SNOW DAY Today!!! Because of the impending winter storm and present wintry conditions, buses are not running to WCS or LDCSS today. Woodstock Christian School is closed for the day. ENJOY your SNOW DAY!!!

LDCSS has also cancelled school for the day.

Hope and Vision

    In the coming months, our Board of Directors  are excited to be looking FORWARD, envisioning what WCS might look like into the future. In order to do that, it is important to welcome our present story, discover the possibilities hidden here and now, and recognize that our future aspirations and goals grow out of the present. Knowing that God has written and is writing the WCS story, we live in a continuing story which began when God created the world, continued through the fall of humankind into sin, redeemed through the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ, to the present in which we are challenged to restore and uphold God’s amazing world in all that we do. We lean on our faithful God to lead us into planning for the future, trusting Him always. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11.
    Please pray for the Board of Directors in this work of looking FORWARD.

                            Mrs. Bernice Huinink-Buiter

Please read thru this letter recieved from the Board of Directors at Once Again:

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    I read the following quote on New Year's Eve "Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one!", and it made me start to ask myself all kinds of questions. What sort of story do I want to write this New Year? What things do I want to do? What adventure do I want to go on? What goals do I want to strive for? But I quickly caught myself making many plans of my own and forgetting that God has already written my story and I need to look to Him and seek His ways to help me discover my story. I then reworded my questions - What things does God want me to do this year? What adventures does God have in store for me this year? What a shift in perspective!
    I like this quote because it also ties in so well with our theme this year of "Telling God's Story". Each of us has a personal story that will unfold throughout this New Year, but each of our stories are also part of the larger God story. As we begin writing on these new pages let's remember to keep God at the core of our story and to tell His story as often as we can. Blessing for 2016!
                            Marcia Horinga

BLESSINGS!!  –  I pray you will all enjoy a very happy and blessed Christmas, and ‘wonder’ full New Year in 2016, overflowing with God’s presence, joy and love! Thank you for your support, encouragement and prayers for us all at WCS during the first term of our school year. In this Christmas season. I invite you to “Tell God’s Story” to someone, the story of the wonderful joy, peace and love that Jesus Christ brought to all mankind 2000 years ago when he came from heaven to earth! This amazing story of salvation still brings hope to millions of people around the world, as He died, rose again, ascended to the right hand of His Father in Heaven, and is coming back soon as King of kings and Lord of lords!

                            In Christ,   Bernice Huinink-Buiter

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!  —  With joy and thankfulness,the JKCSS Board of Directors announces that Mrs. Carol Verbeek has been chosen to be the next principal of Woodstock Christian School! We are thankful for the work of the Principal Search Committee as they diligently and prayerfully engaged in researching and  interviewing prospective candidates over the past months. God has granted them wisdom in their task and they presented qualified candidates to the BOD. Carol presently teaches Grade 7/8 and is the vice-principal of curriculum at WCS, bringing expertise in leadership as well as a deep understanding of the Woodstock school community to this new position. She will begin her new assignment as leader of WCS in August, 2016. We pray for God’s blessing on her as she finishes her year as classroom teacher and vice-principal and as she prepares for the principalship.

Leave a Message

    Driving past a church in Woodstock on the weekend I spotted a church sign that said, "Leave a Message." "How odd", I thought, "Was the church closing or under construction?" "Rather impersonal, especially during this advent season."
    After driving about 100 meters past that sign, I realized that the sign was exactly right for the advent season and indeed, very personal. Christmas is all about messages. It's about messages we give and receive.
    Of late, we have heard messages of war, death, destruction and illness..... messages of darkness. But during advent, we are reminded that we are the people walking in darkness who have seen the Great Light. He is our message! It is a message of hope and peace to the world that is often hopeless and without peace, life eternal to the mourning, restoration to the sick and broken. Our message is Immanuel.... God With Us.
    As staff and students at Woodstock Christian School we seek to be the messengers and agents of renewal to our world. We will leave a message.....

                            L. Westerveld

And we wait….

    A time of waiting…. a time of HOPE. For the 4 weeks before Christmas, Christians throughout the world celebrate ADVENT and ‘in eager expectation’ we wait for our Saviour, we wait for Immanuel- God with us.
    Life is full of joys and sorrows…. As I consider the events of the past week that impacted me personally, I feel like I have been on an emotional and spiritual roller coaster, and am so thankful to know God is travelling with me.
    With the Kiers’ family who grieve the loss of their son and brother, Nick, we wept at the visitation and at the funeral, struggled with the reality of death and trying to understand what is happening. Yet through it, God’s people never doubted God’s comfort and loving arms around them. As I hugged one of Nick’s brothers, he whispered, “Our God is indescribable, so much more than we can imagine!” WOW!
    With the Meinema family, as they face the reality of cancer again, we do not give up hope. In our despair, we turn to the God of healing, knowing that He will never leave us. Even when we cannot pray, “God’s Spirit intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8). God knows our pain and longs for us to be well.
    Last Friday, after many months of ‘eager expectation’, a brand new baby boy, Zion Patrick, was born to my daughter and son-in-law. He is absolutely the most precious baby, and God showed me again His desire for life - life fully in his light. Welcoming another grandchild each time is ‘wonder’ full and I stand speechless, amazed at how ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ each human being is!
    I just spent  half an hour outside on supervising the playground and it struck me that every child outside belongs to a family that also has stories like I have just shared. We all know pain, suffering and joy and happiness..often at the same time. We all need the hope of Christ Jesus!!
    Romans 8:38 says it best, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
    In that amazing love of God, with Christians around the world, I wait with Hope… come Lord Jesus, come quickly!
                            Mrs. Bernice Huinink-Buiter

"You're Sending Your Kids Where?" is an article that was published in the final edition of Christian Home and School, Fall 2015. It was written by Kathy Coffey, in 1989. 26 years ago the author states her, and her husband's, reasons for desiring a Christian education for their children. The 5 reasons were as follows: the story, the community, the priorities, the exposure and the expectations (p.37). At WCS we are blessed by a God who gives us space, ability, resources and people to continue to enjoy giving and receiving Christian education. God's story of creation, the fall, redemption and restoration is our story. A story that is told daily at WCS through curriculum, personal narratives and our visible walk with Jesus Christ our Saviour. Our community is comprised of young and old, family and friends, teachers and students, believers and open hearts. Our priority is to educate the whole child using the biblical perspective that we are created unique and in God's image. We expose our students to people and situations that they may respond to through service. We expect our students to listen for and respond to God's call  to productively, and faithfully, use the gifts and talents He has equipped them with.

                        In His Service,
                            Mrs. Racicot

Relationships First!!

This week, November 16-21 we celebrate Restorative Justice week with our nation. Restorative justice originates from traditions that identify justice as promoting the worth, well-being and interconnectedness of people with God, and with one another in community. At WCS we strive to “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with [our] God.” This is about creating and nurturing healthy relational communities where we commit to interacting with one another in a manner that upholds the dignity of all. In this culture, when harm occurs, instead of asking “Who did it? What do they deserve?” we ask, “What has happened? Who has been hurt? What are their needs? Who is obliged to address the needs and put right the harm”? (Zehr, 2005). Living in Community at WCS, means putting relationships first!!

~Mrs. Huinink-Buiter  

    Last week we took some time to remember the soldiers who are fighting, who have fought, who have died, and who continue to serve our country in various ways. We also think of the families that remain at home and are willing to have their loved ones protect us. War is a hard thing for students to understand, but my grade twos have been thinking a lot about it lately. Here are some of their thoughts on what Remembrance Day means to them:
▪    "Remembrance Day is when we remember soldiers in the war and they fought for us to make peace in our country." - Keira
▪    "Remembrance means to hope for other people." - Tiffany
▪    "Remembrance Day means that you remember soldiers who fought for our freedom and their sacrifice for us." - Ian
▪    "Remembrance Day is when we remember the soldiers that fought in wars" - Megan
▪    "Remembrance Day is when we remember the soldiers and remember that poppy is for the soldiers." - Hyun
▪    "Remembrance Day means to me when we remember the soldiers who have fought in the war so that we can be free." - Justin
▪    "Remembrance Day means to me that we remember the soldiers that have fought and died for us." - Lydia
▪    "Remembrance means to me when they fought and died so the war can't come in Canada." - Johnley
▪    "Remembrance Day means to me the people who died for us in the war for Canada." - Derek
▪    "Remembrance Day means to me that we remember the soldiers that died in the war and that we wear poppies." - Joshua
                            E. Schuster

We are super excited to announce that Eric Walters will be visiting our school on November 16. Eric Walters is a well known children's author. His writing career began in 1993, when Eric was teaching a Grade 5 class. His students were reluctant readers and writers and Eric began to encourage them to become more involved in literature. His first novel, Stand Your Ground, was created for this class. Since his first novel, Eric has literally exploded on the children's and young adult scene. Over the following year, he has published over 80 more novels and picture books with more that 10 scheduled for the coming years. These novels have been enthusiastically received by children and young adults and critically acclaimed by teachers, reviewers and parents. Eric's novels have won more than 100 awards including eleven separate children's choice awards. Grades 3-8 will listen to Eric present. 

http://www.ericwalters.net/