One of the things we love about our oldest elementary students is watching them grow in confidence, independence, and their unique interests. As we’ve reflected on this stage of development, we’ve realized they are ready for even more opportunities to explore those interests in meaningful ways to create opportunities that help them not only develop new skills but also explore the gifts, talents, and passions God has given them.

Beginning this school year, our 5th and 6th grade students will have an exciting new choice during their specials period. Instead of participating in the same class together, students will choose one of two semester-long pathways:

Pre-Athletics or Creative Studio

To give students a richer experience, we are combining our 5th and 6th graders into one group  and extending this time to a full hour. This allows students to dive deeper into an area they enjoy while continuing to develop new skills.

Pre-Athletics

Pre-Athletics is designed for students who enjoy movement, sports, and fitness. Throughout the semester, students will participate in:

• Strength and conditioning
• General athletic skills
• Sport-specific skill development
• Team games and competition
• Sportsmanship and teamwork

Students enrolled in Pre-Athletics will change clothes before class using a structured and supervised routine (similar to how they change clothes for Little Lions and Blue Crew). The dress expectations will be a Grace Prep t-shirt paired with appropriate length athletic shorts.

Creative Studio

Creative Studio is designed for students who enjoy creating, designing, and exploring the arts. Students will spend concentrated time engaging in projects that may include:

• Visual art
• Music
• Technology and computers
• Design challenges
• Other creative learning experiences

Throughout the year, students may also have opportunities to learn from members of our secondary fine arts team through special workshops and guest experiences.

Choosing a Pathway

A sign up form will be shared in July to share their pathway selections with us. This means that if they love athletics they can pick Pre-Athletics both semesters, or if they love fine arts they can pick Creative Studio both semesters. Many students may want to experience both pathways, and we love that! There will be a place to indicate both pathways on the sign up form, and then we will thoughtfully balance class sizes to determine which semester your child will participate in each pathway. We encourage you to talk with your child about which experience or experiences they would like to try. 

Our hope is that this new format gives students the opportunity to develop their gifts in a deeper, more focused way while continuing to grow into the young men and women God created them to be. Whether they are building athletic skills, creating works of art, solving design challenges, or encouraging teammates, we want every student to flourish as they grow in Heart, Humility, and Honor as they become more like Chirst.

We can’t wait to see all that our 5th and 6th graders accomplish this year! : )

A special note about the Christmas program. All 5th and 6th graders will be involved in the Christmas program regardless which selection they make.