Academics at ECA (continued)
On this page: Kindergarten, Grades 1 - 6, Academic Achievements
Back to Academics: Curriculum, Bible, Seatwork
Our Kindergarten programme is geared towards the spiritual, physical, social and academic development of our students. We offer our students an intensive reading programme and a concept approach to numbers. The A Beka Book materials work together to give a thorough, enjoyable, and highly teachable phonics approach to reading. Valuable habits and social skills are also instilled in our children through daily experience.
The Kindergarten includes an outstanding reading programme that provides a strong foundation for the future of our students. The K4 programme introduces students to letters and sounds, and sees students progressing to reading words, sentences and stories in their own reading books.
Five-year-old students are taught to recognise and write the letters of the alphabet along with their sounds and actually begin reading by December. In addition to reading, children learn to count by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s to 100 and recognise the numbers before and after and other fundamental arithmetic facts.
Grades 1 - 6
The instructional programme for Grades 1-6 continues the educational foundation which was begun on the kindergarten level. ECA students consistently score higher than the national average on standardised achievement tests.
The Lower Primary (Grades 1-3) programme is geared to the mastery of basic phonics and language arts and mathematical skills and encourages creative expression. Other pursuits include Health and Science, Social Studies, Spanish, Communication Tasks, Music, Library and Art & Craft.
The Upper Primary (Grades 4-6) programme focuses on Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. While preparing our students to be competent in all areas beyond preparatory school, emphasis is placed on preparing students for the Grade 4 Literacy and Numeracy tests and the Grade Six Achievement Tests.
Teachers use a concept and integrated approach to learning which gives students an understanding of the relationship between disciplines. Scientific exploration and artistic expression, as well as physical education, are important aspects of the curriculum. The computer is used to enhance the teaching of many subjects. In addition, our students often visit the wider community on field trips.
Scholastically, ECA students perform very well on all the national standardised tests in the National Assessment Programme (NAP). These tests include the Grade One Individual Learning Profile (GOILP), Grade Three Diagnostic Tests, Grade 4 Literacy and Numeracy Tests and the Grade Six Achievement Tests.
Since 2003, a number of our students have been awarded scholarships for academic achievement.