Music and Performing Arts

Music and performing arts play an important role at Harbor. While included in our regular classroom activities, all Harbor students —from Preschool through 3rd Grade — also attend a Music class twice a week with our full-time Music Specialist. The goal of the program is to allow the children to achieve harmony with a variety of instruments, to express themselves creatively, and to take pleasure in listening to music. Children become acquainted with musical sounds and develop rhythmic response to music. They respond to music dramatically and with body movements. Children acquire a large repertoire of songs, learn to use a variety of musical instruments, and learn dances from different cultures. There are three school-wide musical presentations every year, where family and friends are always delighted!

Visual Art

The Art program at Harbor School is designed to stimulate creativity, develop motor skills, and instill in children an appreciation of the fine arts. Throughout the school, art is integrated into the daily classroom routine. Classroom art activities are theme and literature-based and occur each day. Children learn through creation in two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional media, with paints, paper, pastels, clay, markers, crayons, and collage materials. Students learn the proper use of art materials and tools, how to explore a variety of media, and how to express their feelings and thoughts through art. Constant exposure to drawing, tracing, and cutting helps to strengthen fine motor skills. The display of finished art products both inside the classroom and in the halls of the school helps to increase the children’s sense of pride and self-accomplishment.

In addition to classroom art activities, children in our full-day programs attend lessons in the art studio with a professional art teacher once (Preschool and Kindergarten) or twice (1st – 3rd Grades) each week.

Spanish

All students participate in Spanish class twice each week. The goal of the program is to introduce the Spanish language in a lively, interactive and fun atmosphere. Lessons emphasize the development of communicative competency and focus on familiar surroundings and people such as the home, the school, the classroom, friends, family, and the community.

Library

The Harbor School Library contains a wonderful collection of over 7,000 books which can be enjoyed by children from Preschool age through 3rd Grade. Starting in Junior Kindergarten, children may select and check out books from the Library. Teachers are also welcome to utilize the school library to supplement the materials in their classrooms.

Each class visits the library once a week to hear stories and to discuss the care and selection of books. They learn a continuum of library skills that begin with listening and discussion skills and progresses to more sophisticated knowledge of book classification and use of reference resources. The library curriculum includes author studies, illustrator studies, and thematic units.

Physical Education

The Harbor School physical education curriculum is taught and supervised by a Physical Education specialist. Students participate in an organized program to build gross motor skills, cooperative play, and team-building in a non-competitive atmosphere. Physical fitness, strength, flexibility, and endurance are a focus as children grow older. Good sportsmanship, decision making, perseverance, and issues of health and safety are important components of the program. Whether inside or out-of-doors, Harbor children build self-confidence, good judgment, and leadership skills at all levels.