Intermediate School: At A Glance


Intermediate School at CDS (Grades 4 and 5) forms a bridge between Lower School and Middle School, providing an academically rigorous, but emotionally safe and joyful environment with an emphasis on critical thinking and socio-emotional development.

Passover Model Seder Intermediate School
Intermediate School students do water science
Jewelry Design during IGNITE
Full-School Kabbalat Shabbat celebration
Boys basketball game
Intermediate School Drama Club performance
Group of Intermediate School students
Dancing Classrooms ballroom dance rehearsal
Girls on the Run team
Intermediate School students on MLK Day
Intermediate School students paint kindness rocks
Intermediate School students during Band

General information:

  • Facilities: Athletic field, educational gardens, playground, gymnasium with performance stage
  • Technology: SMART Boards and iPads, with PC and Apple desktops and robotics in the Legacy Learning Lab
  • Specials: Art, music, library, physical education 
  • Extracurricular activities: Jr. Student Council, Drama Club, Little Lions and 5th Grade Step-Up sports, Girls on the Run, IS Service Learning Project, 5th Grade Gettysburg trip, Odyssey of the Mind, Instrumental Band

Curriculum overview:

  • Science: Inspire Science curriculum by McGraw Hill, built to the Next Generation Science Standards focusing on literacy and math integration, real-world problem-solving, and STEM activities/careers
  • Math: My Math curriculum
  • Language Arts: Units of study from the Writing Workshop model developed at Columbia University and novel studies supplemented with Reading Street spelling and grammar lessons 
  • Hebrew: iTalAm spiraling curriculum accelerates language learning and makes the study of Hebrew and Judaism fun and relevant, incorporating digital tools for personalized learning
  • Jewish Studies: Daily tefillah, Book of Exodus to the end of the Torah taught through an innovative approach, where students engage with texts by critically solving 'cases' in a simulated 'FBI' agency
  • Social Studies: Regions of our Country and  America’s Past curricula