Resource and Enrichment
Studio Art
RPDS offers a robust studio art program utilizing two full-time art teachers in three state-of-the-art studios. The studios were designed to provide optimum space, light and storage of supplies as well as to visually stimulate creative ideas. The premise of the art program is the theory that every child is an artist. The teachers provide a spiraling curriculum of art instruction and art history. The instruction engages multiple intelligences and a variety of media in the introduction of new projects. Each level offers building blocks of art concepts and principles while providing myriad art materials to inspire creativity.
The art program begins in the Early Learning Center (ELC) and continues though sixth grade. At each level the program reinforces classroom studies through a number of collaborative projects. Students have the opportunity at every grade level to work both two and three dimensionally. In the upper grades, students can also combine their art with computer graphic programs. The upper grades are also introduced to a variety of projects which give cameo glimpses into art careers.
RPDS artwork is on display in many locations around the school campus as well as in many neighborhood restaurants, banks and doctor’s offices in Jacksonville. RPDS student artwork has been requested to be a part of a number of permanent exhibits. Recently, students’ clay masks were selected to be part of a non-profit organization which provides heart operations to children in third world countries. Last year, forty pieces of student artwork were installed in a permanent exhibit at Wolfson Children’s Hospital here in Jacksonville. We are excited to celebrate studio art at RPDS!
Bible/Spiritual Formation
Riverside Presbyterian Day School was developed by Riverside Presbyterian Church over 60 years ago as an educational outreach to Jacksonville families. The founders of RPDS wished to ensure that the formative education provided was challenging both academically and spiritually. The school maintains this vital heritage and though now separately incorporated, RPDS remains a close partner in ministry with the church. From its earliest days, the mission and philosophy of an RPDS education have included a weekly student-led chapel service in the sanctuary of the church and specific instruction at each grade level in Bible/Spiritual Formation.
The RPDS student body, faculty, administration and staff welcomes parents and friends of the community each Thursday as the campus gathers for chapel. In addition, all students participate in a weekly Bible class, which brings Scripture to life. Drama, storytelling, role-playing and interactive games are merely a few of the engaging ways our spiritual formation classes share biblical principles and then reflect upon how those principles apply to modern life. The RPDS Bible and our Guidance instructors work closely with one another to integrate the insights for living that emerge within our spiritual formation classes with the monthly “Heart Smart” life skills explored in guidance classes.
Instructional Technology
The instructional technology program at RPDS is a fundamental part of each student’s educational experience. The Technology instructor works collaboratively across the curriculum to support a 21st century learning environment through which children are engaged and develop valuable computer skills. The newly renovated computer lab provides twenty-three new desktop computers, an interactive SMART board and a broadcast studio. The school provides laptop computers and a wireless computer network to support instruction at the 5th and 6th Grades. The entire RPDS computer network serves the entire campus with high-speed Internet access to each classroom and provides essential technological, educational tools for individual student use.
Each week, students receive direct instruction in instructional technology beginning in Kindergarten and continuing through Sixth Grade. In addition, technology-based classroom activities are integrated into the elementary school curriculum, which reinforce classroom instruction while students gain a technological awareness. Students receive direct instruction in: Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel and Publisher. Software utilized at RPDS is constantly changing; however, a common list in use among the grades and range of development includes: Accelerated Reader, STAR reading and math, Rosetta Stone, Kidspiration, Kid Pix, Jumpstart, Kid Works, Story Book Weaver, Books by You, Spelling Studio, I Spy, Cluefinders, Carmen San Diego, Reading Blaster, Math Blaster and Mavis Beacon.
Instructional Technology introduces and reinforces the skills associated with keyboarding, Internet safety, research using World Book Online and a variety of other databases, drilling for detail and depth utilizing Webquests, graphic design, Podcasting, broadcasting, programming, digital storytelling, digital photography, digital moviemaking, animation and geo-caching. Through the use of both direct instruction and curricular support for other content areas, the informational technology curriculum at RPDS nurtures our students to become effective communicators, quality producers and effective collaborators utilizing technological tools.
Guidance
The RPDS guidance department has developed an extensive “Heart Smart” curriculum to teach essential life skills to all students. Regular guidance classes are taught by a professional counselor employing a comprehensive, developmental, school counseling philosophy to nurture children. Organized topically around the “Heart Smart” life skills, the guidance curriculum includes classroom instruction in Grades 1-6 designed to address the personal and educational issues frequently associated with specific ages and stages of maturation. In addition, individual and group student counseling is available if necessary, as is consultation with parents who desire support as the school promotes each student’s social, emotional and personal growth. In Grades 4-6 the guidance focus incorporates instruction in leadership. All fifth graders travel for an overnight camp experience of personal challenge and group teamwork we call “Pathfinders.” In sixth grade, training in leadership skills intensifies through the RPDS Leadership Counsel, which organizes a rotation of daily student jobs, chapel leadership and an off-campus community service program we’ve named “Project Leads.” The goal of our guidance program is for our graduates to leave Riverside Presbyterian Day School with the healthy self esteem and interpersonal skills necessary to become confident community leaders.
Library Media Center
The Steve and Dottie Risley Library is an integral part of Riverside Presbyterian Day School and its academic program. By supplying students and teachers with the best possible collection of books and other media, the library strives to support and enrich the RPDS the curriculum and to develop our students’ awareness of the world and others in it. The newly renovated Risley Library contains over 17,000 books and audio visual materials available for daily use and it is open from 8:00 to 3:00 each school day. All students attend regularly scheduled classes in the library and they may visit independently as the need arises.
Through the use of puppets, reader’s theatre, the Florida Reading Association program, Sunshine State Young Readers Award program and the Spring Book Fair, the media center specialists foster a life-long love of reading.
Music
The RPDS music program begins in our Early Learning program through regular classroom visits with a music specialist. Simple percussive instruments, recorded music and sing-a-long songs combined with creative and responsive movement provide important foundations in music for our students. As students transition into Grades 1-6 music instruction combines the philosophies of Carl Orff, Zoltan Kodaly, and Emile Jaques-Dalcroze in order to engage students in a research-based, holistic approach to experiencing and creating music. Each child explores the basics of performing, composing, and understanding music by means of singing, body percussion, imitation, improvisations, guided listening, instrument playing, music theory instruction, creative movement, dance, storytelling, and drama. We are especially pleased to offer our students the finest selection of musical instruments for their exploration and enjoyment in our Orff Instrumentarium.
RPDS is proud to showcase our students’ musical and dramatic talents in grade level productions throughout the year, including traditional Christmas programs, our First and Second Grade Folk Tale Musical, Fifth and Sixth Grade Spring Musical, Chapel performances, and community music outreach opportunities.
Children who receive private music lessons outside of normal school hours are given frequent opportunities to share their talents with their classmates, teachers, and families during “Grand Instrument Week.”
Riverside Presbyterian Day School is also the host site for many performance groups including the Jacksonville Symphony Tiny Tots program, Jack Hartman, and the Riverside Fine Arts Association. Through the exposure to music that these programs offer, our students are enriched and inspired to reach new heights in music!
Music Performance
Two times per week, our Fifth and Sixth Grade students are given in-depth instruction on playing the recorder, various barred and non-pitched percussion instruments, composing their own pieces, improvising with style, and singing skillfully. They showcase their talents in several performances throughout the year both on and off campus. Upon graduating from Riverside Presbyterian Day School, rising 7th grade students have the music theory skills they need to accurately sight-read musical notation and they have the experience they need to perform comfortably with any musical ensemble of their choice.
Spanish Language
Spanish instruction is structured and interactive at all levels, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 6. At the heart of the Pre-Kindergarten methodology is cultivating knowledge and understanding of basic vocabulary by having fun, singing and movement, playing games, using manipulatives and story-telling with puppetry in a contextual setting.
Grades 1-3 continue to acquire practical vocabulary and useful Spanish skills through meaningful activities such as Total Physical Response and partial immersion experiences. By the end of Grade 3, students will be able to communicate effortlessly in the target language regarding such topics as the weather, feelings, telling time, and to perform simple tasks, such as retrieving paper and pencil, shutting the door, walking to the whiteboard, on cue, requested 100% in the target language.
The curriculum for the Spanish I program in Grades 4-6 exceeds state standards in the areas of writing, reading, listening and speaking. The students benefit immeasurably by learning self-expression in the target language, utilizing real-world applications from a grammar-centered approach to language study, enabling them to advance to the next level in middle school. Students have access to a teacher-hosted website designed to accommodate the RPDS curriculum, including vocabulary and grammar help, games for practice and links to Spanish cultural and educational websites. Additionally, the language laboratory features the Rosetta Stone Spanish series software which enhances the classroom instruction, supports individualized learning and assessment, as well as, engaging opportunities for practice and greater fluency. Successful language proficiency experienced by our students is the result of risk-taking while utilizing the terminology and grammar components to achieve meaningful communication in a supportive/reassuring environment.
Physical and Wellness Education
The Physical Education program promotes, through a variety of planned outdoor activities, each student’s optimum physical, mental, and social development. Our program also utilizes games, fitness activities, and sports lessons that all students enjoy and can pursue throughout their lives to teach the skills of physical fitness, life sports and health. A hallmark of the RPDS physical education program is that all students are engaged by sequentially moving through enjoyable “stations” in physically active, dexterity and coordination building activities every day. Direct instruction is provided through the use of individual sports, team sports, body movement, common childhood toys, Wii computer software, personal goal-setting, health and nutrition to foster physically active and knowledgeable students.
Each year, our program provides the developmentally necessary foundation of knowledge, skill and dispositions related to movement and physical activity. Through quality instruction, students are guided toward making decisions likely to foster a longer and healthier life. Whether beginning with the earliest instruction in motor development and movement concepts, or utilizing more advance coordination skill-building activities, physical education today extends beyond those with natural athletic abilities and recognizes that all students possess unique physical capabilities and encourages all students to accept responsibility for their own well being. At RPDS, all students are encouraged to advance each year as they develop motor skills, identify movement concepts and to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
