Academic programming
The overriding goal guiding Miramonte Christian School’s operation is to prepare our students to live successful, rewarding lives that are guided by a life-long commitment to values rooted in the teachings of Christ. To this end, the school strives to be a special place for all of God’s children. We celebrate diversity and teach respect for others. We strive to introduce students of all abilities to the gift of knowledge, the wonders of the world God has entrusted to us, and the responsibility to act wisely and thoughtfully in all things.
Kindergarten Ages 5 – 6 years
Kindergarten is a very important step in a child’s life. Kindergarten prepares children for group collaborations as well as the 1st grade curriculum. You are welcome to join us on Friday for Show and Tell. We would love to have you join the Miramonte family!
Curriculum
- Math: By the end of Kindergarten, students understand the consistency of small numbers and simple shapes in their everyday environment. They count, compare, describe and sort objects.
- Language Arts: Kindergarteners spend time learning letters and letter sounds. They use this knowledge to read simple sentences. Kindergarten students also learn how to write simple words and sentences correctly . In addition to reading and writing, students gain oral communication skills by practicing listening and speaking.
- Physical Education: Children develop large and small muscles through body movement activities in PE class four times a week.
- Fine Arts: Students create meaningful visual art and experience performing arts by doing skits and puppet shows. Music and movement activities occur daily, and weekly music classes teach children singing, classroom instruments, and rhythmic skills.
- Technology: Weekly trips to the computer lab help Kindergarteners develop basic computer skills.
- Social Studies, Science, and Bible
Elementary School (Grade 1-6)
First Grade
First Grade is such an exciting year for you and your child. It’s a year of incredible growth and change. The world will begin to come alive in brand new ways as your child learns to read, express thoughts in speech and writing, solve problems with a new understanding of numbers, science, people, and places. It’s a time to be curious and wonder, to think about others, and to think about oneself and how to contribute to this brand-new world as independent skills begin to take shape. The changes are profound and often surprising. They can even elicit a bit of nostalgia as our children become more and more self-sufficient. This is a year to embrace who your child is becoming, but also a time to celebrate who they are right now!
As Fred Rogers wisely said, “I don’t think anyone can grow unless he’s loved exactly as he is now, appreciated for what he is rather than what he will be.” That is especially true for your first grader. It’s going to be an exciting year that requires a great deal of trust and support. I consider it an honor to be part of that journey!
Second Grade
The Second Grade school year will be filled with fun times, learning, growth, friendship, and getting to know each of you better. Our 2nd-grade class participates in cooperative learning, fun projects, and personal growth in each subject area. With us all working together we’ll make this school year at Miramonte productive and enjoyable. It is important for us all to remember to respect and honor each other so that this school year can be the best one yet. We as teachers and parents need to be models of this respect. I believe in the potential of each student and am committed to helping each student work toward that potential. Our students are talented, smart children and I can’t wait to watch them blossom this year.
Third Grade
Your Third Grade child will learn through independent work, partner practice, cooperative group activities, class discussions, and project presentations, while off-campus, hands-on learning experiences complement our curriculum.
The goals for your child include:
- Build a stronger connection to God.
- Continue developing a character that reflects God
- Experience the satisfaction of meeting academic challenges.
- Develop a hunger to learn
- Grow in friendship skills.
The classroom philosophy is to set firm limits in loving ways and to form positive relationships with the students while giving them the gift of owning and solving their problems.
Curriculum
- Worship and Bible: God is an important part of the whole curriculum, but of course, we especially focus on Him during our daily worship and Bible class. Your child will worship and learn about God through music, prayer, stories, and community service activities. The theme of 3rd grade Bible is the plan of salvation.
- Social Studies: Our theme is our local community. We learn about the geography and history of our Bay Area. We study characteristics of all communities, and then look at the special characteristics that make our area special and unique.
- Pathways for Reading and Language Arts: This balanced literacy program, developed for Seventh-day Adventist schools, is a huge part of our daily schedule. We use theme books for whole-class reading activities, leveled books for small-group instruction, and hundreds of books covering a variety of interests for independent reading. Assessment is used to guide each individual’s progress toward maximum growth in vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. The Pathways theme books come with related writing projects. For example, we use a biography of Abraham Lincoln to study reading strategies. Meanwhile, the students work through the writing process to write their own autobiographies to share. Our writing program is complimented by parts of “Step Up to Writing”. We study phonics and spelling rules, and we practice cursive writing skills. The students enjoy reading and writing workshop, and “Literacy Centers” time.
- Math: In 3rd grade, we use visual aids, hands- on manipulatives, and practice with pencil and paper to learn a new math concept each day. We also strengthen concepts learned in previous lessons. Daily practice with basic math facts is an important part of the program as is math homework.
- Science: We use books, visual aids, and investigation to learn about • food chains, biomes, and the basic needs of living things • diverse life in different biomes • energy forms, stored energy, motion and heat • the three forms of matter • atoms • how light works • the solar system • objects in space • the moon’s phases. Emphasis is placed on God’s design and pattern throughout His creation.
Fourth Grade
In Fourth Grade, we set the foundation for the rest of your life. Students in our class will learn more than the 3 R’s. Learning to love Jesus and follow Him will be the focus of everything we do. Every day will be a special day for us! I look forward to meeting with you.
For current students and parents, please access our class page for up-to-the-minute updates on important information for your child. There, you may subscribe for updates and you will be sent an email notifying you of any Calendar updates, daily Homework assignments, and many more. Stay in touch!
Fifth Grade
The Fifth Grade is glad you’re visiting whether you’re a student, parent, or someone just checking out what we’re doing, we hope you find useful and interesting things on our site. To stay current about what’s happening in our class, check our webpage where you’ll find our weekly newsletter, our class schedule, programs, and much more.
Sixth Grade
Be it known to all, that Christ is the reason for this Sixth Grade classroom. He is the unseen but ever-present teacher in our class. He is the model for the teacher and the inspiration for the students. We strive for scholastic excellence in a loving environment based on the authority of God’s Word to develop a lifetime relationship with Jesus Christ.
Middle School (Grade 7-8)
Seventh Grade
It is my conviction that all students have the capacity to learn and accomplish great things if they are given the tools, support, and inspiration to do so. According to Linda Lumsden and her work on student motivation to learn, “Motivation to learn is a competence acquired through general experience but stimulated most directly through modeling, communication of expectations, and direct instruction or socialization by significant others (especially parents and teachers)”(Lumsden, 1994).
As a teacher, I am not only a facilitator of instruction but also serve as a guide for the students as they explore their own interests because this is what builds intrinsic motivation and desire from within. In order for these things to happen students must feel and be in a safe learning environment that promotes discussion and interaction with his/her peers.
To teach in a manner that is reflective of our society I incorporate technology daily within the classroom. It is these real-world experiences that students engage in which enhance every lesson that I teach. Finally, all of the components of a successful classroom and student cannot be possible if it is not for the guidance and relationship one has with their Heavenly Father.
As the classroom teacher, it is my special privilege to work with students one-on-one and as a class so that they may establish and foster a solid relationship with their personal Savior.
Eighth Grade
Eighth grade is the culmination of a student’s Miramonte experiences.
Many of Miramonte’s eighth graders have attended the school since kindergarten or first grade. At the eighth-grade level, we try to move beyond the foundational goals already established in previous grades. Our goal is to not only spend the year preparing students to be successful in high school but to prepare our graduates to be successful LEADERS & ROLE MODELS in whatever high school they choose to attend.
We want our graduates to be prepared to not only be involved citizens and leaders here on earth, but also joyous citizens of God’s eternal kingdom. Because of this, Junior High School teachers try to spend as much time as possible in extending classroom learning to include opportunities for all eighth graders to practice their leadership skills and take further steps in their spiritual growth.
The eighth-grade homeroom teacher is responsible for teaching Bible to all eighth graders as well as eighth-grade math to qualifying seventh and eighth graders, while the Algebra teacher teaches Algebra 1 to qualifying eighth graders. The seventh-grade homeroom teacher teaches language arts to all seventh and eighth graders while the eighth-grade homeroom teacher teaches science and social studies to all seventh and eighth graders.
Field Trips
Throughout the year, eighth graders participate in several curriculum-oriented field trips. While they are studying the U.S. Constitution, the students participate in a mock trial in a Santa Clara Superior Courtroom. Near the end of the school year, eighth-grade students have the opportunity to tour the U.S.S. Potomac, now moored in the Port of Oakland at Jack London Square. Other trips include an ice skating physical education trip, a trip to San Jose State University to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, and a day touring Mountain View Academy to help them as they decide which high school they plan to attend.
Junior High Ski Trip: Seventh and eighth graders participate in an annual ski/snowboarding trip. The trip includes one day of tubing and one day of skiing or snowboarding. The trip counts as a physical education activity so students who choose not to participate must complete alternative physical education projects.
Southern California Trip: In April the eighth graders at Miramonte take a week-long, curriculum-based trip to Southern California. The trip begins with a stop at the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament in Buena Park, California. The experience gives the students an up-close glimpse of some of the things they learned in seventh-grade history class. The next day the students begin their three-day science camp adventures on Catalina Island. The class participates in the CIMI science camp at Cherry Cove. The hands-on activities include environmental education training, day and night snorkeling, hiking, and ocean kayaking. The trip concludes with a visit to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. The eighth graders participate in a program called Tools for Tolerance for Teens.
What makes teaching at Miramonte an enjoyable experience? The small school atmosphere where it is possible to get to know all the students on campus, the wonderful colleagues at Miramonte, the well-maintained facility. . . and most of all, the students.
+ International Students
Miramonte Christian School has been approved by the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP) to issue the I-20 form for student visas. We offer a full immersion academic experience for a select number of international students.
Contact the school office for more information and details.
Main Office Phone: 650-967-2783
Email: info@miramonteschool.org
+ Early Learning Center
Currently, the Sanyu Early Learning Center operates a preschool program for 3-5-year-olds in the former MCS Junior Kindergarten classroom. They began operations on the MCS campus in June of 2021, please contact their director, Mrs Susan for information about Sanyu.
Main Phone: 408-891-6836
Email: sanyulc.school@gmail.com