Classroom+Environment

As you know, a healthy classroom environment equals less sick days, higher test scores and happier students. Built from low-emitting materials, our classroom pods will meet the highest indoor air quality standards. The conscious selection of healthful materials, ample day lighting and increased ventilation will have a real effect on teachers and students, especially in relation to asthma and respiratory issues. This will enable students to pay attention more easily with higher levels of concentration. This in turn increases the level of student performance and everyone’s comfort, mood and energy.

=Open-Concept Classroom Environments Support Capacity Building= The school will embrace the "open classroom concept" with 6 “pods” (large, open classrooms intended for more than a single class) to promote team-teaching in our primary grade loops. Although each pod contains multiple “interest centers,” the teaching methods used in the pods are a hybrid of traditional teaching concepts and the open classroom concept. Children are assigned to an individual teacher at the beginning of their 1st/2nd or 3rd/4th grade loop, at which point the teachers in the pod work together to provide the best educational experience for each child. The large spaces allow teachers to team-teach, thereby taking advantage of each others’ areas of strength, style, creativity, and peer insight. In addition to the six large pods, The Cypress School has individual classrooms which house our pre-kindergarten and sixth grade classes.

The design of The Cypress School will compliment our team-teaching/looping concept, which in turn will prompt our excellent faculty to look for and implement innovative programs such as ...

Taken together, our curricula and classroom design lend themselves to the development of a small, creative, nurturing, and thoughtful school. The variety of ways the space can be changed to accommodate our dynamic school population and teachers' needs makes The Cypress School a progressive facility that fosters learning, self-reliance, critical thinking, and citizenship skills. It will prove to be a truly great place to learn!

This is what one teacher had to say about the "open classroom concept": //“I think (the open-concept) raises the standards for teacher and student performance because this layout promotes daily collaboration among teachers. Furthermore, teachers are aware of what is happening in other classrooms and they are exposed in a way that most traditional classroom teachers are not. Because of this exposure between teachers and classrooms, teachers are constantly evaluating and refining their own teaching practices, which only benefits students. I also think the open-concept allows students and parents the opportunity to develop rapport with other teachers in the building, thus fostering a real community within the school.”// --Joey Mertel



// The Cypress School will will be purposefully designed as a multi-building campus with exterior circulation routes to encourage students to travel between pods for both fresh air and exercise. //

//Beyond circulation, infinite opportunities exist to complement indoor curriculum with hands on outdoor learning. These opportunities include: creative play environments, outdoor learning spaces, socialization venues, and sustainable site design. There will be separate play areas for three age groups: pre- kindergarten to kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders; and 3rd-6th graders. Several playground equipment companies design and sell equipment that encourages theme-based child development and education, in addition to the popular play elements like climbers, swings, et al. These structures provide a blend of large motor skill development and themed learning centers. //







=School Garden Component= Cypress School's close proximity to "California's Salad Bowl" makes a community garden a natural addition.

**Each pod will have an adjoining working garden and a herb garden for science and food-lab instruction. The growing plots have a permeable soil medium over a subdrain system. Storm water runoff from the roof helps irrigate the vegetables and ornamental plantings. Accent areas of recycled colored glass mulch provide visual interest and an area for runoff infiltration.**



=**Link to Curriculum**=

A school garden is a perfect tool to provide hands-on learning experiences for any subject. Science is the most common subject linked to gardens. Many teachers use the garden as a laboratory to introduce students to scientific methods through plant-related experiments. Additionally, a garden provides a place to study weather, insects, soil and other environmental topics. It’s the ideal habitat model for studying ecosystems. The real-life experiences contribute greatly to students’ comprehension and retention of new science knowledge, a fact supported by studies linking participation in a gardening program to increases in science achievement scores. In addition to science, the garden provides opportunities to teach mathematics, history-social science, English language arts, and visual and performing arts. Concepts that seem abstract in the classroom come alive in a garden setting. For instance, students find taking daily measurements of garden bean plants and then charting the growth rate to determine the fastest growing plant in the garden much more exciting than charting numbers provided by a textbook.

Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle
Beyond academics, the garden provides broader life lessons including contributing to students’ knowledge of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The state of California is experiencing a major health crisis as the number of overweight and obese youth is growing at an epidemic rate. Approximately one in three children is overweight or at risk of being overweight, and almost 40 percent of school-aged children are considered unfit. The number of weight-related chronic diseases such as diabetes is of great concern to health care professionals, and the need for prevention education is critical. Garden programs work to combat this epidemic by teaching youth about healthy lifestyles including proper nutrition and physical activity. Through a gardening program, students gain first hand experience with fresh fruits and vegetables. They discover that produce does not magically appear on the grocery store shelves and learn about the important role of agriculture in our society. The pride and curiosity sparked by growing the fruits and vegetables along with the familiarity of where they come from motivates students to try them, often times leading to more positive attitudes and eating behaviors. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of the diet not only because they provide essential vitamins, but also because they are also linked to prevention of health problems like cancer and heart disease. Studies show that a majority of children do not eat the recommended amount of fresh fruits and vegetables each day, and so they are missing out on these benefits. A garden program increases produce availability and creates opportunities to teach students what they should eat through fun, hands-on experiences. A healthy lifestyle is more than just eating right, though. Students also need to adopt good exercise habits. The garden provides a wide range of physical activity through digging, planting and weeding. The garden activities are often so captivating that students will not even realize they are exercising. Plus, it is an activity they can participate in for the rest of their lives.

=Environmental Stewardship=

A school garden is a powerful environmental education tool. Through gardening, students become responsible caretakers. They have an opportunity to engage in agricultural practices on a small scale, learning about the responsibilities and impacts of land cultivation. They explore the web of interactions among the living and nonliving players that sustain life. By doing so, they develop a greater understanding of the natural world. For many children, a garden offers the only chance to get close to nature. Some lack access to gardening spaces because of their living situations while others have limited exploratory free time in the outdoors due to the focus on indoor activities and participation in organized outdoor activities. School garden educators in urban environments frequently find their programs provide students’ first opportunity to dig into the soil and watch a plant grow. Establishing a connection with nature at an early age is extremely important. Researchers discovered childhood experiences with nature are strongly linked to adult attitudes toward plants. They determined that participation in active gardening during childhood was the most important influence in explaining adult environmental attitudes and actions and concluded that even in urban areas where green spaces are limited, gardening programs for children can provide a strong enough connection to instill appreciation and respect for nature in adulthood.

Community and Social Development
Community and social development lessons do not receive the attention of academic achievement, but they are as crucial to the survival of our country as reading and writing. Children must learn how to take responsibility for their environment and develop a strong sense of community to ensure the continuation of our society. Gardens create opportunities for students to work cooperatively and to take on responsibilities. They will quickly learn the negative consequences associated with forgetting to water their plants on a hot day and will work hard to make sure it does not happen again. The plants will also provide positive reinforcement in response to proper care by growing or producing fruits, contributing to development of a good work ethic. On a personal level, gardening builds confidence, self-esteem, and pride as the students watch their efforts turn into beautiful and productive gardens. It also teaches them patience as they wait for a seedling to sprout or a tomato to ripen. Gardens provide unique opportunities for cross-generational connections. While gardening, children interact with RORC members, teachers, parents and community volunteers providing opportunities for social interaction often missing in our society because of hectic schedules and the role of technology. The garden provides children opportunities to ask questions, share thoughts and work cooperatively toward a common goal. Through a garden, students help to beautify the school grounds. For many, it is their only chance to contribute positively to their environment. The praise they receive from other students, parents, teachers and community members will create a sense of community spirit and introduce them to the benefits of volunteering. Above all, gardening is fun and is a skill that, once acquired, can be a lifelong hobby. Spending time outside, exploring in the soil, watching seeds grow, and harvesting the bounty can be enjoyable and memorable ways for students to spend their time.

An important feature of Cypress School's campus will be the community garden, which is tended by school and RORC members. The garden will showcase the collective effort of community members to contribute positively to the environment. The garden will be located adjacent to the RORC, making it easy for residents of the retirement community to get involved. RORC residents will be encouraged to participate in the planning and design of the community garden. Ideally, retired landscape architects and experienced gardeners from RORC will be deeply involved in the process.

=Open-Concept Classroom Environments= The design of The Cypress School compliments our team-teaching/looping concept, which in turn will encourage collaboration and creativity amongst students, faculty, and community members.

=Community Garden=

The Cypress and Oak Community Garden showcases the collective effort of our community members who contribute positively to the environment.