• Curriculum Overview
• After School
• Events and Celebrations
• Service Learning and Partnerships
• Special Assemblies
• Mini Courses

LANGUAGE ARTS

The literacy program is balanced and includes speaking, listening, reading and writing integrated across the curriculum rather than as separate disciplines and discrete skills. Mastering literacy is an active process in which the students construct meaning and apply understanding from one area to another. As much as possible, students practice skills through authentic literacy experiences rather than in detached exercises and assignments. Teachers work with students according to the students' individual learning styles and paces, understanding that most children pass through predictable stages in the development of language skills. Teachers expose students to a wide variety of techniques, materials and genres. Most instruction utilizes a workshop model and is individualized according to the students' needs and interests - the students read because they want to read the challenging books that they have chosen.

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MATHEMATICS

The math curriculum at SRV teaches to the Standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). These Standards are based on recent research about how children learn math and what it means to be mathematically literate. At all ages at SRV, students engage in meaningful exploration of concepts and problems. Students develop confidence and flexibility in approaching problems. They think in depth and use drawing, writing and speaking to express and explore their thinking, make connections and recognize mathematical relationships.

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SOCIAL STUDIES

The social studies curriculum for all age groups at The School in Rose Valley includes four elements: content, skills, experiences, and perspectives and values. Through the curriculum content, the program conveys to children both specific knowledge, such as basic facts about U.S. history, and familiarity with general concepts, such as how governmental and economic systems work. The program teaches children skills such as map reading, and how to use specific approaches and methodologies that they will need to continue learning throughout their lives. A variety of experiences and activities, from doing research to community service projects, make the curriculum interesting and meaningful. The program helps children develop an understanding of perspective, such as noticing points of view or historical context, when evaluating information. It also encourages children to adopt certain values, such as non-violence and celebrating diversity, that the school feels are essential to the future of the world.

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SCIENCE

The nature of science is that there is no set core of scientific knowledge - it is a dynamic process of discovery, experimentation, and the revision of ideas. Current educational research and the national standards for science education emphasize that process is more important than content in elementary science curricula. Learning some facts is important, but learning how to think creatively and solve problems is paramount. The science curriculum at The School in Rose Valley does both. Students at all age levels engage in investigations in biology, chemistry, earth sciences, physics, and environmental science, gaining a sense not only of the great diversity of scientific study, but learning to view their own scientific explorations as ongoing processes. Students make observations, ask questions, form hypotheses, test them, and draw conclusions. These scientific processes and skills are practiced during four kinds of experiences in science class at all age levels: exposure to and exploration of the natural world, experimentation, working on extended projects, and choice.

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