Motto
Dedicated to excellence in Christian education through a caring environment
Mission Statement
The mission of St. Stephen’s Classical Academy is to provide a
challenging academic program which will afford students the opportunity
to become all that God created them to be. Intellectual, moral, and personal
growth is stressed throughout a classical curriculum in a nurturing Christian
environment in which each student is valued as an individual, as well
as a member of the school community.
Vision Statement
St. Stephen’s will be recognized in our community for academic
and moral excellence and innovative educational practices. We will continue
to educate for eternity by seeking to nurture the spirit, mind, and body
of a diverse student population through a Christian, developmentally-appropriate
and safe educational environment. Our goal is to partner with families
and churches to enable students to develop and apply Christian faith
and values to help them to make responsible decisions and to become leaders
in a changing world.
Core Values
• SSCA disciples children to follow Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior, and commit to lives of loving Kingdom service.
- John 14: 6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one come to the Father except through me.”
• SSCA seeks to glorify God in all that
we do.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31”… whatever you do, do it all to the
glory of God.”
• SSCA teaches every subject and nurtures
character development from a Biblical Christian perspective, imparting
knowledge and wisdom to our students.
- Colossian 2:2-3 “… in order that they may know the mystery
of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge.”
• SSCA is dedicated to academic excellence and cultivating life-long
learners.
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with
all your might…”
• SSCA is laying the foundation in children’s
lives through its instruction to enable them to impact their culture
for Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no one can lay any foundation other than
the one already laid, which is Christ Jesus.”
• SSCA is a parent-sponsored, board-directed,
mission Christian school that encourages a high level of parental
involvement.
- Genesis 17:7 “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting
covenant between me and you and your descendents after you for the generations
to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”
• SSCA partners with Christian families
to educate, nurture and train children as followers of Christ.
- Deuteronomy 6:4–9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the
Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give
you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your
houses and on your gates.”
SSCA , as a Christian organization, adheres to the following beliefs:
1. The inspiration, infallibility, and authority of the Bible as the written Word of God.
2. The sinfulness of all men and women and their resulting inability to be reconciled to God by their own efforts.
3. The death of the unique Son of God, the LORD Jesus Christ, as an atoning sacrifice for us. We believe that there is no salvation for anyone apart from faith in him.
4. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.
5. The person and work of the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, in drawing people to Christ, enabling them to believe on him, and strengthening them to live godly lives.
6. The necessity for Christians to follow Jesus Christ in personal and often costly discipleship.
7. The church as a fellowship of believers committed to helping one another grow in their Christian lives.
8. The privilege and power of prayer.
9. The importance of Christians reaching into all the world to call people into faith in Christ and helping influence their world, both near and farther away, for good.
10. The return of Jesus Christ to judge all persons and to take those who have trusted him to heaven.
Classical Education Philosophy
Classical Christian education is unique in that it seeks to faithfully
restore the most proven form of education ever developed. This education
produced the greatest thinkers, leaders, and scientists in the Western
world from the time of the Greeks until the late 19th century, including
America’s founding fathers. From the heritage of America’s
Ivy League colleges and classical day school, leaders in every field
continue to emerge from the fragmented legacy of classical education.
In 1947, Dorothy Sayers articulated the educational concept of the Trivium, an educational model that had been used for centuries. The trivium is simply a means of describing the learning stages of children as they mature. Parents often recognize the stages through which their children pass as they mature. The trivium focuses the educational method to best develop a knowledgeable, thinking, and articulate student. As the name implies, there are three stages represented in the trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric.
Christian education is built on the authority of the Scriptures, sharing goals outlines in classical education, but with the understanding that they cannot be fulfilled without knowledge of Jesus Christ and an appreciation of His grace.
As an integral part of a successful education, we believe that we must help all students, as they become responsible citizens. Thus, we emphasize skills in communication—reading, writing, speaking, listening and evaluating. We encourage critical thinking and informed, confident decision-making. We provide a harmonious learning environment in which the attributes of responsibility for one’s actions, self-discipline, respect for self and others, and good stewardship is expected. With these academic, religious, and social foundations, we believe that our students will be well prepared to enter their adolescent years.
The Staff
Pedagogy is based on sound research and proven good practice. The teachers
at St. Stephen’s are experienced, well-read, life-long learners.
They are graduates of accredited universities and have broad, liberal
arts, educational backgrounds and are professionally certified. St.
Stephen’s also has teachers specializing in Art, Foreign Languages
including French and Spanish, Music, Physical Education, and Religion.
Our teachers are qualified and competent Christians who provide loving
and understanding care for the students.
School Membership
St. Stephen’s is a member of The Association of Christian Schools
International (ACSI).
Pre-School (3 and 4 year old program)
Our curriculum at St. Stephen’s offers what is best for Pre-school
students. We encourage their creativity, build their self-confidence,
help develop a curiosity about the world around them, and foster the
academic progress that is suitable for each child. Most of all we want
their first school experience to be a pleasant one so that they are eager
to continue the life-long learning process.
As a framework for our curriculum we use various themes. Teachers are allowed some freedom in choosing which theme they use at a particular time as well as in the choice of activities they will use to communicate these themes.
The Pre-school director and teachers work together on the planning
of lessons to ensure that they are in line with our school philosophy
and to help maintain a consistent program, no matter who the child’s
teacher might be.
• The themes for Pre-school are age appropriate.
For the PK3 students, the teacher might start with themes such as Getting
to Know Our School, Getting to Know You and Families and then move
to Seasons, Animals, Plants and Trees. Colors, shapes numbers, letters and
other fundamental concepts are integrated into the program through
games, puzzles, finger plays and other activities. Opportunities for further
exploration of subjects and for self-expression are provided through
science centers, books, art projects, and play centers.
• The themes for the PK4 Pre-school
students help to expand their understanding of themselves and their community
and to enrich their learning experience. PK4 students are introduced
to the alphabet primarily through incidental learning-pointing out when
they are exploring pumpkins, for example, that “pumpkin” begins
with the letter “p” and
showing the students the letter on the wall. As their skills improve
they will begin to associate sounds with letter combinations formulate
word lists, and keep their own writing journals. Students are introduced
to some of the basic concepts and terminology of mathematics and science
through experiments and other hands-on activities that encourage cooperative
learning. In addition to the opportunities for creative expression
provided in their classroom, they participate in specialized art and
music classes once a week.
• Spanish is offered to our PK3 and
PK4 Pre-school students. The students are very receptive to foreign
languages at this age and they learn quickly.
• Pre-schoolers participate in chapel
service on Wednesdays. In addition, they have a half-hour of religious
instruction each week. The curriculum consists of materials that guide
students toward a spiritual life in Christ.
• Beginning in PK4, students participate in art and
P.E. once a week.
• Elementary School
The core of the elementary curriculum consists of the language arts, literature, mathematics, science, history and geography. Instruction in the basic tenets of the Judeo-Christian
heritage provides the unifying thread that binds all areas of the curriculum
together. All students are offered specialized classes in Art, Music,
Spanish, Latin (for second grade and above), Physical Education, and Religion.
• Kindergarten
Our curriculum in kindergarten lays the foundation for future academic
success with developmentally appropriate readiness activities in all
skill areas. In our learning-to-read program we use materials which
employ a consistent phonetic interpretation of the written language.
In math we emphasize both the grammar of the rudimentary number concepts
with the logic of hands-on manipulatives to aid in understanding. We
enlarge the child’s environment through the discovery of nature
and the physical world around them. We lay a foundation for relational
learning through learning about and serving the communities in which
we live.
• Grades One and Two
These grades provide the basic tools of learning in the key areas of
reading, writing, and mathematics, and are enhanced by units of study
and inquiry in the fields of science, history and geography.
Key elements center on the development of habits of mind and spirit
such as attentiveness, respect, responsibility, and reverence. Students
will participate in art, music, foreign language, physical education,
as well as in nature studies. Teachers will “enliven” the
minds of the children towards great literature by reading aloud to
them from many living books relative to their course of study.
• Grade Three
Grade Three is a study of the world at large. Students begin with local
geography (Colorado) and then begin an exploration of the continents,
oceans, landforms, climates, peoples, and cultures of the world. The
year is to be an overview for the emphasis upon history in later grades.
By this time, the student has gained some proficiency and independence
in the core subjects of reading, language arts and writing, and mathematics.
At this point, students are exposed to literature which integrates
with their geography studies. Students are introduced to basic research
techniques and complete copybooks revealing their growing understanding
and assimilation of the world around them. Map-reading and making,
weather and climate, and the stars overhead will bring science into
the Grade Three curriculum. Art and music, physical education, nature
studies, recitations, and foreign language continue as with other grades.
• Grades
Four and Five
Having been prepared by a strong foundation in Grades One, Two, and
Three in reading, writing, and mathematics, along with a working knowledge
of the history and geography of the world, students are now challenged
to study history in an organized and meaningful way. The history of
the world becomes a focus for exploration by the student into the important
people, places and events of antiquity to modern times. Literature,
science, and art will be integrated into each subject under investigation.
An emphasis upon research provides students with tools for “finding
out” in an organized manner the use of research techniques (note-taking,
outlining, searching and gathering resources, drafting, and final copy).
Oral presentations and hands- on learning bring to life subjects studied.
Literature selections are used (both student-read and teacher-read-aloud)
as a foundation to make the study of history exciting and relevant.
At this point in the curriculum, art and music, physical education,
nature studies, recitations, and foreign language continue as with
other grades.
Dress Code
Students, except PK3s, must wear clothes that meet the uniform code.
Wearing uniforms fosters pride in appearance and reduces the pressure
some students feel to maintain a certain image. The uniform code is
clear and student must come to school dressed in accordance with the
requirements. Core uniform is worn every Wednesday for Chapel and other
special days as indicated in the school calendar. A copy of the dress
code is located in the School Handbook.
Other Information
•A hot lunch program is offered every school day. These meals
are catered by Fazoli's Restaurant and are offered at a very reasonable price. Milk and juice
may be ordered as well.
• Extended care is available before and after
school. The morning hours begin at 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. There is
an enrichment program from 11:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. for Pre-School students.
After school care begins at 3:15 p.m. and ends at 5:45 p.m. Fees are
charged on either a daily or weekly basis. A schedule of hours and fees
are available upon request.
• Other policies and procedures are listed
in the school handbook. Copies are available from the school office.