Music, Art & PE



The richness of our curriculum lends itself to the visual arts, performing arts, physical education, and movement. These disciplines are woven throughout each learning expedition. Our arts, music and movement programs are designed to provide varied avenues for students to acquire and represent new knowledge.

The role of art in our school is to nurture in students a sense of wonder, which leads to individual understanding of the world around them. Through art, students use their knowledge of subject matter in creative activities that provide them with a new way of seeing. Art allows them to develop a deeper understanding of what they're studying, get into the habit of taking risks, and build community. By using art to document their journeys in becoming independent thinkers and creative problem solvers, children's artistic expression becomes a public testament. Children have ample opportunities to exercise and improve their skills in observing, narrating, and visually recording what they have learned. Art is frequently woven into field studies to the Memorial Art Gallery, the Strasenburgh Planetarium, and the Lower Falls as well as into daily classroom activities.

GCCS is also a wonderfully musical place! Students have a variety of musical experiences throughout the week. Singing, moving, playing and listening to music are an integral part of the curriculum, and the music teacher continually nurtures its existence. Whether it is a reading lesson, a math lesson, or an excursion to find fossils, music plays a role. Children are taught using the Orff method.

Our expression of music at Community Circle is one more way that we all connect at school. Community Circle brings our entire school together in song, movement, and celebration. Parents and friends are welcome. Come join us every Wednesday from 12:20-12:50 in the Eisenhart Auditorium.

Our Physical Expedition Program emphasizes movement, dance, and collaborative games. Some attention is given to traditional sports, particularly at the upper grades. In P.E., children learn to use their bodies to express, through movement, the content and concepts they are learning in their expeditions. Children learn to choreograph their own movement pieces in addition to learning the basics of yoga, capoeira, ballet, tap, and modern dance. They also learn healthy habits of fitness by building balance, strength, endurance, and flexibility. Sports and games are woven into the curriculum as students explore historic and global recreation traditions.