This program is offered to all RES fifth grade students and consists of eight weeks of instruction in ballroom dancing. Fifth graders learn the basic steps in dances such as the tango, waltz, cha-cha and swing, while also practicing proper dance-floor etiquette. The program  culminates in “The Ballroom Blitz,” a celebration of all the students have learned, performed in front of families and friends in the high school gym.

The Ocean Explorers program provided an ongoing environmental/marine science experience built around a fall and spring field trip that included a voyage in Gloucester Harbor on the schooner Ardelle, and four in-class learning sessions to further develop and reinforce the subjects explored during the site visits. Topics covered included: moon and tides, classification, exploring marine food webs, habitat and adaption, water and energy, and sedimentary rock formation, to name a few. The program was funded through a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and $8,000 from the Ed Foundation.

Rockport Elementary School students use hands-on games and computer programs, including Code & Go Robot Mouse and Osmo’s Newton App and Osmo’s Genuis Kit, to learn basic coding and explore physics concepts. The robotics and coding initiative is part of the school’s efforts to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programming for K–5 students.

This enrichment program, led by the Cape Ann Kestrel Science Center, includes an in-class instructional program, followed by two hours of outside hands-on activities. Students experience the program at the Rowe Woods parcel of land adjacent to the Elementary School, where they find and identify plant and animal species indigenous to Cape Ann. The program is held in the fall and the spring.