K - 8 Program
Click to expand each subject and read about our program.
Academic Study
Faith Studies, Reading / Literature, Mathematics, Language Arts (Grammar, Phonics, Writing, Spelling, Handwriting), History, Geography, Science, Computer, Spanish, Physical Education, Music, Art. Materials and methods of instruction are utilized to enable us meet and/or exceed state curricular standards. In addition to standard quarterly grade reporting, student progress is measured by three testing sessions completed with MAP Growth tests.
Service Learning
Students at all grade levels are involved in service projects, with our staff modeling to the students how we serve our Lord by meeting the needs of others and our community. Both whole class and individual service opportunities are made available and encouraged
Faith Curriculum
As a Christian school, a spiritual perspective influences every aspect of our program. Each classroom participates in daily instruction in God’s Word (the Bible), with special focus on how it applies to our lives. Students participate in daily devotional time, memorize Bible passages and other material about the Christian faith, and pray for the needs of classmates, families, our school, the community, and much more.
All of our teachers are committed and active Christians, and the words they share and the examples they provide are a further witness in sharing the faith with our students. Instructional and classroom management practices clearly reflect our Christian worldview. An additional special aspect of our faith curriculum is a weekly chapel worship time, with the whole school (Preschool - 8th Grade) gathering to sing songs of praise and hear messages from God’s Word, as well as contributing chapel offerings in support of mission projects, both local and abroad.
All of our teachers are committed and active Christians, and the words they share and the examples they provide are a further witness in sharing the faith with our students. Instructional and classroom management practices clearly reflect our Christian worldview. An additional special aspect of our faith curriculum is a weekly chapel worship time, with the whole school (Preschool - 8th Grade) gathering to sing songs of praise and hear messages from God’s Word, as well as contributing chapel offerings in support of mission projects, both local and abroad.
Athletics
Participating in the Alaska Christian Schools Activities Association, we offer athletic teams for 5th-8th Graders in six sports: Outdoor Soccer, Cross Country Running, Basketball, Volleyball, Indoor Soccer, and Track. Cross Country has extended down to the 4th Grade level. Our K-8 Physical Education Specialist also serves as Athletic Director
Music
Students in Kindergarten - 8th Grade have weekly music instruction and choral singing experiences with our Music Specialist. Students learn music theory, aspects of singing, and instrumental music, including playing the recorder, Orff instruments, and tone chimes. Their music performances are highlight events of the school year, such as the annual Christmas programs. 3rd Graders learn to play the recorder, which sets the foundation for band. All 4th Graders participate in band, which is then offered as an elective course for 5th-8th Graders who discover they have gifts and/or interest with instrumental music and wish to continue.
Art
K-8 uses the Arts Attack Curriculum (www.artsattack.com) to provide a sequential, comprehensive art education program for our students. A highlight of the program is an annual Spring Art Fair, with student work from throughout the year on display in various galleries, demonstrating the diversity of art elements studied and practiced by our students
Drama
Multiple opportunities for acting occur each year, from as simple as classroom skits performed for student-led chapels to as complex as our formal drama productions. These include a fall play that has auditions open to all students, K-8 (last year’s production was "The Spell of Sleeping Beauty", and a Jr. High Theatre Production that is part of the regular school day’s program, involving every 7th & 8th Grader. This amazing Jr. High production has turned out spectacular plays and musicals, including such variety in recent years as “Fiddler on the Roof”, “The Jungle Book”, “The Pirates of Penzance”, and “The H.M.S. Pinafore”, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, and "The Big Bad Musical.
Technology
We integrate technology throughout our program in a variety of ways. A classroom set of laptops is used for project-based learning throughout the grades, with primary use at the 5th & 6th Grade level. Students develop their keyboarding skills over the years. Desktop computers are located throughout our lower grades for center-based activities. Interactive Whiteboard technology is used in all K-8 classrooms, mostly Promethean Board Systems. Each of our classrooms, K-6, has one or more iPads for center activities and special projects, while each 7th and 8th Grader is issued a Chromebook as their primary curricular and learning tool (in lieu of most textbooks). We also utilize technology for powerful sharing of student information, including 24/7 access to student progress (grades, missing assignments, etc.) online using a securely protected site(www.fastdir.com/anchorlutheran/). For more details, visit our Technology Page.
Special Events
Every year is packed full of special events that help make Anchor Lutheran a special place for our students. An abbreviated list of such activities includes: Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge, Geography Bee, Spelling Bee, Chess Club, Spirit Dress-up Days, School Auction, Field Trips, Fall Festival, Thanksgiving Lunch, and more.
East Coast HEritage Trip
Every other year we take our 7th & 8th Grade students, as well as many parents, grandparents, aunts & uncles, on this highlight, mountain-top experience for the Anchor Lutheran community. For October 2010 we spent ten days touring Boston, MA, Philadelphia, PA, Gettysburg, PA, and Washington, D.C., bringing to life the history and heritage we share as Americans but which can be hard to grasp living up here in Alaska.
The school hot lunch program’s profits go entirely to support this trip, as well as numerous small fundraisers, with the travelers making up the rest of the cost over monthly payments. We do all the scheduling in coordination with a tour arranger, who also serves as our trip guide (as opposed to traveling with one of the “official” companies), resulting in hundreds of dollars in savings per traveler, as well as the utmost in flexibility and control of our schedule. This is an absolutely amazing trip, which typically sees nearly as many adult travelers as students each year (and sometimes more!). Our next trip is coming up in 2020!
The school hot lunch program’s profits go entirely to support this trip, as well as numerous small fundraisers, with the travelers making up the rest of the cost over monthly payments. We do all the scheduling in coordination with a tour arranger, who also serves as our trip guide (as opposed to traveling with one of the “official” companies), resulting in hundreds of dollars in savings per traveler, as well as the utmost in flexibility and control of our schedule. This is an absolutely amazing trip, which typically sees nearly as many adult travelers as students each year (and sometimes more!). Our next trip is coming up in 2020!
