Sixth grade is the culmination of the learning process at Christ Church Day School.  All the skills taught in previous grades are integrated throughout the sixth grade curriculum on a more complex level.  The curriculum is designed to develop and stretch every student’s critical thinking skills.  To facilitate higher level thinking skills, a laptop computer is provided to each sixth grade student for use in the classroom.     Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies are taught in the mornings.  In the afternoons, students attend their specialty classes: Science, Composition, Spanish, and Technology.  Physical Educations classes take place three times a week, while Music classes are twice a week.  A Spiritual Development class is taught once a week.    The sixth grade curriculum follows the California State Standards.  Math covers number sense, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, proportions, geometry, and basic algebra. Strategies are developed for solving word problems.  Language Arts consists of literature, structured vocabulary, grammar, composition, and book reports.  Novels are assigned for reading throughout the year.  The curriculum taught in Social Studies takes the students back to ancient civilizations, from prehistoric times to the fall of the Roman Empire.     Sixth graders are given many opportunities to be active community members at CCDS. Students can sing in the choir during chapel or present chapel readings, participate in plays, and help as Ambassadors before and after school.  Sixth graders also enjoy working with kindergarten students (kinder buddies) during the year.  Additional activities are given to the sixth graders throughout the year to allow them to develop their leadership skills.      In the fall, students attend camp for three days in San Diego’s East County. The great outdoors becomes the classroom while students learn about biology, ecology, astronomy, and geology. In late April students take a nine-day trip to the East Coast, with stops in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. This educational trip is one of several highlights that students experience at CCDS.     Creating a respectful, positive learning environment is critical to ensure student success.  Students are encouraged to challenge themselves, learn from their mistakes, and be responsible citizens. By the end of the year, sixth graders are ready for the transition from elementary school to middle school.  We are very proud of sixth graders at CCDS.