On a Spring night in late May, more than 70 people made their way to the parking lot of New Horizon Christian Middle School on highway 39.

Those people, mainly the families of students, were greeted by the aroma of Italian cuisine and an outdoor patio setting for dinner. For the students this was a chance to showcase some culinary skills they developed during a class called Farm to Table, which taught them where our food comes from and ways to prepare it.

Students set out steaming pans of spaghetti and alfredo noodles and large bowls of meat sauce and alfredo—which they made from scratch. Mat and Amanda Sikes attended the dinner and mentioned how enamored their 6th grade daughter Kealani is with cooking and trying new recipes, saying, "every time they learn something she is clamoring to come home and put it into practice and cook."

As guests finished eating and the middle schoolers cleared their tables, some would say they saved the best for last. Plates of "Layered Ice Cream Lasagna" were placed in front of everyone for dessert. As the evening cooled and dusk started showing on the horizon everyone went inside for a reader's theater put on by the 6th grade class.

Although the cooking—and especially the eating—was very popular, another course taught students to sew and several of them took that expertise home as well. Michael Christie, father of 7th grader Logun, who actually requested a sewing machine for Christmas said he's put it to good use, "fixing his sibling's clothes at home." To add emphasis to that point just the day before Logun sewed up the torn sleeve of a classmate's jacket. "I was very grateful for that," said Sebastian Shanklin an 8th grader. He and others also sewed items like pillows, bags and aprons. When thinking back on those projects Logun said, "It's like your masterpiece; it's very satisfying."

Many of those masterpieces raised money for the school through a fundraiser called a Makers Market, where students' arts, crafts, holiday snacks as well as sewn items were featured. Head teacher Andrea Thompson explains those funds helped purchase groceries for the cooking class, as well as the dinner for the families. It's an example of integrated curriculum where the teaching and the learning directly contribute to more opportunities, something she said started with asking, "how can we add more hands-on experiences and real-world applications in our electives?"

Some of those other electives include Personal Finance, using Dave Ramsey's curriculum and a Wood Shop elective where students make items like cutting boards, lathe-turned pens and pencils, bowls and other items. It's possible you will see some of these items at next year's Makers Market. What remains to be seen is what other new opportunities that will create for next year's middle schoolers at New Horizon Christian Middle School.

Mrs. Thompson says she's already thinking of new classes for next year, and she credits God's guidance for their success last year, "we are excited to see what God will do at our school next year."