headlines
Summer Reading lists
All continuing and incoming Middle-School students have summer reading assignments. Please click on the appropriate link to download the reading lists and worksheets.
new summer offering! beach kids day camp
Join us for one (or both!) of two five-day sessions of old-fashioned summer fun. The full-day camps are designed for kids entering grades one through five, and will offer a variety of activities. Please click on the link to read more about Beach Kids Day Camp.
summer program
There remain some openings for the summer program at Sea Crest. Please click on the link to download a registration form or see a current list of summer classes.
Head of school blog
june 2009
What do you remember from your elementary schooling? If you are anything like me, I have fuzzy memories of the regular daily routines, but vivid memories of active experiences that took us beyond the classroom and allowed us to explore topics in depth.
I remember visiting Mission San Gabriel and then building a scale model of Mission Santa Inés out of sugar cubes. I remember being intrigued by the dioramas at the Natural History Museum and the fossils at the La Brea Tar Pits. I remember our whale watch expedition out of Long Beach Harbor. I'll never live down my fit of nervous laughter in front of the whole school as I attempted to share what I had learned from researching a report on San Francisco (yes, even at age 10, I understood that the northern half of this state was far superior to the concrete jungle of L.A. where I spent my childhood). And, the only national testing I remember participating in was the Presidential Fitness Test. How many pull-ups could you do?
With that in mind, I harbor no illusions that our students will remember this week's spelling list 40 years from now. Don't get me wrong, Sea Crest will always ensure that our students acquire the necessary skills and foundation for future learning, but a key ingredient in the Sea Crest program is going beyond the basics and inspiring intellectual curiosity through hands-on experiences.
This philosophy is clearly evident during this last month of school with a wide variety of culminating activities and adventures. After studying basic economic theory, third graders designed their own businesses and sold their wares/services at Open House. Similarly, in early June the first graders will hold their own Farmers' Market after growing and making products to sell based on their many visits to local farms and markets. The fifth graders spent the night on the tall ship Balclutha to experience what it might have been like for the explorers they have studied, and fourth graders recently returned from three days in the Sierra foothills panning for gold as they wrap up their study of California history. In addition, our second graders just finished their wonderfully creative, yet accurate scale models of our local Pillar Point Harbor after their exploratory visit there.
Not to be outdone, the middle schoolers are set to embark on their own adventures. The sixth and seventh graders will extend their service learning theme of "global sustainability" as they learn about differing ecosystems during their environmental education overnights in the Marin Headlands and the Santa Cruz mountains respectively. At the same time, the eighth graders will exploring the actual sites studied in their United States History class as they spend five days in Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Washington D.C.
In an educational landscape now dominated by test prep, I am proud that Sea Crest students are allowed these experiences that will, no doubt, spark those special memories for many reunions to come.
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