Life After School and Beyond at CLA

CHESS
To encourage the teaching of important life skills such as organizing, planning and decision making, Creative Learning Academy offers its students the opportunity to learn to participate in after school chess instructions on Monday afternoons from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. on the CLA campus. Please sign up at www.jrchess.com.  Payment will be accepted in the front office at school.

MUSIC
The Music Department at CLA gives students an appreciation for the performing arts through singing, dancing, playing instruments, and much more. It also gives students the knowledge and tools to enable them to use music as a means of self-expression.

Beginning in preprimary through fourth grade, students learn skills in Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, Form, Tone Color, and Musical Expression. Each year the curriculum is continued and the number of sub-skills is increased as the student progresses to the next grade. Throughout the year, students use instruments such as xylophones, hand bells, recorders, and Orff rhythm pieces. They also perform musical programs throughout the year that apply the skills they learn in class.

In Middle School, students rotate through different electives including music. In addition to participating in musical performances, each grade level focuses on a different aspect of music:

Fifth Grade - General Music Appreciation
SixthGrade - Music Theory and Basic Composition
Seventh Grade - Music History
Eighth Grade - Music in Modern Society (Band)

Students at CLA can also register for after school voice lessons class beginning in 2nd grade.                                                            

KIDS CARE
Creative Learning Academy believes in its guiding principles.  CLA is dedicated to demonstrating our 5th guiding principle to our students that “We are each other’s keepers.”

CLA fosters the desire to support those in need within our community through our Kids Care program.  The Kids Care program is a school wide education initiative that allows our school community to learn about the needs with our local area, nationally and around the world.  CLA Parent Association and Administration select organizations quarterly that our community can support by sharing our resources and time through volunteering within their organization.     

Organizations CLA supports included Manna Food Bank, Special Olympics, Relay for Life, Ronald McDonald House, and the Sacred Heart Foundation.   

The goal of the Kids Care program is to introduce to our young community members the value of being a part of and lending a helping hand to those in need.  The character building opportunities are plentiful when the needs of others come first and CLA assists neighbors.    

FIELD TRIPS
Creative Learning Academy expands its curriculum by offering field trips at all grade levels.  Field trips bring learning to life, broaden the students’ horizons and increase their motivation to learn.  Field trips also provide unique opportunities for teachers and students to interact outside of the classroom and inherently ignite a student’s desire to learn.

CLA’s youngest students begin taking field trips as part of the Preprimary program.  At the end of their study of Asia the students experience a Japanese tea ceremony at the Japanese Cultural Center at the University of West Florida.  Preprimary students also visit the zoo, planetarium, and local pet stores.  

This type of experiential learning continues with day trips throughout a student’s Lower School experience.  Students have opportunities to visit local museums, watch musical performances, interact with local Bee Keepers, take a scavenger hunt at the Gulf Islands National Seashore, learn about the stars at the Planetarium, experience historical Pensacola, plus much more.  The culminating Lower School field trip is to our state capitol in Tallahassee.  Fourth grade students visit the old and new capitol, meet their local representatives, visit the Museum of Florida History, and take a glass bottom boat tour of Wakulla Springs.   

Field trips expand to over night excursions in Middle School.  The fifth grade students gain a memorable insight of the Civil Rights movement as they travel to Selma, Montgomery, and finally Tuskegee.  One parent said, “This was an eye opening experience that I think every child should have.  The trip has opened up a wealth of opportunities for my son and I to discuss our country’s history and possible future.”   The sixth grade students gain both independence and team building skills as they master the many challenges presented at Camp Beckwith.  Seventh grade follows with an overnight trip to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab where students experience the saltwater marsh ecosystem by dragging seines, catching, and identifying animals, and by sieving shoveled-up marsh bottom samples.

The eighth grade Outward Bound trip is a life changing experience for CLA students.  Students travel to South Carolina for an eight day outdoor wilderness experience that promotes self discovery, inspires character development and impels the students to achieve more than they ever thought possible.  One parent said that Outward Bound was the best trip that her daughter could have ever experienced.  Her daughter came home more mature, confident and ready to conquer the world.  For most eighth grade students this is the most memorable experience of their days at Creative Learning Academy.  Graduating eighth graders leave CLA ready to become leaders, take risks, and achieve their goals in high school and beyond.

TEAM SPORTS AT CLA

Ignite Your Athletic Abilities!

At Creative Learning Academy, while we develop a student’s athletic abilities in preparation for high school sports, our overarching focus is developing conscientious students who learn to apply the lessons on the field to the game of life.  In fact, each CLA student athlete signs a Sportsmanship Oath that indicates his/her understanding of the importance of good sportsmanship during CLA athletic events.

We give every student the chance to explore a variety of different sports at different levels. CLA competes with other private schools in several local leagues that are highly competitive. The students represent their teams and their school with honor, as do their parents.

The following sports programs are offered during the school year:

FALL (August – November):

Coed Volleyball for grades 6th, 7th and 8th

WINTER (November – March):

Girls’ Basketball for grades 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th
Boys’ Basketball for 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th

SPRING (March – May):

Girls’ Softball for grades 6th, 7th, and 8th
Coed Softball for grades 6th, 7th and 8th

CLA is very proud of its various athletic teams as they wear the “Dragon” uniforms and positively represent their school.