Faithful, Dynamic, and Wholesome
While classroom learning is central, we offer so much more at Arma Dei Academy. From academic field trips and STEM camps, to performing arts and athletic activities, we offer comprehensive and diverse experiences beyond the classroom. We recognize that all truth, goodness, and beauty are divine absolutes designed to develop biblical wisdom and Christian virtue by equipping students to know, love, and apply these absolutes to the world around them.
Extracurricular Activities
Arma Dei offers formative academic and enrichment extracurricular opportunities for students that align with and enhance the mission of the academy in accordance with its Statement of Faith. Extracurriculars are for K-12 students enrolled at the academy.
Soli Deo Gloria, led by Miss Lydia Hattrick, is inviting any kindergarten, first, or second grade girl to FUTURE SDG! Your daughter will get to experience what it would be like to participate in SDG when she is old enough through attending two Tuesday practices in January. Your child will be assigned a current SDG dancer to be their mentor and guide throughout the practices. Practice starts with a devotional on what it means to dance for Jesus, then they will learn the SDG warm up dance, and then they will learn their very own future SDG dance. After completing these two practices, your daughter will then be invited to share their dance at our first annual dance concert on April 26th, 2025. T-shirt and special prop included in the cost.
SDG Dance Ministry seeks to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1 ESV). Everything we do is centered around God–from beginning practices with Bible study to dancing to Christian songs to lifting our eyes and hands while we dance to bring people’s attention to God. We dance, not for ourselves, but only to give God glory, our audience of one! For questions, please contact Miss Lydia Hattrick
Who: Female students in Kindergarten – 2nd Grade
When: Tuesdays, January 14th and 21st from 3:45 pm – 5:30 pm
Where: 341 Building – (Kindergarten Classroom/Room#136)
Cost: $50/student for the two classes
Attire: Have your daughter bring clothes she can move in, a healthy snack, and a water bottle
REGISTER HERE by January 12, 2025
In this course, students will continue to build on the skills already gained in the first semester of guitar and learn how to play more songs with greater skill! If you are new to guitar or would like to join apart from my first semester class, send me an email so I can do an interview with your student to see where they stand. For questions, please contact Mr. Michael Kochie.
Who: Students in 4th – 8th grades
When: Mondays, 3:50 – 4:45 pm, beginning January 13 through May 5, 2025
Where: Main Campus 341 Building Latin Room – Room #225
Cost: $520/per student
Questions: Please contact Mr. Michael Kochie
REGISTER HERE by December 30, 2024
Looking for a way to help your children build a lasting foundation of faith? “The Place”; Awana
Club meets Sunday evenings at Arma Dei beginning September 7, and is open to children
from Preschool through 12th grade.
Awana is a global, Bible-centered discipleship program that blends scripture memory,
engaging lessons, and fun games to help children know, love, and serve Jesus. According to
Awana’s national impact study, club alumni are significantly more likely to study the Bible
regularly and maintain an active relationship with Christ throughout their lives.
WHEN: Sundays from 5:30 pm – 7:15 pm, starting September 7, 2025 – April 27, 2026
WHO: Students in preschool – 12th grade
WHERE: Arma Dei Academy – 341 E. Wildcat Reserve Parkway
COST: $125/student (volunteer and sibling discounts available)
Questions? Please contact ThePlaceOf.Awana@gmailcom
REGISTER HERE by August 15, 2025
Female students in 3rd-6th grades are invited to join the Soli Deo Gloria Dance Ministry! Led by one of Arma Dei’s Kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Lydia Butler, SDG seeks to “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1 ESV). Everything we do is centered around God: beginning practices with Bible study, dancing to Christian songs, and lifting our eyes and hands while we dance in order to bring people’s attention to God. We dance, not for ourselves, but only to give God the glory, our audience of one!
We strive to keep costs as low as possible, so, instead of requiring parents to buy new costumes every year, SDG has a “Closet” of dance costumes, known as worship wear, that is shared amongst all participants and used from year to year. The registration fee goes towards covering the cost of any new Worship Wear or props for the year. If your daughter is joining SDG for the first time, the additional new dancer fee covers the cost of the base worship wear outfit, known as “Whites” and an SDG t-shirt. Additionally, parents will need to supply ballet shoes, tights, camisoles, and black dance pants. Specific information on what and when to order will be given at the start of the dance year.
WHEN: Tuesdays – September 2 – April 21 from 3:40 PM – 5:00 PM
WHO: Female students in grades 3rd-6th
WHERE: Arma Dei Academy Main Campus – 341 E. Wildcat Reserve Parkway, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
ROOM: Multipurpose Room
COST:
- Registration Fee: $75 (new and returning)
- New student: $150
- Returning: $0
Questions? Please contact Mrs. Lydia Butler
REGISTER HERE by September 1, 2025
Acta Dei Players invites 4th–8th grade students to an engaging, Christ-centered after-school drama program where faith and creativity come alive on stage.
This fall, students will rehearse and perform Pilgrim || The Blessed—a parallel drama featuring compelling vignettes inspired by Pilgrim’s Progress, biblical accounts, and the lives of historical Christian figures. Each short scene brings to life one of the Beatitudes, offering powerful reflections on what it means to live out Christ’s teachings today.
Throughout the 8-week journey, students will explore foundational theater skills, including:
- Voice projection and expressive delivery
- Stage presence and intentional movement
- Character development and emotional storytelling
- Improvisation and ensemble teamwork
- Script reading and scene blocking
Whether your child is new to the stage or already loves performing, this camp will be a joyful, encouraging space where creativity and character flourish together. Fall camp is open to 15 students who are eager to explore the world of drama.
WHEN: Thursdays October 2 – November 20 from 3:45 – 5:30 PM
WHO: Students in grades 4th-8th
WHERE: Arma Dei Academy Main Campus – 341 E. Wildcat Reserve Parkway, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
ROOM: Multipurpose Room
COST: $100/per student
Questions? Please contact Arma Dei parent Amber Daniels
REGISTER HERE by September 1, 2025
String Orchestra is open to students in 3rd-8th grade who want to learn bass, cello, viola or violin and gain experience playing music as a team. We will rehearse once a week and give a short performance at the end of the semester. To have a satisfying experience in this course and contribute meaningfully to the team, members must commit to attending all rehearsals and doing individual practice. The orchestra director is responsible for giving instruction in instrument care, playing technique, reading music, ensemble skills, and how to practice. No prior musical experience is required to join the orchestra. Members are responsible for bringing their instruments and all required materials to each rehearsal.
Please note that instrument and materials costs are not included in the tuition for this course. Orchestra members are responsible for independently renting an appropriately fitted instrument (the orchestra director can help you do this) and purchasing the required book and other materials. Click the link for the list of Required Materials.
WHEN: Mondays – September 8 – December 15 from 3:45 – 5:00 PM
WHO: Students in grades 3rd-8th
WHERE: Arma Dei Academy Main Campus – 341 E. Wildcat Reserve Parkway, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
ROOM: Music Room
COST:
- Orchestra Tuition (1 student): $250
- Orchestra Tuition (2 students from the same family): $200 per student
- Orchestra Tuition (3+ students from the same family): $150 per student
Questions? Please email the orchestra director, Danica Smith, with any questions or for more details and rental shop recommendations.
REGISTER HERE by September 3, 2025
The Knight School is our revolutionary approach to teaching chess to students of all skill levels, grades K-6. Their developmentally targeted curriculum features a progressively challenging Tactics Band system, where each week teaches an exciting new chess tactic and its corresponding Tactics Band. Our program focuses on sportsmanship first, fun second, and chess ability third, establishing an innate love of chess through our “chess party” approach.
Each enrolled student is equipped with an official TKS chess set, TKS t-shirt, and colorful Tactic Bands throughout the year. For more information about the program or scholarships, please visit TKS’ website or contact Coach Caleb Brasher.
WHO: Students 4 to 13 years old
WHEN: Thursdays, 3:45 – 5:00 pm, August 28, 2025 – May 07, 2026
WHERE: Arma Dei Academy Main Campus – 341 E. Wildcat Reserve Parkway, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
ROOM: Archimedes
Victory FC offers fall soccer opportunities for Arma Dei boys & girls born between 2012-2018. Use the links below to learn more about the programs and to register. If you have questions, please email Coach Aaron Soby.
- ADA Little Victory (For Year Born children 2020-2021)
- ADA Champions (For Year Born children 2015-2019)
Register HERE
Speech Meet
Arma Dei Academy’s students participate in annual in-house and regional speech meet each year in order to provide a platform for students to develop rhetoric skills from an early age. This opportunity makes use of classical educational pedagogy which challenges students to develop the skills of memorization, public speaking, and social grace.
1. Practice your selection every day at home for your parents. Do your very best each time.
2. Stand up tall, with your hands comfortably at your sides in a relaxed posture. Look at your entire audience.Say the required introduction and then pause briefly before you begin the selection. At the end of the selection, hold your last motion or feeling for a few seconds. Then go back to your beginning position as you smile at your audience. Wait a few seconds before returning to your assigned seat.
3. Say your selection with appropriate expression or feeling. If your selection is a happy or sad one, be sure to show that feeling with your facial expressions and your voice. Other feelings that might go with your selection include fear, anger, wonder, worry, surprise or pride. Be sure your facial expression matches the feeling that you are trying to show. Have a friend, parent, or a teacher watch and listen to you and tell you whether you are emphasizing the correct feelings with your voice and your facial expression. Practicing in front of a mirror or having someone take a video of you may also be helpful.
4. The use of gestures will enhance your presentation if they are natural for your selection. Any gestures you use should add to your selection, making it more interesting, more believable, and more enjoyable for you and for your audience. Learn a few natural gestures right away, and practice saying your selection with them every time. Avoid stiff or unnatural gestures.
5. Be sure to speak slowly and clearly. Stop after each thought so that your audience can hear both the words and the thoughts you are expressing. Be careful to enunciate your words or to say every sound (beginning, middle, and ending) of every word in your selection. Using a voice recording device is a tremendous help in learning and practicing your selection. Since you will not be using a microphone, you need to make sure you are able to project your voice for an audience. You may want to practice in a large room and speak loud enough so that others can hear every word from across the room.
6. Since you have memorized and learned your selection, you should show confidence as you speak. Enjoy the experience of sharing what you have learned with the judges.
Recitation & Art Showcase
Reciting knowledge is an important skill. It requires different mental faculties from writing or reading, typical ways of evaluating learning in the 21st century. A memorized and recited piece is more easily “accessed” in the student’s mind than, for example, a string of words encountered in a novel. And learning to speak a poem or a jingle — with clarity and expression — is a foundational skill for all public speaking, useful for the student’s entire life.
At Arma Dei’s annual Recitation & Art Showcase, students in each grade share small samples of what they’ve been learning before an audience of family and friends. It is a highlight of the school year, when the whole community comes together to celebrate our students and to glorify God.
House System
ADA’s house system exists to fufill our school mission by fostering a culture of professionalism, courtesy, and Christ-like service to God and others among students. This culture strengthens our academic environment, prompting students to do their best in preparation for success in their future academic and professional pursuits. The house system achieves these goals in three ways:
- by giving students incentives (house points and corresponding awards) to meet high standards for student competition, comportment, and interaction;
- by creating house-specific, school-wide, and community-oriented opportunities for service to others;
- by giving older students opportunities to lead and mentor younger students within their houses in the pursuit of ADA’s standards for student comportment and service to others.
Arma Dei’s Academy’s four houses are: Avari, Laiquendi, Noldor, and Vanyar, adopted from Elven tribes in J.R.R. Tolkein’s Silmarillion. While certain aspects of each house’s identity are inherited from Tolkein (e.g., Laiquendi are wood-elves), students are encouraged to create and sustain a unique identity for their own house.
House points can be awarded to an entire house or to individual students within houses. They are awarded in four categories: competition, decorum, service, and nobility.