Welcome!

The Tredyffrin/Easttown elementary schools extend a warm welcome to you and your child. Your child's new experience in school sets the foundation for a positive attitude toward learning in an educational setting. Our staff provides an environment which nurtures each child's capacity to learn. We offer programs rich in integrated academic and social experiences.

We believe the best education for our students occurs through the cooperative efforts of the teacher, principal and parents. The interaction and involvement of the parent in the educational process is vital to a child's success. You are always welcome to visit your child's classroom to become acquainted with his/her teacher and the staff. If you have questions or concerns, please contact us. Open communication allows us to work as a team to provide the best educational program for your child.

Organization

When professionals pool their expertise, experiences and resources, they can achieve astonishing things for children. Our elementary schools are organized into teams and divisions so that the collaborative efforts of teachers can best serve the learning and developmental needs of each child.

Grade Level Teams

On a grade level team, a group of teachers share students, plan together and have similar schedules. Grade level teams provide small neighborhoods within the school for children. Students have the opportunity to learn with other students on their team in various subject, units and activities and will share lunch and recess times with them. Teachers on the team meet regularly to discuss individual student needs, plan curriculum, integrate subject areas, share ideas and plan for the grouping and regrouping of students for instruction.

Divisions

Grade level teams belong to one of two different divisions within the elementary school.

Primary Division: Kindergarten, first grade and second grade

Upper Division: Third grade and fourth grade

Divisions broaden opportunitities beyond the grade level for students' intellectual and social growth. Within a division there will be a variety of teaming and grouping options for instruction. A division may focus, for example, on an "ecology" theme and all students within that division may participate in various presentations, projects or activities. Divisions also make it easier for students to be instructed on another grade level for a specific academic need. The teachers in a division meet on a regular basis to plan for division activities and the regrouping of students.

Integrated Core Classes

Each student on the grade level team is assigned to an "Integrated Core Class" with a core teacher. An Integrated Core Class is designed to include students of different reading achievement levels. This class structure has small reading groups which allow each student to make continuous progress. Language arts, social studies, science and health are taught in the core class and students remain with the same class for the special areas of art, music, physical education, applied technology and library. In the Integrated Core Class, skills and disciplines can be integrated with one another so that traditional subject matter lines disappear. Students are involved with other teachers on the team for specific subjects, topics, skill instruction or thematic units. Flexibility and collaborative planning by teachers provide a variety of learning settings for students on the grade level team or division.

Math Classes

Students may move from their Integrated Core Class to another class for mathematics. Kindergarten children are grouped heterogeneously. With the agreement of the principal and the grade level team, performance grouping may occur in first grade. Second grade is a year of transition from heterogeneous to homogeneous grouping. Students in grade three and four are grouped by performance. Ongoing assessment allows students to make continuous progress.

Elementary Curriculum

The elementary curriculum is designed to integrate skills and disciplines to make learning more meaningful, holistic and engaging. For example, a fourth grade unit on the U.S. westward movement may draw heavily on subjects like geography, history, economics and sociology. Additionally, there are many areas of science which are included such as weather and climate, animal life, vegetation, desert regions and the biological and physical sciences. Mathematical and technology skills are applied as students estimate and compute the many reading, writing and study skills as they search for information through traditional methods and the internet in order to develop reports using multimedia resources. This unit is also integrated into music and art classes where students study music of a certain time period and create artwork that replicates the U.S. western movement.

Language Arts

The District's Language Arts Learning Competencies provide the framework for language arts learning in eight key areas. Using these competencies and a basal reading program as a foundation for spiraling skills development, teachers enrich the reading program with the most valuable aspects of the whole language approach. This balanced approach accommodates the individual learning needs of each student and stimulates teacher creativity while providing a strong, consistent level of reading instruction across the District. 

Language Arts Learning Competencies:

• Reading comprehension: Learning strategies (Example: main idea, sequence)
• Reading comprehension: Thinking skills (Example: inference, compare/contrast)
• Reading: Investigating language patterns (Example: word analysis, decoding, phonics)
• Speaking and writing (Example: writing process, grammar, spelling)
• Study skills
• Research skills
• Response to various genres (Example: fiction, biography, poetry)
• Lifelong reading

Reading

Reading instruction in the T/E School District is an organized, sequential program which includes a balanced use of basals, whole language activities and a wide variety of quality literature.

Writing

Writing begins with the student's initial school experience. The use of the writing and reflecting process (brainstorming, pre-writing, drafting, revising, conferencing, editing and publishing) continues throughout the grades. Writing is not an isolated experience but is integrated throughout the school day in various curricular areas. Teachers introduce and reinforce the components of good writing at each grade level. Students and teachers use the portfolio as a vehicle for the development of skills in composing, revising and reflecting on writing throughout the grades.

Listening/Speaking

Communication skills are an integral part of the learning experience. Early modes of learning center around kinesthetic and visual activities. Listening and speaking skills develop as the child progresses through school. Learning these skills enables the student to become an active participant in the learning process.

Spelling

Beginning in kindergarten, students experiment with letters and sounds and learn how those letters build words. Emergent writers may have difficulty spelling words within their oral vocabularies. Rather than interrupt the flow of thought, invented spelling is encouraged. As students progress in their writing abilities, the purpose of the spelling curriculum is to help learners master conventional spelling. The formal spelling program focuses on spelling patterns and words student frequently misspell. Students also learn to use tools such as the dictionary, collaboration with peers, and technological devices.

Handwriting

In the early elementary grades, students learn the strokes which form the basis of manuscript letters. Handwriting instruction focuses on the development of letter formation skills and the application of these skills throughout the curriculum. Cursive handwriting is introduced in the third grade and refined in fourth. Students work with keyboarding and word processing, progressing in efficiency on an individual basis.

Study Skills

The development of good organizational and study skills is an essential part of schooling. Such topics as how to manage time, plan for long and short term assignments, organize workspace and materials, and study for tests are taught and reinforced at the appropriate team levels.

FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary Schools)

Students begin formal study of a foreign language in the first grade. First and second grade students receive Spanish instruction twice per week for 30 minutes. Third and fourth grade students receive 45 minutes of Spanish instruction twice each week. Fifth grade students receive 45 minutes of Spanish twice in a six day cycle. Claasses are taught by certified teachers, and emphasize conversational Spanish and the study of the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. The program is grounded in the District's commitment to prepare students to "flourish in a global context" and in research that supports advantages of beginning second language instruction at an early age.

Mathematics

The T/E mathematics curriculum is based on a set of clearly defined learning objectives. Major concepts include: numbers and numerals, measurement, rational numbers, geometry, decimals, graphing, number theory and probability. These concepts are developed through a balanced use of manipulative materials, various text-based instruction and technology. Students are grouped for instruction beginning in first of second grade. This approach to teaching and learning accommodates the needs of students and provides students with appropriate challenge. Mathematics is an important subject and T/E's teachers are dedicated to preparing every student to meet the challenges and demands of the future.

Science

Science is best learned when student are engaged in practicing science. Hands-on activities encourage students to experience for themselves, through direct observation and experimentation, the process, joy and fascination of science. Through scientific experimentation, students answer their own questions and develop patience, persistence and confidence.

T/E's elementary science curriculum in grades kindergarten through first is a hands-on program. Grades first through fourth have adopted Science and Technology for Children which was developed by the National Academy of Science in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institute. Each elementary school has a separate science center. A full-time science aide assists and supports the classroom teacher in the preparation and implementation of lessons.

The units of study are as follows:

Social Studies

The T/E social studies curriculum for kindergarten through grade four is designed to help children understand cultural diversity and their place in the global community. Kindergarten and grade one focus on the concept of "Our Global Village". Grade two concentrates on exploring the use of a historical timeline. Geographical regions and cultures of the United States are the thrust of the third and fourth grade programs. Students are encouraged to explore the questions:

Health

K-4 health is divided into four basic areas of study incorporating both factual knowledge and the development of attitudes and behaviors. 

Safety:
Includes personal and group safety concerns involving, but not limited to, bus, bicycle, fire, playground and other grade appropriate issues.

Drugs and Alcohol:
Incorporates Officer Friendly, Guidance and REACH (Responsible Adolescents Concerned and Helping) to encourage the child to make appropriate decisions based on factual information.

Family Life:
Focuses on information, self-concept, interpersonal relationships and decision making

Care of the Body:
Provides children with activities that enable them to understand the value of maintaining good health through acquiring information and encouraging supportive health habits.

Please note: An alternate to the Family Life curriculum is available upon parental request

Special Areas:

Special area classes supplement student learning, and are a fundamental part of a quality education. Students receive instruction in art, music, physical education, library, applied technology, and FLES on a regular basis. Special area subjects help students to express themselves while developing skills that promote self-expression and creativity. Students participate in special area classes each week and may even become part of after school activities that center around a special area subject.

Art:

Students have a regularly scheduled art class with an art teacher once a week. The classes range from forty to fifty minutes in length. All levels of the program include experiences designed to exercise and strengthen the pupil's ability to perceive, appreciate, perform and criticize. Provisions have been made for each student to be involved with a variety of two-dimensional and three-dimensional materials and to gain understanding of our visual arts heritage. The activities are planned to promote the development of independent thinking and self-evaluation while introducing or reinforcing a media skill and an art concept. The art curriculum follows a developmental scope and sequence, and is discipline-based approach to art education. Lessons are designed with an integrative focus.

Music:

Classroom Music:

The goals of the music program are to provide the opportunity for every child to learn the basic skills of singing and reading music, to develop song repertoire, and to broaden listening skills. Once a week, every child meets with the music teacher for a period of thirty to fifty minutes for musical activities that include listening, singing, performing, moving, reading and creating. Through these activities, the students learn concepts dealing with the major elements of music which are rhythm, melody, form and harmony, tone, color, style and expressive qualities. In third grade, students are introduced to the "recorder" as an adjunct to the music reading program.

Instrumental Music:

When students reach the third grade, they have the opportunity to study a string instrument. At the fourth grade level, they may begin instruction on suitable band or orchestra instruments. Group instrumental lessons are scheduled for thirty minutes once a week and rotate from week to week so that the same subject is not missed in the regular classroom. During the second semester students are invited to join a string orchestra and/or band that meets before school for forty minutes each week. In this setting, students are provided with the opportunity to further develop performance skills.

Performance Groups:

Students are provided with a variety of performing opportunities. All elementary schools provide three music performance organizations: string orchestra, beginning band and choral club. These groups rehearse before school once each week. Parents are responsible for providing transportation to rehearsals.

Physical Education

Physical education contributes to the well being of students through participation in activities designed to meet their physical, social, emotional and intellectual needs. It is a tool used to develop individual values of good citizenship and sportsmanship for real-life situations. As students move through the elementary grades, there is an increased degree of difficulty in skills and a greater emphasis on team play. The program is designed to provide equal opportunities for all students to participate in physical activities that promote self-confidence and the ability to work in coeducational groups. Our physical education program includes:

Kindergarten and Grade 1

• Locomotive skills
• Eye hand coordination
• Ball handling skills
• Stunts
• Game type activities
• Movement and posture education

  Grades 2,3 and 4

• Physical fitness, testing
• Start of formal exercise
• Stunts, tumbling, appartus
• Rhythmics and dance
• Game program
• Sports program
• Individual/dual activities
• Citizenship/sportsmanship

After School Sports (Intramurals)

Sports opportunities are held after school. All children in grades 2,3 and 4 are eligible to participate. A permission slip and insurance are required. Sports and/or games are seasonal and may be set up as play days or team competitions. Days and times are established at each individual school. Parents are required to provide transportation.

Library

The library is the nucleus of our schools. It is a warm, friendly, and inviting place where we encourage children to become lifelong readers. Books may be checked out for a one or two-week period of time. Fines are not charged for late items, but we do send home reminder notices on a monthly basis. Children of all grade levels come to the library to enjoy rich literature and to receive direct instruction in the workings of the library and its many technological resources. Research has demonstrated that students who are exposed to a print-rich environment engage in voluntary reading, and those who read at home tend to develop the habit of reading. We encourage families to take advantage of the resources of our library and share the joys of reading together. We strongly encourage all parents to spend time reading with their child each day.

Applied Technology

Applied technology in the elementary schools provides students with an understanding of the technological culture that affects their everyday lives. By utilizing networked computers and software applications, students solve practical problems and begin to apply technological skills and processes. Students are encouraged to explore, create and work together in a cooperative environment. Since technology is a medium that supports all curricular areas, the development of subject specific skills is a natural extension of the applied technology program. The applied technology teachers integrate elements of other curricular areas with the introduction and exploration of technology skills through class projects. Students attend applied technology classes weekly for 45-minute sessions. Kindergarten classes meet for 30-minute sessions.

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