Dougherty Elementary School

STEAM After School Courses | Winter Session 2019/20
Dougherty Elementary School


We are offering a dynamic selection of courses available from Kindergarten through to 5th Grade.  Below is the list of courses we are offering at Dougherty Elementary.

Courses are offered 1 day per week up to 10 weeks. 10 hours of tuition.

Tuition - $189 - $210 per course.  

Each class that moves forward will generate contributions to the School, the Parent Faculty Club (PFC) and to the Student Council.

Actors’ Workshop!

Instructor:            Professional Actors from the Kenn Adams’ Adventure Theater Company
Grade Levels:       K - 5
Day/Dates:           Thursday - Dec 5, 12, 19  | Jan  9, 16, 23, 30  | Feb  6, 13, 20
Sessions:              10 classes x 1 hour
Time:                      3:10 - 4:10 pm
Room:                    130
Tuition:                  Early Bird Pricing -  $199 After November 24th - $210

It’s laughter, learning and limelight with the After School Drama Club - The Actor’s Workshop! Through a fun series of theater games, acting exercises and scripted scene work, this introductory acting class teaches the fundamentals of the actor’s craft. Students explore the “three tools of the actor” – voice, body and imagination – as they learn how to create characters, interpret scripts and perform for an audience. The class teaches true theater skills such as stagecraft, emotionally truthful acting, and professional theater etiquette, while encouraging creativity and inspiring the imagination. The class culminates with a workshop presentation of scenes and monologues for an invited audience.

Enrollment Open

Art Around the World 2

Instructor:            Ms Julie Coching, Owner of Cafe Art
Grade Levels:       1 - 5
Day/Dates:           Wednesday - Dec  4, 11, 18   | Jan  8, 15, 22, 29  |  Feb  5, 12, 19
Sessions:              10 classes x 1 hour
Time:                      2.10 to 3.10pm 
Room:                    130
Tuition:                   Early Bird - $195     After November 24th - $205

In this multi-media class, the kids will create their own artistic passport as they travel to a different country each week and explore the interesting variety of artistic styles developed in their country of origin.  Students will learn about an art form and then create a unique piece of personal art using that art form. They will work with a variety of art media such as paper, clay, paint, ceramics, watercolor and oil pastels and when the class is finished, each student will have their own international portfolio of art to take home with them.  We will explore art from Brazil, Japan, Russia, France, India, Australia and more. (for those that have already taken Art Around the World 1, this class will feature 10 different projects and countries).

Enrollment Open

Instructor:            Professional Dance Instructors from BollyNaach Dance Company
Grade Levels:       1 - 5
Day/Dates:           Tuesday - Dec  3, 10, 17  | Jan  7, 14, 21, 28  | Feb  4, 11, 18 
Sessions:              10 classes x 1 hour
Time:                     2.10 - 3.10pm  
Room:                   Library
Tuition:                 Early Bird Pricing - $199   After November 24th - $210

A fun-filled introduction to beginner & intermediate Bollywood dance for kids. Instruction includes foundational movements, fundamental techniques, hand gestures, rhythmic patterns & communicative expressions.  Students will learn dance routines choreographed to snippets of popular Bollywood songs as well as some Koliwood and Tollywood songs from the South Indian cinema. The classes will also strengthen individual coordination and rhythmic skills through various exercises and drills.
Additionally, students will develop a vocabulary of common Bollywood dance moves that they can string together to create their own unique dance. This class will expose kids to many different dance styles as Bollywood has become a melting pot of many popular traditional and western dance styles.

Enrollment Open

Chess Academy For Kids

Instructor:            Pacific Chess Academy
Grade Levels:       1 - 5
Day/Dates:           Friday - Dec  6, 13  | Jan  10, 17, 24, 31 | Feb  7, 21, 28
Sessions:              9 x 70 minutes
Time:                     3.10 - 4.20pm 
Room:                   P4
Tuition:                 Early Bird Pricing - $196    After November 24th - $206

Learn chess with Pacific Chess Academy!  This program is a great opportunity for kids to learn how to overcome obstacles, think strategically, and stay focused. Specifically designed for young players with various levels (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced), the course offers video lessons, easy-to-follow instructions, individual recommendations, and preparation for chess tournaments. The use of modern technology (projector, iPad, teaching software) makes the learning process easy, fast, and fun! The class is offered to grades 1 - 5. All necessary equipment (boards and pieces, clocks, demo tools) provided. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or a Chess Champion, this class is for students at all ability levels.

6 Reasons Kids Should Learn Chess

  1. Improves concentration, attention span and memory abilities
  2. Enhances reading and math skills
  3. Fosters critical-thinking and creativity in young minds
  4. Encourages and rewards hard work
  5. Develops problem solving skills
  6. Exercises both sides of your brain


We are using a new teaching software, which is FREE and remarkably easy-to-use and fully motivates students with features like ratings and standings, bonus points and statistics.  Kids will have access to thousands of chess workouts while parents can monitor their progress, see the curriculum, and even learn new chess techniques with their kids.

Enrollment Open

Contemporary Dance for Kids

Instructor:            Ms. Anastasiia Zastavna - Bollynaach Dance Company
Grade Levels:       1 - 5
Day/Dates:           Wednesday - Dec  4, 11, 18   | Jan 8, 15, 22, 29   | Feb  5, 12, 19
Sessions:              10 x 1 hour
Time:                     2.10 - 3.10pm
Room:                   Stage
Tuition:                  Early Bird - $199                After November 24th - $210

Contemporary as a dance style is a fusion of ballet, jazz, funk, and modern dance styles.  Contemporary dance encourages natural, spontaneous movement and focuses on self-expression, awareness of space and body movement, use of body weight, efficiency of muscle use, safe body alignment and strong use of Modern Dance technique. Classes start with a comprehensive warm-up focusing on improving flexibility, extension, core strength, and balance and gradually build up to contemporary steps and combinations that will consist of abstract movements combining modern and classical ballet elements. Students will learn how to express a wide range of emotions through their dance based on musical interpretation and individual style and using the contemporary dance form as a platform for creative self-expression. Classes emphasize technique, fundamentals and a familiarization of the dance vocabulary.

Recommended Dress - Students must be able to move and stretch fully.  Footless tights, leggings, leotards, fitted dance shorts, fitted tops, t-shirts and athletic pants are ideal.  Medium or long hair pulled away from face in pony-tail, braid, or bun. No shoes, bare-feet.

Enrollment Open

Energy is Everywhere

Instructor:            Bricks 4 Kidz
Grade Levels:       K - 5
Day/Dates:           Monday - Dec  2, 9, 16  | Jan  13, 27  | Feb  3, 10, 24  | Mar  2
Sessions:              9 classes x 70 minutes
Time:                     2.10 - 3.20pm
Room:                   130
Tuition:                  Early Bird Pricing - $199     After November 24th - $210

Energy is essential to almost everything we do, from the lights in our homes and classrooms to the gasoline that fuels our cars. Bricks 4 Kidz will introduce your students to the world of energy in all its amazing forms. This unit explores many sources of energy from wind and solar power to biofuel and fossil fuel. Students will define terms like renewable, landfill, greenhouse effect and generator; and using Bricks 4 Kidz proprietary instructions and LEGO® Bricks, students will build moving models of just some of the awesome ways we power our world.

This is a hands-on class where students build machines, buildings, vehicles and other structures out of LEGO® bricks, using one-of-a-kind model plans designed by Bricks 4 Kidz.  While exploring principles of engineering, architecture, physics and more, students will develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. Participants build a new project each week. Each class begins with a teacher-led discussion related to the day’s model. Once the project is completed, children use the rest of their time to expand their gadgets and collaborate with one another.   

Enrollment Open

Keys To Becoming a Creative Writer, Poised Orator & Effective Debater

Instructor:            Gurus Education, East Bay
Grade Levels:       2 - 5
Day/Dates:           Friday - Dec  6, 13  | Jan  10, 17, 24, 31  |  Feb 7, 21, 28
Sessions:              9 classes x 70 minutes
Time:                     3:10 – 4:20pm
Room:                    130
Tuition:                  Early Bird Pricing - $199   After November 24th - $210

Confident speakers articulate themselves clearly. Learning how to express oneself in groups with conviction and persuasion has immeasurable benefits in school, family and life. Our programs will provide your child with the instruction, experience, and practice to develop and deliver compelling presentations with lesser anxiety. It will enhance students’ writing, active listening, & communication skills through various activities, games, and impromptu discussions on interesting topics!! They will learn to know exactly what to do when speaking to any size audience on any occasion in any format.
We make learning EASY & FUN!!!

Enrollment Open

Life Science of the Garden -Connecting Science, Art, and the Natural World

Instructor:            Mr John Price, Dougherty Teacher
Grade Levels:       3 - 5
Day/Dates:           Thursdays - Dec  5, 12, 19   | Jan  9, 16, 23, 30  | Feb  6, 13, 20
Sessions:              10 classes x 1 hour
Time:                      3:10 - 4:10pm
Room:                    15
Tuition:                   Early Bird - $189     After November 24th - $199

Encourage a sense of wonder in your young scientist by utilizing the extensive Dougherty gardens in an exploration of Life Science. Students will learn about leaves, flowers and general plant-life as they collect & press specimens.  Students will create their own guide to the plants growing in the Dougherty garden as well as their own backyard. Students will have the opportunity to create their own gift projects.

Pressing plants, flowers, and even leaves will supplement your child’s understanding of life science and help them gain an appreciation for the nature that surrounds them. Students will:

  • Gain a better understanding of plant structures
  • Appreciate the diversity of plants in the local area
  • Learn skills for plant identification
  • Experiment with sampling practices in the field of Botany

 Enrollment Open

Readers Book Club

Instructor:            Ms Lina Barakat, Dougherty Teacher
Grade Levels:       3 - 5
Day/Dates:           Thursdays - Dec  5, 12, 19  | Jan  9, 16, 23, 30  |  Feb  6, 13, 20
Sessions:              10 classes x 1 hour
Time:                      3:10 - 4:10pm
Room:                    16
Tuition:                  Early Bird - $189     After November 24th - $199

Students will read a chosen novel, using a reader’s workshop model to enhance their reading comprehension abilities which encourages higher level collaborative reading and meta-cognitive strategies via a mini lesson format. Students will rotate through different roles, working together to engage in various texts, to further enrich their vocabulary and literature skills.  Later, students will adapt the novel into a play they can perform as a culminating project. Students will also be given roles in a book club which allow them to practice communication and public speaking skills, participating in interactive group discussions and increase their confidence in performing.

Enrollment Open

Video Game Design & Coding

Instructor:            Licensed instructor from Code to the Future
Grade Levels:       2 - 5
Day/Dates:           Monday - Dec  2, 9, 16   | Jan  13, 27   | Feb  3, 10, 24   |  Mar 2 
Sessions:              9 classes x 70 minutes
Time:                     2.10 - 3.20pm
Room:                    6
Tuition:                  Early Bird Pricing - $199      After November 24th - $210

Prepare for the world of technology and learn the secret language of computers! New and returning students are welcome! Continue or begin your coding adventure with the Code To The Future team, and create brand new projects like a projectile platformer or multiplayer racing video game! The possibilities to create are endless! New students are always welcome to join throughout the year, and every class is differentiated for individual learning. Choose your favorite theme, from Minecraft to Fortnite!

This class is online and offline, giving the students the ability to learn coding through Scratch and then uploading their projects to share.

Enrollment Open

Please note change of schedule
Instructor:         Kavita Patel, owner/operator of Monkey Bear Yoga
Grade Level:      1 - 5
Day/Dates:         Monday -  March 4, 11, 25 | April 8, 15, 22, 29 | May 6, 13, 20
Sessions:            10 x 1 hour
Time:                   2.05 - 3.05pm
Room:                 P6
Tuition:               $189

Travel the world through Yoga! We will explore the habitat, animals and culture of all 7 continents through our yoga practice. Go on an African Safari and create giraffe, lion and monkey poses, find your serenity in the majestic Taj Mahal, be a Sphinx or a Pyramid in Egypt…the possibilities are as far as imagination can stretch. Yoga is the practice of bringing together the mind, body and breath. Yoga is also a playful practice that imitates the natural world. Most of the poses or asanas are named after animals or things we find in nature. Combining yoga and imaginative play is a wonderful way to awaken curiosity and movement in children. We will use our imaginations to explore movement and stillness through yoga poses and mindful breathing techniques. The yogis may come home with poses to share to help you awaken your inner child too!

Enrollment Now Open!

DPIE NEWS!


Mr John Price

A Story of ... A Passion for Outdoors, Science & Nature

In a recent interview with Mr John Price, teacher of our Life Science in the Garden class...

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Questions or Comments

We are here to help. Please contact us with questions or feedback.

Main Office
(925) 587-5610

Vickie Constantinides
Academy Program Manager
(925) 587-5611
vickie@dpie.org

Rich Boschetti
Academy Superintendent
(925) 587-5613
rich@dpie.org

Angela Clifford
Office Administrator
(925) 587-5614
angela@dpie.org

Local, Qualified Teachers

Courses organized by local teachers with California Teaching Credentials.