Daniel Bagley Academics

Specialist Classes and Programs 

Visual Arts

Daniel Bagley’s exceptional visual arts program provides the foundation for our school-wide arts focus. Weekly or twice-weekly classes for all students with our certificated arts specialist let them explore, experiment and create in different media. Art History and theory provide the foundation for their creative efforts. The annual Art Walk during a spring evening event showcases every student’s work.

Music

Daniel Bagley’s exceptional music program has established weekly or twice a week classes for all students with our certificated music specialist to teach the foundations of music, and let them explore, experiment and create their own music.  

Our 4th and 5th grade students have the opportunity for instrumental music instruction and choir. Students select from a variety of wind and string instruments. The students’ work culminates in an end-of-the-year performance for the whole school and an evening concert for parents and families. 

Performing Arts

Our artist-in-residence program includes movement classes with dancers from Pacific Northwest Ballet. Fourth grade students participate in an intensive program learning traditional ballet exercises and choreography. The students practice for a performance at McCaw Hall and participate in arts field trips to enrich their connections to dance.

Health and Fitness

The health and fitness program at Daniel Bagley is centered around building a strong foundation to establish future confidence in lifelong participation in physical activity. We focus on motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Students are exposed to numerous sports and movement skills. We partner with Cascade Bike Program and routinely improve our sports equipment collection to expose students to a variety of different sports skills. Students will also learn the five components of fitness and how they relate to different muscles and bones in the human body.  

Technology Instruction

At Daniel Bagley Elementary Students successfully engage in innovative learning experiences with technology that is relevant and ready to use. Staff seamlessly integrates technological skills and strategies to enhance student learning and to build community through responsive, dynamic and inclusive communication.   

Through the Clever Portal on the Seattle Public Schools website, students have access to Typing Club and a variety of other apps purchased by SPS that offer additional practice on typing, reading, math, research, school library book holds and more.  Please ask your homeroom teacher for more information.  

The Educational Garden

Environmental Awareness is an important focus here at Daniel Bagley Elementary. Students participate in the Salmon Study Unit, culminating with the release of salmon into Thornton Creek. With our own local treasure Green Lake within walking distance, our students are exposed to a host of environmental and stewardship concerns. 

This year, the students of Daniel Bagley are working with their own “Educational Garden” already in existence outside of Room 119. The space provides an outdoor classroom setting consisting of: 16 raised gardens, several types of composters for making our own compost, a worm bin, a seating area, and space for lots of creative possibilities! The Educational Garden is completely organic and edible garden. 

The Native Garden

Every classroom utilizes The National Science Foundation curriculum lesson kits. The children learn scientific observation and analysis skills; and integrate these lessons into their writing experience.

The Native Habitat Garden at Daniel Bagley Elementary provides an opportunity for students to learn about some of the Northwest’s native plants and their plant communities. In the garden, students can learn to recognize and name many of the common native plants they would find in our regional wooded areas. This garden is one of several habitat gardens in the larger Green Lake community forming a local ecosystem and habitat for native birds and insects.

Assemblies

Once monthly at Daniel Bagley we hold an all-school assembly bringing the students and staff together to share announcements and special thoughts.

Advanced Learning Opportunities (ALO)

Advanced Learners; What does it look like for them at Bagley?  

All students at Bagley start with shared experiences in their classrooms that become differentiated tasks. This means students are given work that pushes their thinking around a similar skill, while other students may be provided work that breaks down the skill into manageable chunks.  Our students with an Advanced Learning or Highly Capable designation shows strengths and areas for growth depending on the skills we are teaching. As a result, all teachers are using reading, math and writing assessments in their classrooms to learn about students’ current levels of performance. We then use this baseline to plan reading groups, extension tasks and projects that will stretch student thinking. Some examples of advanced learning work are below.  

Reading

• Use of a reading journal, individual conferences, and thoughtful discussion prompts to get students to think more deeply about what they are reading
• Identifying and supporting reading ‘Just Right’ books
• Creating small group rotations where students have mini-lessons with their teacher that are targeted to their specific reading level

Writing

• Rubrics with clear and high-level expectations, that reinforce peer conferencing
• Providing authentic writing opportunities including blog posts/student comments that engage students with an audience of their peers.

Math

• Enrichment and extension problems within each unit
• Differentiated tasks to extend student thinking around a similar skill

Special Education

Daniel Bagley provides the following service models: resource, ACCESS and distinct. These services are provided on a continuum that is driven by individual student needs. The staff focuses on each student’s unique learning needs when implementing researched-based materials and designing supports and modifications to help each student access their general education curriculum. 

The Special Education staff works collaboratively with the classroom teachers to ensure students who receive special education services are involved classroom participants and active members in the school community. The continuum of services may include speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and others based on student need. Please see our special education services information sheet for further detail. 

Homework

We recognize the partnership between family and school is very powerful. Homework is one of many tools that teachers use to create a home-school connection.

Create a balance:

Homework should feel like a balance of learning what your child is working on at school and giving your child independent time to practice.

Tips for Homework success:

• Define a location in your house where homework is done.
• Create a routine where your child is asked to show what is in their yellow take home folder each evening.
• Homework should not feel like a struggle. At our Open House Curriculum Night, teachers outlined their homework plan for your child. Please reach out to your classroom teacher and the principal if you feel the homework plan is not working for your family.
• Many students enjoy videos from Khan Academy for math support. This site teaches math in the same way as our current math curriculum.

Time Frame for Reading at home:

• Children access reading and build stamina for reading as they age. If you create a space for about 20 minutes of reading in the evening this helps to develop habits of being a reader.
• This reading could include a parent reading to a child and asking questions about the book or a child reading on their own and telling the family what they read about.
• Our students spend time enriching themselves afterschool with clubs, classes, and family time. If students don’t read one or two nights and then spend the next night diving into books for an hour, that is great!

In all grades homework may include:

• work that was not completed during the school day, which may include online math practice, math worksheets, or writing work.
• enrichment work, including special projects.
  
  

Late Work:

Students are not graded based on the timely completion of an assignment. They are graded based on their display of understanding of the content.