SPRING 2016
C V C PA R E N T G U I D E T O
KINDERGARTEN
From the Superintendent’s Desk
THE CAVALIER
IN THIS ISSUE Dear Reader,
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The next best thing is to make sure I get down to the bus drop-off and enjoy some conversations each morning. A few weeks ago, I had one of those conversations with a little kindergarten boy who, for the sake of this article, we’ll call Garrett, primarily because that is his name.
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You’ve probably noticed already that “Kindergarten” is the predominant theme in this issue of The Cavalier. As superintendent on a campus that includes preschoolers all the way to high school seniors, I would put kindergarteners near the top of my list of favorite people with whom to hang out. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately), I am not a certified elementary teacher and, therefore, not trusted to teach those kiddos what they need to know in order to succeed in first grade.
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LIVING THE STORY
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THE VIEW BREAK TIME
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CVC SIBLINGS
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REAL FAMILIES OF CVC
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ALUMNI UPDATE
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Garrett was all decked out in western wear and it caught my attention. “Nice cowboy hat you got there, little guy,” I began our conversation. “You too, Mr. Baker,” he replied when he noticed I had on a hat similar to his. He went on, “I also have this cool vest, and it has pockets.”
PARTENT GUIDE TO KINDERGARTEN
I unzipped my jacket to reveal what was underneath. “I have a vest, too! And guess what? Pockets!” Garrett and I were quickly becoming kindred spirits. Then he showed me his cowboy boots. He looked at my shoes and then, with a question on his face, invited me to pull up my pants leg. I had to confess, “Garrett, I do not own a pair of cowboy boots, but if I did, I would certainly want them to be just like yours.” Before walking off, I noticed that Garrett carefully tucked his pants into his boots so the whole world could see just how cool his boots were. Since that day, I’ve noticed that Garrett also enjoys coming decked out in Spiderman attire. In a recent exchange he pointed out to me that he was wearing a Spiderman sweatshirt with a cowboy hat. It must have been a rather indecisive morning at home. The “S” in the CVCS Mission Statement stands for Shaping Christ-like Character. I am eager to keep my eye on the likes of Garrett, his classmates, and all of the students who walk our campuses each day, year after year. I feel confident that our kindergarten teachers and their colleagues warmly welcome the Spidermen, cowboys and princesses as they enter their rooms each morning and intentionally and patiently join with you, parents, in training these boys and girls, helping them to grow and mature into men and women who reflect the very nature of Jesus Christ to their world.
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Living the Story
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Guatemala Written by Alaine H. Koster
“ We ca n n o t h el p b u t s pea k a b o u t wh a t we h a v e s een a n d h ea r d .”
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— Acts 4:20
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id you know that each year, CVC students, under the leadership of one of our high school teachers, head off to Guatemala to learn and serve others?
Connie Branderhorst, high school Spanish teacher, has been a great example of living the story to faculty and CVC families since 2006, when she began leading a team of high school students on a two-week mission trip to Magdelena Milpas Altas, Guatemala in partnership with Students International (SI). As stated in the team member manual from SI, the mission of the trip is to “Bring students and the poor together cross-culturally to encounter God, share the Good News, disciple and serve others in occupational ministries.” Students have the chance to work at a site of their choice, decided beforehand, that impacts the community and can even attend a week of language school before the mission trip begins in order to familiarize themselves with the culture and conversational language. Work site options span from education to agriculture, a medical clinic, special education, photography and media, art, sports, or construction at varying locations. The trip exemplifies living a life consecrated to God, lived in service to our fellow man as stewards of God’s creation in fulfilling the cultural mandate. As students reflect on their time in Guatemala with joy and thankfulness for the opportunity, it is apparent that God is working in the lives of those living in Magdelena Milpas Altas, Guatemala and the students as they prepare themselves for venturing on to life after high school. “Guatemala gave me the first good insight on what it’s like to live and work in a culture different than our own,” said Tori Moons, a 2011 trip attendee.
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Since 2006, CVC students have participated in a adventure in Guatemala with the mission of bringing students and dthe poor together cross-culturally to encouter God, share the Good News, disciple and serve other in occupational ministries.
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Ag site meeting for prayer before leaving. Manuel, a group leader, in the middle leads the prayer.
Students leave with a better understanding of putting faith into action and being prepared for doing so after graduating high school. Mark Bennett, who attended in ’07 and ’08 noted, “In my second year I saw firsthand how God unites the body of Christ (that year we went with Immanuel High School) and works through different members to encourage and build his kingdom.” Mrs. Branderhorst has been able to arrange hosting with the same family each year and has consequently built a strong bond with them. Speaking on changes to the program she said, “Same place, different faces. Each group has a different dynamic and there is always new things to be learned.” CVC is so proud of the work Mrs. Branderhorst and our students have done in Guatemala and we are excited to continue this program! The application and interview process for the Summer 2017 trip will begin in the Fall of 2016.
L o c a l . R a w . H o n e y
Quick Facts: Trip Dates: June 6-18, 2016 — Students go through an interviewing process, which starts in the fall before the trip. — Students fundraise for financial support Students International offers mission trips to other countries (www.stint.com). —Students International offers students
Author Bio: Thanks to Alaine Koster (Class of 2012) for her contribution to this month’s Cavalier! Alaine is a recent graduate, a freelance writer and an aspiring novelist. 6
the chance to be part of a summer staff after graduation
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From me to You Insights from CVC High School Siblings
fun to be on campus with a sibling, there can be some pressure, too. “She set the bar high,” acknowledged Eric of Saskia. “She got really good grades and has been a good example.” Sometimes the pressure draws out healthy competition. “My goal is to get more patches than any of my siblings...and I’ll strive for a better cross country time than Luke,” said Josh. His senior sibling Luke re-sponded, “The team experience is definitely fun, being a part of it all.”
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As any older siblings is wont to do, the seniors have advice for their younger counterparts: “Get in-volved and try a bunch of stuff!” said both Saskia and Jessica. “You won’t get such easy opportunities to learn golf or have a part in the musical after you graduate. Go to the sporting
events and support your classmates. Be sure to keep the student section alive.” Before they know it, these sibling pairs will no longer share the campus. The freshmen all agreed they’d miss the convenience of a built-in chauffer, and along with advice, the seniors have some hopes, and prayers for their younger siblings. “Be confident, and be yourself,” said both Luke & Saskia. “Enjoy it all!” Jessica instructed enthusiastically. “And don’t pick on people as a “joke,” added Luke. “it’s never funny.” Saskia closed with this wisdom: “The most important thing is to always be in service for God’s kingdom before grades and before sports; just show God’s love.”
Saskia &Eric
Dragt Written by Alecia VandenBerg High School English teacher
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eing a sibling is complicated. Being a high school student is complicated. Being a high school student with a sibling on the same campus is a whole different level of complicated with both benefits and draw-backs. At any given time, CVC enjoys a few sibling pairs/trios navigating the high school grounds at the same time, and even though the landscape is the same, the expectations and experiences differ. Allow me to introduce three sibling pairs currently coexisting on CVC’s high school campus: Jessica & Nicole Grimmius, Luke & Josh Dykstra, and Saskia & Eric Dragt. These senior/freshmen siblings were all asked to reflect on their experience at CVC: the seniors looking back, and the freshmen looking for-ward. As freshmen, students tend to focus on different aspects of their experience than the seniors. “I am most looking forward to my soccer career and striving
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to become a leader on the team,” said freshman Josh Dykstra. And while his older brother Luke enjoyed playing sports for CVC, he said, “[I appreciated the] nice, clean campus, and though the classes can be difficult, what we learn is important.”
Jessica & Nicole
Grimmius
Seniors Saskia Dragt and Jessica Grimmius added, “[We] appreciate how available the teachers are whenever I need them for anything at all. They are all very willing to help and care so much about us.” Saskia specifically noted how prepared she feels for college. “CVC has taught me self discipline and diligence.” “Everything is more laid back and fun than I expected,” commented freshman Eric Dragt, Saskia’s younger brother. Freshman Nicole Grimmius admits she thinks high school is more fun than middle school also - “There’s more freedom and it’s fun to be here with [Jessica].” - and while it can be
Luke & Josh
Dykstra
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Breaktime at the Middle School
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Middle school principal Mr. Hiemstra is just barely getting the shot off over his students!
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WHAT CAN I EXPECT? Our schedule and our teachers We offer full day kindergarten in three classrooms, which each cap at 25 students. When classes are full, teacher aides are hired, ensuring low student-teacher ratios. Each classroom is home to students diverse in their developmental stages, allowing stronger learners to aid and support others, and encouraging students to learn to interact well together.
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While we value academic excellence, even (and especially!) at the kindergarten level, we also value a child’s time to be a child, and blend structured learning time (“seat work”, group work and instruction) with plenty of exploration and play!
CVC Mission Cultivating responsible Christian adults, Valuing academic excellence, connecting biblical truth with everyday living, Shaping Christlike character
Who’s Ready for Kindergarten?
A first-time p a rent ’s guid e to CVC It’s a given that on the very first day of school in kindergarten, tears will be shed. What’s not a given is who will shed the most: our new hand-holding, hopping, skipping, energetic brandnew-shoe-wearing kindergartners (who are being totally engulfed by their backpacks) - or the stroller-pushing, Starbucks-sipping, kiss-giving, hair-ruffling parents of a patiently potty-trained, five-year-old, first time student. While that first day of kindergarten can be a hard transitional milestone for everyone, it actually may be the research that happened months before that was most difficult. In 1998, only about 56 percent of children attended full-day kindergarten. Today, that figure is 80 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and parents are digging deeper into their kindergarten options than ever before. Headlines like “The National Kindergarten Debate”, “Cracking the Kindergarten Code: Get Your Child Into a Good School” and “The Pressure to Get Kindergarten Right” are encouraging parents to really know their options to ensure the best for their children - and who doesn’t want the best? At CVC, we not only value excellence in our academic programs, but we also value open communication with you about those programs. So are you curious about CVC’s kindergarten? Are you in the middle of the research and application process? If so, we invite you to get to know our kindergarten program.
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Our students enjoy a private kindergarten playground for recess, plenty of stimulating learning aides in the classroom like books, blocks puzzles, and special Kindergarten and classes like art, music, and Field Trips library. Field trips throughout the year encourage • The zoo outside discovery, and •Various plays we love bringing in local •The pumpkin patch professionals (like firefighters • Imagine U Museum and dental hygienists) to •Zoofari animal program reinforce different academic •On-campus professional units. •Visits (dental hygienist, firemen, etc.) And of course, no kindergarten program CVC Kindergarten also puts would be complete without on two annual programs: a fun celebratory days - like Christmas program and a Penguin Day, Crazy Sock spring program Day, 100th Day, holiday parties and other fun and sometimes wacky events that allow our teachers to creatively integrate learning into play! Our teachers enjoy the freedom to not only inspire their students through creative celebratory days and structured class time, but also to care for our students by providing a loving Christian atmosphere as these new children (and families!) become part of our school. We value open communication and provide many volunteer opportunities so parents can be involved in their child’s learning.
K ACADEMICS: What will my child learn? Reading: Through this subject, our students receive a solid foundation for reading. Most students will begin to read by the end of their time in kindergarten, depending on where they are developmentally, and all students will learn sights words and strong phonetic skills, providing them the tools
to successfully sound out unfamiliar words - establishing that solid foundation for reading. Additionally, intentional weekly exposure to classic and award-winning children’s literature enables us to include quality story time in our day to help instill a love for reading! Math: Kindergartners are taught number recognition and counting skills, shapes, basic addition and subtraction and how to count to 100. Additionally, they are exposed to time and money skills, and spend much of math time with manipulative learning tools to keep this unit hands-on.
Kindergarten Basic Daily Schdeule 8:15 a.m. — Morning activity 8:30 a.m. — Devotions and daily routines (flag salutes, calendar time activities, singing, counting, etc.) 8:55 a.m. — Math activities 9:35 a.m. — Snack time and recess 10:00 a.m. — Phonics and literacy 11:20 a.m. — Lunch 11:45 a.m. — Recess 12:20 p.m. — short rest/quiet time, Bible time, Share time and Science/Social Studies 1:35 p.m. — Recess 2:00 p.m. — Center time, art projects and story time]w
Language: As in our reading time, strong phonetic skills are taught for both reading and writing. In writing, the students learn correct letter formation, proper line usage, and basic sentence structure - “starts with a capital, ends with a period” to set the foundation for further writing skills. Bible: At Bible time, children learn many of the major stories in the Old Testament, as well as the holiday stories in the New
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While no kindergartner has mastered any of the questions above, an introduction to the basics at home helps them start off at kindergarten ready to succeed. If they have been introduced to these concepts, we can partner together to help them continue to build on these skills. That’s what we do at CVC kindergarten - set the foundation for learning!
NO KIDDING: What it’s like to be a kindergartner in 2016
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• During library time, teachers focus on helping our students learn to use a mouse. In the age of touchscreens, this is a new (and often difficult) concept for a 5-year-old to grasp! • After 3+ years of extreme drought in California, many of our kindergartners have little to no recollection of rain. This El Nino year has brought much wide-eyed excitement and exuberant puddle jumping (and consequently soaked shoes) to our kindergarten classrooms!
Testament (Christmas and Easter). Much time is spent in Bible memory - each year, our kindergartners learn all of Psalm 23, Psalm 100, and the Lord’s prayer! Science/Social Studies: In this subject, kindergartners are taught about “objects all around us” by reviewing our five senses, seasons and weather, water, plants, and animals as well as topics like fire and safety and dental care.
FAITH INTEGRATION: What does that mean? Our greatest commitment at CVC is to glorify God in everything we do. For us, this means partnering with Christian families and their churches in raising covenant children by providing excellent academics from a distinctly Christian worldview. While this includes structured Bible time and memory verses, our faith is not contained to one subject - it is integrated into everything we do. Morals and behavior expectations are connected with living the way God calls us through the Bible. Life skills - like learning to be a friend or how to pray or how to solve social problems - are taught from a Biblical perspective. Each day, we commit again to come alongside you and reinforce those Biblical truths that you teach your children at home, and that we celebrate together in the church. 14
BEFORE THEY GO: How do I know if my child is ready for Kindergarten? At CVC, we have one basic standard that all our kindergarten applicants must meet: the child must be 5 years old on or before September 1 (no exceptions). Additionally, as part of our application process, your child will take a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment that will give great insight into whether or not your child is ready to start - and while your child does not need to know letters and sounds, or be able to write their name, it only benefits them if they do! Here are some other questions you can ask yourself to help assess if your child is ready: • Does my child have independent skills? (Can he/she use the bathroom without assistance, put on a jacket, and open and clean up his/her own lunch?) • Has my child been introduced to basic tactile skills, like coloring, cutting or gluing? • Can my child follow multi-step directions (e.g. “write your name on the paper and put it in the bag”)? • Can my child sit through a 10-minute story time? • Does my child have basic social skills like waiting his/her turn or sharing with peers?
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The Ficher Family
Tena (wife/mother); Paul (husband/ father)JP (7th Grade); Josh (5th Grade); Kapri (3rd Grade); Jarick (1st Grade); Jax (Preschool) and Katena (2 years old)
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Jordan (husband/father), Leslie (wife/mother), Tarah (1st grade), Jrue (4 years old) and Tori (2 years old)
A NORMAL DAY: Ha that’s funny — I can’t say we have a normal daily plan! We live on the roll-with-life schedule. We rush to get to school and we struggle to get to bed on time but in-between we live, laugh, work, play, eat and enjoy this amazing life God has blessed us with.
A NOMRAL DAY: is quite busy with 6 children going in 6 different directions. We usually are in a rush to make it to the bus stop in the morning on time! After school we either have practices for basketball or soccer to get to, cadets or gems, youth group, Bible study for mom and many other different events in between but we love it and wouldn’t have it any other way.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT CVC: 8. We love being apart of the CVC community because we know that our children are in a safe, sound environment where they are going to learn about God’s Word daily and use what they have learned
The Taylor Family
HISTORY AT CVC: Pretty much our whole life. We both went to CVC, but if you want to get technical this is our 2nd year as parents at CVC.
HISTORY AT CVC: Our family has been apart of the CVC community for many years. I myself am a CVC alumni and graduated in 1995. I attended CVC K-12th grade. My children have all gone to CVC also since preschool.
WE LOVE: As a family we love to go out to eat together, go to the movies, watch a soccer game, go to the beach when we can or just get outside and play a family soccer game ourselves. It’s all about being together and enjoying each others company!
OF CENTRAL VALLEY CHRISTIAN
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s e i l i m a F l Rea
AFTER SCHOOL: I would say we are pretty involved in church — volunteering, being a part of committees, and enjoying the fellowship of Bible Study groups. We also look forward to volunteering at Happy Trails, a local therapeutic riding facility, when we have spare time. WE LOVE: We love being outside together. Summer Sundays finds us at the lake enjoying Sunday-Funday with our family. Cooler days find us playing basketball, baseball or playing on the swing set in our backyard, and this winter in particular we’ve been enjoying the snow. outside of school. They are learning not only about God’s Word but how to have a personal relationship with God. We all have made amazing friends at CVC and love the community that feels like an extended family. PRAY: Pray for our family that we continue to walk closer to God and to always trust in him even if we don’t always understand his ways.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT CVC: While a student at CVC — I was always thankful for my teachers. As a parent I am still very thankful for and admire all the teachers I have come in contact with. We also enjoy being apart of a community that comes alongside you and encourages you when you are down or if needed, stop everything and say a prayer for you - we feel very much like this is home and we are apart of a wonderful family.
I feel like we have been one of the most prayed for families this year. From the bottom of our hearts we would like to thank everyone who has prayed for and continues to lift us up with the sudden death of my Opa in September and my younger sister’s stroke in November. God is faithful & our prayer is that we be good stewards with all that He has so richly blessed us with and that His name be glorified in all we do.
PRAY:
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Alumni Update
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Thomas Weston Anderson ‘11 graduated from Texas Tech in December of 2015 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Communication.
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Shelly (Leyendekker) Staal married Dan Staal on October 17, 2015 in Visalia. They currently live in San Diego where Dan serves with the United States Marine Corps.
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Richard Pritchard ‘91 is currently the Director of Golf at Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course in Hidden Valley, CA.
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Brittany (Rodrigues) Scheenstra ‘10 and husband Chad Scheenstra ‘09 welcomed daughter MaKenna Reese on December 14, 2015.
David Rainbow ‘97 graduated from New York University in 2014 with a doctorate in Russian History. The following year, he completed a post-doctoral position at Columbia University, and then accepted a position teaching at the University of Houston in the fall of 2015, where he joins his brother, Jesse ‘95 at the Honors College. Jesse is married to Andrea (VanderSchaaf) Rainbow ‘00.
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Jamie Dykstra ‘13 married Brent Kamper ‘13 on January 2, 2016 in Tulare. They are currently juniors at Dordt College.
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Annelise Bons ‘11 graduated from Azusa Pacific University in December of 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Health. Presently, Annelise is completing her first year at Loma Linda University, and is working towards completing her doctorate program in Physical Therapy.
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5600 W. Tulare Ave. | Visalia, CA 93277