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

This year, SRV embarked on an integrated, school-wide study of culture using Central America as out theme.

At each grade level, teachers introduced the concept of culture through content and skills in developmentally appropriate ways to the students, using Central America as the thematic vehicle. The teachers wove the theme into their literacy, math, science and service learning lessons. For example, in science and computers, children studied the migration patterns of neo-tropical birds and specifically identified the countries in Central America these birds migrate to during the winter season. In music, they learned and practiced songs and dances, as well as explored instruments like maracas, tortugas and the chirimillas, from Ecuador, Guatemala, and other countries in Central America.

Children construct meaning and interpret culture differently across grades. The preschool emphasis on culture was to better understand their own selves, families and neighborhoods, while the Kindergartners and the Primary Circle expanded their horizons by developing a greater appreciation of their selves, community, geography and the lives of people different from them. The children at these grade levels also read Central American folktales and listened to personal narratives of some recent visitors to the school.

Learning experiences in Main Circle and Oldest Group were driven by the students' curiosity to discover what differentiates the countries within Central America and how belief systems like religion, political ideals and conflict impact indigenous cultures.

Our partnership with Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (RCL), a Central and Latin American consortium for cultural learning, further deepened and enriched the learning experiences of the students. Through RCL, we were fortunate to have many visitors on campus over the last few weeks. Middle school students from Costa Rica visited with Main Circle and the Oldest Group and shared their native dress and some native dances. The children experienced the difference in cultural norms and traditions first hand and also developed skills to transcend language and cultural barriers to conduct meaningful conversations. Sabina, a Mayan weaver from Guatemala, demonstrated traditional back strap weaving skills for the children. Genero, also a Guatemalan of Mayan descent, shared information through his expertise on the marimba. Yolanda, a native Guatemalan, shared information about traditional motifs and patterns on Guatemalan textiles.

Our culture study culminated in a spectacular assembly on Friday, December 16, 2005. The title of the program was La Voz de Nuestros Tejidos y Musica Maya - The Voice of Our Mayan Music and Textiles, a production of Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas and The School in Rose Valley. Please take the time to see some fabulous photos of this event.

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