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

With only a few weeks left until graduation and the end of our second year at DLI, the school is a very busy place these days!  Course scheduling for next year, last assignments, final projects, and a few more PACEs are balanced with beautiful weather, field trips, and planning for special events!

GRADUATION

You are warmly invited to join us for our Graduation Ceremony and Year-End Closing Program, planned for Thursday, June 2 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.  Please join us!  We have also recently updated our livestream capability and will be sending out a livestream link with an invitation to join and further instructions on the day of graduation.

KINDERGARTEN

Our kindergarten year is winding down.  We have come so far, and learned so much this year!  We are looking forward to the summer with bittersweet feelings, as it will also mean the end of a very special year for us!  

We are finishing our Bible units with some of the New Testament stories during the time of the Lord Jesus.  We are also reviewing our alphabet memory texts that we have learned throughout this year.  We have moved from letters and sounds, to reading words and short stories... and are working towards earning an ice cream treat after reading 25 books!  We have also mastered our 100 sight words, which is so exciting.  In math we are doing some fun activities as a review of what we have learned this year, making sure to practice our addition and subtraction facts every day so we will be ready for first grade! 

ELEMENTARY LEARNING CENTER

The elementary learning center has been bustling with activity as many students are finishing up their course work for the year.  In Bible, the upper elementary students have finished the time of the judges and have been learning about King Saul.  The younger students finished their Bible stories through to the study about Paul.  The last few lessons hope to focus on the exaltation of Christ, as well as a few more lessons and review of the attributes of God.  All the elementary students have almost completed the Scripture Learning Program from the Trinitarian Bible Society and will earn a Bible for their memory work.

In Literature, older students have been working on book studies about Old Yeller and My Side of the Mountain, and we have also enjoyed poster presentations by some third grade literature students.  Those students who have finished some of their course work early have had the opportunity to participate in some other interesting and educational studies. Some are working on notebooks which accompany farm and nature textbooks, others are completing health courses, some are studying birds, and still others are working on reading comprehension and fluency or extra math programs.  The last round of Aimsweb testing has also been completed. 

Another highlight for the students has been their work towards an ice cream treat!  Lower elementary participated in Reading Minutes Goals, and upper elementary challenged themselves to certain individualized fitness goals, with the reward of either an ice cream cone from McDonalds, or a trip to the local Coopersville Creamery.  Yum!  This time of the year is busy for teachers and students alike, and we all look forward to our field trip to Lewis Farms very soon!

Photos above left:  Taking a Word Building Pretest in the hall.

Right:  Working hard, Jonah?

Photo below left:  Second grade science discussions with Mrs. Kersten.

Right:  Block soccer is a favorite in elementary PE class!

Birthday celebrations are special!  The elementary enjoyed surprising Mrs. Vaughn with singing and cake on her birthday in March.

The entire elementary learning center very much enjoyed a beautiful, comprehensive, and instructive Bible booklet the last few weeks, which covered many important topics related to the weeks of Passion, Easter, Resurrection, and the Ascension of the Lord Jesus.

GROSE PARK AT CROCKERY LAKE

On a bright and sunny Wednesday in May, the Elementary Learning Center had their year-end picnic day at Grose Park, in nearby Casnovia.  The students had been looking forward to the picnic for many weeks and were so excited!  They enjoyed a nature scavenger hunt, fishing off the dock in Crockery Lake, and playing a very competitive game of Capture-the-Flag.  Mrs. Fluit grilled hot dogs over a charcoal grill, and along with salads, chips and drinks it was a tasty lunch!  

The afternoon activities were organized by the Pioneer girls as part of their course.  Each high schooler set up a station on the big grassy field, and the students rotated through each station, playing specific games that were popular during pioneer times.  The games included hopscotch, apple bobbing, passing corn husks without using hands, a dress-up relay carrying an egg on a spoon, and a potato sack race.  After a quick snack, the afternoon finished up with a good old-fashioned competition of tug-of-war.  But perhaps the favorite game was the last (wet!) race of which team could pass water from the front of the line to the back, over their heads, eyes closed!  Many thanks to the Pioneer class, and their teachers - Mrs. Rotich and Mrs. Kersten - for helping to organize such a fun afternoon!

Many thanks to the upper elementary and high school students, along with some staff and fathers who helped to clean the garden beds at school, and then spread new mulch.  It all looks clean and fresh for the summer season!

SECONDARY LEARNING CENTER

In our high school Bible classes, grades 7-9 were quite fascinated to learn that the real location of the Red Sea crossing has been located and documented.  Artifacts of all sorts have been located, including chariot wheels, horse hoofs, and human and horse bones.  In addition, they learned that the real Mt. Sinai is indeed in Saudi Arabia, as it is said in Galatians 4:25.  Elim, with its 12 wells still exists, as does the remains of the altar to the golden calf, the stone that was split, and the blackened summit of Mt. Sinai.  The students enjoyed making their own slideshows about the ten plagues, including information about the historical and religious background in Egypt.  Grades 10-12 have spent the last few weeks studying Bunyan's richly-blessed book, Pilgrim's Progress.  Their lessons have especially detailed the spiritual applications of each aspect of Pilgrim's journey.  It is our hope and prayer that each of them may become true pilgrims through this vale of tears, and may one day also tread the path from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.

Recently, the high school students organized a week of break and noon hour activities which was both fun to engage in and humorous to watch!  The activities included musical chairs, an obstacle course in the gym, a car push, a balloon popping contest, a patriotic drawing contest, and many more.  The grand finale was a competitive game of live battleship on the parking lot with water balloons on a very warm day.

SPANISH 2

Spanish 2 has been exploring traditions and tastes of other cultures.  The students learned about the Desfile de Yipao, a parade celebrating the arrival of the Jeep to the mountainous agricultural communities of Columbia.  They finished the unit with creating their own Jeeps out of poster board and loading them with coffee, produce, and logging hauls (Captain Crunch, pretzels, Fruit Loops, and marshmallows!)

Photo below:  Trying to match the words in a lyric puzzle as the song 'Marinero' (The Sailor went to Sea Sea Sea...!) played through in Spanish.

The Spanish students also enjoyed an end-of-the-year trip to Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican restaurant in Rockford.  The waitress refused to speak English with them, so the students all needed to speak Spanish in order to their food!  The night was a special way to celebrate as the students come close to the close of two years of their foreign language study.

ELECTIVES

Shop class

The different shop class experiences have been very much enjoyed this year!  Recently, a a few students were able to fix up another student's car, others learned what is all involved in preparing a baler for use in the coming busy hay season.  Some students are enjoying some hands-on construction by building a barn extension and pouring concrete floors.  Most of the woods projects have been completed, with some students finishing a bookcase they hope to sell.  Many thanks to the volunteers and staff who have worked to make these practical experiences available to our students.

Practical Applications of American History

The Pioneer girls have almost finished their course in early American living on the frontier.  Recently they have made homemade chapstick from coconut oil, shea butter and beeswax and it quickly became a hot item for the elementary girls!  They were able to watch how yarn is spun from wool using a spinning wheel from the 1700's.  The fresh sheep's wool was washed, carded, and then the class made felted sheep from the wool.  When the weather turned warm, they went to a local park and experienced real-life foraging, learning all about edible plants, leaves, roots, and flowers.  

The Pioneer class thoroughly enjoyed their recent overnight camping trip in Newaygo State Park.  It was really a test of the skills they have learned all year and how to live life without many of our everyday conveniences.  They set up and slept in tents, started fires in firepits, cooked their food and made their coffee over the fires, pumped water from a well, and enjoyed the beautiful wooded scenery.  They ended their trip with a kayak excursion down the Muskegon River.  Thank you to Mrs. Kersten and Mrs. Rotich for an amazing year with this course! 

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

On March 31 the Secondary Learning Center travelled to Chicago to explore the Museum of Science and Industry.  There were an incredible amount of exhibits to explore in the 14+ acre museum.  The museum focuses on increasing students' knowledge of science and the scientific process, and introducing them to a wide variety of different careers in the science field.  The students enjoyed flight simulators, toured a Boeing 727, felt an 80-mph tornado simulator, and walked through a mirror maze.  There were exhibits explaining the history of space exploration, the science of storms, farm and train technology, and much more.  The students experienced hands-on learning labs about crime investigation, medical illnesses, bridge engineering, and weather forecasting.  It was an incredible learning experience that the students all enjoyed very much!

THE SUB SALE FUNDRAISER

The sub sale returned this year by popular demand!  With some very diligent selling, the students and their families sold more than 2,200 subs this year.  On Friday, April 1, many students, staff, parents and other volunteers assembled all the subs and delivered them to the buyers.  We would like thank Mrs. Boluyt very much for all her coordination and organization in this!  And great job to the students for all the money raised for the school.  

LOOKING AHEAD:  SCHOOL YEAR 2022-2023

Planning is underway for the next school year, the Lord willing.  If you are interested in learning more about our school, please feel free to contact our administrator, Mr. Jeremy Fluit, at jeremy.fluit@dligr.org.  If you are ready to enroll, please click the link below, and follow the instructions.  Thank you!

Donations to the school, regardless of the dollar amount contributed, are greatly appreciated, and can be given by mail, or by clicking the Donate Here button below.  Above all, may the Lord remember our school staff, volunteers, students, and board.