AFTERSCHOOL

AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM

The IMS Afterschool Program is designed to provide elementary students with enrichment opportunities that include Spanish language instruction, nature-based learning, and other special activities. This program uses principles of outdoor and experiential education to connect students to their environment and create a context for lifelong learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Weekly cultural themes guide the activities for the program and provide students with exposure to a variety of festivities and customs of countries around the world.

Tuition for the 23-24 School Year is $3,500. This includes daily snack and all projects materials.

This program is open to elementary students from local school districts and currently enrolled IMS students.

For questions about this program, please contact enrichment@uvims.com.

General Program Overview

The Immersion Montessori School (IMS) enrichment program uses principles of outdoor and experiential education to connect students to their environment and create a context for lifelong learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Here are some of the tenets of this program.

Learning through Curiosity We respect the child as an autonomous individual and value the child’s intrinsic drive to learn. Therefore, it is a core tenant of Montessori education that each student is an asset. Students build strong relationships with their guides based on mutual respect and shared passion for learning and as such, student assets are identified by the child, through their interests, and the guides, in working to encourage the students’ unique strengths. We collaborate closely with families to assure that we build on these innate curiosities and support each child’s unique interests and we employ and retain educators that provide high quality language arts, STEM, music, motoric and social emotional learning opportunities.
Diversity Diversity is at the heart of our institution’s mission. As a main driving force of our daily operations, our multicultural background allows us to intrinsically create an inclusive environment where differences are valued both within the students and the broader community surrounding Immersion Montessori School. In addition to an enrollment process that connects families with our different teams (education, research, operations), we always make sure to present to new families the values and principles that guide our mission as a way to highlight our institution’s inclusive environment. On a daily basis, we make sure that all families are aware of the different channels of communication available to share their concerns, questions or suggestions. We utilize a program called Brightwheel which allows parents to get updates on their children daily. Through this program we can share not only messages but pictures of the different activities carried out in the classroom. Parents are also updated weekly on the theme that we are focusing on in the program as well as given a schedule of the activities for the week. Parents are able to connect directly to their teachers as well as admin staff through the app so there is an open line of communication at all times with families.
Community Building The core methodologies of our programs intrinsically promote the creation of a welcoming environment. The Montessori approach delivers a unique balance between the promotion of autonomy and independence, and a strong sense of community through the implementation of the dynamics inherent to the methodology. While students are granted a high level of autonomy through the day (which enhances their ability to choose), the Montessori “Grace and Courtesy” lessons along with the interdependence generated by the shared task of caring for their environment create an atmosphere where each member of the community is welcomed and valued. In addition, the multicultural nature of our institution inherently promotes the creation of an environment where diversity is always appreciated. Our students are always encouraged to share their different opinions and work together to find the richness behind divergent points of view. In addition, the diversity of activities in our curriculum creates several opportunities for all students to take on leadership roles as the expertise required for each activity varies and adapts to different learning styles.
Strong Relationships with Guides Montessori principles place high value on the relationship of the student and their educators, or “guides”. At IMS, student-to-guide ratios are kept below state licensing requirements. As such, students build strong relationships with their guides based on mutual respect and shared passion for the learning experience. Montessori education believes that children benefit from external order and consistency, therefore, students have the same adults in their classroom to create a sense of order and deepen bonds. We impose high standards when it comes to our interactions with our students. All staff are trained in how to encourage the development of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Children arrive at the program with excitement knowing their individual strengths will be valued and that they are a vital part of their community.
Collaboration with Families Immersion Montessori School (IMS) uses the Brightwheel application to communicate in a multi-modal forum visual and narrative information regarding their students progress and to support emerging needs. The school strongly values collaborating with families and encourages regular progress meetings to assure transference of skills across contexts. Immersion Montessori School employs a social worker, occupational therapist, educational researcher, speech-language pathologist, and child psychologist to support tertiary needs of our families and we work closely with community partners to address those needs as they arise.
Continuous Program Improvement Student feedback is gathered directly and indirectly. While engaging directly with our students provides great opportunities for sharing feedback, it is also through close observation and analysis that our team makes decisions about the direction of our program. Adaptability is essential in this setting in order to personalize the learning experience for each student. In addition, our directors are always encouraged to actively listen to families’ feedback, and to survey all community members on a regular basis to make sure we are meeting the needs of the students and the broader community.

Afterschool Program Outcomes:

Promote high levels of student engagement with learning material and activities focused on a multidisciplinary curriculum that includes foreign language acquisition.
Build positive relationships among program participants and staff.
Provide opportunities for remediation of gaps in age-appropriate knowledge.
Promote student awareness of natural resources and sustainability.

Curriculum Components

The enrichment curriculum has the following components:

▪ Homework Help: Our staff is available to assist students with their homework on an as needed basis.

▪ Outdoor Exploration: Students explore through nature and participate in a variety of activities that are specific to the ecology of the site. Mindfulness exercises are integrated throughout the nature walk as students learn to increase their awareness of the sensory inputs around them.

▪ Interdisciplinary Projects: Students are presented with hands-on activities and experiments that allow them to learn about a variety of topics in a meaningful and experiential way. For example, during STEAM explorations, students are guided through the scientific inquiry process and are encouraged to continuously reflect and wonder about new extensions of the concepts being presented and connections to other disciplines.

▪ Care for Environment: Students learn to care for their environment and take ownership of their roles as members of the community. Students take responsibility for a community garden as well as small farm animals. Through this hands-on learning experience, students learn important life skills as well as concepts from the sciences.

▪ Foreign Language: Through fun, interactive activities, students are presented with weekly target vocabulary in a foreign language.

▪ Movement Activity: Students participate in guided movement activities that provide varied opportunities for movement of the body and exercising community building skills. The type of movement activity rotates daily between sports games, water activities, obstacle courses, yoga, among other activities.

References:

Peterson, T.K. and Vandell, D.L. (2021) The Evidence Base for Summer Enrichment and Comprehensive Afterschool Opportunities. Washington, DC: Collaborative Communications.

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