Specials

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. Our STEAM education seeks to empower students in grades K-8 to explore their sense of wonder and imagination to solve real-world problems. During STEAM experiences students will learn to investigate, design, plan, create, evaluate, and communicate their work to each other and the community. We also teach students skills around digital citizenship and Google Suite applications.

STEAM Exploration areas may include:

• Digital Media (video, photo, graphic design)
• Electronics
• Coding
• Product Design
• Robotics
• Simple Machines
• 3D design and printing
• Woodworking
• Citizen Science

If you are interested in sharing your background in STEAM to better serve our community of learners, please don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello. To keep up to date on what’s happening in STEAM at Horizons K-8, please visit Carol’s website:

http://carolcomputerlab.weebly.com/

Physical Education (PE) is an important part of a comprehensive education program and contributes to the overall well being of students and the education of students as a whole. The Horizons Physical Education program will contribute to the overall development of the students’ physical and mental health, fundamental and advanced motor skills, self-confidence, goal-setting, leadership and cooperation, stress reduction, enhanced self-efficacy, and strengthened peer relationships.
The Physical Education program will foster a positive, safe, and respectful learning environment, as well as incorporate activities that will include all students and meet the needs of each individual student at their various skill levels.

Our physical education instruction will focus on the three different learning domains:

* Psychomotor (motor skill performance, movement competence)
* Cognitive (knowledge, movement understanding, physical and personal wellness)
* Affective (social and emotional wellness, and prevention/risk management)

Through focusing on these three learning domains, we are developing the students as a whole to achieve the ultimate goal of a physically active lifestyle. Teachers will provide content that is physically and socially challenging to the students in a way that encourages the students to be physically active and healthy individuals. The responsibility of this department is to provide our students with the necessary education and skills that they will need to be lifelong learners and movers.

The 7th and 8th grade PE program includes more advanced demonstrations of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to learning and performing physical activities. Students learn the benefits of consistently participating in physical activity, making balanced nutrition choices, and the overall effects it can have for a healthy lifestyle. Students also gain a deeper understanding for responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings. PE class includes new team building activities, new sports units, climbing, a fitness and nutrition unit complete with data tracking and goal setting, as well as active games that students enjoy.

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
-Thomas Merton

Arts education at Horizons K-8 is a joyful way to understand the world and self with greater complexity and sophistication. Through arts education, students develop their imaginations as they learn to communicate through complex symbols. They build expressiveness, creative skills, teamwork skills, and self-esteem while developing critical and abstract thinking, observation, innovation, analytical skills, and information retention. Through practice and experience, we can dive deeper into any art form and learn to express at an infinitely more profound level.

Opportunities in our art program include:
Visual art: drawing, painting, watercolor and charcoal
3 Dimensional: clay, sculpture and building/design art
Understanding of art movements and art history
Arts integrated with literature, science, environmental studies, math
Digital Arts: media design, photography, digital program applications

The Spanish program at Horizons K-8 builds students’ bilingual skills while activating global competencies and a love of cultural exploration and understanding. Our K-5 elementary (and some of our 6th grade) students are exposed to foundational aspects of language and culture in a weekly Spanish class.

While each grade level will have its own focus and projects, examples of Spanish class activities include:
Celebrating Holidays (15th of September, Dia de los Muertos, National Hispanic Heritage Month)
Learning foundational vocabulary
Conversation practice
Dance lessons (bachata, merengue, cumbia, salsa)
Poetry and artistic expression

Middle level students (6th-8th grade) advance in Spanish acquisition through daily Spanish programming.

Spanish 1A at 6th grade includes a bridge from Spanish exposure at the elementary levels and moves towards more formal language acquisition. This is done through listening, speaking, singing, performing, analyzing video/films, reading and writing in Spanish and studying culture of the Spanish speaking world. A wide variety of teaching methodologies are used including Total Physical Response (TPR) and TPRS (TPR + Storytelling), Comprehensible Input and even more traditional forms of reading and writing when appropriate.

Spanish at the 7/8 level is taught in a natural approach to language acquisition through comprehensible input. Comprehensible input is language that students can understand and make meaning of either by listening or reading, at a level that is just above automatic, allowing them to advance in proficiency in the language acquisition process. This happens through creating and reading stories, listening to and singing songs, watching videos, reading leveled chapter books, and more.

MUSIC

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”  Arthur O’Shaughnessy

Students at Horizons learn to dream and expand through the study of music.  

At all grade-levels, students learn about the mechanics of music, but always consider music as a form of self-expression, as well as an opportunity to step outside ourselves and understand the wide world.  As such, these studies complement classroom explorations of history, culture, art, science, and more.

In the earlier grades, students explore foundations of music through song, storytelling, rhythmic instruments and movement.  Third and fourth graders continue this exploration, while also learning to play bucket drums, recorders, and ukuleles.  Fifth and sixth graders deepen their study of music through the ukulele, handbells, and keyboard.  Finally, seventh and eighth graders take a project-based approach to ensemble-building and part writing. 

Music serves to unify the wide range of ages at our K-8 school.  Students learn all-school songs, participate together in choirs and band or orchestra, and perform for each other and families throughout the school year.

Finally, Horizons has two choirs, one for 3rd-5th graders and another for 6th-8th graders.  These choirs meet outside the regular school day.  They actively perform for families, at nearby retirement homes, and at community events.  In addition, beginning in the third grade, students have the opportunity on Friday afternoons to play an instrument in a band or orchestra.