From the Principal's Desk

Friendship Valley is a graceful blend between traditional elements of classroom instruction and efforts that are necessary to prepare our students for the rigorous intellectual demands of the 21st century. It is actually a home within a town, consisting of intersections of the most current research-based instructional strategies and methods, which lead to the foundations of children's deeper level thinking. Classrooms are warm stimulating places where students and teachers feel confident to explore learning and develop their own curiosity. The total school atmosphere is permeated by an intellectually stimulating environment for all participants.

Thinking has been infused into our curriculum through focusing instruction on several key elements: Direct instruction in Intelligent Behaviors--Persistence, Decreasing Impulsivity, Listening, Flexibility in Thinking, Metacognition, Checking for Precision and Accuracy, Questioning and Problem Solving, Using Prior Knowledge, Using All the Senses, Creativity and Problem Solving. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we as adults possessed a command of these intellectual functions?

Other elements of our Home for the Mind Vision include the research-based Dimensions of Learning, Multiple Intelligence research, Thinking Maps, Question-Response Cues and assessment that is an integral, on going component that provides continuous feedback to students and teachers as well.