elementary
Kindergarten: Students must be 5 years old by August 1st to be eligible.
Grade 1: Students must be 6 years old by August 1st to be eligible.
Grade 2: Students must be 7 years old by August 1st to be eligible.
Attendance Options:
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Full-time - 5 days/week, 7:30 am - 5 pm (class from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm)
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No other attendance schedules available for these grade levels
At Raintree, we know that a school with a challenging learning environment is not built with pressure and stress. It is taking risks and trying new things. It’s exploring vast regions of possibilities and testing your understanding of Science, Mathematics, and the Humanities against the world around you.
Long-term project work provides an environment in which students take part in constructing their curriculum. Elementary students at Raintree are offered choices. Our small class size creates the ideal setting where teachers are able to allow for individual pacing, to allow for close monitoring of each student’s progress, allowing each student an active part in the school community.
Literacy
The goal of our program is to provide the scaffolding for well rounded, all encompassing literacy. Everyday, children are listening, reading, writing and speaking through our phonics program. Overtime, all of these skills come together to form creative, skillful readers and writers.
Math
Math is everywhere and is in everything. It extends way beyond a few problems on a worksheet or even the walls of a classroom. Elementary students at Raintree are encouraged to approach math with curiosity and excitement. With an open mind, students are able to connect the math ideas and concepts they have learned to the world around them.
Project
Most of the Raintree curriculum shines through in student-driven, long term projects. With each project, our students think critically and apply their skills in Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Science, Ecology, and the Humanities. As they tackle the tricky work of finding answers to their own questions, they are driven by clarity of thought and passion for what they are discovering. Projects at the elementary age shifts to build the skills of citizenship and social responsibility, which is achieved through the pursuit of solving real problems in our own city.
Forest
Immersed in the woodlands around us, each child has their own opportunity to freely explore whatever peeks their curiosity. The forest is their playground. The vines hanging from the trees are their swings and the trenches of the valleys their slides. But, more than this, the forest is a home for them, and they learn to take pride in it. They are transformed into stewards of the forest, caring for all creatures and growth that share their woodland home.
