Enhanced Academics : Skill Builders and Scholar Maker Programs.
Each day a student will have a Skill Builders or Scholar Maker class. The Skill Builder Program includes individual practice using academic achievement skills such as drills, researching, and test taking techniques and practice. The Scholar Makers Program includes a different focus on either Reading, Writing, Math, or Ethos.

Skill Builders: Subject Aid
Every day all students have a period in which all primary teachers are available on campus to offer personalized aid in their subjects. This period is similar to the "office hours" conducted by professors in universities. Utilization of this time is the key to the rigor of a Northbrook course. If a student has any trouble at all understanding a concept or subject, they can use this time to seek the assistance they need to succeed. This also allows teachers to teach to the higher level of students, knowing they can address slower learners needs during a subject aid period. Students may also utilize this time to work with peer tutors and study buddies to collaboratively enhance their comprehension and to study for pending exams.

Skill Builders: Research and Study Skills.
Teachers in each of the primary subjects will use the study skills program to set student's expectations on how to prepare for exams in their classes. Study skills topics include: note taking, locating main ideas, outlining, understanding tables and graphs, and library skills such as use of computers, indexes, card catalog, reader's guide and atlases. The culmination of work in this course in grade eight is a fully annotated research paper in close cooperation with the teachers.

To further develop their study skills, all students take at least one semester course of Study Power, in which they are taught basic study skills, organizational tools and methodologies that will help them excel in their academic pursuits.

Scholar Makers: Independent Reading Period.
In order to encourage a love of reading, there is an independent reading period that offers students scheduled time for reading. It is called our D.E.A.R. time: Drop Everything And Read. It is not a study hall, but rather a time for students to enjoy a book of their choice.

Scholar Makers: Math Marvels and MathTech.
Designed to make math "marvelous, interesting and fun" the Math Marvels and MathTech program is an important part of our Scholar Makers program. It provides individualized remediation or enrichment for all students. In addition to textbooks, computer software, games and manipulative are available to enhance the learning process.

Scholar Makers: Writing Skills.
All students can improve their writing, and at Northbrook this will be achieved through a special class which teaches writing using the John Collin's method. This proven method builds an individual's writing skills through a step process of writing lessons and assignments which requires writing about various topics across all academic disciplines, throughout the year.

Scholar Makers: Ethos Explored.
Northbrook believes that producing good students is not just about textbook academic achievements, but should include subjects which help students get along in the world through the appreciation and understanding of diversity, culture, and media.

The word "ethos" is defined by Websters' 9th New Collegiate Dictionary as meaning "the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group or institution."

Ethos Explored, is essentially a look at viewpoints. It is not just an examination of diversity and culture, but will also include an examination of economics and media which is known to affect viewpoints.

The Ethos Explored classes vary by trimester to examine:

• Local Experiences: What are the similarities and differences of the viewpoints of the members of the Northbrook community? What characteristics of the citizens of our local towns and communities are displayed in the media?
• National Observations: What distinguishes the people and major institutions across our country and what is the media's role in our observations?
• Global Explorations: What about people in various parts of the world...in what ways are their viewpoints similar and different from ours, and what is the media's role in our observations?

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