Enrichment
Art 
Music Physical Education SpanishTechnologyAdvanced Academics
Art
The Visual Arts are alive and thriving at Graham Road Elementary School. Students benefit from art classes as well as experiencing arts integration through participation in the CETA program through the Kennedy Center. To see examples of the wonderful artwork of our students and learn more about the Graham Road Art program, please visit this website.
Art classes consist of 1 hour every week for grades K-6. Students work with various mediums such as paint, clay, and drawing. The curriculum is designed to develop content knowledge and skills in the following areas:
• recognition of the role and importance of art and artists in society, culture, and history
• critical assessment of art works from aesthetic and cultural perspectives
• creative problem solving
• technical processes
• personal expression through art production.
Music
Students at Graham Road Elementary are actively involved in making music in a comprehensive music curriculum established by Fairfax County Public Schools and the Virginia Music Standards of Learning. Our students perform in at least three concerts per year, including winter and spring concerts and a school-wide International Night program.
In addition to music-making with classroom teachers, head start students receive one 20-minute lesson per week in general music class instruction with the school music specialist. Kindergarten, first and second grade students receive two 30-minute music classes each week. Students in grades 3 through 6 participate in one 60-minute music session per week. Upper elementary students have the added option of participating in band or string instrument instruction. This year, we are pleased to offer violin instruction for all third grade students.
Graham Road has two choruses: the Fifth Grade Chorus and the Sixth Grade Chamber Choir. The choruses regularly perform for parents, peers, and our business partners. In addition to the GRES choruses, selected students perform at the All County Chorus Festival each May. The Chamber Percussion Ensemble is a select group of student musicians. The group holds weekly after-school rehearsals and is devoted to the study and performance of new and traditional literature for Orff instruments, as well as percussion music representative of world cultures (including China, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Latin America). Fairfax County Public Schools provide opportunities for our students to make field trips to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and to George Mason University to hear a symphony orchestra in concert. In addition, Graham Road School currently enjoys the benefits of a partnership with the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS). As a result of this partnership, students enjoy four in-school concerts, tickets and bus transportation to main stage performances, and the privilege of In-School Artist Residencies.
Physical Education (PE)
It is our goal to help students achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The Graham Road Physical education program reflects the Fairfax County Public Schools Program of Studies. We are striving to help the children:
. demonstrate competency in many movement forms
. analyze movement concepts and principles to enhance motor skill acquisition & performance
. plan/describe a personal fitness/wellness program
. achieve/maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
Please have your child wear sneakers/tennis shoes on PE days. Stan Carter is the Physical Education teacher at Graham Road, please contact him if you have any questions.
Spanish
Graham Road Elementary has the Foreign Language Program of Studies (FLES) program. In this program, Spanish is taught through themes and topics aligned to the core instructional program at each grade level. The themes and topics are designed to support and enhance instructional objectives in math, science, social studies, and language arts.
The goals of the FCPS FLES program are
• To support academic content area instruction
• To develop increased cognitive skills
• To enhance reading development in both English and the target language
• To promote global awareness and cross-cultural understanding
• To develop increased functional proficiency in all aspects of the language with each year of study
• To meet district, state and national foreign language standards
Technology
At Graham Road, we use technology in our classrooms daily. Every class room is equipped with a SMART Board, projector and four or more student computers. Additionally, GRES has a brand new 30 station computer lab and several mobile labs which allow teachers to seamlessly integrate technology with their curriculum standards.
Planning and using technology in the curriculum is carried out by the classroom teachers with the help of our full time School Based Technology Specialist, Rebekkah Kline. Our half-time Technology Support Specialist, Bob Blagriff, helps keep the school's server and other technology equipment up and running.
All teachers have wireless laptops to assist them with their planning and to use as a tool in their lessons. We have a wide variety of technology at the students' disposal including: scanners, digital cameras and a presentation system. In addition, our staff utilizes technology resources such as streaming video, 24/7 Learning (Blackboard) courses, mobile laptop labs, and technology related units to enhance students' learning.
Advanced Academics (AAP)
Graham Road 's Advanced Academic Programs Shoot for the Stars!
Advanced Academics services are provided for students in grades kindergarten through six at Graham Road Elementary School. Selected kindergarten, first and second grade students who have demonstrated the need for extensions to the grade level curriculum qualify as Young Scholars. These students work weekly with Jenni Bruen, Graham Road Elementary's Advanced Academics Resource teacher, on higher order thinking lessons. Additionally, Mrs. Bruen provides periodic in-class enrichment lessons to the entire class.
In grades four, five and six, all interested students are invited to participate in the Challenge 24 Breakfast Club on Tuesday mornings. Problem solving and strategic thinking are emphasized as students play a game which also reviews computation skills. Students in grades three through six are also eligible to receive language arts enrichment. Selected third grade students are taught to analyze literature through the higher level thinking skills organized in the Jacob's Ladder reading program. In grade four selected students are participating in a Reader's Theater Program in which they read and perform scripts which are based on American History topics. All fifth grade students will engage in a research project about world cultures co-taught by the classroom teachers, Mrs. Bruen and our school librarian. Sixth grade AAP students are writing and performing a play about the reactions of the citizenry during the Civil War to hearing the Gettysburg Address.
We are looking forward to another great year of Advanced Academic programs at Graham Road Elementary School . If you have any questions about any of these exciting programs, please contact Mrs. Bruen at Jenni.Bruen@fcps.edu.