Our Curriculum

Our academic program is designed to train students in all the skills and knowledge necessary for a well rounded elementary school education. We strive to meet all the educational goals of the Ontario Ministry of Education plus our additional goals of Bible education. It is the aim of Wallaceburg Christian School to be CHRIST centered, TEACHER directed and CHILD oriented.

The curriculum in the school is built upon the understanding that all of human life is religious and that humankind must serve God everywhere and in all things. All activities within the scope of education at WCS grow out of this starting point.

Devotions

Each day starts with classroom devotions. Songs of praise, the reading of God’s Word, the sharing together of prayers and prayer requests helps to set the tone for the rest of the day. Students and teachers together acknowledge that God is an ever present part of their everyday lives.

Bible

The Christian school exists to train students for a life of discipleship to the triune God in the world, and the Bible is indispensable for that development. It is used in a devotional context, along with meditation and prayer, and also in a distinctly academic approach, as a subject among other subjects.

The school's Bible program, The Story of God and His People, presents the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God. In learning about God's people throughout history, students learn that through the high and the low points, God's continuing love for his people is evident. Despite doubt, rebellion, fear, or pressure to conform, each student (just like the people in the Bible) is on a spiritual journey under God's care. Students too, belong to the story. The Bible helps shape our sense of who we are, where we have come from, what we are living for, and where we are headed.

Mathematics

The mathematics program enables students to increase their understanding of God’s
creation and prepare them to serve effectively in the world in which they live. Math is taught 40-60 minutes every day. Students learn how to compute numbers, do word problems, and acquire age appropriate concepts. It is through their interaction with all the dimensions of this part of creation that students learn to appreciate the order and structure of the world in which they live.

Language Arts

God created people with the ability to use language to listen and respond to Him. Our curriculum, taught from a Christian perspective, provides the students with an overview in the areas of short stories, novels, poetry, media studies, writing, and skill development. The gift of language enriches every aspect of people’’s lives as they commune with God. We provide a variety of settings to enhance these experiences, such as learning centers, reading groups, literature circles, individual work and group presentations.

French

In Canada we have the opportunity of enjoying a multi-cultural society. Within this country we also have the privilege, opportunity and responsibility of developing an understanding and appreciation in the area of language through formal French speaking education taught within our Canadian school system. As educators, it is our task to inform and instruct children in the
area of language so that they can become better equipped Canadian citizens.

As image bearers of Christ we are ommanded to love one another. A visible sign of expressing love and acceptance towards our neighbour is taking the time to understand them. Within our Canadian school system we have the ability to understand our French speaking neighbour by studying their language within the context of their culture. We celebrate the cultural and linguistic diversity of God’s amazing creation and through French studies we hope to foster an appreciation for this diversity among our students.

Social Studies

In Social Studies, children learn about human interaction in the context of people’s and civilizations’ relationship with God. Through the Creation Studies Series and the DIGS Series students study the historical and geographical aspects of their own country, Canada. In addition, the study of other cultures and civilizations provides a contrast to their own experience.

In the intermediate division, students begin to think analytically, and are presented with the further division of the social studies content into the disciplines of geography and history.

Geography

The geography curriculum serves to remind students that all of life is associated with the natural environment. From an ecological perspective, students learn that each Biome or ecosystem is a dynamic, unified creational structure and that people use the land depending on their value systems. Students are guided to form questions that will allow them to consider decisions about resource use and stewardship.

History

God calls Christians to be part of His plan for redeeming the world. Understanding the past
can help students appreciate and direct their lives today into more obedient service to God
and their neighbours. The study of history enables us not only to learn the knowledge and stories of the past, but assists us to understand our contemporary society better. Students gain an understanding of how other cultures live. History gives us the opportunity to hear God's pain and joy in the various human actions of the past and to become historical co- workers with God in bringing reconciliation and building communities that truly reflect his will.

Science

God is the Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe in which we live. We humans are created beings, designed to live in perfect balance with animals, plants, and nonliving things of creation through biological, chemical, and physical laws which God has established.

Our science curriculum equips students to discover the infinite complexity and amazing orderliness of God’s world, to learn about themselves as a special part of God’s creation, and to recognize their role as caretakers of creation.

Health

In health education, students learn how to fulfill their God-given responsibility in such areas
of physical fitness, nutrition, personal health, emotional health, personal safety, and disease prevention. All strands of the health curriculum affect the whole child. Students learn how we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" in studying body systems. In other strands, students learn to solve problems, make decisions, and set goals that are directly related to personal health and well-being. We must recognize that since healthy living affects us in our totality, health education plays a solid role in developing children and
equipping them to serve God in the world.

Art

Psalm 24:1
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”

God calls His people to know, enjoy, and valuate the visual aesthetic in His creation and the visual
expressions of others. “If from this world around us we can learning anything about God’s character, surely it is that we have a creative God, a God of diversity, a God whose interest in beauty and detail must be unquestioned when one looks at the world which He has made around us, and people themselves, as a result of His craftsmanship.”

Every child lives in a world full of beauty - of patterns, shapes, can wonderful creations. The challenges of an art teacher are to lead children to discover art, to sharpen their senses, and to strengthen their abilities to make judgments and decisions to develop their artistic skills and techniques. God designed us to be creative, and the teacher who can inspire students to enjoy, evaluate, and create works of art is one who professes that the earth and everything in it is the Lord’s.

Art is essential in school curriculum. When taught by a Christian teacher, art education is oriented toward the child but centred in Christ. When teachers and students enjoy the world of art, they celebrate the fullness of the creation with gratitude to their Creator.

(Perspective statement from the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools, Art Ideas ~ adopted in 2008)

Music

Music education is an important part of a child’s development. It allows the student to worship God and develop their gifts. It has a capacity to provide spiritual enrichment through aesthetic enjoyment, creative expression, and communal and individual worship. At WCS we spend our morning singing as part of our devotional time. The students are also exposed to the basic elements of music: rhythm, melody, harmony, form, and timbre (expressive qualities). In Grade 3/4 the students are taught basic music theory in preparation for playing the recorder in grade 5 and 6.

In the upper grades the students focus on the impact music has on society, taking time to compare the lyrical content of Christian music vs. secular music. They become discerners of what is appropriate to listen to. They are also encouraged to write their own songs and express them through a form of presentation. The study of the origin of musical instruments is also a topic that is covered. Then they are encouraged to create their own.

Physical Education

Human beings, created in God's image, function and respond through their bodies, to fulfil the tasks to which they have been called. In physical education, we study the movement of the body and we practice skills to acquire and maintain physical fitness and co-ordination. A balanced approach that incorporates fitness, play, and skills is developed throughout the grades. We believe that physical activity brings enjoyment and awareness of how wonderfully our bodies are made. In addition, students have opportunities to grow in self-knowledge, self-respect, competition, and social skills. At various levels, students may choose to engage in extra-curricular athletic programs.

Technology

At Wallaceburg Christian school, we recognize that technology must fall under the same Reformed world-view as other subjects, namely that we are called to serve God by redeeming the field of technology and computing. We should recognize that technology gives us a glimpse into the majesty of our powerful and wise Creator.

Technology can be taught with computers or without, as technology is an application of knowledge to meet an identified need or solve a problem. Technology must cease to be the focus of instruction and instead become the primary tool to engage the students in creating and solving problems.

Special Education: The Resource Program

The Resource Program is an integral part of the complete educational program at WCS. The aim of the program is to build self-confidence and teach students the skills and strategies necessary to overcome and/or cope with learning difficulties, so that they too, can serve God and others to the best of their abilities.

The Resource Program offers the following services and programs:
1. Assessment/ testing / diagnosis of learning strengths and weaknesses for all
students in a variety of exceptionalities including slow learners, learning
disabilities, gifted, emotional and behavioral.
2. Teaching individual or small groups of students in the Resource Room.
3. Referrals to outside agencies and support services in the community.
4. Information about a variety of special education topics and issues.

Both teachers and parents may make referrals to the Resource Room. Students are scheduled in the Resource Program according to need and the time available. The Resource Program has many components: the students, the parents, the teachers, the program, and the resources. All of these work together to help the students develop their talents, promote a feeling of self-acceptance and find their value as children of God.

Class Trips and Excursions

All students at WCS participate in class trips designed to enhance their learning. Students are transported either by volunteer parents or by bus. A WCS Class Trip Policy ensures
maximum student safety. The cost of trips and excursions is covered in part by proceeds from the WCS student hotdog sales. For some special trips, parents may be asked for additional funds to cover the cost of the event.

Standardized Testing

Students in grades 3 - 8 participate every other year in the Canadian Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) in early October. (We will participate again in 2008.) It measures a student’s knowledge and is used as a tool to analyze program weaknesses and student progress. It shows national percentile comparisons as well as OACS (Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools) comparisons. Parents are informed of their child(ren)’s progress in a report sent home.