Grace Classical Academy

Let us Rejoice! Glory to God in the Highest!

2011-12-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

This is always a special, precious time as our GCA family gathers together to celebrate Jesus' birth and to witness our students' offerings of talent: songs, dance, recitations and piano playing.

Orange County Private Classical School

Follow The Star :: Laguna Niguel Private Classical School

2011-12-11T09:27:00.001-08:00

The kindergarten through 2nd grade classes worked hard, prepared diligently, and performed a colorful collage of song, dance and recitations honoring the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Twas a truly delightful production.

Using Field Trips …

2011-09-29T10:20:00.001-07:00

… to increase poetic knowledge. Grace Classical Academy takes grades K-3 to Santa Ana’s Discovery Science Center – the perfect place to delight our students and inspire awe & wonder for science details.

Photos courtesy Susan Keller Photography

Another Phenomenal Year ...

2011-06-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Per our lovely tradition, the year in review videos ...

Laguna Niguel Private Classical Christian School

Videos created by Susan Keller Photography using Animoto.

Bravo! Encore! The Merchant of Venice!

2011-05-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

The teachers and students of Grace Classical Academy outdid themselves last night with a performance to remember for always ...

In this tragic comedy, a vengeful, greedy creditor, Shylock, seeks a literal pound of flesh from his Christian counterpart, the generous, faithful, Antonio. Shakespeare's version of the chest-choosing devise revolves around the play's Christian heroine, Portia, who steers her lover Bassanio toward the correct humble casket and then successfully defends his bosom friend Antonio from Shylock's horrid legal suit.

Orange County Christian, Classical, Private School Performance

Preparations have commenced …

2011-05-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Images by Susan Keller Photography

Grace Classical Academy’s 4th-8th grade students will be performing Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice on Saturday, May 21st, at 6pm in the evening. All are welcome to attend.

The Nightingale

2011-04-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Another spectacular Spring Production! Many thanks to Allison & Cozi Zuehlsdorff and the many volunteers and the K-4 classes for all your passion and hard work in creating this lovely musical.

Laguna Niguel Private Christian School Musical Production

The Not-To-Be-Missed Event of the Weekend!

2011-04-08T19:56:00.001-07:00

This Spring production, The Nightingale, is simply delightful. Come join us Saturday night at 6p. Details here.

Orange County Private Classical Christian School

The Nightingale

2011-04-06T19:15:00.001-07:00

Grace Classical Academy invites you to attend an enchanting musical performance of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale.

In this classic tale set in China, an Emperor's special friendship with a singing Nightingale is tested when she flees his beautiful porcelain palace to return to her home in the Chinese forest. Meet the citizens of China, the comedic courtiers, the charming little girl who befriends the Nightingale and the Emperor himself as they bring this fairy tale to life with the help of a fully orchestrated score.

This heartwarming performance will be fun for the whole family and the admission is FREE!

........................................................................

When? Saturday, April 9th @ 6:30 p.m.

Where? Grace Classical Academy

24600 La Plata Dr.

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Cost? FREE! So bring your family & friends!

Christmas Cantata

2010-12-19T18:27:00.001-08:00

Such a talented group of students! Pianists, violinists, singers, artists, a recorder-ensemble, composers, guitarists … all beautifully represented at Grace Classical Academy’s annual Christmas Cantata.

Field Trips further Poetic Knowledge – Orange County Private School

2010-12-08T09:32:00.001-08:00

Grace Classical Academy’s science this year includes insect studies. Our book knowledge was beautifully enrichened by a trip to Starr Ranch to capture and study under a microscope actual, real-life BUGS! It was a glorious day to be outside on the stunning grounds of Starr Ranch. The microscope enlargements were fascinating, yielding up-close-personal images of hairy spider legs and amazing multi-lensed grasshopper eyes. The students were completely enthralled.

pictures courtesy of Susan Keller Photography

ThanksGiving Festivities Meet History Lesson.

2010-11-17T22:56:00.001-08:00

One of Grace Classical Academy’s distinctives is its commitment to teach history chronologically. This year, Miss Huband’s 5th/6th grade class is studying Early Modern times, including the beginning days of the United States of America. In honor of Thanksgiving and to add poetic knowledge to her students’ study of the Pilgrims, Miss Huband organized a Thanksgiving Feast. Each place setting included 5 kernels of corn to remind the students that during the first hard winter, the Pilgrim's daily ration of food plummeted to five mere kernels of corn. The students also enjoyed turkey, corn bread, pumpkin soup, green beans, cider, and apple pie.

Orange County Private Christian School

Praxis. Laguna Niguel Private School.

2010-11-11T15:45:00.001-08:00

Praxis, quite simply, is the students of Grace Classical Academy putting into practice [in performance before a live audience] that which they are learning in the classroom. Each class – yes, even kindergarteners! – proudly exhibits its newly-acquired knowledge. This Fall’s Praxis included poetry recitation (in Latin, nonetheless!) and the Nicene Creed; noun, verb, & preposition chants; songs about geography, Bach’s Minuet in G, the Star-Spangled Banner, nursery rhymes and manners; scripture memory; a state “sound-off”; and a lengthy & spirited presentation of Logic terms.

Discovering Grace Tour … Orange County’s Private Classical Academy

2010-10-27T21:23:00.001-07:00

We are passionate about the education we are offering at Grace Classical Academy. Our teachers love what they teach. Our students are engaged. Our academics have been passed down through the ages and have stood the test of time. We’d love to take you on a tour of our school, a “Discovering Grace Tour.” We will briefly tell you our history, show you our classrooms in action, and share our visions for the future of our school.

We will be “touring” monthly, according to the following schedule:

November 17, 2010

December 8, 2010

January 26, 2011

February 16, 2011

March 30, 2011

April 13, 2011

May 25, 2011

We would love to have you join us for our Tour! Please call 1-949-481-9250

OmniBus + Latin + Greek + Algebra + Logic + Refutation/Confirmation writing = 7th & 8th Grade at GCA

2010-10-05T18:04:00.001-07:00

[excerpted from Mr. Perry’s October newsletter, sent home to 7th & 8th grade students’ families]

The first month of the year is now behind us, and we are well on our way to having a great year. I am proud of the students for their diligence and dedication and am praying that as they continue to grow they will begin to further see how the things they are presently learning will have an impact on the rest of their life.

Omnibus/Humanities:

Recently, I have been reflecting on the ancient reality of the Christian faith. The things that we do as Christians today started two thousand years ago and we are a part of this great tradition of worship of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Currently, after reading through the gospel of John and a few letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch, we are immersed in Eusebius of Caesarea Ecclesiastical History, which is a monumental work of Christian history. Eusebius is the first to write a comprehensive account of Church History and, consequently, it is often relied upon to understand the early history of our faith. While Eusebius’ work is not usually considered the most riveting page turner, its pleasure, however, is found when upon completion you contemplate the amazing providence, power, and sovereignty of God: how he guides his Church into all truth and protects the gospel in every age. One also walks away with a greater sense of how our faith has been faithfully protected by believers who have literally given their lives for the sake of Christ. The students are challenged to consider what it means to be willing to lay your life down for Christ.

As we continue to read through various early Christian writings we will be considering questions that relate to the development of doctrine, particularly the doctrine of Christ and Trinitarian theology. Obviously, a central question we are asking is: Who is Christ? How do the Scriptures speak of him? How do the church fathers (i.e. Eusebius, Athanasius, Augustine) speak of him? We will also be trying to understand the process of scripture’s canonization—that is, how was “the Bible” put together? I want to encourage you all to continue the conversations that we are having in class in the home. Soon I will email a more comprehensive list of things we are discussing.

Latin/Greek:

A main focus this year in Latin for both classes is more translation practice. Translation is where the declensions, conjugations, vocabulary learning all come together and the beauty of the Latin language is seen most prominently. Each student needs to make sure they are studying through their Latin vocabulary each night for 5-10mins. They need to make sure they study their principle parts; this is vital to doing well in Latin. Mrs. Hahne is also teaching through Basics of Biblical Greek by Bill Mounce. They are currently working through the Greek-verb tenses, specifically chapter 17 – contract verbs.

Writing:

The point of this year’s writing curriculum is to learn how to build arguments on both sides of a position. In the progymnasmata curriculum this stage is called “Refutation/Confirmation.” During the month of September we worked on paraphrasing a sample essay in order to get a grasp of the structure of the essays we are going to write. Also, we began a refutation essay on the all-familiar story: the Tortoise and the Hare. The idea here is not primarily to teach the content of argumentation, but to get the students think through specific methods of argumentation. The methods of argumentation (for the refutation essay) are laid out in specific categories: unclarity, implausibility, impossibility, inconsistency, impropriety, and inexpediency. I encourage you to view the website Classical Composition to get a greater sense of the purpose of not only this stage of the curriculum, but the entire structure of the progymnasmata.

Logic:

Last Friday, we had our first Logic test that covered the first act of the mind: Simple Apprehension. During this month, we are going to be rapidly moving into the next two acts of the mind: judgment and deductive inference. As the year progresses, our study in formal logic is going to become more technical and, as a result, more difficult. It’s imperative that each student take good notes in class and not fall behind. Typically we will have a test at the end of each month.

Algebra:

The journey through the Algebra year has begun and so far we have tackled the concepts

of writing expressions and equations and applying them to word problems, discovering

what defines a function, the breakdown of real numbers and how to apply the operations

of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing to those numbers. With each chapter

there are new words and concepts presented. To help students become familiar with

new terms, they are to be recorded in a vocabulary book as we work through the chapter.

These words are listed in the chapter review section as well as in the chapter reading to

help students to identify important terms. In the next month we will be continuing to

learn to use the real number operations to solve linear equations, write proportions, ratios,

and to solve percent problems. These steps will lead to graphing these equations and

functions. I am excited to see each student grow in their math knowledge as well as in

reasoning abilities.

<h2>Orange County Classical Christian Education</h2>

Orange County Private Christian School: A New Year is Begun…

2010-09-20T18:36:00.001-07:00

and the sweet sounds of worship can be heard in daily chapel…

At Grace Classical Academy, students learn a new hymn every week!

Orange County Private School - End of Year Visual Feast!

2010-06-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

Truly, 2009-2010 was an amazing year at Grace Classical Academy. Wonderful teachers, enthusiastic students, fabulous field trips, delightful productions ... all documented below. :-)

Laguna Niguel Private Christian School

A Midsummer Night's Dream in Laguna Niguel ...

2010-05-23T09:54:00.002-07:00

photo credit: Susan Keller Photography

Orange County Private Christian School

Laguna Niguel Private School: Shakespeare Production!

2010-05-17T18:25:00.001-07:00

The place to be this Saturday evening!

photo credit: Susan Keller Photography

Laguna Niguel Private School: Nearing the End of the Year…

2010-05-06T21:53:00.001-07:00

Single digit lessons are left in math, Greek and Latin. The Spring Production has come, dazzled us, and gone. And Shakespeare is just around the corner. Another sign we’re nearing the end?: this little publication is nearly filled up. :-)

C’mon Everyone! Let’s go to the Carnival!

2010-05-03T08:51:00.001-07:00

Music by Camille Saint Saens. A violinist, gymnasts, poetry readings, tongue twisters for audience participation, a waltz, riddles, ballerinas, animal facts, a giant elephant … what a night!!

pictures by: Susan Keller Photography

Orange County Private School

Orange County Private Christian School: Spring Production

2010-04-30T16:36:00.001-07:00

The not-to-be-missed event of the weekend! Carnival! at Grace Classical Academy, Saturday 6:30-7:30, May 1.

South Orange County Private School: A Friendly Little Competition …

2010-03-26T18:27:00.001-07:00

and collection of witty or especially descriptive sentences in the 4th/5th grade class at Grace Classical Academy.

Orange County Private School :: a Visit to Starr Ranch

2010-03-17T17:21:00.001-07:00

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! Ok, not quite. Would you believe Lion [tracks] and Birds and a Salamander? :-)

It was an amazing morning to supplement our science studies at Starr Ranch Sanctuary.

photography by Susan Keller Photography

Where Else Can You Hear …

2010-03-12T07:03:00.001-08:00

A mini-California lecture from kindergarteners, the Greek alphabet, a song enumerating the geography of Northern Africa, a chanted timeline of ancient civilizations, a poem blaming Mr. Nobody for all misdeeds, more poetry recitations, a math sound-off, memorized scripture, logical fallacies defined and illustrated, and a small choir ensemble performing a Scottish Folk song?

All this and more at Grace Classical Academy’s Praxis…

Laguna Niguel Private School

Orange County Private School: GCA Serves with Music & Gladness…

2010-03-06T21:49:00.001-08:00

GCA’s 2nd & 3rd graders recently entertained men and women at an Assisted Living facility. They performed three animal songs, two hymns and our own Truth song.

orange County Private School :: Parent Academy

2010-02-19T10:13:00.001-08:00

In 1943, C.S. Lewis (children's author, theologian, and Medieval scholar) gave three lectures, collectively titled, The Abolition of Man. In it he discusses modern education, the training of virtue, and objective truth. He writes with the simplicity and clarity of one who could explain hard ideas to students of all ages.

Grace Classical Academy invites you to participate in a "Parent Academy" discussion, facilitated by Ms. Hyatt and Mr. Perry, on "Men Without Chests," the first section of Lewis' The Abolition of Man on Tuesday, February 23rd at 7PM. Copies of the chapter, to be read prior to the discussion, will be available in the school office. Please RSVP so we will know how many to plan for.

Hope to see you there!

Jenni Helj

Kindergarten & First Grade Go to the Zoo: Orange County Private School

2010-02-12T15:37:00.001-08:00

Grace Classical Academy plans field trips that are wonderfully complementary to its students’ in-class studies. The students LOVED their trip to the Santa Ana Zoo.

all photography by: Bunny Helms

Orange County Private School

2010-02-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

We are Orange County's first Christian Classical School.

Excellence. Education. Values. Truth.

K - 8th Grades (With a Long-Term Vision of Expanding through 12th Grade)

Our Mission:
Grace Classical Academy
seeks to cultivate
wisdom and virtue through the classical
tradition in a distinctively
Christ-centered way.
This serves to prepare students for a
God-glorifying life characterized by
appreciating and applying
truth, beauty and goodness.

Be sure to visit our website to discover more about Grace Classical Academy: our philosophy, history, statement of faith, affiliation, admissions, academics, etc.

Contact Us:

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday, 9am-5pm
Office Phone: (949) 481-9250

Mailing/Campus Address:
24600 La Plata Drive
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Email: Admissions@GraceClassicalAcademy.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

Orange County Private School: Kindergarten 2010

2010-01-31T13:48:00.001-08:00

Choosing a school for your child’s kindergarten experience is a big decision. To aid you in your decision making process, Grace Classical Academy is currently offering Parent Information Nights as well as Parent Visitation Days. This is a great opportunity for you to see what Grace Classical Academy can provide for your child’s educational journey.

Laguna Niguel Private School – a romp thru history

2010-01-29T18:51:00.001-08:00

Pictures from our recent History of English Workshop …

all photography by: Susan Keller Photography

Orange County Private School - with a Classical Twist

2010-01-29T18:38:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Grace Classical Academy's blog, where you will find our latest news, updates, photos, and events...