ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School or ACES WIMS, where the arts inspire learning, is a K-8 school in Hamden, CT  that serves over 600 students primarily from the following districts: Hamden, Meriden, New Haven, Wallingford, and Waterbury, as well as, from other districts within New Haven County. Students can enroll through the ACES Magnet School Parent Choice program.

Our vision is to provide all students with a safe and nurturing environment that immerses each student in the arts, grounds them in restorative behaviors, and engages their minds to ensure academic and personal success. 

Our beliefs and core values are advocacy for students and families, commitment to the whole child, excellence in everything we do, and service to the students, families, and the community.

Our mission is to ensure that every student leaves our school prepared with the inspiration to creAte, collaboRate, communicaTe, and diScover their passion through innovation and the ARTS.

We at ACES WIMS provide students the opportunity for creative expression, critical thinking, building self-confidence, developing communication skills, appreciating the arts by providing multi-cultural experiences for all students through our unique artistic disciplines (dance, drama, music, choir, visual and media arts.) Classroom teachers and arts specialists collaborate to connect the academic concepts studied in the classroom to the arts, in annual grade-level performances and Arts Showcase Expos. There are also Artist in Residence opportunities for students at all grade levels, arts-related field trips, partnerships with arts agencies, and a special relationship with Crayola™ CreatED as a result of winning the 2019 Champion Creatively Alive Children™ grant. 

In October of 2022, ACES Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School earned a 5-year Magnet School Assistance Program (MSAP) grant that will allow for significant investments in our Arts Integration theme. Students will work side by side with resident artists in developing the creative part of their brains. By utilizing a creative, experimental method of teaching, WIMS will develop thinkers who can use their strengths to explore their varied interests. Classroom teachers and arts specialists collaborate to connect the academic concepts studied in the classroom to the arts, through performances, Arts Showcase Expos, and an Arts Capstone Project. There will be an opportunity for rising grade 6 students to participate in a week-long Arts Immersion Program each summer. Students can enroll in ACES WIMS through the ACES Magnet School Parent Choice program.

 

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Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School (WIMS) is a K-8 school that serves over 600 students from our partner districts: Hamden, Meriden, New Haven, Wallingford, and Woodbridge. Students can also enroll through the Magnet School Parent Choice program.

At Wintergreen, we educate the whole child through inquiry, innovation, and the arts in a diverse, compassionate and mindful learning community. Our rigorous curriculum is designed and implemented to prepare students for college and to provide students with the skill set necessary to positively impact humanity. Cognitively complex, creative, and meaningful learning is fostered through inquiry and authentic instruction. Diversity is valued and unity is nurtured at Wintergreen as we prepare our students to be active global citizens. Mindfulness and Compassion practices are infused throughout the school day in many classrooms. These practices have proven to be foundational for learning as they help to foster attention, kindness and a sense of well-being.

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What Makes WIMS Special

  • Technology integration including one-to-one iPads and Chromebooks for all students
  • Curriculum enriching field trips K-8
  • Arts Integration
  • Two specials periods for all students daily
  • Students play a band instrument beginning in grade 5
  • String lesson opportunities begin in grade 3
  • Two theatrical productions per year
  • National Junior Honor Society grades 6-8
  • Girls and boys Basketball
  • Student Government
  • Student-led Morning Broadcast
  • Studio-based visual arts program including small group art enrichment settings

Educational Partners

  • Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU)
  • Lincoln Center Education
  • Teachers college, Columbia University
  • Yale University
  • CT Science Center
  • Peabody Museum of Natural History
  • The Shubert Center

Partner Districts

  • Hamden
  • Meriden
  • New Haven
  • Wallingford
  • Waterbury

Participating Districts

These students are enrolled through the Magnet School Parent Choice Program.

  • Branford
  • Derby
  • East Haven
  • Milford
  • North Haven
  • Stratford
  • West Haven