Elementary | Grades 1 - 5

Principal:  Trudi C. Buscemi
PYP Coordinator:  Sabrina McCartney
School Day: 8:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Carrollwood Day School has a deep commitment to our students and their future success. Our dedicated faculty inspires children to develop a lasting foundation for living and continued learning. We recognize that an atmosphere of respect, consistency, and concern nourishes a child's natural desire to learn. It is also our belief that the education of children must be in keeping with their mode of learning. Through the framework of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) students develop skills vital to becoming not only skillful and knowledgeable, but also self-directed, self-motivated and self-confident. We seek to develop caring and well-prepared citizens of tomorrow's world.

International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP)

The PYP is a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning designed for children ages 3 - 12. The PYP focuses on the development of the whole child. It offers a framework that develops the whole child and meets their academic, social, physical, emotional, and cultural needs. For our elementary students in grades 1 - 5, PYP means guided inquiry; learning to ask the questions that lead to bigger ideas.  Questions that help them explore many subjects: languages, social studies, mathematics, science, technology, arts, and physical education. 

Morning Opening

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings the entire elementary school comes together to recognize recent accomplishments, celebrate student and faculty birthdays, share announcements and enjoy special presentations. Our youngest readers begin to develop confidence and leadership skills when they volunteer to read their favorite poems to their schoolmates. Parents are welcome to stay for morning opening.

Snacks and Lunch

Students should bring a nutritious snack each day. Students have the choice of bringing a lunch from home or purchasing lunch at school. CDS partners with My Lunch Box to offer a varied menu of hot and cold, kid-friendly, nutritious lunches. Parents can pre-order and pay for lunches by the week or month at a convenient online link to My Lunch Box. Elementary students eat outside every day in a shaded and fenced picnic area. 

Recess

In addition to the longterm health benefits that a physically active lifestyle provides, recent studies show that physical activity can also have positive effects on academic achievement.  Elementary students have an outdoor recess period following lunch every day.  Students should bring a water bottle to school each day to make sure they stay hydrated when outdoors.  Students may also wear hats and sunscreen when outside.

Technology

Elementary students use technology throughout the day both in their classrooms and in our state-of-the art computer lab equipped with 20" iMac computers. Beginning in 1^st grade students attend a weekly class in the computer lab where they learn keyboarding, research and presentation skills.  Classrooms are also equipped with computers that teachers can have students use for reading assessments, enrichment, research and individualized activities.  This year, fourth and fifth grade classes will be sharing new portable AlphaSmart word processing keyboards. This technology brings one to one computing to these classrooms and its ease of use and portability can inspire a passion for writing and learning.

Curriculum

Teachers team together at each grade level with our PYP and Curriculum Coordinators to develop units of inquiry that provide significant, relevant and challenging learning experiences across the daily core academic subjects. Classroom teachers also collaborate with specialists in the arts, technology, physical education and library to enrich these experiences. Students are encouraged to reflect, to make informed choices and to take action that will help their peers, school, and the wider community.

Daily core academic subjects:

• Language Arts and Reading
• Mathematics
• Social Studies
• Science

Additional programs and enrichment – taught by specialized teachers:

• Art - once a week for 50 minutes
• Computer – once a week
• Music - twice a week
• Library - once a week
• Physical Education - three times a week
• Spanish - twice a week

In 5^th grade, the final year of PYP at CDS, students collaborate to explore an idea of their own choosing for their Exhibition.  This in-depth inquiry of a relevant and important issue which has a local and global significance gives students an opportunity to share what they've learned during the PYP years with our CDS community.  The Exhibition marks the transition to the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)

Please click here to see an overview of the units of inquiry studied in each grade.