Enrichment

Students at NCCL have access to enrichment activities including art, drama, music, Spanish, and physical education. In addition to these programs, older students have their horizons broadened by the unique NCCL traditions of Workshop Week, apprenticing, and camping trips.

ART We value the arts at NCCL. Through art students learn about history, as well as cultures throughout the world today. We work in a wide variety of media. Children learn to draw, paint and sculpt. We use clay, fabric, paint, papier maché, printmaking and many other materials. In creating art children learn important life skills. They learn to solve problems, make decisions, organize, research and plan. Art can put children in touch with their emotions, concerns, hopes and dreams. Art may teach an awareness of student’s relationships to their families, society and the bigger world. Making art can teach patience and perseverance. It may mean taking risks. Projects are designed to encourage artistic, intellectual and imaginative growth along with an appreciation for art, history and life itself. Through art we believe children can achieve fulfillment, pride and joy.

DRAMA The Drama Club with Janice Toomey and Joe Cutter, as directors, put on one Gilbert & Sullivan musical each May. The productions are elaborate, funny and fun. More importantly, they are open to all but the very youngest students, as the role of the chorus is central to G & S productions and allows for an infinite (almost) number of choristers.

In addition, The Drama Club performs a Shakespeare play each year. Besides being Shakespeare and, therefore, in all respects wonderful, these plays give students who prefer not to sing on stage a chance to perform. The Shakespeare plays are more limited (no chorus numbers!) and open only to groups 3 and 4. Auditions are held in November with rehearsals starting as soon as parts are cast.

The results of having a drama club are vast and varied. It is fun, children learn about dedication, hard work, responsibility and how to memorize! Talents are discovered that might have otherwise remained hidden, and everyone gets a chance to be on stage in some capacity. But, the thing that is paramount in this experience is the sense of community that develops through working toward a common goal. We support each other, cheer each other on and comfort each other when things are difficult. We get to know each other in important and intimate ways, outside the arena of the class room. We are very proud of our productions, but it is the time working together before the "big night" that is at the heart of the experience. You can tell how central Drama Club is to NCCL in so many ways: the alumni who list the experience as one of their most important, the alumni who routinely come back and help with productions (as with our current accompanist), dedicated involvement from the parents and, most of all, the serious commitment of the students. NCCL provides a unique experience for a full-fledged theatrical experience that is rare for children younger than high school.

MUSIC The music program at NCCL includes a weekly general music class for each homeroom group, a traditional All School Sing at the weekly All School Meeting, and the option to participate in specific ensembles: singing, percussion, string, recorder, and brass. A variety of private lessons are being offered through the school in response to requests, currently, clarinet, euphonium, piano, saxophone, trombone, violin, viola, and voice. Our students participate in DMEA (Delaware Music Educators Association) and ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) events such as All State Choir, Honors Choir, and the Solo & Ensemble Festival. Current students are also working toward qualifications for All State Band and All State Orchestra. On Fridays, there is an extra "Whatever Music You Want to Work On" class, where students can set their own agenda to learn or practice an aspect of music that they want to explore further with guidance.

SPANISH The entire population at NCCL studies Spanish. For the younger half of the school, Spanish class is 45-60 minutes a week and the focus is Spanish vocabulary and culture. During class time students are exposed to a wide variety of vocabulary, often times piggy-backing on their current classroom topics, and they practice using those words through art, games, puzzles, and oral activities. For the older half of the school, students are also exposed to culture topics and vocabulary, but are also working on basic grammatical topics, such as adjective agreement and conjugating regular verbs in order to create comprehensible language. These students practice Spanish for 90 minutes a week, including a 30 minute Conversation class dedicated solely to speaking. After 8 years of constant exposure to the Spanish language, it is our goal that students leave NCCL with a strong foundation and most importantly a strong interest in continuing their language studies.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION Children are more likely to engage in physical activity when they feel they can participate competently. This begins with a focus on basic coordination. In Group 1, kids practice basic gross motor skills such as throwing, catching, and kicking. These and other skills are developed in each group as kids are exposed to a variety of sports and games. Team sports like soccer, touch football, basketball, and volleyball help students learn team-building skills as well as the rules and procedures for each activity.

Our goal is to expose children to various sports and help them develop a level of comfort. Some may join leagues outside school with more advanced competition but we'd like all of our students to feel like they can jump in a game at a picnic, family reunion, or friend's house and hold their own. Gym takes place on the field next to our school, in our small gymnasium or a block away at Phillips Park. Periodically, we take our students to the University of Delaware Bob Carpenter Center where they participate in classes taught by UD Physical Education majors. No matter where we hold class or what we are playing, we want our kids to experience the joy and health-enhancing qualities of physical activity.

WORKSHOP WEEK Students in grades 5 - 8 take time out from their regular classes three or four times a year to participate in Workshop Week, when parents and teachers provide instruction on such wide-ranging topics as photography, mosaics, box fort building, advertising, law, and knitting. Read more...

APPRENTICESHIPS Group 4 students (grades 7 and 8) spend their Friday afternoons in the apprenticing program, working at area businesses and gaining organizational and interpersonal skills. Read more...

CAMPING TRIPS Grades 5 through 8 end the school year with a much anticipated camping trip, while grades 7 and 8 take a five day trip to Shaver's Creek Environmental Center, where they expand their horizons with team building games, lessons about local flora and fauna, and outdoor activities like canoeing, caving and rock climbing. Read a student essay about Shaver's Creek. Read a student essay about Shaver's Creek.