WELCOME TO MIDDLE SCHOOL!
Buckle your seat belts and hold on tight because we are going on an adventure! You will learn new concepts and perfect old ones. You will make friends that will last a lifetime, and get closer to the one that will last through eternity. Prepare to be amazed at what God can do through you!
OUR DAILY SCHEDULE
TAG TIME: The first thing we do every morning is invite God’s presence through a 15-minute TAG time (time alone with God). Students bring a devotional for this special time and record their thoughts in their SOAP journal (Scripture/Observation/Application/Prayer).
WORSHIP: After personal TAG time, we explore our faith together in daily classroom worship. We listen, learn, and laugh together as we share personal testimonies, prayer requests, and praises. Guided by our 28 fundamental beliefs, this worship time helps us connect deeply with our spiritual values and each other.
BIBLE CLASS: After classroom worship, we begin Bible class where every student’s friendship with Jesus is nurtured, through countless connection opportunities with Him, and a growing, confident knowledge of Scripture, so that they may be challenged to make an eternal difference in our world. Our Encounter Bible curriculum invites students to share in the power of story, make discoveries for themselves, sense their place in the big picture, and grapple with real issues openly; a place where investigation and reflection on God’s Word is central.
BAPTISMAL CLASS: Once a week Pastor Steve gives a Bible study. Students enjoy listening to stories from the bible that elicit thoughtful conversation where students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and asking questions.
CHAPLAIN WORSHIP: Twice a month our class chaplains visit our class for worship.
MATH CLASS: The key to learning mathematics is understanding the "why" behind the "how". Our HMH Into Math curriculum emphasizes the importance of establishing conceptual understanding and reinforces that understanding with procedural practice. The learning model asks students to develop reasoning before connecting their understanding to concepts and skills. I especially enjoy teaching math because it is one of the best ways to learn who God is. I believe math came from the mind of God. Man has developed symbols, numbers, and equations to implement and use God’s creation of math. Only a perfect, all-knowing God could create something as complex, logical, and consistent as math. Math requires order, and God created order. As one mathematician put it, “He allows us to explain His order with equations that always have the same answer.”
FINANCE CLASS: We have a finance class once a week. This class helps students connect what they learn in the classroom and the real world by combining classroom lessons and a capstone visit to a hands-on simulated community experience. Classroom lessons incorporate market economy and free enterprise concepts, along with the civic responsibilities of contributing citizens in a community. I believe this is a great avenue for students to relate to God by implementing logic and order in our everyday lives. Math helps us gain solutions to daily challenges and problems. We use it to balance our checkbooks, pay bills, follow recipes, conduct business, manage our health, pay tithe, make home repairs and improvements, and help others. Students can experience how God holds our universe together (Colossians 1:17).
SPELLING: Our Spelling Connections curriculum provides a word study approach that includes structured, systematic instruction in spelling patterns and teaches word study in the context of expanding vocabulary, enhancing comprehension, and improving writing. I especially appreciate how the students are taught how to spell through etymology. When we aim for students to understand words, it's valuable to explore their origins, identify patterns within them, examine how they've evolved, and consider how they are perceived by different people and in various contexts.
GRAMMAR: I’m excited to share why our grammar class is a favorite among students. The key to its success lies in the structure of the lessons. Each session is short and packed with clear examples, making the material easy to understand. After each lesson, students practice and reinforce what they've learned. This format helps them stay focused, excel in their assignments, and ultimately boosts their confidence and self-efficacy. As a result, they not only enjoy the class but also feel proud of their progress.
PE: We have physical education Monday through Thursday. These classes enhance the social, emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical well-being, and prepare us for service to others.
READING/WRITING: Our classroom uses the Pathways 2.0 curriculum. Journey to excellence through literacy provides instruction in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The lessons provide rigorous academic quality aligned with standards for proficiency in literacy. Recognition of and respect for the diversity in our world are shown through the choice of Anchor Texts and instructional lessons throughout the program. By exploring big ideas and varying answers to essential questions, students are led to understand that the Bible is the standard for learning and living a life of faith.
HISTORY: Using the McGraw Hill Voices and Perspectives curriculum, students are empowered to make connections between the past and present as they experience history through multiple lenses and inquiry while practicing civil discourse to become future-ready citizens. A Christian philosophy of history affirms that God has always existed. His creation of this world marked the beginning of human history in time and space. Furthermore, the biblical perspective strongly suggests that God is exercising a continuing role in the affairs of earth’s men and women and the universe. The study of history therefore includes a search for explanations concerning the origins, purpose, and destiny of the universe and earth’s people as determined by God.
SCIENCE: In Science Class, students learn through the By Design Curriculum. This is a Christian holistic approach to discovering God’s world through Science. Students conduct experiments and learn through hands-on interactions. Outdoor learning is also a key to this classroom. Not only do we have a classroom garden to care for but each year we take a trip to Indian Creek Camp in Smithville, TN. Here, we meet up with other 5th and 6th graders across the KYTN conference to learn about God in nature. This also provides an opportunity to develop friendships with others across the conference.
TECHNOLOGY: We set our students up for success with our grade-differentiated and adaptive keyboarding curriculum, with thousands of lessons, covering a range of cross-curricular topics that are pinpointed to each student’s proficiency level. Also included in this curriculum are digital citizenship and coding courses.
ARTS: Twice a week, students participate in their choice of Band, Bells, Choir, or private lessons. The art class is once a week.
OUR CLASSROOM CLIMATE
My students have a natural desire to learn about God and to be of service to each other and the community. I nurture these desires through service outreach projects, peer teaching, and cooperative learning groups in the classroom.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Our classroom management is based on mutual respect. When asked which commandment is most important, Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31
FIELD TRIPS
Our classroom enjoys multiple opportunities to incorporate technology and real-world applications through STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) projects.
We have enjoyed some interesting, hands-on field trips over the last few years like Shakespeare plays, Nissan North America Manufacturing plant, the Corvette plant, the Nashville Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and News Channel Five Weather Station to experience how they produce their telecasts. My students have volunteered by teaching art classes at Room in the Inn in Nashville, prepared and distributed food at Nashville Rescue Mission, and volunteered in the stock room at Portland Cares. A crowd favorite was the "Compassion Experience"; A traveling walk-through experience of a third-world nation. We also viewed the original Columbus documents at the Frist Museum and visited numerous historical sites. We visited Nestle Water, the water treatment plant in Gallatin, and much more! We have been to museums, the Tennessee capital building, sat in the House of Representatives, and we have even had the opportunity to meet our Governor, Bill Lee! Our field trip locations are ever-changing based on what we are learning and what experiences become available and I am always on the lookout for memorable field trips! The last field trip of the year is to JA Biztown to put their finance knowledge to the test by experiencing life in the real world!
I wear many hats in the classroom: a facilitator of learning, coach of learning, mentor of learning, and sometimes a fellow in learning. Whatever capacity I may fill, I do it with a gracious heart and a passionate spirit. I am proud to serve alongside the Highland teachers as the hands and feet of God.