Signature Programs

Chess is an exciting game that students can enjoy and learn at their own pace. It is a mental exercise for logical thinking and problem-solving using strategy and planning. Chess develops character, patience, focus and the ability to concentrate for longer periods of time. In addition to the chess classes in kindergarten and first grade, students are offered three other opportunities to experience chess in the Grammar School:

Sunrise Chess is offered daily between 7:15 to 8 a.m. Students enjoy guided play and problem solving.
 
Morning Chess Dojo is continued enrichment and study for players who might compete or plan on traveling with the team to regional and national events. Interactive learning on the board occurs while sparring with ideas through discussions. 

After-School Chess program classes are curriculum based and group students based on their level of experience. Students can take classes that offer enrichment across all levels or classes that focus on tournament play.

Playing within the classroom with their peers helps with the fluency of movements and the deliberate exchanges of concepts, ideas and strategy. Everyone has opportunities to choose to participate in local, state or national team tournaments. CGPS chess encourages good sportsmanship and politeness, and inspires gracefulness in victory as well as defeat.

CGPS is a school community where each child is known and seen. The Grammar School’s collaborative co-teaching model ensures that your child’s strengths, individual learning styles and talents are understood and nurtured. Working together, teachers create a supportive environment that inspires excitement about learning and encourages students to embrace challenges.

At the Grammar School, mornings kick off with breakfast in the Brownstone and 5 West Cafeterias. Families are invited to relax and enjoy this special time together before the day begins. It’s the perfect opportunity for our community to connect before sending children to class.

The STEAM program is an essential part of the Grammar School curriculum, creating cross-curricular opportunities at all grade levels. While students learn math in their classrooms, science and engineering in the science labs, art in the studios, and technology in the technology labs, STEAM integration is how these subject areas coalesce. In their classrooms, students use technology to better access learning and make it more real. In the MakerSpace, children build, tinker, code and craft as they consider and solve problems big and small. Students are challenged to find what inspires them to create and innovate, and teachers are prepared to help them learn the content and skills necessary to make their ideas a reality.

STEAM projects can include analog, digital and augmented reality options, helping inspiration take hold in young builders, coders and makers. Students use the cutting-edge technology found in the MakerSpace — including 3D printers, laser cutters, Makey Makeys and Chromebooks to run Scratch and the VR/AR program CoSpaces — to show what they know and enhance their understanding of other subject areas. For example, third graders might create interactive board games using the laser cutter, the 3D printer and Makey Makeys to share their knowledge of social studies. In fourth grade, a math unit challenges students to design and budget an aquarium complex. Students integrate STEAM as they build analog or digital models of their plans, or even a combination of the two.

Our Sunrise Program is a wonderful option for families who prefer an earlier start to their day. This program is included in tuition, so there are no additional fees. Sunrise Classes, taught by our Grammar School teachers, allow students to explore a variety of interests, from academic enrichment to movement and the arts! Classes meet from 7:30 to 8 a.m. Sunrise Play is a drop-in service available daily from 7:45 to 8 a.m.

We offer engaging opportunities in our after-school programming, including the traditional classes we’ve always provided and our signature Extended Day Program. This program features a mix of structured and unstructured activities, such as free play, group projects and homework assistance for students in grades Pre-K–5. Extended Day runs every school day (unless otherwise stated) from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.

The Band, Chorus and Orchestra initiative is in addition to the comprehensive general music program that prepares students for the Prep School music program, where they can join a wide variety of ensembles. Students may choose Band, Chorus and Orchestra (BCO )— or Chorus and Band or Orchestra. BCO students meet multiple times per cycle, both as a full ensemble and in smaller learning groups, helping to encourage consistent practice and growth. By including these specialized music ensembles within the regular school day, students can participate fully without worrying about scheduling conflicts with other extracurricular activities.

Civic education is an indispensable part of democracy and constitutes the core building blocks that make for a good citizen and ultimately a good nation. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free…it expects what never was and never will be.” Indeed, it is difficult to understand how we can realize our full potential as a nation if our citizens lack a firm understanding of our political history, its leadership, governmental institutions and practices, and the evolution of our political system. How can any citizen be truly informed in casting a vote, leading an organization, voicing an opinion or joining a protest movement without a sound background in civic education? Most importantly, as students make this journey as a class to become more informed and better-prepared citizens, they will also place a high premium on the obligation for each of us to respect one another as individuals and to further respect — and even show empathy for — the opinions and views that each of us hold and voice.

In CIRS, sixth graders investigate a current issue of their choice. Past topics have included bullying, depression, sports injuries, fast food, allergies and ADHD. Students learn important skills such as taking notes from books, creating an outline, conducting interviews and administering surveys. They write two research papers during the school year and participate in a current issues fair in May. Additionally, one of the CIRS periods each cycle is used to read and discuss current events such as immigration, elections, the Supreme Court and North Korea. One of the most exciting and enjoyable components of the class is interviewing an expert in the field they are researching or someone close to the issue. Students focus on how to ask relevant questions to obtain the best responses.

Each grade has their own dean to support every student’s journey through the Middle School. These deans collaborate closely with the Middle School Director and Assistant Director to advocate for the social-emotional and academic interests of students in their respective grades. They regularly interact with students, teachers, the School psychologist and parents. The deans play a critical role in shaping Middle School life by fostering a sense of community through the advisory program, student government and other community-building activities and programs

The Middle School has a thriving extracurricular math program, with over 60 students participating in both in-house and nationwide math competitions. On the Math Team, students apply classroom skills to unique problem-solving challenges in a low-stress environment. Competitions that Math Team members enter include the AMC 8 (American Mathematics Competition), a 25-question, 40-minute multiple-choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development of problem-solving skills. The AMC 8 provides an opportunity for middle school students to develop positive attitudes toward analytical thinking and mathematics that can assist in future careers. Female students can enter GAIM (Girls’ Adventures in Math), a team-based math competition for girls in grades 3–8. This competition presents some of the most challenging and innovative math problems to students in this age group, contextualized in a comic book featuring stories of pioneering women from history. Other competitions we use to help our team prepare include the MathCounts Competition Series and Math Olympiad.

Middle School students participate in meaningful service-learning activities. The goal is to develop social awareness through direct and indirect service learning. Middle Schoolers deliver meals to the elderly with CityMeals and visit Goddard Riverside to speak to Goddard’s Director about what services the Center provides and who it serves, and then spend time at the Center’s elderly home and day care center. Students run bake sales and donate the money raised to carefully selected organizations. The Middle School also invites guest speakers from charitable organizations, including: the Fresh Air Fund, Ready, Willing and Able (The Doe Fund), Make A Wish, The Foundling Hospital, International Rescue Committee, Pencils of Promise, CITTA, Safe Horizons, Special Olympics, ABC (Association to Benefit Children) and the New York Center for Law and Justice.

As part of the STEAM initiative in the Middle School, students create art projects that reinforce the curriculum in various subject areas. Teachers work collaboratively to provide students with a well-rounded, fully-immersive academic and creative experience. The Middle School STEAM program picks up where the Grammar School leaves off, building upon the skills and content students are taught in the lower grades.

In fifth grade, students enhance their engineering skills as they engage in various project-based learning units including egg-drop and bridge building challenges. They develop their coding skills by using Scratch during an invention project in which they create a wide variety of end-products that showcase their personal interests. In sixth grade, they build upon this coding work through an interdisciplinary robotics unit tying science content together with engineering, coding and problem-solving skills. Students engage in various other project-based units in which they learn about bioengineering, 3D printing and modeling, creating and coding virtual reality spaces and video editing. The STEAM program culminates in seventh grade with two major projects in which students showcase their engineering skills by creating full-sized boats out of recyclable materials and pinhole cameras respectively. In addition to building upon and applying real-world mathematics and science skills during both projects, students learn how to create websites using HTML, edit photographs using various programs, create 3D models on SketchUp and create elaborate virtual reality environments.

Throughout their time in the Middle School, students engage in a variety of STEAM-centered technology projects. Focus is on hands-on learning to teach coding, engineering, design thinking, making functional machines and the importance of cooperation and teamwork. Topics within the Middle School technology curriculum for all ages also include digital citizenship, using the Internet for research and the Google suite of tools. The Middle School technology curriculum furthers students’ knowledge and understanding of how technology is used for research, creativity, production and organization. The diverse curriculum allows each student to build confidence while using a wide range of current tools. We develop critical thinking skills through coding, robotics and circuits, 3D printing and engineering. Students become responsible and competent digital citizens able to navigate the technology in the world and think through problems logically.

ASR is a student-centered research program that encourages individual and group scientific inquiry beginning sophomore year. ASR is one of the most exciting curriculum initiatives that a secondary school can offer. ASR provides high school students with the structure and support they need to explore original research at a very high level in a topic of their own interest. This serious pursuit of new knowledge provides students with a deep experience of independence, industry and collaboration. ASR offers students the chance to complete original research projects on a topic of their choice in the areas of physical science (chemistry, physics, engineering, earth and space sciences), life science (biology, medicine and health, environmental science), mathematics and computers, or social science (psychology, anthropology). This challenging program is designed to develop a strong foundation in personal responsibility, self-reliance, creative problem-solving and advanced interpersonal communication skills.

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The Alex Bhak Experiential Learning Fellowship in the Arts and Humanities was founded in the fall of 2021. The Fellowship empowers the real-world learning experiences of Prep School students through an exploration of the arts and humanities. It is funded with support from the Alex Nair Bhak Foundation.

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In ninth grade, every class is assigned a dean who accompanies the group of students until graduation. The dean oversees each student's academic, social and emotional life, and frequently interacts with the students (through private, group and class meetings), their teachers, counselors and parents. They are instrumental in their students' well-being. The deans organize grade-level meetings with teachers and counselors, visit classes and clubs, attend school functions and meet with the Director twice a cycle to keep them up to date. This is considered one of the most meaningful programs at the School.

A hallmark of CGPS is the value placed on individual students and their interests. Beginning in ninth grade, the curriculum offers a wide range of electives in art, music, theater, dance, technology and physical education. As students progress through the Prep School, they gain increasing autonomy in choosing their courses. By their junior and senior years, students are creating their entire academic programs across all subjects — English, history, math, science, world languages and all other elective courses. This fosters a learning environment where students can build upon their passions, leading to engaged, successful and independent graduates prepared for the next step in their educational journey.

The elective system allows for flexibility in course offerings, ensuring that no two academic years are identical. Every discipline in the Prep School offers elective courses. They can be taken in addition to required courses in a department once those course requirements have been met. These electives reflect student and teacher interests and are widely beloved by the student body. Elective offerings at CGPS are vast and change from semester to semester.

The English Department offers a particularly vibrant exploration of Shakespearean drama for the ninth grade. Along with traditional close readings of poetic language, students engage in lively analysis of performance, viewing and discussing films and often leaving their seats to recite and perform lines themselves. Then, in an exciting culminating project, students develop their own scene interpretations, choose costumes and props, learn Shakespeare’s lines, and prepare to direct and act in order to bring their characters and scenes to life. These performances are a highlight of the spring term and offer alternative paths for students to connect with the plays.

Student trips are an integral part of the Prep School curriculum. Each year, groups of students travel to and compete in Model Congress and Model UN tournaments. For international travel, the School offers spring break experiential programs across disciplines around the world.