Student Life
The King’s Academy is committed to developing God's best for each student spiritually, academically, morally, and socially through every program and activity. Accordingly, we have a high-caliber instructional staff to help our students meet their academic goals, as well as a dynamic and very involved Spiritual Life Department, whose mission is to encourage students to become fully devoted followers of Christ. By placing a high priority on our students’ spiritual development, alongside their academic, moral, and social development, The King’s Academy is distinguished among private Christian schools in graduating students who are spiritually maturing, academically proficient, morally principled, and socially confident and concerned.
Please read on about the principles practiced at The King’s Academy, and the programs and activities implemented to achieve these goals.
Discipleship
Small Groups
Student-Led Ministry
Chapels
Friday Clubs
Community Service
Mission Trips
Student Trips and Retreats
Student Events
Student Clubs
Discipleship
The King’s Academy differs from other schools in that the highest calling and overarching priority of our teachers and staff is to invest personally in every student’s life. True discipleship happens when a mature Christian prays for, walks alongside, and mentors a young believer in a way that points toward Christ. Everything we do at The King’s Academy is designed to bring students closer to God and act as a catalyst for students to build strong relationships with teachers and among peers.
All of the programs at TKA are aimed at leading students to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Our trips, service opportunities, chapels and Friday clubs are all implemented with this goal in mind. Our intent is that, through all of these programs, relationships would develop between students and teachers for the sake of discipleship.
Our teachers, administrators, maintenance staff, coaches and our Board of Directors hold this to be the most important aspect of our ministry here at The King’s Academy. Year after year, students return to our campus to reconnect with teachers and staff. The relationships formed here frequently continue on and become life-long friendships. Click here for an article on discipleship.
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Small Groups
At The King’s Academy, students have daily opportunities to grow in their faith and mature spiritually.
From the time they enter sixth grade through their senior year, each student is involved in a small home group which meets daily. A wealth of other small group opportunities is available to students, allowing for more personal ministry time. For example, TKA staff members regularly host Bible studies and prayer meetings throughout the school day. Lunch times are longer twice a week to encourage fellowship between students and teachers.
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Student-Led Ministry
One of the primary aims of The King’s Academy is to build Christian leaders. Our Student Council, Student Government, Spiritual Life Internship, and Music Leadership Program give our students opportunities to learn how to lead in a ministry context. Some of the ministries with the most impact at TKA are student initiated and executed. Chapels, clubs, trips, and retreats all have elements which are led by students. Our hope and prayer is for students to take the skills and experiences they have gained and use them to serve our Lord throughout their lives.
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Chapels
The King’s Academy provides separate chapel experiences for our junior high and senior high students. At chapel, students pray together, sing together, and worship God together. Through chapels, students learn to apply Christian principles to the real issues they face, such as peer pressure and family conflicts. Guest speakers have included well-known pastors and authors such as Jim Burns and Josh McDowell, as well as local youth pastors. Click here for reviews to the Junior High Chapels
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Friday Clubs
Club is a time when our entire student body comes together for an exciting time, which fosters a sense of community and school spirit. Club is a celebration of God’s love for us, and yes, there is usually a joyful noise! Club activities include games, competitions, music, video, and live performances.
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Community Service
There are two elements to community service commonly exercised at The King’s Academy. One is the annual requirement for high school students to contribute 40 hours of community service; the second is the all-school service projects that take place during the school year. The purposes of the service projects are to give every student in every grade an opportunity to serve others within the local community, and to bring more awareness to SERVICE as being an everyday attitude. At TKA, we want students to be doers of the Word by serving in Jesus’ name to make a difference in the world.
The Service Projects for the 2008-2009 school year are:
- Blanket drive for local shelters
- Samaritan’s Purse – Operation Christmas Child
- Canned food drive for local community agency food cupboards
- Pajama drive to benefit foster children
- Alianza bilingual tutoring program – ongoing at San Miguel school
The King’s Academy also has many clubs on campus that participate in various service projects and volunteer experiences.
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Mission Trips
An integral facet to our annual community service requirement is student participation on one of our mission trips. TKA staff and parent chaperones lead students to participate with existing ministries in service to needy and disadvantaged communities in locations such as the Gulf Coast, Kentucky, Los Angeles, Mexico, Peru, and Malawi. Click here to learn more about the nature of our service trips.
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Student Trips and Retreats
Each year, The King’s Academy students participate in an annual retreat, which offers a time of reflection and spiritual renewal for our students. A change of scenery, and time in nature, help to connect students with God and each other. Retreats also build relationships and create a shared sense of community values and memories. In some cases, students participate in a service role as chaperones, or to help with the program.
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6th Grade Science Camp
At Mount Hermon Outdoor Science School, TKA 6th graders take part in an exciting, academic, and experiential hands-on program based on the California Science Framework. Students are immersed in outdoor science exploration and learning, intentionally designed to increase awareness and understanding of our physical environment, while growing in good stewardship of our natural resources.
Mount Hermon’s 440 acres rest amid the Santa Cruz coastal redwoods, 70 miles south of San Francisco. In their four distinct ecosystems, students explore and learn in a unique and dynamic environment. Throughout the week, naturalists unfold for the students this diverse coastal mountain region, including creek research, soil digs, plant and animal identification, night hikes, and habitat restoration. You may access http://mounthermon.org/outdoor-science for more information about this camp.
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7th Grade Hume Lake
For one week in October, the seventh grade class, along with twelve to fifteen teachers and staff, attend the Outdoor Education program at Hume Lake in Hume, CA. The goal of the program is to integrate Biblical principles and teachings into all subjects and activities, so kids see how God’s hand plays “an awesome part in everything.” Parent testimonies indicate many students come home changed, touched by Jesus, and inspired to praise and worship Him with new vitality.
The days begin with morning worship followed by a class, lunch, free time, another class, free time, dinner and then chapel time. The curriculum includes:
*Climbing: Students are taught fundamentals of rock and sport climbing.
*Signs of the Creator: Students explore the complexities of nature and learn to discern the fingerprints of God.
*Flight: This interactive class teaches the principles of flight.
*Orienteering: A throwback to “Old School” competence before the GPS, students learn map reading, compass and terrain navigation, and survival skills.
*Ornithology: Students examine study-skins and keys to field identification.
*Riflery: Students practice firearm safety and competitive target shooting.
For more information, check out www.humelake.org/.
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8th Grade East Coast Trip
In the spring, the eighth grade class takes a trip that helps make their history lessons come alive. They visit Washington D.C., Gettysberg, New York, and Boston. It is definitely the highlight of the year for the students, and provides memories of a lifetime. TKA teachers and parent chaperones accompany the students on this adventure.
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Woodleaf
Every September, The King’s Academy sets aside three days for the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades to attend Young Life's Woodleaf camp. From Friday to Sunday, students are challenged by a speaker, and worship together in Club meetings, play wild games, enjoy fellowship and sharing during "cabin time," and run wild over Woodleaf's extensive campus during free time. Kids can go on the zip line or the blob in the lake, kayak or canoe, play basketball, sand volleyball, Frisbee golf, foosball, pool, ping pong, water polo or water basketball, hang out in the coffee shop or ice cream shop, or participate in many other fun, community building activities.
This is traditionally a time to kick off the school year, setting the tone for the energy and spiritual emphasis of the campus. Teachers exchange their classrooms for a cabin, and become full time youth pastors for a few days. The bonds between students, their peers, and the staff last well beyond Woodleaf, and sometimes well beyond graduation.
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Senior Fall Escape
The Senior Fall Escape is held during the first month of instruction in the fall. The King’s Academy encourages seniors to make the most of their final time at TKA through numerous activities planned throughout the year. The Senior Fall Escape has been designed to do just that – start the year off with an opportunity to play, learn, worship and grow together. For the second year, seniors went to Chaminade, www.chaminade.com, in the fall of 2008, a beautiful retreat center in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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Senior End-of-Year Retreat
This year’s Senior Retreat will take place at Forest Home in Ojai Valley near Santa Barbara from Saturday to Wednesday, May 23-27, 2009. Seniors will have one last opportunity to spend five days together enjoying various activities including kayaking, mountain biking, a day trip to Disneyland and a luau dinner at the beach. Each year, this event has been very meaningful to students and has exceeded their expectations. Seniors come away with some deep and special memories of their classmates as well as the staff members that attend.
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Student Events
Each year, The King’s Academy students are afforded a myriad of opportunities to participate in a variety of student events, all designed to be uplifting and enriching experiences for our students.
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Fall Carnival
The Fall Carnival is an annual family event sponsored by the Student Council. It is an evening spent having fun with friends and family and settling into the new school year. Each grade is responsible for providing and manning a booth in order to raise money for that class. The Student Council also provides some of the booths, such as the "Teacher Dunk Tank" and the "Car Smash." Families enjoy walking around, eating cotton candy and caramel apples, and spending a quarter or two at the various booths run by students. This event is too good to miss. It is loads of fun for everyone!
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Winter Formal
The Winter Formal is a time for the Juniors and Seniors to dress up and spend time together. A formal dinner is served to the students as they participate in an entertainment activity like a murder mystery, or exploring exhibits at the Exploratorium in San Francisco!
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Spirit Week
The King’s Academy Spirit Week is a four day school-wide competition between the grades, run by the Student Council, filled with laughter, cheering, excitement and fun! All students from 6th-12th grades participate in themes for dressing up each day, and in a variety of competitions throughout the week. The Spirit Week rallies take place each day before lunch. The rallies are filled with energy and excitement as students compete in games and show their school spirit by cheering for one another and their classes. Classes earn spirit points by following the theme, competing in games, and coming up with cheers and skits. The week culminates with the class dance competition and the crowning of the Spirit Week class champion. It is a great time to go crazy and show just how much class and school spirit we have.
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Movie Nights
On a regular basis, the Student Council hosts movie nights for all students to join together, munch popcorn, or drink hot chocolate and watch a movie in the W Building or in the Quad under the stars.
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Junior-Senior Banquet
A big end-of-the-year bash for the Juniors and Seniors, this formal event is a great finish to the year at The King’s Academy. The Junior class raises money during the school year to host the event where they also honor the graduating senior class.
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Student Clubs
Students at The King’s Academy organize and participate in a variety of special interest clubs. The nature of the clubs varies from sports and language interests, to art and spiritual interests, to academic and technical interests. For a current list and a description of student-led clubs, please click here.
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