"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  Psalm 119:105

OUR THIRD YEAR

OPENING PROGRAM 

On the morning of September 6, 2022, our school was privileged to commence studies for the third year. This year we have 39 students, with 19 students in High School, 18 in Elementary, and 2 in Kindergarten. After a short opening and meditation in the chapel, everyone enjoyed refreshments in the gym. Immediately following, the students and teachers joined each other in their respective learning centers. It was good to be back together in school!

KINDERGARTEN

Kindergarten is off to a very nice start this year. This year we have two students, Simon and Lanayah, and they have quickly acclimated to our classroom. Everyone very much enjoys the daily routines of singing, Bible stories, coloring, and learning about numbers and letters. We often make a craft or project to go with the letters we are learning about, and work very hard at making the letters neatly and properly.

Of course, we can't forget to update our calendar and check the weather each day! Story time is a special highlight of the afternoon, and we love to sit together in the reading teepee. We also really love the minutes of free time to make sure we don't forget how to play...!

In addition to our letters and numbers, we learned about the four seasons, and focused especially on the signs of fall. One day we spent some extra time learning about pumpkins, and discovered that a pumpkin floats in water, and has ALOT of seeds inside of its shell! We are now learning about our five senses, and will soon learn a little about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving.

We are very much enjoying our new window that Mr. Stegenga installed in our room earlier this fall. It makes our Kindergarten room so bright and cheerful, and gives us a nice view of the playground. We look forward to our time at school, and are grateful for the strength given each day.

When it was Simon's birthday, the elementary students came across the hall to sing and enjoy a birthday treat. Simon got to wear the boy birthday crown!

ELEMENTARY LEARNING CENTER

The first quarter of school has flown by, filled with hard work and enjoyable days. Elementary students have been so busy with many different kinds of classes and learning that the days fly by!

This year our theme in elementary is Trains, and the students are excited to earn tickets for good behavior which they can redeem with the station master for rewards, such as completing Lego challenges in the hallway, being the line leader for the day, trading spots with a high schooler, and much more. Each student gets a turn aboard the Birthday Express, and to wear the scarf of a traditional trainmaster. After the train whistle blows, the students sing "Happy Birthday". A bright red train 'piggy' bank is collecting coins for students to sort and count. We are going to see how many times we can fill it, and the proceeds are for the school.

In Bible, the lower elementary students studied the kings of Judah and Israel, the life of Daniel, and are now learning about the life of Esther. The older students in upper elementary studied the life of David and are now learning about the kings of Israel. Students found it especially interesting to step out the actual size of the temple one morning! 

Good progress has been made with PACE work, as shown by the many stars seen on progress charts around the room. Students have been working through many book studies as well. Sixth graders spent some time studying the life of Guido de Bres and made a variety of projects to along with the book, others have completed studies of Charlotte's Web and Heidi, and third grade students are reading Pilgrim Boy. To keep up the students' interest in reading, our classroom is privileged to be able to participate in the Pizza Hut Book-It! Program this year. A personal pan pizza is a great reward for reading!

Other activities which fill our weeks are singing hymns and patriotic songs after lunch, and making creative art projects such as collecting fall leaves to make animals from them. We still love our few minutes of Book Camp, where we learned about the life and mission work of Hudson Taylor. Music students in upper elementary are learning to play recorders, PE classes are filled with animated games of basketball and block soccer, and each student enjoys the challenges of our typing program... yes! Elementary students have been busy!

Photos above left:  Melanie is diligently working on her PACES.

Right:  The elementary enjoys singing together after lunch each day.

Photo below left:  Scoring work at the scoring station.

Right:  Olivia takes a break from a Word Building test to flash a sweet smile!

Below: Science experiments are a special part of the students' weeks. Between studying acids and bases, balance and gravity, planets, rocks and minerals, and growing plants - the students are learning so much! And by the way, why DOES an egg float in salt water?

POST FAMILY FARMS

When the weather was still beautiful, the lower elementary students took a field trip to Post Family Farms in Hudsonville, Michigan. The students enjoyed a bumpy hay ride to the pumpkin patch, visited the farm animals, zoomed on a zip line, played on a huge slide and rope maze, and a took turns on a barrel train ride. They also learned how that sunshine, rain, and the nutrients in the soil are all needed to help plants to grow. Everyone enjoyed donuts and cider at the end of the afternoon!

BUCKLEY'S OLD ENGINE CLUB: EDUCATION DAYS

Although the day began a bit rainy and cool on September 21, the upper elementary students eagerly embarked on their first field trip of the year. Along with a few parents and teachers, the students visited The Old Engine Club in Buckley, Michigan during their annual Education Days. It was a very interesting and enjoyable field trip for all of them! They learned an incredible amount about the progression of technology and the advancement of engines and their many different uses. Along with the old tractors on display, the students were also treated to amazing hands-on demonstrations! They tried their hand at an early washing machine, a steam-powered sawmill, iron forging, a wiggle hoe - specifically designed for cultivating strawberries,- early water pumps and so much more.

Above: The students enjoyed a corn shelling race, and then learned about crushing the kernels to make cornmeal. They were even coaxed to sample some!

Below: The students got to try their hand at primitive blade sharpening wheels. Jonah was good at it!

SECONDARY LEARNING CENTER

The high school students have embarked on their educational voyage this year in good spirits and with dedication and enthusiasm. The theme in the learning center is related to a voyage over water, and is pictured on their wall with a hand-painted picture of the S.S. Badger. It is an authentic steamship car-ferry that makes the 60-mile cruise from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowac, Wisconsin over Lake Michigan with up to 600 passengers and 180 cars. This year grades 7-9 Bible class is privileged to include three students from the Sheboygan, Wisconsin area over Zoom technology. At the end of the school year, the Lord willing, our students hope to cross Lake Michigan on the Badger to meet the Wisconsin students and camp in Manitowac overnight as their final class trip. Everyone is already looking forward to this!

In the meantime, the studies are in full swing. Sometimes it may seem to the students that their school days are all work, work, work. And indeed, there are many paces completed, essays written, and tests taken! Besides the usual high school subjects, many students are also enjoying a variety of other electives including the Vietnam Era History, Personal Financial Literacy, Spanish 3, Psychology, and Twentieth Century American History. The Career Exploration courses are a highlight this year, with students exploring National Security Careers, Construction, Agriculture, Allied Health, and Careers in Transportation, Distribution and Logistics. As always, the students are grateful for the specialized tutoring in more challenging subject areas, such as Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and Advanced Anatomy.

High school English has been filled with varied and interesting topics! The 9th and 10th grade students have been studying poetry, and wrote their own "definition poems" in the style of Emily Dickinson, which are currently on display in the hallway. The 11th and 12th grade students have enjoyed researching different countries and cultures and writing travel articles to persuade tourists to visit!

Above left: High school students, Ben and Cornelius scoring their work.

Above right: Physical Science help with a smile, right Jacob?

Besides the daily work, there is always a variety of activities to keep the school days moving along! Lively games of ultimate frisbee or basketball at noon recess keep the blood flowing. Dr. DeBraber loves to entertain students with stories of his years in the doctor's office. On election day in November, the students all wore patriotic clothing in red, white, and blue. Another day, they wowed the rest of the school with their dress clothes, thinking nothing of playing basketball in suits, ties, and dress shoes!

In Bible class this year, the high school students are again divided into two groups, grades 7-9 and 10-12. Grades 7-9 have finished studying Israel's journey through the wilderness, and have now come to the crossing of the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. This class video calls with students studying along with us in Wisconsin, and occasionally also has the opportunity to do group work together. The older students, grades 10-12, have completed the study of the life and labors of Christ, finishing with the studies of His sufferings and death. As they study the Acts of the Apostles following Christ's ascension, there is sometimes a begging for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit in our hearts and those of our students.

ELECTIVES

Shop class

One of the first projects the shop class has been working on this year is building storage closets in the gym. With our additional use of the building, the storage closets will be utilized for neatly storing our lunch tables, gym and recess supplies, and extra chairs. After the doors come in, the closets will be complete! In addition, the boys in shop class secured the basketball hoop into the ground with cement, and helped the Coopersville Bible Church with the cement pad and placement of a new shed on the grounds. As the weather has rapidly become colder these last weeks, many students have transitioned into mechanics or fine woodworking. We look forward to seeing their projects!

World Foods

Do you ever wonder what people eat in other parts of the world? The World Foods elective class is taking high school students through the world, teaching them about the cuisine of various cultures, and letting them try it "hands on." So far the journey has been an interesting one! We started in our own country, the USA, and learned about the specific foods to each region. Did you know there are more than 10 different kinds of regional pizza, just here in the United States? Students did a great job making some of the pizzas. Next we travelled north to Canada and learned about some foods specific to our northern neighbors, such as poutine, Nanaimo bars, and butter tarts. The next stop was Mexico, where students made some amazing empanadas! Last week, the class made authentic Haitian food, Epis and Haitian meatballs, and despite their doubts, had to admit they "smacked!"

THE DESSERT SALE FUNDRAISER

We have just completed our first fundraiser this year, the Thanksgiving Dessert Sale. The tantalizing choices of Apple Crisp, Creamy Pumpkin Dessert, and Reese's Delight, along with a savory option of Pizza Pocket Pleasers have proved to be successful sellers, and we were able to raise a nice amount of money for the school. Great job to the staff and students for their diligent effort in both selling, assembling, and delivering the items. A special thank you to those on Fundraising Committee who went above and beyond in organizing and planning to bring this idea to fruition!

THANKSGIVING DAY

As our annual Thanksgiving season is here, we would like to wish each one a blessed Thanksgiving Day. May it be our prayer that the Lord would give us all a humble and acknowledging heart for His undeserved gifts and mercies in the past year, and also a petition for a blessing upon the instruction which continues to be given at our school. We hope that the financial burdens we experience in this worthy cause may be bound on many hearts, and that some may be inclined to assist with a gift of any size. Donations can be made online (credit/debit/Google Pay/Cashapp) via the link below, or by sending a check to our address:

DLIGR

PO Box 19

Coopersville, MI 49404

May God richly reward you for your gifts and support.