Art

The goal of the art program is to enhance skills, broaden concepts, and provide an expanded creative experience. A variety of materials and techniques are introduced in sequential lessons to challenge the student’s imagination while providing an opportunity for meaningful exploration. Art concepts are integrated across the curriculum to demonstrate how art can be expressed and connected to various disciplines. The students are encouraged to express their ideas and to explore the creative process in a fun, experimental, and supportive environment. The process is always as rewarding as the product.

How do you define an artist? How do you define a Scientist? This question will propel the art experience this year as we explore our theme, Wonderment and Interaction in the Physical World. There is a long-standing and engaging relationship between art and science. Although these two disciplines are often considered to be quite different, connections exist between the two. There is a commonality in skills such as observation, problem solving, spatial thinking, developing projects, and the need to communicate the results of one thinking or exploration. Since the late nineteenth century artists have often utilized the scientific language in the experimental process.

Music

The music program provides many different opportunities for children to utilize their aural, visual, and kinesthetic learning strategies when they explore music. Their experiences contribute to their overall educational understanding; incorporating the intellect, emotions, and the physical body. The children will express themselves through movement activities, singing, playing instruments, and creating music.

Music classes at Los Encinos meet twice a week. The program incorporates rhythmic and melodic skills, which are applied to the music appreciation lessons. This year, the children will explore many facets of Western Classical music. The students will examine song structures, styles, tone, and the various functions classical music provides in our lives. These concepts are integrated into the school-wide theme “Wonderment and Interaction in Our Physical World.” Selected classical songs will be sung and/or played with varying degrees of difficulty according to grade level. They will listen to selections from medieval times to the modern era, differentiate between instruments of the orchestra, and gain an awareness of several significant composers. They will share music during culminating events within their classroom several times during the year. School-wide performances include the Thanksgiving celebration, the Winter Show, and graduation.

Physical Education

Reaction, Cooperation, Consistency, Movement:
Students will demonstrate proper form and smooth transitions during combinations of fundamental locomotor and body control skills, apply the manipulative skills of throwing and catching with self or partner and in smallsided lead up games, perform a series of dance steps or routine combining locomotor patterns and changes in speed or direction to music, explain and apply the difference between throwing to a stationary partner and a moving partner, use feedback to improve skill and performance, understand and apply basic offensive and defensive strategies in small group cooperative or competitive activities, and accept responsibility for ones own performance without blaming others.

Throwing/Receiving, Stationary/Moving Targets, Fitness (Sport lead-up games):
Students will perform and apply the manipulative skills of throwing and catching with self and partner,
compare and contrast movement skills and strategies typically found in sport lead-up games, understand basic positions and strategies of games, use feedback to improve skill performance, accept feedback from others to help improve performance and skills, participate in continuous moderate to vigorous physical activities that require movement of the large muscle groups to increase breathing and heart rate, demonstrate the ability to engage in a variety of self-paced aerobic activity, and list and define the components of physical fitness.

Dribbling, Kicking, Traveling and Changing Directions, Striking, Accuracy, Strategy and Assessment (Sport
lead-ups and Game Play):
Students will apply manipulative skills of hand/foot dribbling (while traveling and changing directions) in sport lead-up games and game play, understand sports positions and offensive and defensive strategies of games, apply offensive/defensive strategies in small group cooperative or competitive activities, perform a variety of skills with power/distance for accuracy, understand the principles of skill development, describe how physical activity with a partner or partners can increase motivation, self-esteem, and enhance safety, and collect and record progress data on a motor skill.

Library

As our library at Los Encinos continues to grow and flourish, our students will experience a wide variety of what a library has to offer. As we embrace our beautiful new space, the goal is to provide students with a comforting, inviting, and fun place to expand their thoughts and ideas. The library will be a place where students will be supported in finding or enhancing a love for reading through choices that fit their individual needs. Integrated into the library experience will be our school wide theme of “Wonderment and Interaction in our Physical World.” Students will discover ways in which science and the scientific process can relate to a wide range of things through research of books and online library resources. Students will also be introduced to new literature through book talks and book reviews. Students will be encouraged to check out books during their allotted library meeting, but will also have the opportunity to check out books after school and during lunch twice a week.

Along with the many activities going on monthly in the library, students will have the opportunity to participate in the Young Reader Medal Program. Each year students across California vote on favorite books they have read that fit into five different categories. Students will be introduced to this year’s nominees throughout the school year that reflect their grade level appropriate category. Students will be able to vote on their favorite book if they have read all books in a category or have had the books read to them. Please visit the library page on the Los Encinos website for more details and a list of the nominees.

Technology

This year, Los Encinos School’s technology education curriculum will integrate several classroom assignments in the school-wide theme “Wonderment and Interaction in our the Physical World.” Accordingly, we will cover this year’s theme by integrating key rationales for technology education:

• Basic Concepts, Operations, and Proficient Use (K-6)

• Social, Ethical, and Cultural Issues (K-6)

• Technology as a Tool for Productivity (K-6)

• Technology as a Tool for Communication (1-6)

• Technology as a Tool for Research (1-6)

• Technology as a Tool for Problem Solving and Decision-Making (1-6)

Drama

This year Los Encinos will have a full drama program. We will begin with the basics; exercises designed to build trust, support, and self-esteem while giving them the opportunity to be part of an ensemble. In an environment of support and success the students will feel empowered to exercise their creative instincts. We will use improvisation to explore themes in literature, life, wonderment, and interaction. Students will learn kinetically through voice, movement and imagination how to re-tell stories in their own words. They will bring characters to life, collaborate to create informal theatre pieces and dramatize events from other areas of their curriculum. Ultimately, the students will have the tools to create and write an original play to be performed in a final performance for friends and family at culmination.

This year our school’s theme of “Wonderment and Interaction in our Physical World” fits in very nicely with the dramatic process. Science can be personalized through drama. Students will research scientists, inventors, scientific principles, and moral and ethical issues. We will experiment and explore their lives, art, inventions, breakthroughs, etc. through observation, movement and improvisation. The students will write, edit, and perform these projects and then reflect with feedback and critique.