KV-Dec 2011 - Abbotsford Christian School

ABBOTSFORD CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
VISION
Knight
A Publication of ACSS December 2011
Inside
Calendar
Principal’s Message
S.A.L.T.
Science
Bible
Music
Youth Council
Alumni
Woodworking
Paris
Math
Athletics
All School Christmas Concert
December 6th
“Deck the Halls”
December 9th
Student Christmas Party
Interims for Sem 1 Term 2
December 12th
Last Day of school for Christmas December 16th
First day back to school
January 3rd
Secondary Info Night January 19
Semester 1 ends January 19
Staff Retreat (No School) January 20
Assessment Week January 23-27
Semester 2 begins January 31
Please visit our website for more
dates and details.
ACS MISSION STATEMENT: Abbotsford Christian School, operated by Abbotsford Christian School Society members, seeks to serve Christian
families by providing a secure learning environment in which God’s children can continue to explore, experience and evaluate all of life under God.
We aim to nurture students in the discovery and development of their abilities and unique gifts so that they are enabled to be faithful, discerning,
obedient and creative servants of God and of neighbour, and stewards of His creation.
ACS Elementary (P-5)
Roy van Eerden, Principal
604 755 8101
ACS Middle (6-8)
Tym Berger, Principal
604 755 8102
ACS Secondary (9-12)
Gerry Goertzen, Principal
604 755-8104
Administration Office
Julius Siebenga, Ex. Director
604 755 8103
Administration Office
Nilah Lewis, Admin Assistant
604 755 1891 ext 4001
w w w . a b b o t s f o r d c h r i s t i a n . c o m

Knight
VISION
The S.A.L.T. Team=
Mr. Olydam, Mitch Styba, Gavin Luymes, Curtis Ridder, Alysa Vanderhoek,
Ashley Ridder, Jesse Cook, Casey Kowalchuk, Mr. Naayer, Ana MacIntosh,
Miranda Gray, Joelle Noot, Emily Enns, Collyn Lee, Rebecca Brands, Karlena
Koot
S.A.L.T.
By Mr. Olydam and Mr. Naayer
S
.A.L.T. is best defined as ACS’s student council. S.A.L.T.
stands for Student Action Leadership Team, and as a group
we organize a variety of school events, ranging from dressup
days to Bible studies to Airband. We seek to encourage the
school as a whole and bring together the student body. We are
excited about our theme, “Dare to Care,” which accurately reflects
our motives. The team strives to add a new perspective to our
traditional events and introduce some new events, such as Service
Day and Christmas movie night. Thirty Hour Famine will be back
this year with a renewed focus. The year will be capped with a
Spring Dance, Sports Day, and Airband where we hope to celebrate
the school community that has been established throughout the
year. God has done good things among the student body so far this
year and we anticipate what plans he has in store for us in the
future!
The Marvellous World of Chemistry
By Mr. Jansen
H
ave you ever wondered why
the substances that float
around in your blood don’t
just combine together and make big
clumps of things causing an instant
heart attack, stroke or death Or how
our body regulates all of the compounds
and chemical reactions that allows us to
sustain life functions at exactly (usually!)
the right time. Do you ever wonder how
every living and non-living piece of
matter in the entire universe is derived
from elements Chemistry is so much
more than just all those letters, numbers
and symbols. It is the very foundation
of the processes that make our world
unimaginably complex, yet simple
enough for us to understand some of
these systems. Learning chemistry and
science at ACS begins
a never ending journey
to exploring how
God’s divine creation
was purposefully
organized and
structured. Chemistry
should never be
boring or without
application. God has
created; it is our
responsibility now to discover, to
improve, to invent, and to glorify Him
through our studies.
Mitch and Devon
2

VIVACE, FORTE, ALLEGRO – Music at ACSS!
Knight
VISION
By Mr. Workman
I
n English: A lively and strong start;
fast paced with a lot of variety. Our
music program exists to discover and
develop the unique gifts and abilities of
our students and then to share those gifts
with others. Our students are gifted and
they love to serve!
“SING NOEL!”
All three campuses (staff and students) are
combining efforts for a musical
celebration of Christ‘s birth.
We have included strings (violins, cellos,
etc.) in the mix, making it our first
orchestra! There will be a 70-member
orchestra on stage, plus dancers, actors,
and a multitude of singers. It will be BIG!
Please join us on Tuesday, December 6,
at Seven Oaks Alliance Church, 7:00pm.
Band Tour
Our Senior Concert Band (Grades 10-12)
will be going to Vancouver Island in mid-
April. Performances will include Christian
Schools, a Church service, a clinic at
University of Victoria, and more. They
will travel from Victoria to Campbell River
and places between. This is a wonderful
event for students to serve and showcase
their gifts and abilities that they develop
throughout the year.
Band Festival
The SR and Grade 9 Bands are also
looking forward to our participation in
separate band festivals. The students
nervously play pieces for a panel of judges,
who then lead them through an
educational workshop based on their
performance. Our bands have ranked
Gold and Silver for past two years, and
our very talented students this year are just
as capable! Cheer them on!
Jazz Band
The Jazz Band is busy preparing for
several local events, including the ACS
Honorary Members Banquet, a luncheon
at Trinity CRC, and participation in our
Christmas celebration, ―Sing Noel!‖ The
Jazz Band will also be traveling with the
SR Band on tour this spring, and possibly
performing for a Salvation Army
luncheon. The Jazz Band is always looking
for more opportunities to serve; so please
contact the music department if you would
like to schedule them for an event.
Thank you to the MANY people who are
supporting the Music Program at ACSS
and encouraging our young people as they
develop their creative abilities, and use
them to serve others.
ACS Getting Connected in Abbotsford with the Youth Council
By Reuben Paul, Grade 12
W
hat is the ‗Abbotsford Youth Council‘. It is a part of the
Abbotsford Youth Commission, which ‗exists to identify,
promote, improve, increase, and provide
services and programs for youth in Abbotsford.‘ What
the youth council does is bring together youth
representatives from every school to discuss issues and
plan events to engage the youth of our city. We are
proud to say that this year ACS has three
representatives: Michaela Dragt, Alexander Huizing,
and Reuben Paul!
We have done a few things so far this year – we supervised grade seven
and eight dances at the Cadet building, had a retreat to unify the team, and
now much of our planning is revolving around a Christmas service
project and ‗Youth Week‘ in May, an exciting week of
events to celebrate youth.
While serving on this team, we have had the opportunity
to learn new leadership skills, but also our eyes were
opened to see what a great school community we have
at ACS. In the last meeting, there was a time when
the members were sharing about the difficult
things that were happening in
their schools. Each of the members shared
something –many of them were talking about
‗big‘ issues with alcohol and drugs, social issues
such as bullying, and even lack of teacher
support. When it came time for the
representatives from Abbotsford Christian
to speak, we felt as if the problems in our school were
small in comparison to what was happening in other
schools. God has given us such a great place to learn!
It is my sincere hope that every ACS student will see
the value of our school, and thank their creator for the
opportunity to learn here.
3

Knight
VISION
A Language of Life
Paris 2012
Mrs. Buytendorp
“I myself am utterly ecstatic for this adventure.
Just thinking about boarding the plane sends
shivers down my spine. And my fellow companions
feel the same way” (student reflection)
T
wenty senior French students
will explore Paris in March. This
immersion experience is an extension
to the French 11 and 12 courses.
Students are interested and engaged in
this learning adventure. Part of our mission
is to explore, experience and evaluate
all of life under God. This is an opportunity
to do just that, in a far off place, together.
The students are taking an active part in the planning
of the trip schedule, and they have a very authentic
experience of budgeting.
And there will be time for the classic tourist things as well.
“I know for me, languages are yet another facet of the beauty and the
glory of our Creator, who gave us the incredible gift of communication
and understanding. This trip will be la life lesson not only in language
and culture, but on accountability, friendship, bread, art, currencies,
history, service, courage, God and ourselves. While it is paid in money,
it will be priceless in experience. Our team is literally counting the days
until we leave” (student reflection)
“Deck the Halls”
An ACS SALT Student
Christmas Event
December 9, 7:00 –10:00 pm
Rebecca Brands, Courtney de Wolde, Mikaela Dragt, Emily Enns, Taline Estepanian, Janelle Hay,
Mikaela Kiers, Brigitte Lee, Collyn Lee, Bev Lieuwen, Ana MacIntosh, Jenny Postma, Eileesh Spyker,
Zelna Theron, Tara Venema, Ben Arends, Justin Booth, Taylor Minderhoud, Gavin Luymes, Devon
Reddick, Irene Buytendorp, Cara Scully, Martin VanderSchans, Audrey VanderSchans
Learning highlights from France are:
A live concert in the Notre Dame Cathedral,
featuring Mozart and Haydn
Speaking French, surrounded by French
people, for a good portion of every day
Slowly savouring a French dinner in a Paris
brasserie, rejoicing the taste and affordability
Reflecting on the presence of God among his
people, past and present, in an environment
where God seems absent
Serving the Paris homeless without speaking
any English
Exploring the city in small groups
All Students are invited to Join us at the
school—It‘s Free! Caroling, Cookies, Games,
Floor Hockey and more...
4

W
e desire that our students will
discover and develop their
unique gifts and abilities; and
learn to be faithful, discerning, obedient and
creative. Though faith, obedience, and
creativity are not what you might think of
when you think of mathematics, the
connection to mathematics, especially at the
senior level, is quite evident.
As students develop in their ability in
mathematics the nature of the problems that
are posed to them begins to get more
challenging. The more they learn, the more
is asked of them (a scriptural principle).
Instead of problems with short solutions
they become longer and more involved - so
much so that a complete solution is unlikely
to present itself to their understanding.
Sometimes to progress towards a solution
the only possible step, is a creative start that
discerns the relationships involved though it
does not yet see far enough ahead to know
Steps in the Right Direction
By Mr. Sanders
for certain that it is a right direction.
Those who will progress and grow, must
take that first step, obeying the laws of
mathematics, not knowing where it will lead.
They need to step out in faith, in obedience,
trusting in the
math. Only once
that first step of
faith is taken and
carried through to
its logical end, does
the next step
present itself. The
successful student
will take each
successive step of
faith and so
proceed until he
arrives at the goal.
Looking back, the
solution can seem
much simpler and
easy to see, but in the midst of the trial all
that can be seen is the next step. So they
proceed one step of faith at a time, trusting
in what they know is right and true, with an
eye towards the goal.
Students find these
applications of learning
both challenging and
rewarding. They may
not always enjoy the
difficulties involved, but
neither do we when our
Teacher asks us to do
the same.
Who says math has
nothing to do with the
real world
Knights Ride to an Admirable Finish
Sr. Boys and Girls Volleyball Provincials – Update
O
ur senior volleyball teams finished well at AA
Provincials this past weekend. Our girls
were playing in Vancouver and finished
13 th in a tough field of competition. They were
close in all their matches and finished well with
two victories on Saturday. Jordyn Visser
received the team All-Star award for her
consistent play. We want to offer a big thank
you to Ms. Lammers, Mrs Stoker, and Mr. Visser for their
exceptional work with these girls over the past 3 months.
The boys‘ team travelled to Kelowna for the AA provincial
tournament. They were seeded 5 th and finished 5 th after a
tough quarter-final match against cross-town rival MEI. At
the end of the game, coach Anthonie Jansen gathered both
teams together on the court and had a time of prayer to
unify these teams around their common faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ. It was an emotional moment for
players and parents alike. It was a moving
testimony for our team to reach out to another
Christian school and gather around our common
faith in God.
ACS went on to win Most Sportsmanlike team, an
award chosen unanimously by the tournament
officials. MEI went on to win the championship match
against CHSS from Prince George. Trevor Dykshoorn
made the 2 nd all-star team, Wes de Waal and Dan Vaags
were honourable mentions. A special thanks to Mr. Jansen
for his many faithful years of coaching volleyball at ACS.
5

ERIC BOMHOF, GRADE 12
STUDENT PERFORMED
“TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT
BE CONSECRATED…”
Time
Talent
Treasure
THE ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL CHOIR PERFORMED
SEVERAL NUMBERS FROM
“SING NOEL”
Honorary
RECOGNIZING FAITHFUL CONTRIBUTIONS OF TIME,
THE SECONDARY SCHOOL
JAZZ BAND PLAYED FOR THE
MEMBERS AND CELEBRATED
GIFTS OF MUSIC
TALENT AND FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP TOWARD ACS
OVER MANY DECADES
members
It is a tradition to give honor where it is due at Abbotsford Christian
School. To recognize those who have given much toward the vision of
this school is to recognize our past and remember. We are today what
people dreamed about yesterday.
Remembering Where
We Came From
The Honorary Members banquet
was held on December 2nd. It
was a fantastic event put on by a
team of people including
teachers, students, principals,
community relations director and
administrators. The food was
prepared by the Foods classes
under the direction of Mr.
VanderSchans. The Jazz Band
played under the direction of Mr.
Workman. Mr. Siebenga spoke
and led the program. The
elementary and middle school
choirs sang pieces prepared for
their Christmas program, Sing
Noel. Past board chairperson,
Jack Van Dyke, spoke about
remembering the past and where
ACS has come from. Our
current board chairperson, Ian
Deventer, shared the continuing
vision for ACS today. There
were stories shared about tough
times and great times and
especially God’s faithfulness to
ACS during decades of work with
children.
Friends and Faces
Everyone enjoyed
visiting with old
friends and families
from the past.
6

Knight
VISION
HEAT Tickets For Sale!
The H.A.N.D.S. team will be selling tickets
to the Abbotsford Heat and Texas Stars
game on Friday, March 2 nd . Tickets will be
in the Secondary school office
starting next week.
Stocking Stuffers!
H.A.N.D.S. team is also doing a Bottle Drive
and Christmas Tree Chipping by donation on
January 2 nd . Please come and support the
H.A.N.D.S. Nicaragua Team.
Jeremy Van Woerden
History Maker
Jeremy Van Woerden, a 2010 ACS alumni,
currently in his second year at Dordt College,
recently competed at the United States NAIA
cross country Nationals on November 19th.
The race took place in Vancouver,
Washington. He ran a new personal best
completing the 8 km race in 26:22. The team
finished 24th overall. This is the 1st time the
Dordt's men's XC team has qualified for
Nationals in 30 years. We celebrate the gifts
and abilities of our ACS alumni.
For the Least of These...
By Mr. Visser
A
bbotsford
Christian
Secondary places
a high level of importance
on service. As we study
the Bible, we come to see
Jesus, who is the author
and perfecter of our faith
(Hebrews 12:2), as one
who came to serve. The
Fraser Valley Gleaners is an
organization
that serves the
vulnerable
people of the
world with
healthy soup
and other
forms of
nutrition.
When high
school students
visit the
Gleaners, they
come to
understand how God loves
His world through the gift
of food. They also become
part of the rescue operation
by volunteering their time
alongside many others who
serve with love and
gratitude. The students
enjoy getting to know
many of the elderly
volunteers, and also feel
impacted by being just one
small part of a great story
that God is telling. Each
year, a group of grade 12
students depart the
comforts of Abbotsford
and enter the poverty of
third world Zambia. These
students, along with their
leaders, have the privilege
of handing out the soup
mix and
apple snacks
to those who
desperately
need it most.
You can
imagine the
joy that the
students
have,
knowing
how the
Sarah soup mix
has been
processed and packaged,
and all the love put into the
final product by a host of
volunteers. They also hear
a voice ringing through the
corridors of time, saying
“Whatever you did for one
of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did
for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
7

Knight
VISION
Working with our Hands for Service
By Mr. Stewart
1
Corinthians 12 is a familiar
passage where it describes the
gifts of the spirit and the body of
Christ being
made up from
many diverse
parts. At
Abbotsford
Christian
Secondary we
recognize that
diversity in
our students. Consequently, the courses
offered at the high school allow students
to pursue both the academic side of
learning and the applied skills aspect of
learning. When we look at 1 Corinthians
12, it is clear that each of these has value
to offer the body of Christ.
In Woodworking, the students learn to
develop the talents that they have been
given to create projects and to serve
others. It all starts in Grade 9 Tech Ed
where the clock building allows the
students to design a clock that is unique
to their personality. That is followed in
grade 10 where students continue to
design projects that allow their creative
side to come out while also developing a
more pragmatic element through the
beginning of furniture building. Grade
10 is where we also introduce a service
component. The students use the
talents they have been given to complete
work in the school community that
serves others. This year the Grade 10’s
refinished the benches in the science
wing; in the past students have built
shelving for the library, made book carts
for the Special Ed department, along
with many
other
projects.
The senior
classes
continue this
trend with
the projects
and the
service
becoming
more detailed
as skills are improved. The results are
both satisfying for the students and
glorifying to God as the results show the
beauty of the Creator.
Keeping the Ball Rolling
By Mr. Goertzen
T
he school year had a great start and it feels like the ball
started rolling toward fantastic things right from
opening day at ACSS.
Grade 12 Service Day – YWAM Downtown Plunge
Mr. Visser, Mrs. Bakker, Mr. Olydam and myself attended the
YWAM Vancouver Downtown Plunge with all our grade 12
students. It was a fantastic day. The grade 12s decided to do
this service “Give Back” day themselves and we were pleased
that every one of them showed up for a great day. We served
lunches to homeless people, heard their stories, prayed for
people on the downtown east side and
learned about this very needy
community. Students shared some very
moving stories about meeting people on
the streets of the downtown east side. It
was an incredible day and there was a
very positive atmosphere with the whole
class. God is moving in this group of
student leaders in our school.
Student Culture
There are many positive things going on in our student life.
One week in November, two girls who are involved with
Youth Church Council (from S. Abbotsford MB Church) put
together a Love Your School week in which they served
students and staff in creative ways. On Wednesdays Worship
Wednesday time is growing with about 30 students gathering
for prayer and worship in the music room. On Thursday
mornings, while staff are working on professional
development, students meet (voluntarily) for Bible study
together in the school. These students skip an opportunity to
'sleep in' and instead come to meet at school for prayer and
study. Great things are happening amongst our student body.
Pray that this group of Godly leaders will make an ever
increasing impact on our school and beyond.
Bible Modules 12
We are enthusiastic about the implementation of our Bible 12
Modules this year as a BAA course. We divided the Bible 12
course into 11 different topics and students choose to take 4
modules (one month each) for 4 credits.
These have been received well by our
students and we are excited about the
results. Our staff love teaching these
modules because they are passionate
about teaching on these ideas. Our grade
12s are looking at presenting their
spiritual and emotional journeys and
hopes for the future in their “The Epic I
am In” theme in second semester. The
change in the Bible 12 course has added relevance, choice and
variety to our grade 12 Bible program.
8