Time, Insights & Intensives

Early Childhood (Toddler, Preschool, Prekindergarten & Kindergarten)
The preschool day includes time for practicing early literacy skills and mathematical concepts within a structure that includes teacher-directed activities as well as independent student choice. Each morning begins with a period of exploration, when children are introduced to their day by engaging in an activity of their choice. Morning Meeting, an integral part of every school day, follows, inviting students to gain a sense of belonging through a myriad of activities that promote risk-taking in a safe environment.

 

Each day also features “Investigations”; a time for children to actively dive into an individual or group project.  During this time, students are invited to ask questions, solve problems, and work together to explore new topics of interest. Areas of the classroom are carefully designed to promote creativity and originality of thought and include art, building and construction, cooking, science inquiry, math manipulatives, language arts, and dramatic play. Snack time, clean-up, and Closing Meeting are also important elements of each day to promote as sense of personal responsibility and community building. Additional time is allotted in the preschooler’s schedule for special area classes including literacy, music, library, physical education and, starting in prekindergarten, world languages and science. 

In the Lower School, the school day is built around an intentionally designed schedule to meet student learning needs, providing both routine for comfort and change for stimulations as well as opportunities to engage in active inquiry and quiet reflection. Designated blocks of time are set aside for focus on foundational skills, while special enrichment time provides exposure to other academic areas. In addition, problem-based learning time is set aside for application and deeper reinforcement of skills learned.

 

Also built into the Lower School schedule is time for meaningful, real-world engagement. Morning assemblies are elevated beyond the ordinary as students engage in public speaking and performance opportunities that build both leadership skills and confidence. Time is also set aside for travel to destinations throughout Cleveland, including the Sally and Bob Gries Center for Experiential and Service Learning, Hawken’s urban extension campus in University Circle, to engage in hands-on learning. These introductions to the local community support the deepening relationships students will develop with Cleveland’s community and cultural organizations in future years.

Grades 6–8
The Middle School schedule is designed to address the whole child and thus includes time for delving into social as well as academic curricula.

 

Your child will become a member of a small student group that will be paired with a faculty advisor who provides academic, extracurricular and personal support to each student. Each advisor adheres to a social/emotional growth curriculum that is developmentally scaffolded for grades 6,7, and 8. The curriculum focuses on important skills relating to personal identity, teamwork and collaboration, and problem solving and decision making. Your child will also participate in Service Learning as part of the advisory curriculum.

 

Also built into the Middle School schedule is time for assemblies, which in this division are entirely student-led. As a seventh grader, your child will have an opportunity to open the meeting; as a sixth grader, he or she may share something that happened on this day in history; and as an eighth grader your child may formally introduce the Chapel Talk speaker or call on those who have news or information to share with the community.

 

Time for clubs is also embedded into the school day. Each Hawken Middle School student is required to join a club; examples include Lego Robotics, Jazz Band, Chess, and more. These opportunities enable your child to identify and explore interests and passions outside of the academic curriculum alongside students from other grades who have similar interests.

Grades 9–12
Hawken’s unique rotating block schedule at both the Upper School and the Mastery School allows students to make the most of their time and caters to every learning style. Our 80-minute blocks help students become truly immersed in a certain subject and gives them ample opportunities to ask questions and clarify confusions. Teachers also use the time in creative ways, incorporating student-led presentations, hands-on activities, and group projects.

 

Because classes are on a rotating schedule, students attend classes in a varying order each day, thus allowing students to experience classes at different times of the day and providing time in-between classes to complete homework and meet with teachers. Free blocks are given to students to relax, work in collaborative environments with other students and seek help from teachers or student interns.

 

The changes in the schedule are based on extensive research and consultation with Independent School Management, a nationally renowned organization known for its expertise in schedule research and design, Hawken’s innovative schedule ensures that each student meets every class during his or her "peak" time of day at some point during the rotation; it also features a revised school calendar that includes two three-week "Intensives" for in-depth study of a single subject. The unique Intensive construct enables students to choose one course that meets each day for three weeks, allowing for engagement in in-depth, hands-on learning. Students and teachers enjoy uninterrupted time to fully immerse themselves in a single subject for weeks on end and have opportunities to travel outside the classroom to interact with experts and professionals.