A DAY AT de PAUL
See what a school
day looks like
Let’s step into some classrooms at various times of the day to see The de Paul Difference in action.
8:30
FIRST
PERSONAL AND
SOCIAL SUCCESS
CLASSES
THE DE PAUL DIFFERENCE
Throughout the building, our “Success” classes are buzzing. Team 2 students are practicing how to “read” someone’s feelings by noticing their body language. Team 4 students are brainstorming how to manage their competitive instincts to make sure everyone has fun during play. Team 6 students are sitting in pairs, discussing situations where they need to set boundaries around words, behaviors, or emotions. At developmentally appropriate levels, each student is exploring what it means to maintain their individuality while also being a member of different social groups. Topics include self-management, social navigation, emotional regulation, decision-making, and more.
9:20
NEXT
English
Language Arts
DOING READING DIFFERENTLY
Our Team 1 students are up out of their desks, breaking multisyllabic words into smaller parts so they can read them. This way, they can identify which sound each vowel should make (long, short, or modified).
Later in the period, students will apply these skills as they read passages for meaning. The teacher employs techniques from our Multisensory, Structure, and Attention-Based pillars to create a dynamic lesson that teaches the way our students’ brains learn.
10:35
THEN
MATHEMATICS
MAKING MATH MAGIC
In math class, our Team 4 students have been dividing many different kinds of objects into groups to learn about division. Today, the teacher has asked them to do this with place value blocks, and the students are realizing they need to “trade in” their blocks at times to be able to divide them completely. Every step they take with these blocks represents a step of the written long division procedure. When the teacher introduces the written procedure in a few days, each step will already make sense to the students, making their learning and retention easier and quicker. The teacher integrates Structure and Attention-Based techniques to keep this Multi-Sensory activity meaningful and focused.
Lunch/Recess
LUNCH LINE LEARNING
Students with learning differences often require more than the average number of repetitions to attain mastery. Whether it’s counting by 2s while walking to the water fountain or quizzing on vocab words on the way to recess, we “get our reps in” with practice-rich approaches to learning.
1:05
AFTER LUNCH
Special Area
Classes
PROGRAMMING ROBOTS IN DESIGN SCIENCE
In Design Science, the teacher has assigned a challenge: “Create a robot that can navigate a maze and retrieve a plastic cube located at the end.” Students are working in pairs – one as the robot designer and one as the programmer – to create their own unique solution. Occasionally, they run their robot through a trial and then return to their station for further development. Design Science, Physical Education, Arts, and Library Skills help students explore their brilliance in new frontiers beyond their academic classrooms.
1:35
LATER
Social Studies and Science
LEARNING EFFECTIVE NOTETAKING IN SOCIAL STUDIES
In Social Studies, Team 7 students are drawing conclusions about the Revolutionary War by studying primary artifacts from that time period. As they take notes for later studying, they use de Paul’s “T-Table” format which organizes the ideas for effective study. This approach to note taking is one aspect of de Paul’s pillars of Practice Rich Instruction and Structure. These techniques lead to durable learning (the ability to retain information for the long-term) and create a foundation of effective learning strategies that our students can utilize long after they graduate from The de Paul School.
3:25
AFTER SCHOOL
CLUBS &
ATHLETICS
PRACTICING SKILLS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
From soccer and basketball to cooking and chess, de Paul offers clubs and extracurriculars in response to student interests. Students have many opportunities to grow and shine, both during and after the school day.
