Here at Kingsbury Country Day School, we value the development of the whole child, embracing the diverse educational experiences offered through a rich curriculum of traditional subject areas and specials. All elementary students participate in a wide variety of specials classes to promote a balanced curriculum and one that sparks personal growth and interests. Elementary students attend PSPE, Music, Art, and Spanish twice a week and enjoy an extended ESP class each week. In addition, weekly or biweekly classes are scheduled for library and technology. Middle school students participate in elective courses, which include an vast offering of specialized courses in the specials areas designed to meet the needs of students’ interests or passions. Middle school students take more ownership of their learning and select three elective courses each trimester.
Specials and Electives
PSPE (Personal, Social, Physical Education)
We believe in putting our students first. This includes developing the whole child; body and mind. In PSPE classes, elementary students learn all about taking care of their bodies. With an assortment of fun games, students will get their heart rate up each class period. A number of modified game activities guide students into a stronger understanding of many traditional sports. Learning teamwork and good sportsmanship is an integral component of PSPE. One of the main highlights in our elementary students time in PSPE is their personal challenge; facing the school's traverse rockwall.
As students enter their middle school career and elect to continue taking physical education their opportunities become even more immense. Middle school PE electives include traditional sports, fitness, and outdoor recreation. These courses are designed to complement our 100-acre campus and frequent opportunities to participate in physical activities outdoors are planned. In the outdoor recreation elective, students get to experience an assortment of lawn sports, disc golf, mountain biking, fishing, and archery.
Art
Building an appreciation for the aesthetic and an outlet for creative expression, elementary students love to explore with various art materials. Paints, colored pencils, paper mache’, clay, and more are used to expose students to different art techniques and personal expression. Elementary students are exposed to a variety of artists from around the world to enrich their art experience, along with learning about the elements of art including form, function, and causation of art creation.
The elective offering for middle school students include illustration, ceramics, and graphic design. Students are introduced to form and function, with an emphasis on composition of drawings and paintings. Students are invited to explore the use of a variety of drawing pencils, colored pencils, watercolour, and tempera paints to develop independent thinking in the creation of art piece. Students design original ceramics when learning techniques including coil, slab, and pinch. Final artwork are fired to the bisque form and glazed. Graphic arts emphasized the creation of art for communication, exploring posters, logos, and 3D work.
Library
The Kingsbury library strives to promote literacy and the enjoyment of reading, viewing, and listening for all ages and stages of development. We ensure equity and freedom of access to information and ideas, unimpeded by social, cultural, economic, geographic, or technologic constraints. Elementary students benefit from weekly or biweekly library experiences, which include library instruction, literature, and opportunity to checkout books. Middle school students have access to the library for their reading pleasure and to support learning in their subject areas. Collaboration between the librarian, students, and teachers enrich the ongoing projects in the students’ curriculum.
Technology
The use of technology is basic to success in life as well as in the Kingsbury curriculum. Technology is integrated within the curriculum at all grade levels. All students regularly use technology in their learning and all teachers use technology with their classes including interactive whiteboards, iPads, and Chromebooks. In early grades, students typically use apps and interactive websites. As students advance, they extensively use the apps within our Google Apps for Education account, particularly Docs and Slides, taking advantage of the collaboration features as they work. Students research using the internet as well. The community also takes advantage of the extensive wi-fi network coverage throughout the campus buildings. Middle school electives classes are offered to meet a variety of high-interest tech skills such as movie making, keyboarding, photo editing, coding and robotics, and 3D modeling.
ESP (Environmental Science Program)
Kingsbury students explore the beauty of our campus on a daily basis. ESP is a unique class designed to optimize the abundance of outdoor learning space on campus, deepen our students appreciation for nature, build a sense of environmental stewardship, and foster students’ natural curiosities. Students in early elementary grades begin by observing nature and spending time outdoors. As students progress, they start exploring more in-depth environmental topics in the broader community. In addition to exploring and studying the environment on campus, students tend the school farm and gardens, tap maple trees to make syrup, go pond dipping, and press apples for fresh cider.
In middle school, a range of elective courses are offered to support student interests and generate environmental passions. Elective offerings include mud oven and outdoor cooking, creative writing in nature, wilderness survival, nature photography, and farming. With courses designed for hands-on learning, students have opportunities to take ownership for projects, outlets for creativity, and collaboration and teamwork.