Student Opportunities

• Curiosity Cabinets are multi-age interest groups generated by the students. 
• Curiosity Cabinets occur on both Zoom and in-person.
• Sessions last one hour, and we offer three six-week cycles. 
• Past Curiosity Cabinets have included Builders & Creators, Living Life Science, Cooking & Baking, and Karate!
  
  
  

• Celebrations of Learning occur near the end of trimester one and two.
• The events allow students to select work products from the current trimester they are most proud of.
• Families and community leaders are invited to interact with students as they showcase their work.
   

• The Connect Academy Impact Market is held at the end of trimester three.
• The market allows students to research and take on the necessary roles of running a farmers’ market.
• Students take it one step further by advocating for a cause and making connections to their strengths and passions and the connected learner profile while running the market.
  
  
  

• K - 8 students gain problem-solving and critical thinking skills while learning to code on the world’s leading K-12 creative coding platform, Tynker. Older students volunteer for the mentorship program Tynker Buddies to mentor younger students and help them learn to code. 
• The scope and sequence allow our exiting 8th graders to have the building blocks in place in various computer languages like Python, javascript, and HTML to be in line and prepared for AP Computer Science in High School.
  
  
  

• Middle School students work with Disney Imagineering in their Exploring Technology class.
  • In this cross-curricular project spanning two years, our middle school students use industry-standard tools like Adobe Creative Suite to create a theme park of their very own.
  • Students learn to use the elements of art and design principles in areas such as digital photography, computer graphic arts, & video production to help tell the story of their land.
• Middle School classes partner with our district’s Career and Technical Education department and local high schools to provide opportunities to explore career pathways within our district. On field trips to High School campuses, our learners work alongside high school students on various projects within different industry sectors.
  
  
  

• The McGrath Family JA BizTown is a 10,000-square-foot mini-city comprised of 21 life-sized San Diego businesses where students connect the lessons learned in the classroom to ‘real-world’ applications. They run a business, earn paychecks, open bank accounts, pay taxes, vote, and are challenged to earn a profit in their business. Their monumental experience prepares them for a lifetime of learning and academic achievement.