Mr. Keyser had to get shots and had this thought that what if he had left the worm container open so there would be worms everywhere so he hurried back to school the check but thank goodness he had closed it!

Give your parents some details about Officer Breucker’s presentations over the past 3 weeks. He gave us lessons on not smoking and bullying.

Good Afternoon, and Happy Memorial Day Weekend!It always seems to work out this way, that the closer we get to the end of the school year, the faster the weeks go! It actually is the same with age, the older I get, the closer together the birthdays seem! 🙂 We are finished with the MAP testing, as of yesterday. Overall, I was very pleased with our results. In all three areas(math, language arts, and reading), our class average was above the national average. Our top scores in each of the tests were considerably higher than the national average. Great effort kids!! We had a fun, albeit cool trip to Captain Sundae with our preschool buddies. One good thing, there weren’t too many kids that had the ice cream drip down their fronts, always a plus with little kids!In the classroom, we are winding down as well. Mr. Hutt is nearing the end of the problem solving/equation solving unit, and I am well into the measurement and geometry unit with my class. Next week in social studies students will continue Unit 7, A New Nation. Our focus will be on the Constitution and what it says about how our nation is run. In Bible class, we are putting together some things to go in their Spiritual Journals that are passed on year to year. In ELA, they will be completing their final writing piece, the personal narrative over the next few days. They have made their revisions and are ready to write their final copies. In science class, we are going a bit more deeply into the food chains around us. They have really enjoyed keeping an eye on their plants, and the composting pile we have in our classroom(the 500 worms and debris is safely sealed in a metal garbage can). A week from today, we will be conducting our service day. I’ll have the kids write what they are doing in their personal blogs. Hard to believe that in two short weeks we the class will be enjoying their first day of summer vacation! Nothing like the first day of summer break with the entire vacation ALL in front of you! The only thing better pertaining to school, is the first day in August! Nothing gets me going like that day!The pictures I’ve attached today are from our ice cream outing and from Officer Breuker’s treat of snow cones for the entire 5th grade after his 3 week presentation on substance abuse and bullying. I pray you have some quality family time planned for this nice three day weekend! I’ll be doing something family related all 3 days! Blessings to you all, Paul

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McKenna, Aaron and I are going on may 31 to fishers of men to help.

Tell your parents about the Revolutionary Walk!

Good Morning,Sending this out Thursday this week so that you get one more day heads up for the things that are coming up next week. First and foremost is to tell you that we will begin taking the Measure of Academic Progress(MAP) assessment next week. I have included information given to us to help our students perform at their best. Please read it and encourage your son or daughter about the importance of giving this their best effort to “show off” what they have learned so far this year.MAP Growth AssessmentsWe’re looking forward to upcoming MAP Growth assessments! MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) assessments in Math, Reading, and Language will help teachers to understand how much students have grown in their learning this year and to know what they’ll be ready to learn in the upcoming school year.We’ll be taking these assessments in the morning during class on the following dates:Wednesday, May 15th, Friday, May 17th, and Wednesday, May 22nd. It’s important that students do their best to show all that they’ve learned this year! We are helping your student by preparing them to know what to expect on the assessment, coaching them on assessment-taking strategies, reminding them that they are capable of doing well, and shaping a structured and supportive classroom environment on those mornings.You can help your student by ensuring that they get proper sleep the evening before an assessment, feeding them a healthy breakfast on each assessment morning, and encouraging them to have a positive attitude and to do their best–this assessment is important, and they are capable!Together, we can support students in doing their best to show how much they have learned this year! There is additional information available at https://www.nwea.org/parent-toolkit/. If you have further questions, please let me know!We are going on a field trip this Monday to Calvin College to watch a chemistry demonstration. I understand this is one of the kid’s favorite field trips that they go on while at ZCS! Should be memorable!! Please have your son or daughter bring a sack lunch with them on Monday. There will not be food or snacks to purchase there. This is the itinerary for Monday’s trip.10:45 – Meet at our 5th grade classroom for final instructions.10:50 – Leave ZCS11:30 – Arrive at Calvin College – Park in Lot 1 or 2 which is to the left of the drive as you enter off of Burton St. Let’s plan on meeting right outside of the Gezon Auditorium so that we can all walk to lunch together.11:40 – Lunch in Knollcrest on Calvin’s Campus (kids bring sack lunch)12:00 – Kids run around outside for a bit.12:10 – Walk back to the Gezon Auditorium for use of bathrooms and for Chemistry Demonstration.12:30 – Chemistry Demonstration begins.1:45 – Chemistry Demonstration ends. Head back to school.2:20 – Arrive back at ZCS – drop off in the front of schoolI know you have already received information about Mr. Hutt’s Revolutionary War walking tour tomorrow afternoon from 2:20 to 3:10, but this is just a reminder if you are planning on coming. In Science we are delving more deeply into the relationships between organisms and the transfer of energy in various food webs. In math, the two classes are working through either measurement conversions(my class) or word problems and solving equations(Mr. Hutt’s class). In Bible class, we are learning about the servant’s heart that Christ had, and how the class can constantly try to be more like Christ in that area. We are also in the early stages of setting up a chance for both of our classes to do a service project with a group nearby ZCS. The kids will tell you about their idea in their Friday blog. In ELA the class is getting close to finishing their first drafts of their personal narrative.Thanks for your prayers and support at home for my concern about the behaviors that I was seeing last week. I have to say that this week has been much better! Please continue to pray and reinforce the positives at home! Hope you have a great weekend! Blessings, Paul

There are two types of eclipse solar an lunar.

My favorite part of the week was doing Kahoots.

Good morning!

I hope you excited about spring break! I’m looking forward to a bit of family time. Kathy and I are going to The Ark and the Creation Museum in Kentucky, and then I am going to be helping my son get his nursery ready for the June arrival of our first grandchild!

We took a trip to the planetarium this week, and it was very enjoyable for some, and pretty boring for others. My feeling is, if there are 10-15 kids in our group that were fascinated by it, then it is a worthwhile trip. That coupled with the material they saw, ties in nicely with our study of the solar system in science! Mr. Hutt is moving toward the Revolutionary War in social studies with the first shots being fired at Lexington and Concord! The kids seem to be very interested in it. In Math, the kids will be once again switching teachers after spring break. The kids I had will be continuing on long division and it’s real world applications. The other class is in the middle of the chapter on measurement and geometry. In Bible, we are continuing on with the early life of Christ. In ELA, the students finished up with their informational writing pieces, and will be starting personal narratives after break. I gave the kids a break this week with no spelling or Bible memory verse. They were given a new verse, but will have until the Friday after break to recite it. They should be practicing the first 3 verses of Ephesians 2 over break.

Below, you will see a letter from Mr. Nagelkirk about the availability of sports physicals for 5th graders. If you even think your son or daughter might be interested in sports, then please take advantage of these inexpensive physicals.

Hoping and praying that you have a great week with your kids! Blessings to you all, Paul

Hello 5th Grade Parents,

Below you will find the Sports Physical Sign-Up that will take place at City on a Hill on April 20 for $10.  This will be needed if your child plans on playing a sport during the 2019-2020 school year.  If this date does not work, then you can also have the Physical done at Holland Christian, or by your doctor at any time before the first practice.

Below you will see the list of sports that your child may participate in next year as a 6th grader:
Fall: (Sept.-Oct.)
– Boys and Girls Cross-Country at Holland Christian
– Girls Tennis at Holland Christian
Early Winter: (Nov.-Dec.)
– Girls Swimming and Diving at Holland Christian
– Girls Cheer at Holland Christian
Late Winter:(Jan.-Feb.)
– Boys Swimming and Diving at Holland Christian
Spring: (April-May)
– Boys Tennis at Holland Christian
– Boys and Girls Track at Zeeland Christian

ZCS Sports Physical Sign-up Link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4CAEAA22A64-zcssports

Holland Christian Schools athletic department will offer athletic physicals for the 2019-2020 school year on Tuesday, April 30, from 6:30-9:00 at Lakeshore Health Partners South Washington facility. The cost is $15 and signups will once again be online through SignupGenius. Stay tuned for more details.

Thanks,
Joel Nagelkirk
Athletic Director
Zeeland Christian School

Open your Google Drive at home this weekend and show your parents your Informational Writing Piece.
mercury is closest to the sun Jupiter is the largest planet pluto is a dwarf planet.

Hello, and once again, “Happy Friday”(actually many of you will read this Thursday),

Another short week due to what hopefully was our last snow day! I want to say how much I enjoyed meeting with the parents I saw Tuesday night. It was nice to get to know a few of the parents that I hadn’t had a chance to meet up to this point. I can see why this group of students is so special, incredibly committed parents! Thanks for all you do on the home front.

We are making good headway on the curriculum up to this point in the year. Mr. Hutt and I just switched our math classes. He’ll be focusing on Geometry, while I will be moving into long division with my group. Great time to put in a plug for having the kids practice their times tables daily. It will make their division that much easier to do. It is a real shame when a student does the problem correctly, but gets points off for not having the correct multiplication fact. There are numerous free games on the internet that do a very good job of giving kids practice. Good old fashioned flash cards work well also. 5-10 minutes a day can show great gains in a short amount of time. Only two days of science this week is keeping us still in the beginnings of our unit on the solar system. Good stuff, I really enjoy teaching. I love to point out incredible facts about the beautiful universe our Lord has created for us to enjoy. Mr. Hutt is still covering the French and Indian War. Talk about interesting stuff. I know how much I loved learning about all the wars that have shaped our history. The kid’s informational pieces should be in their final stages. Please give them a once over if you haven’t already done so. They can be found on your child’s google drive. “If” you have a color printer, and “if” it has ink, please consider printing it in color when they are completely finished. I use quotes because I know how many times I have gone to print something, only to find that my cartridges are empty!    🙂   In Bible class we are learning some of the interesting courting and marriage customs that were in place around the time of Christ. As for grammar, cursive, and spelling, we are making our way through the curriculum, but nothing exciting to note!

One of the reasons I am sending this out Thursday is so I can get a couple of reminders out before the weekend. The office would like me to remind you to stop in and get the OPTS(the tuition info for next year) form. Many of you had them at conferences already. They will not send them home with the kids. If you can’t stop in to get them, they will be mailed home mid March.

You may or may have seen a paper about our “coin war” to raise money for our sister school in the Philippines . It was introduced last Friday when I was at the science convention. Tomorrow is the last day of the contest to see what class can come up with the most change in their tubs. We have a decent amount of change, but we also have A LOT of paper currency, which counts as a negative to our total. For some reason, the Spanish immersion teachers have been sending their kids over right and left with cash to “bomb” our tubs. Secretly, I consider this a win because it is more for the school! If you have some spare change the kids can bring in, we would all greatly appreciate it.

Just something to put a bug in your ear, we are tentatively planning on going to the planetarium in Grand Haven on March 25th, and I will be needing drivers. As of now we are going in the morning, and will be back just before lunch. We would leave about 9:15, and return between 11:45 and 12. When we solidify the time and date with the man presenting, I’ll then take names for drivers. Thanks so much. I hope you all have an incredible weekend! Blessings, Paul

In the book Snow Treasure they get the gold down on on sleds in the movie the kids had to take it down on skies.

The hardest thing  this week was probably social studies.

Mr. Keyser and a group put on a skit of Elvis’s song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”!

Hello, and once again, Happy Friday!!

Well, I changed my mind and found a few minutes to put this blog together Thursday afternoon.  Academically, we are pretty much where we were last week. The students in each of our math classes are coming to the close of their respective units on Multiplication and Long Division. We will be switching this next Wednesday.

We had a very good Worship gathering on Wednesday, and in addition to singing some great Praise and Worship songs, we had a fun lead in to “March is Reading Month”. The theme this year is from the very popular, “Where’s Waldo” series. I am asking that if you have any of those books, or any of the books from the “I Spy” series at home, that we could borrow them for some of our activities. This next Wednesday will be a comfy PJ day, and the class is encouraged to bring in a flashlight and wear their PJ’s.

I spoke with a woman who ran into Mrs. Hall a couple of days ago, and she said that things were so much better. She is doing some part time work with a corporation that puts on seminars, and she is also working part time at her church. So good to hear that she is doing well.

I have included an informational link about a book that can be ordered that would be a great addition to any family’s library, and one that the monies raised will go to a very worthy cause!

Hoping and praying you all have a very nice weekend! Very Sincerely, Paul Keyser

Hello and Happy Friday!
in our social studies presentation to Mr. Jenkins

On Wednesday we went to the grand rapids symphony and they played baby shark and we will rock you.

My favorite part of the week was math.

Hello and Happy Friday!

It’s been a pretty busy week here for the “Kids of Keyser’s Klassroom”! We seemed to have packed in quite a bit into 4 days. The kids worked diligently preparing for their social studies marketing presentations during their free time this week. They were very relieved when they finished them yesterday. From all reports, it seems that most of them went extremely well(at least that is what they told me). I wasn’t able to sit in on any of them, but I did get the chance to talk to most of the groups as they prepared for their presentations, and they were very interesting! I am sure Mr. Hutt breathed a sigh of relief when they finished them yesterday! In our Bible class, we are finished with the Return to Judah, and are going to delve into the early life of Christ starting Monday. After looking over the curriculum, I feel it should be very interesting for the kids, and will lead to some in-depth discussions!  In Science we are completing the Ch-Changes unit on matter and its properties, and will be starting a unit about our solar system, aptly entitled “To Infinity and Beyond”. This should also prove to be an interesting unit, that truly illustrates the incredible universe that our Lord created. We are continuing on with the many applications of long division in my class, and Mr. Hutt is in the midst of the unit on multiplication. Mrs. Keyser and I have been helping the class put their finishing touches on their informational writing pieces. Most of them are coming along extremely well. If they hesitate to show you, it may be because they are not as far along as they should be. I know they are not able to bring their laptops home, but you can have them email it to you, or they can log in to their Google account from home and you can view it from there.

The 5th grade were all treated to the incredible abilities of the Grand Rapids Symphony on Tuesday. It was an interactive experience for them as the conductor involved the audience(5th graders from the greater Holland area) throughout. They played about a half dozen pieces that ranged from Rossini’s William Tell Overture, to Beethoven’s 5th! That was one the kids all recognized.

Yesterday, the class spent some time with their preschool buddies. Once again, a thank you to Lisa Klamer for allowing us to come down and spend some time with her precious little ones! Our kids helped them put together something from various materials that might normally end up in the garbage(cereal boxes, toilet paper tubes, egg cartons, etc). They pooled their creative juices to make robots, cars, fire trucks, butterflies, animals, and houses to name just a few. The time flew by, and the kids are already looking forward to their next opportunity to go visit their little buddies!

Lastly,  I have been reading the book, “Snow Treasure”, and I have received permission to show them the movie of the same name. It is G rated, and there is a good summary of the content on the website, “Rotten Tomatoes” if you have any concerns. I will be sending home a permission slip today for you to give them the okay to watch it. I plan on showing it before Wednesday of next week, so please look for the form if they don’t bring it to your attention.

All in all, a busy, but very enjoyable week here for your sons and daughters! Have a incredible weekend! Paul Keyser

We made valentine bags with Mrs. Keyser.
yesterday the Living Hope singers  came to ZCS                                                                                              Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

It has been a good, albeit short week here at ZCS! Today, is flying by as the kids spent some time this morning putting their bags together for their card exchange. Mrs. Keyser came in and helped with the decorating, and many of the bags look really sharp! We didn’t get as far academically this week due to the short week and the snow day. We are still moving through the material that I highlighted last week. The “Winter Olympics” are commencing this week, with the first event being the sled races. If you son or daughter participated, I’m sure you’ll hear about it.

I sent an earlier email asking for volunteers to drive to the field trip this next Tuesday. I have one volunteer so far to drive to, and to hear the Grand Rapids Symphony, and am looking for three or four others that are willing to drive. It will be at Central Wesleyan in Holland, and we will be gone from about 9-11. Please let me know with an email(pkeyser@zcs.org) if you can drive. I will take the first three or four people that volunteer.  I hope you all have something fun planned this long weekend with the kids. I know I am doing some things with both of ours! Also, I am taking my Mom to the airport Saturday as she and my sister and her husband are going to Australia for three weeks. Should be an incredible experience for them all

Did you know  you can tell something about matter, even though you can’t see it.

I will not Recite the first 7 verses of the 2nd Philippians for you when you get home.

We are going to present out social studies project Thursday.

Hello and Happy Blustery Friday!

Wow, what a week of weather we have experienced! Yesterday afternoon, with the upper 40’s and relatively snowless ground, it seemed like a tease for Spring, and then this morning, back to the deep freeze! The 4 days we have been here, it has been a good, and educational week. In Social Studies, the kids are putting their finishing touches on their marketing presentations for next week. They are listening to Mr. Jenkins as I write this to get more information to help them with their presentations. In Math, Mr. Hutt is in the multiplication unit, and I have the group that is in the unit on division and its applications in the real world. I am sure I speak for Mr. Hutt as well, that many of our students could benefit from spending more time on their times tables. Either with old fashioned flash cards, or one of the many free game-like programs that can be found on the internet. Their efficiency in solving both multiplication and division problems is greatly enhanced by their mastery of the basic times facts. In Bible class, we are finishing up with the unit on the return to Judah, and the rebuilding of the temple. I am noticing that with a few students in the class, they aren’t showing command of their Bible memory verses as well as they were before Christmas. Today, they should be showing mastery of 2nd Philippians, verses 1-7. In language arts, they are working on their informational writing pieces. If they haven’t told you what their topic is, please have them go over it with you. In science class, we are continuing with our unit on matter, specifically how we can make deductions about the matter we can’t see, based on what we can see.

My wife Kathy is enjoying her time with the kids two mornings a week, helping them with their writing pieces. She is also setting up the Valentine’s Day activities. Thanks to you all for being willing to send in the requested item for next Thursday! I hope and pray this note finds you and your families well!