Programs

Pre-Nursery (click for sample daily schedule)
The Pre-Nursery Program is our 3-day, 2-hour toddler program for children 1 ½ to 2 years and 5 months old by June of the current school year. The physical space, equipment, and materials all serve to meet the needs and capacity of very young children. The program emphasizes concrete experience and play (e.g., block construction, dramatic play, art, etc.) as vehicles for learning and encourages the growth of independence and social awareness, sensory exploration, the development of physical skills and language development. Teachers focus on establishing stable and intrinsically rewarding relationships with each toddler. A parent or other consistent caregiver is allowed to remain in the classroom with the child until the teaching staff indicates that a separation from this primary adult is appropriate and can be comfortably accomplished. The time frame for accomplishing this separation can vary from a few days to several months.

Nursery (click for sample daily schedule)
The Nursery Program is a regular 5-day, 2-hour program for children 2 ½ to 3 years and 5 months old by June of the current school year. The program’s emphasis is on learning through play in an environment designed to encourage discovery, independence and social interaction and a balance of child-initiated and teacher-facilitated activities. The program offers children a broad choice of learning experiences within a carefully prepared indoor and outdoor environment. These learning experiences provide opportunities for academic, physical and creative exploration, as well as social interaction and growth. Children learn to choose and initiate activities, and share ideas with their friends. They work in block building, dramatic play, painting, clay work, collage, sand and water exploration, puzzles, number and sorting games and construction activities. The environment also includes manipulatives, language arts, books, music, gardening, running, climbing, animal care, and a variety of large and small motor activities. Teachers help children to feel safe and secure in their new school as they grow comfortable with new activities, routines and classmates. To help children develop a sense of trust and feel comfortable from the start, a parent or consistent caregiver is allowed to remain in the classroom until the teaching staff indicates that a separation is appropriate and can be comfortably accomplished. In order to develop self-esteem and social competence, children are encouraged to help themselves, take initiative, and become increasingly independent. Gradually the Nursery children also participate in the larger school community, enjoying buddy-class activities, library times and class trips.

Younger Preschool (click for sample daily schedule)
The Younger Preschool program is a 5-day, 3-hour program designed for children aged 3 ½ to 4 years and 5 months by June of the current school year. In Younger Preschool teachers emphasize initiative, language and thinking skills and activities designed to encourage the development of rich imaginations and communicative competence. Active Younger Preschool mornings begin with group discussions followed by a choice of activities that includes block building, painting, dramatic play and literacy and math activities. Children enjoy the give and take of group experience. Among many teacher-led activities are shared reading, read-alouds, writing, and cooking. Through shared reading experiences and close teacher guidance, children link sound to symbol, and build beginning reading and writing skills.

Older Preschool (click for sample daily schedule)
The Older Preschool program is a 5-day, 4-hour program designed for children aged 4 ½ to 5 years and 5 months by June of the current school year. Older Preschool is an exciting year as children participate in a range of group and individual activities, adding to their social and conceptual growth and extending their expertise in a range of areas. Attention is still paid to play, problem solving and children’s ability to see themselves as part of the class, school, and bigger community. The children learn from each other, and many of their activities have a social component. The Older Preschoolers are encouraged to become authors, to develop reading skills and to treasure experiences with oral language and books. They work with math concepts and skills that extend their understanding and challenge their growing problem solving and reasoning abilities. Most experiences embrace more than one discipline, such as cooking that is both a math and science activity, or block building that is rich in both math and social studies learning, but disciplines like language and math are allotted specific blocks of time each day. As their world expands, Older Preschoolers engage in meeting discussions, considering issues and solving problems as a group.

Kindergarten (click for sample daily schedule)
The Kindergarten program is a 5-day, 5-hour program designed for children aged 5 ½ to 6 years and 5 months by June of the current school year.  Kindergarten is a particularly exciting period of growth for children as they move on to becoming the students on campus with the most experience as friends and learners. There is a great deal of emphasis on learning how to be a respectful member of the community. They become aware of their place in the larger world and their ability to make a difference in that world. In Kindergarten, many students are experimenting with new concepts and skills for the first time. The year is a powerful time in the life of a reader. As emerging authors and readers, they gain fluency and confidence as they begin to think about and discuss literature and how to communicate ideas and stories to others through written and spoken words. They make important discoveries in mathematics and learn the usefulness of the discipline in their daily lives. Work in class is carefully designed to meet the range of needs and abilities of young learners and seeks to help each child become confident, resourceful learners. Through work, and play, each child discovers much about the world and how it works as well as a deepened understanding of oneself.

First Grade

By First Grade, students are on their way to becoming strong and independent readers.  The emphasis begins to shift from the mechanics of learning how to read to reading for information and pleasure.  Curriculum focuses their attention on meaning, character, setting, and plot.  They choose from a wide range of literature, often coordinated with social studies themes.  Writing skills and expressive talents are central to the First Grade curriculum.  Students create stories, recount experiences, learn conventional spelling and grammar and work on their revision and editing skills during Writer's Workshop.  Genre and author studies, book talks, and mini research projects begin in this level.  First graders are involved in hands-on investigations in the content areas of number sense and operations, geometry, data analysis and probability, measurement and algebra.  First Graders are expected to have efficient and accurate recall of addition and subtraction facts.  Regularly scheduled special classes include Filipino, Civics, Art, Music, and Movement are fully integrated into the First Grade curriculum.  In First Grade, students receive daily homework assignments and increased responsibility for and independence in their work. 

Second Grade (opening June 2010)

Second Grade students are now reading for information.  As they write their own research reports, they learn to organize their findings and identify salient details.  Teachers encourage students to read for meaning, with attention to the author's point of view, character development, and inference.  Through conversations and written work, students deepen their comprehension and appreciation of literature.  In Writer's Workshop, students experiment with different genres including memoirs, non-fiction, and poetry.  They are encouraged to develop a personal voice and to express feelings and opinion.  Second graders are also active mathematicians.  They use new strategies, skills, and conceptual thinking to solve complex problems.  The year includes a review of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, geometry, measurement, fractions, probability, and data collection.  Second Grade students are challenged to record scientific observations and ideas with detail as they go in- depth in various topics including environmental science and astronomy.   Regularly scheduled special classes include Filipino, Civics, Art, Music, and Movement are fully integrated into the Second Grade curriculum.  Second Graders use their daily homework experiences to extend concepts and skills acquired in school.