Elementary School

Imagine an elementary school where...

  • seeking excellence means building on the gifts of each individual.
  • students are encouraged to explore the outdoors — every day.
  • managing relationships with care and compassion is as important as multiplying fractions.
  • younger and older students work together regularly.
  • faith is a part of everyday life.
  • serving others is modeled and encouraged.
  • family and church perspectives are valued.

These are our values at Eastern Mennonite Elementary School.

Welcome!

Experiential Learning

EMES visit to Park Woods
IMG_9638
EMES peace parade 2021
  • Our curriculum allows time and space to ponder, reflect, be creative and discern as students gain new experiences.
  • Students learn to write with clarity, organization, and creativity.
  • Through the Everyday Mathematics program we connect each new concept to its use in the “real world.” Hands-on activities and manipulatives reinforce the concepts.
  • In science, students ask questions, conduct experiments, collect data, draw conclusions, and explore ways to effectively display their results with graphs and charts.
  • Through the History Alive social studies curriculum, students make connections between historical events and life today. We use role-plays, small group problem-solving challenges, and simulations in each unit.
  • Students also learn to gather information from a variety of sources including textbooks, trade books, and experts in the field. They hear and speak Spanish twice a week in class.  They play outside every day during recess and as part of our physical education curriculum.

The Arts

20221010_135015
IMG_0786 (1)
EMS Elementary Christmas Concert FULL SET-202
  • Our music curriculum is based on the Kodály approach, which uses quality, folksongs and singing games from around the world and other experiences to foster a love of music, including music reading.
  • We believe in music's power to further students’ development as whole people and to bring us closer to God and to each other.
  • Elementary music program includes:
    • Strings (in Spanish), grade 1, twice per week
    • Twice weekly music classes, K-5
    • Weekly choir, grades 3-5
    • Weekly K-5 Gathering include singing
    • Two K-5 programs per year include singing, instruments and dance
  • Art
    • Art stimulates creative, lateral thinking and learning persistence.
    • Through a variety of strategies, art media and disciplines, students explore their reactions to their world, their family, and the faith they are developing.
    • We aim to develop and reinforce a healthy self-concept through success in the creative process.

Faith Community

IMG_9812
IMG_6922
EMES Passion Walk 2023
  • We gather weekly to hear others share how they live out their faith in the world. We  sing, pray and discuss issues.
  • Each grade takes part in a peacebuilding lesson every week.
  • We foster spiritual growth in the classroom; everyone gets an opportunity to express their beliefs.
  • Teachers model their faith, creating a respectful classroom where honesty and integrity are emphasized, and each person is valued.
  • Elementary families enjoy a potluck each fall. In September, we celebrate the International Day of Peace. At Thanksgiving, we share an international meal and program. At Christmas, we share a music program. In the spring, we offer a dessert theater.
  • When someone is experiencing hard times, we create cards, provide food, pray and offer support.
  • Students grow through partnerships with local organizations such as Roberta Webb Child Care Center where older students are reading buddies to younger students.
  • Fifth grade students take turns at lunch with the kindergarten class assisting with microwave use, opening stubborn containers and managing personal space.
  • We prepare food each day in kindergarten to share with each other, and often with other grades.

VISITING IS THE BEST WAY TO GET A SENSE OF OUR LEARNING COMMUNITY.

Parents of elementary students are encouraged to visit without their child first to minimize any confusion for younger children.