Junior High Academics
Junior high students continue to benefit from small class sizes under faculty members who teach from dedicated areas of passion and strength.
The core curriculum for junior high includes Bible, Latin, history, language arts (including classic literature and an emphasis on writing skills), science, and math. To further address a classical vantage point, students also receive formal training in logic, P.E., and enrichment elective choices like debate, band, and other fine art disciplines. Junior high staff work closely as a team to provide caring guidance for students, striving for balanced student workloads while fostering best practices in the classroom.
Junior high emphasizes a transition in focus in the trivium model from acquiring the “what” that was developed in grades 1-5 to the “why” in junior high. Drawing on previously taught and retained information, the target in junior high is to move students to think more critically and engage in higher-level reasoning. Sixth through eighth grade classes cap at 22 students, allowing staff to truly know students as individuals. Junior High students benefit from staff members that teach from an area of passion and strength, having a variety of instructors who are trained to teach in specific subjects. Students study God’s Word, discuss history, read classics of literature and hone writing skills while being challenged in the fundamentals of science and math, including the teaching of formal logic. The junior high students enter the world of lockers and Spirit Week, science labs and debate teams, after school sports and socials. The junior highers choose from enriching electives and rise to the occasion in their role as the big kids on the campus by taking on “Big Buddy” status to the younger students.
Curricula Highlights
Bible
Our prayer is that Bible at NorthCreek Academy is an important and formative time for each Junior High student. Dividing the boys and girls into separate classes and lowering the number in each class means that focused attention can be given to the study, application, and understanding of God’s word. All junior high Bible classes use a curriculum from Positive Action for Christ. Sixth grade uses the Route 66 curriculum, which presents a survey of the 66 books of the Holy Bible. In sixth grade, students focus on the Old Testament. With their own personal journaling Bibles in hand, students “travel” through books of the Law all the way to Major and Minor Prophets. With the goal of examining the character and attributes of God and Jesus Christ, students memorize Scripture, complete projects, and present findings. The hope is that sixth grade students grow in their faith and understanding by learning God’s big picture story as revealed through Scripture.
Language Arts
Within the classical model of education, sixth grade is a transition year, as students move into the Dialectic Stage, learning to think more critically and to engage in higher-level reasoning. This is especially true in language arts, which uses the core literature of sixth grade to give them an opportunity to learn to analyze, evaluate, respond and write about the various themes and elements of literature. As part of this in-depth reading, students read The Hobbit, and Treasure Island. Julius Caesar is read as part of a Shakespearean appreciation unit. Along with in-class literature, students complete independent reading from the Junior High Classics Reading List, as well as free reading. Sixth grade students benefit from a Writer’s Workshop course which includes grammar instruction and a variety of writings, including creative, extemporaneous, informative, and persuasive, each addressing a variety of topics and styles. Vocabulary Workshop Level A, by Sadlier-Oxford provides in-depth, quality vocabulary development. This comprehensive grammar curriculum hones the skills learned in elementary school, and helps students transition into high school with confidence. In all aspects of sixth-grade course work, students are directed to consider God’s Word and how it pertains to the topics, situations, or worldviews presented in the curriculum.
History/Social Studies
The focus of sixth-grade history and social studies is Ancient Civilizations, in which students examine the earliest influential societies and empires from approximately 4,000 B.C. to approximately 500 A.D., including, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, China, India, Greece and Rome. As students make the transition from elementary to middle school, history is a particularly strong area for skill development in critical thinking and analysis and in integration with other subjects (i.e. language arts and science), skills developed through reinforcing cultural literacy via stories, note-taking, hands-on art projects and re-enactments. This comes through students reading increasingly sophisticated literature as supplementary material, conducting highly animated debate-style, in-class discussions and, most of all through discerning research and correlation with scripture. Old and New Testament historical accounts are consistently brought to bear as the linchpin for understanding and retaining the material. Testing modalities emphasize personal ownership and analysis of material beyond rote memorization. Connections to the modern day are also featured.
Math
In sixth-grade math, basic computation skills students have been learning over the last few years are reinforced, with the goal of applying these skills to daily life. Students learn about integers, decimals, fractions, ratios, proportions, percents, and statistics. Some basic algebra concepts are introduced, and problems are examined from a more algebraic frame of reference. As part of reviewing and reinforcing concepts already learned, students use manipulatives and other math tools. Sixth grade students also delve into more complex operations within multiplication and division and are stretched as problem solvers.
Science
Each year in Junior High Science, students start by exploring the scriptural foundation of Creation, cementing the knowledge that God created the earth and is in complete control of His creation. Science comes to life as they delve into the various areas of Earth Science such as resources, tectonic plates, the Earth’s surface, our oceans, atmosphere, and so much more. Students have opportunities to improve their critical thinking skills, participate in hands-on labs, and grow from cooperative learning opportunities. Preparation for our NorthCreek Academy Science Fair begins during sixth grade, as they work together in teams to learn how the Scientific Method is utilized to solve problems and answer questions. In addition to their in-classroom learning, sixth graders kick off their Junior High journey in the fall with a multi-day class trip to Outdoor Science School.
Health
Health is an area that allows students to learn about their God-given bodies, how to develop a personal fitness plan, and how to set goals for themselves. As part of our health education, we also teach grade level, gender-centric workshops on sexual education. This program is designed so that, while these topics are being covered with students, a separate parent class is offered for moms and dads to be informed of what will be shared. It is our heartfelt desire that parents take an active role in their student’s learning in this God-designed area, as well as in answering questions at home and continuing to talk more in-depth about these topics, as their student is ready.
Computers
This course focuses on preparing students to be confident, successful computer users during their junior high and high school years. Each week, students are challenged with meeting minimum typing speed and accuracy requirements. As part of the course, students use their GSuite for Education account with which they learn how to complete assignments and tests electronically. In GSuite, file organization is learned through Google Drive, class management in Google Classroom, word processing in Google Docs, spreadsheets in Google Sheets and presentations in Google Slides. An additional, important focus of this course is teaching students to safely use the internet, social media and the protection of privacy. These skills are taught along with other basic computer processes.
Bible
Our prayer is that Bible at NorthCreek Academy is an important and formative time for each Junior High student. Dividing the boys and girls into separate classes and lowering the number in each class means that focused attention can be given to the study, application, and understanding of God’s word. All Junior High Bible classes use a curriculum from Positive Action for Christ. Seventh grade uses the Route 66 curriculum, which presents a survey of the 66 books of the Holy Bible. In seventh grade, students turn their attention to the New Testament. With the same journaling Bibles that they started with in sixth grade, students “travel” through the Gospels to Paul’s Letters, and beyond. With the goal of examining the character and attributes of God and Jesus, students memorize scripture, complete projects, and present findings, all while they focus on their understanding of the faith.
Language Arts
As they continue in the Dialectic Stage of the classical model of education, students’ critical thinking skills and higher-level reasoning are honed through writing analyses, evaluations, and responses to the various themes and elements of the seventh- grade core literature which includes a Short Story Collection by Classic Authors, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hurnard, and Macbeth by Shakespeare. Independent reading from the Junior High Classics Reading List is completed, along with free reading. Students are involved in a variety of writing experiences addressing different topics and writing styles including persuasive, argumentative, expository and creative. As part of their 7th grade studies, students continue extending grammar skills and enhancing vocabulary in Vocabulary Workshop Level B by Sadlier-Oxford, as these comprehensive curriculums will equip them for high school, and beyond.
History/Social Studies
Students explore God’s unfolding narrative as it spans from Rome’s downfall to 18th century Europe. Through a combination of reading material, ethnic food days, museum trips, and films, students enjoy vicarious visits to almost every continent. In the midst of these delights, we must also taste some bitterness, as we learn what happens when God’s image-bearers, created for eternity, instead live under the curse of sin and mortality. History is littered with conflicts, oppression, and war. Ultimately, however, through our study of empires and civilizations, students will see the pre-eminence of God’s grace, and will behold in different cultures, the progression of the eclectic expression of all that which was seeded in Adam and Eve.
Math
In seventh grade math, we continue to solidify basic arithmetic skills including working with integers, ratios, proportions, fractions, decimals and percents. We also spend some time in the geometry world, learning about angles, polygons and circles and finding the perimeter, area, surface area and volume of two- and three- dimensional figures. We also expand our knowledge of algebra by solving equations, as well as applying those concepts and skills to problem solving situations.
Science
Each year in Junior High Science, students start by exploring the scriptural foundation of Creation, cementing the knowledge that God created the earth and is in complete control of His creation. In seventh grade, Science comes to life as they delve into the various areas of Life Science such as cells, heredity, plants, animals, human body systems and so much more. Students have opportunities to improve their critical thinking skills, participate in hands-on labs such as dissections and model creation, and grow from cooperative learning opportunities. Seventh-grade students have the opportunity to utilize the equipped science laboratory in which they attend class. The Scientific Method is once again highlighted as students put their research, writing, data gathering, and presentation skills to the test as they successfully navigate an individual science project and the NorthCreek Academy’s Science Fair.
Logic
Informal logic is another way seventh graders work on their thinking skills. Studying logic is a vital component of the Dialectic Stage of the classical model of education, providing students with an opportunity to learn the rules by which we reason. This also builds on their abilities to discern truth from error and gives them tools to be able to defend their faith. We learn about 28 separate fallacies— bad arguments— giving us insight into how one should not defend a position. Students discuss these in class and create a booklet defining and illustrating each of these common fallacies. Studying logic helps students to sharpen their own reasoning skills and to be more discerning when reading or listening to arguments and opinions that surround them via the media and the people in their lives.
Health
Health is an area that allows students to learn about their God-given bodies. Students are encouraged to develop a personal fitness plan and how to set goals for themselves. 7th grade life science includes learning about the human body’s skeletal & muscular systems, circulation & respiration, & nervous system. As part of our health education, we also teach grade level, gender-centric workshops on sexual education. This program is designed so that, while these topics are being covered with students, a separate parent class is offered for moms and dads to be informed of what will be shared. It is our heartfelt desire that parents take an active role in their student’s learning in this God-designed area, as well as in answering questions at home and continuing to talk more in-depth about these important topics. As it is our desire to cultivate our students’ hearts and minds in Christ, we also include drug and alcohol awareness, and internet safety for our seventh-grade students.
Bible
Eighth grade is an important and formative time for students. The boys and girls are taught Bible by gender and with a smaller class size which allows for focused attention to be given to the study, application, and understanding of God’s word. Eighth grade uses Life of Christ: From the Gospel of John, which looks in depth at Jesus Christ and his ministry. With the same journaling Bibles that NorthCreek 8th graders were gifted with back in sixth grade, students take a deep dive into the Gospel of John as they develop their knowledge of the Deity of Christ. With the goal of examining the character and attributes of God and Jesus, students memorize scripture, complete projects, and present findings, all while students develop their personal walk with the Lord and gain biblical equipping for navigating high school, and the messages of the world.
Language Arts
The Dialectic Stage in language arts is a time when students are “digging deeper” into the material, using critical thinking. Faith is integrated with learning, and students are encouraged to be good stewards of their God-given gifts and talents. Core literature, including: The Miracle Worker, The Hiding Place, and The Screwtape Letters, are read by the students and, at the end of the year, they read the unabridged version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as part of preparing and performing a student-led production of the play. Literature is discussed in a variety of ways, including dialectical journals, short answer essays, fishbowl discussions, and debate. As the eighth graders prepare for high school, they will receive experience in writing which includes persuasive, argumentative writing, expository writing, and response to literature writing. Vocabulary is taught both through literature, and through Vocabulary Workshop Level C by Sadlier-Oxford. Lessons are reinforced through daily usage, oral presentations, and creative writing, as well as through weekly assessments. Grammar usage continues to be stressed in their writing, aiding them in their transition to high school. Students are expected to apply what they have learned, by using correct punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, and grammar in their writing.
History/Social Studies
In eighth-grade history, our focus is on the United States, from its earliest colonial roots in the 1600s, through its place on the world-stage of WWII, along with forays into current events. A sampling of aspects of the study of the U.S. includes: founding, expansion, civics and government, economics, leaders, wars, demographics and burgeoning cultural identity. An appreciation for, and an increasing involvement in U.S. citizenship, is a recurring and underlying theme for the year. This includes frequent and sustained references to Christianity being the foundation and source of any– and all– successes our nation, its citizens and its leaders have experienced! Students use their established knowledge and skills in research, oral participation, expressive written work, hands-on projects and role-playing. These studies, which integrate literature and science, prepare our students to be active and informed participants in our country’s governance and future. During spring break of their eighth-grade year, students have the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. with their classmates to see the foundations of our Nation come to life.
Math
During eighth grade, students learn the concepts and skills of an Algebra 1 course, including the solving of equations, inequalities and systems, along with multiplying and factoring polynomials, and graphing and writing equations of lines and other functions. The focus of this final Academy year is on critical thinking, persevering in problem solving, and learning to find and generalize patterns. These skills prepare students for the rigors of high school mathematics.
Science
Each year in Junior High Science, students start by exploring the scriptural foundation of Creation, cementing the knowledge that God created the earth and is in complete control of His creation. In eighth grade, science comes to life as they delve into the various areas of physical science such as the structure of matter, atoms, chemistry, forces, outer space, and so much more. Students have opportunities to improve their critical thinking skills, participate in hands-on chemistry labs, and grow from cooperative learning opportunities. Our eighth-grade curriculum allows for our impressively equipped lab classroom to be used to its full potential. The Scientific Method is once again highlighted as students get creative and scientific as they share with the school community their ‘Exploratorium’ experiment, teaching others how through science, we can get excited about God’s creation!
Logic
In eighth-grade logic, as part of the Dialectic Stage of classical education, students learn to defend their faith in a reasonable and rational way. We move from approaches to avoid in defending our positions, to learning techniques that will help us to support and defend our faith. We start with the common topics of definitions, testimony, comparison, relationship, and circumstance. This information benefits our students in their other subjects and assignments as they are able to use these techniques to support a thesis, or to improve a science fair hypothesis or as a foundation for building better arguments in debate. After learning how to build and defend arguments, the students progress to studying formal logic, where they learn how to construct three-statement syllogisms and how to determine whether their syllogisms are valid. The fundamental reason logic is taught is to help students learn to think critically.
Health
In keeping with our desire to cultivate our students’ hearts and minds in Christ, we host annual sessions on sex education, drug and alcohol awareness, and internet safety.