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WIS Academic Enrichment

Academic Enrichment

Students at Weston Intermediate School experience a comprehensive curriculum taught by certified teachers in the areas of the Arts, Physical Education, Health, Information Technology Literacy, and World Language.

 

ART EDUCATION     HEALTH EDUCATION     MUSIC EDUCATION     WORLD LANGUAGE

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LITERACY     PHYSICAL EDUCATION

 

Wall of student art

 

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FAQs

Get answers to our most often arts education questions

 

ART EDUCATION STAFF


CURRICULUM

Art Education

The Weston K-5 art program prepares students for a world that will demand their creativity, resilience, and excellence in problem solving skills. Students are encouraged express their unique and creative ideas, solve problems independently and collaboratively, and analyze their mistakes while finding ways to turn them into successes.

Rich and multi-layered, our curriculum is aligned with the Visual Arts Standards from the Connecticut Arts Curriculum Framework as outlined by the State Department of Education.

In grades 3-5 students will:

  • Be asked to think critically by analyzing, synthesizing and using critical judgment when discussing historically and culturally important works of art and applying these thoughts to their own work.
  • Explore and apply of the Elements of Art and Principles of Design.
  • Explore color theory and mix their own colors, shades and tints using variety of media including watercolor paint, acrylic paint, pastel and colored pencil.
  • Explore a wide variety of media including paint, pencil, collage, and pastel to create 2 dimensional art work as well as clay, plaster, reed and a variety of ways to create 3 dimensional sculptures and forms.
  • Create fine crafts through manipulation of a wide variety of fibers, materials, and mixed media.
  • Refine drawing skills through drawing from observation, drawing from imagination as well as work on the human figure, proportion, and perspective.
  • Explore self-expression with a strong emphasis on how artists plan their work, develop ideas, reflect on their own outcomes and how they connect with their lives.

 

Art Education Frequently Asked Questions

  • Grades three and four have art once a week for one hour. Grade five has art twice a week for forty five minutes per class.

  • Students are told what is expected in their final projects for each unit and specifically how they will be graded.  We look for evidence that students grasped the major concepts, practiced the studio skills and put forth a strong effort. Each student’s initial level of ability is also considered.  Therefore, grades will also reflect the progress the individual student has made. It is important to us that students understand that in all artistic growth much risk-taking and patience are necessary, and that there is a wide range of perspectives about what makes a piece of artwork successful.

  • There are rotating displays of student work outside the art rooms and in the LRC throughout the year.  These displays include samples of units we have worked on, and students select what they would like to contribute.  We make sure students understand that many different kinds of art are valued. Both finished and experimental works are encouraged and shared.

    There will also be an annual spring art and music festival.  This year’s event will be on Wednesday, May 16. Artworks on display in this exhibit reflect both our curriculum units as well as works students undertook independently.  We ask students to make their art show choices based on which pieces they feel demonstrate their best efforts and of which they are most proud.

apple with heart shaped bite

 

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FAQs

Get answers to common health education questions.

 

HEALTH EDUCATION STAFF

 


CURRICULUM

Health Education

The goal of the Weston health education curriculum follows the National Health Education Standards, which provide the guidelines for educating students to become wise consumers of health programs, capable makers of personal health choices, and knowledgeable practitioners of health-enhancing lifestyles. The curriculum enables the student to become healthy and physically educated young people.

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade health curriculum concepts include: physical wellness, change, social wellness, decision making and responsibility.

 

  • Third Grade Health Topics:

    • Responsibility
    • Bullying
    • Personal safety
    • Body systems
    • Hygiene
    • Fitness and nutrition
    • Substance abuse prevention
    • Stress management

  • Fourth Grade Health Topics:

    • Cooperation
    • Bullying
    • Nutrition
    • Physical Fitness
    • Personal hygiene
    • Substance abuse prevention
    • Stress management

  • Fifth Grade Health Topics:

    • Character Education
    • Personal Fitness and Nutrition
    • Substance abuse prevention
    • Bullying
    • Personal hygiene
    • Puberty-physical and emotional changes
    • Stress management

Health Education Frequently Asked Questions

    • The 3rd and 4th grades have health once a week for 30 minutes.
    • The 5th grades have health once a week for 45 minutes.

  • Bullying and stress management are also mandated by the state and are on going and sequential in grades 3,4 and 5

  • Yes, it  is a mandated unit that is taught in the 5th grade disease and hygiene unit.

  • The puberty lesson is taught in the 5th grade at the end of May The girls and boys are separated for this lesson.

iphone and earbuds

 

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FAQs

Get answers to our most often asked music education questions

 

MUSIC EDUCATION STAFF


CURRICULUM

Music Education

The study of music at the Intermediate School level is critical for the development of musical aptitude and achievement in music. This program is designed to offer a sequential, comprehensive, standards-based music education to all students in grades three through five. General Music classes meet two times per week. Beginning in grade four, students are provided with the opportunity to expand their musical involvement by joining Chorus. In fifth grade they can choose to participate in Chorus, Band and Orchestra.

 

  • GRADE 3 GENERAL MUSIC

    Third grade students will be exposed to a variety of musical styles including, but not limited to, American folk songs, Patriotic music, and world music. They will learn basic rhythms and sight-singing skills.   They will learn to sing in tune and play classroom instruments. Students in third grade will begin recorder in the Spring.  

  • GRADE 4 GENERAL MUSIC

    Fourth grade students will continue on their musical journey advancing to more complex rhythms and songs. Students will be required to listen to and analyze different genres of music in the classroom.   In January, students will continue with the recorder and begin a more comprehensive recorder unit. They will draw upon the musical skills that they have learned up to this point to become independent recorder players.

                FOURTH GRADE CHORUS is open to all students in the fourth grade. Fourth grade chorus is the first performing ensemble in the Intermediate School. Students will perform music with a moderate level of difficulty, including, but not limited to rounds, canons, two-part music, classical music, art music and spirituals.   CHORUS MEETS BEFORE SCHOOL ON THURSDAY MORNINGS AT 7:45.

  • GRADE 5 GENERAL MUSIC

    Fifth grade students will begin a more advanced level of study in music. Students will be required to sing in tune, sight-read simple melodies, listen to and analyze musical forms and write their own musical compositions. Fifth grade students will read and perform music in different meters, keys and tonalities.

                FIFTH GRADE CHORUS is a non-auditioned performing ensemble that builds on the foundation set in the fourth grade. Chorus is open to all fifth graders regardless of whether or not they have performed with the fourth grade chorus. Students will perform music with a higher level of difficulty, including, but not limited to rounds, canons, two-part music, classical music, art music and spirituals, CHORUS MEETS BEFORE SCHOOL ON THURSDAY MORNINGS AT 7:45.

               BAND is open to all fifth graders who sign up to play a band instrument at the beginning of the year.  Students will begin the year with small group lessons and advance to full band rehearsals in January. IN JANUARY, BAND MEETS BEFORE SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY MORNINGS AT 7:45.

               ORCHESTRA is open to all fifth graders who sing up to play a stringed instrument at the beginning of the year. Students will begin the year with small group lessons and advance to full orchestra rehearsals in January. IN JANUARY, ORCHESTRA MEETS BEFORE SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY MORNINGS AT 7:45.

Music Education Frequently Asked Questions

  • BAND is open to all fifth graders who sign up to play a band instrument at the beginning of the year.  Students will begin the year with small group lessons and advance to full band rehearsals in January. IN JANUARY, BAND MEETS BEFORE SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY MORNINGS AT 7:45.

globe and multicultural dolls

 

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FAQs

Get answers to our most often world language questions

 

WORLD LANGUAGE STAFF


CURRICULUM

 

World Language

For over 20 years, Weston has provided Spanish language education to students at the elementary level.  Students in K-5 Spanish engage in meaningful activities in a comfortable environment where they are highly motivated and encouraged to take risks with the language. Spanish teachers use a variety of instructional activities ranging from demonstrations, group and pair work, cooperative learning and peer tutoring, addressing a variety of learning styles and needs. Expectations are flexible and appropriate to each grade level. Students’ Spanish skills in the areas of speaking, listening, writing, reading, and cultural understanding are measured through an assortment of formal and informal assessments.

The FLES program is based on the belief that the study of Spanish language and culture strengthens intellectual skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and the ability to make connections between the various disciplines taught in grades K-5. Individuals who are competent in a second language are an asset to local and world communities due to their enhanced understanding of global concerns.

 

World Language Frequently Asked Questions

  • According to the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers the benefits of second language learning include:

    • Children have the ability to learn and excel in the pronunciation of a foreign language
    • They show positive results in areas of standardized testing; English, Language Arts. Math and SAT scores are shown to have significant gains
    • Students show greater cognitive development in such areas as mental flexibility, creativity, divergent thinking, and higher order thinking skills.
    • Second language study enhances listening skills, memory and understanding of English
    • It improves self-concept and sense of achievement in school
    • Children develop a sense of cultural pluralism, openness and appreciation of other cultures

  • The 5 C’s of Foreign Language Education:

    • Communication
    • Cultures
    • Comparisons
    • Connections
    • Communities

desk with office supplies

 

Weston Public Schools computer instruction is based on the State of Connecticut Information and Technology Literacy Framework and is designed to ensure that all students develop the information literacy and technology skills to be productive in the dynamic technological environment of the 21st century.

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FAQs

Get answers to our most often asked information technology literacy questions

 

TECHNOLOGY LITERACY STAFF

 


CURRICULUM

 

Information Technology Literacy

Weston Public Schools computer instruction is based on the State of Connecticut Information and Technology Literacy Framework. This curriculum framework is designed to ensure that all students develop the information literacy and technology skills to be productive in the dynamic technological environment of the 21st century. The Connecticut Framework can be accessed at the following web address: http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&q=320870

Delivery of this curriculum is sequenced based on student developmental readiness at each grade level. All Weston Intermediate students begin their computer instruction with a discussion and review of the district Acceptable Use Policy

  • Grade 3 Studies

            Third graders entering the Intermediate School have their first experience as password-based network users.  Each student has a unique, password-protected documents folders used to save and manage computer-generated work throughout their time at WIS.

            Through the third grade computer curriculum, students gain experience with a variety of software programs, including word processing, multimedia and graphic organizer software. All of these software experiences move our students toward becoming more independent users of technology. The programs are used to generate original student documents and presentations, with teacher direction. In addition, third graders use curriculum-based interactive software to support their learning in other areas.

          To build basic Internet search skills, children are introduced to keywords as an on-line search strategy.  This introduction to basic information literacy is designed to help young researchers focus on and define their information needs – a key element in the effective navigation of the vast digital information sources of the 21st century.

  • Grade 4 Studies

           As their digital information needs become more complex, fourth graders get more in depth instruction in using the Internet as an information source.  This is accomplished through a series of collaborative lessons between the LRC and the Computer Lab covering such topics as plagiarism, copyright implications, citation of sources, Internet search strategies and website evaluation. At this grade level, students begin to practice generating online search strategies based on their information needs. Curriculum-driven research projects provide fourth graders with the opportunity to practice these information literacy skills.

          Students continue to use productivity software with increased independence. In addition to word processing, multimedia and graphic organizer programs, they gain experience with software designed to create chronological timelines.

  • Grade 5 Studies

           The cornerstone of fifth grade computer instruction is a Colonial America webquest completed by students in conjunction with their Social Studies unit on the Colonial Period. The webquest requires students to use a variety of software programs and information literacy skills to complete webquest tasks, thereby synthesizing the technology skills acquired to this point.

            By fifth grade, students are generally independent in the use of word processing software and now receive direct instruction on the use of the computer as an editing and revising tool. Curriculum-driven multi-media projects continue with increased independence.

Information Technology Literacy Frequently Asked Questions

  • Computer lab instruction is based on two things: developmental readiness and the State of Connecticut Information and Technology Literacy Framework.  In kindergarten the focus of instruction is on the building the student’s comfort level with equipment while utilizing computer activities that support their learning in other curricular areas.  By fifth grade students are expected to be approaching proficiency in the following skill areas: keyboarding, use of word processing and multimedia software, and Internet information literacy.

  • In compliance with CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act), the Weston Public Schools maintain Internet filters that block students from inadvertently accessing websites containing inappropriate content.  This minimizes the chances that your child will view such web content while using the Internet at school.  Please refer to the district Acceptable Use Policy for additional information. 

Track

 

The Physical Education curriculum at Weston Intermediate School is designed to promote the importance of a physically active lifestyle through games and sports. At the intermediate level we continue to emphasize strength, endurance, coordination and weight transfer while gradually incorporating these basic skills into specific sports and game related activities.

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FAQs

Get answers to our most often asked physical education questions

 

PHYSICAL EDUCATION STAFF

 


CURRICULUM

 

Physical Education

The Physical Education curriculum at Weston Intermediate School is designed to promote the importance of a physically active lifestyle through games and sports. The main objectives of our physical education program are to:

  • Provide physical activity experiences that are enjoyable and enhance the student’s confidence in his/her physical ability.
  • Provide a percentage of the student’s recommended weekly amount of physical activity.
  • Develop skill competency that is age appropriate.
  • Explain the health benefits of a proper physically active lifestyle.
  • Integrate the behavioral and social skills needed to comfortably engage in sports and games.
  • Promote student’s participation in physical activities in school, community and home settings.

At the intermediate level we continue to emphasize strength, endurance, coordination and weight transfer while gradually incorporating these basic skills into specific sports and game related activities.  The units that are taught throughout the school year are fitness, football, soccer, project adventure, volleyball, basketball, floor hockey, rhythm and dance, tumbling and gymnastics, team handball, softball and track & field.

 

Physical Education Frequently Asked Questions

  • The students should wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing that allows for their body to move.

  • Yes!  When moving in the gym as well as on equipment sneakers help the students move safely. 

  • Any sneaker that are made for physical activity.  Sandals, Merrill’s, and Healy’s, are not allowed because they lack the proper arch and ankle support needed for sports and games.