KINDERGARTEN – GRADE 7

At LGCA, we join forces with home and church to establish a firm foundation for your children. The earlier the start, the better! We value the family atmosphere at Lions Gate Christian Academy. Our community is built on parent participation and daily communication.

We purpose to address academic, spiritual, physical, emotional, moral and social skills. We guide the minds of curious children to explore God’s creation, and to gain understanding and appreciation of our world. We want our students to know God's plan for their lives and walk in it. We encourage our students to develop their God-given abilities in every area of life. We have three school-wide expectations:

• Demonstrate mutual respect (for God, yourself and others).

• Try your best.

• Have fun!

Lions Gate Christian Academy offers the BC curricula established by the Ministry of Education. As an independent, interdenominational Christian school, we have the privilege of teaching this curricula from a Christian Worldview. Our teachers are all provincially certified and committed Christians.

Multi Grade Classes at LGCA

LGCA offers multi grade classes at the 2/3 level, 4/5 level and 6/7 level. As multi grade classrooms become more and more common not just at LGCA, but at many schools in BC and around the world, it’s important to understand more about what a multi grade class is. There are many benefits associated with multi grade classes, ranging from role modeling and mentorship to independent work habits and improved social skills. Specifically, we have noted that:

• Students in the older year of the multi grade class learn in part by leading, mentoring and witnessing to the younger students in the class.

• Students in the younger year of the multi grade class learn in part by observing the older students go through the class work before they have done it themselves.

• This approach enables students to encounter school in a manner that mirrors real-life experiences.

Assigning students to grades is a serious task that involves multiple staff members, considering a wide variety of factors. The staff team considers students’: individual needs, interests, social skills, work habits, learning styles, emotional and spiritual development, as well as independence level. It goes far beyond the simplicity of the number of students and the space available.

Your child in the multi grade class will still interact with their peers in the single grade class throughout the day and throughout the year. For instance, they have French together, Band together, field trips together, some PE classes together, special activities together, recesses together, as well as most DPA times together.

The additional pedagogical benefits to being in a multi grade class for older students include the opportunity to develop their leadership capacity even more than they would than being in the single grade class as they are naturally looked up to by the younger students in a very healthy way that is confidence-building and mutually beneficial. When you add this to the fact that the cohort of the two single grade teachers from the class below and above the multi grade class work hand-in-hand with the multi grade teacher to ensure cohesiveness and coherence in their instruction, there is much to celebrate about being in the multi grade class.

Multigrade classes are supported by educational research and by and large most students have found these classes to be a positive part of their educational journey. We encourage parents to stay in close communication with your child’s teacher and discuss any concerns you may have as soon as possible.