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 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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.