Every student attending Farmington Woods will attend the following classes.

Art

In art, students are engaged in the joy of creating. They learn mental skills that accompany the creative process- flexibility in problem solving and decision making, finding ways to implement decisions, and applying known information to new settings. Students learn the language of art using the principles of design to communicate their ideas. Art history, art criticism, aesthetics and the making of art are the components of the art program. These components are couched in the IB philosophy of inquiry and correlate with the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.  Weekly art lessons are provided for every class for forty-five minutes. A variety of materials, techniques, concepts and subject matter is explored. In third grade, a visit to the North Carolina Museum of Art is arranged through the VIVA program (Volunteers in the Visual Arts).

Dance/Drama

Farmington Woods offers Dance/Drama to all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders once a week for 45 minutes.  Students explore a variety of dramatic elements including such areas as pantomime, costuming, puppetry, masks, improvisation, playwrighting and many others.  Activities are often highly movement based and students are encouraged to develop skills such as reading comprehension, sequencing, problem solving, and personal expression.  The Dance/Drama program fits well with the IB philosophy and the development of the student profile, encouraging and strengthening creativity, risk taking abilities, confidence and enthusiasm.  Dance/Drama allows each student to excel in a classroom setting that combines the development of high level thinking skills with the excitement and energetic nature of performance based learning 

Media

Farmington Woods Media Center operates on a fixed-flexible schedule. The Media Center is open from 8:00am – 8:25am each morning for students to come to look for research materials or simply browse the shelves for a new book; and remains open until 3:30pm. Students in Kindergarten and First grade have a once a week, set library time when the entire class comes to the Media Center for story time, instruction in media skills, and book circulation. Second and Third grade students often have a weekly fixed circulation time. These classes come to the Media Center once a week to exchange their books. Students in the entire school however, are encouraged to come to the Media Center throughout the day to choose new books. During the “flex” periods of the schedule, teachers schedule the Media Center in order to bring their entire class or send only a small number of students for independent research.

Each year the Media Center, in partnership with the school’s PTA, hosts a visiting author/ illustrator as well as several book fairs. Exposing students to the world of books, providing students with skills to live in the 21st century, as well as fostering the love of reading are the primary goals of the Farmington Woods Media Center. The Media Center staff is composed of 1 full-time and 1 part-time Media Specialist, as well as 1 full-time Media Assistant.

Music

PE

The physical education program at Farmington Woods is geared towards the developmental needs of each individual student.  The overall concept that we adhere to is "lifelong learning".  The skills taught will continue to evolve throughout the educational process and ultimately provide students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to be physically active throughout life.  We focus on progressive development of the student's physical fitness level and we develop the skills necessary for involvement in a variety of sports and games. 

Spanish

Language is an important part of the IB Programme. Children at Farmington Woods begin receiving Spanish instruction in Kindergarten. Each student will receive Spanish twice a week for a total of at least 50 min in Kindergarten through 2nd grade and one hour and 15 min. in 3rd-5th grade.  In these classes the children learn vocabulary, phrases and the foundation of a foreign language. By the fifth grade the children are reading, writing and speaking the language as they complete short essays, act out plays and learn about the cultures of Spanish speaking regions.

Technology

Students at Farmington Woods receive Technology instruction ongoing in their classrooms as well as once every other week in the main computer lab for 45min or more. Each classroom has at least 3-5 computers with access to the Internet as well as a computer lab of 26 IBM XP machines. Additional computers can be found in the library for research, as well as 2 mobile laptop carts that may be used in the classrooms. The students learn to actively create and publish multimedia projects that directly correlate to their IB units of study. Our teachers use the Wake County Public Schools and North Carolina Standard Course of Study for instruction and integration. The teachers at Farmington Woods collaborate regularly with the technology specialist to create lessons that meet the needs of all students. In addition, the Technology specialist maintains the school web site, manages the network, handles daily network issues, assists with staff and student troubleshooting, and acts as a liaison between the school and Wake County's technology help desk.