Educational Philosophy
Our Mission & What We Believe
Our mission is to nurture and challenge each student in mind, body, and spirit to the glory of God.
Children need both nurture and challenge. If they are only nurtured, they risk becoming coddled. If they are only challenged, they risk becoming calloused.
Students at HCS experience nurture through attention and genuine care from their teachers. We believe the best education happens in small classes, which is why we have no more than 15 in each home room. Small class sizes allow our teachers to know each child well, and understand how they learn best. Our teachers love to teach and love their students, and it shows each day as they help them grow in knowledge and wisdom.
Alongside this nurturing environment is a challenging curriculum. We set high educational standards at HCS with our timeless, proven curriculum. When students are faced with challenging work and paired with tenured teachers, they can achieve more than they ever thought possible. It is said that “strength rejoices in the struggle.” Through the challenge of the HCS curriculum, students realize how much they can accomplish.
What does it mean to nurture and challenge in mind, body and spirit?
We believe that God gives each child a unique mind, and that it is our job to help children strengthen their intellect through our challenging curriculum.
The foundation of our curriculum is the Carden method, which teaches students a system for understanding the building blocks of phonics so that they may read, write, listen and speak with excellence. Starting with consonant sounds and building through the renowned Carden “vowel chart”, this method builds on itself in each grade as students develop the ability to speak with confidence and a love of reading that will last their entire life.
We teach Saxon math, a proven, incremental way of learning math concepts that allows students to grasp complex topics by mastering simpler ones first. The Saxon curriculum encourages regular review of previously learned concepts to help reinforce learning and prevent forgetting. Saxon employs a spiral learning method, revisiting topics in subsequent lessons and books. This ensures that previous concepts are not lost, but, instead, are continually practiced and developed as a part of the larger content mastery. In conjunction with our small class sizes, teachers are able to teach a new concept, practice that concept with the student, and immediately correct the child’s work so that no missed concept goes unnoticed.
We believe that strong bodies are just as important as strong minds. As children are challenged intellectually during the school day, they also need time to play and be free. That’s why we prioritize recess, and accompany it with structured physical education to strengthen students’ bodies, develop perseverance, and learn how to develop their athletic abilities.
As God gave each child a mind, He also gave them a body. And though each child has different athletic gifts, we help them develop these gifts to the fullest potential.
We believe that childrens' spirit is equally important to nurture — and challenge — as their minds and their bodies. HCS is built on a Christian foundation, and our faith is woven into the entire curriculum — not just isolated to a Bible class. Our students memorize Scripture and sing in weekly assemblies.
Children also get to express their spirit through fine arts and music. In addition to classroom art, students visit the art room weekly to explore a variety of mediums and techniques. Throughout the year, they paint, sketch, sculpt, and draw while learning about and emulating the great masters. Our students masterpieces are proudly displayed at our Spring Art Exhibit. Students attend weekly music classes and are introduced to a variety of instruments, musical styles, and composers. Public speaking skills are utilized twice a year as students perform in treasured and classic musical programs. These seasonal performance are a favorite among our students and families.
We believe that small classes present the best opportunities for teachers to teach well and students to learn effectively.
12:1 Ratio in Early Childhood
15:1 Ratio in Elementary
Early childhood through second grade students enjoy recess at least twice a day.
Third through sixth grade students benefit from daily outdoor play.
All of our students participate in a daily P.E. class to help them strengthen and nurture their bodies for the glory of God.
Enrichment opportunities such as art, musical programs, music, French, library, and the Accelerated Reader program will fulfill your child's interests and expand their minds.
"A collection of miscellaneous facts is not an education. The purpose of education is to teach individuals to think."
- Mae Carden
