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THE QRCS CHRONICLEQuinte Region Christian Schools offers enhanced Christian education, based on the truth of the Bible, to equip and challenge our students to be disciples ofChrist in an ever-changing world.December 2024
I am reminded of 2 Timothy 3:14-15 where Paul encourages Timothy “But as foryou, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing fromwhom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted withsacred writing, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith inChrist Jesus.” In a time with so many conflicting ideologies and such accessibility toinformation that is all presented as “truth”, laying a foundation on the wordof God and “training up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6) hasnever been more important. A few things we are thankful for as the school year commences:Continued increase in enrollment Incredible staff at each campus that cherishes and educates all our studentsNew principal Fred Breukelman at QCHS, and a strong leadership team ateach of the elementary schoolsFirst full year as an amalgamated organization with full-time ExecutiveDirector, Jordan ButcherAn incredibly generous and faithful supporting communityA few things we need prayer for:New principals at BCS and TCSNew board member nominations at the spring membership meetingWisdom in making long-term sustainability decisionsWe are off to a great start! I look forward to reporting back at the spring meetingwith continued growth and good news as Galatians 6:9 so articulately says,“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reapa harvest if we do not give up.“Scott Walcott, Co-ChairAs I reflect on the first few months of the 2024/25 schoolyear, I can’t help but be encouraged. I started the year byattending each campus’ “welcome back” event. It wasalmost overwhelming to witness the kids crawling all overplay structures, older students socializing, and the manyfamilies prioritizing Christian education.
Our schools are buzzing with activity as we gear up for Christmas - the halls aredecked, concert practices are in full swing, and there is a great sense ofexcitement and anticipation in our classrooms as we journey through Advent. Ihad the real joy of attending the TCS Bazaar and SCA Vendors Market recentlyand was not only impressed by the incredible work of our staff and volunteers toput these great fundraising and community building events on...I was touched bythe incredible sense of joy, unity, and “family” at each campus. Advent is a family affair in several ways. Most important of all, Advent remindsus that we are in God’s family. As we wait for Christmas, we remember how Godthe Father promised to send His Son to be our Brother. God kept that promise.By joining our human family, Jesus made it possible for us to be in God’s family.And if Jesus is your Brother and my Brother, and if God is your Father and myFather, then we’re not just part of the Christian school community...we’re allrelated...at a deeper level than even our earthly biological relationships! As wewait, we’re waiting together with our whole church family around the world! Aswe wait together in our home, school, and church families, it is important toreflect the One we are waiting for. And so, this season, may we be the kind offamily that genuinely cares about each other, prays for one another, worshipstogether, and learns together. Then Christmas will not only be an “it’s good tobe in our family” celebration. It will also be an “it’s good to be in God’s family”celebration. Come, Brother Jesus, come. Come to our family at home. Come to our schoolfamily. Come to our church family. Bless us with Our Father’s love. Teach us tolove one another. Amen!Jordan Butcher
With Christmas fast approaching, things are very busy around the school.Preparations for the Christmas program are well underway, and classes arebeginning to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. It’s an exciting time ofyear for everyone, but we don’t want to lose sight of what Christmas is trulyabout. Ingrid Roeper, Campus DirectorThe greatest expression of love is God sending Jesus to us to be a livingsacrifice for our sins.We want to celebrate Christmas fully with our students, but we also want them to experiencethat love deep in their hearts personally. We want them to receive His gift and respond to Hislove in tangible ways. We encourage our students to have a living, active faith, so just receiving itis not where it should end. How can we, as a school community, be God’s conduit for Him to pourHis love out to others? This is the question we pose to our students. Our grade 8 class did a one-day food drive blitz and collected over 220 canned items for the local food bank. Several grade4 girls independently organized a bookmark-making contest. They envisioned our classescreating bookmarks to put in cards and share with local retirement homes. They planned andexecuted it without any adult input. Collectively, our school filled 89 shoeboxes for theSamaritans Purse shoebox campaign. These are only a few ways God’s love is alive in our school. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one andonly Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Let’s continue to share His love this Christmas season.
Although we are getting closer to winter and the celebration of Christmas,Sonrise students and teachers have been avidly getting ready for the arrival ofspring! We have done some dreaming and planning, with the guidance of alandscaper/school parent. We are hoping to fundraise and build a raisedgarden, with dreams of expanding to include arbors, butterfly hutches, andbeehives for educational purposes. We hope to use our large property to createbeautiful things and to be eager Earth Keepers. Discipleship of children also requires a great deal of hope. As teachers andparents, we attempt to plant seeds of knowledge, wisdom, and Biblical truthinto the hearts and minds of each of our students. We don’t always know whatwill come of these conversations or prayers we pray over the young lives wewalk beside each day. Sometimes it takes weeks or months for the true meaningor depth of an idea to blossom; for Fruit of the Spirit to grow. We know this is true of the gift of Christmas, too. Each holiday season we arereminded of the gifts of Advent. We sing carols of the promises of God ourFather, and yet it can take years for us to accept these gifts or seek out thepromises made by a loving God. Perhaps your life has made for hard or acidicsoil for seeds to sprout in. Maybe little has been done in our lives to tend to orweed around those precious little shoots? Hopefully this Christmas we can allowthe light of the season to permeate into our dormant hearts, and stir hope andgrowth in our lives and love for our Saviour! Holly Verkuyl, Campus Director
“The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that willcause great JOY for all people.” Luke 2:10What a wonderful opportunity we can share with our students, families, andfriends as we gather in our homes, schools, and church communities to celebratethat most precious gift—Jesus. May we take time to listen to the harmony of theangels singing, “Peace on Earth to men. The love song of the ages is born inBethlehem”.The pictures below may give you a glimpse of this celebration of JOY at TCS.1. Grace Inn Connection- Our Grade 5/6 teacher, Lisa Lammers and her studentscontinue to foster our relationship with The Grace Inn by sharing their time andcollection of clothing items from the community. This year we were able toprovide a meal for the Grace Inn visitors with food from our TCS ChristmasBazaar.2. TCS Christmas Program, “Out-of-the Box Christmas” takes place on Monday,December 16th @ 1:00pm and on Tuesday, December 17 th @ 7:00pm3. Annual TCS Christmas Bazaar - The gym, classrooms and hallways were filledwith excited children and adults as they discovered the wonderful activities,foods, auction items, and Christmas gifts.Al Bron, Principal
At Little Sparks Preschool, our classes havebeen learning about famous artists andworking on creating our own artworkinspired by their works. Together, we haveexplored the work of Piet Mondrian, AlmaThomas, Wassily Kandinsky, and YayoiKusama. We made Mondrian inspired artusing both paint and duplo blocks. Weordered paper and felt circles from largestto smallest to make art inspired byKandinsky's concentric circles. We learnedthat Alma Thomas used lots of little brushstrokes to create her art pieces and weworked together in small groups to recreateher artwork with small pieces of paper. Weloved seeing the polka-dot pumpkinsculptures and paintings created by YayoiKusama. We made Kusama inspired pumpkinsusing jewels and stickers on real pumpkins! Jennifer deWal, Program SupervisorLearning about and making art helps us become Beauty Creators. We also learn early math skills,develop fine motor skills, learn to work collaboratively with others, and learn about people fromdifferent places and cultures. Best of all, we learn that “Every child is an artist” (Picasso).Little Sparks registration for the 2025/2026 school year will open on February3, 2025. Please reach out to our Program Supervisor for more information. lsparks@trentonchristianschool.com
The Calendar has flipped, the evenings are definitely cooler, frost is no longera surprise; in fact by the time of this publication, there is a good chance thatwe will have already experienced our first snow fall. As was introduced in the first edition ofThe QRCS Chronicle, the theme for ouryear at Quinte Christian High School is‘Pursuing Joy’. I have heard repeatedlythat our students and staff are using themantra of Notice…Wonder…Worship asthey create learning conversations andlessons which challenge your children toslow down, reflect, and take time torecognize the Journey of Pursuing Joy.This has given permission for students tonavigate the quality vs quantity stress. It’snot about how much you produce, butabout the quality of your work. Are youcreating beautiful work? Are you able tofind Peace in the process, Peace in thejourney?Fred Breukelman, PrincipalWhile I do prefer the warmer temperatures, thereis something that is so remarkable about the 4seasons that we are privileged to experienceliving in Canada. You may have chuckled toyourself knowing that my family just moved intothis area from the Niagara Region where theextremes in weather are much more moderate. That said, along with the colder temperaturescomes a beauty in the outdoors - quiet. Whetheryou witness the accumulation of snow creating apure white layer over the ground or appreciatethe beauty from indoors – the winter season doesbring a sense of slowing down and peace. Theconcept of Peace is central to the Biblicalnarrative, primarily during the time of our Saviour’sbirth, fulfilling prophecy and bringing spiritualsignificance to the community at that time and forthe 2000+ years following. In slowing down one will inevitably encountermany opportunities to Notice. Notice things thatthey would have passed them by if we had beenmoving at our normal pace. Mary and Josephwere involved in the hustle and bustle of acensus. A census required many, including Maryand Joseph, to pick up from where they livedand travel no matter the situation. Mary was 9months pregnant. Didn’t matter. That said, whenthe time came for Jesus to be born … all planswere put on hold. Babies have a way of doingthat, don’t they? No matter your plans, when thelittle one declares that it is time to come – it’stime. The events of Jesus’ birth, though humble,reflect Peace. In the midst of political unrest –the scene that the Biblical authors portray inJesus’ birth story is serene. Luke notes in chapter2, “While they were there, the time came for thebaby to be born, and she gave birth to herfirstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths andplaced him in a manger because there was noguest room available for them.” Amidst thecomplexity and details of the journey… Godarrived. Slow down…Notice…Listen…”I am here.”Peace. NOTICE……WONDER……WORSHIP
Sprout’sEarth ProductsA & E Tile & StoneThank you to the sponsors of this year’s QCHS Eagle RunKeep your eyes peeled for more opportunities to sponsor
Thank you to the sponsors of this year’s Fall Golf Classic Accutech Machine & Tool Devries Site Services JCM Steel Drafting Fledderus FinancialHewbrook Inc. Mortgage Broker Adventure Construction Beatty Seeds Belleville HyundaiBellevue Fabricating SV Plumbing Synergy Signs our events, or contact Jordan or Sophie at spwalcott@qrcs.ca Outdoor Design Picton Harbour InnTrinity Fire & SecurityBernart Design Great Canadian Oil ChangeHorizon SeedsPurocleanVanderlaan BuildingVan Huizen HomesVeenstra & Lloyds Plumbing, Heating & CoolingMackay Insurance Merland Park