Program
Classrooms
PS#1 is structured differently from many elementary schools. There are two lead teachers in each classroom. With a two-year age range in each class, students can steam ahead or take more time, depending on their individual strengths and needs. Our school is organized to reflect young children’s growing perception of themselves in the world.
Clusters
Children learn to feel empowered, safe, and connected in our small school setting, not only within their classrooms, but also as part of a grouping of classrooms that we call clusters.
Interacting with groups large and small allows each student to know every teacher and every other student in the school. With this level of support, PS#1 students become self-assured individuals and confident learners.
Campus
Joy in learning and emphasis on community is supported by our award-winning architecture and beautiful campus in Santa Monica. Bright, spacious classrooms each have their own outdoor area; each cluster of classes has a shared workroom.
PS#1’s expansive field and play area is one of the most innovative elementary school playgrounds in Southern California. Our Field of Dreams is designed to engage every child: from the athlete to the dreamer. In a park-like setting that features both a state of the art ball court and soccer field, it also has a bamboo forest and two stages for imaginative play. Deck areas beneath our landmark oak tree provide a shaded setting for performance, reading or conversation. From the ground up, PS#1 encourages exploration and interaction.
Matriculation
PS#1 has a history of sending well-rounded, successful students into the world. As our graduates move into secondary school they often find themselves ahead of their peers. The ability to ask questions, express ideas, think critically and maintain passion for learning distinguishes PS#1 students.
Our graduates have a high acceptance rate at prominent independent schools who value students that bring to them “knowledge plus more.” Upon graduation, our students attend the schools of their choice including Archer, Brentwood, Crossroads, Harvard-Westlake, Marlborough, New Roads, Wildwood and Windward, among many others.
Hands-On Integrated Curriculum
Reading
Young students begin elementary school with a range of reading and pre-reading abilities and we accommodate all levels. Our teachers use a combination of phonics and whole language approaches to ensure development of solid reading and critical thinking skills. We place an equal emphasis on the joy of reading. PS#1 students are surrounded by books, and reading for pleasure is scheduled into the classroom routine and encouraged as a daily at-home activity.
Writing
At PS#1, every student is an author. For the youngest students, dictation and transitional spelling help them express their ideas in writing right from the start. That way, learning grammar and spelling is part of the process rather than a stumbling block to self-expression. Throughout our program, students keep journals, participate in our Writers Workshop and become expressive poets.
Speaking and Listening
Even our most shy and quiet students develop into confident and articulate public speakers. Speaking in front of an audience and becoming comfortable expressing thought and opinions are integral parts of our language arts curriculum. This important life skill is developed in a safe and fun environment. Students also learn about active listening and supportive critical feedback. Group discussions, oral book reports, biographical enactments, costumed historical portrayals and all-school Circle Time presentations are just some of the many opportunities that promote these skills.
Library
Our Library is an integral part of the school, for our children are, quite literally, surrounded by books. Although resources are concentrated in the Library, each classroom has a collection of books as well. The library is open before, during and after the school day, for faculty, children and parents. The collection has been developed with a broad approach, intending to include materials that not only support the curriculum, but the leisure reading and individual passions of children as well. Our school is dedicated to diversity, and this commitment is obvious in the depth and breadth of our collections, both fiction and non-fiction. The collection addresses the concerns of the human experience in multiple ways, and the faculty is particularly dedicated to using materials that reflect the broad spectrum of ideas, cultures, ethnicity and identity.
All of the arts are incorporated into every subject. Geometry is often demonstrated in architectural models, scientific observations can take the form of ink drawings or topographical clay maps, and writing is accompanied by illustrations. We explore color, line, form and perspective in a variety of media including pen, paint, pastels, ceramics and tile mosaics. Visiting artists also come in to teach specialized art classes.
Our Drama program investigates improvisation, scene-work, body language, connecting with the audience, and public speaking skills. Performance is part of many other subjects through classroom dramatizations and Circle Time.
Our music program integrates classroom themes of study and global awareness. Students learn to read, write and perform many genres of music with a variety of percussive and tonal instruments. They also sing and perform music from a wide range of cultures and historical periods.
In addition to teaching basic Math skills, we want our students to become life-long mathematical thinkers and strategic problem solvers. We take an investigative approach to Math. We find everyday mathematical situations that take Math off the page and make it part of real life. For example, our younger students learn about attributes and logic by sorting their shoes and then communicating their findings in a Venn diagram. Older students experiment with statistics and probability by looking at the stock market.
Concepts are better understood after repeated exposures, so our students revisit topics throughout their seven years at PS#1 to investigate them with increasing complexity.
Our Social Studies program is often at the core of our integrated units of study. Social Studies themes inform our choices of activities, literature, projects and enrichment opportunities. This program is structured in a series of concentric circles. Younger students learn about things close to them, like families, birth stories and heritage. As they get older, the circles expand to the Los Angeles community, then California history, American history and ancient civilizations. What the students study mirrors their widening awareness of themselves in relation to the rest of the world.
PS#1 students not only learn about Science, but act as scientists. The whole school focuses on the same scientific theme every year, and the themes rotate on a two-year cycle between Physical and Earth Science and Life Science. During a Life Science year, our youngest students might investigate the structure of birds and their adaptation to different environments, while students at the next age group study life cycles by observing the hatching of fertile chicken eggs. The oldest group examines human physiology and cellular structure. All students learn to form hypotheses, collect data, look for patterns, and explain the logic behind their conclusions.
In keeping with our integrated approach, computer skills are taught within the context of our daily curriculum. Keyboarding, word processing and use of the Internet for research are skills that students master both in their classrooms and in the school library. Students become adept and confident with modern technology as aids and tools to stimulate and heighten their sense of imagination, discovery, and exploration.
PS#1 students develop a special awareness of themselves as members of a community. Communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, self-awareness, and self-expression are fostered throughout PS#1. Students come to accept personal responsibility for peer relationships. Here, in our small school community, every voice is heard.
Service learning provides PS#1 students the opportunity to experience first-hand how they can make a difference in the lives of others. Projects that benefit the community are a great way for students to learn about social responsibility and contribution. PS#1 has a long history of supporting many worthy groups in our area. Past service learning projects included organizations like Step up On Second, The Ocean Park Community Center, SOVA Food Pantry, Boys and Girls Club, Sunshine Retirement Home, and Access Books.
Our P.E. program emphasizes different forms of movement, teamwork, trusting and learning about the value of a healthy body. We offer a wide variety of different sports and activities including basketball, soccer, football, lacrosse, hockey, Frisbee, yoga, dance, circus arts, water games, aerobics, ropes courses, and team-building activities.
To accommodate families’ busy schedules, PS#1 offers both before and after school childcare programs. We offer seasonal extra-curricular activities, including a Clubhouse program where specialists teach a wide variety of enrichment classes. Children may participate on an ongoing or as-needed basis.
Our Social Studies program is often at the core of our integrated units of study. Social Studies themes inform our choices of activities, literature, projects and enrichment opportunities. This program is structured in a series of concentric circles. Younger students learn about things close to them, like families, birth stories and heritage. As they get older, the circles expand to the Los Angeles community, then California history, American history and ancient civilizations. What the students study mirrors their widening awareness of themselves in relation to the rest of the world.