Pioneers 4th – 5th Grade

The Pioneers include students in 4th and 5th grades. Academically, the Pioneers curriculum follows the Georgia Performance Standards of Excellence. A Student Learning Profile (SLP) is developed for each student and updated throughout the school year. Parent /Teacher conferences are scheduled in the fall and spring to update parents on students’ academic and social progress.

The Pioneers will participate in different age-appropriate field trips throughout the year. These field trips will support students’ academic and social learning. In the fall, the Pioneers will join the Navigators for the annual white water rafting trip, and in the spring we take a 3 day overnight trip. Throughout the year other trips will be planned to allow the Pioneers to interact in the community and to support academic content being covered. Each month the Pioneers will participate in a different community-based giving activity and trip.

All Pioneers receive direct instruction weekly in social skills and executive function, with daily support as needed from our counseling department.

Pioneers also have a community service program.

The Pioneers participate in a peer mentoring program. Students will be paired with one of our high school students based on their mutual interests. This program will be supervised by our counseling staff and students will meet with their mentor at least twice per month.

Elementary Curriculum

• Mathematics: The Math curriculum for the Pioneer students is based on the Georgia Standards. Content is taken from different on-line sites and programs, allowing for the flexibility needed to meet the individual needs of all learners.
  • • Hands-on activities are combined with pencil and paperwork and computer programs to allow students to practice new and continuing skills.  
    • Assignments and activities are designed to assess the ongoing student understanding of content.  Summative assessments are given to assess student mastery and are given in ways to allow each student to best show their understanding and mastery of the content.
    • MAP testing is administered each fall and spring and students are given an IXL study plan based on their specific scores to work on skills designated by their individual MAP scores.  Students work on these skills on a regular basis between testing sessions.
    • Students take the IXL Diagnostic Assessment to track student progress in different areas of the math curriculum.
• Language Arts: Students are learning the fundamentals of reading, decoding, and comprehension.
  • • Online programs are used to develop vocabulary and improve reading comprehension and written expression.
    • Novel studies are used to provide practice in identifying themes, studying characters, and other literary elements.
• Social Studies:
  • • Social Studies curriculum includes the 4th and 5th grade standards taught in alternating years to make certain all students are introduced to the material at a level where they can be successful.
    • Content is immersive including hands-on activities, written and computer activities, and assignments.
• Science:
  • • The science curriculum follows the 4th and 5th-grade standards of Excellence.  Content is taught at a level specific to the needs of each group and each student within the group 
    • Hands-on activities are used throughout the year to reinforce concepts covered.

• Social Skills: Students participate in Social Skills once a week. This course allows the students to learn tools for appropriate social interaction and practice skills necessary to strengthen their social-emotional relationships. Integration of such concepts allows students to gain valuable insight regarding interpersonal communication and thus be an aid to help them navigate future communal associations. Course topics include:
  • • Identifying and managing emotions. 
    • Conflict resolution strategies 
    • Perspective-taking and empathizing
    • Teamwork and effective collaboration
    • Decision-making skills
• Executive Functioning: students participate in the course instruction once a week. This course allows students to cultivate and practice self-management skills to further develop self-regulatory ability and academic achievement. Course topics include:
  • • Planning and prioritizing 
    • Goal setting
    • Time management 
    • Recognizing and addressing distractions
    • Perseverance and resilience