• Curriculum Overview
• Afternoons
• Events and Celebrations
• Service Learning and Partnerships
• Special Assemblies
• Mini Courses

by Juliana Flower, board member

Field trips play a special role in the curriculum at The School in Rose Valley. They provide authentic, off-campus learning experiences that augment the curriculum and deepen the students' understanding of a topic. Here are some examples of recent field trips our students have taken and how they related to their classroom experiences:

The 2 day preschoolers created a restaurant in the dramatic play area. This was prompted by a student who, after putting on an apron-like smock, said, "I'm like a waiter!" Kim and Robin decided that it might be interesting for the children to go to a local restaurant, The Court Diner. They had a tour of the kitchen, walk-in fridge and freezer, and the pantry. The children noticed the huge pots and pans and lots of pancakes cooking on the grill. Finally, they sat down together to a pancake breakfast. Carlye and Ridge joined them which made it extra special.

The Oldest Group has been working with Jodie on an integrated curriculum based on music appreciation and understanding. They have taken three trips to Swarthmore College to attend three vastly different concerts. The first concert was performed on medieval instruments and the second was a performance by a world-class soprano. Last week, the Oldest Group attended a jazz performance by the Ron Kerber Quintet, and heard an amazing scat singer. The performers, who showed great appreciation for our children being there, also talked about what improvisational jazz is.

Last week the Main Circle visited Sir Isaac's Loft at the Franklin Institute to explore different experiments that illustrate various elements of physics (friction, momentum, movement, etc.). The Main Circle's study of physics was driven by the students' interest in the marble chutes in their classroom. They have been busy creating amazing and complex marble tracks and "bowling alleys" (using marbles). Discussions of their observations led to some pretty interesting discoveries. In Sir Isaac's Loft, they were able to see some of their findings in action. They saw a much larger and more complex ball chute/maze and had the chance to try out different experiments that illustrated the power of air resistance, the motion of pendulums, the effects of light on different objects, and more.