Special Curricular Offerings

Spanish
Spanish lessons are held twice weekly for Kindergarten and Elementary students and once weekly for full-day Primary students. Spanish instruction is done in whole group settings, as well as in small groups and one-on-one. Basic conversation and common expressions are a key focus. Emphasis is placed on listening and speaking in the early years, with reading and writing components added as children get older and/or are ready for these skills. Children are taught vocabulary such as numbers, colors, days of the week, months of the year, parts of the body, the seasons, weather, etc. through repetition, songs, nomenclature cards, games, and other activities.

In Middle School, those with several years' experience of classroom Spanish classes (or with other extensive Spanish vocabulary experiences) may take a challenging Spanish 1 course (thereby preparing to take Spanish 2 as a freshman in high school).

Art
Art lessons are held once a week for Kindergarten and Elementary students. Throughout the year, students explore working with different media, such as pencil, various types of paint, crayon, pastels, and clay. They learn basic drawing and painting techniques, create ceramic items, explore the styles of famous artists, and more! We provide opportunities for students to take part in special art shows and contests.

Music
At the Primary level, creative movement and song are done on a daily basis, mainly during circle time. For the Primary and Elementary levels, other musical opportunities include preparation for “Holidays Around the World” Celebration/Musical Program in December and the Graduation/Musical Program in June. Additionally, Suzuki violin lessons are available on-site, as are private lessons in piano, guitar, and voice (at an additional fee).

Physical Education
Lower and Upper Elementary students participate in physical education class once a week. The purpose of the program is to inspire an intrinsic desire for lifetime health and fitness. Activities include playing cooperative games, learning basic rules of some sports, exploring health and nutrition, practicing stretching and balance. Additionally, each day, the children have a long outdoor recess period to enjoy nature, play unstructured games with each other, and get plenty of exercise and fresh air! A running program for Upper Elementary and Middle School students is offered seasonally; students are transported to the Cara Fields road for this program.  In the winter, cross country skiing and ice skating are offered for free after school as conditions permit.  Students can cross-country ski on-site during recess.

Country Feasts
As part of the geography curriculum, twice a year students attend a country feast.  Lower Elementary students have become "experts" on countries within a particular continent and at the feast they display maps, flags, souvenirs/artifacts and give a short presentation about the countries.  Families prepare a recipe from the continent and everyone shares African, Asian, European, or South American cuisine.

Tri-fold Research Projects
At the end of each year, students in the Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary Programs engage in a theme-related, six week research project.  Self-selected topics in the past have been under the following umbrella themes:  environmental awareness, inventors, medical/health/nutrition, biomes, heroes, careers.  Each student writes a report and creates a visual trifold, and on the last day of school presents his or her learnings in museum fashion.



Please also see our “Beyond the Classroom” page, which describes After School Clubs and Activities.


“The child’s intelligence is a fertile field into which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination.”

                                    —Maria Montessori