Fall 2024 Course Descriptions
5 in a Row
Mrs. Gina Borchers
Grades K-1
Beginning with beautiful, living books that we read in class, as our “spine”, we will use games, pretend play, arts & crafts, and more to expand on the lessons and themes within each book including: geography, social studies, art, math, language.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $10
Music & Movement
Ms. Daniela Warner
Grades K-1
Music & Movement is a class that will teach the basics of dance and typical dance positions. Students will learn how their bodies can move. It will be a class full of games to help them learn how to move with music and how to tell a story with their bodies.
Required material: Black socks in a ziploc bag labeled with student’s name
Materials fee: None
Little Critter’s Drama WAIT LIST
Mrs. Elise Epstein
Grades K-1
This class will be filled with silly characters, active portrayals and unique opportunities for your child to grow in expressive, confident communication with others. Little Critter and Sister are joined by Gator, Tiger, Bunnies and all their pets in the stories we will bring to life this semester! As we read the stories and act them out together, it is my hope that all the students will gain a desire to read more and discover the many stories Mercer Mayer has written!
Required text: None
Materials fee: $10/semester
The Art of Storytelling
Mrs. Claire Rojas
Grades K-2
Explore literature and art as students listen to beautiful stories and create illustrations inspired by the stories. This class will tap into the children’s creativity and encourage good listening skills. Literature works include books from the Eddie Wilson series by Carolyn Haywood.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $30/semester
Fit for Heaven
Mrs. Grace Defilippis and Mrs. Alison Glass
Grades K-2
Grades 2-4
Grades 3-6
By training our bodies in strength and endurance, we can practice training our souls in virtue. There are so many virtues that can be practiced explicitly in sports, while also just having fun and getting energy out. There will be a balance between some fitness goals like push ups or squats, lots of sports like soccer and kickball, and finally some casual games like sharks and minnows or capture the flag. Our goal is to grow in physical and spiritual strength.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $5/semester
God’s World of Wonder – Intro to the Earth Sciences
Mrs. Mary Machado
Grades 2-4 WAIT LIST
This course is the study of God’s created world and will be a basic introduction to earth sciences focusing on rocks, stars, oceans, and weather. It will be very hands-on with classroom and home projects to encourage a sense of awe and wonder of the natural world in which we live. Art, history and faith elements included in the study and activities.
Optional text: Earth Exploring Our Home (TAN Foundations of Science Series) by Timothy Polnaszek
Materials fee: $10/semester
Grades 4-6
This course is the study of the immediate physical environment of man and will be a basic introduction to earth sciences focusing on geology, astronomy, oceanography, and meteorology. It will be interdisciplinary course including art, history, and theology and will be hands-on with classroom and home projects– focus on developing an awe and wonder of the natural world surrounding us. The course will help students to develop and practice essential skills of observation and recording, which are a solid foundation needed for later science study.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $10/semester
Hand Sewing WAIT LIST
Mrs. Claudia Miller
Grades 3-6
In this class, students will learn the basics for sewing by hand and then will move on to embroidery. We will learn the basics of hand sewing that will be useful for a lifetime such as how to sew a button and how to hand sew a hem. Students will also learn the most common embroidery stitches by making an embroidery sampler.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $12/semester
Choir
Mrs. Carolyn Speer
Grades 2-5
The aim of this class is to introduce, expand, and perfect students’ ability and love of singing. Some basic music theory and sight reading skills will be taught as needed for the individual pieces the choir will work on. Technical ability goes hand in hand with proficiency, and a greater love for the art of singing, but it should never supplant it. All that to say, the goal of this class is to sing, and sing a lot! Students will begin by singing in unison and work on maintaining proper pitch, and then progress to rounds, two part harmonies and eventually simple four part harmonies (time and ability permitting!)
Required text: None
Materials fee: None
Clay, Clay, Clay! Hand Pottery CLOSED
Mrs. Brandi Matovina
Grades 2-5
We will be learning the art of hand building with clay in this class. We will create fun, three-dimensional works like pinch pot animals, holy water fonts, and hanging ornaments for the holidays.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $30/semester
Dr. Seuss Reader’s Theater
Mrs. Elise Epstein
Grades 2-4
Reading aloud increases confidence and increases a child’s ability to communicate more confidently and expressively. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr. Seuss
The Dr. Seuss stories we explore will provide many zany characters that creatively teach us how to treat each other. Every new character introduced in this class will give the students the fresh opportunity to explore another style of expression. Adding a few costume pieces and a little bit of staging will help bring these stories and characters to life! Which ones? I’m not exactly sure but Horton, Once-ler and Cindy Lou might know…
Required text: None
Materials fee: $10/semester
Cooking Easy as Pie CLOSED
Mrs. Brandi Matovina
Grades 2-5
Join us for a fun-filled food adventure as we learn basic cooking, baking, and plating skills! We will dive into a new food adverted each week, working together to make something that tastes excellent. This class is sure to tickle the tastebuds.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $30/semester
Irish Dance
Ms. Daniela Warner
Grades 3-6
This “Irish” class will focus on teaching the basics. These include the dancer’s posture, how to work with a partner, the difference between several types of Irish steps, and the movements that bring an Irish dance together.
Required material: Black socks in a ziploc bag labeled with student’s name
Materials fee: None
Machine Sewing WAIT LIST
Mrs. Claudia Miller
Grades 3-6
In this class students will learn to operate a sewing machine and troubleshoot common errors in order to sew with confidence. Students will also develop basic skills by making fun and simple projects such as pouches, tote bags, pillow covers, and more!
Required text: None
Materials fee: $12/semester
French
Mrs. Hermine-Jesus Toomer
Grades 3-6, 7-12
This course is an introduction to the French language and culture. The four basic skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing are developed with a particular emphasis on effective oral communication, the acquisition of concrete vocabulary, and basic grammar skills. This is achieved through a variety of activities aimed at addressing different learning styles. These activities may include but are not limited to: Oral drills, dialoguing, videos, games, written activities, taped listening activities, paired question/answer activities and independent cultural projects in class and for homework.
Required text: None
Materials fee: None
Logic & Reasoning
Mrs. Jennie McCabe
Grades 4-6
Join the logic and reasoning class to become a super-sleuth of smart thinking! You’ll learn awesome skills that help you solve puzzles, spot tricky tricks in stories, and make really strong arguments. Imagine being able to explain why something is true with confidence or figuring out if someone’s trying to trick you with their words! Whether you’re solving brain teasers or riddles, debating with friends about the coolest superheroes, or even deciding on the best game strategy, this class will give you the tools to think sharp and speak up with style. Get ready to level up your brainpower and have a blast while doing it!
Required text: None
Materials fee: $10
Young AmeriTowne
Mrs. Alison Glass
grades 3-7 (minimum age 8 years old)
Young AmeriTowne is an award-winning educational program that teaches students about business, economics, and free enterprise in a fun and hands-on way.
Materials fee: None
Required texts: None
Please note the following mandatory attendance dates and deadlines:
Mandatory meeting for all AmeriTowne participants – April 2, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Towne Day – Mon, April 14
Low Relief Wood Relief Carving Class WAIT LIST
Mrs. Claire Rojas
Grades 5-12
This class will be a low relief carving class for beginners. Students will be carving various fun images including designs, animals, and plants into boards of bass wood. They will have access to cut resistant gloves while handling the chisels and chip knives. They will learn how to raise their image and lower their background and how to shape wood to get the most from the image. By the end of the course, children will have developed fundamental skills in wood carving, gained confidence in using tools safely, and created several unique wooden artworks to take home and showcase their newfound talent! This course is designed to foster creativity, patience, and appreciation for craftsmanship in young minds, and will provide a wonderful opportunity to work with wood and make something beautiful!
Required text: None
Materials fee: $30/semester
Chemistry
Mrs. Jennie McCabe
High School: Grades 8-12
THIS IS A 2-HOUR CLASS. YOU MUST REGISTER FOR BOTH HOURS.
This year in Chemistry we will learn more about God’s Creation and the way matter chemically interacts. The high school class will consist of a two-hour block each week ensuring enough time to do plenty of chemistry lab experiments to demonstrate the concepts learned in the lecture and home assignment portion of the class. We’ll learn about elements, atoms & molecules, acids & bases, changes in matter, chemical reactions, stoichiometry, redox reactions, thermodynamics and more….. Frankly, how can we ever learn all about God’s chemistry? but we’ll give it a solid start!!
Required text: Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Chemistry ISBN 9781946506580 and Chemistry Student Notebook ISBN 978-1-940110-41-7
Materials fee: $30/semester
Middle School: Grades 5-8 WAIT LIST
Middle School chemistry will cover many of the same topics and conduct many chemistry lab experiments as well, with some middle school physics and earth science sprinkled in. We will meet for one hour each week. What a privilege to learn more about God’s world and have a peek into the creative thoughts of our Lord!!
Required text: None
Materials fee: $30/semester
Theatre – The Hobbit (Fall) & The Wizard of Oz (Spring)
Mrs. Elise Epstein
Grades 5-12
FALL – The Hobbit CLOSED
Bilbo Baggins is the central character of this story with his small stature and hairy feet. Gandalf the Wizard sees greatness in Bilbo when no one else does, including Bilbo himself. He is whisked away on a journey with a knot of dwarves. If that’s not interesting enough, let’s add trolls, goblins, spiders, elves (including a queen), a dragon, and “Smeagol”. Most cast members will get to play multiple characters and wear a variety of unearthly costumes. This play production will be a wonderful other-worldly experience. Join Bilbo as he says, “I’m going on an adventure!”
The Hobbit Rehearsals: Dec 11 and Dec 12, 3:00-5:30 pm
The Hobbit Performances: Dec 12 and Dec 13 at 6:30 pm, Dec 14 at 1:00 pm
SPRING – The Wizard of Oz
Our spring adventure will feature a journey to visit a well-known wizard by seekers of direction, intellect, compassion and courage! The way is thwarted by an evil witch and flying monkeys. There will be no singing in this version of the story, but once again, the production will be filled with fabulous costumes and set pieces!
The Wizard of Oz Rehearsals: Apr 9 and Apr 10 12, 3:00-5:30 pm
The Wizard of Oz Performances: Apr 10 and Apr 11 at 6:30 pm, Apr 12 at 1:00 pm
Required text: None
Materials fee: $10/semester
Play Production: The Hobbit (Fall) & The Wizard of Oz (Spring)
Mrs. Elise Epstein
Grades 5-12
There are many aspects to a good theater production. Without the production class members, the cast of The Hobbit and The Wizard of Oz wouldn’t have a show! Plays like The Hobbit and The Wizard of Oz is filled with special effects, sounds, stage pieces, unusual costumes, and even weapons which must be created. In this class we will get creative and use a variety of art design and set construction skills. The production class members who are not cast members will also be part of the performances, implementing set changes and technical aspects including lighting, sound effects and special effects.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $15/semester
The World of the West
Mrs. Carolyn Speer
Grades 5-7
This year, we will take a trip through the west! This class will begin with reading The Virginian, a phenomenal book which is arguably the first western ever written. We will continue our Western theme with Ralph Moody’s series Little Britches. These stories take place in Colorado and are written from the perspective of a young boy whose family moves to the hogbacks (the same hogbacks we drive by on C-470!) The class will focus on discussing these books with a special emphasis on the history and culture of our Colorado West!
Required texts: The Virginian by Owen Wister, Little Britches by Ralph Moody, Man of the Family by Ralph Moody, The Fields of Home by Ralph Moody
Materials fee: None
Draw Like a Professional WAIT LIST
Mrs. Brandi Matovina
Grades 5-8
We will dive deep into realistic drawing in this class! You will walk away with solid knowledge of human portion, effective shading, and basic perspective. Enjoy working with various leaded pencils and professional style colored pencils.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $15/semester
US History Based IEW
Mrs. Gina Borchers
Grades 6-12
Travel back in time to early United States history! This theme-based writing curriculum allows students to delve into the excitement of explorers, battles, land expansion, famous ships, and founding fathers while learning to write with the Structure and Style® writing method. Offering a full year of instruction, these lessons cover all nine IEW Units.
Required text: IEW Student Workbook
Materials fee: None
Storytelling Through Photography
Mrs. Brittany Beach
Grades 6-12
This will be an introductory photography class that will explore the basics of photography and how to use your images to tell a story well. We will do short picture studies of famous photographers, discuss how to use basic camera settings, and practice taking beautiful images. While there won’t be much homework for this class, the students will be asked to take pictures at home to practice the skills and techniques we’ve discussed in class. You do not need a fancy camera to be able to do this work! We will print some of each students’ best work to be displayed at the end-of-semester showcase!
Required text: None
Materials fee: $15/semester
Behind the Wheel Pottery
Mrs. Brandi Matovina
Grades 7-12
If you love pottery, you’ve come to the right place! In this class, we will be rotating between hand building and using the pottery wheel. This class will operate much like a professional studio- allowing the students to guide their art towards their interests. Glazing will even be offered for some of the completed pieces.
Required text: None
Materials fee: $30/semester
Martial Arts Fundamentals
Mr. Anthony Gallegos
Grades 4-12
This class is for students in grades 4-12 who have little or no experience with a stand-up striking art, as well as those students who took last year’s class and want/need to continue perfecting the fundamentals. Those fundamentals include stances, striking, kicking, blocking and footwork. This class will be rigorous. Students should come knowing that they are expected to conduct themselves with a certain amount of seriousness, and they will be expected to work hard and always be mindful of the instructor and the safety of other students. Since this is a one day a week course, the student will be expected to practice at home in order to increase strength and flexibility as well as skill development.
Required text: None
Materials fee: None
Martial Arts Applications
Mr. Anthony Gallegos
Grades 5-12
This class is for students in grades 5-12 who have prior martial arts training. (Students who have had training only through CCE are highly encouraged to also concurrently enroll in the Fundamentals class.) It is designed to build off of the skills acquired in the fundamentals class primarily by applying those skills with a partner. The class will include striking focus pads and kick shields, partner self-defense drills and light to moderate sparring. Students should wear free flowing but sturdy clothing. Pre-requisite: Passing an entrance/readiness exam. Please contact martial.virtue@gmail.com for more information.
Additional costs for personal protection equipment: All students will be required to have a mouthpiece and males are required to have groin protection. Typically this can run from $7.00-20.00 depending on the user’s preference. Additional equipment such as head gear and hand and foot pads will also need to be acquired by the second month of classes. Costs for this equipment typically run anywhere from $60.00 to $90.00 for a full set, depending on the user’s preference. The instructor does have some (read limited) sparring gear that can be loaned out. For more information, please email martial.virtue@gmail.com