Middle School Curriculum
Rehoboth Christian Middle School students have the opportunity to access content that stretches across disciplines and encourages them to be active community members.
6th Grade Curriculum: High Desert Horizon
High Desert Horizons (HDH) is a place-based education program designed specifically for the 6th graders at Rehoboth Christian School. In HDH, students learn the normal 6th-grade curriculum, but in a unique way. Students discover the world around them as they seek to learn about ancient cultures, genetics and diseases, what a place is and so much more.
They spend time out in God’s creation learning how to be a better community and learning about the human and natural ecosystems around us. In the two years of its existence, students have taken their learning to Monument Valley, Chaco Canyon, various pueblos, downtown Gallup, McGaffey and more.
7th & 8th Grade Curriculum
The 7th and 8th graders at RCMS are in a unique situation. Whereas most middle schools try to divide students by ability and grade level, at RCMS, we seek to integrate the 7th and 8th graders to build both community and leadership. For this reason, we use a two-year rotating curriculum in all subjects. In addition to the two years of content covered in individual classes, we recognize that content covered in science, social studies, math, language arts, and the arts often crosses the curriculum.
For this reason, we work to develop and implement at least one integrated unit every year. For the 2019-2020 school year, students will delve into World War 2, the Holocaust and the role of the Navajo Code talkers. This will culminate in a World War 2 museum and program presenting what the students learned. In the 2020-2021 school year, students will participate in the business unit where they learn about money management and budgets, economics, marketing, and environmental impact. This leads up to the Mid School mall where students plan and run their own businesses. These unique cross-curricular events contribute to what makes RCMS a great place to learn.
Fine Arts
Unwrapping God's gifts
We believe in unwrapping God’s gifts in each child. Participation in the fine arts is an integral part of the Rehoboth Christian Middle School experience.
Music
Rehoboth is committed to music education at all levels because of the commitment to teach the “whole child.” This experience includes both band and choir ensembles at the Middle School and High School levels. All Middle School students take both band and choir. These classes are available as electives at the high school level.
Students not only learn about music, but they also have the opportunity to perform each semester. Students are also given the opportunity to audition for the district or state ensembles. The academic, emotional and spiritual benefits of music education are clear.
Band
All 6th and 7th graders participate in Band at RCMS. In 6th grade, students are exposed to the variety of instruments available and then choose an instrument to play. Students develop technical skills in playing their instrument and in reading music.
7th graders continue to develop their skills and work to make their playing more musical. By 8th grade, students have developed a wide range of skills and have begun to make music together! Students perform at least two times per year and the middle school students can try out for the Northwest New Mexico honor band.
In addition, students can choose to take jazz band during a few exploratory sessions where they delve into this genre of band music!
Choir
Choir is a distinctive and special part of the school culture at Rehoboth Christian. Students in both middle school and high school choirs spend time mastering the various techniques required to read, sing, and perform multi-part choral music, but beyond that, they wrestle with questions about the purposes of music, how and when Christians should use music, and what music expresses about culture.
A series of concerts throughout the year, along with All-State Choir, provide the chance for our students to share their talents and joy with others. Rehoboth concerts develop around a theme so that the different songs all coalesce into a single, powerful message for the listeners and the performers.
Middle school marks the first time students can take a choir-specific class, and in high school the class sessions and periods increase to offer greater depth. High school choir students may try out for Cantabile—a smaller, honors-level choir group that practices and performs outside of the normal school day. High school choir students go on a national tour every other year in the spring as a way to share the Rehoboth story with various communities.
Drama
During two exploratory sessions, students at RCMS can develop their acting skills. Students engage in a variety of acting situations, working to develop improvisational skills as they also work on and develop a full-length production.
Visual Arts
6th graders take art class once every week, 7th graders spend three days a week in art and 8th graders have art 4 times per week. Students engage in a wide variety of media from building painting to drawing.
