A MIDDLE COUNTRY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EDUCATION…

In our elementary schools, your child begins to polish and shine the social skills first learned in Pre-k and kindergarten, and also to begin to develop the intellectual skills that will be necessary later in education… and in life.

Perhaps the most unique thing about Middle Country as a District is the focus we place upon elementary education. The STEM initiative is an integral aspect of our grades 1-5 curriculum. Illustrative of this integration is the small, working robot that has become part of our classrooms from grades 1-5. Your children will actually have the opportunity to code and program this robot, working from simple, one-step commands, to longer, more complex ones as they progress through each grade level. The programming language is consistent throughout the grade levels, meaning that there is a tangible connection between first graders and fifth graders, and connection is, after all, one of the main objectives of the STEM approach to education. STEM has also introduced LEGO competitions to elementary students.

STEM family night, a highlight of the school year for elementary students and parents alike, always sees an outpouring of student teams competing to build the best LEGO creations under a certain set of instructions, with outside engineers coming in to judge the final projects.

Elementary school is also time during which your child’s education begins to take on individualization and specialization. For example, in the area of music, elementary students have the opportunity to choose an instrument from the band or the orchestra, learn about it, and have the opportunity to perform through the end of high school, and maybe even beyond. For these elementary students it is an important learning experience in terms of commitment and dedication.

We recognize how important it is that your child starts to appreciate the academic side of

education while in elementary school, but we also realize the equal importance of social and mental growth. In this regard, we cultivate “peer buddies,” which is the elementary equivalent to best buddies in the older grade levels. A behavioral specialist comes in and actually provides lessons for students to better understand the optimal way to go about interacting with peers who may be struggling in certain areas. The idea here is to increase student involvement and interaction, helping students who may need additional attention to feel more comfortable, and imbuing their peers with a sense of empathy.

As you can see, in Middle Country, our elementary education is so much more than elementary. We believe it is extraordinary.