Christian Curriculum
What is a Christian Curriculum?
At ACCS, “Christian Curriculum” is more than what’s written in the textbooks. Christian education is the conviction that God’s holy word - Scripture - is not simply a subject to be taught but the foundation of all truth. We strive toward a high standard - that of teaching Christianly and the formation of responsive discipleship.
Our Ontario Certified Teachers integrate biblical principles into lesson plans across all subjects. This helps our students see the relevance of faith in various contexts. Our Christian worldview permeates everything - our curriculum, teaching pedagogy, relationships, and classroom culture. By teaching Christian faith habits, practices, and perspectives, children begin to see ways in which the world is attuned to the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit. Teaching Christianly is an integration of faith with subject matter in ways that reveal God’s truth, cultivating virtues through classroom practices, and fostering a community marked by grace, justice, and love.
Responsive Discipleship is our recognition that God is already at work in every aspect of our lives and throughout all of creation. The whole world is His! Our call is to see what God is doing and respond by attuning our hearts to Him
At ACCS, we learn so that we can participate – today – in the story God is creating. This means that we are learning to understand ourselves, our fellow classmates, our communities, and the world - all in relation to God. We are developing an understanding of the world, an appreciation for each other, and responding with actions of service and submission to God.
Students at ACCS are learning what it means to be disciples of Jesus who respond with acts of service to bring hope, salvation, and restoration to this world.
ACCS uses the Ontario Curriculum Expectations as our academic foundation, integrating them with a Christian worldview that shapes how we understand truth, relationships, and human flourishing. The scope and sequence of learning outcomes are prescribed by the Ontario Curriculum Expectations, but ACCS applies a distinctly Christian worldview to what is taught and how it is taught.
ACCS employs the use of many different resources in fulfilling the Ontario Curriculum Expectations. Curriculum resources are sometimes teacher-developed by our own staff; some resources come from organizations like the Edvance Christian Schools Association, Christian Schools International (CSI), or the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). When not in contradiction to our distinctly Christian purposes of education, Alliston Community Christian School will also use resources from large publishing companies like Nelson or Pearson.
The Teaching for Transformation Framework
Our staff are trained to use the design framework of Teaching for Transformation which was created by the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE.org). This framework helps us create authentic formational learning experiences (FLEx Projects) that are rooted in our Christian worldview. We invite students to play their part in God’s story through Deep Hope statements, Biblical Throughlines, and Storylines.
Our school year begins in early September (the day after Labour Day) and continues into June. Report cards are issued at the end of two terms - the first ends in late January (or early February), and the second term ends in late June.
You can check out our report cards by clicking on this link below.