Specialists

Each class in Early Years, Pre-K, and Kindergarten have a full-time Mandarin assistant, who supports the language development of both non-native and heritage speakers of Mandarin. Students benefit from daily Mandarin classes and engage in a variety of language, culture and art-based activities. The Mandarin assistants work closely with homeroom teachers to link the children's Mandarin learning to other areas of the curriculum.

Throughout the early years, children are learning to do new things with their bodies. Young children are also learning that movement can communicate messages and represent actions. Young children can perform and recognize pantomimed actions such as ironing, stirring, swimming, or playing the piano.

Most children usually are quite comfortable with movement. They begin to learn about the world by acting on objects and people, and they “think with their bodies” well before they think with words. Therefore body movement is not only fun for children but is also a good opportunity for them to solve problems.

Skills Developed in Rhythm and Movement classes:

The HIS Rhythm and Movement Curriculum

The visual arts program at HIS strives to not only develop each child's artistic skills, but their understanding of and appreciation of art.

Students in Grades K-5 hands on and explore science, technology, engineering, art, and Mathematics in the STEAM Room.  Real world approaches are used to guide student inquiry, critical thinking, and design.

Students in Grades 1-5 attend Art class once per week for 40 minutes. The visual arts program at HIS strives to not only develop each child's artistic skills, but their understanding of and appreciation of art.

Students from Grades 1-5 receive daily Mandarin classes. Mandarin classes are offered at a variety of levels for each Grade, to cater for the needs of our diverse student population.

Students in Grades 1-5 attend Music class twice per week for forty minutes. Music class involves all areas of learning: the cognitive which focuses on the acquisition of knowledge about music, the psychomotor which focuses on the development of skills in music, and the affective which includes the appreciation of and sensitivity to music.

Students in Grades 1 to 5 attend PE classes twice per week for forty minutes. The Lower Physical Education program (PE) focusses on the development of concepts, knowledge, attitudes and skills in the areas of sport, exercise, health and well-being.

Physical Education is more than just student participation in sports and games. It is an important vehicle to equip students with experiences and information that will help them make wise choices and enjoy being active for life.

The purpose of the HIS PE program is to develop a combination of transferable skills promoting physical, intellectual, emotional and social development. This is achieved through a balanced program, that includes the following type of experiences:

• Individual Pursuits (Athletics/Fundamental movement skills)
• Movement Composition (Dance)
• Games (Invasion Games)
• Adventure Challenges (Cooperative/critical thinking)
• Health-related fitness.

The focus of these experiences is different for each grade level. We want the students to experience structured activities that are fun and also to have learned enough about their own health and fitness to be able to lead full, healthy lives.

Students in Grades 3-5 participate in guided swimming lessons once a week during swim seasons combined with their physical education classes.  

Students in Grades K-5 hands on and explore science, technology, engineering, art, and Mathematics in the STEAM Room.  Real world approaches are used to guide student inquiry, critical thinking, and design.