Weekly Schedule & School Calendar
Our School Schedule
In schools, as in life, the commodity in shortest supply is time. How we spend our time is how we enact our values.
SEEQS's schedule is a manifestation of our values. Fundamental elements of SEEQS's weekly schedule include long blocks of time for authentic work, opportunities for community involvement and for students and teachers to work and play together, and extensive time for teacher planning and collaboration.
The schedule, shown below, represents a typical week at SEEQS and the basic structure of the schedule is the same for students in all grade levels; all students enroll in an EQS as well as a science, math, ELA, art, and history course each term.
Schedule Characteristics
Physical activity to start the day. Each day begins with physical activity to stimulate the brain. Students may choose from a number of different course offerings and may commit to different activities on different days. Offerings are determined by initiative and interest of students, community members, parents, and teachers, and range from gardening to dancing hula to basketball and more.
Later start time. Most adolescents experience a “sleep phase delay, which means a tendency toward later times for both falling asleep and waking up” (Wolfson & Carskadon, 1998). In recognition of students’ sleep habits, SEEQS academic content does not begin until 9:20 on most days, after Physical Activity, and begins at 9:30 on Wednesdays.
Academic content in long blocks of time. EQS blocks are two hours long to enable a variety of instructional approaches, groupings, projects and activities. Core academic courses are 70 minutes long, allowing sufficient time for scientific lab activities, in-depth explorations in humanities, intensive reading and writing work in English Language Arts, student collaboration in mathematics, and much more. ELA and math blocks also enable time for focused intervention for struggling students.
Interdisciplinary Essential Question of Sustainability blocks. SEEQS strives to create a seamless link between academic content and real-world application through project-based learning. As a fundamental part of the SEEQS experience, all students participate in an interdisciplinary, project-based course designed around examining an Essential Question of Sustainability (EQS). These courses meet four days a week in two-hour blocks which may include student-directed project time, teacher-led tutorials, community outings, guest visits, and, in later years, formal internships for upperclassmen.
Assembly and Advisory are included in the schedule at least once a week. Advisors serve as a counselor for both social/emotional and academic needs. The weekly assembly is for all-school gatherings and community-building, and may include arts performances, honors or awards, or Town Hall meetings; advisories will sit together for assemblies and may meet afterwards to debrief or check in. On Mondays and Fridays, middle school students convene with advisory groups for morning activities.