Curriculum

Curriculum Overview

At Horizon Academy, learning is designed as a continuous journey from Elementary to Secondary. Students grow through a clear academic spine that builds language, literacy, inquiry, confidence, and independence over time.

The Elementary and Secondary programs are intentionally connected. Elementary helps students build curiosity, confidence, language foundations, and learning habits. Secondary turns these foundations into academic maturity, independent thinking, and readiness for more demanding learning environments.

From Elementary to Secondary, Horizon students grow in three clear directions:

From curiosity to disciplined inquiry
From expression to academic communication
From guided learning to independent responsibility

Our aim is not only to prepare students for the next grade level, but to prepare them for the world beyond school. Horizon students are expected to grow into thoughtful, articulate, responsible learners who are rooted in Taiwan, open to the world, and ready for future academic pathways.

Project-Based Learning (PBL) Steps

Our structured learning-by-doing model moves from questions and research through reflection and presentation.

1. Launch & Essential Question

Students explore a real-world driving question and connect English, Mandarin, math, and science concepts.

2. Inquiry & Research

Students read, collect information, conduct experiments, gather data, and ask deeper questions.

3. Concept Development

Students analyze findings, connect academic standards, and build conceptual understanding.

4. Design & Creation

Students create solutions, models, reports, or presentations demonstrating applied learning.

5. Reflection & Revision

Students engage in feedback, self-assessment, and revision to strengthen understanding.

6. Presentation & Exhibition

Students present learning publicly, explaining concepts, reasoning, and process.

Student-Led Concept-Based Learning

Students explore concepts through discussion, hands-on work, presentation, and reflection.

Student-led presentations and reflection

Balanced Assessment Approach

Formative Assessment

Student self-reflection journals
Peer feedback protocols
Teacher conferencing
Concept check-ins
Draft review and revision

Summative Assessment

Final interdisciplinary project
Bilingual written reports
Science experiment documentation
Multimedia presentation and exhibition
Student learning portfolio

Children are our future, and their future relies on solid education.

Horizon Academy sparks learning interests with the inquiry method, and links knowledge with real life.

We hope to shape children with a global perspective by exposing them to multiple languages, helping them embrace the future with digital adeptness, and broadening their learning through holistic education.

Courses

CLIL

Content and Language Integrated Learning

By using CLIL as the teaching method, English is no more a subject, but a medium. In a natural learning environment, children learn different subjects using English and apply that knowledge in real life.

Exploratory

Real world. Real learning.

Links learning and life. This course is designed to make children think about their relationship with others and the environment as well as solve problems they face.

Reading

Make reading a life-long habit.

Students spend time immersed in Modeled Sustained Silent Reading. They discover the universe and develop their interests and reading ability.

Activities

Learning by doing!

This includes coding, art, cooking/crafts, Rube Goldberg, and guidance. Children get a sense of fulfillment from hands-on activities and problem solving.

Foreign Language

Languages give you wings to fly!

At Horizon Academy, children learn French and French culture in a fun way through progressive learning methods.

Mathematics

Math is the basis for logical and abstract thinking.

Comprehensive learning materials help children grasp and apply math in real life and develop critical and analytical thinking.

Mandarin

Better themselves through language!

Students build a strong knowledge base in Mandarin, develop the skill to apply it, and gain thorough understanding.

PE

Exercise strengthens the body and mind!

Exercise supports healthy habits, confidence, and peer interaction.

After School Clubs

Add a bit more fun

Students have opportunities to participate in a wide range of co-curricular activities that broaden creativity, interests, and global-minded growth.

Additional School Activities

Get out of your comfort zone!

Students explore hiking, camping, river tracing, school visits, service work, and other learning beyond the classroom.

How Learning Works

Learning at Horizon Academy (Secondary) is school-based, structured, and purposeful. Students learn in a real school environment, with routines, expectations, teacher guidance, and daily support. Face-to-face teaching, school-based reinforcement, and carefully integrated partner-linked learning come together as part of one coherent educational experience.

Partner-linked learning widens academic opportunity. It allows for greater responsiveness to student choice and preferences, while also giving students opportunities to learn alongside learners from different places and backgrounds around the world.

English is the main academic working language of the school. Many core academic subjects are taught in English, while students also continue to develop meaningfully in Chinese and French.

Our goal is to help students build knowledge, habits, judgment, and confidence over time. We want them to leave each stage of their learning stronger in literacy, stronger in independence, and better prepared for the wider world ahead.

Grades 7 to 9

Grades 7 to 9 form the opening stage of Horizon Academy (Secondary)'s secondary pathway.

These years are designed to help students move from upper-elementary habits toward the greater independence, discipline, and academic seriousness expected in secondary school.

Students build strong academic foundations, develop confidence in Chinese, English, and French, and learn within a structured environment that supports steady growth in knowledge, responsibility, and confidence.

These years also matter because they help students build the habits that support later success: careful reading, clear writing, thoughtful questioning, responsible work habits, and mature responses to challenge. By the end of Grade 9, students should be better prepared for the next stage of learning.

Grades 10 to 12

Grades 10 to 12 represent the later stage of the Horizon Academy (Secondary) pathway.

At this stage, students are expected to work with greater independence, stronger academic discipline, and clearer direction as they prepare for future study.

Partner-linked learning plays an especially important role in widening academic opportunity. Students gain access to broader course options and more specialized areas of study, while continuing to learn within a structured school environment shaped by routines, expectations, teacher support, and daily guidance.

These years are designed to help students deepen knowledge, strengthen judgment, and grow in self-management, communication, and readiness for future pathways, especially AP-linked study and university progression.

Learning Spaces

At Horizon Academy (Secondary), learning spaces are planned to support the full educational experience.

For most of the school day, students learn in a structured school environment designed to support serious academic learning, discussion, reading, writing, and steady day-to-day growth.

Science lab lessons will be held in a fully equipped laboratory hosted by a partner school. This arrangement ensures that students learn in a setting that supports practical investigation, appropriate equipment use, and hands-on scientific experience.

PE lessons will be held at external venues. This allows students to learn in spaces that support movement, participation, fitness, and the broader aims of a well-designed PE programme.

Pathways

Horizon Academy (Secondary) is primarily designed around a US-aligned pathway. This is the clearest direction of the school's secondary programme and shapes how we think about academic progression, language development, and preparation for later study.

A key feature of this pathway is its alignment to later AP-linked progression. The school plans to work with Gravitas as its provider for AP modules, giving students access to wider academic opportunities within a structured school-based model. From Grade 9 onward, Gravitas-linked courses can count toward college application credits, while student learning is reported from Grade 7 through Grade 12.

The school's strongest alignment is with future study in the United States. At the same time, students may later consider other destinations depending on their profile, goals, and university requirements. We want students to prepare for wider future opportunities without losing their connection to place, language, identity, and community.

Advisory and Guidance

At Horizon Academy (Secondary), advisory and guidance are part of the school's daily structure. We believe students grow best when they are known well, guided steadily, and supported through clear school-based relationships.

The homeroom teacher is the student's first school-based adult anchor. This role helps students settle into secondary school life, build good habits, respond to expectations, and stay on track over time.

Guidance at Horizon Academy (Secondary) is school-led and partner-supported. The school remains the main anchor for students and families, while external partners may contribute specialist guidance where appropriate. Our aim is to help students grow not only in academic strength, but also in maturity, steadiness, and direction.

Clubs and Societies

Clubs and societies are part of a fuller secondary-school experience. They give students opportunities to explore interests, build confidence, work with others, and discover strengths that may not always appear in formal lessons alone.

At Horizon Academy (Secondary), we see this area of school life as an important complement to academics. Over time, we want students to have meaningful opportunities to participate in intellectual, creative, service, and interest-based activities as part of a balanced secondary experience.

Shaping kids
with a global perspective

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