Far Brook School
CURRICULUM

Children learn at Far Brook in a purposeful but unrushed atmosphere. They experience the security of belonging to a community whose life and work they find challenging and engaging. At Far Brook, a child's intelligence and creativity are honored. The program is one that stimulates curiosity and initiative in children while fostering independence and developing the ability to think, reflect, feel, and conceptualize. Teachers encourage children to approach problems in as many different ways as possible .

A Far Brook education combines a strong academic program with a genuine interest in the development of the whole child and an emphasis on learning through the arts. Far Brook is unique in its inter-disciplinary approach to learning through which children receive a classical liberal arts education at an elementary school level.

"At Far Brook, there is an acceptance of the fact
that children are capable of feelings, attitudes and responses
far more profound than is generally believed."

Winifred Moore, Roots of Excellence

Winifred Moore, Roots of Excellence

Learning in the early years is deeply rooted in experience where knowledge becomes relevant as it is put to use. In Nursery and Kindergarten, children explore the world around them in a balanced daily program. They have opportunities for indoor and outdoor learning; active and quiet play; and time for reflection, experimentation, and involvement in the learning process.

Throughout the Lower School, students experience an enriched sensory-motor and language curriculum that emphasizes the development of sound basic skills and problem-solving processes. They master skills sequentially in reading, writing, and computation and develop facility in the scientific process. In enriched classroom environments, open-ended activities emerge from theme-centered studies. In the Nursery and Kindergarten, themes may include a study of birds and owls, the families of musical instruments, penguins, butterflies and insects, and a collaborative study of the Middle Ages with the Sixth Grade. By First Grade, themes expand to form a single core curriculum for the year. First Graders focus on Patterns; Second Graders, on Child and Universe; and Third Graders, on Native Americans.

Reading is developed in a comprehensive way through a combination of the best of whole language techniques and a strong phonics emphasis. Written works and poetry by Dylan Thomas, Pearl Buck, James Thurber, Emily Dickinson and Carl Sandburg are chosen carefully for the power of their language, word imagery, and nuances. These works serve as models for children's writings. Students learn the pleasure of creating their own texts, shaping and turning words into poems and stories that are uniquely their own, while at the same time learning handwriting, spelling, and language arts.

Math is taught through hands-on, "minds-on" experiences which enable children to explore, question, reason, and problem-solve. Through a variety of texts and teacher-designed materials and activities, careful attention is given to the acquisition of computation skills and to conventional mathematical notation. Students begin to see math as a living discipline as they integrate mathematics into real world experiences such as cooking, measuring shadows, or making kachina masks.

Lower School children begin to learn about the scientific method as they observe the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, compare and contrast the patterns of shells, classify rocks and minerals, form hypotheses based on experience, and record their discoveries.

In addition to classroom studies, all children are encouraged to express themselves creatively through rhythm, movement and song, colors, shapes and textures. Children in the Lower School take courses in music, art, dance, library, computer, woodworking, physical education, and French taught by specialists in their fields. Keyboarding is taught in Third Grade.

SECOND GRADERS STUDYING FRACTIONS

During the Middle School years at Far Brook, students take on increasing levels of responsibility for their own learning and participation in Far Brook life. In the classroom, emphasis is placed on organization and study skills as academic expectations inspire students to work in greater depth and scope. In the larger Far Brook community, students become members of the Far Brook Choir and by Sixth Grade become eligible for Group -- the select singing ensemble that performs music by such composers as Bach and Pergolesi. They begin to participate on inter-scholastic sports teams, to present class plays in Morning Meeting, and to assume ever more demanding roles in school pageants and traditions.

Middle School classroom studies are centered around a year-long, in-depth history core curriculum beginning with Ancient Egypt in the Fourth Grade, continuing with Ancient Greece in the Fifth Grade, and moving to Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages in the Sixth Grade. Literature study, research, and class plays grow out of each year's history curriculum. Students read mythology and works of the period such as The Tale of Troy and Beowulf. Research projects may include reports on Egyptian gods and goddesses, the significance of the bull in Minoan society, or the role of women in medieval society. Class plays have included The Myth of Osiris; Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus; The Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus; Aristophanes' Lysistrata; Terences's Phormio; and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and A Comedy of Errors.

The language arts curriculum focuses on the development of skills for reading, written expression, and oral language. Great literature and a variety of published and teacher-made materials provide opportunities to hone reading comprehension skills. Effective written expression is fostered through expansion of vocabulary, attention to mechanics of writing, and exploration of creative and expository writing genres. Oral language is strengthened through oral presentations of research reports, recitations of poetry and prose, and mastery of dramatic roles.

In mathematics, the emphasis on problem solving processes and sound basic skills continues as students master the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as applied to whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. Concepts of ratio, proportion, and percent; integers; variables; and equations are introduced at this level. Studies of geometry and probability become increasingly sophisticated.

The lab-based science program emphasizes the ability to think and analyze. Most class activities involve experimentation and learning from direct observation. Students conduct experiments in cooperative groups and maintain records of their results and discoveries. By Sixth Grade they are able to generate formal lab reports, presenting hypotheses, observations, results, and conclusions. Some areas of study arise out of the history core curriculum. Fourth Graders study ecology, botany, mummification, paper making, and simple machines. Fifth Graders study the human body and genetics. The Sixth Graders are introduced to chemistry, geology, bio-medical research, physics, and astronomy.

The study of French continues in Fourth Grade. Through games, shared meals, puppet shows, songs, dramatizations, and a unit on Paris and its landmarks, Middle School students become comfortable learning to speak another language. By Sixth Grade, students begin to read French and are introduced to formal grammar.

In addition to their classroom studies, all Middle School students participate in courses of art, drama, library, music, woodworking, and computers.

FOURTH GRADERS WITH THEIR EGYPTIAN DEATH MASKS

The Junior High years are the culmination of a student's Far Brook experience. The Junior High students are seen as leaders and role models, inspiring the younger students to carry on the values and traditions of the school. In addition to serious work in the arts, rigorous academics challenge the students and prepare them to excel in the wide variety of high schools they attend.

Math course offerings are tailored each year to the needs of each grade and range from pre-algebra to honors Algebra I and II. The science program is primarily lab-based, with hands-on experiments a part of almost every class. Topics for the Seventh Grade life science curriculum include energy, the workings of a cell, and the interdependence of living things and their environment. Topics for the Eighth Grade physical science curriculum include elements and compounds, distillation, and chromatography.

JUNIOR HIGH SCIENCE LAB

In French, students complete a traditional French I class over a two-year period. Along with the latest in computer technology which is incorporated into the curriculum, the students enjoy many opportunities for speaking and writing the language, and dramatizations.

The historical core curricular tradition continues in the Seventh Grade with the study of the Renaissance and the exploration of the New World and in the Eighth Grade with the study of American History. The use of primary source material and historical documents lends immediacy and authenticity to student inquiry.

In English, vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and refinement of writing skills continue to be emphasized. Readings in English are often tied to history studies and include works by authors such as William Shakespeare, Willa Cather, and Langston Hughes. Seventh and Eighth Graders also participate in class plays based on their history and literature curricula. Examples of recent class plays include edited versions of Richard II and Henry IV by William Shakespeare, Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Galileo by Berthold Brecht, and dramatizations of The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane and Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty.

All students take courses in art, computers, drama, music, jewelry-making, and woodworking and participate in team sports (soccer and baseball for the boys; field hockey and softball for the girls). A highlight of the Junior High experience is a week-long trip to the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York during which students and faculty live and work together in a community-building experience.

  FIELD HOCKEY AND BASEBALL

As leaders of the school, Junior High students produce the School's annual literary publication, The Far Brook Journal; take on the most responsible and demanding roles in Far Brook's traditions; and for graduation perform a Shakespearean play, either The Tempest or A Midsummer Night's Dream, as their gift to the school.

Far Brook encourages students to focus on learning for the love of learning rather than focusing on averaged numerical and letter grades. While spelling tests, math tests, and papers are graded, there is no formal grading system until Junior High. Children's mastery of skills and understanding of concepts are assessed on a day-to-day basis as they participate in classroom work, discussions, projects, and activities.

There are three formal report periods during the school year: in the fall, at mid-year, and at the end of the school year. In the Lower School (Nursery through Third Grade) there are scheduled parent-teacher conferences in the fall, conferences or written progress reports at mid-year and comprehensive written reports at the end of the school year. In the Middle School (Fourth through Sixth Grades) there are scheduled parent-teacher conferences in the fall and written reports mid-year and in June. In the Junior High (Seventh and Eighth Grades) parent conferences are held in the fall. Each student meets with all of his or her teachers to discuss goals and progress twice a year, and written reports with letter grades are sent home three times a year. At any grade level, additional conferences may be scheduled at the request of parents or teachers.

Testing at Far Brook is conducted to monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum and teaching methods and to support student learning. In Kindergarten, students are given the McCarthy Developmental Screening, an individually administered test. Testing continues in Grades 1 and 2 with the Stanford Achievement Tests. By the end of Third Grade, almost all the students are testing well beyond grade level. Students in Grades 3 through 8 take the Educational Records Bureau Comprehensive Testing Program 4 (ERB's). Computerized printouts compare Far Brook results with national, suburban, and independent school norms. Far Brook students generally score at or above independent school norms, the highest norms in the country.

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