Eighth Grade Overview
Eighth grade is an exciting time for our students as they complete their preparation for high school and beyond. Many step into school leadership and partake in the high school transition activities. The year kicks off with a fall retreat that builds social relationships, leadership opportunities, and their relationship with God. Students have several opportunities throughout the year to lead middle school and all school events.
Preparation for high school is emphasized all year. This includes seminars from high school counselors, high school selection events, and mapping out their high school curriculum tract. Students are well-prepared for the high school experience and often participate in honors or AP classes.
One of the highlights of the eighth-grade year is the Bible class with an emphasis on biblical worldview instruction. This curriculum focuses on interpreting the variety of worldviews as well as developing their own. This is important preparation as they go to high school.
Traditional year-end activities for our eighth-grade students are abundant. They include awards, a commissioning breakfast, and graduation ceremonies as well as social events.
Eighth Grade Teachers
At Northshore Christian Academy in the 8th Grade Department, our students are blessed with incredible educators who have experience teaching, advanced degrees, and ACSI teacher certification. Our teachers feel called to be exemplary educators and come from diverse and prominent teaching backgrounds that equip them with the tools necessary to meet the needs of each of our students.
As a Christian school, we have the pleasure of partnering with families, local schools, and businesses to give our students a well-rounded education. Our program focuses not only on the exemplary academics and the spiritual development of each student, but also their social and emotional development.
Core Classes
Biblical Studies
In 8th-grade Bible, students will go through a unique course that will give them an overview
of four worldviews and their various answers to questions about God, humanity, morality,
culture, and so much more. Students will build upon their foundation of Biblical knowledge and apply it to real-life applications through a study of spiritual disciplines and practical application in and out of the classroom.
Life Science
This year, students will learn much about the great variety and incredible complexity around and inside themselves. Students will use a biblical worldview to learn about living things in the biosphere, the cell system, the human body systems, reproduction and growth in organisms, ecosystems, and the interplay of populations, communities, genes and heredity, and how natural selection can lead to a change over time in organisms.
Math
While students are learning mathematics, they will understand the concept of absolute truth, and their minds will be strengthened through thinking and reasoning skills. Students will learn to go from the concrete to the abstract, from the particular to the general, from the content to the concept. They will also learn to process facts as part of the truth and order that God has built into reality. Each grade level builds upon previous learning in which mathematical concepts are distributed throughout the year for better retention and math mastery. Students will be placed in Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, or Algebra 2.
Language Arts
The Amplify ELA curriculum meticulously aligns with Washington state standards and the
Common Core State Standards (CCSS), ensuring students' holistic skill development.
Through various writing tasks, grammar instruction, critical analysis of complex texts, and
engaging speaking and listening activities, students meet CCSS standards in writing,
grammar, critical thinking, speaking and listening, vocabulary, and informational text and
research methods. By integrating these components seamlessly into instruction, Amplify
ELA prepares students for academic success and proficiency in English language arts.
History
Students will immerse themselves in a full-year study of United States history from
colonization to Industrialism of the 21st Century. Students will understand the role of
government and the importance of understanding US Historical events that shape what
our nation has been, is, and what will be to come. Students will use a mixture of tests,
quizzes, and hands-on projects to identify and annotate key themes from the text and the
Bible and apply them to the U.S. government, culture, foreign policy, and morals that shape
this nation.
Testimonials
“The school provides the right kind of nurturing environment that enables my boys a seed of excellence to grow. Thank you so much!”
-Middle School Parent
“Christianity is woven into academic material. For the most part, administration and staff use Biblical principles to plan and make decisions.”
-Middle School Parent
