Teaching at T.H.E.O.S. is dream come true for me. I have spent countless summers at Camp Nazareth as a both camper and counselor, and I always felt that there was no place on earth that felt more like home to me. The friends that I made there were always my closest friends in life, and each summer that I spent there made me a better person and brought me closer to God. As a child, I remember wishing that Camp Nazareth would just open up a year-round boarding school so that I would never have to leave that wonderful environment! At T.H.E.O.S., we have merged the wonderful Christ-centered environment found at Camp Nazareth with a quality academic education, where our goal is to produce children that will grow up into intelligent, well-rounded individuals who will wholeheartedly use their God-given talents to glorify God!
At THEOS, students have the opportunity to learn science from a Christian perspective, and see how science continually points towards the existence of God! One of the first science lessons that students learn in my classroom is how to distinguish observations from inferences. Whenever scientific theories and ideas are discussed, I challenge my students to identify the observable “cold hard facts”, and then imagine how those facts led scientists to an array of ideas and theories. Next, I challenge students to put themselves in the scientists’ shoes, look at the facts, and propose inferences of their own.
It is amazing to see the students’ open minds place all of the facts and observable phenomena right in line with our readings from Genesis on creation! When we study the organs, tissues, and cells of the human body, the students are baffled and amazed by God’s complex engineering of living beings.
One of my top priorities is to prepare my students to excel in high school. Having taught at a public high school prior to T.H.E.O.S., I have a long list of skills and habits that I expected of freshman, which I concentrate on developing in my students. Science students will receive a balanced diet of life, earth, and physical sciences complete with hands-on and virtual computer laboratory activities. Mathematics students can graduate from T.H.E.O.S. with on-level Pre-Algebra skills or above-level Algebra skills.
In the middle school grades, our goal is for the children to mature first and “grow up” second. We work to maintain the innocence of their childhoods, while helping them become organized, responsible, and accountable for their own actions. If a child’s character is fortified with these qualities, they will be capable of making better decisions for themselves as young adults in the future.