These courses are part of the Bahamian national curriculum for grades seven, eight, and nine. The DCMS curriculum prepares students to take the Bahamas Junior Certificate exam in these subjects by the end of ninth grade.
Math
The math curriculum is a spiraling curriculum in which concepts are revisited each year. Seventh grade serves as an introduction, eighth provides an opportunity to master the skills, and ninth requires students to apply their knowledge and skills. The curriculum focuses on problem solving strategies and incorporates real-life situations. Topics range from number theory to fractions and decimals, from statistical analysis to geometry, and from symmetry to pre-algebra.
English
The English curriculum focuses on increasing literacy and improving writing skills. Writing skills are honed through grammar studies and frequent essay writing in preparation for the BJC examination. Students become better readers through in-depth readings of class novels, nonfiction articles, performing dramatic scenes, and vocabulary study. Some of the books read in class include Where the Red Fern Grows; Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry; The Diary of Anne Frank; and To Kill a Mockingbird. In addition to their class work, students have a Quiet Reading period three times a week and read for at least 30 minutes each night in a book of their choice.
Social Studies
The Social Studies curriculum covers topics in geography, and Bahamian History. In grade seven students acquire mapping skills and learn local and world geography. Grade Eight begins their study of history bylearning about the indigenous people of The Bahamas, colonialism, piracy, and changes in government. In grade nine, students learn about slavery in The Bahamas, emancipation, independence from England, and the current government system of The Bahamas. The curriculum develops students’ abilities to write, research, and debate important issues. Field trips to local ruins, farms and historic sites bring the curriculum to life.
Science
The science curriculum covers topics in life, earth, and physical sciences, and is tailored to the context of Eleuthera. Place-based topics include hurricanes; air, soil, and water; marine ecology; and electricity and magnetism. The curriculum focuses heavily on teaching problem-solving skills. Students engage in authentic research projects, generating questions, designing their own experiments, collecting data, and making conclusions.
Health and Family Life Education
Health and Family Life Education teaches the importance of all around good health providing students with knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their physical, social, and emotional health as they mature.
Art
The art curriculum covers the basic elements of art: line, shape, color, value, form, texture, and space. These concepts are introduced and explored in grade seven. In eighth and ninth grade, students apply these skills and knowledge to drawings from observation, self-portraits, graphic design problems, and finally the Bahamian Junior Certificate course work and examination.
Religious Knowledge
The Bahamian Ministry of Education religious knowledge curriculum is an introduction to the study of the Bible and the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The purpose of the course is to teach students the role spirituality and the church can play in their lives. It also provides students with a moral guide for making decisions as they move through adolescence into adulthood.