Seven Arrow’s new transitional kindergarten will meet at Aldersgate.
Seven Arrows Elementary is launching a new transitional kindergarten program, Roots and Wings based on a dynamic curriculum around the work of Dr. Jane Goodall.
Admissions director Kristin Allen Jones said the program, here in Pacific Palisades, will focus on STEM and outdoor learning.
The TK program will be located in the historic 1920s house on Haverford Avenue, surrounded by redwood trees, with the yard a sanctuary for birds. Simon Meadow in Temescal Gateway Park, which backs up to the Santa Monica Mountains, serves as an outdoor playground. The school is located a mile from the Pacific Ocean, which means the beach is also accessible for students.
“This is a spiritual and playful habitat for children to be immersed in nature,” Allen Jones said. “We will conduct outdoor programming in the expansive garden on topics such as butterflies and birds as well as contributing to the edible garden planting, harvesting and cooking project.”
Students will have courses in Spanish, art and music taught by a top-level specialty teaching staff. All staff are trained to foster social and emotional well-being with students. The school believes that exposure to a larger number of interested adults helps children form meaningful critical bonds by exposing them to an array of personalities.
“The latest research shows young children have fallen behind during Covid, especially in fine and gross motor skills and communication skills,” Allen Jones said, noting that early childhood learning has been especially impacted. “We are launching this program to specifically address those issues and to capitalize on the expansive outdoor space at our beautiful new campus at Aldersgate.”
The program is specific for those students in the age group of 4.5 to 5.3 years old, with class size maxed at 16 students. There will be two full-time teachers and specialty teachers. Class will go from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Seven Arrows founder Margarita Pagliai created the Little Dolphins preschool in Temescal Canyon more than 30 years ago, before establishing the kindergarten through sixth grade private school on La Cruz.
“These schools were founded on the ideals of individualized learning with rigorous academics and an exceptional level of arts education,” Allen Jones, noting that more than 1,000 children have graduated and gone on to the top independent schools in Los Angeles.
Pagliai said, “Success in Roots and Wings and Seven Arrows is measured in one simple but fundamental way: have we as a school inspired our young dolphins to foster curiosity, creativity and community? Are our students engaged and motivated to become lifelong learners? Do they embody a growth-mind set coupled with the emotional intelligence needed to embark on their own individualized plan of education?”
The Seven Arrows head said, “These last two years have brought unique challenges that we met head-on by offering camp on the beach during lockdown so our kids could attend twice a week, opening campus as early as allowed and keeping kids safely in school.”
Those applying by February 10 will be considered for the first round of admissions for the school year 2022-2023. After that date, it is rolling admissions.
Visit: rootsandwingscenter.org or call Allen Jones at (310) 454-6699.
