zach burggraaf with laser cutter - london christian...

Zach Burggraaf with laser cutter

See "Real Purpose with Real Clients" pg. 6

London Christian HighHappenings

December 19, 2017Celebration of Learning, 5:30pm

& Christmas Concert, 7pm

April 2018Drama Performances:"One Foot in Heaven"

April 11 l Seniors' MatineeApril 13, 14, 21 l Evening

April 20 l "Dinner & A Show"Fundraising Evening

May 25, 2018Student Connections Night

for incoming grade 9 students

June 7, 2018Celebration of Learning

Check out our website www.ldcss.ca for more

information about these events.

Leadership team:Tim Bentum, Principal

Jacky Dieleman, VP of ProgramGabriella Hoogstra, VP of Operations

Contributing photographers: Corrina Cameron, Jan Korevaar,

Dylan Kroondyk, Clarence Mitchell, Keira Wiersema

London Christian High24 Braesyde Avenue

London, ON N5W 1V3519.455.4360 l fax: 519.455.4364email: [email protected] l www.ldcss.ca

We are thrilled to be sharing this edition of the ConnectED with you!

At London Christian High, we have been doing a lot of talking about learning with purpose. Picture this situation: a student approaches a teacher and asks, “Why do we haveto learn about this anyways?” The teacher responds by saying, “Great question! The thingsthat we are working on in class are really relevant for you right now, for our broken worldand ultimately use our gifts for the glory of God.” Although perhaps these exact words arenot used, the general framework of this conversation is important to note. Teachers wantour students to know that the things they are working on matter in the future, and they alsomatter right now. We want our students to recognize different opportunities that arise touse their learning to bring healing into our broken world in big and small ways. Finally, as auniquely Christian school, we continually affirm and believe that God created us so that wecould offer praise back to Him through the gifts that He has given to us. All of these elements are at the heart of our Biblical worldview at London Christian High.In this edition of the ConnectED, you will read stories about student learning from a

uniquely Christian perspective. You will read about our Grade 10 Bible class that took theconcept of a Bible "study" and turned it into a Bible "doing" through an Alpha event thatinvited guests to learn more about Jesus. Talk about learning that is relevant right now! Youwill also read about our Grade 10 History class that spent a considerable amount of timecreating multimedia presentations designed to honour local war veterans. In this way, students gained a deeper understanding of how we, today, can "redeem the past" and promote peace on earth in our broken world. Finally, you will read about our Grade 11 Construction class that has decided to take on an ambitious project for an actual client inLondon; a terrific example of our students’ gifts being used for the benefit of others.I can’t think of a better way to spend 30 minutes. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and

enjoy these deeply impactful stories of young people making a Kingdom difference in our world.

Blessings,Tim Bentum

principalREFLECTIONS

p2 Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com

Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com p3

I am thrilled to join the London ChristianHigh community as an educational assistant.As a graduate of this high school, it feels likehome to return here once again. After graduating in 2004, I obtained my Bachelorof Arts degree at Redeemer University. I continued on to graduate from FanshaweCollege as a Developmental Service Worker.Since then, I have worked in various areas of the field through Thames Valley DistrictSchool Board and Community Living London. It was at Redeemer that I met my husband

Chris. We have been married for almost tenyears and have three busy little boys aged 6,3, and 9 months. Chris and I attend BethelCRC in London. We often travel back to theMaritimes where Chris grew up and enjoytaking our boys to the family cottage in NovaScotia. London Christian High has had a great

impact on who I am today. I am honored tobe a part of shaping the lives of these youngstudents. What an awesome opportunity tobe a witness to them of God’s faithfulness,just as the teachers of this school were to meyears ago!

Jessica Howlett

I am very excited to have joined the amazingteam in the Learning Commons this semester.I have recently moved to London from ruralPerthshire, in Scotland to be nearer to my family. Not at all the shock to the system I expected. Quite the contrary in fact; I feel like I have come home!A graduate of Agricultural Science from the

University of Edinburgh, I completed myteacher training in 2002. I taught science atSacred Heart High School in Newcastle beforemoving on to work for 8 years at ScottishAutism’s New Struan School, during whichtime I completed my post-graduate diploma inAutism Education. In 2013, I returned to theSacred Heart network of schools, becoming aHousemistress and Head of Learning Supportat Kilgraston, and all girls’ boarding school,where I was lucky enough to be able to seemy two horses from my classroom window.In 2016, it was time for a new challenge.

Canada had been calling for many years, but I was finally able to make it a reality, and embark upon the next chapter of my life,which includes becoming part of the community here at London Christian High.

Lisa Gardner

As a former London Christian High student,I am excited to re-join the community as aSupply EA. I grew up in Aylmer, ON and attended Calvin College from 1999-2003where I received my Undergraduate degree inSocial Work. After spending 10 years as aChild Protection and Adoption Social Workerwith the London and Middlesex Children's AidSociety, I switched gears and began workingfor the Thames Valley District School Board asa part time Elementary School Counsellor. My passion for helping children and youth reachtheir full potential started when I was a teen,teaching youth swimming lessons. I am thrilledto be able to channel this passion into my role.I have two young children of my own, Faithand Caleb, and am married to my high schoolsweetheart, Ben Zubick. We live in Dorchester,ON where we enjoy hiking, swimming, boating, and skating as a family. I look forwardto investing in the hearts and minds of the students in our community.

Mary Jane Zubick

I am very excited to be here at LondonChristian High ! I graduated with an HonorsSpecialization in History and Visual Arts fromWestern University. I recently returned fromteaching abroad in England where I taughtEnglish and Drama at a Outstanding rankedschool. I also worked at the London International Academy. I am a longstandingyouth leader at North Park CommunityChurch, though my husband Tyler and I attend Hillside Church. I am passionate aboutleadership and social/environmental justiceinitiatives and love helping students seekways to integrate the love of Christ into everyaspect of their lives. I am a deep lover of creation and is always seeking time in natureand to create art.

Mikaelee MacDouell

a warm welcomeTO OUR NEW STAFF

Connectingthe Bible

Course to ourLives

written by l Anita Plat-Kuiken,Teacher

The Grade 10 Bible course at London Christian High is offered in hopes that students will morefully appreciate God’s redemptive plan for humanity and discover ways to live grateful lives in response to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. In seeking a grateful response to this gift, the class was posed thisquestion: “How can the Bible class create a fun event that helps us to talk about Jesus with ourfriends?”We traveled to Forest City Community Church (FCCC) to learn some ministry tips for outreach

from their ministry leaders. We also learned about the city-wide Alpha* initiative, spear-headed byFCCC, and decided that, as a class, we would also participate in taking an Alpha course. After watching a few episodes of Alpha, we began to discuss how we could use the Alpha

material to run an outreach event for our friends to learn about Jesus. The event was held November 10–11, and was organized as a sleepover event at the school. The

result? The class was able to hold three Alpha sessions with 5 friends from outside of our school.Teams of students were grouped together to provide different kinds of leadership according to theirinterest areas: games, technology, food, hospitality, and small group leadership. We watched Alphavideos, met for discussion in small groups, ate lots of popcorn, and played games in the gym. Parents were there to help and offer support, but it was the students who prepared the food, ranthe games, led small group discussions (without adults in the groups), and videotaped the event. Thestudents finished the event with a sense of accomplishment from having made meaningful contributions to provide for the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of others.Some students in the class have asked if we will do this project next semester, and if so, could they

come again? The answer? Of course! But, you have to bring a friend!It is our hope that our students will finish this project and class with a greater sense of who they

are (People), and what they were created for (Purpose) from this project. We pray that God will continue to use His students for His good purposes.


* The Alpha course is an evangelistic course which seeks to introduce the

basics of the Christian faith through a series of talks and discussions. It is described by its organizers as "an

opportunity to explore the meaning of life". The course began in the UK and is being run around the world by

various Christian denominations

This past Remembrance Day, Mrs. Miedema’s Grade 10 Canadian History class completeda Purpose Based Learning activity to pay tribute to local men and women who served ourcountry in World War I and World War II. The aim of the project was to remember those individuals from our local communities who were killed in action, wounded, or the thousands who returned home to live the rest of their lives with the physical, emotional, and mental scars of war. Some students chose the name of a veteran from their local community’s cenotaph, while others chose to pay tribute to a family member or someonethey knew. Through analyzing primary and secondary source documents, students createdstories of the individual veteran’s life and service to country. One student, Keira Wiersema, had the opportunity to interview her chosen veteran,

Clarence Mitchell of Strathroy. A learning that came from the project for Keira was reflectingon whether pausing for one day is really enough to recognize the service and to thank themen and women who have served and continue to serve our country.The videos that all students created to tell their veteran’s stories were powerful and

demonstrated a part of the Christian calling to ‘Redeem the Past’. By retelling the stories oflocal veterans, students honoured ordinary Canadians who made extraordinary sacrifices.

Lest We Forget –RemembrancePurpose BasedLearningwritten by l Laura Miedema, Teacher


left l Veteran Clarence Mitchell andGrade 10 History student KeiraWiersema during their interview togather and share information forthe Remembrance project.

far left l Clarence Mitchell of Strathroy, Ontario while serving in WWII with the Royal Canadian Navy.Image is courtesy of Veterans Affairs Canada

left l 93 year old veteran Clarence Mitchell showing his war medals he was given for his service to Canada in WWII.


Real Purpose with Real

Clientswritten by l Corrina Cameron,

Teacher

When Matt Rock began the grade 11 Construction Technology class in September, he knew it was going to be a different kind of semester. Even though past projects in this class kept studentsengaged with useful skills and practical end products that students could take home, this semester’sproject isn’t for the students to keep. It is for someone else. That someone else is a local company called Forest City Fire Protection (FCFP). CEO of FCFP Randy

Bird and his wife Karen, are the clients these students have to please with their final product. Students are excited to be doing something for someone else, not just themselves, and enjoy theadded thrill of visiting FCFP multiple times before the project is completed. FCFP was started in 1985 by Bird’s father. The students are working on two different projects for

FCFP. The first is a commemorative art piece incorporating the blueprints of Bird’s father’s first job:fire suppression for a chinese food restaurant (no longer in existence) in Masonville Mall. This largewall art, designed by the students, will also incorporate a tree made from piping and lights with thevalues of the company etched into them. The art piece will symbolize the history of the companyand the importance of family, strength, and growth. It will be hung proudly in the boardroom atFCFP head office. The second project is a set of solid wood shelving supported by piping with a feature wall of wood and pipe for the staff room at FCFP. Students went through an intensive planning process before deciding on the final design. Since

then they’ve been busy preparing the wood, cutting pipe, and laying out the design on the floor of

“We get to have real worldapplications because we hadto interview the Birds and

had to go there and we willbe installing it. Usually you

are in the classroom researching, but in this classwe got to interview them

(the Birds) to hear what theirbusiness is about from their

point of view instead of an article.”

Ethan teBrake, Student


“Instead of being just in class the whole time working on some cabinet project or something, we are actually going out to a company and having meetings with them and using their opinions to design what they want. It’s nice to have the real world applied to our class. You get to work

with different tools that you’ve never used before, like a grider. I got to use a grinder for the first time to cut angles on pipes and to use different materials other than wood.”

Zach Burggraaf, Student

the Maker Studio. Students are required to use a number of skills to complete this project including using the laser cutter (seen withZach Burggraaf in cover photo), doing electrical work, pipe fitting, woodworking, budgeting, and designing collaboratively with others. However, that’s not even the most exciting part. What is really exciting is that Construction Tech is moving in a

direction where what is created in class has a place and purposeoutside the school community. Students are not just making objectsfor themselves anymore, but are creating projects that have realpurpose for real clients. It is project based learning at its finest andwill teach creative thinking, problem solving, and self regulation. No matter what a student’s future field of work, they will needthose skills. The final reveal of the project will be at the Celebration of

Learning on Tuesday, December 19th; it will include documentationof the process created by the students. Randy and Karen Bird will be present for the reveal which will cap a semester’s worth of workappropriately with the praise these students deserve.


I graduated from London Christian High in 2006. I have a lot of fond memories of high school including the Quebec trip with Mrs. deWit, frequently being beaten by Mr. H. Lammers in chess, andMr. Roukema's history classes. For my undergrad degree, I went to Redeemer University Collegewhere I studied political science. Redeemer is a great university where I continued to learn manythings I learned in high school. What still sticks with me from my time in high school was the emphasis on teaching us what it means to live as a Christian in our world.I wasn't sure what I wanted to do once I graduated from Redeemer. I was torn between working

on the farm, continuing my studies with the hope of getting a Ph.D., and working overseas in development. In the end, I decided I would spend one year doing my Master's, one year working onmy parent's dairy farm, and one year working overseas in international development.First, I went to McMaster University in Hamilton and completed my Master's, focusing on refugee

and migration issues. Then I moved back home to Aylmer and worked part-time on my parent'sdairy farm, at Clovermead, and at Elgin Feeds. After that I moved to Ottawa to look for internshipswith non-governmental organizations (NGO) based in the capital city and started applying to international NGOs.My first time working overseas was in an internship with World Renew in Cambodia. I remember

arriving in Cambodia and being struck by how different everything was - it was hot, the traffic wascrazy, and the food was different from anything I was used to. I spent a lot of time running focusgroups with farmers and local partner NGOs. These NGOs were small and were run by incrediblysmart and committed people from the local community. I learned a lot about how farmers made decisions, how NGOs monitor their programs for positive impacts, and how to live sustainably farfrom home and in a different culture.After my internship in Cambodia and another year on the farm I accepted a position in Kenya

with an NGO called One Acre Fund. I have now been with them for three years. We work with over500,000 smallholdings farmers in East Africa selling seed and fertilizer on credit and training themhow to manage their crops. It is incredible to see the difference in crop yields when farmers startusing improved seeds and are properly applying fertilizer. The increase in yields leads to families having enough food later in the year and having extra harvest to help pay for their children to go toschool. I work on our Product Innovations team testing and developing new products to help farmers to increase their income. I really enjoy living in Kenya. I have a great community, challengingwork, and everyday is filled with the surprises of living in another culture. The path which has ledme to where I now am hasn’t always been direct or clear but I believe God has led me to the place Iam in today.

Word on the Street

written by l Jan Korevaar,'06 Alumnus

zach burggraaf with laser cutter - london christian...

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