The Curriculum

             We usually think of the school curriculum as all the lessons that are planned by the teachers for students. You can think of the BACS curriculum as a collection of all the courses taught in the school including subjects like math and English but also more experiential ones like PE and music. Some people also include other things in the curriculum such as health and safety education.  And I like to think of an even larger idea of curriculum as including ALL of the experiences a student has at our school.  For instance, if students have lunch together, you might say there is a curriculum for the lunch program since some students go to the library and some to the gym where they are learning from books or simply from playing with each other. In this view of the curriculum, every moment of the school day has a connection to some kind of learning experience.

             In an even larger sense, students at BACS are exposed to a moral and spiritual curriculum. Religion courses and morning chapels teach about the Lord and His Word very directly, but every course and every teaching strategy is in some way connected to a New Church view of the world and the Lord’s creation. For example, science and math classes begin with the assumption that the order and patterns we observe in nature come from a system set up by the Lord who is Order Itself. The moral and spiritual curriculum is what makes BACS a New Church school and is taught by everyone who works at BACS through all their words and deeds.

BACS has begun a new program of “mapping” the New Church curriculum that is taught in each classroom.  Last Monday teachers spent an entire in-service day learning the technology that will make this process manageable. We look forward to getting a picture of the curriculum that until this day and age has not been possible in schools and to make it the best that it can be.       PBS

www.brynathynchurchschool.org

The CommuniK-8or

Bryn Athyn Church School Administration

 

     I am pleased to announce the new administrative structure and personnel at the Bryn Athyn Church School, effective for this coming school year. I have appointed Don Fitzpatrick to be the Interim Headmaster, pending an ongoing search for a permanent Headmaster, and the Rev. Phil Schnarr as the School Pastor. The other members of the administration are already in place. The new structure, beginning with the 2008-09 school year, is as follows:

·  Government and Supervision will be the responsibility of the Headmaster or Headmistress -

             Don Fitzpatrick, Interim Headmaster.

 

· Spiritual Leadership will be the responsibility of the School Pastor spending his full time in the school - Phil Schnarr.

 

· Day-to-day Elementary School Operations will be the responsibility of the Director of the Elementary School - Gail Simons

 

· Day-to-day Preschool Operations are the responsibility of the Director of the Preschool - Joanne Kiel

 

· Facilities and Special Events Management are the responsibility of the Executive Assistant - Steve Irwin

 

    Don will begin to be a presence in the school right away. The search for a permanent headmaster/mistress will also begin immediately and a candidate will be appointed no later than 7/1/09. We are also creating a Board School Committee, which will help to oversee the administration of the school. This administrative structure may be modified as needed to provide for the effective administration and operation of the school. I am grateful to the committee members and board members who have worked on this, and believe that it will promote the effective management of the school in the coming years.

                                                    Jeremy F. Simons, Pastor

Teacher In Service Day

   On Monday, Jan. 28, BACS teachers participated in an in-service workshop to begin to learn a new program for use in putting the curriculum with its Units, Content, Skills and Assessments into a searchable, user-friendly format.  The idea is to enhance and order the experience that BACS students have as they progress through the grades.

  The workshop was presented by Melodie Greer and Jody Hyatt as well as an educator from the new software company, Rubicon Atlas.    

Reminder for next month:  Presidents’ Birthday Holiday is on Monday, Feb. 18