Discovering Specials at Great Hearts’ Archway Academies

In an elementary school, a “special” refers to a class taught by a specialist, separate from regular classroom instruction. It often gives students a change in scenery from their primary classroom and gives their primary teachers space to prepare for the next lesson. But at Great Hearts lower schools, specials provide much more than a break in the day. Through music, art, language, and physical education, our specials teachers are cultivating a sense of curiosity and wonder that are both joyful and meaningful to the scholars’ academic day.

In the K–2 music room at Archway Veritas, you’ll  find Ashton Bates helping young students march, clap, tap, and laugh their way into understanding rhythm. “My main goal is to teach them how to keep the rhythm, how to keep the beat, getting that joy jump started for them so they can just continue to love music.”

Every class begins with a quiet moment of intentional listening: “I like to start every lesson with just listening to our composer of the month. I really encourage my students to focus on how it makes them feel. During that minute, they are just focusing on what’s going on inside of them, what’s happening in the music.”

By the time students move into grades 3–5, they’re ready for deeper musical exploration. Liam Pluntke picks up where Miss Bates leaves off. “I take what Miss Bates has taught in kindergarten through second grade and I kind of build off of that using more complex beats, theory, and songs.”

He loves that Great Hearts creates a space where students get to experience a wider musical world. “We offer such a rich, diverse pallet of music. The kids are able to benefit from a lot more.”

Just down the hall, Maggie Medcalf, who teaches art for K–2, lights up when she talks about her studio space: “This is a fine arts class. It’s a studio art class. So, we’re using all kinds of art materials, oil, pastel, paints, pencils, colored pencils to exercise those fine motor skills, but also learn cutting, gluing, all the things that are necessary, whether we’re tracing lines like Picasso or cutting out shapes for our self-portrait.”

She loves watching students see themselves in art. “They get to connect with that, and they get to be a part of that and appreciate that. It’s really exciting to see.”

In grades 3-5, Christine Merryman helps students go beyond basics. “After getting the building blocks with Mrs. Medcalf’s classes, we’re diving deeper into different types of lines and shapes, values, the elements of art coming out in other ways. So, we’re doing painting and drawing and collage.”

But what she enjoys most is watching her students learn to truly see. “When we’re looking at a master work, I ask them what do they notice and what stands out to them? And just finding the beauty in that helps them see the beauty in the world around them. Opening their eyes to what’s out there.”

When you step into the French classroom at Archway Veritas, you are greeted with joyful voices trying new sounds and discovering new worlds. For the younger grades, Anne Cawley makes that experience magical. “I love seeing the joy on all the faces of those little students from kindergarten to 3rd grade. It is amazing to see the wonder in their eyes.”

She helps students explore French culture by comparing it to their own. “What I like doing is exposing them to students of their own age so they can see the difference between a French school and an American school.”

By grades four and five, students are ready for more immersive activities. Karla Gemoets brings movement and interactivity into learning. “We do a lot of interactive activities. We [use] a teaching method that includes body movement in second language acquisition,” she shared. “I want them to think of French and be excited about it. So, I’m hoping that all that variety will inspire them to enjoy learning the language.”

For the youngest Archway students, running, skipping, and playing are fun and foundational. Lauren Koops, K–2 P.E. teacher, sees movement as part of childhood itself. “Movement is such a joyful part of childhood. It is a central piece of who they are as kids, and I love watching them move, having them playing games and experience that joy that they get through movement.”

She makes sure students learn safety and teamwork long before they face more complex games. “They’re learning how to move safely in a group. They’re learning those foundational skills, and I help prepare them for when they go to third, fifth grade where they’re doing more strategic games and at a level that kinders, 1^stgrade, and 2^nd grade will understand.”

In grades 3–5, Peter Caschetta expands their skills, knowledge, and confidence. “At the elementary level, it’s the foundation and building that foundation and watching them grow,” he shared. “We define it as either non-traditional activities or traditional activities. The traditional activities would be the sports, football, baseball, soccer. The non-trad itional is probably more elementary appropriate. That’s stuff like battleship, island hopping where they use equipment to get across the gym without touching the ground.”

You’ll even hear Coach Cashetta’s students counting in French during their warmups, a touch that brings the special classes full circle.

From music rooms filled with rhythm to art studios buzzing with creativity, from French classes sparking curiosity to gyms full of joyful movement, specials at Great Hearts help provide another way for our young scholars to discover the True, the Beautiful, and the Good.

Do you have a story or know of one that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts? Please contact jmoore@greatheartsamerica.org.

Submit a student application to a Great Hearts Academy by visiting: https://www.greatheartsamerica.org/enroll/.