2011-2012 Class Descriptions

Class: Excellence in Writing
Teacher: Mrs. Karen Nyman
Time: Tues/Thurs 12:30 – 1:25
Text: Teacher provided
Grades: 6th - 9th
Monthly Tuition Fee: $50
Material/Workbook Fee: $45

The instructor will use material from the Institutes for Excellence in Writing within a writing workshop approach. Beginning writing students will learn to rewrite from a model and incorporate specific skills into writing. According to the author of the curriculum, students will learn “to outline and summarize, add style to their writing, create stories, produce reports, write critiques, develop essays, and put into writing the information they have hidden in their brain.” Students will develop life-long skills in literacy and become accomplished at expressing themselves through the written word.

Class: Writing Through Literature
Teacher: Mrs. Karen Nyman
Time: Tues/Thurs 1:30 –2:25Text: A Tale of Two Cities, Animal Farm, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Jensens Punctuation
Monthly Tuition Fee: $50
Material Fee: $25

Learn how to read and respond to great works of literature through the use of effective literary strategies. In this class, students will express their thinking through writing: journaling, narratives, poems, newsworthy articles, essays, research papers, and more. In addition, classroom discussions and in-depth analysis will seek to enhance literary learning. Students will be exposed to prose, drama, and poetry through well-known authors such as Dickens, Shakespeare, and Orwell. From a Christian perspective, students will see not only how creativity and critical thinking skills in literacy prepare them for high school and above but improve their ability to defend what they believe.

Class: Introductory & Intermediate Logic
Teacher: Rev. Donald Van Dyken
Time: Tues/Thurs 1:30 - 2:25
Text: Introductory Logic for Christian & Home Schools Fourth Edition and Intermediate Logic for Christian Home & Home Schools Second Edititon
Grades: 7th - 12th
Monthly Tuition Fee: $50
Material Fee: $15

What is Logic? The authors of our introductory text, James Nance and Douglas Wilson, give us a succinct definition: “Formal logic is the science and the art of reasoning well. As a science, logic includes discovering and identifying patterns or rules by which we reason. As an art, logic teaches how to follow those rules, without abusing them in a wooden (and unreasonable) way.” The authors go on to describe how logic is an attribute of God and that studying logic can show us some of how God is reflected in His creation. In this class, our goal will be to work through both the introductory and intermediate texts, learning the rules of logic, and how to apply them in every day life.

Class: Spanish I
Teacher: Mrs. Bethany Vance
Time: Tues/Thurs 8:00 - 9:25 and 9:30 - 10:55 (offered twice)
Grades: 8th - 12th
Text: $15 Book Rental Available:Monthly
Monthly Tuition Fee: $55
Material/Workbook Fee: $35

Spanish 1 is a beginner level course in which students will develop skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Spanish. Students will come to understand the parts of speech and how language is formed while learning a new language. The book, En Español, travels through several different countries, learning vocabulary for the activities that young people do in each location. By the end of the year, the class will have covered the present tense, many regular and irregular verb formations, and cultural aspects of different countries, along with many vocabulary words. There will be occasional research projects and short papers, as well as some experience with real live Spanish speakers at the end of the year.

Class: Latin II
Teacher: Mrs. Diane Pfaff
Time: Tues/Thurs 11:00-11:55
Grades: 8th-12th with previous Latin experience
Monthly Tuition: $50
Material Fee: $20

This course is designed for students with at least one year of previous Latin experience. We will begin the year with a review of the five noun declensions and the four verb conjugations and progress to working with adjectives, pronouns, irregular verbs, passive tense, and much more!  As the year progresses, much of the class time will be spent reading, writing, and speaking Latin.  In order to keep up with the pace of this course, students need to commit to doing Latin homework on a daily basis: they should plan to spend 45 minutes per day, 5 days per week. Please contact the instructor if you have questions about your child’s readiness for this class.

Class: Chemistry
Teacher: Dr. Mary Leenheer
Time: Tues/Thurs 11:00-11:55, lunch break, 12:30-1:25
Text: Exploring Creation With Chemistry Second Edition by Jay L. WileGrades: 9th – 12th
Prerequisite: Algebra I
Monthly Tuition Fee: $60
Material/Lab Fee: $30

Exploring Creation with Chemistry will be taught through lecture, problem solving, and laboratory experiments. God’s creation can be fascinating to study, and Mr. Wile has done an excellent job of writing the text in a style that captures the student’s interest. He writes directly to the student and thoroughly explains concepts. While the text is engaging and the experiments are fun, the course is academic, and designed for high school students. They will be well prepared for any college level chemistry they may take in the future.

Class: Biology
Teacher: Dr. Mary Leenheer
Time: Tues/Thurs 9:30 - 10:55
Text: Exploring Creation With Biology by Jay L. Wile
Grades: 8th - 12th
Monthly Tuition Fee: $55
Material/Lab Fee: not yet determined

Biology is the study of life.  This course is a broad overview of the many facets of that discipline from a Christian perspective. God’s design is emphasized throughout the study of the different kingdom classifications. Each module will be covered in 2 weeks with laboratory time used to study species with microscopes and dissections. 

Class: Geometry
Teacher: Mrs. Diane Pfaff
Time: Tues/Thurs 8:00-9:25
Text: Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding, Third Edition by Harold Jacobs
Grades: 9th-12th (Prerequisite: successful completion of Algebra I)
Monthly Tuition Fee: $55
Material Fee: $15

Does math need to be dull - a necessary evil to be endured? Of course not, especially when using one of Harold Jacobs’ textbooks. Jacobs’ Geometry is one of the great geometry books of all time - with an abundance of photographs, diagrams, and figures that draw the reader into the material. Jacobs’ love for geometry is both obvious and contagious, and his students are known to actually enjoy reading their geometry texts! (What a concept!) Not only is his text highly engaging, but the exercises are carefully sequenced and structured, so that students discover ideas for themselves, leaving them feeling empowered and confident in their mathematical abilities. And though Geometry is an often neglected facet of mathematics, a student desiring a well rounded education should not omit this important subject. Geometry is rooted in logic and deductive reasoning, and though in future years, students may forget things they have memorized, they will not lose their increased ability to think and reason logically.

Class: Algebra I
Teacher: Mrs. Diane Pfaff
Time: Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:55
Text: Elementary Algebra by Harold Jacobs Grades:
Prerequisite - Pre-Algebra
Monthly Tuition: $55
Material Fee: $15

This is a solid Algebra I course covering the basic algebraic concepts from a review of operations and functions through quadratic equations and number sequences. The author of our text, Harold Jacobs, seeks to explain the “why” of concepts before tackling the “how”. He does this with many illustrations and diagrams, giving a visual picture of the process before teaching the mechanics. Not only does he do an excellent job of teaching us the “language of algebra”, he intersperses it all with delightful cartoons and humor. In this class we will not only master the language of algebra, but we will have fun doing it!