Airport Road Branch

Curriculum Overview

UCA since launching in 2012 had adopted the Montessori educational System for Kindergarten for three years, yet UCA still applies Sensorial and Practical Life skills of Montessori Method.

After an intensive review at the curriculum for the Kindergarten, UCA has taken steps forward integrating the CCSS (Common Core State Standards), so that the children in KG are guided and taught by trained educators in a carefully planned, vertically grouped, structured environment, implementing the child-centered approach, thus allowing each to experience the excitement of learning by his/her own choice and helping him/her to maximize his/her intrinsic potential for leaning.

Today's students are preparing to enter a world in which is demanding more than ever before. To ensure all students are ready for success, the CCSS establish clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in Math & English language arts from Kindergarten through Grade 12.

The Standards were planned by experts and teachers from across the United States and are designed to ensure students are prepared for today's world. The CCSS focuses on developing the critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful. CCSS also provides a way for teachers to measure student progress throughout the school year and ensure that students are on the pathway to success in their academic life.

The Core Knowledge Arts Program

The Core Knowledge Arts Program includes two strands of instruction, and these strands correspond with the elements of reading isolated in the simple view of reading. The Skills Strand is meant to build students’ decoding skills, while the Listening and Learning Strand is meant to build students’ language comprehension ability by exposing them to vocabulary, Concepts, and ideas through frequent reading aloud. It is important to understand that both strands are crucial for reading comprehension in later grades. The building of background knowledge needs to begin in kindergarten (if not before) and continue throughout the elementary and middle school years.

New York State Common Core Mathematics Curriculum

KG 1 mathematics is about developing an understanding of whole numbers using concrete materials, including concepts of correspondence, counting, cardinality, and comparison; and describing shapes in their environment. More learning time in KG 1 should be devoted to developing the concept of number than to other topics.

KG 2 mathematics is about representing, relating, and operating on whole numbers, initially with sets of objects; and describing shapes and space, counting and cardinality, operations and Algebraic Thinking in Base Ten.

Science

UCA highlights the major science fields which are highly integrated with Language Arts Program. Children are naturally inquisitive and curious, they are natural scientists. UCA KG implements essential science topics in which STEAM concepts are presented to stimulate children's natural curiosity and desire to learn. UCA KG also emphasizes hands-on activities in which children have the opportunity to explore and experience the world around them in a way that they find exciting and easy to comprehend.

Social Studies

UCA KG also concentrates on teaching Social Studies. It is a highly integrated study of multiple fields of social science, and the humanities including history, geography, civics, government, and economics.

UCA is committed to celebrating and protecting learning regardless of how and where it may take place.

At UCA, we value the growth of the intellectual, artistic and creative, as well as the physical and emotional dimensions. In addition to our academic programs, a range of stimulating activities both on and off campus provides opportunities for students to discover interests and life skills that go beyond the classroom. Students are thus encouraged to create, inquire, participate, perform, lead and produce; broadening their own experience and understanding of themselves, each other and the world we share.

The curriculum in UCA offers a balanced learning environment where students explore eight areas of study (English, Arabic, Islamic Religion, Science, Math, ART and Physical Education) and find their strengths. Courses become more subject specific, but are thematic in design to make connections across the curriculum. The Common Core Standard Learner Profile is always kept at the heart of our approaches to learning and helps create valuable links between the Primary, Middle and High Schools. For Science, students study topics based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). All other subject areas have standards based on US professional organizations or states.

UCA offers a rich and vigorous curriculum designed to challenge and motivate students. University is the goal of most of our students and our career and guidance counselors will help steer them toward the most worthwhile choices. The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers a rich array of courses where successful completion enables students’ greater opportunities in many US and international colleges.

At UCA we develop students who apply their knowledge and understanding to make a positive difference in the world. Through a hands-on rigorous program, we develop students who are critical and analytical thinkers; who are creators and innovators; and who are effective communicators and collaborators. Our teachers use instructional practices that are student-centered rather than teacher-directed.

As for English reading, writing, and mathematics, our standards are based on the Common Core state standards utilizing the Teachers' model for literacy. For Science, students study topics based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). All other subject areas have standards based on US professional organizations or states.

At UCA, the middle school program (grades 6 through 8) is characterized by personal attention, a strong academic core, along with personal advocacy for each student. Subject-area teachers provide instruction in all academic areas. Classes follow a 50 minutes schedule, meeting daily from Sunday thru Thursday.

UCA high school students, in grades 9 through 12, follow a college preparatory curriculum based on American Standards or British Standards, pursuing IGCSE program or American High School Diploma. It is designed to prepare them for higher education internationally and locally. In developing a four-year plan for high school, students should begin with external exams that assess his/her strengths, needs and goals. This plan is developed by the Academic Coordinators, Academic Councilor and Teachers in conjunction with the student and his/her Parents

Courses of Arabic, Islamic Religion, English Literature and Writing, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physical and Biological Sciences, Social Studies (World History and US History), Physical Education and Art are mandatory courses in UCA. In grade twelve students have several Elective AP courses to attend. All high school students are required to fulfill school Graduation requirements; which include community service.

UCA provide high-quality of British and American based education for students.

The IGCSE/GCE/A-Level (IAL) and SAT Subject Test/AP are school-leaving certificates comparable to the Tawjihi in Jordan. These certificates are offered by Edexcel, Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), Oxford (AQA) and College Board. All Examination boards have international credibility as educational qualifications.

Students intending to attend a Jordanian university or gain certain professional licenses in Jordan can obtain a certificate of Tawjihi equivalency in lieu of taking the national Tawjihi examination.

Most of the students from these programs proceed to attend universities in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Jordan.

British Program

Middle & High School

American Program

Preschool (Kindergarten)

Elementary

Middle & High School

Tareq Branch

Curriculum Overview

The Kindergarten Department is considered one of the departments of the Universal Civilizations Academy, as Tariq Branch provides teaching in the International and National Programs for KG1 and KG2 classes side by side.

The kindergarten provides distinguished educational and academic experiences in the kindergarten stage through a qualified and distinguished teaching staff that applies distinct and balanced learning strategies concerned with developing the behavioral, emotional and social aspects of the student's personality due to the specificity and importance of this stage in preparing the student for the school stage.

The Kindergarten Department believes in the importance of preparing a generation of students with life skills that are based on the Islamic nation’s belief, principles and original values and represents a real investment of knowledge and experience.

Therefore, the department is keen to provide students with a comprehensive and balanced culture that combines originality and contemporary, to encourage them on self-learning and acquiring knowledge from its various sources, preparing them to face this century with awareness, confidence and competence through the formation of the spirit of good in it and the spirit of human brotherhood, awareness of the importance of unity in social life, submission to the ethical system, in addition to the formation of a strong, self-defying, civilized, self-confident personality, its religion and belonging to its home.

The department is also keen to instill Islamic, spiritual and human ideals and values in the student’s soul, and to promote positive trends and habits, through multiple means and various methods, and the students’ commitment to them, which leads them to achieve their goals, so that the students have a system of values that guide their behavior and make them develop their lifestyle.

The department believes that students are the focus of the educational process, and they are the builders of society in the future who bear the responsibility to raise it to the highest levels in various aspects of life, and to achieve this we rely on educational foundations derived from the Holy Qur’an and the purified Sunnah, including raising religious passion, relying on purposeful stories, and encouraging Dialogue, interrogation and simile, seize opportunities and religious and other occasions, and strive to progress in education, provide a good example, and ensure a variety of methods, and work to enhance understanding, and take into account individual differences.

The department also believes that the educational process is in continuous development, and the teacher should keep pace with these developments in the world of education, develop himself/herself, and continuously develop his/her capabilities to adopt the latest methods in the field of education, and this goal is achieved through permanent reading, courses, workshops and meetings.

The department is keen to encourage students to memorize Surahs from the Book of God Almighty and some of the Prophet’s hadiths and to learn about the Prophet’s Biography and a number of Sharia rulings, then interest in participating in various cultural and literal activities for its role in enriching culture, refining character, and developing talents.

The department is also keen on spiritual education for students by nourishing it with ritual acts, purifying it from vices, then beautify it with various virtues, to enhance the formation of students to perform rituals in their spirit, not in their form, nor by intimidation and forcing them with encouragement, and implantation of the supervision of God Almighty

Means and methods that achieve the kindergarten’s mission and philosophy:

The department is keen to achieve the school's mission, goals, and philosophy by various means, including:

1. Through topics that reinforce human, moral and spiritual values and trends.

2. Presenting topics that deal with many humanitarian and moral issues, and the students’ issues and problems.

3. Taking care of the Holy Qur’an in memorization and recitation.

4. Applying the values of our Islamic religion and ensuring that the teacher is a good role model.

5. Emphasizing the concepts of cooperation and tolerance and promoting human values, and rejecting stagnation and intolerance.

6. Activities, competitions and celebration of various events.

Teaching aids that the teacher uses in kindergarten:

Teaching aids, the interactive electronic board, the library, wall paintings, flashcards, visits and trips, special worksheets, the Internet and information technology.

And use activities such as:

1. Memorizing the Noble Qur’an and the Noble Prophet’s Hadith.

2. Participation in educational and recreational school trips.

3. Participation in school celebrations on various occasions such as Eid al-Fitr, Al-Adha, Israa and Mi'raj, the Hijri year, the Prophet’s birthday ... and the graduation ceremony.

4. Holding a weekly activity in which all kindergarten students participate.

Expected standards to be acquired:

* At this stage, the child acquires social communication skills.

* Acquires reading and writing skills.

* Acquires the skill of arithmetic, addition and subtraction.

* At this stage, the child acquires the love of his country.

* Acquires the skill of memorizing and reciting some Surahs from the Holy Qur’an, hadiths and supplications.

* Gains the ability to participate positively in teamwork and collaborative effort.

* Possesses linguistic wealth that suits his developing knowledge level.

* Understands letters, words, short sentences and simple stories he hears.

* Distinguishes what he/she hears, including letters, words, short sentences and simple stories.

* Acquires good listening habits and etiquette.

* Acquire habits and etiquette of speech.

* Orally expresses his/her observations, needs, feelings and thoughts, using sentences of four words and above.

* Contributes to minor issues, employing his lexical balance and patterns in various life situations.

* Uses the knowledge, cultural concepts and facts he/she has acquired appropriate to his developmental level in his oral expression.

* Follows the correct habits while reading, sitting positions, speaking, and motor performance.

* Reads and spells words consisting of three and more letters.

* Analyzes and builds words.

KG Activities, games and competitions

* Swimming:

The Academy’s Kindergarten provides swimming lessons within its weekly program, where the Civilizations Academy provides a closed swimming pool for students supervised by specialized sports teachers and those who hold rescue training certificates.

* Weekly activity:

The kindergarten holds weekly activities every Thursday that are commensurate with the needs of students and the surrounding events within a deliberate and purposeful activity plan. It also organizes external trips in which the child participates after the written approval of the parent and taking all public safety measures.

* The library:

The department is keen to activate (the role of the library and the reading corner) to encourage reading by specify a class every week to go to the library and read a story while watching its pictures and following its words and working on spelling letters and words.

* Competitions:

The department holds educational competitions throughout the two semesters of the academic year concerning Arabic and English language subjects for the national and international departments, such as:

* Arabic Language Competition.

* Spelling Bee.

* Exhibitions:

The Art Education Department, in cooperation with the Kindergarten Administration, organizes an art exhibition of students' paintings using all materials and colors.

Kindergarten Achievements and Activities:

* The kindergarten is keen to hold regular parent meetings.

* The kindergarten department was keen to plant seeds of goodness in our students by launching the charitable initiative ((A Glass of Oil)).

* The kindergarten promoted the concept of heritage, originality, customs and traditions by holding a National Heritage Day for students.

* The kindergarten hosted groups of workers in the country from Civil Defense, Police, Pharmacy, Press and Media to enhance students' future directions in choosing their profession through the Careers Day Activity.

* The Kindergarten Department honored the students who participated in the Holy Quran Competition at the end of the first semester, and distributed awards and certificates of appreciation.

* The kindergarten department has completed all academic curricula for students through Online Classes, which were conducted through a daily studying schedule for students accompanying artistic and sports activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

* The kindergarten department celebrated the Graduation of KG 2 students in the conditions accompanying the Covid-19 pandemic in front of their homes and accompanied by their families, as they were handed their certificates, gifts and photos with graduation robes.

Dear visitors,

In my name and the members of the administrative and educational Committee of the Universal Civilizations Academy Kindergarten, we welcome you, and I am always pleased to be with you, renewing the covenant, believing in the message which spurts from the vision and goals of the Universal Civilizations Academy;

In our kindergarten, we were keen to keep up with the developments of the times and its requirements, so we pursued to choose kindergarten’s curricula in line with the needs of the child and the development of knowledge and technology within clear and global standards, and Theories of teaching and learning for the International and National Programs, and because we live in a distinguished digital age, we provided interactive curricula for the two programs, as the English language in the national program was of great importance in terms of choosing curricula and methods of teaching it with our preservation of teaching Arabic in the International Program.

Based on our identity and originality, the Holy Qur’an had the greatest of our attention, as it is taught daily in the national and international programs, in parallel with a program of values that suits the characteristics of this stage.

What the Civilizations Academy Kindergarten believes is that the child needs many purposeful activities and scientific and entertainment trips in which all children participate. It was necessary to implement a targeted program of activities commensurate with our educational values and goals, in order to give our children all our attention and provide their needs with modern educational methods, contemporary means, different experiences, and distinguished services. To extract a generation in which their minds grew, their bodies strengthened and their skills developed to integrate into their society.

And we will remain on the path of goodness, with our eyes on the interests of our children.

Kindergarten Principal
Kafa Al-khateeb

* The Universal Civilizations Academy Kindergarten is unique from other kindergartens in that it combines originality, preservation of heritage, modernity, and development in the methods of the educational process.

* The Kindergarten Department bases its philosophy on the Islamic heritage, our customs and traditions in a moderate Islamic framework.

* The Kindergarten Department believes in the importance of preparing a generation of students with practical and life skills and educational experiences through an intensive program of activities linked to the kindergarten curriculum.

* The kindergarten provides a model learning environment for students that qualifies them to be distinguished by being able to assume responsibility and innovators in their own world, effective in their society, educated and armed with knowledge and faith.

* Kindergarten's focus on self-learning and knowledge acquisition from its various sources and encouraging students to excel and flair.

* The kindergarten’s focus on language and its distinction in both the national and international programs through their mastery of both Arabic and English.