Welcome to the elementary school community!

It is our mission to provide a nurturing and inspiring learning environment for each child in our care. In the elementary school, students are able to experience a range of activities and learning experiences which provide them with opportunities to develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, academically, and physically. At each grade level, students are taught the core academic subjects through a Christ-integrated curriculum, while also receiving instruction in art, music, P.E., library skills, and Thai language. National Korean and National Thai students receive additional instruction in their heart languages.

ELEMENTARY ACTIVITIES

Throughout the school year, elementary students have the opportunity to engage in a number of activities. These include the following:

  • A year-round chapel program for grades K-6 (Tuesday mornings from 8:15-9:05 twice a month). Parents are welcome to attend.
  • STEM night (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) for grades 3-6 (every other year)
  • March is Reading Month – a whole month of activities devoted to reading (including our very popular Book Character Parade)
  • Elevate – a week-long chapel program with a different emphasis/theme each year
  • Christmas and Spring music showcases
  • 100 Day Celebration (Grades K-2)
  • Field trips (usually by grade and related to specific areas of study)
  • Clubs for grades 3-6 (September through November, and January through March). Clubs are dependent on available staffing but in past years have included creative worship, origami, art, creative dance, running, puppetry and a critter club. Some clubs are grade-specific and others have a limited number of participants.
  • Chapel Teams including drama, puppetry and worship teams
  • End of Year Celebration (last day of school)

SCHOOL HOURS

  • Grades 1-6: 8:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. (Wednesdays start time 9:45)
  • K (Half Day): 8:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (Wednesdays start time 9:45 – pickup time 3:15 p.m.)
  • K (Full Day): 8:15 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. (Wednesdays start time 9:45)
  • ** Wednesday is a Late Start Day. Students may arrive on campus from 9.30 a.m.

RECESS

Play is a very important part of a child’s development and each grade level has three recesses each day, over and above our before school recess. Students are welcome on campus from 7:55 each morning and may play on the playground until 8:15. Some students really benefit from this extra recess time as it gives them a chance to run off steam before they settle down to the school day.

Rainy recesses will be in The Atrium, our indoor covered area and/or on the covered courts.

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

The elementary team believes that each child can experience success and teachers and support staff are dedicated to bringing out the best in each student. We have specific and measurable benchmarks at each grade level but our emphasis is on individual student growth. We want children to master concepts fully and reach grade level benchmarks but we are aware that children all develop at different rates and by different means. Teachers endeavor to meet children where they are at and gently lead them from that point.

Digital Citizenship

At GIS, students begin learning how to be responsible, respectful, safe digital citizens at a young age. As part of their weekly library class, Elementary students discuss online safety and make connections between their online and offline lives.  We use curriculum from Commonsense Media as a starting  point for these conversations.

ASSESSMENT

GRADES K-2

A variety of in-house assessments are used in the lower grades to assess students’ skills in reading, language arts, writing, and math DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) This is an individual test which assesses a child’s reading level based on a Level A-Z scale, is used in grades K-2.

DRA End of Year Benchmarks

  • Kindergarten – Level C
  • Grade 1: Level I
  • Grade 2: Level M

STAR ASSESSMENT

STAR reader assessment is a computer adaptive test administered 2-4 times a year in grades 1 (2nd semester) and grade 2 to measure individual reading progress.

GRADES 3-6

Again a variety of in-house and other assessments are used to measure student growth in all academic content areas.

MAP – (Measures of Academic Progress) a computer adaptive assessment is one of the assessment tools used to measure progress in grades 3-6. Students are tested in August/September and again in April/May. MAP measures what students know and give teachers an accurate measure of student performance, whether a student meets or exceeds grade level expectations. MAP results help teachers plan instruction.

STAR READER/AR (Accelerated Reader)

The STAR reader assessment is administered between 2-4 times a year and measures individual student progress in reading. Accelerated Reader is a reading program that allows students to work towards quarterly goals (set by the teacher) and read books within their specific reading level in order to experience maximum growth.

REPORTS

K-6 reports are emailed to parents at the end of each quarter
K-3 students are assessed using a numeric scale (4, 3, 2, 1)
4th-6th grade students are assessed using both a numeric (4, 3, 2,1) and grading scale for core subjects (A, B,C, etc.)
All students are assessed on behavior skills using a numeric scale. Teachers use a behavior rubric to assess students in this area.

PARENT CONFERENCES

These take place the week prior to the October break (Thursday and Friday all day)