Zach Burggraaf with laser cutter - London Christian High
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Zach Burggraaf
with laser cutter
See "Real Purpose with Real Clients" pg. 6
London
Christian High
Happenings
December 19, 2017
Celebration of Learning, 5:30pm
& Christmas Concert, 7pm
April 2018
Drama Performances:
"One Foot in Heaven"
April 11 l Seniors' Matinee
April 13, 14, 21 l Evening
April 20 l "Dinner & A Show"
Fundraising Evening
May 25, 2018
Student Connections Night
for incoming grade 9 students
June 7, 2018
Celebration of Learning principal
Check out our website
www.ldcss.ca for more
information about these events.
REFLECTIONS
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 have
to learn about this anyways?” The teacher responds by saying, “Great question! The things
that we are working on in class are really relevant for you right now, for our broken world
and ultimately use our gifts for the glory of God.” Although perhaps these exact words are
not used, the general framework of this conversation is important to note. Teachers want
our students to know that the things they are working on matter in the future, and they also
matter right now. We want our students to recognize different opportunities that arise to
use their learning to bring healing into our broken world in big and small ways. Finally, as a
uniquely Christian school, we continually affirm and believe that God created us so that we
London Christian High could offer praise back to Him through the gifts that He has given to us. All of these
24 Braesyde Avenue elements are at the heart of our Biblical worldview at London Christian High.
London, ON N5W 1V3 In this edition of the ConnectED, you will read stories about student learning from a
519.455.4360 l fax: 519.455.4364 uniquely Christian perspective. You will read about our Grade 10 Bible class that took the
email: office@ldcss.ca l www.ldcss.ca concept of a Bible "study" and turned it into a Bible "doing" through an Alpha event that
invited guests to learn more about Jesus. Talk about learning that is relevant right now! You
will also read about our Grade 10 History class that spent a considerable amount of time
creating multimedia presentations designed to honour local war veterans. In this way,
Leadership team: students gained a deeper understanding of how we, today, can "redeem the past" and
Tim Bentum, Principal promote peace on earth in our broken world. Finally, you will read about our Grade 11
Jacky Dieleman, VP of Program Construction class that has decided to take on an ambitious project for an actual client in
Gabriella Hoogstra, VP of Operations London; a terrific example of our students’ gifts being used for the benefit of others.
Contributing photographers: I can’t think of a better way to spend 30 minutes. Grab a cup of coffee, sit back and
Corrina Cameron, Jan Korevaar, enjoy these deeply impactful stories of young people making a Kingdom difference in
Dylan Kroondyk, Clarence Mitchell, our world.
Keira Wiersema Blessings,
Tim Bentum
p2 Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com
a warm welcome
TO OUR NEW STAFF
I am thrilled to join the London Christian I am very excited to have joined the amazing
High community as an educational assistant. team in the Learning Commons this semester.
As a graduate of this high school, it feels like I have recently moved to London from rural
home to return here once again. After Perthshire, in Scotland to be nearer to my
graduating in 2004, I obtained my Bachelor family. Not at all the shock to the system I
of Arts degree at Redeemer University. I expected. Quite the contrary in fact; I feel like
continued on to graduate from Fanshawe I have come home!
College as a Developmental Service Worker. A graduate of Agricultural Science from the
Since then, I have worked in various areas University of Edinburgh, I completed my
of the field through Thames Valley District teacher training in 2002. I taught science at
School Board and Community Living London. Sacred Heart High School in Newcastle before
It was at Redeemer that I met my husband moving on to work for 8 years at Scottish
Chris. We have been married for almost ten Autism’s New Struan School, during which
years and have three busy little boys aged 6, time I completed my post-graduate diploma in
3, and 9 months. Chris and I attend Bethel Autism Education. In 2013, I returned to the
CRC in London. We often travel back to the Sacred Heart network of schools, becoming a
Maritimes where Chris grew up and enjoy Housemistress and Head of Learning Support
taking our boys to the family cottage in Nova at Kilgraston, and all girls’ boarding school,
Scotia. where I was lucky enough to be able to see
London Christian High has had a great my two horses from my classroom window.
impact on who I am today. I am honored to In 2016, it was time for a new challenge.
be a part of shaping the lives of these young Canada had been calling for many years, but
students. What an awesome opportunity to I was finally able to make it a reality, and
be a witness to them of God’s faithfulness, embark upon the next chapter of my life,
just as the teachers of this school were to me which includes becoming part of the
years ago! community here at London Christian High.
Jessica Howlett Lisa Gardner
I am very excited to be here at London As a former London Christian High student,
Christian High! I graduated with an Honors I am excited to re-join the community as a
Specialization in History and Visual Arts from Supply EA. I grew up in Aylmer, ON and
Western University. I recently returned from attended Calvin College from 1999-2003
teaching abroad in England where I taught where I received my Undergraduate degree in
English and Drama at a Outstanding ranked Social Work. After spending 10 years as a
school. I also worked at the London Child Protection and Adoption Social Worker
International Academy. I am a longstanding with the London and Middlesex Children's Aid
youth leader at North Park Community Society, I switched gears and began working
Church, though my husband Tyler and I for the Thames Valley District School Board as
attend Hillside Church. I am passionate about a part time Elementary School Counsellor. My
leadership and social/environmental justice passion for helping children and youth reach
initiatives and love helping students seek their full potential started when I was a teen,
ways to integrate the love of Christ into every teaching youth swimming lessons. I am thrilled
aspect of their lives. I am a deep lover of to be able to channel this passion into my role.
creation and is always seeking time in nature I have two young children of my own, Faith
and to create art. and Caleb, and am married to my high school
Mikaelee MacDouell sweetheart, Ben Zubick. We live in Dorchester,
ON where we enjoy hiking, swimming,
boating, and skating as a family. I look forward
to investing in the hearts and minds of the
students in our community.
Mary Jane Zubick
Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com p3
Connecting The Grade 10 Bible course at London Christian High is offered in hopes that students will more
fully appreciate God’s redemptive plan for humanity and discover ways to live grateful lives in
the Bible response to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. In seeking a grateful response to this gift, the class was posed this
question: “How can the Bible class create a fun event that helps us to talk about Jesus with our
Course to our friends?”
We traveled to Forest City Community Church (FCCC) to learn some ministry tips for outreach
Lives from their ministry leaders. We also learned about the city-wide Alpha* initiative, spear-headed by
FCCC, and decided that, as a class, we would also participate in taking an Alpha course.
written by l Anita Plat-Kuiken, After watching a few episodes of Alpha, we began to discuss how we could use the Alpha
Teacher 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 their
interest areas: games, technology, food, hospitality, and small group leadership. We watched Alpha
videos, 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, ran
* The Alpha course is an evangelistic
the games, led small group discussions (without adults in the groups), and videotaped the event. The
course which seeks to introduce the students finished the event with a sense of accomplishment from having made meaningful
basics of the Christian faith through a contributions to provide for the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of others.
series of talks and discussions. It is Some students in the class have asked if we will do this project next semester, and if so, could they
described by its organizers as "an come again? The answer? Of course! But, you have to bring a friend!
opportunity to explore the meaning
of life". The course began in the UK
It is our hope that our students will finish this project and class with a greater sense of who they
and is being run around the world by are (People), and what they were created for (Purpose) from this project. We pray that God will
various Christian denominations continue to use His students for His good purposes.
p4 Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com
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.
This past Remembrance Day, Mrs. Miedema’s Grade 10 Canadian History class completed
a Purpose Based Learning activity to pay tribute to local men and women who served our Lest We
country 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 Forget –
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
Remembrance
community’s cenotaph, while others chose to pay tribute to a family member or someone
they knew. Through analyzing primary and secondary source documents, students created
Purpose Based
stories of the individual veteran’s life and service to country.
One student, Keira Wiersema, had the opportunity to interview her chosen veteran,
Learning
Clarence Mitchell of Strathroy. A learning that came from the project for Keira was reflecting written by l Laura Miedema, Teacher
on whether pausing for one day is really enough to recognize the service and to thank the
men 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 of
local veterans, students honoured ordinary Canadians who made extraordinary sacrifices.
left l Veteran Clarence Mitchell and
Grade 10 History student Keira
Wiersema during their interview to
gather and share information for
the Remembrance project.
Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com p5
“We get to have real world
applications because we had
to interview the Birds and
had to go there and we will
be installing it. Usually you
are in the classroom
researching, but in this class
we got to interview them
(the Birds) to hear what their
business is about from their
point of view instead
of an article.”
Ethan teBrake, Student
Real 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 students
Purpose engaged with useful skills and practical end products that students could take home, this semester’s
project isn’t for the students to keep. It is for someone else.
with Real 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.
Clients Students are excited to be doing something for someone else, not just themselves, and enjoy the
added thrill of visiting FCFP multiple times before the project is completed.
written by l Corrina Cameron, FCFP was started in 1985 by Bird’s father. The students are working on two different projects for
Teacher 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 large
wall art, designed by the students, will also incorporate a tree made from piping and lights with the
values of the company etched into them. The art piece will symbolize the history of the company
and the importance of family, strength, and growth. It will be hung proudly in the boardroom at
FCFP 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
p6 Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com
“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 with
Zach 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 purpose
outside the school community. Students are not just making objects
for themselves anymore, but are creating projects that have real
purpose for real clients. It is project based learning at its finest and
will teach creative thinking, problem solving, and self regulation.
No matter what a student’s future field of work, they will need
those skills.
The final reveal of the project will be at the Celebration of
Learning on Tuesday, December 19th; it will include documentation
of the process created by the students. Randy and Karen Bird will
be present for the reveal which will cap a semester’s worth of work
appropriately with the praise these students deserve.
Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com p7
Word on 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, and
the Street Mr. Roukema's history classes. For my undergrad degree, I went to Redeemer University College
where I studied political science. Redeemer is a great university where I continued to learn many
written by l Jan Korevaar, things I learned in high school. What still sticks with me from my time in high school was the
'06 Alumnus 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 on
my 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's
dairy farm, at Clovermead, and at Elgin Feeds. After that I moved to Ottawa to look for internships
with 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 was
crazy, and the food was different from anything I was used to. I spent a lot of time running focus
groups with farmers and local partner NGOs. These NGOs were small and were run by incredibly
smart 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 far
from 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 over
500,000 smallholdings farmers in East Africa selling seed and fertilizer on credit and training them
how to manage their crops. It is incredible to see the difference in crop yields when farmers start
using 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 to
school. 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, challenging
work, and everyday is filled with the surprises of living in another culture. The path which has led
me to where I now am hasn’t always been direct or clear but I believe God has led me to the place I
am in today.
p8 Winter 2017 issue l www.ldcss.com
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