Curriculum Highlights

Science

After a year-long review of the scope and sequence of the School’s science curriculum, faculty in June 2010 reported a need for more teacher resources, professional development and a more comprehensive study of science across the grades. In response, the science committee explored options and chose the Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt Science Fusion program for Grades 1 – 4.

Science Fusion is a 21st century, technology integrated, interactive science curriculum for Grades K - 5. The program includes workbooks for students, a traditional teacher guide (plus a DVD teacher resource), a comprehensive on-line digital center that includes interactive video and activities, a workstation for lesson planning, assessments, and interactive manipulatives such as inquiry flipbooks and lab kits. With our new classroom tablet computers, mobile laptop carts, our existing SmartBoards and our new interactive projectors, we are in the position to benefit from all of the components of this program. The School will purchase and integrate Kindergarten and Grade 5 in 2012-2013.

Reading
In 2007, Greene Street Friends School began using the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System to assess students’ reading skills in grades K- 4.  The Benchmark Assessment System is a researched-based system that has been comprehensively field-studied across the U.S. among a broad spectrum of students. The Benchmark Assessment System assesses reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension as well as a student’s self-correction ratio and oral reading rate. The Benchmark Assessment System will give a clear picture of each child as a reader and will allow us to provide individualized reading instruction to each child.

Mathematics
At Greene Street, we aim to engage and excite students in their learning of mathematics while at the same time ensuring they learn important skills to use throughout their lives. We encourage students to develop and share their own strategies for solving problems and we also provide explicit strategies and processes to use. It is important that students have a balanced understanding of mathematics including the content areas of calculations, patterns, geometry, probability, money, time, mental math, data and statistics, and algebraic concepts. Greene Street is in its fourth year of using the Everyday Mathematics curriculum in Grades K - 6 from the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project. It is a highly researched program used by schools across the nation and correlates with national standards created by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics. Students learn about each content area at various points throughout the year through direct instruction, hands-on activities and explorations, written and oral practice work, and games. Using the Everyday Mathematics curriculum, we determine expectations for students in each content area, and teachers use multiple modes of assessment to assess how students are meeting these goals. The Math Coordinator visits each classroom weekly to work with all students and works closely with parents and teachers to help develop the program and answer questions.

Life Skills
In summer 2007, a group of faculty with assistance from a consultant created a curriculum for students in Grade PK-6 which consists of four to seven lessons annually on health-related topics.

In the first year, the lessons focused on indentification of feelings as well as topics like energy and balance. In 2008-2009, lessons have explored roles, relationships and responsibilities. Next year, the lessons center on friendship-making skills: conflict resolution, self-advocacy, resilience and decision-making.

Kiri Harris writes, “We had tremendous clarity about what we wanted for the program: a common language, school-wide themes, clear and frequent communication, a span across ages and disciplines, and a format that was fun and user-friendly.

Tweens Program (Grades 3-6)

During the summer of 2011, a faculty team comprised of Melody Regino, School Counselor; Kiri Harris, 6^th Grade Lead Teacher & Dean of Students; Maggie Chiles. 4^th Grade Lead Teacher; and Joshua Klur,  7/8 Math Teacher & Technology Coordinator, revised the scope and sequence of our Tweens Program. The teachers worked closely with Dr. Nadja Peter, Co-Medical Director of Adolescent Care Center at CHOP. The goal was to ensure that the program was developmentally appropriate for each age group and that the content was relevant and up to current health and wellness standards. The program incorporates four major strands: emotional change, social change, physical change, and intellectual change and leads into the health program for Grades 7 and 8.

Tweens Mission Statement

With an emphasis on empathy and respect, the Tweens Program at Greene Street Friends School aspires to prepare students for the physical, social, emotional, intellectual changes they will experience throughout adolescence. We believe that delivering practical information in a safe, compassionate environment empowers our students to make healthy choices. Recognizing that parents and guardians are a child’s first teacher, we encourage open communication between home and school, and between students and adults, as we collaborate in support of our Tweens.

Experiential Education: Field Trips
Because we seek to provide a broad range of learning experiences, field trips are integral to the school experience and all students are expected to attend.Parents are continually informed about trips the children take throughout the year and are welcome to accompany the class. Trips include walks through the neighborhood, visits to local libraries and attractions, and overnight trips such as the 3rd/4th grade Outdoor School camping trip. Each year, Grades 3 and 4 travel in the spring to The Outdoor School (formerly College Settlement) in Horsham for three days and two nights of environmental education.