Activities

Awards Assembly
The entire school gathers to acknowledge the various accomplishments of Penn Valley students. These include areas such as the arts, athletics, attendance and school and community service.

Buddy Classes
Throughout our school community older and younger elementary students work together and build relationships. Buddy class activities may include sing- a-longs, bus escorts, book buddies and other special projects.

Children's Garden
The school joins together to remember Penn Valley students Sarah Jane Gartland who passed away in 1989 and Sean King who passed away in 2012. We sing songs and plant flowers in their honor as a reminder that each spring, the Earth is reborn.

Chorus
Penn Valley's 3rd and 4th  graders have the opportunity to participate in our Choral program. Practices are held once a week before the start of school. A winter and spring concert are held each year.

Field Day
A June highlight is an exciting, school wide culmination of the Physical Education curriculum. Held outside, children rotate through events, designed to utilize skills built during Physical Education class.

Fourth Grade Promotion
On the last day of school, our fourth graders participate in a promotional ceremony, where they receive their diploma, acknowledging completion of elementary school. This meaningful event is attended by staff, students and parents.

Grade Level Field Trips/Curriculum Based Activities
A field trip is a school-sponsored and school-chaperoned activity, which shall be permitted to provide an effective means of accomplishing the stated objectives of the instructional program. Trips should be considered as a method of instruction and are planned with definite objectives determined in advance. Field trips on school time shall be limited to those specifically related to classroom instruction and co-curricular activities. All school-sponsored trips must be under the supervision of a professional staff member. Nonprofessional staff and other responsible adults may assist in such supervision. All field trips shall be approved in advance by the director.

Grade Level Plays and Presentations
At Penn Valley, plays and presentations are performed both by grade as well as individual class level. Examples include: Literary Tea and First Grade Play.

Instrumental Music
Penn Valley's 3rd and 4th graders have the opportunity to participate in our Orchestra program. Practices are held once a week before the start of school. A winter and spring concert are held each year. Penn Valley has a string orchestra and concert band.

Intramural Sports
Intramurals is open to all 4th grade students. Fourth grade students meet mornings before school for an hour of sports. The students are placed on teams as they arrive and the sports change through out the year.

Junior Olympics
Each spring, the intermediate level students from each district elementary school participate in this track and field event. Children are recognized at the awards assembly for participation and achievement.

Literacy Celebrations
Our reading specialist and many classroom teachers organize events which give their students the opportunity to share their best work. Examples may include original puppet shows, plays and reading.

Mercado
When our lobby is transformed into a Latino marketplace, children visit stations with authentic crafts, activities and foods. They interact while speaking Spanish to reinforce vocabulary and conversational skills they have learned throughout the year.

Music Mentors
With the cooperation, supervision, and sponsorship of teachers at both Penn Valley and Lower Merion HS, musically trained high school students, from Lower Merion HS, offer their services to help Penn Valley students with their music practice. A Lower Merion musician is matched up with students playing the same instrument. Free guided practice sessions, designed specifically to help students with the music he or she is studying, are provided weekly at Penn Valley.

Peer Mediation
Students in grade 4 are taught conflict resolution skills by the school counselor. Through instruction and role playing children are equipped with the strategies and dialogues that help them solve their own problems.