Second Grade students at St. James must be at least seven years old by September 1. Students attend school on Monday from 9:00 to 3:30 and on Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 to 3:30. Students may arrive as early as 7:20 a.m. and leave as late as 5:30 p.m. if participating in the Wrap Around Program.

In addition to their primary teacher, students have specialized teachers in Music, Physical Education, Spanish, Math Lab, Life Skills, Art, Library, Science Lab, Computer Lab, and Spiritual Formation and Growth.

Admission is based on the previous teacher's recommendation, achievement testing and previous school records.

Second Grade students at St. James must be at least seven years old by September 1. Students attend school on Monday from 9:00 to 3:30 and on Tuesday through Friday from 8:00 to 3:30. Students may arrive as early as 7:20 a.m. and leave as late as 5:30 p.m. if participating in the Wrap Around Program.

In addition to their primary teacher, students have specialized teachers in Music, Physical Education, Spanish, Math Lab, Life Skills, Art, Library, Science Lab, Computer Lab, and Spiritual Formation and Growth.

Admission is based on the previous teacher's recommendation, achievement testing and previous school records.

CENTRAL THEME: Early America - The Settlements
For its Central Theme, each grade studies a particular period of history from a full cultural perspective. Each theme builds on skills and broader concepts from the year before. The goal is to get to know the ordinary life of the times as well as the key historical events. Central Themes integrate history, literature, geography, art, English, composition, science and religion. Each theme has its own central projects, reenactments, role playing, research topics, field trips, written reports, and oral presentations.

Second Grade students are immersed in a period of time that deals with Christopher Columbus, Pilgrims, and Native Americans. While studying Columbus, students will learn about the continents, oceans, equator, and prime meridian. Students do an in-depth study of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. They participate in activities that encourage them to imagine what it would be like not to be able to practice their own beliefs, plant their own fields, or keep the customs and ideas of their ancestors. To better recognize the area in which the Native American tribes lived, a comprehensive study of United States geography takes place prior to the in-depth study of Native Americans.

Students begin their study with what occurred even before the Pilgrims set sail for America. Each Second Grader assumes the identity of one of the passengers on board the Mayflower and follows his or her character throughout the settlement of Plymouth. During their study, the students learn that even though the Pilgrims encountered a harsh first few years, they did find a land where game, fish, fruits, and edible plants were plentiful. But more importantly, they discover that an even greater treasure awaited the Pilgrims - Native Americans willing to help them.

Again, the human element is involved as Second Graders study the Woodland, Plains, and Southwest Native Americans, as well as specific tribes and Native American personalities. They compare and contrast each region's life-styles, shelters, foods, clothing, religions, governments, crafts and weapons, family structure, and communication.

RETURN TO TOP

Reading
Second Graders vary in their rates of language development, and the reading and writing curriculum adapts to individual needs of the students. Daily, the teacher and children read aloud many stories, poems and factual books. The resulting discussions and questions lead to development of comprehension and vocabulary. Reading and writing may also be taught individually in small groups, utilizing phonetic and sight-word approaches. The students also learn to read and write using their own language, and the language experience activities are an integral part of the school curriculum.

St. James strives to create an independent reader who will find reading fun, exciting, and informative. This is achieved by pre-teaching and then applying word study skills and comprehension skills as well as decoding skills. Students reinforce their decoding skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening, thereby tying language arts skills to the reading skills. A further purpose of this program is to develop an independent reader who has confidence in his or her ability to read, has a love and appreciation for different types of literature, and an understanding of the surrounding world as well as empathy for people from various backgrounds and cultures. Library books, classroom books, and Weekly Reader provide opportunities for independent reading. In addition, all students are expected to read (or be read to) from 15 to 30 minutes each day.

RETURN TO TOP

Specialized Reading Instruction
Learning differences vary in their type and severity; however, they often impact a student's acquisition of reading skills. For this reason, every child at St. James is individually screened to determine the most appropriate reading placement. The School offers two distinct programs for students whose reading progress indicates that they would benefit from additional instruction in the mechanics which are at the heart of reading skills. Recommendation into a particular program is based upon teacher evaluation, testing and parent input.

RETURN TO TOP

Language Arts
The rich environment of individual and class experiences inspires writing. From the very beginning students are encouraged to use inventive spelling to write their own stories and poems as well as those assigned by the teacher. Journals are kept to promote both the flow of ideas and the strengthening of technical skills. Children share their stories in many ways, frequently during class meetings followed by questions and comments, small groups with partners, and alone with the teacher.Both phonetic spelling and common non-phonetic sight words are taught with the help of work sheets, word banks, games, spelling lessons, and through the writing and editing process. The handwriting program teaches proper pencil grip, body positioning, correct numeral and manuscript and cursive letter formation, and placement on the page. The students regularly practice handwriting by using the D' Nellan handwriting work book and through writing from the board work.

RETURN TO TOP

Math
The mathematics program is designed to meet the individual needs and learning styles of second graders. The curriculum develops mathematical skills and the ability to apply these skills to problem solving in mathematics as well as school and daily living. Students build structured thinking related to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They develop skills in solving word problems and develop flexibility in thinking through emphasis on mental arithmetic and estimation.

As in first grade, there is also a strong emphasis on understanding through modeling concepts with concrete materials such as rods, chips, unifix cubes, design blocks, tangram blocks, and attribute blocks. Individual practice, small group interaction, and whole class discussions reinforce skills and concepts in computation, place value, patterns and functions, logic geometry, measurement, time, money, simple fractions, organizing and interpreting data in graphs and charts.

RETURN TO TOP

Science
Science teaching and activities are taught as an integral part of the curriculum. The St. James curriculum offers, a balanced foundation of science concepts based on three major blocks: Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science. Specific content areas may include habitats, the oceans, spiders, personal health, animals, plants, biomes, ecology.

Children attend a hands-on Science Lab for forty five minutes each week. Activities are coordinated with the Central Theme. These activities are guided by a Science Lab Teacher and the Classroom Teacher.

RETURN TO TOP

Spanish Language
The overall objectives of this class are to continue the development of listening (comprehend basic vocabulary, structures and expressions) and speaking (responding to simple questions, statements and requests) skills, enabling children to communicate their needs in greater detail. Children will also begin to associate the spoken with the written word, and gradually they will begin to read familiar material with comprehension. Students attend Spanish class twice a week for thirty minutes.

RETURN TO TOP

Art
Central Theme lends itself to art projects which take place as a regular part of classroom activities and the studio art program. Students have numerous opportunities to experiment with a variety of media, including tempera and watercolor paints, chalk, cray-pas, crayons, play dough and clay

Second Graders are scheduled for formal art instruction in painting, print making, design, ceramics and other media for 50 minutes each week in the Art Studio. Aesthetic education, a vital part of creative and mental growth, will be central to all Art Studio projects.

RETURN TO TOP

Computer and Library
The students spend thirty minutes a week in the Computer Lab with a class room teacher and a computer teacher. Math, reading, and science skills are reinforced through computer programs. Graphic illustration is introduced during the second half of the year. Each classroom contains a computer and a printer which are available for the students' use.

The students spend thirty minutes per week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story and selecting a library book. The Librarian introduces beginning library skills.

RETURN TO TOP

Physical Education
Second Graders participate in a physical education class each day for 30 minutes. Students meet in the gym and participate in activities that help develop and strengthen locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills that strengthen the large and small muscles. The benefits of good nutritional and healthy habits are encouraged throughout the program. In addition, students are familiarized with American Red Cross drown-proofing and water skills and the American Heart Association's rope jumping activities.

RETURN TO TOP

Music
Music is taught to Second Graders twice a week for thirty minutes. It provides multiple experiences which enable children to express themselves musically. Each of the conscious concepts presented in First Grade is reintroduced and practiced before new material is presented. The material for this level consists of chants, rhymes, songs, and singing games drawn principally from folk sources. Because of the inherent relationship to the language, folk songs are used to develop a sense of rhythm and to provide a rich store of pentatonic material which is especially suited to the Second Grader's voice. Music is incorporated and supports the Central Theme and represents the Orff philosophy of culminating learning with a program based on content rather than performing for the sake of performing.

RETURN TO TOP

Library/Computer Lab
The students spend approximately thirty minutes a week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story, and selecting a library book. The Librarian introduces beginning library skills.

The students spend approximately thirty minutes per week in the Computer Lab with the classroom teacher and a computer teacher. Language and math skills, research, and graphic illustrations are developed through guided activities. Activities are generally coordinated with their Central Themes.

RETURN TO TOP

Spiritual Formation and Growth
A portion of each morning is set aside for daily Bible reading, reflections, and prayer. Students attend a 30 minute Chapel Service once a week, with special services held to recognize holidays and graduation.

A Spiritual Formation class is taught 30 minutes a week for two six weeks periods spaced during the school year.

RETURN TO TOP

Educating the Heart and Life Skills
These specialized programs help students deal with issues that are pertinent to their normal growth and development. A Life Skills class is alternated with Spiritual Formation class for thirty minutes a week during two six week time periods. Participation in this class helps students: develop a healthy self-concept, personal confidence, group interaction and problem solving skills; learn respect for differences in themselves and as part of the class, school and society; and reinforce school responsibilities such as fairness, kindness, courtesy and honesty.

Lower School students also participate in Educating the Heart activities and discussions that focus on the following Life Goals: Personal Responsibility/Trustworthiness, Kindness/No Put-Downs, Active Listening, Personal Best and Honesty/ Truthfulness. In addition to the Educating the Heart activities that will take place within their own classrooms, students will be placed in "Family Groups" with other Lower School students for related lessons.

RETURN TO TOP

CENTRAL THEME: Early America - The Settlements
For its Central Theme, each grade studies a particular period of history from a full cultural perspective. Each theme builds on skills and broader concepts from the year before. The goal is to get to know the ordinary life of the times as well as the key historical events. Central Themes integrate history, literature, geography, art, English, composition, science and religion. Each theme has its own central projects, reenactments, role playing, research topics, field trips, written reports, and oral presentations.

Second Grade students are immersed in a period of time that deals with Christopher Columbus, Pilgrims, and Native Americans. While studying Columbus, students will learn about the continents, oceans, equator, and prime meridian. Students do an in-depth study of the Pilgrims and Native Americans. They participate in activities that encourage them to imagine what it would be like not to be able to practice their own beliefs, plant their own fields, or keep the customs and ideas of their ancestors. To better recognize the area in which the Native American tribes lived, a comprehensive study of United States geography takes place prior to the in-depth study of Native Americans.

Students begin their study with what occurred even before the Pilgrims set sail for America. Each Second Grader assumes the identity of one of the passengers on board the Mayflower and follows his or her character throughout the settlement of Plymouth. During their study, the students learn that even though the Pilgrims encountered a harsh first few years, they did find a land where game, fish, fruits, and edible plants were plentiful. But more importantly, they discover that an even greater treasure awaited the Pilgrims - Native Americans willing to help them.

Again, the human element is involved as Second Graders study the Woodland, Plains, and Southwest Native Americans, as well as specific tribes and Native American personalities. They compare and contrast each region's life-styles, shelters, foods, clothing, religions, governments, crafts and weapons, family structure, and communication.

RETURN TO TOP

Reading
Second Graders vary in their rates of language development, and the reading and writing curriculum adapts to individual needs of the students. Daily, the teacher and children read aloud many stories, poems and factual books. The resulting discussions and questions lead to development of comprehension and vocabulary. Reading and writing may also be taught individually in small groups, utilizing phonetic and sight-word approaches. The students also learn to read and write using their own language, and the language experience activities are an integral part of the school curriculum.

St. James strives to create an independent reader who will find reading fun, exciting, and informative. This is achieved by pre-teaching and then applying word study skills and comprehension skills as well as decoding skills. Students reinforce their decoding skills through reading, writing, speaking, and listening, thereby tying language arts skills to the reading skills. A further purpose of this program is to develop an independent reader who has confidence in his or her ability to read, has a love and appreciation for different types of literature, and an understanding of the surrounding world as well as empathy for people from various backgrounds and cultures. Library books, classroom books, and Weekly Reader provide opportunities for independent reading. In addition, all students are expected to read (or be read to) from 15 to 30 minutes each day.

RETURN TO TOP

Specialized Reading Instruction
Learning differences vary in their type and severity; however, they often impact a student's acquisition of reading skills. For this reason, every child at St. James is individually screened to determine the most appropriate reading placement. The School offers two distinct programs for students whose reading progress indicates that they would benefit from additional instruction in the mechanics which are at the heart of reading skills. Recommendation into a particular program is based upon teacher evaluation, testing and parent input.

RETURN TO TOP

Language Arts
The rich environment of individual and class experiences inspires writing. From the very beginning students are encouraged to use inventive spelling to write their own stories and poems as well as those assigned by the teacher. Journals are kept to promote both the flow of ideas and the strengthening of technical skills. Children share their stories in many ways, frequently during class meetings followed by questions and comments, small groups with partners, and alone with the teacher.Both phonetic spelling and common non-phonetic sight words are taught with the help of work sheets, word banks, games, spelling lessons, and through the writing and editing process. The handwriting program teaches proper pencil grip, body positioning, correct numeral and manuscript and cursive letter formation, and placement on the page. The students regularly practice handwriting by using the D' Nellan handwriting work book and through writing from the board work.

RETURN TO TOP

Math
The mathematics program is designed to meet the individual needs and learning styles of second graders. The curriculum develops mathematical skills and the ability to apply these skills to problem solving in mathematics as well as school and daily living. Students build structured thinking related to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They develop skills in solving word problems and develop flexibility in thinking through emphasis on mental arithmetic and estimation.

As in first grade, there is also a strong emphasis on understanding through modeling concepts with concrete materials such as rods, chips, unifix cubes, design blocks, tangram blocks, and attribute blocks. Individual practice, small group interaction, and whole class discussions reinforce skills and concepts in computation, place value, patterns and functions, logic geometry, measurement, time, money, simple fractions, organizing and interpreting data in graphs and charts.

RETURN TO TOP

Science
Science teaching and activities are taught as an integral part of the curriculum. The St. James curriculum offers, a balanced foundation of science concepts based on three major blocks: Life Science, Physical Science, and Earth Science. Specific content areas may include habitats, the oceans, spiders, personal health, animals, plants, biomes, ecology.

Children attend a hands-on Science Lab for forty five minutes each week. Activities are coordinated with the Central Theme. These activities are guided by a Science Lab Teacher and the Classroom Teacher.

RETURN TO TOP

Spanish Language
The overall objectives of this class are to continue the development of listening (comprehend basic vocabulary, structures and expressions) and speaking (responding to simple questions, statements and requests) skills, enabling children to communicate their needs in greater detail. Children will also begin to associate the spoken with the written word, and gradually they will begin to read familiar material with comprehension. Students attend Spanish class twice a week for thirty minutes.

RETURN TO TOP

Art
Central Theme lends itself to art projects which take place as a regular part of classroom activities and the studio art program. Students have numerous opportunities to experiment with a variety of media, including tempera and watercolor paints, chalk, cray-pas, crayons, play dough and clay

Second Graders are scheduled for formal art instruction in painting, print making, design, ceramics and other media for 50 minutes each week in the Art Studio. Aesthetic education, a vital part of creative and mental growth, will be central to all Art Studio projects.

RETURN TO TOP

Computer and Library
The students spend thirty minutes a week in the Computer Lab with a class room teacher and a computer teacher. Math, reading, and science skills are reinforced through computer programs. Graphic illustration is introduced during the second half of the year. Each classroom contains a computer and a printer which are available for the students' use.

The students spend thirty minutes per week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story and selecting a library book. The Librarian introduces beginning library skills.

RETURN TO TOP

Physical Education
Second Graders participate in a physical education class each day for 30 minutes. Students meet in the gym and participate in activities that help develop and strengthen locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills that strengthen the large and small muscles. The benefits of good nutritional and healthy habits are encouraged throughout the program. In addition, students are familiarized with American Red Cross drown-proofing and water skills and the American Heart Association's rope jumping activities.

RETURN TO TOP

Music
Music is taught to Second Graders twice a week for thirty minutes. It provides multiple experiences which enable children to express themselves musically. Each of the conscious concepts presented in First Grade is reintroduced and practiced before new material is presented. The material for this level consists of chants, rhymes, songs, and singing games drawn principally from folk sources. Because of the inherent relationship to the language, folk songs are used to develop a sense of rhythm and to provide a rich store of pentatonic material which is especially suited to the Second Grader's voice. Music is incorporated and supports the Central Theme and represents the Orff philosophy of culminating learning with a program based on content rather than performing for the sake of performing.

RETURN TO TOP

Library/Computer Lab
The students spend approximately thirty minutes a week in the Library, dividing the time between listening to a story, and selecting a library book. The Librarian introduces beginning library skills.

The students spend approximately thirty minutes per week in the Computer Lab with the classroom teacher and a computer teacher. Language and math skills, research, and graphic illustrations are developed through guided activities. Activities are generally coordinated with their Central Themes.

RETURN TO TOP

Spiritual Formation and Growth
A portion of each morning is set aside for daily Bible reading, reflections, and prayer. Students attend a 30 minute Chapel Service once a week, with special services held to recognize holidays and graduation.

A Spiritual Formation class is taught 30 minutes a week for two six weeks periods spaced during the school year.

RETURN TO TOP

Educating the Heart and Life Skills
These specialized programs help students deal with issues that are pertinent to their normal growth and development. A Life Skills class is alternated with Spiritual Formation class for thirty minutes a week during two six week time periods. Participation in this class helps students: develop a healthy self-concept, personal confidence, group interaction and problem solving skills; learn respect for differences in themselves and as part of the class, school and society; and reinforce school responsibilities such as fairness, kindness, courtesy and honesty.

Lower School students also participate in Educating the Heart activities and discussions that focus on the following Life Goals: Personal Responsibility/Trustworthiness, Kindness/No Put-Downs, Active Listening, Personal Best and Honesty/ Truthfulness. In addition to the Educating the Heart activities that will take place within their own classrooms, students will be placed in "Family Groups" with other Lower School students for related lessons.

RETURN TO TOP