Dakota Christian
School
Newsletter
2017
Dakota Christian School, 37614 SD Hwy 44, Corsica, SD 57328
Telephone: (605) 243-2211
Fax: (605) 243-2379
Website: www.dchs.net
The Root of the Problem
Recently, I went to an unscheduled dentist appointment because I was experiencing tooth pain. After taking x-rays, the dentist
informed me that I needed to have a wisdom tooth removed. The tooth was causing pain below the surface of my mouth, so oral
surgery was necessary. After the surgery, I went for a follow-up appointment. The dentist told me that the surgery was a success.
Further, he said that if the tooth had not been removed, there would have potentially been much greater complications, including
the possible fracturing of my jaw. It is hard to believe that something so small and unseen could cause so much damage.
God’s Word tells us of a similar situation. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: “See to it that no one falls short of the grace
of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:15). The root of a plant is unseen, yet the
root provides the nourishment for that plant to grow. If the root is nourished properly, with good nutrients in the soil and the right
amount of water, the plant will provide good fruit, which will be a source of good nutrition to any who partake of it. However, if the
roots are not good, the plant cannot produce good fruit, which will be of no use to those who wish to eat its fruit.
Analogously, our thoughts and intentions are like roots. People cannot see our thoughts and attitudes; they reside in our
hearts, below the surface. However, Jesus is clear about the results: “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree
bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.” (Matthew 12:33). And again: “By their fruit you will recognize them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears
bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut
down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:16-20)
Roots of bitterness are the cause of conflicts, grudges, and harsh words and actions. We need to identify those bad roots and
rid ourselves of them. However, if you have ever tried to dig up any plant by its roots, you know that it is hard work. Once roots
grow and sink in, they can be very difficult to dig out. Are you and I willing to do the necessary work to deal with our issues at the
source (the roots, i.e our own hearts)? By doing the hard work, we will bring honor and glory to God and repair relationships with
other brothers and sisters in Christ. May God bless us to identify and eliminate the roots of bitterness in our lives, so that we may
serve Him better and be of greater blessing to those around us!
In Christ,
Donald D. Mitchell, Administrator
Mark you Calendar
Kindergarten Round Up
will be held on May 4th
All children who will be 5 years old before September
1, 2017, are eligible for kindergarten at DCS. Watch for
more details in the April newsletter. Contact Mrs. Grosz
(243-2211 ext. 201) with questions.
Make plans to attend the
DCS NASP Archery Shoot
(National Archery in the School Program)
on Thursday, March 30 at 7:00 p.m.
in the DCS gym
DCS Fellowship
Officer Election to be Held
The DCS Fellowship will be electing officers for the 2018
-2019 school year. The elected officers will serve as “vice”
officers for the 2017-2018 school year.
Positions to be filled for 2018-2019 are President, Secretary, and Treasurer. All names will be kept confidential and
positions will be determined by casting of lots at the April 24
Fellowship meeting. The terms for President and Secretary
will begin the summer of 2018, and the treasurer term will
begin the summer of 2019.
Please prayerfully consider placing your name up for
one of the offices. Names must be submitted by April 19 to
Kirsti Muckey ([email protected]) or Traci
Niewenhuis ([email protected]).
The DCS 2016-2017 Theme is “Expect More”
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work
within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21
Prairie Readers
Dakota Christian School earned second place at the Armour Prairie Reader Event on March 15, 2017. We had 42
DCS students participate this year.
The following are the teams who placed in their grade
division:
3rd grade received 2nd place—Kathryn Baas, Brooklyn
Hubers, and Alyssa Middendorp
5th grade received received 3rd place—Jamie Baas, Peter
Backes, Danica Middendorp, Carter Vander Pol
6th grade team received 3rd place—Hayden Hubers,
Sean Sybesma, Tate Timmermans (Team #2)
7th grade team received 1st place—Emma Faller, Marissa
Maas, Jacob Mudder, Cassidy Vanden Hoek, and
Lexie Vander Pol (Team #2)
High School team received 3rd place—Gabe Baas, Hannah Hansum, Karleah Pheifer, and Kelsey Vander Pol
(Team #2)
The 6th grade team consisting of Isabella Brouwer, Jaden
Plooster, and Kennedy Sejnoha, suffered a heart breaking
defeat when they lost during the second tie breaker against
their own classmates on our other 6th grade team.
The Prairie Reader contest has been in existence since
2004. This event demands time and willingness to read
books. Each year the students are given a list of 8 to 10
books to read.
Thank you parents, for encouraging your child to stimulate their mind by reading and to persevere and get all the
books read. Thanks to volunteers who read books and wrote
questions. A huge thank you to Mrs. Van Dusseldorp who
retired after 30 years of being a librarian and leading the Prairie Reader program since the beginning. Mrs. Van Dusseldorp has built a great program throughout her many years.
Mrs. Corinne Middendorp, Librarian
5th & 6th Grades Learning
The Art of Discernment
One of the goals as a Christian educator is to help students learn to discern what is happening in the world around
them. Discern means to recognize something as distinct or
different. We are currently reading the book A Wrinkle in
Time by Madeleine L’Engle. I must admit that at first I was
somewhat fearful. I wanted to make sure that the students
were able to look at this story through the eyes of Jesus, so
for each lesson we have a section of Biblical principles that
can be applied to what we have read. I recently asked the
students to write two Biblical principles for chapter 5, and
here are some of their principles:
~ The Happy Medium found happiness when she looked
at things she liked in the crystal ball. As Christians, we
can only find true happiness and joy through Jesus
Christ.
~ Mrs. Whatsit said the children must tell Mrs. Murry
about the journey, even though she does not even
realize that the children are gone. As Christians, we
are to tell the whole truth or story. If we withhold part,
it is the same thing as telling a lie.
~ Mrs. Which told the children that there are people
fighting against the darkness. Christians recognize that
because of Christ, there will always be a light in the
darkness. (John 1:5)
~ The ladies took the children to Uriel to prepare them for
the difficulty of the overtaken planet. God prepares us
for the difficulties in this life.
From the Science Laboratory
The first quarter of the spring semester brings the mad
rush to finish (or begin for some students) science fair projects. The 7th through 10th grade students worked hard, getting everything ready for our local science fair, which was
held Thursday, March 2. Mrs. Van Vuren and I made the
decision to not send our kids on to the Mitchell Regional Science Fair this year as a trial to see how it went. Instead of
having judges come from Dordt College as usual, we had
four members of the community come in and judge the projects. There were two judges for the junior high division and
two judges for the high school division. The students presented their projects to the judges, and were judged based on a
rubric highlighting the aspects Mrs. Van Vuren and I believed
were most important to completing a project. The judges
scores were tallied up and awards were given out at the public open house that night. The top three qualifiers for the junior high division were awarded a special ribbon, and in the
high school division they earned a plaque.
In the junior high division, we had a tie for 1st place, which
has never happened before! Emma Faller and Cameron
Sybesma tied with a total of 33.5 out of 36 points each.
Marissa Maas came in 2nd place with a score of 31.5 out of
36. In the high school division, Hannah Hansum took home
1st place, scoring 33.25 out of 36. Second place went to Parker Vander Pol and Kelsey Vander Pol scoring 32.75 out of
36. Rounding out the top scores for the high school division
was Gabe Baas and Trevor Timmermans, scoring 31.5 out
of 36. After the judging was finished and the judges were on
their way home they called Mrs. Van Vuren. They felt there
was a specific project that stood out due to the amount of
time and effort put in; although they did not place in the top
three the judges suggested we give out a special award to
those students. Pearce VanderPol and Dillon DeHaai received a special award for the enormous amount of time and
effort they put into their project “Trash to Treasure”. They
restored and modified an old go-kart, which happened to be
Dillon’s (and my) cousin Vince Ries’, who passed away last
May in a kayaking accident.
I am very proud of all the students who worked so hard
on their project. I have heard nothing but amazing remarks
from those who attended, stating how this was one of the
best science fairs they have been to in a long time! Keep up
the great work guys!
Mrs. LaDawn Wolbrink, JH/HS Science
~ The children begin to worry about Dr. Murry and the
fight against the Darkness. In His word, God tells us
that we should not worry about tomorrow, for He
knows our needs and will provide for us. (I Peter 5:7;
John 14:1)
~ Mrs. Which asked Mrs. Whatsit if she was losing hope.
As Christians, we have an almighty God, and we
should never lose hope in Him.
~ The children have been introduced to the darkness
that surrounds the earth, and they are being asked to
fight against it. The darkness that surrounds the earth
is sin. God never intended for us to fight against the
darkness alone. (I Kings 19; II Kings 6)
These are just a few of the Biblical principles that the students have learned to apply to their lives after reading A
Wrinkle in Time. We are blessed to be in a Christian school
where we can use the Bible in every subject to help us be
more like Jesus with each passing day.
In His Service, Mrs. Joy Mitchell, 5th/6th Grades
3rd Nine Weeks Honor Roll Listings
“A” Honor Roll
Seniors
Clay Brouwer
Jeremiah Mitchell
Juniors
Sada De Lange
Luke Kaemingk
Megan Mudder
Chase Pheifer
Kendall Veenstra
Sophomores
Alex Maas
Kristen Maas
Freshmen
Isabel Pheifer
Karleah Pheifer
C
O
N
G
R
A
T
U
L
A
T
I
O
N
S
!
“B” Honor Roll
Seniors
Michael Maas
Cody Vanden Hoek
Ahna Vander Pol
Emily Zomer
Juniors
Kamilla Pheifer
Sophomores
Micah Mitchell
Sidney Muckey
Freshman
Gabe Baas
Hannah Hansum
Melanie Mudder
Noah Sejnoha
Trevor Timmermans
Kelsey Vander Pol
Acts of Kindness in Grades 3 and 4
Our school year intentionally started with a bulletin board
titled, “Random Acts of Kindness.” Our goal was to fill the
target on this board with successful kindness missions performed by the third and fourth grade “agents.” Little did we
know how these acts of kindness would help us through the
grieving process over losing our close friend, Andrew.
Throughout the storm of loss, we have found ways to put
God’s love in action and celebrate the gift of life. In August
and September, we snuck through the halls of Dakota Christian School surprising people with hug attacks. In October,
we began praying for a young man in a motorcycle accident
in Pennsylvania. We experienced the miracle of healing in
this young man’s life through the power of prayer. We sent
cards and words of encouragement and in return received a
beautiful letter from his mom. She shared how our God answered our prayers and how meaningful the cards were. We
still rejoice in Philip’s miraculous recovery, and we continue to
pray. In November, we thanked people that are important in
our lives with cards. In December, we had a blast performing
acts of kindness each day we were in school. We had fun
candy cane bombing the parking lot, thanking the mailman,
candy “hugging” the staff and spending time with residents in
the Armour Nursing Home. We were soooooo blessed! After
school resumed in January, we continued our card ministry.
The students are getting very talented at making cards for
people that have lost loved ones and are going through tough
things. These kiddos understand the pain, but they also understand the hope. They know that every verse that they put
in their cards are God’s words, and that God’s words offer
hope and ease the hurt. In March, we surprised the 7th and
8th grade class with treats, encouraging words, and homemade magnets for their lockers. Recently, we sent an encouraging letter to the school board to say that they are valued and appreciated.
The love and joy of our friend Andrew has become our
legacy – putting love in action. Our acts of kindness are not
random. They are intentional. We have taken the grief and
poured it into kindness. We have reached out to others and
found healing. We have kept the love and joy alive. Our
challenge to you is to pay the kindness forward. Have you
been blessed by an act of kindness? Pass it on. You will find
that it eases the pain, offers hope in the storm, and the showers of blessings will rain down – often on you!
Mrs. Camielle Veenstra, 3rd/4th grades
DCS March Board Activity
DCS Financial Report
Chris read Psalms 23, read from a devotional and
opened with prayer.
II. Roll call showed Matt Hubers, Corey Vander Pol,
Traci Niewenhuis, Yvonne Bentz, Chris Dykshorn,
Doug Kaemingk, Byron DeHaai, Keith Vanden
Hoek, Paul Baas and Mr. Mitchell present.
III. Minutes from previous board meetings were reviewed and approved.
IV. Correspondence
A. Letter of thanks was read from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 8th graders
had taken an exam.
V. Committee Reports
A. Finance committee
1. Motion made and supported to pay bills.
Motion approved.
2. Motion made and supported to allow teachers to accumulate 6 personal days on full
time contracts. Motion approved.
3. Motion made and supported to change
DCS extra curricular pay from a percentage
of base salary to a set salary. Would be a
change in policy 318. Motion approved.
B. Education committee
1. Minutes from meeting were received for
information, no motions.
C. Buildings and Grounds
1. Security lights have been installed
2. Raised garden has been built for Mrs.
Schulte.
3. Fire marshal inspection report was discussed. No major problems. Will work with
Corey, Mr. Mitchell and Joey to address
issues.
D. Promotion committee – No report
E. Transportation Committee
1. Grille and lights replaced on Chevy van
VI. Principal’s Report – received for information
VII. Old Business
A. Second reading of head coaching job description, changes made, to be read for approval
next meeting.
VIII. New Business
A. First reading of athletic director job description,
changes made, to be read for approval next
meeting.
IX. Executive session
A. Motion made and supported to enter executive
session at 7:40 pm, motion approved.
B. Motion made and supported to exit executive
session at 9:23 pm, motion approved.
X. Motions
A. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. Van
Zee a full time contract for 2017/18 school year,
motion approved.
B. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs.
Veurink a full time contract for 2017/18 school
year, motion approved.
C. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. Masur
a full time contract for 2017/18 school year, motion approved.
D. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. Mitchell a full time contract for 2017/18 school year,
General Fund Checking Acct Report for February
Balance 02/01/17
$ 9,084.35
Deposits
$ 80,237.99
Withdrawals
$ 88,874.22
Closing Balance 02/28/17
$ 448.12
I.
Monthly Church Ministry Offerings
Monthly Budget Goal
Funds received in February
.
$ 12,516.67
$ 15,302.35
Budget Goal for Church Ministry Offerings
Yearly Budget Goal
$ 150,200.00
Funds received as of 02/28/17
$ 119,974.09
Balance Needed by 7/31/17
$ 30,225.91
.
XI.
XI.
motion approved.
E. Motion made and supported to offer Mr. Boer a
full time contract for 2017/18 school year, motion approved.
F. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. De
Jager Instrumental music 5-12 contract for
2017/18 school year, motion approved.
G. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. Zomer
Vocal music 5-12 contract for 2017/18 school
year, motion approved.
H. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. Van
Dusseldorp art 5-8 contract for 2017/18 school
year, motion approved.
I. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. Faller
a pre-k, k-4 music, 7-12 Chapel coordinator
contract for 2017/18 school year, motion approved.
J. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs.
Feenstra a full time contract for 2017/18 school
year, motion approved.
K. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs.
Veenstra a full time contract for 2017/18 school
year, motion approved.
L. Motion made and supported to offer Mrs. Wolbrink a full time contract for 2017/18 school
year, motion approved.
School Visitor Report
A. Traci visited mainly junior high and high school.
She enjoyed her visit, impressed with teachers!
Paul closed with prayer.
March 26, 2017 NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT:
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer. If
you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint
Form,
found
online
at
http://www.ascr.usda.gov/
complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866)
632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all the information requested in the form. Send your
completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax
(202) 690-7442 or email at [email protected].
The mission of DCS is to assist parents by providing
education based on a biblical worldview, thereby enabling
their children to grow in Christian wisdom, to nurture godly
character, and to serve Christ as Lord.