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Indian Fields
Indian Fields Elementary School has a long history of providing an excellent learning environment for all of its children. The school has been recognized as a New Jersey Star Schoo...view moreIndian Fields Elementary School has a long history of providing an excellent learning environment for all of its children. The school has been recognized as a New Jersey Star School and featured in the New Jersey Education Association’s televised, “Classroom Close-up.” This school has been recognized for its Early Childhood Program and as a model for technology in education. The school was selected as a recipient of a 2003 Governor’s School of Excellence Award. The faculty is highly skilled and dedicated, and several are nationally certified teachers.
Indian Fields is constantly investigating approaches that effectively challenge and enable all children to reach their full potential. One approach that ensures that children experience a comfortable, nurturing and productive environment is that the school is organized into families and communities of learners where students and teachers work cooperatively as teams. A walk through the well-designed facility shows children actively engaged in reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, music, art and physical education. One of our aims is to integrate technology into the curriculum, and each classroom has networked Macintosh computers that are actively used and are connected to the Internet. We are also fortunate to have 26 Macintosh computers in our technology lab, along with two portable labs called, “Computers on Wheels” that incorporate 30 laptop computers.
Faced with increased enrollment, Indian Fields School is divided into two buildings with the larger housing 30 classrooms and the smaller building housing 10 classrooms. The smaller building has a configuration of five Kindergarten classes, two Grade 1 classes and one special education classroom. A major initiative of Indian Fields School is to foster a sense of community. Our classroom teachers and several specialists have incorporated The Responsive Classroom Initiative into their classroom procedures. The physical education teachers have also adopted the Responsive Classroom initiative. On “Spirit Fridays,” school shirts or Indian Fields colors are proudly worn. We value caring, courtesy, cooperation, friendship, kindness, respect and recognize students demonstrating those character traits. There are “Buddy Classes,” a service team and a student council helping throughout the school. Students learn Conflict Resolution, Peer Mediation, and Bully-proofing strategies and have many opportunities to celebrate respect, caring and cooperation. Mentoring is provided by the staff, which allows us to get closer to our students.
Parent and community involvement are integral parts of the school. Indian Fields boasts an active and involved Parent Teacher Organization. We are fortunate to have many dedicated parent volunteers who help in classrooms and provide clerical support. School and homework connect together through programs including Parents as Reading Partners, Book It, Operation Bookworm and the African American Read-In. Together, we enjoy numerous activities such as, Donuts and Dudes (now called Breakfast with Dudes), Family Fun Nights, the PTO Walk-A-Thon (the school’s only fund-raiser), the Lenape Native American Traveling Museum, and an annual theatre production. A collaborative effort between parents and teachers produced a pond constructed on school grounds that is used for ecosystem study.
Students have many opportunities to expand their interests beyond the offerings of the regular curriculum. Students participate in workshops, grade level assembly performances and school-wide sharing assemblies that pique student interest. We encourage students to choose enrichment in art, technology, reading and physical education. Among the special activities are class plays, luncheons, yearbook and Student Council. The music program includes chorus, string orchestras and several bands.view less