Emergency Notice

School will be closed today due to [reason].

We expect to re-open tomorrow at our regular time.

Program

Programs

Preschool

At Yellowhead Koinonia Christian School we offer a licensed, facility based preschool program for children who are at least 3.5 years old, but not yet in kindergarten. We operate every Tuesday and Thursday from 8:45 – 11:15 am. Our program offers engaging hands-on, play based activities that promote social, intellectual, creative, physical development in the context of Christian faith where children are safe and cared for according to their unique needs. Though not explicitly academic, our preschool prepares children for the routines of kindergarten, while having loads of fun. Parents are always welcome to volunteer and join in the fun!

Please note that any days that are scheduled as holidays for the K-12 school apply to the preschool.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is for children ages 4-5. Your child is old enough to register in kindergarten if they are five years old on or before December 31st of the year they plan to enter the program.

Our kindergarten program runs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 8:35 – 3:05 pm each day.

When children reach kindergarten we intentionally and explicitly seek to disciple children in the Christian faith, with the goal that they would develop a genuine love of God as they delight in His love of them. Staff who work with the children are themselves disciples and seek to create a social and physical environment in which children can thrive spiritually, physically and academically.

• Learning in kindergarten happens through a mixture of direct instruction, stimulating play experiences, group challenges and discussion. It is a joy to have the energy and enthusiasm of children brought to the classroom and we seek to sustain that joy in the educational process.
• Kindergarten, while being optional for students, provides a strong foundation for future academic challenges, giving them a running start at school. Academically we prioritize literacy and numeracy. For literacy we use the Fountas and Pinnell literacy program with the goal that students, by the time they finish kindergarten, are reading simple fiction and non-fiction. With regard to numeracy children are introduced to quantities, measurements, basic addition and subtraction.

As with all aspects of school at YKCS, our work is a partnership with parents – seeking the good of children: knowing God, loving their neighbor and understanding their world so that they can live out the fullness of God’s desires for them.

Grades 1 – 6

The education program that children engage in during the elementary years provides children with many of the basic values, skills, beliefs, and understanding of their world that will serve them the rest of their lives. As such YKCS strives to provide the best possible programming to students. In order to do this we follow the Alberta Education curriculum (Program of Studies), but saturated with the evangelical-Christian worldview.

As we disciple children, we seek that students would not just know about God – we do teach the Bible a lot – but that they would also embody the wisdom, peace, compassion, generosity, humility, and determination of Christ to the world, which desperately needs to know and desire Him.

With relatively small class sizes staff quickly get to know and understand the needs of each student and because each student is distinct in the way that God formed them and has planned their lives, staff work with children according to their needs to help them realize their God-give potentials.  To help us in the process of getting to know the needs of children we offer proactive screening to incoming students (speech language and occupational therapy) especially in the younger grades to those families who wish this for their children.

As part of our program students:

• Participate in a school-wide chapel every Wednesday that has student-lead worship, teaching from pastors, sometimes student-led Bible studies or other discipleship based activities.
• K-6 participate in an annual Christmas Concert to which parents and community are invited.
• Grades 5-6 can join the grade 7-12 students for lunch time intramurals or enjoy our sledding hill, playground and field with the K-4’s.
• Every student has access to a personal Chromebook so that they can benefit from industry standard educational apps.
• Other clubs have been created in the past according to student and staff interest such as Lego or video games.
• Sports and physical activity are about the enjoyment of being active, disciplining character, building confidence and sets students on a course of an active, healthy life when they are done school. Sometimes grade 5-6 students can join and play on Jr. High sports teams.
• Engage in service projects. Sometimes classes will take on projects – often locally – and at other times the whole school may rally to support a cause such as supporting international missions. The goal is that students would appreciate what it means to live lives of mercy, generosity, and enjoy doing it as they see tangible results!

In all things it is the aim of staff that students would be conformed to the image of Christ as the prized children of God and express that to the world in and through their talents and desires that are placed in service of their Lord. 

Jr. & Sr. High

Discipleship

Our faith is the reason why Yellowhead Koinonia Christian School exists. Faith is a matter of disciplined relationship and as such is something that should be developed intentionally. While many Christian children may thrive in public schools, we believe that one’s faithful relationship with God and each other is so central to all of life that it needs to be part of that aspect of life that consumes a very significant part of every day for students in their formative years. While being integrated into every curriculum discipleship also happens in and through:

• Daily Bible classes; in High School the courses we offer are worth credits to go towards students’ graduation requirements for an Alberta diploma. Bible class, like all classes at YKCS, provide a safe and supportive environment in which students can struggle with their questions and find their way through them to a deeper understanding and faith.
• Chapel, where students can be part of music teams and Sr. High students lead younger students in bible studies that they are involved in preparing.
• Service project days which might be different for each class or at time involve the whole school in local or international support.
• Missions trips that typically happen every other year, in cooperation with other Koinonia schools. Students from YKCS have gone to Guatemala, and Mexico.

Academics & Curriculum

As a school accredited by Alberta Education, we follow the provincial curriculum (Program of Studies), are held accountable to the government for the quality of education we provide for students, and hire certified teachers who interpret and teach the curriculum according to our evangelical faith.

We offer small class sizes and, for our student body, a broad range of options at the High School level so that students who need different course streams can get where they are called to go. Upon successful completion of grade 12 students receive an Alberta High School Diploma, as they would from public schools that they can use to enter into any Bible college, technical school or university in Alberta.

Career, Technology and Arts

Learning and doing outside the scope of “core subjects” (Bible, Social Studies, English, Math, and Science) enrich the experience of students as they engage in developing practical skills and knowledge that often put into practice the various things they learn throughout the day. This has the great value of showing all of life to be integrated and meaningful in service to God.

In Jr. High there are not options per-se. What career, technology and art course are offered from year to year is often based on the talents of teachers, but we have or are planning to offer courses such as robotics, wood working, outdoor-ed., music, drama, and art.

In High School students have significantly more variety:

• Scheduled Options vary from year to year often based on the interests and abilities of students and staff.
• Work Experience & RAP
• Teacher-Supported Independent Learning Opportunities
• Some students may choose to do more natural or social sciences rather than career, technology, arts courses, if they are bound for various university paths.

Extra-Curricular

For many students, the extra-curricular elements of school are not extra, they are essential and we work hard to provide opportunities for students based on interests.

Typically students will form volleyball and basketball teams and we have the opportunity to compete with the public schools in the Grande Yellowhead Public School Division. We also have a 3v3 basketball tournament (December), a badminton tournament (March) and a Track and Field Day (May) with some of our other Koinonia schools.

At points teachers have hosted video game clubs, movie-culture clubs, a thoroughly faith-based club to explore identity and culture. Other clubs have popped into existence over the years based on student interest. One of the most exciting extra-curricular events that typically happen every second year is either an international educational tour or an international mission trip – this is usually limited to students in grades 9 - 12.

Two major opportunities for students to develop leadership is by forming chapel bands, which lead the school in worship through singing weekly, or through joining our Student Council. The Student Council is responsible for organizing Spirit Days, fundraisers for various causes, helping with hot lunches and sometimes running our school snack shop.

Footer