We follow the BC Ministry of Education curriculum, but we do get to decide the lens through which we view each subject area.
Do you wonder what Nanaimo Christian School students are learning in their classes, why certain subjects are being taught, and how NCS offers distinctively Christian programming?
One of the elements in our planning is our “Deep Hopes” for each course and unit. We don’t always control everything we teach, since we follow the BC Ministry of Education curriculum, but we do get to decide the lens through which we view each subject area and the impact that we hope it has on our students.
Teaching for Transformation defines a deep hope as, “our North Star that guides us on our learning journey within our Christian schools.” At NCS our Deep Hope reflects the promises contained in our mission & vision, it encompasses our most important desires for our students, and it embodies the enduring understandings that we hope they will remember 25 years from now.
Below you will see a few Deep Hopes for middle school classes and we hope they help you understand why each one of these courses is so much more than simply a block in a timetable. Other divisions of the school have similar Deep Hopes incorporated into their grade-level curriculum.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Bible: That students would develop an understanding of the Bible that transcends head knowledge, by initiating a deeper personal connection to the Word and how to apply Scripture to their own lives in a joyful way.
French: That students would see themselves as a small but important part of God’s bigger community, and that they would be willing to take risks with language and go out to explore the world that God has created.
Math: That students would see that the rules, patterns, and theorems that govern mathematics are just like God -- they are constant, unchangeable, and can be used to make sense of the world around us.
ADST: That students will recognize how to safely prepare themselves for living in an online world. Students will recognize the importance of being responsible imitators of Christ in their online profiles, the content they are involved in, and how this may impact their future.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Kindergarten: For each child to see themselves as a beautifully and uniquely created child of God, and to know that they are deeply loved.
Grades 1-2: That we would be amazed by God as the master engineer and recognize that we are made in His image.
Grades 3-5: That students would gain a knowledge and understanding of who they are and where they come from and know that that is an integral piece of who God created them to be.
HIGH SCHOOL
Bible: Students will have a deeper understanding of the Bible through specifically looking at how Jesus loves. They will walk away with a desire to have an impact, love radically, and live a life that points to Jesus.
Contemporary Indigenous Studies: That students can broaden their understanding of the challenges and resilience of Canada's First Peoples, in order to empower them to think critically and speak life into all of God's creation.
Math: That students would uncover for themselves that by applying complex understanding we can make beautiful things, and that in turn beautiful things hold the applications of complex information.