Academics

Located on 170 acres of pristine grounds, Rancho Capistrano and its Spanish architecture provide reminders of the rich cultures within our historic community. Its rolling hills, open fields and nature trails allow us to implement a hands-on education right in our own back yard and integrate fun into the learning experience with swimming, hiking, fishing tournaments, and other outdoor activities.


About Us

Spiritual Theme
2004-2005
Glorify God

"...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31

"...and you shall be a blessing."
Genesis 12:2

At Rancho Capistrano Christian School, each class in preschool through 8th grade offers a balanced curriculum that will expand the mind, energize the body, and enrich the spirit. In hopes of preparing our students to personally excel and take on leadership roles in the 21st century, we place a high priority on problem solving, self-motivation, and creativity.


Philosophy

Rancho Capistrano Christian School is dedicated to providing a positive learning environment that addresses the whole student and fosters the development of each student's gifts and talents toward their full, God-given potential. We are committed to teaching our students how to live a healthy, moral and balanced life, while providing them with a top-quality education. Our goal is to produce purpose-driven individuals who will fulfill God's calling for their lives and positively impact the world in which they live.

Rancho Capistrano Christian School is a place where students can develop a positive sense of self-worth, self-discipline, personal responsibility, and an appreciation of the balance of body, mind, and spirit.

Our outstanding staff will inspire students to maximize their potential in every area of their lives and prepare them,academically and personally, for the 21st century. With that in mind, Rancho Capistrano Christian School offers a variety of programs that are designed to enrich the spirit, expand the mind, and energize the body of each student.

Expanding the MinD

The teaching staff is a team of dedicated professionals who maintain a high standard of academic excellence and are committed to making the classroom a place of discovery and intellectual stimulation.

They provide students with a scholastic foundation for mastering school tasks and excelling in future academic endeavors. The challenging curriculum is supplemented with technology, performing and fine arts, foreign language instruction, and other co-curricular programs.

Our goal is for students to obtain the knowledge necessary to succeed in all areas of life. Whatever their choice for continuing education, Rancho Capistrano Christian School students will be equipped to do their best.

In an atmosphere of love and acceptance, your child will be educated with principles of the Christian faith. Spiritual development is emphasized through weekly chapels, daily Bible classes, and scriptural teachings integrated throughout the curriculum. Each child will be surrounded by an ideal environment for developing Christian morals and growing in their understanding of themselves, others and God.


Enriching the Spirit

At Rancho Capistrano Christian School, outreach and service to the community are key ingredients in the spiritual growth of our students. We believe this type of involvement with others in the role of givers is of invaluable measure in a young person's life, and will build teamwork as students work with their class, group or athletic team to put their faith into action.

Parents are also encouraged to participate in outreach activities and special events at RCCS. Under the guidance of God's grace, we aim to inspire students to seek healthy self-discipline and personal responsibility as an important part of discipleship. We set high standards with a spirit of compassion, instruction and helpfulness to nourish the personal growth of each student.

During school breaks, we offer our own unique Discovery Camps to boys and girls of all ages. This program provides children with a fun-filled Christian environment where they can discover their God-given talents and continue to grow spiritually, mentally and physically.


Energizing the Body

Students learn the importance of caring for the physical nature of the human body through proper nutrition and exercise. Our athletic programs focus on teaching values and the practices of good health, and are designed for athletes at all levels. We believe that participation in athletics contributes to good character, physical development, and sportsmanship, and promotes positive school morale.

The athletic department offers a wide variety of seasonal sports, in which all students play and compete. They include, but are not limited to, flag football, volleyball, soccer, and basketball.


Parent Teacher Fellowship

Our parents and teachers meet several times a month to create projects and fundraisers for the enhancement of the students at Rancho Capistrano Christian School. All parents are welcomed into this fun group of fellowship and support.


Rancho Capistrano Christian Pre school

Rancho Capistrano Christian Preschool is accredited with ACSI; Association of Christian Schools International as of May 2002. Our year-around preschool classes offer a developmental curriculum where students learn by doing, touching, tasting, watching and listening. A Junior Kindergarten Program is also available. The Chapel curriculum includes Bible and flannel stories, hands-on experiences including drama, hand signs, puppets prayer, weekly verses and music. Each classroom provides open-ended art experiences as well as sequenced and process art forms. Fine and large motor activities enrich daily schedules with the necessary skills for learning and physical development.

Social skills are developed as the teachers partner with their students to "use their words", express their feelings and discuss their conflicts as well as cooperative experiences. Free choice activities provide the time and opportunity to develop independence as well as inter-dependence within the security and joy of fellowship in a Christian environment. Our 170-acre campus provide a lot of opportunities for exploring God's creation.

The evaluation team from ACSI summarized their visit to the preschool by saying "The best way we can think of to sum up the essence of Rancho Capistrano Christian Preschool is the sense that Christ is meeting you at the gate and extending His hand to you with the greeting, 'Come and walk with Me'!"

For more information about Rancho Capistrano's Christian Preschool programs, call (949) 347-4023.


Academics


Elementary

Kindergarten-Fifth Grade

A Beka Curriculum: "The A Beka Book approach to Christian education keeps learning lively, interesting and memorable. Our materials reflect sensible theory that is firmly anchored to practicality. A Beka Book materials have been developed as a result of more then 40 years of actual classroom experience.

The publications are built upon the firm foundation of Scriptural truth and are written by dedicated and talented Christian Scholars who are well grounded in the practical aspects of classroom teaching," according Dr. Arlin Horton, President and Founder of Pensacola Christian and A Beka Book.


Middle School Academics

The Highest of Goals (Please also refer to Our Program for an overview of our class sizes, enrichment programs, and athletics)

Our school is a lot like a family: we're small, we're intimate, and we know each other well. In a family and in our environment, it's imperative that all the members are accepted and encouraged. Different personalities must not only be tolerated; they must be embraced and nurtured. With this in mind, the teachers at Rancho Capistrano Christian School strive to reach all learners with different teaching modalities. Sometimes we appeal to the visual learners with lessons based on visual media.

At other times, the mode of delivery is a lecture or taking turns reading a textbook out loud. Often, the kinesthetic/tactile learner has the opportunity to learn via drama or an art project. For example, our history teacher may have his students dress up as the people they studied and have a "Meeting of the Minds" - an idea he borrowed from Steve Allen - or the English teacher may have the students design a brochure for a theme park, utilizing words from the vocabulary workbook.

Another key strand in our educational philosophy is the goal of developing higher-level thinking skills. Memorization and rote-activities are valuable, and of course our concrete sequential students excel at that sort of work. Other students find success most easily when discussing, manipulating, and creating abstract concepts. Socratic questioning and small group discussion groups are common.

Whenever possible, students are presented with the "big picture" of the topic - the historical, sociological, or anthropological context of the core material. Our teachers, many of whom have advanced degrees or multiple credentials, personally select texts and ancillary materials that will broaden the children's world-views.

For instance, the science teacher may choose to use both A Beka and Bob Jones University textbooks to present different "angles" of understanding God's creation. The English teacher may use a Sadlier-Oxford vocabulary-development text, a Houghton-Mifflin grammar/composition text, a Prentice Hall literature text, and his own custom anthology of poetry.

In all mathematics classes, the Saxon tests constantly cycle review exercises so that previous learning is not only retained but shown connected to other mathematical concepts. During Bible, a teacher may supplement the Biblical reading with a movie or have the students interpret a passage by writing a poem.

In art, it's not good enough to hold up a few magazine images of paintings; the teacher designs slide-shows, presents videos, invites guest artists and even brings in their own paintings that are currently being worked on! Whatever the subject matter, all discussions, studies and projects are unified by common ideological precepts; Jesus is Lord; the Bible is His Word; and all our actions - even our thoughts - are guided, or judged, by the Holy Spirit. The faculty, the students, and the parents come from a variety of denominations, yet all must endorse and accept the school's evangelical mission: