Academics | The Galloway School

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Academics S.A.G.E. (Studies in Advanced Global Education) ADVANCED ACADEMICS 21ST CENTURY LEARNING! ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS GLOBAL EDUCATION: IPC (International Primary Curriculum) S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) STUDY SMART SERVICE LEARNING CHARACTER EDUCATION MANNERS IN MINUTES! DIGITAL LEARNING CHAPEL GREEN RIBBON SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS WRITING ACADEMY We're a NASA Explorer School

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Galloway's Study Skills Program

Study Skills for life!

The Galloway School has a unique study skills program called, STUDY SMART, that begins in Kindergarten and continues throughout a student’s education at Galloway. We want good study and work habits to become automatic with our students. Providing a school-wide study skills program provides a consistent framework for developing research-based learning strategies proven to promote high achievement among diverse learners and learning styles.

STUDY SMART focuses on three critical areas: Time Management, Organizational Skills, and the utilization of proven study techniques aligned with the most current educational brain research.

STUDY SMART begins with specific strategies for using the student planner. There is a primary planner designed for first through third grades and a middle school planner for grades 4 and up. Although there are slight variations in the format of the two planner versions, “good study skills” and “good organizational skills” can be introduced and applied at a very early age for optimum study skills development. Students and parents will be trained in "how" to use student planners to increase learning outcomes.

Beginning in the first grade, students learn that every subject at Galloway has been assigned a specific color for the purpose of keeping all instructional materials organized. Language Arts is (red), math (blue), science (green), social studies (orange), Spanish (yellow), STEM (purple), global education: IMY & IMYC (lime green), writing lab (pink), and the STUDY SMART resources (clear).

Student binders have subject dividers that correspond to each subject. Study materials such as graphic organizers, notes, charts, maps, etc., are stored behind the appropriate subject divider in the notebook. Student planners are placed in the front of each student’s binder behind their "pencil bag" and "bender bags". A bender is a STUDY SMART flash card designed with the brain in mind. Benders are made using index cards and color coded by subject. Benders are used to teach key vocabulary as well as a method for summarizing "key" information for maximum retention of new knowledge. Benders are coded, numbered and housed inside each student's bender bag located in the front of each student's binder. At the conclusion of a unit of study, old benders are removed and kept at home. Only binders containing current information being studied in class will be kept in the bender bag.

Student planners contain the names of each subject at the top of each planner page. All subject headers should be highlighted with the appropriate color highlighter. Every square on each student planner page should be filled in. If there is no homework for the night in a particular class, the student should write in NHW (No Homework). This way, parents know that there was no homework assigned in that subject. Tests and long-range assignments have a particular code as well. Quizzes and tests are listed on the designated test date and highlighted with a yellow highlighter with a red box drawn around the test date. Long-range projects are listed with a box drawn around the date in red with text highlighted with a blue highlighter.

There are varied codes for particular assignments to help students learn to abbreviate hipline notes. This list of abbreviations is placed inside the front inside cover of the binder.STUDY SMART has many other critical organizational and study skill components to the system. Students will be introduced to specific methods for taking notes that are age-appropriate for each grade level. Note-taking will consist of traditional paper-pencil and digital formats using software applications such as Kidspiration and Inspiration to organize information using graphics that will later be transformed into textual outlines. Students will learn strategies for memorizing and retrieving information. STUDY SMART is designed to give students vital tools for time management, learning, and organization they will use for life.

Parents will be oriented to the STUDY SMART program during Meet the Teacher Night at the beginning of the school year. Students will begin using the STUDY SMART program on day one of school and continue to implement new skills and strategies throughout the 36 week program. The results will be clearly evident in the way your child's confidence will flourish as a result of their ability to organize and process information with greater ease and success, and the pride they have in producing quality work that is efficiently organized. The Galloway STUDY SMART program is one more way that a Galloway education makes a distinct difference!