Walnut Avenue School is a primary school serving kindergarten through grade two students. We are committed to providing a child-centered, family oriented learning environment that recognizes and values the individual differences of our young learners. Our school seeks to nurture and support their special abilities and talents through a program which is dedicated to continuous improvement and growth.

Our school community strives to provide our students with the academic and social skills required to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Fundamental to all our efforts across the curriculum is an approach that seeks new and effective ways to encourage cooperation, problem solving, creative thinking, respect for others and a life long love of learning.

Walnut Avenue School has fully integrated the State Core Curriculum Standards and the Curriculum Frameworks into all subject areas. This past year we have focused on improving student listening and writing skills through two school based objectives that we hope will better prepare our students for the new state elementary assessment test (ESPA).

We are also proud of our ongoing efforts to enrich the primary classroom curriculum through extensive use of technology. Our teachers have an impressive array of hardware and software available in their classrooms, which affords them ample opportunity to infuse technology into all aspects of the curriculum. Widespread INTERNET access combined with an ambitious professional development program have made it possible for teachers, parents, and students to share ideas and collaborate in new and exciting ways.

Staff and parents at Walnut Avenue School have also been active in exploring
models for thematic planning. In recent years, we have experienced considerable success framing instruction within a large multicultural theme. This theme, "It's a Small World", is divided into four sub themes:

Family
Celebrating Differences
Friendship
Save the Planet

Activities within each theme are all designed to promote the belief that all people share the common bond of humanity and that all of us, regardless of differences of race, religion, or culture are brothers who can learn to share, cooperate and respect one another.