With true immersion in Spanish, Chinese or Japanese, children become fluent in another language, at home in other cultures, and engaged in math, science, social studies and arts. And with our authorized International Baccalaureate inquiry-based program, students learn to acquire, organize, and communicate knowledge – skills for lifelong learning and success. PreK through 5th grade.
At TIS, school days are designed to blend a balance of routine so the children feel at home and know what to expect, and variety to keep the children stimulated and learning.
School officially begins at 8:15, though students are welcome in their classrooms and encouraged to arrive at 8am. Between 8 and 8:30 the children have free play and can choose to explore learning centers with minimal direction.
8:30 to 11:30am
Each grade studies various International Baccalaureate thematic units – four units per year in Prek (3-year-olds), five in Lowk (4-year-olds), and six units per year in kindergarten through fifth grade. Throughout the morning, students explore different aspects of their IB theme with a combination of group learning and hands-on activities.
Activities are designed to work on language acquisition, fine motor skills, math, writing, and social/emotional development. The students also learn about the theme itself, but our focus on the skills and the process of learning provides a critical foundation for their future.
Group activities might include hearing and discussing a story, exploring materials the teacher has brought, playing a game with words or letters, or practicing a dance from the teacher’s country.
Learning centers are used for individual or small group work, and might include creating artwork that explores the IB theme, hands-on math or science experiments, language activities, or writing letters or characters. The atmosphere is a happy mix of chatter and concentration, as teachers move around to support individual students.
Between activities, the children have morning snack (provided by the school or brought from home), and generally outside recess time as well.
Mornings are also time for art, PE and music specialists and for visits to the library.
Once per week each prek, lowK, and kinder class has a 45 minute period with our preschool art specialist and a 45 minute period with our preschool PE specialist.
Once per week each lowk and kinder class has a 40 minute period with our preschool music specialist.
Lowk and kinder classes visit the school library every week; the prek classes go every couple of weeks. (Of course there are many books and story times in class as well.)
(Grades 1-5 at TIS have art, music and PE either twice per week or three times every two weeks.)
Between 11:30am and 12:30pm – lunch and outside play
Children eat and socialize with one another and with their teachers. Half day students leave at noon after lunch.
12:30pm or 12:45pm – nap or quiet time
Our three- and four-year-old students nap for about an hour and a half. Kindergarten students have 30 minutes to an hour of nap or quiet time (less as the year goes on and the children don’t need it as much).
Approximately 2:00pm to 3:15pm
After nap there is another set of learning activities, where the students explore concepts related to their IB theme, math, literacy, or teacher’s culture. This could be time for hands-on, small group or whole class activities. Once again between activities, there is another snack.
3:15pm
Wow, end of the day already?
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