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In keeping with our commitment to make a world-class education a joy-filled experience, Nysmith makes Math fun. We hire only teachers who absolutely love teaching math and are passionate about inspiring your child to love learning math. Part of instilling that feeling in students is finding their appropriate math level, one that challenges them to make the most of their capabilities and minimizes in-class repetition and homework. We differentiate math up to four grade levels ahead to make sure children with advanced skills are working at a rate that fits their skills. Our classes use hands-on projects that build a solid foundation of understanding both concepts and formulas up to and including Precalculus.
Our Language Arts teachers nurture a love of literature and writing. Their program is also differentiated to accommodate the disparate skill levels of students–and encourage intellectual curiosity and expression.
Teachers and students explore literary classics and develop their individual writing styles. Reading and reflecting on great literature helps identify many of the most complex questions human beings have debated since the earliest writing. It facilitates thought-provoking discussion of how these classic characters have struggled with issues of fate and free will, loyalty, forgiveness, community and honor. And it inspires and instructs Nysmith students to develop their own public speaking skills, their writing capabilities and their ability to listen to–and work with–others.
Nysmith has long been recognized as a leader in STEM education–and with good reason. Our teachers’ profound knowledge of and passion for science is often contagious, making it an enjoyable environment for students to learn. Hands-on projects and challenging lab assignments nurture the childrens’ interest and help boost their confidence in the subject. The mix of teacher experience and student enthusiasm is part of the reason Nysmith is so successful introducing children to concepts and scientific information so early in their academic journey. Our STEM program begins in Kindergarten, and from that early stage through the Lower School, the content is presented in a child-centered approach. It is not until the 4th grade and beyond that students take on the mind-expanding material in such units as Ecology, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science and Physics.
We hire Social Studies teachers who love teaching from a hands-on living history perspective. The goal of the program is to inspire children to develop a love of history while examining history through a living history perspective. Each grade studies a mix of ancient history, American history and cultural elements. In addition to a host of hands-on projects, Nysmith students enjoy an average of eight to ten field trips each year, visiting many of the historic sites located in and around the Nation’s Capital.
One of the unique benefits of our school-wide academic program is that teachers do not spend a lot of time preparing for standardized testing as is done at many if not most other schools. We feel our time is much better spent having thoughtful, intellectually-challenging sessions to discuss decisions made by world and individual country leaders and assess some fascinating paths of history.
We hire Social Studies teachers who love teaching from a hands-on living history perspective. The goal of the program is to inspire children to develop a love of history while examining history through a living history perspective. Each grade studies a mix of ancient history, American history and cultural elements. In addition to a host of hands-on projects, Nysmith students enjoy an average of eight to ten field trips each year, visiting many of the historic sites located in and around the Nation’s Capital.
One of the unique benefits of our school-wide academic program is that teachers do not spend a lot of time preparing for standardized testing as is done at many if not most other schools. We feel our time is much better spent having thoughtful, intellectually-challenging sessions to discuss decisions made by world and individual country leaders and assess some fascinating paths of history.
The goal of our Foreign Language program is to introduce students to the joy of learning a foreign language in a fun, hands-on fashion. We teach three languages (Spanish, French and Latin) to children over their Nysmith career via a semi-immersion process. Our small class sizes and having two teachers in each one make it possible to monitor every student’s progress and tailor the instruction to fit each one’s proficiency.
Helping students experience the joy and creativity of making music is the purpose and priority of our Music curriculum. We attempt to make every Nysmith student musically competent, defined as the ability to keep a steady beat and sing on pitch. Several performance opportunities are available throughout the school year, including the Holiday Sing-Alongs. For students who would like to continue their passions, we offer a wide variety of instrumental and vocal groups, featuring band, strings and orchestra, as well as individual instrument tutoring after school.
Our physical education teachers maintain a two-fold objective–nurturing an appreciation and pursuit of physical fitness and introducing students to a variety of sports and recreational activities. The former is focused on developing a positive attitude toward exercise and being physically fit, while the second exposes children to such sports as basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, badminton, gymnastics and dance in addition to rock climbing on our traversing wall).
Children in all grades benefit from a good amount of hands-on experiential learning at Nysmith. Our art teachers introduce them to a variety of materials–and make every attempt to tie lessons to the units students are learning in their other classes. While we are project-oriented throughout our curriculum, in art we teach artistic techniques in different mediums to help children better express themselves.
13625 EDS Drive
Herndon, VA 20171
703-713-3332
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