Through art we learn more about ourselves, our world, and our place in history. At STM, the Art enrichment class is an important and exciting part of the curriculum designed to foster creativity, self-expression, critical thinking, and empathy, using a wide variety of mediums. 

Basic art concepts, vocabulary and fine motor skill development are behind each fun, messy project!  

Each year, new projects build on the techniques and past experiences, while challenging further exploration. Connections are made to units of study in their core classes, through virtual field trips and services projects. 

Art and STEM collaborate often, especially in the school vegetable and pollinator gardens, taking inspiration back into the art room. This class provides an essential space for scholars to try new things in a safe, comfortable setting, build confidence, and develop a lifelong appreciation for the arts. It goes beyond just teaching artistic techniques; it fosters a deeper understanding of self and the world around them.
 

Using different instruments and vocals, the Music instructor Ms. Cho designs lessons to enhance the musical knowledge and exposure to students. 

Introduction to Basic Musical Concepts: In the early years (Pre-K to 2nd grade), the focus is on introducing young children to basic musical concepts such as rhythm, melody, pitch, dynamics (loud and soft), and tempo (fast and slow). Students will explore these concepts through singing, movement, and simple percussion and Orff instruments. 

Musical Exploration and Play: For the youngest learners, music specials often involve musical games, interactive activities, and play-based learning. This approach helps develop a strong foundation in music while keeping the experience enjoyable and engaging.

Introduction to Musical Instruments: As students progress through the grades, they are introduced to various musical instruments. This could include basic exposure to instruments like the piano, guitar, drums, and more. Hands-on experience with instruments allows children to discover their interests and potential talents.

Singing and Vocal Training: Singing is an integral part of music education. Students will have opportunities to sing individually and as part of a group, helping them develop their vocal abilities, pitch, and harmony skills.

Music Appreciation and History: All students have exposure and gain knowledge of different musical genres, styles, and the history of music. This exposure broadens their understanding and appreciation of the rich diversity of music from various cultures and time periods.

Group Performances and Ensembles: Music specials often involve group performances and ensembles. Students may participate in school concerts, choirs, bands, or other musical groups, fostering teamwork, discipline, and stage confidence.

Music Composition and Songwriting: As students advance, they may have the opportunity to explore music composition and songwriting. This empowers them to express their creativity and emotions through original musical pieces.

Music and Emotional Development: Music is known to have a profound impact on emotions. It can be used to teach empathy, encourage self-expression, and provide an outlet for emotional release and reflection.

Connecting Music with Other Subjects: Our music program integrates with other subjects, such as science, art, history, literature, and math. This interdisciplinary approach enriches students' learning and helps them make connections between different areas of knowledge.

Our Music enrichment offers students a well-rounded musical education, providing them with a platform to explore, appreciate, and create music. Beyond just teaching musical skills, it helps foster creativity, teamwork, emotional intelligence, and a lifelong love for the arts.

Overall, STREAM promotes Interdisciplinary Learning:

• Connections Between Subjects: A key feature of STREAM is the integration of these subjects, showing students how they are interconnected in the real world.
• Project-Based Learning: Many STREAM activities and projects are interdisciplinary, requiring students to draw from multiple areas to solve complex challenges.
• Real-World Applications: Students often work on projects with real-world applications, making their learning relevant and meaningful.

1. Science:

• Hands-on Experiments: Students engage in age-appropriate hands-on experiments and activities to explore scientific concepts. This could range from simple observations in the early years to more complex experiments as they progress.
• Science Exploration: They'll learn about various scientific fields, including biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and environmental science.
• Critical Thinking: These skills are developed through the scientific method, where students hypothesize, experiment, analyze data, and draw conclusions.

2. Technology:

• Digital Literacy: Even at a young age, students learn about the basics of technology and digital literacy. This can include using computers, tablets, or educational applications and software.
• Coding and Programming: Students progressively gain knowledge in coding and programming, assisting them in understanding how technology works and how to create digital solutions.
• Problem-Solving: Through the integration of technology, students will gain knowledge in how to research and examine data and in problem-solving and brainstorming different ideas. 

3. Religion:

• The foundation of learning at Saint Thomas More is religion.  It is a beacon of light that guides us to continue our journey of knowledge.
• The STREAM classroom uses the interdisciplinary field of theology and science. The integration of the subjects allows students the ability to connect faith with modern sciences.

4. Engineering:

• Hands-on Projects: Students engage in engineering challenges and projects. These could involve building structures, designing simple machines, or solving real-world engineering problems.
• Creativity and Design Thinking: Engineering encourages creativity and design thinking as students come up with innovative solutions to problems.
• Teamwork: Collaborative projects teach teamwork, communication, and the value of diverse perspectives in solving engineering challenges.

5. Arts:

• Creative Expression: The arts component allows students to express themselves through various artistic mediums, including visual arts, music, drama, and dance.
• Integration with Other Subjects: Arts are often integrated with science, math, and engineering concepts, showing how creativity can enhance learning in other disciplines.
• Cultural Exploration: Students may explore different cultural forms of art, fostering an appreciation for diversity.
   

6. Mathematics:

• Math Concepts: Students develop strong mathematical skills by applying mathematical concepts to solve real-world problems encountered in science, engineering, and technology.
• Logical Thinking: Mathematics reinforces logical and analytical thinking, which is crucial for problem-solving in all STREAM areas.
• Data Analysis: As students progress, they may learn about data analysis and statistics, which are fundamental in many scientific and technological fields.
   

STREAM class provides a holistic and dynamic educational experience that prepares students to excel in a rapidly changing world. It nurtures creativity, problem-solving abilities, and a love for learning across multiple disciplines, setting them on a path to success in various career fields.

The Spanish curriculum offers a progressive language learning experience, building from basic vocabulary and cultural exposure in the early years to more advanced language skills and cultural understanding in middle school. It equips students with valuable communication and cultural competence skills.

For Pre-K (4-year-olds) through 2nd Grade:

• Introduction to Basic Vocabulary: In the early years, scholars are introduced to basic Spanish vocabulary. This includes everyday words, numbers, colors, and simple conversation.
• Interactive Activities: Learning is often facilitated through interactive activities such as songs, games, storytelling, and arts and crafts. These engage young children and make the learning process enjoyable.
• Cultural Awareness: Students are introduced to Spanish-speaking cultures and traditions in an age-appropriate way, promoting cultural awareness and diversity.

For 3rd Grade through 5th Grade:

• Expanded Vocabulary: As students progress, they continue to build their Spanish vocabulary, covering a wider range of topics. 
• Basic Grammar: Elementary students start to learn basic Spanish grammar rules.
• Conversations: Speaking and listening skills are emphasized. Students engage in conversations and practice pronunciation.
• Reading and Writing: Introductory reading and writing fluency.
• Cultural Studies: Students explore the culture, history, and geography of Spanish-speaking countries. Including the study of famous Hispanic figures and events.

For Middle School (6th Grade through 8th Grade):

• Grammar and Syntax: Middle school students dive deeper into Spanish grammar and syntax, covering tenses beyond the present tense, irregular verbs, and more complex sentence structures.
• Reading Comprehension: Scholars work on reading comprehension skills, often studying texts from Spanish-speaking authors and discussing them in class.
• Writing Proficiency: Writing assignments become more advanced, with students composing creative pieces in Spanish.
• Cultural Studies: Middle schoolers explore the culture, history, and geography of Spanish-speaking countries. This can include studying famous Hispanic figures and events.
• Listening and Speaking: They continue to develop their listening and speaking skills, engaging in discussions, debates, and presentations entirely in Spanish.
• Practical Communication: The focus shifts towards practical communication skills, preparing students to use Spanish in real-life situations like traveling or working in multicultural environments.

Overall:

• Language Proficiency: The goal of Spanish enrichment is to help students achieve proficiency in Spanish, enabling them to understand, speak, read, and write in the language.
• Cultural Appreciation: It also fosters an appreciation for Spanish-speaking cultures, promoting cross-cultural understanding.
• Life Skills: Learning a second language enhances cognitive skills, problem-solving abilities, and can open up future opportunities in education and career.
• Global Perspective: It prepares students for a globalized world where multilingualism is a valuable asset.

For Pre-K (4-year-olds) through 2nd Grade (Primary):

• Exploration of Movement: Students focus on developing fundamental sensory awareness, body awareness, body control, and traveling through games, activities, and a variety of motor skills and movement patterns. The emphasis is on play and building a love for movement. 
• Introduction to Play with others: Small group games and activities are introduced to teach basic teamwork, cooperation, and sportsmanship.
• Healthy Lifestyle Choices: Basic health concepts including hygiene, nutrition, sleep and the importance of staying active. 
 

For 3rd Grade through 5th Grade (Intermediate):

• Movement: Students learn and apply movement skills that contribute to their ability to demonstrate proper techniques and forms for various skills. They begin making connections to the impact and relevance of personal fitness. Scholars engage in activities designed to enhance their muscular strength, endurance, cardiovascular training, and flexibility.
• Team Sports: Students consistently work in small group variations to collaborate with others as well as to diversify levels of sport specific skills. This approach aligns with our emphasis of being “loving and kind” to all. By providing support, communicating with peers, and modeling skills, scholars enhance the understanding or execution of a skill. Students are introduced to sport specific rules, officiating for sport, sport positions, and offensive and defensive strategies. The understanding of fair play and faith is embedded throughout the curriculum. 
• Health Education: Our health curriculum cover topics such as the human body, nutrition, the importance of exercise, and personal hygiene. Students begin to understand how lifestyle choices affect their health.
• Safety Education: Students may learn about safety in various contexts, including sports safety, pedestrian safety, and basic first aid.
 

For 6th Grade through 8th Grade (Middle School):

• Movement and Conditioning: Students focus on improving personal fitness through a progression of dynamic, strength and plyometric skills. Scholars have movement assessments to track the progression of their skills implementation.
• Team Sports: We teach sport-specific skills to empower students to create a student-led learning environment. By facilitating a limited instructional guided practice, scholars apply these skills and strategies to various sports, including flag football, hockey, pickleball, lacrosse, and spike ball. They have the opportunity to embrace competition through play in a tournament-style format.
• Lifelong Skills: In addition to our focus on physical fitness through movement, students learn essential life skills including how to set and achieve goals, time management strategies, and making sound decisions. These skills improve their overall well-being and foster their growth as well-rounded individuals. 

Our Health and Physical Education enrichment is designed to promote physical fitness, teamwork, and health literacy from a young age. It helps students develop essential life skills and knowledge that contribute to their overall well-being and encourages a lifelong commitment to physical activity and healthy living.

At STM, the Media/Library enrichment class is a critical component of a well-rounded education, fostering a love for reading, research skills, digital literacy, and a lifelong passion for learning.

For Pre-K (4-year-olds) through 2nd Grade (Primary):

• Introduction to Books: In the early years, the focus is on introducing young learners to the world of books. This includes picture books, interactive books, and age-appropriate stories.
• Storytelling: Students are read to and encouraged to engage with the story through discussions and activities.
• Basic Library Skills: Students learn the basics of how to use a library, including how to handle books, where to find books on different topics, and how to check out and return books.
• Early Literacy Skills: The emphasis is on developing early literacy skills, such as recognizing letters and sounds, building vocabulary, and developing comprehension through simple stories.

For 3rd Grade through 5th Grade (Intermediate):

• Expanded Reading: Students begin to read more independently, exploring a wider range of books including fiction, non-fiction, and reference materials.
• Research Skills: They are introduced to basic research skills, learning how to use the library catalog, find information in books, and cite sources for simple research projects.
• Digital Literacy: Students start to learn about digital resources and how to use computers or tablets for research and reading e-books.
• Literary Exploration: They may participate in book clubs or literature circles, where they discuss books and explore different genres.

For 6th Grade through 8th Grade (Middle School):

• Advanced Research: Middle schoolers develop more advanced research skills, including using online databases, search engines, and other digital tools for research projects.
• Media Literacy: They learn about media literacy, critical thinking about information sources, and understanding the credibility of online content.
• Creative Projects: Students engage in creative projects related to literature and media, such as creating book trailers, podcasts, or digital presentations.
• Literature Analysis: They delve into more complex literature, analyzing themes, characters, and literary techniques.
• Digital Citizenship: Middle school students receive lessons in responsible digital behavior, online safety, and ethical use of information.

Overall:

Our Media/Library enrichment aims to promote a love for reading and lifelong learning. We often include reading challenges, author visits, and book recommendations. Students learn how to find, evaluate, and use information effectively. We incorporate digital resources and technology to keep up with the digital age while emphasizing responsible and ethical use. Our Media Specialist Ms. Adams often collaborates with classroom teachers to support their curriculum with relevant resources and projects. We strive to provide students with a rich and diverse learning environment that goes beyond books to encompass digital resources and information literacy. It equips them with essential skills for academic success and personal growth while nurturing a lifelong love for reading and learning.