several folks in the building are longing for the lazy days of summer, teachers continue to plan, teach, mark, prepare report cards, supervise class trips and attend staff meetings. Over the summer, several will be engaged in all levels of professional development that will further enhance their teaching practice. Mrs. Kingma has been busy these last few weeks with completing registrations for the 2015-2016 year in addition to her regular daily tasks. Mrs. VanderMolen’s task as financial administrator is one that keeps her especially busy during this time of year. While most of us look forward to a bit of a slower pace in the summer months, our custodian finds that her workload actually increases in July and August. We also recognize the work of our dedicated bus drivers: Mrs. Huinink, Mrs. Moraal, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Van Keulen. In addition, we extend our sincere thanks to Mrs. Diana Wielhouwer, our faithful junior kindergarten volunteer; you are appreciated! We hope that each of you enjoys a break from your regular routines this summer!

Our Grade 8 graduates are very excited about the days that lie ahead! These final days at JKCS will mark the end of their elementary school experience, and the beginning of their transition to high school. This year we celebrate the graduation of 12 unique individuals. We thank God for the ways in which our school has influenced their lives and shaped their faith journeys while they were a part of our student body. As a community, we are grateful for the blessing that they have been to us in so many ways. Graduates, may the mission of “living for Jesus, learning for life, serving with gladness” continue to shape your future as you walk with the Lord.

A number of our graduates are the youngest in their family, and, as a result, this graduation celebration changes the relationship JKCS will have with their families. We acknowledge the commitment of these families over the years, and thank them for their support of our school. The following families will enter a new phase in their lives: Mark & Cynthia MacDonald, David & Nadine Novak, Jim & Sherri Van Ryn, and Terry Vermeer. Some of you have been a part of the JKCS school community for over 20 years, while others joined fairly recently. We pray that John Knox Christian School will remain a special place in your homes and hearts, and that you will continue to be passionate about the cause of Christian education!

In terms of staffing for the upcoming school year, there are a few changes that are being planned by the administrative team and the Education Committee. We celebrate with Mrs. Liz Meijer and Mrs. Tina Van Beveren the many years of engaging instruction they have provided for so many students at JKCS. Both of these ladies have indicated a desire to explore new areas of service to God. We know that he’s not finished with them yet, and pray that God will continue to bless them, even as they retire from active

classroom teaching at the elementary school level. We also say farewell to Mrs. Claudia DeHaan, who has faithfully served in our resource department since Miss Sue Kort’s retirement. Mrs. DeHaan will continue to be a part of the NACE teaching team, but will move to our CCS site. We’ll miss you!

We hope to welcome a few new faces to the JKCS staff. Mrs. Kim Schenk will be our SK teacher after teaching JK at CCS for a number of years. Mrs. Maria Tamming, who has been on our supply teacher list this year, will be teaching in the primary department. Mrs. Freda Kleine-Deters will be our new resource teacher. We are grateful to God for bringing such passionate teachers to Stoney Creek, and pray that as a school community we will be a blessing to them, and that, in turn, they will be a blessing to all of us.

Next year finds us welcoming several new families into our school community. We are excited about sharing the vision and mission of JKCS with them, and are eager to have their children delight in the experience of a Christian education. There have been several inquiries over the past few months, and we pray that God will fill our classrooms with families who have a desire to partner with us in the educating of their children. Our prayer is that JKCS will continue to flourish in the Stoney Creek/Grimsby/Beamsville area, and that many children will continue to be educated in the ways of the Lord.

We continue to celebrate diversity in our student body on so many levels. Teachers continue to wrestle with the All Kinds of Minds framework for educating each of our students in a way that most honours his/her gifts, abilities and talents. Lesson plans are being creatively designed, and 21st century skills are becoming more and more evident in the learning that takes place. We desire to be an inclusive school, one where each of God’s children is celebrated and is able to flourish. We are committed to being schools that assist our students in discovering their passions and strengths. This year we were gifted a portable chromebook lab that has changed the way technology is being integrated into daily lessons. We covet your prayers as a supporting community as we seek to be faithful in our educational practices.

At the end of a school year, it is good to thank each of you for your continued support. If you serve on the Board of Directors or on a committee, we thank you for sharing the vision of NACE collectively, and for influencing decisions that were made to further the cause of Christian education in this small corner of God’s big world. We thank each of you, as parents, for your willingness to volunteer in so many different ways, and for upholding JKCS in your prayers. Our supporting community is certainly one that is committed to the furthering of God’s kingdom!

It is a blessing to be part of a school community where the Lordship of Jesus Christ is declared in all that we endeavor to do. It is a blessing to be part of a school community where we uphold each other in prayer during difficult circumstances, or where we celebrate together when exciting things happen with our families. May God continue to find us faithful! Enjoy the summer months by taking some extra time to appreciate God’s good gift to us in creation. See you in September!

Mrs. Bonnie Desjardins, Principal,John Knox Christian School

Nace Notes / Keeping In Touch 11

12 summer 2015

JKCS gRAduAting ClASS

Kyle Huinink

Alison MacDonald

Samantha Snyder

Gillian Crinson

Jesse Novak

Olivia van der Beek

Kate Hong

Danny Ra

Hannah Van Ryn

John Lee

Haley Ra

Olivia Vermeer

2015Miss Scholman

JKCS - Grade 8 Teacher

Nace Notes / Keeping In Touch 13

JKCS VAlediCtORiAn AddReSS By Kate Hong

Dear family, friends, teachers and fellow graduates.

My name is Kate, and I have been given the opportunity to represent the graduating class of 2015. What an honour!

As you know, there are 12 months in 1 year, that’s 365 days which is 8,760 hours which also means 31,536,000 seconds. Wow! That is a long time! But do you know what’s funny? We spent more than half of those 31 million seconds together. But in that time we did quite a few things. We studied … and studied … and studied and studied and studied … and sometimes we had fun. Well … Miss Scholman always says that every day is a fun day … which means opening our math books and fixing our corrections; oh such fun.

But seriously, we did have a lot of fun. Some of the highlights of our time at John Knox include of course, Pioneer Camp! Remember when most of the girls were wearing onesies? We looked adorable! And you too, Mrs. Desjardins!! And our spring program was the best this year because baseball is the greatest, most exciting and important sport in the entire world. And finally, our band. I know, every year Mr. Kamphuis says that the band is the best ever. But seriously, we have a drummer who gets so into the songs that he’ll even throw his sticks across the room for ‘As the Eagle Flies’ – Spencer. There are a few things I’ll remember about my classmates. Olivia Vermeer was the one who earned the medals on field day every year. Olivia van der Beek is our best alto saxophone player. Remember two years ago?? You really improved a lot!! Then there is Haley who is always smiling!! What is her secret? Samantha, whenever someone says something funny, she laughs so loudly! Even if it’s not funny, we all laugh because of her laughter. We are not laughing at you, we are laughing with you, Sam. Then there is our fun-guy (fungi) who should be in the Olympics for the game called, “Guesstures”. His name is John! Seriously, he is the funniest player. Jesse is the guy with the hair. Last year, his hair changed literally every day. So it was fun to watch it changing from blue to red to green to now, brown. He kept us guessing as to what would be next. Alison is our fashionista, looking stylish every day. And then there is the animal lover Hannah! What?? No way!! Gillian is our genius. There is no such thing as, “google it!” just ask Gillian! Danny will be our future artist. And last but definitely not least, Kyle. Kyle you still owe me five dollars!

But the coolest thing about our time at John Knox were the changes you could actually see in each one of us. The most obvious change was that everyone grew a lot physically. They say Dutch people are tall but I mean, you guys are really tall. You could have shared some of your height with me, you know! Not only did we change physically, but mentally as well. From, “what?” to “pardon?” and “Can I go to the bathroom?” to “May I go to the bathroom?” We never forgot to say the magic word “please.” With the teachers’ guidance, we have become the super nice and polite Canadians for which our country is known.

Now we just need our pet polar bears and igloo houses. Eh? And finally, we also changed spiritually. We are more comfortable sharing our faith with non-believers. And we all know that God has a purpose for each one of us.

However, there was one thing that did not change. We were always in combined classes! But in all seriousness, we together made the happiest memories. A big thank you goes to the teachers and parents who allowed all of us to be the best we could be! Thank you teachers for teach-ing us and helping us with the subjects we did not understand, and the sports that we had no hope in winning at tournaments. You always encouraged us and never gave up on us. Remember the students vs. teachers volleyball game? Just wait until we are your age; then that will be a fair game. Thank you, parents, for waking us up so early every single morning to go to school and for supporting us in our education.

When I first came to John Knox, I was pretty scared because I did not understand any English except for, “hi.” But I realized from the first day of school that this school is the school that I should be in because people here accepted me for who I was. As we now all go our separate ways, you will probably never meet people that are this nice. So I want you all to remember the good times we spent at John Knox wherever you may go in the future!

I give all of my thanks, my biggest thanks, to God, who was and is with all of us through our entire lives and who became our strong rock and fortress, especially at school. Our theme verse is “God is our Rock” (Psalms 62:2). At first, I didn’t know what that meant but in Matthew 7:24-25, it says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” So the rock is our God. He is the foundation of everything. Without God, we wouldn’t be able to do anything. We would fall, fall and fall even though we try to stand up. Without Him, I wouldn’t be able to stand up here and we, grade 8 students wouldn’t be able to graduate. He is our rock and our fortress. Let’s trust Him through our entire lives and He will always make a way! So don’t be afraid. We have nothing to fear in high school or later on in our lives. Just trust God who carried us to this very moment! Good luck Grade Eight and remember to seek Him first. I hope you remember that our life isn’t measured by our successes but by our victories in Christ.

Thank you everyone and hopefully see you again!!

And if any of you were sleeping throughout this whole speech, just remember these last words “God Rocks!!”

By Kate Hong

14 summer 2015

Mel and Maryanne Elzinga have found a wise way to both increase their earnings and share their love for Christian schools.The Elzingas are ordinary people of modest means, who have no interest in playing the stock market or taking high risk chances.

Instead, the active retirees, who walk, cycle, travel and dote on their 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, have a Revocable Deposit Agreement, put in place with the help of the Christian School Foundation. Some of their savings, invested with Christian Stewardship Services, a Foundation partner agency, currently earn about 5% interest a year. According to the terms of the RDA, the earnings are shared between the Elzingas and the Christian School Foundation, of which NACE is a founding member.

The Foundation uses its share to help support its promotional efforts, said Henry Koornneef, the Foundation’s executive vice-president, “a cause that resonated with the Elzingas when they first established their RDA.” For the Elzingas, "it's a win-win," said Mel.

Mel had just retired from his final post as principal of Covenant Christian School when they saw an advertisement about RDAs. They had some savings which were not earning much money in a bank account, so moving those funds to a Foundation RDA "was a no-brainer," he said.

They immediately began earning more money and had the pleasure of sharing their earnings with a cause that remains dear to their hearts.

JKCS Student Council

Hello our names are Kaitlin and Kendra, and we are the Student Council Reporters for Grade 1 and SK. We had the privilege of being on this year’s Student Council. We had a lot of fun and we hope the kids did too. We had a lot of different Spirit Days and enjoyed them all. A few of them are Colour Day where each class dressed up as a different colour of the rainbow, Hero Day where everyone dressed up as their favourite hero. Instead of superheroes, we dressed up like our role models (like a family member, an athlete or someone we admired). We also had Candy Day, which was a lot of fun and sugar! :) Near Christmas time, we dressed up with Christmas Decorations. Some kids wore festive hats, others Christmas colours, and of course, Nikole, with Christmas lights. :) Heritage Day or Different Country Day was when we dressed up as people of different backgrounds and countries. We had Dr. Seuss Day where we dressed up as a character from one of his stories. We also had a nice surprise from the teachers when we watched a movie, the Lorax. And our last Spirit Day was dressing up as a sports player, a fan of a sports team or a sports team. Kids wore jerseys, colours of the team, hats, and other ideas to show which is their favourite sports team, player, or fan. Our last and probably the most favourite one will be our own JKCS Amazing Race!!! In this favourite Spirit Day will be 6 different events run by all of the student council members. The school will be divided up into teams and race to finish the six events. We both had a great year planning and doing the Spirit Days with and for the kids. A special thanks to Miss Haanstra for being in charge of Student Council this year and for helping and organizing the events and making this school year SUPER fun!!!! :) We hope you enjoyed the year of Spirit Days and have a fun and safe summer!

Smithville

Jane Keizer • Mike Keizer

Hwy. 20 • Village Square Mall • Smithville, ON

905-957-2544

www.dutchshoponline.com

Telephone: 905-945-3688Fax: 905-945-7833

52 Main Street West, Grimsby, ON L3M 1R4

Tel: 905-641-1848Fax: 905-641-4721

210 Bunting RoadSt. Catharines, OntarioL2M 3Y1

Roy WielhouwerDESIGNER/OWNER

royw@cabinetworksplus.comwww.cabinetworksplus.com

Max MeijerSales Representative

Bus: 905.945.1234Cell: 905.906.9374

maxmeijer@royallepage.ca

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22 Main Street WestGrimsby, ON

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100 YE A R S

SUPPORTERS' ADS

The Elzingas say after they stopped paying tuition for Christian education for their four children they continued to make an-nual donations to various school fundraising campaigns, but the RDA makes the giving automatic "and we are not putting our money in a hole in the ground," said Maryanne.

For them, it's a source of great satisfaction to know that they are blessing Christian schools even while they are still earning.

"If your heart is for Christian education, what better way is there to contribute?" asks Mel. "It's strange that we give money away, but we still get more."

RDA FAQs• no minimum investment required• participants choose the beneficiaries• beneficiaries can be changed• not just for retirees: can be used to start saving for a down payment on a house• earnings gifted are considered a charitable donation for income tax purposes• to find out more, contact Henry Koornneef at hkoornneef@christianschoolfoundation.ca

Maryanne and Mel Elzinga get ready to leave for a bike ridefrom their Smithville home.

If you wish to advertise with us,please give us a call at 905-643-2460or email us at jkcs@nace.ca

NACE NOTES

LIVING • LEARNING • SERVING

John Knox Christian School795 Highway #8, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 5J3

Tel 905.643.2460 | Fax 905.643.5875Email jkcs@nace.ca

Covenant Christian School6470 Reg. Rd. 14, P.O. Box 924,

Smithville, ON L0R 2A0Tel 905.957.7796 | Fax 905.957.7794

Email ccs@nace.ca

www.nace.ca

NACE NOTES: Published by the Niagara Association for Christian EducationEditor: Tony Kamphuis; Committee Members: Diana Kingma, Wendy Colyn, Bonnie Desjardins

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