Students who have enrolled at this level have to be 5 years of age before September 1- of the ongoing academic year. Our kindergarten program is carefully designed to prepare students to be proficient academically and socially to start elementary school the following school year.
Macris Kindergarten offers a wide array of pedagogically designed settings, large classrooms, maintaining an adequate number of students per classroom to optimize the development processes guided by our qualified teachers. During the school year, we carry out a curriculum with emphasis in discovery through experiences; promote the love for reading, problem solving, language development, letters, numbers, science, frequent contact with nature and the environment, promotion of moral and spiritual values, storytelling, and music.
We start our day with student arrival. We gather around and perform our daily prayer, thanking Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary for all our blessings and recite the oath to our national flag. Morning circles are set up. We begin with English language class, science, recess, followed by phonics, math. After lunch break we proceed with reading, writing, and finally curriculum review and student dismissal. Once a week, students have a physical education and an art class.
To complement our program, we provide a library class, periodic visits to our fruit and vegetable orchard, visits to our ecological projects located on our school grounds, visits to our Japanese garden, unique in its kind, and special themed celebrations throughout the school year.
At Macris Kindergarten, our main focus is our students. We strive to provide the tools and opportunities for each of our students to develop spiritually, socially, emotionally, intellectually, and physically. Your child will be loved and motivated to work and advance at his/her own level of learning and development.
Students at this level will use an English language program that has been thoroughly evaluated and reviewed. This program is carefully modified according to proven techniques year in and year out to ensure top quality and complimented but never altered by local academic requirements. Our language program is designed in a way that our teachers can interact and most effectively ensure the student´s success. Through different activities, our students gain knowledge in phonics, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and comprehension. We use storytelling, songs and rhymes to develop the ability of our students to use English as a second language anytime.
We promote the correct use of the Spanish language in its written form and in normal conversation. Student´s vocabulary is enriched and tools such as storytelling and songs are widely used.
Students learn the characteristics of living things and explore the wonders of God’s creation through use of the five senses. We encourage children to use their curiosity and reasoning to enable them to discover, experiment, interact, and apply what they learn.
We strongly emphasize on the environment and ecological preservation. Inside the classroom as well as our orchard, students learn to differentiate a fruit from a vegetable. They learn how to plant, irrigate, and harvest different types of crops throughout the school year and eventually consume the final product. Recycling activities and garbage classification are an everyday activity.
Other important scientific issues are covered, such as exploring our solar system, planet location within our galaxy, different climatic patterns and seasons, the human body and the use of our five senses.
We teach a logical and mathematical approach with the aid of manipulative resources, which allow each student to grasp concepts, understanding numbers and their use in addition and subtraction, as well as the use of the clock, in everyday activities.
Students are motivated to be good citizens. They learn to respect people from all cultures as well as all community workers. They learn stories from the past which help them appreciate all that they have today.
Different areas of study in our social studies program involve the family, our school, our home, transportation modes, driver´s education, different occupations and the people around our communities that make our life better.
During the school year, students are allowed to experiment with different colors and combinations using different materials and techniques to produce their own creations. We open up each child´s creativity and imagination in order to let them express themselves freely. Students also learn about famous artists, their works and styles.
As a Catholic school, students are taught to know and love Jesus Christ and Mary Mother of Christ. Children learn prayers, participate in beautiful Christmas Pastorals, and deliver flowers to our Holy Mother on her day.
In order to integrate different body parts in an organized way, wasting the least amount of energy possible, our physical education teachers perform different motor skill exercises that promote growth and strengthening of large muscles. This enables children improve stability and control movements in his/her surrounding. Routine exercises include running, walking, jumping, crawling, object throwing, and dancing.
Different activities take place to develop manual skills and visual coordination. Children perform and repeat tasks such as picking up large and small objects and transfer objects from one hand to the other. They open and close different types of doors. Objects are thrown and then picked up. The use of the digital tong, gripping skills, driving vision, depth perception and direction, cutting, pasting, coloring and assembly of patterns are habitual in this educational setting.
