Programs/Activities

• Horizons Program

• Resource Room

• SHOP - Student's helping other people

Horizons Program

Horizons is Eastern Christian Middle School’s extended learning program that strives to meet the learning needs of our students, especially those who display strength in academics. Our desire at ECMS is to inspire each student to flourish as they grow and learn. Horizons accomplishes this by encouraging students to use their academic abilities along with their developing biblical worldviews to work together to enhance their academic and individual strengths and interests, make real-world applications, problem-solve, and question ideas. Students are selected to participate in our Horizons program using standardized test scores and teacher recommendations. These selected students meet together weekly for collaboration. In addition, the Horizons teacher works to support teachers in planning differentiated assignments for use within core classes and to develop enrichment possibilities for all students. Our Horizons program seeks to help inspire our academically talented students and to differentiate classroom instruction so that all students have the opportunity for optimum academic growth and success.

Resource Room

The resource room provides small group instruction for students who have learning differences in the areas of reading, writing, math, and study skills. Students with learning differences are supported in their mainstream classes with modifications and accommodations geared to their learning styles.

SHOP - Student's helping other people

Our mission at Eastern Christian begins with engaging the mind and nurturing the spirit of each student. As we pursue that mission, our prayer is that our students learn the habits of excellence at each stage of their development. If they learn the habits of excellence at Eastern Christian, having it modeled by staff and having opportunities to practice it and strive for it, we believe they will be a force for transformation locally and globally. Anything less is not worth the investment of resources and extraordinary sacrifice by parents, supporters and staff who make up the learning community of Eastern Christian School.

Daily at ECMS we hope to engage student minds by our practice of focusing on essential questions and the big ideas inherent in all of learning. Because we have confidence in our faith perspective of foundational and biblical Truth, we believe that inquiry learning leads to discovery of transformational meaning and purpose.

One effort to strive for authentic and relevant transformational learning has produced an expectation for a culminating project each year. Our Make A Difference 2009 project this year seeks to empower our students to take the initiative for their learning by inquiring about very real global challenges. Students have formed groups to research global problems like poverty, pandemic disease, illiteracy, spiritual emptiness, and environmental stewardship. Each Thursday during the last period of the day, teachers assume roles as coaches and guides who come alongside to advise these groups. Each student group is in the process of discovery about these problems and planning how they can address the problem through a service project. As they work together, they will be encountering opportunities to practice their biblical, mathematical, scientific, research and communication skills. At the end of May our students will celebrate their learning as they report to their peers, teachers and parents.

Excellence is not perfection! In fact, we learn more about excellence and our reliance on God through trial and error and through striving and failing. Excellence is perseverance because transforming faith trusts in the hope we have in our Redeemer. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." (Hebrews 10: 23, 24)