A Week at Tradewinds

This is a real week at Tradewinds, block by block.

Every morning at 8:30 the whole school does math at the same time, in four groups set by level, and the rest of the week is built from whichever medium does the job best: paper, hands, voices, and outdoors.

Scroll sideways to read the rest of the week.

A week at Tradewinds, one column per day, read down the page from Aloha to Scholars’ Prep.
TimeMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFriday
Aloha, 8:00 – 8:30
Block A, 8:30 – 9:40
Block B, 9:40 – 10:50
Recess, 10:50 – 11:10
Block C, 11:10 – 12:20
Lunch, 12:20 – 1:00
Block D, 1:00 – 2:10
Recess, 2:10 – 2:25
Prep, 2:25 – 3:00
Block E, 3:00 – 4:30Extended Education

Monday

  • Aloha · 8:00 – 8:30

    Morning Circle

  • Block A · 8:30 – 9:40

    Math Workshop, students grouped by ability

  • Block B · 9:40 – 10:50

    Specials: Cooking

  • Recess · 10:50 – 11:10

    Recess

  • Block C · 11:10 – 12:20

    Humanities

  • Lunch · 12:20 – 1:00

    Lunch / Recess

  • Block D · 1:00 – 2:10

    PE

  • Recess · 2:10 – 2:25

    Recess

  • Prep · 2:25 – 3:00

    Scholars’ Prep

  • Block E · 3:00 – 4:30

    Extended Education

Tuesday

  • Aloha · 8:00 – 8:30

    Morning Circle

  • Block A · 8:30 – 9:40

    Math Workshop, students grouped by ability

  • Block B · 9:40 – 10:50

    Science

  • Recess · 10:50 – 11:10

    Recess

  • Block C · 11:10 – 12:20

    Language Arts

  • Lunch · 12:20 – 1:00

    Lunch / Recess

  • Block D · 1:00 – 2:10

    Arts

  • Recess · 2:10 – 2:25

    Recess

  • Prep · 2:25 – 3:00

    Scholars’ Prep

  • Block E · 3:00 – 4:30

    Extended Education

Wednesday

  • Aloha · 8:00 – 8:30

    Morning Circle

  • Block A · 8:30 – 9:40

    Math Workshop, students grouped by ability

  • Block B · 9:40 – 10:50

    Specials: Cooking

  • Recess · 10:50 – 11:10

    Recess

  • Block C · 11:10 – 12:20

    Humanities

  • Lunch · 12:20 – 1:00

    Lunch / Recess

  • Block D · 1:00 – 2:10

    PE

  • Recess · 2:10 – 2:25

    Recess

  • Prep · 2:25 – 3:00

    Scholars’ Prep

  • Block E · 3:00 – 4:30

    Extended Education

Thursday

  • Aloha · 8:00 – 8:30

    Morning Circle

  • Block A · 8:30 – 9:40

    Math Workshop, students grouped by ability

  • Block B · 9:40 – 10:50

    Science

  • Recess · 10:50 – 11:10

    Recess

  • Block C · 11:10 – 12:20

    Language Arts

  • Lunch · 12:20 – 1:00

    Lunch / Recess

  • Block D · 1:00 – 2:10

    Arts

  • Recess · 2:10 – 2:25

    Recess

  • Prep · 2:25 – 3:00

    Scholars’ Prep

  • Block E · 3:00 – 4:30

    Extended Education

Friday

  • Aloha · 8:00 – 8:30

    Morning Circle

  • Block A · 8:30 – 9:40

    Math Workshop, students grouped by ability

  • Block B · 9:40 – 10:50

    Humanities

  • Recess · 10:50 – 11:10

    Recess

  • Block C · 11:10 – 12:20

    Science

  • Lunch · 12:20 – 1:00

    Lunch / Recess

  • Block D · 1:00 – 2:10

    Enrichment Cluster

  • Recess · 2:10 – 2:25

    Enrichment Cluster

  • Prep · 2:25 – 3:00

    Scholars’ Prep

A whole-group gathering on the rug: a teacher seated on a stool holding an open picture book out toward the group, a second teacher at the whiteboard, scholars cross-legged on the rug and one on a sofa with a hand up.

Morning circle

The whole school starts the day in one room, so a scholar knows what the day holds before it begins.

Cohorts

A scholar spends the day in a mixed-age cohort of about eight. Cohorts generally span two or three grades, and the same teachers stay with a cohort all year and know every scholar in it. A scholar will never be asked to slow down because of their grade level.

Rooms

Scholars move between subjects, rooms and teachers through the day, the way middle and high school students do. We build the day this way because a scholar deserves teachers who know and love what they teach. The science teacher teaches science all day and gets better at it. In the science room they become scientists, in the arts room artists, in the kitchen cooks. Walking to the next room gives a scholar a clean break between one subject and the next.

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