Specials - Art, Music, PE, Spanish

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Montessori curriculum is not just limited to the classroom.  At Sterling, students are exposed to Specials that round out their academic exploration and appreciation.

CHILDREN’S HOUSE PROGRAM

Kindergarten art classes meet once per week for 40 minutes in our dedicated Art Room. For the Academy students, this program is integrated within the CH program and the Art Teacher is a resource for the CH teachers. Our program follows all North Carolina State and National Standards for Art Education as well as incorporating Montessori methods and principles in every lesson. Students will begin to learn about, understand and apply the first 4 Elements of Art (Line, Shape, Color, Texture) to their work. They will experiment with different media and tools, explore their own visual language and creativity, all while learning how to negotiate the studio setting. Kindergarten work is displayed on the Kindergarten bulletin board at the front of C building. Once taken down from the boards, all work is returned to classrooms for students to take home.

ELEMENTARY PROGRAM

The Sterling Visual Art Program follows both the NC State and National Standards for Art Education as well as incorporating Montessori principles in all of our lessons.

2D and 3D projects are explored in all elementary classes. We will use a variety of media and methods such as paint, charcoal, clay, collage and found objects, in order to offer a broad experience for each student. We will view, discuss and be inspired by the works of Master Artists both past and contemporary, from many different disciplines, regions and cultures. We will explore our visual language, learn techniques and master tools, all while beginning to understand how visual art reflects and influences our world. Students will learn about jobs and careers associated with visual Art, and how Artists, architects, and designers influence products, packaging and advertisements.

Student work is displayed on several bulletin boards and rotated, as new work is produced. All student work is returned to students to take home once it comes down from the boards. First –sixth grade meets once per week for 50 mins.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM

The Sterling Visual Art Program follows both the NC State and National Standards for Art Education as well as incorporating Montessori principles in all of our lessons.

2D and 3D projects are explored in the Middle School classes. We will use a variety of media and methods such as paint, charcoal, clay, collage and found objects, in order to offer a broad experience for each student. We will view, discuss and be inspired by the works of Master Artists both past and contemporary, from many different disciplines, regions and cultures. We will explore our visual language, learn techniques and master tools, all while beginning to understand how visual art reflects and influences our world. Students will learn about jobs and careers associated with visual Art, and how Artists, architects, and designers influence products, packaging and advertising.

Student work is displayed on several bulletin boards and rotated, as new work is produced. All student work is returned to students to take home once it comes down from the boards. Each seventh and eighth grade pod will meet once per week for at least 50 minutes.

The music program includes weekly exciting general music classes for K-6 students here at Sterling. These classes involve developing skills in singing, listening, and playing instruments, as well as learning about composers, instrument history, and genres of music.

CHILDREN’S HOUSE PROGRAM

The Kindergarten students come to the music room for a 40 minute weekly class. At this level, we focus on developing steady beat, simple rhythms, and our singing voice. We play rhythm instruments, as well as beginning to read rhythm patterns. We listen and move with many types of music and explore the instruments we hear in our music. The program is integrated back into the children’s house classroom through my providing of music support to the classroom teachers.

LOWER ELEMENTARY PROGRAM

In LE, we continue to develop reading and playing rhythm patterns. We sing a variety of songs, and we accompany them with pitched and non-pitched percussion instruments. Through games and activities, we begin learning music symbols and touch on reading the treble clef staff. We learn about the instruments of the orchestra, composers of classical music, and listen to many styles of music.

UPPER ELEMENTARY PROGRAM

In UE, we further develop the reading and playing of more complex rhythm patterns. Students learn to play soprano recorders, and some explore the alto and tenor recorders. Students are supported in their work to learn to read and play from standard treble clef notation. 6th grade students study ukulele and learn basic chords and melody playing. Students at this level learn the basics of music composition and have opportunities to create basic rhythmic and melodic themes. In these classes, we also explore music from countries throughout the world, and attend a symphony concert.

PERFORMING ARTS IN UPPER ELEMENTARY

In the Upper Elementary program, students have the option to join the choral and/or band program. The upper elementary chorus class meets once a week for an hour. The group performs several times a year. The goal of this group is to provide a comfortable performance opportunity in a large ensemble. Students are taught the foundations of choral performance, and they experience unison and two-part singing. Students perform a variety of music, including folk, pop, holiday, and multi-cultural music.

The beginning band class is an after-school program, that meets twice a week from 3:00-4:30. Students have the choice of learning flute, trumpet, clarinet, alto saxophone, trombone, baritone, or percussion. Students in beginning band follow the Sound Innovations Book One, and through the year develop their skills to successfully perform Grade 1 music. The beginning band performs throughout the year. After successful completion of the first year of study, students are eligible to move into the Sterling Band.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PERFORMING ARTS

The Middle School music program is an elective option for the students. They may choose to audition for the Sterling Stars Show Choir or join Sterling Band or Advanced Band if they meet the entrance requirements.

The Sterling Stars auditioned show choir performs several times each year on the campus, as well as in the community. In this group, students continue to strengthen their part singing through traditional show choir, pop, and Broadway music. In addition, students develop sight-singing skills. This group travels to the music festival, America Sings each year, which provides them the opportunity to perform in a large show choir environment, showcase their own choir skills, and perform with hundreds of students from the United States. To help raise funds for the charter bus, the students perform singing grams throughout the school in December and February. This group meets three mornings a week from 8:30 – 9:25.

The Sterling Band is the second level of band for students in grades 5 – 8 with at least one year of playing experience. Students in this band are expected to finish level two of the Sound Innovations method, as well as learn many pieces of music at the concert Grade 1 ½ - 2 ½ level. This band performs at least four concerts each year and travels each spring to the Carowinds Music festival, where they perform music from the North Carolina Bandmasters list for ratings. This group meets twice a week after-school from 3:15 – 4:30.

The Advanced Band is the third level of band for students with at least two years of experience, who must also meet a set of performance skills in order to be invited to join the group. This group performs four main concerts, represents Sterling in the community, and mentors the beginning level students. Students in this band are expected to develop solo playing skills, in addition to performing music at a Grade 3 level. This group travels to the Kings Dominion Music festival in the Spring. From this band, students are selected to perform for younger students around our campus. Also from this group, a student is selected each year to serve as the student conductor in the beginning band. This group meets one time a week after-school from 3:15 – 4:30 and on Friday from 2:00 – 2:50.

KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

Kindergarten students have PE once a week for 30 minutes. During PE we help them with their motor, social, and listening skills, their understanding of boundaries and rules, and what it means to be a good teammate. Typically, we begin each class with a short warm-up where we ask them to focus and to listen carefully to instructions while working on flexibility and dexterity. We teach the students how to go forward, backwards, and sideways to help them with their balance and agility. After warm-ups, we move on to our activity of the day. Most of our activities are small group activities designed to help them learn to work with others, problem solve, and learn to be successful as a team. We work a lot on throwing and catching to improve eye hand coordination. At the end of our activity of the day, the students usually are a little tired and their hearts are pumping so we talk with them about how to control their breathing and help them understand how to calm themselves down. This is also a year in which we work very hard to build up a trusting relationship with your child. Trust and respect are very important components of everything we do in class and we work hard to establish that with each child during their Kindergarten year.

LOWER ELEMENTARY PROGRAM

Lower Elementary classes come to PE twice a week for 35 minutes. Students must wear tennis shoes or sneakers, and we recommend they wear comfortable clothes that they can move around in during PE class. We begin with a warm-up that challenges our students to listen carefully and follow instructions. We work a lot on motor skills, footwork and balance, and eye hand coordination activities. Many of our activities are group oriented and we mix up our teams so everyone in class has a chance to learn to work together. The range of abilities is probably the widest in Lower Elementary and we look for our older students to be helpful with their younger teammates during most of our classes. We work hard to expose our students to a variety of activities including running relays, riding scooters, bowling, jumping hurdles, doing yoga, moving through an obstacle course, working out, dribbling, twisting, bending, hopping, and engaging in lots of activities that will improve their agility. This is also a time when we start to talk a lot about what it means to be a good leader and a good teammate.

UPPER ELEMENTARY PROGRAM

Upper Elementary classes have PE twice a week for 35 minutes. We ask that all our students wear sneakers or tennis shoes to class, as well as comfortable clothes that are easy to move around in. Class begins with a short warm-up where we focus on activities that help improve balance, stamina, eye-hand coordination and listening skills. Many of our activities are group or team oriented and we mix our teams so our students learn to work with all their classmates. We expose our classes to a wide range of activities. Classes take part in both the SportCourt and our soccer field. Activities range from bowling to scooter races and everything in between. In our Upper Elementary classes, we talk a lot about being a good teammate, being helpful, and enjoying the game regardless of the outcome. Upper El. classes play hard and our students really challenge each other.

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM

Students in the Middle School will have PE once a week in the morning. Typically, we begin each class with a short warm-up and then move on to our activity of the day. Middle School classes will often pick their activity, which could be floorball, volleyball, basketball, archery, or soccer and they select their own teams as well. We challenge our older students to play hard, play fair, and to play more for the enjoyment of the game than the result. For many of our students having PE first thing in the day is a great way to ease in to the school day. They come to class, work hard and have some fun, and then they go back to the Middle School ready to focus on the morning work cycle.

Sterling Spanish offers a continuous program using the Viva el Español program from grades 1-8. Ms. Olga will teach grades 1st-3rd and Ms. Sonia will teach grades 4th-8th. The overall objectives of the program are to develop, reinforce, and refine communicative competence in listening, speaking, reading, writing and culture through interactive, hands-on learning.