Students enter 5th grade as elementary students, and leave 6th grade as middle schoolers. Alder tree leaves are shed while still green.

 

Alder trees are sometimes considered a pioneer species. Pioneer species are the first to regrow after a major disturbance like a fire or flood. Alder trees and other pioneer species play an important roll in succession, or the change of a landscape over time.

 

Fifth and sixth grade is a time of great change and development. Our Alder classrooms seek to create conditions that young adolescents crave: opportunities to display competence and achievement; moments of self-definition and creative expression; physical activity; positive social interactions with adults and peers; structure and clear limits; and meaningful participation at school, and in the community.

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Alders strive to build a safe environment where students’ self-image is enhanced, where they can feel free to make mistakes, and where they allow themselves to be challenged academically, socially, and emotionally.  Discipline is not used as a means of control, but as a tool to promote responsibility, self-respect, self-discipline, respect toward others, and to enhance the child’s self-esteem.