Academic Experience

Last updated: Aug 7
Note: New content in bold

Academic Experience Overview

Although the schedule will be different and there will be a number of new safety protocols in place, the on-campus experience will feel much like being at school as in the past in terms of engaging with teachers and peers.

Students will be assigned to a small cohort, half of the total class size. The cohorts will stay together for the duration of the year. Students will alternate between:

• A full day in the classroom with their classroom teacher.
• A half day with a teaching assistant and a half day with a specialist.

Classroom Day

On their classroom day, students will focus heavily on the core content areas of reading, writing, and math. Our Bible curriculum will be delivered on the classroom days and classroom teachers will ensure that the science and social studies content is also delivered.

Split Day

On their split day, students will spend:

• Half-day with a teaching assistant engaging in activities that foster academic, social-emotional, and spiritual growth. The specific activities may vary by grade level, but will include things such as working on math facts and math games that supplement the current math unit, working on Bible memory verses, continued work on writing projects, spelling lessons, etc.
• Half-day with a specialist: art, information skills, Innovation Lab, music, phy ed, and Spanish. Specialists will provide opportunities for deep learning and application and projects in their respective areas. Students will see the same specialist for several days and will then change to another specialist. Students will see each specialist for 3-4 cycles throughout the year.

Note on Music: We are closely following the recommendations from the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). At this time, students will not sing indoors. Our Lower School Music class involves many types of activities including listening and responding to music in a variety of ways, playing drums and xylophones, learning music theory, history and related cultural contexts, and creating music. Activities in the music room will be tailored to fit the size of each class cohort and the safety of students will be paramount.

 

Additional Support

Our Teaching Assistants will be deployed to facilitate rich instructional activities for students during their “Split Day.” Across each 2-day rotation students will spend a full day with a classroom teacher, a half-day with a Teaching Assistant and a half-day with a Specialist. Teaching Assistants are trained and equipped to create a safe and positive and productive learning environment that foster academic, social-emotional, and spiritual growth. Specific activities may vary by grade level, but will include things such as working on math facts and math games that supplement the current math unit, working on Bible memory verses, continued work on writing projects, spelling lessons, etc.

Our reading and math specialists will continue to serve student academic needs and our school counselor will also continue providing social-emotional support for students.

 

Special Activities

Cohorts will engage in weekly pre-recorded Chapels together.

We may not be able to offer field trips and special community events as we typically do, but we will leverage alternative resources to supplement our curriculum and design creative new ways to foster community, celebrate special events, and continue to be the vibrant, caring community that we’ve always been!

As we approach the Christmas break, we will assess the feasibility of changing the make up of the cohorts for 2nd semester.