Elementary School Academics

The Lower School curriculum is designed to instill a passion and deep engagement in learning while providing the necessary skills in the broad academic areas taught. Our curriculum is based on education research about the interconnected nature of knowledge. This means that learning is best acquired when connections can be made to previously acquired knowledge or to different areas of the curriculum; therefore, much of our teaching includes interdisciplinary units.

GENERAL STUDIES

Language Arts

The teaching of literacy develops a life-long love of literature and writing and is a skill needed in every aspect of academic life and in every career and life situation. Our program is integrated through listening, speaking, reading and writing: communication skills that utilize age appropriate materials and methodologies.

From the youngest grades, our students are involved in the development of written and oral language skills. Students improve their writing skills with pre-writing activities, editing and publication stage. Students practice writing in a variety of genres, including expository writing, journals, poetry and short stories. Progress in writing is assessed using the benchmarks from the Six Traits of Writing and in rubrics measuring mechanics and appropriate grade level skills.

Students read regularly in all genres. We inculcate in our students the rich heritage of literature and text analysis through evaluation of authors’ techniques and structures, content and styles. Providing public speaking experience on a regular basis, we encourage students to share their creative work in front of their peers.

Mathematics

Wornick’s math curriculum is a core skill that is at the heart of our rigorous General Studies curriculum. We teach our students mathematical thinking along with computational literacy. We use Singapore mathematics techniques as this program uniquely emphasizes critical thinking and complex problem solving strategies. Manipulative materials and graphic representation of mathematical processes allow students tactile support for the teaching of abstract concepts.

Science

Students are encouraged to observe and question the multifaceted world in which they live. Students begin their scientific explorations with the world of nature and move to a more abstract understanding of life, the universe and the microscopic world. Students learn that there is a "scientific" way to explore and to understand the world. Foss Science units are used in each grade, supporting an experiential learning environment which best serves the teaching of science.

Activity centered learning allows the children to experiment and discover answers for themselves. Scientific literacy for all our students is developed and consolidated through hands-on classroom experimentation work, homework projects, assignments, visits to science museums and outdoor education experiences.

Social Studies

The Social Studies curriculum engages our students by letting them discover and explore their world. Even our youngest students participate in historical and social research as they progress from a study of family and community, to an exploration of the state, the U.S. and the world. As in science, mathematics and language arts, students learn that there is a systematic way in which we study and understand our world. We teach a sense of time and place allowing Wornick students to better understand their place in a dynamic and diverse world.

In our K, 1 and 2, communities, the uniqueness of individuals, and American cultural holidays are discussed and studied. In 3rd grade, the focus is on the local geography, history, landmarks and government. In 4th grade, California history is learned, highlighted by a three day, two-night visit to Gold Rush Country. In 5th grade, migration of the earliest inhabitants of North America to the Revolutionary War period is studied, culminating in the study of the Constitution and the creation of the United States.

In all grades, an integration of General and Judaic Studies themes is emphasized, project assignments and field trips reinforce the units.

JUDAIC STUDIES

Hebrew

The teaching of Hebrew, the language of the Jewish people, is begun in kindergarten. We provide an environment of Ivrit b’Ivrit, an immersion approach. We teach core vocabulary that is reinforced through writing, reading, listening and oral classroom activities. Our curriculum is founded on research that supports second language acquisition. Music and art activities enrich the curriculum. Our students reach the level of conversational fluency, and their reading and writing levels allow them to approach Jewish texts in Hebrew, and to be confident in reading the Siddur. Our curriculum includes the following materials, which are supplemented and enriched by Israeli culture and arts: contemporary literature, music and holiday traditions.
K: Chalav u’d’vash
1,2: Tal Am
3,4,5: Chaverim b’Ivrit

Jewish Texts, History and Heritage

Judaic Studies includes textual studies of the Chumash (The Five Books of Moses) and the other areas of Tanakh, including Navi (Prophets), Ketuvim (other Biblical texts), the siddur (prayerbook) and Biblical commentaries. Important skills of analysis, parallel to those in language arts, are employed allowing students to intensively read and analyze. This ability helps students discover important patterns in the texts being studied as they also come to understand the centrality of texts in Jewish tradition.

Jewish history is taught from the Biblical times to our contemporary world. Similar to the teaching of social studies, Jewish history is discovered and understood through texts and artifacts.

Heritage and values are an important aspect of the curriculum, and are reinforced in all classes and all aspects of school life. Jewish festivals are celebrated and days of significance are recognized and commemorated. Connections are frequently made to festivals and celebrations of diverse cultures. Values are systematically taught and lived with an understanding that values inform our actions.

Israel Curriculum

The establishment of the State of Israel is a seminal event in our contemporary world. Students learn about major figures in Zionism, events leading to the creation of the State and the War of Independence, and the details of modern life today. The people, land and State of Israel are part of every grade’s curriculum, with a focus on modern Israeli culture. Wornick has established a strong and significant relationship with the Reali School in Haifa. Our students and our staff have the opportunity to build friendships and connections through curricular exchanges and visits. In eighth grade, students travel to Israel, visiting many historical sites and their peers at the Reali School.

Tefillah

Judaic ritual is central to our school’s culture. The school week begins with a school wide Havdallah ceremony, separating Shabbat from the rest of the week. Tefillot (prayers) are held in the Lower School on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. On Thursday, the Lower and Middle School participate in Tefillot Shacharit, (Morning Service). Middle School students are given leadership roles in community wide Tefilot. The fifth grade is taught Torah trope and Middle School students participate in the Torah service on Thursdays.

Kabbalat Shabbat, the welcoming of the Sabbath, is a joyous, festive occasion celebrated in the lower school during the last period on Friday afternoons in the ulam gadol. Students, faculty, parents and guests assemble to welcome the approaching Sabbath. Kabbalat Shabbat is celebrated through song, stories and plays.

SPECIALTY SUBJECTS

Physical Education

We believe that children need to develop a positive attitude towards physical fitness that will last a lifetime. Our students learn about good nutrition, healthy lifestyles, hygiene, and safety. Equal emphasis is placed on developing athletic skills and good sportsmanship. We value effort, fair play, as well as physical skills and coordination.

Our coed physical education classes provide challenges and opportunities for success for our students. The Lower School students develop skills, spatial and body awareness through games. All students learn skills for team sports such as soccer, basketball, softball and hockey.

Beginning in grade five, our students participate in an intra-school sports league in the Middle School that encompasses basketball, volleyball, golf, tennis, cross country and soccer. We employ a full-time athletic director, assistant athletic director and several sport-specific coaches.

Library

The library contains an extensive collection of fiction and non-fiction books, in English and in Hebrew. Our librarian continually enhances the collection to best support our school curriculum. The books offer reading opportunities for all our children who visit the library on a regular weekly basis. Our library provides a place for students to check out books and research information for school projects, and a quiet, comfortable place to gather during recess. Our librarian supports the literacy program in our curriculum and helps students with research techniques. Parent volunteers help with acquisitions and record-keeping.

Computer Technology

An important part of our curriculum is to develop student technological proficiency. Technology is supported as a medium for creative expression and as a basic tool for communication - it is used in all subject areas throughout the school and throughout the day. We purposely do not have a dedicated computer laboratory, as we believe that every classroom and all spaces in the school must operate like a computer lab.

Computer education begins in Kindergarten and continues through Middle School, where students use the Internet for research and information purposes. Students are taught and encouraged to use a variety of multimedia, word processing, graphics, serious gaming and desktop publishing programs to enrich their own productivity. All students are taught keyboard skills. The school has mobile carts with wireless computers for each classroom’s use. Middle school students each receive their own laptop computer. We have a full-time dedicated technology teacher and a technology support person on staff.

Art

Our K-5 art program (Art in Action) exposes students to artistic media and allows them to explore and create with a range of art materials. Students study form, design and technique as they learn about artists and their lives through art history. The goal of our art program is to educate the students in both the making and appreciation of fine art. Our Art in Action program enables students to display their exemplary work at local libraries and fairs.

Music

The music program emphasizes a love for music an exposure to different instruments a rudimentary knowledge of musical language, notation and theory. Our curriculum begins with singing and progresses to bells, recorders, strings and drums. There are two musical concerts a year show casing our students' knowledge. In the Middle School, students may continue and specialize in a particular instrument and they can take digital music in their three-period/a week elective class. Additionally, Lower School students have a weekly Hebrew song class. Several after school programs in music are available through the Gesher program.

Learning Resources

Our Learning Resource teacher helps to develop an educational environment that best modifies the classroom, pedagogy and materials to teach students who are experiencing learning differences (gifted as well as other differences). The Learning Resource teacher works with students, classroom teachers, parents and other professionals to create a program that will support the educational process and ensure growth. We also employ a gifted specialist who provides enrichment activities and modifications for our gifted students.

The Learning Resource teacher leads the Student Study Team, which coordinates support for students by communicating with teachers, parents and outside support. This direct support of our teaching staff is a proven way to improve the learning environment for all students. The Learning Resource teacher will regularly communicate with parents to maintain the strong parent-school teamwork necessary for students to succeed at school. As members of the North Peninsula Consortium of Jewish Professionals, our school is able to benefit from community wide efforts to support special education. One such effort includes an in-school social skills class taught jointly by our learning specialist and a professional from Jewish Children and Family Services.