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

UPCOMING GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT!

You are warmly invited to join us for our Graduation Ceremony and Year-End Closing Program, planned for Thursday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m., the Lord willing.  The evening will include a graduation message, the ceremony for our sixth and twelfth grade graduates, as well as a short closing program presented by our students.  Refreshments will be available in the gym immediately following the ceremony.  On the day of graduation, we also plan to send out a livestream link with an invitation to join online, as well as further instructions.

Winter is quickly giving way to spring in Michigan, and with the arrival of singing birds, sunshine, and the first buds on many trees, there also seems to be a renewed energy and dedication as we enter the final weeks of our third school year at DLI. Staff, students, and volunteers enjoyed Spring Break, and classes have since resumed.

KINDERGARTEN NEWS

As we come closer to the end of the school year, we have turned into experienced little Kindergarten students! In Bible, we paused the Old Testament stories, and focused on the Passion history, learning about the Passover, the betrayal of Judas, Jesus in Gethsemane, and His death and resurrection. In addition to learning our weekly Psalter and alphabet memory verses, we have also learned Psalm 23, and we can recite it very well! Every day we work in our paces, practice our math, letters, and writing. Sometimes we even get to buddy up with another elementary student for some bonus help. We have begun to read simple stories, like "Sam" and "Tess and Bess," and it's very exciting when the letters start to make words and sensible stories.

We still love our daily story time, making our letter crafts, and playing simple math games. One of our favorite ways to practice our money counting skills is to take turns being able to use our play money to buy little animals to put in our farm.

In Science, we spent some time learning about winter animals in other parts of the world, such as reindeer, penguins, and polar bears.  Now that warmer weather is here, we are discovering spring and the life cycles of certain insects and animals. Soon we hope to go on a nature walk and see what we can find!

ELEMENTARY LEARNING CENTER

Elementary students have been diligent these past weeks, and we have had enjoyable days in the learning center. Everyone has been working on their paces as usual, and they are learning about a wide variety of topics - early civilizations, electricity, farms, healthy habits, adjectives and adverbs, to mention just a few! Second graders made a special project for their science unit about habitats - dioramas which displayed what their habitat of choice looks like. Students have been working hard on different writing projects. Some wrote a "Diary of a Snowman" using the 'feelings' vocabulary they learned, others are becoming authors of their own fictional narrative, and still others made posters about character traits found in short stories.

Above left: Mrs. Karen Fluit helping Melinda read the story in her PACE

Above right: Hi Sifra!

Below left: Maleah, pondering her work...

Below right: Does this make any "cents," Joseph?

 Below left: Sixth grade worked with wires, a battery, and a small lightbulb to put their knowledge of electricity to work.

Below right: Kara and Maleah, using an LED flashlight to check for glitter germs in a fourth grade science experiment.

Music class on Wednesday afternoon is a highlight for everyone! The music theme for the past few weeks was Trains and Traveling. The older students worked hard on their recorder skills, mastering several songs with challenging rhythms and counts. The younger elementary group enjoyed trying out a variety of instruments, some real and some homemade, learning how to hold a steady beat. It's amazing how much ice cream pails and pool noodles can sound like a train... but it's very tricky to keep things moving together when that train starts to speed up! Just before Spring Break, the students put on a small music program to show the moms and volunteers how much they had learned!

PE has also kept the teachers running to keep up! Grades 4-6 have learned the basics of volleyball and are doing very well at this sport! The sixth graders are especially anxious to be competent players when they join the high schoolers next school year. For grades K-3, PE is focusing on learning to follow instructions with quick reflexes which makes right and left jumping patterns and "Captain's Orders" a lot of fun... but block soccer still stands as the class favorite! Recently some of the pop can fundraiser money was used to purchase a few more items for the gym, such as rubber bases, soccer balls, tennis balls, hula hoops, colored vests, flags for flag football, floor hockey sticks, pucks, and nets. The rousing games of hockey in PE are heart-warming to watch! Thank you so very much to those who have faithfully brought in pop cans for many months now, and allowed us the privilege of buying and using these nice things!

Photo above: Goodbye for now, Mrs. Sporte! We loved the donuts as a treat, but we will miss you!

And library! Who doesn't love the library... Thursday afternoons are a treat for all the students, when Miss Annie takes them to our library in the loft. Over the last three years our little library has grown to hold more than 2,000 books! Recently, we switched over to a QR code-scanning system for checking out books, which also sends an email automatically to the parents of the students when the books are due... No more excuses for late books, right, elementary students?

Over the last month or two, students chose to save up their "wins" on the class Connect Four game, instead of using each win for a virtual fieldtrip. Four "wins" for good class behavior were rewarded with a whole learning center "cooking" class... and we made ice cream! In groups of two, students measured their ingredients carefully into a bag which they carefully sealed and put inside a larger bag containing ice and salt. Vigorous shaking, rolling, and tossing (outside!) churned the heavy cream into ice cream which the students enjoyed at the end of the day. They were surprised how creamy and delicious it was!

On Monday mornings in the month of March, the elementary students enjoyed Recess Clubs. They chose a craft or activity to complete under the supervision of a volunteer and worked together in groups to finish it. Some of the interesting projects included modeling clay, painting Indian baskets, making grass-heads, and crafting diamond-dot bookmarks. It was a refreshing and fun change of pace for the students. Thank you so much to all the volunteers who especially came in to make this happen each Monday!

Elementary students have enjoyed some recess games this week, adapted from 'Minute-to-Win-It.' The idea is to have a variety of single competitions completed in one minute. To make it possible for all ages to participate, games were changed to make the competitions an effort of team work!

HIGH SCHOOL LEARNING CENTER

Photo below left: Dr. DeBraber's help with Advanced Anatomy is invaluable!

Below right: Mother-son team in high school. 

As in the elementary, the high school learning center has been exceptionally busy as the students work on PACEs, score their work, take tests, complete lab reports, design posters, write essays, and do research projects. Between American History and World History, Geometry, Algebra, and Precalculus, Geography and English class, there is a wide variety of learning taking place. In the sciences, some students are trying to figure out chemical formulas, while others work to solve Physics problems. For example when and where a bullet will hit the ground, depending on its angle, weight, and the speed with which it leaves the barrel and decelerates. Others are learning about ecosystems and environments, or the advanced anatomy of the human body.

In grades 10-12 students are grappling with various questions as they study Apologetics in Bible class. How should we go about defending the sacred truths we believe in? When our beliefs are challenged, what approach should we adopt to explain clearly the way of salvation? What if someone denies the existence of God? What if someone claims to not believe in the Bible? The students have learned that the study of apologetics is very important in our society, and it is essential to understand that our example in life, and demeanor in conversations, can have a major impact on our influence. The writings of John Newton and other theologians are being read and discussed in class, in the hopes that we may also learn to engage in such conversations with the same spirit of compassion, love, and reverence.

Photos above: High schoolers enjoying some sun while doing school work.

The High school students have enjoyed a variety of extracurricular activities in recent months. One ongoing group project is their challenge to design and build a CO2 car. In the process, they have learned about aerodynamics, friction, weight ratios, and stability, in an effort to produce cars that will be both fast and stable on the track. After the cars are completed and painted, the race will be scheduled!

Photos above: To keep the days at school interesting, the high schoolers enjoy popcorn once a month, coffee Wednesdays, occasional potlucks, and small fundraisers like brownies and ice cream, or root beer floats.

Photo below: Monday mornings brings Mrs. Verhoef in to school, and she spends the day teaching and guiding the students, grade by grade, through their English course and essay writing.

ELECTIVES

World Foods

It is always a point of curiosity for the students every week again: "What are we making in Foods class?" World Foods has been travelling through Europe for the past few months, learning different cooking skills along the way. Students made schnitzel and spaetzle for their studies about Germany, following the example of Wolfgang Puck, as well as delicious Black Forest Cake. Good job, students! Travelling through France gave a sample of quiche, students made Crema Catalan, delicious homemade custard, and two different tapas (appetizers) for Spain. Who can guess what we made for Belgium? Belgian waffles, of course - complete with fresh fruit and topped with whipped cream.

SHOP & WOODWORKING CLASS

The other elective has been very busy as well. In the mechanics area, a few boys got some experience splitting an International 1206 tractor completely in half in order to replace two main seals that were leaking. The tractor still needs to be put back together, so check back to hear if they were successful... They've also replaced cylinder heads on engines, fixed hydraulic oil leaks on Bobcat skid-loaders, and much more. The boys who prefer woodworking have been laboring diligently on their projects, and they are coming along nicely! They get experience using a variety of power tools, including saws, sanders, and others. Stay tuned for a few pictures of completed projects in the near future!

HOT LUNCH

Everyone looks forward to the Thursdays that the Hot Lunch ladies prepare food for lunch. With their learning center right next to the kitchen, elementary students especially can hardly wait for lunch. Delicious aromas wafting in from the kitchen seem to prompt flag raising, and lots of whispered questions, "When is it lunch time? Do you know what we're having for lunch today?" On behalf of all the staff and students, we would like to thank the volunteers who took care of Hot Lunch for all their hard work in planning and preparing tasty lunches!

ENROLLMENT: 2023-2024

Planning is underway to begin preparations for the 2023-2024 school year, the Lord willing.  If you are interested in learning more about our school, or have questions regarding enrollment for next year, please feel free to contact our administrator, Mr. Jeremy Fluit at jeremy.fluit@dligr.org.  We would be happy to arrange for a tour and/or shadow days for new students upon request.  If you are ready to enroll, please click the link below, and follow the prompts to complete the forms online. Please let us know if you prefer to fill out the forms on paper.  Due Date for enrollment is July 1. Thank you!