A Strong Human Connection

Every day at Étude Elementary begins with a Morning Meeting. Each class gathers for 30 minutes to give students a chance to get focused and unstressed before the first class begins. After everybody greets one another, students share and discuss issues and events that are important to them. And there’s always time for a group activity such as dancing or singing. It’s a great way to get ready for the next few hours - and to build social skills for a lifetime.

A growing volume of research, supported by hands-on evidence from classroom experience, indicates a clearly positive connection between movement and learning. Physical activity gets energy flowing, attention sharpened, and memory enhanced. From first-thing-in-the-morning, yoga-based stretching and breathing to in-class breaks throughout the day for hopscotch or jump rope, Étude makes sure that there are plenty of opportunities for students to discover the power of mind and body working together.

To reinforce the benefits of our Morning Meetings in helping students prepare their minds to learn, Étude draws on the discipline of Mindfulness to create a positive learning environment ahead of afternoon lessons. Following the lunch recess, students practice breathing and meditation techniques derived from Buddhism that sharpen focus  and reduce anxieties. At the end of afternoon classes, students spend 15 minutes reviewing the day’s academic and life learning.

Beginning on Day One in kindergarten, The Étude Group believes in empowering students with social skills in parallel with traditional academic teaching. At the beginning of the school year, each class creates its own blueprint for success as a community. Teachers and students agree on goals, expectations, and rules for considerate and responsible behaviors, which are posted on classroom walls for reference and reinforcement. Students discover that missteps have consequences but also represent opportunity for correction and growth; they learn that cooperation is the key to expanding their horizons.

For certain classes at Étude elementary school, we combine second- and third-grade students, and do the same with some fourth- and fifth-grade classes. We have come to believe that multiage classrooms can enhance the learning experience and outcome for younger and older participants alike. In a multiage classroom, students can pursue their self-directed studies at their own pace, rather than all being held to the same standard.  We have discovered that in such a setting, younger students gain trust and motivation, while their older counterparts learn leadership and mentoring skills. The overlap of grades creates efficiencies at the beginning of the school year, when teachers and students are familiar with one another’s teaching and learning styles.