Juniper Tree is taking advantage of its roots in Silicon Valley and has a technology founder, investor, and mentor, Andrew Zalasin, with more than 25 years of experience - and who founded his first company as a teen - mentoring the students on entrepreneurship.

In this class, the 5th-7th grade students will learn to create and operate their own business and learn to generate a steady income for themselves. Students will learn through trial and error. Mistakes and risk-taking are highly encouraged!

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ELA: 5th/6th grade students continue to study grammar, spelling, writing, and literature. They will read works of high quality literature, as well as at least one book of their own choosing. Students correct texts and work with dictation. They study how to use subjunctive mood, predicate nominative and predicate adjectives, present perfect tense, independent and dependent clauses, nominative / objective case of pronouns, prefix, suffix, and root – make links to Latin etymology. They also review newspaper articles and write their own. They write various styles of creative essays, book reports on a book of their choice, and letters.

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Social Studies: 5th/6th grade students will combine geography, literature, and early American history with living history to create an experience that challenges them to draw parallels across subjects. Studying the biographies of famous Americans prompts students to develop their own opinions, make inquiries, explore, and experiment.

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Student Government: Student Government will play a larger role in the middle school years. The goal is for our program to be run by students. For example, students will be included this year in the interview and hiring process of their instructors. The student government is a direct democracy and each student and staff member has an equal vote in managing most aspects of Juniper Tree’s operations. Our meetings help protect and ensure order among the students through discussing and creating rules, as well as dealing with interpersonal conflicts through a just system.

Math: 5th/6th grade students will cover the following concepts: Place value and Rounding; Measuring Time, adding and subtracting time; Borrowing across zero; Borrowing from a borrowed digit; Bar and line graphs; Roman Numerals; Squares and square roots; Perimeter and area; Two-digit divisors; Fractions. Hands on projects such as woodworking will be incorporated in lessons.

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Science: 5th/6th grade students will engage in investigations and experiments that cultivate essential scientific skills such as forming a hypothesis, conducting observations, and taking field notes. The lessons emphasize the scientific method, robotics engineering, conservation ecology, meteorology, anatomy, and astronomy, and lay the groundwork for more extensive scientific studies in the upper grades.

5th-7th grade students take part in physical activities to increase their cardiovascular fitness such as track and field, strength, flexibility, while also learning new skills including cooperative play, teamwork and sportsmanship. Team sports include flag football, basketball and soccer.

Nutritional Cooking & Baking:

Students learn to cook and bake healthy, and multicultural recipes using fresh, organic and seasonal ingredients. The class exposes students to new flavors, introduces new culinary skills, and ultimately celebrates their time together around the table. We will also put together a class cookbook to share with family and friends.

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Student Clubs:

Clubs are a vehicle to help students explore and discover their unique gifts and passion. They also provide them the opportunities to be in leadership positions and work as a team with their peers. Current clubs include: Rice Club, Chess Club, Movement Club, Spanish Club, Music Club, and Theater Club.

Art Class:

Students will create beautiful art projects with Ms. Shana, owner of Hidden Talent Art Studio. They will explore a wide range of different art mediums and materials. Students will also have the option to create their own art projects, with Ms. Shana to guide them through their artistic journey.

Gardening Class:

Students will continue their gardening classes in the Fall and Spring at Martial Cottle Farm/Park. Older kids can plan a theme garden like a pizza garden or rainbow colored vegetables. They will organize how their garden will look while planting seeds and learn through trial and error. They will continue to be responsible for watering, weeding, and harvesting.

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Clothes Sewing Class:

This class teaches students how to sew their own wardrobe. Students will learn how to operate a basic sewing machine; sew even stitches; choose the right fabrics for sewing projects; take measurements and sizes; prepare fabric and cut patterns; sew zippers, pockets, waistbands, hems, sleeves, buttons, and more.

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