The Summit Christian Theater program is a flourishing and integral part of the Academy’s fine arts department. It has continued to grow each year in both numbers and in respect among the community for its dedication to excellence and high level of performance. Students may enroll in theater arts classes beginning in seventh grade. Both middle school level classes are designed to teach the students basic acting skills through various forms of learning. These basic techniques include learning to use one’s imagination, developing vocal skills, stage and theater terminology, improvisation, scene work, and many others.

At the high school level, students apply the skills learned in the middle school basic acting classes to the stage as they perform in two major productions each year. These productions are rehearsed during class time, two Saturdays a month, and every other Wednesday afternoon. This “in class” main rehearsal time allows the students to also play a sport and practice with their team after school. This is a very unique set-up for high school level and is a huge advantage in helping to encourage and promote a well-rounded child.

If younger students are needed for playing roles, they are asked to audition. Many spring musicals require additional cast members. This gives the middle school and elementary students an opportunity to be cast in and perform in a show. Past shows have included: “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Annie,” “Music Man,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and many others.

We are proud at Summit to be able to offer multiple opportunities for our students to experience and grow their artistic gifts and enjoy the creative nature of God.

Pre-requisite: Teacher Approval

The Summit Christian Academy art department strives to create an environment of creativity for our students. The art teachers work diligently to ensure that our students receive a well-rounded art education, including the elements and principles of art, coupling art history with creating art in a wide variety of media such as printmaking, sculpture, painting, mixed-media, and drawing. Students also learn how they can use their artistic skills as an act of worship to glorify God. Students have the opportunity to compete at the ACSI District Competition and many have received high-level awards, including state-level competition at the ACSI Regional Art Festival.

Students learn the techniques of playing band instruments, working to develop tonal quality and technical facility. Students discuss and constructively comment on their own performances and on the performances of the band. Emphasis is placed on proper breathing, tone control, reading skills, development of the embouchure, intonation, articulation, and development of range. Students develop individual and group performance skills, using various styles of band literature. Instrumental music remains an important component of a Summit education. Students are challenged and afforded the opportunity to grow into skilled, lifelong, servant musicians by performing, leading, and serving in a variety of settings.

Cinema class provides students the opportunity to explore the language of cinema, to recognize the importance of conveying messages through video elements, and learn to convey messages with a biblical worldview. Students gain experience in producing and analyzing media, allows them to learn techniques to plan, create, and evaluate a video segment or short film, and to produce videos that hold to a biblical worldview for specific events and purposes (i.e., chapel, classes, etc.). Students in this class also produce media presentations for the senior graduation ceremony. Summit is proud of our students for having their video “Amidst the Flames” entered for the competition at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival, and for having their video “A Journey of One” shown at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival.

The Summit Christian Academy Ensemble is a growing and exciting part of the fine arts department. It is designed to give students the opportunity to gain technical music knowledge, while working towards developing their vocal skills. This is accomplished through learning to sing in multiple voicings, understanding and getting to know their voice through breath training and warm-ups, developing the ability to stylize their voice for various music genres, and understanding how to interpret and deliver a song’s message. This is a fun class for students in 9th-12th grades who love to sing and who have a desire to improve their overall vocal ability. Ensemble occurs on A days of the block schedule, which allows the student to take an additional fine art elective, if desired.

Pre-requisite: Audition only

The Journey, Summit's award-winning yearbook, has worked to establish a tradition of excellence. The staff's goal is to define and record the year in a poignant and provoking historical record that creates lasting memories of and for the people who breathe life into our school.

Members of the staff are entrusted to plan the yearbook from cover to cover. Under student leadership, we decide content, interview, photograph, write, design, and represent Summit Christian Academy, a role we take very seriously. Staff members learn principles of journalism, photography, and design and apply these principles by using personal and school-provided digital cameras and industry-standard Adobe Creative Suite, including InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.

This fine art elective provides students with real-world experience and practical skills and tools that they can carry into their everyday life beyond Summit. Yearbook students are given the skills necessary to work on a college-level yearbook staff, a position that can lead to scholarships. Furthermore, students who take yearbook are uniquely equipped to succeed in competitive, deadline-oriented work places.

Awards:
2007-2008 ACSI Regional Competition, Excellent
2008-2009 ACSI Regional Competition, Superior
2009-2010 ACSI Regional Competition, Third Place
2010-2011 ACSI Regional Competition, First Place
2011-2012 ACSI Regional Competition, Third Place

The Eagle's Cry is Summit Christian Academy’s student newspaper that aims to enrich and entertain the secondary student body. Newspaper class is a hands-on learning experience for Desktop Publishing, with emphasis on developing skills in layout, journalistic writing, reporting, interviewing, production, and content generation. Students are given personal deadlines for their own content, but also learn to work together as a team to meet publication deadlines.

Many creative opportunities are to be found in this class. However, it is primarily for students who enjoy writing and are competent in writing concisely and descriptively. Through this media vehicle, students will learn to serve their campus, through both print and online mediums, to tailor content that is constructive for the school community.