Active learning is at the heart of everything we do. You can hear it in the joyful sounds of the children as they step through the front door.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students advance their literacy, math, and social skills through a thematic curriculum of projects, discussions, literature, creative dramatics, and the arts. Our Kindergarten program balances academics, choice, and playtime.
Decades of research tell us that play is an essential part of children’s healthy growth and development. Early childhood experts have long agreed that young children who are provided with rich play-based learning environments excel in all domains of development and learning. Play helps children increase their memory, critical thinking skills, self-regulation, social skills, oral language skills, literacy skills, mathematical and problem-solving skills, and lays the foundation for all academic learning. Play is truly the indispensable work of children.
Grade 1
The first grade curriculum encourages curiosity, independence, and resilience. Students take risks in a classroom environment that supports asking questions and sharing observations. Across disciplines, projects come to life through innovative hands-on activities that encourage creative problem solving while establishing a solid academic foundation.
Grade 2
The second grade curriculum uses an interdisciplinary framework to solidify students’ skills as readers and writers and to explore concepts of community, geographic awareness, and historical time periods.
Grade 3
The third grade curriculum further challenges and stretches students as the academic expectations heighten to ensure a solid foundation in fundamental reading, writing, and math skills and begin to focus increasingly on the preparation of each student for the middle school years. Interdisciplinary study expands and helps students cultivate their critical and creative thinking skills through content-driven discussions about the nature of dissent, change, and risk.
Students are also encouraged to develop greater independence by taking ownership of their daily routine. Organizational skills are emphasized. This includes the use of a daily academic planner to track assignments and greater integration between the two homerooms, which requires more movement from class to class within the school day.
Grade 4
As leaders of the Lower Campus, the fourth grade curriculum is entirely built on securing the elementary school skills needed to transition to the Upper Campus in 5th grade. With increased independence, routines that were guided in third grade such as the daily planner become even greater expectations in fourth. The children increasingly work in groups across the two homerooms that allow for developmentally appropriate challenges and support in ability-based groups.
A cornerstone of the year is the Moving Up Ceremony. Fourth graders are recognized for their hard work and contributions in front of their families, peers, and the younger students who aspire to be leaders like them one day.