SAES_JULY '22_Magazine

The first team to finish their work was the mathematics
committee that recommended a transition to the
Bridges in Mathematics text developed by The Math
Learning Center for our pre-kindergarten through
fifth grade classrooms. The teachers love Bridges
because of how it aligns with Saint Andrew’s approach
to developing deep thinkers and problem solvers. The
classrooms emphasize collaboration and sensemaking,
and it allows for differentiating for the needs of each
student. Additionally, the school launched participation
in the Noetic Learning Math Contest in our lower school
grades to complement the MATHCOUNTS and AMC 8
programs available in middle school.
While their work is ongoing, the Language Arts
committee observed that many schools serving
communities of learners similar to Saint Andrew’s have
or will be moving to the workshop model to teach
literacy. Through this work, and through the expertise
of several committee members, a strong interest
emerged in exploring the workshop model for teaching
language arts at Saint Andrew’s. The Language Arts
faculty participated in several days of training in this
model in June.
The social studies committee reviewed how the
integrated disciplines that comprise this area of study
create a structure that builds the students’ capacity to
construct arguments, reason with evidence, analyze
relationships, and most importantly consider and
engage with a variety of viewpoints. These skills are
practiced and applied at every grade level to promote
a community that embraces diverse perspectives
and engages with difficult conversations. In this
environment, we strive to nurture not only academic
and historical thinking skills, but emotional intelligence,
social awareness, and empathy in all students.
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