Elementary School Education
Wheeling Country Day School’s Elementary program, serving children ages 6-12, is anything but ordinary. Here, learning extends beyond textbooks as curiosity, creativity, and discovery drive the journey. Students are empowered to share their voices, nurtured as whole individuals – academically, socially, and emotionally – and guided to see the importance of serving something greater than themselves. With this foundation, WCDS Elementary sets students apart, preparing them not just to succeed in middle school and high school, but to thrive with confidence, compassion, and purpose.
About Elementary School
Students in elementary school at Wheeling Country Day are ready to work in a more independent way with careful guidance by their teachers.
Reading skills, comprehension, and vocabulary may be taught through novels and literature as well as traditional readers. English, spelling, and writing are integrated into the language arts curriculum. All students have the opportunity to write paragraphs and stories as well as factual reports and projects.
The mathematics curriculum follows a traditional text but is augmented by using manipulatives, games, and computer activities. With the school’s integrated curriculum, the students’ math abilities play a part in other subjects as they create charts and graphs both by hand and on the computer. Math centers in all the classrooms enhance students performance with both remedial and enrichment activities.
Social science is taught in all grades with an emphasis on understanding. Students study current events as well as history and geography as they learn to see the connections between the natural world, past events, and the development of civilizations. Field trips and special reports, including State Reports for third graders, Native American Culture Day for fourth graders, and World Culture Day for fifth graders, round out this curricular area.
Science may be integrated into other subjects or taught on its own, but it is an important part of the students’ school experience. Every science unit includes a hands-on facet. Again, field trips and guest speakers add to the students’ background and understanding. Keeping science journals helps third graders prepare for the more sophisticated requirements of upper elementary science projects. Fourth graders learn the scientific method by completing group science projects in school, guided by their teacher. The fifth graders are more independent in designing and completing their projects, but the teacher still supervises and consults on a regular basis. Because of the natural surroundings, students can study nature right on campus. The school is also in the process of constructing a community garden to provide a living context to the principles of science.
The teachers in the upper elementary department work closely together to help design and implement a flowing curriculum that meets the needs and goals of the students.
In addition to the traditional subject areas, students participate in fine arts, physical education, foreign language, and technology classes. An emphasis on the fine arts has been a part of the school since its inception. Biweekly classes in art and music are highlights in the children’s experiences. Daily physical education classes enhance physical development, while the morning intramural program fosters team relationships across grade levels. Children learn to use both the library and the computer as valuable resources for information.
Character development instruction highlighting respect, responsibility, trustworthiness, fairness, caring, and citizenship complements the academic offerings. Each teacher weaves this special program into the class’s regular curriculum.
While being part of the Wheeling Country Day School community, children prepare for an increasingly global, technological society with language and culture classes as well as technology instruction. In addition to studying Spanish and Japanese, students explore the rich cultural heritage represented by the school’s families. Special school-wide and classroom activities throughout the year expand this understanding of the relationship between self and community. At the same time, students receive computer instruction preparing them for the world’s technology and their participation in it.
