The goal of an NPS education is to form students who are confident, skilled, curious, and compassionate, with a strong sense of identity rooted in the School’s Core Values of love, respect, honesty, responsibility and safety.
The NPS curriculum offers a rigorous, yet balanced and developmentally appropriate academic program. We not only teach students solid academic skills but how to apply them as they explore, question and think about the ever-evolving world they will inherit. NPS prepares students in the key 21st century competencies: cognition, communication, connection, collaboration, and creativity.
Thinking and questioning come naturally to young learners. NPS teachers are highly skilled in harnessing their students’ natural curiosity and teaching them to think critically about the world around them. All NPS teachers are trained in and use the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero thinking routines as a framework for lessons.
One of the hallmarks of the NPS program is our focus on communication. Students graduate able to share their thoughts and opinions confidently and in a respectful manner. They value the opinions of others as they learn to appreciate the many voices of our community.
NPS students are connected to both the local and global communities through projects in and out of the classroom. As students move through the grades, their sphere of exposure expands from that of their family, to the cultures and traditions of their classmates’ families, to those of the world at large through a hands on integrated social studies, art, drama, music, and service learning curriculum.
All children are taught to work together respectfully through the framework of our strong social-emotional learning (SEL) program. Led by our two school counselors, all faculty and staff are trained in SEL practices and integrate this training into the daily curriculum.
NPS students are encouraged to take risks and find new ways to accomplish tasks. Teachers recognize that creativity is the path to invention and innovation and work collaboratively on STEAM and Arts Integration projects at all grade levels.