Bethel Christian Elementary School serves to support parents in their God-given task of raising a child in the ‘instruction of the Lord’ by fostering excellence in education and Christian character. Students will be prepared to be Christ-centered, Critical and Creative Thinkers, Competent Communicators, Community Contributors, and Continual Life-long Learners (Five C’s for Success).
Parents and teachers should have a common understanding of the subjects taught and the teaching methods used.
Elementary School Subjects:
A. Bible – Leads students to hear, read, study, memorize and meditate on God’s Word. The curriculum includes survey, historical, expositional, and character studies from the Old and New Testaments. Clear teaching and specific application of the Bible provides a solid foundation for all other learning.
B. Reading Comprehension – Reading gives insight for living from the written page. Through the use of Christian readers, developmental reading texts, and comprehension skill-building workbooks, students are taught to understand thoroughly, evaluate morally, and apply positively what they read.
C. Oral Reading – Fluent oral reading is needed to develop public speaking skills and to reinforce silent reading skills. Individual oral reading instruction and practice is given in lower grades and is reinforced thereafter.
D. Phonics – Phonics assigns certain sounds to letter symbols to aid in decoding and expressing written language, vital to reading and communication skills. The phonics foundation is laid in kindergarten, first, and second grades by much oral drill and written phonic exercises.
E. English Composition and Grammar – The eight parts of speech are emphasized along with grammar rules to provide form to the student’s oral and written expression, to produce Christ-centered competent communicators.
F. Spelling and Vocabulary – A student possesses a word only after he learns its spelling and meaning. The more words a student knows, the better he can express a message.
G. Penmanship – Kindergarten lays the foundation for learning the basic cursive writing strokes, with skills perfected as students go on to first and second grade. Legible and neat writing is the goal.
H. Arithmetic – Helping students deal more effectively with the quantitative aspects of God’s creation. Students are taught to compute accurately and to be efficiently quick in addition, subtraction, and multiplication of whole numbers, common fractions and decimals, and to apply these operations to life’s problems through memorization of facts and basic computational processes independent of electronic calculators. There is also appropriate development of elementary math concepts in an experiential context.
I. Science – Science is the study of God’s creation. It is by seeing God’s universe of living and non-living things, and particularly by seeing how He purposefully made them, that we understand appropriate perspective and use of His universe of created things. Science unit studies are given periodically in grades Kindergarten – Third and two semesters per year in grades Four – Six.
J. History and Geography – History is the story of what people have done in past times with what God has made and revealed. General historical unit studies are given in Kindergarten – Third grades. Overviews of California History, United States History, and World History are taught two semesters in grades Four – Six, respectively.
K. Physical Education and Health – Students are taught appreciation, proper care, and development of their bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit through organized, vigorous physical activity and occasional unit studies in health.
Students are required to participate unless they have a medical excuse signed by a physician on file in the school office, including the period of time for the exclusion, the degree to which they are excluded, and the reason. Students who are excluded from PE will also be excluded from playing on the playground. Parents may submit a parental excuse for a one- or two-day exclusion. Three or more days will require a medical excuse from a physician.
Athletic footwear is required for physical education.
L. Music and Art – The students are led in singing Psalms, Hymns, and wholesome songs in making melody with their whole hearts to the Lord. Singing is a p art of general classroom activities as well as including specific choral practice and special class program presentations.
Art is generally incorporated as part of class studies such as Bible, Geography, Science, etc., and creative expression just for personal expression’s sake is encouraged. Students are periodically given unit studies and special projects in art.
Diagnostic Testing
A. A student who will be entering Bethel Christian Elementary School for the first time will be given a test covering reading comprehension and math computation to help determine probable performance levels.
B. Diagnostic testing will be administered by the end of the school year to all students to measure individual and school-wide achievement. Parents/guardians will receive score reports at the end of the school year, if applicable.