CO-CURRICULARS

The Performing Arts program at The Healdsburg School cultivates a deep and lasting appreciation for music through creativity, collaboration, and joyful engagement. Under the direction of a Level III certified educator in both the Kodály and Orff approaches, the program is rooted in a highly specialized, research-based pedagogy that develops musical understanding through singing, movement, and active music-making.

Students engage in a rich and sequential curriculum that builds musical literacy, artistry, and cultural awareness through Orff instruments, folk dance, and ensemble experiences. In fifth grade, students expand their musicianship through Beginning Band and the fall musical, while middle school students continue their growth in advanced ensemble offerings including choir, handbells, band, and drama.

Signature performances such as the Winter Performance and spring musical showcase student achievement and bring the community together in celebration. At its core, the program prioritizes the artistic process—nurturing confident, expressive students who listen deeply, collaborate meaningfully, and experience a true sense of belonging through music.

Respect, Integrity, Community, and Effort are the four pillars of our Physical Education program. We are process-focused in our learning and view differences in interests, abilities, and experiences as opportunities to learn and grow together. We celebrate both failure and success, recognizing that each is an important part of the learning process. We meet students where they are and support them in getting where they want to be on their individual fitness journeys. Ultimately, our goal is to help every student build a positive and lasting relationship with physical activity that supports lifelong learning, fitness, and overall health.

The Garden Program provides students with a living classroom that grows alongside them from TK through 8th grade. TK–5th grade students visit the Garden each week, building hands-on knowledge through planting, harvesting, observing, cooking, creating, and caring for the natural world. Middle school students can continue their exploration through 6th–8th grade Garden electives, deepening their understanding of food, gardening, sustainability, and environmental stewardship.

The Garden is also home to our student-led Green Team, where students turn learning into action through composting, reducing waste, caring for our shared spaces, and inspiring sustainable practices throughout the school. Together, these experiences build curiosity, confidence, responsibility, and a meaningful connection to the land and community.

The Spanish program is designed for students to develop competence in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as gain a deeper understanding of the culture of Spanish-speaking countries and communities. The progression is gradual and linguistically appropriate for all ages.  As students progress through the program, they are encouraged to take linguistic risks, be vulnerable, and use their intuition. Differentiated instruction complements various learning styles, abilities and language backgrounds. TK through Fifth Grade students participate in Spanish classes two times per week.  Middle School students will choose either Spanish or Mandarin as a language focus for the rest of their time at THS.

The Mandarin program introduces students to the phonetic system of Modern Standard Mandarin Chinese, including Pinyin, transliteration, and the four tones. Students develop foundational skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing as they learn to recognize Chinese characters, understand basic sentence patterns, and communicate about themselves and their surroundings using age-appropriate language structures.

Learning is engaging and interactive, with a variety of activities designed to strengthen students’ oral and aural communication skills. Students participate in songs, games such as Memory and Go Fish using Chinese character cards, and guided dialogues that provide meaningful opportunities to practice vocabulary, sentence patterns, and conversational skills.

Throughout the program, students also develop an appreciation for the diverse cultures, traditions, and customs of the Chinese-speaking world, making cultural understanding an integral part of their language-learning experience.

Kindergarten through fifth-grade students participate in Mandarin classes twice during each six-day cycle. In Middle School, students select either Mandarin or Spanish as their language focus and continue developing their proficiency throughout their remaining years at The Healdsburg School.