Elementary School

During their first learning expedition, Our Bodies, Our Selves, kindergarteners explore how we are alike, how we are different, and what truly makes a classroom family. This then blends into their next Expedition, Helping Hands, Helping Hearts, as they learn about our school and local community workers. This expedition concludes with the ‘Fabulous world of Kindergarten,’ where our classes make their own city full of community workers! Fieldwork in Kindergarten includes: Downtown walking tour, Wortham Theater, 12 Baskets Cafe.

First grade starts the year with Third Rock from the Sun, which explores our relationships to the natural world. Scholars will learn about maps and globes, landforms, water, rocks, and minerals. Students will visit Linville Caverns during this expedition!

In third trimester, 2nd grade starts their Life Cycles learning expedition. During these weeks, scholars explore life cycles of insects, amphibians, and mammals, with an emphasis on change as a guiding scientific principle. Fieldwork for this expedition includes the NC Arboretum and RiverLink.

Third graders will kick off the school year with their Heroes! expedition. Scholars will study the heroic identity of a local community member and consider what it means to make the world a better place. Scholars will visit the Asheville Art Museum, City Hall, and the Asheville Museum of Science to learn about these heroes.

During the second trimester, our fourth graders will study the Humans of North Carolina. Reviewing a variety of primary sources, scholars investigate the people and events that shaped N.C.. Students will participate in a case study of the Greensboro Sit-ins to explore the perspectives of the Greensboro Four, workers at the Woolworth lunch counter, protesters, and observers. Fieldwork includes visits to the Museum of the Cherokee People, the Triangle Park mural, and Community Storytellers.

5th grade focuses on a year-long expedition titled Voices of Sustainability. Throughout the year, scholars explore concepts of resilient and regenerative farming practices, pre-colonial North America, and North American topography and geography. Throughout the year, scholars will travel to Oak Hill Conservancy, Haw Creek Honey to prepare for Winter Market, where students wil craft items from Landfill bound materials and sell them for $1 as a fundraiser.