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 Elementary Brochure
Elementary: An Educational Extravaganza
For 3rd, 4th & 5th Grades
Immerse, Design, Pursue & Value
Allow our elementary program to bring out the very best in your child and unleash your child's fullest potential. At this stage in their development, students' strengths begin to emerge and propensities to be a math wiz, musical genius, emerging artist, athletic powerhouse, reflective listener or writing wordsmith unveil themselves.
Our elementary teachers build upon the abundant base of knowledge and skills that students have acquired up to this point on their vibrant educational journey. This is the time when students begin to hone in on individual areas of strength and academic studies both increase in rigor and become more finely tuned. Students transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn," and their critical thinking develops. Teachers take great pleasure in weaving faith into the curriculum and fostering positive values into student thinking. Math skills increase rapidly, but our Mountain Math ensures that the lessons of past years do not go by the wayside as students continue to review previously acquired skills on a weekly basis. Science investigations and FOSS science kits allow students to delve more deeply into new realms of understanding. Cursive is introduced, multiplication licenses are earned, and recorder karate belts are secured in third grade. Intensive historical explorations and simulations promote partner collaboration, role play, and deep connections, especially in fourth and fifth grades. Third grade focuses on geography and nature, then transitions to Alabama, with a focus on then Early American history in fourth and fifth grades. Elementary culminates with the study of the Civil War and its impact on America. Spanish, technology, art, music, guidance, library, and physical education curricula continue to challenge students as appropriate for each grade level.
This curriculum transitions seamlessly into our middle school as well as all local middle schools, and fully prepares our students for academic success, heightened independence, increased organization, and multiple social relationships at the next level. Grammar is no problem for students as they become highly proficient with the grammar rules incorporated into over twenty-five songs they learn by heart with the Shurley English Method. Students are also well practiced with public speaking and dissecting sentences in front of the entire class. Our writing program allows students to acquire experience in creative writing. While they are fully capable of writing lengthy works, they will be masters of the formal paragraph and comfortable with the modified Baker-Keyhole method for a three-paragraph formal essay. Much of their writings (from K-5th grades) are stored in a writing portfolio which goes home with them at the completion of fifth grade. We hope that they will gain confidence in their writing ability by reflecting back on how much they have blossomed as writers during their time in our school.
To see our students in action doing these activities as well as to learn more about the depth of our offerings for this age, please contact us to schedule a tour. We look forward to working with your child soon.
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