November 25, 2013 Bazaar Community

It is a busy time of year on the school calendar with things like report cards, parent teacher conferences, volleyball tournaments, Membership meetings and the Bazaar.  The frenetic pace is somewhat infectious as the community buzz becomes as constant as the sound emanating from the florescent lights above.  I had the distinct pleasure of seeing wave after wave of volunteers streaming through the doors and into the school.  Our community pours life into these events and, in turn, pours life into our students.  Thursday night three alumni families came in to volunteer.  It is a tremendous blessing to see some of our “graduated” families in these life giving roles.  On to Friday where parents and a number of students were eagerly volunteering as they helped set up chairs and tables.  There were at least three generations involved in setting up for this community event.  What a testament to the strength and commitment to Christian education in the Flamborough area. I heard someone remark that it must take a small army to get ready for the bazaar.  It may not be an army but it does take our whole community, and what a community that is.  Thank you to all of the organizers of the Bazaar, the volunteers, the cooks, the patrons, and any other group that I somehow missed.  It was a wonderful event and I am already looking forward to next year.  ~Mr. Bouwers

 

November 18th, 2013 Membership Meeting - God's Good Gift of Christian Education

We have the Fall Membership meeting tonight at the school and there are so many things that we could share with you.  I will be taking a look at how the mission and vision of the school is living in the hallways and the classrooms of Providence Christian School.  The theme of the principal’s report will be  “Walking the Hallways.”  During the last report we had a chance to look into the windows of the classrooms and this time we will be walking the hallways to see what is going on.  We can give thanks for this learning community.  We are thankful for the support of the community, the dedicated professionals in the building and the volunteer Board to direct us.  We are especially thankful for the students who grace our classrooms, halls, busses and playground as it is a joy to be called to educate them  in Jesus’ name.   Come tonight and share the joy of Christian Education. 

We Remember - November 11, 2013

Eruptions of mud and deafening explosions riddle the pictures used to commemorate Remembrance Day.  These stark images are reminders of the tragedies of war and the brokenness of this world.  These obvious reminders can elicit visceral reactions to what is adroitly perceived as our humanness at its worst.  War crimes and profiteering darken an already dismal image.  It brings to mind the call from the Word to hate what is evil and cling to what is good.  It stirs in us the God given desire for justice. 

 

We see, as well, through the videos, pictures and print articles an expression of hope and self-sacrifice.  As we wade through the ocean of details and media, the stories of hope reveal themselves to us. It is often in the darkest of time that even the smallest of lights can be seen clearly.  We have that visceral desire for light and hope and justice when we are faced with the uneasiness of obvious darkness.  Our souls are disquieted and long for the one who brings restoration and reconciliation.   On this day we not only remember the stories of hope but the narrative of sacrifice.  As Christians we are familiar with the narrative of sacrifice as embodied in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  We experience a great peace that came at a great cost.  This is true not only for the state our souls but also for the generally peaceful existence we enjoy today. 

 

The grade 6 class did a wonderful job this morning of representing the sacrifice of our veterans and current military service personnel.  We spent our moment in silence for in honour of those who have given their lives in service to our country.  We thank God for the good gift of peace this day as we remember. 

November 4th, 2013 God's Good Gifts and Magnifying Glasses

Recently I heard a sermon that discussed the difference between faith and the tools we use to examine God’s creation.  These gifts of God have their proper place. We use tools such as technology, science, mathematics, relationships with others, and God’s word to enrich our relationship with God.  As with all gifts there can be a tendency to focus more on the gift rather than the giver.  We are reminded in James 1:17 that God is the giver of all good and perfect gifts and it is by His grace, from above, that we can experience all of this.  The problem we can encounter is that when we delve too deeply in one of the tools or gifts that God has given we can get a distorted view of the Big Picture.  If we start to use these tools to answer the lager worldview questions we run the risk of creating idols out of the tools we’ve been given.  Think about how it would be to walk around with magnifying glasses on.  It would skew our view of what we were looking at.  We may be seeing things big but missing the big picture.  There are times to take a magnifying glass out and take a closer and deeper look but we need to keep the kingdom perspective in mind.  We need to continually acknowledge the giver of those gifts and tools giving God all the glory, and honour and praise.  As we walk through the curriculum with our students we talk with them and walk with them regarding that big picture.  We frame the learning that happens with a Christian worldview that will not forget our Creator, will depend on the Spirit for discernment and reflect the image of His son Jesus. 

May you delve deep in the gifts and tools that God graciously gives us while keeping in perspective His sovereign will and gracious love for us. ~Mr. Bouwers

Fixed mindset and master mindset

This was a great chart to explain, compare and contrast the two mindsets as outlined by Phil Teeuwsen at our PD day in October. 

Fixed (Performance) Mindset	Growth (Mastery) Mindset
Pupils who value ‘getting it right’:	Pupils who value learning:
• believe that ability leads to success;	• believe that effort leads to success;
• are concerned about being viewed as able and proving themselves;	• believe in their ability to improve and learn;
• gain satisfaction from doing better than others;	• gain satisfaction from personal successes;
• evaluate themselves negatively, giving up/ displaying helplessness when the task is too difficult; and	• are more likely to have a go anyway and show great persistence with difficult tasks; and
• show concern for proving competence.	• show concern for improving competence.