About The Highlands School

The Highlands School provides an environment that facilitates and promotes active exploration, creative thinking, respect, and self-discovery. Children who are allowed to actively explore their environment, and pursue their own interests are likely to become life-long, independent learners. We are a small school with just two classrooms, two teachers, and two assistants. This allows plenty of one-on-one work time with each student every day, and a close-knit community within the school.  

A Loving, Safe Environment

Children must feel emotionally and physically safe in their learning environment.  Our environment is set up in such a way that it fosters a sense of belonging, security and success.  A child needs to know that school is a place where they are loved and valued and where their individual choices and decisions about learning are valued and respected.

EXPLORE, PLAY & LEARN

Our school environment is active and offers hands-on learning/play experiences. Children need lots of time to play. Play is how they make sense of their environment. It affects language development, creative thinking and problem solving abilities. Daily time is provided for this important work. Children need many opportunities to make choices and decisions. 

Life Skills, Core Beliefs and the Golden Rule

We are dedicated to helping our students develop respect for each other and their environment.  We teach children to listen carefully and to show compassion for the needs of others.  Being respectful means being kind to friends and family, using good manners, not hitting or hurting others, and talking about your problems.

A Language Rich Environment

Children should be surrounded by language that is used in meaningful ways. Oral language development is encouraged with many opportunities for dramatic play and social interactions with peers and adults. Children will be exposed to many poems, songs and stories for the purpose of building their individual “storehouse” of language.