Before & After School Programs: Oneness-Family School (OFS)
before & AFTER
School
Programs
Oneness-Family School offers before and after school programs for students in Chevy Chase, Maryland from preschool through 8th grade, as a natural extension of the Montessori curriculum. We strive to provide a comfortable and engaging environment for students who stay past normal school hours, offering snack, indoor activities, homework help, & outdoor play.
- 37 YearsSince Oneness-Family School was founded in 1988.
- 75 CountriesRepresented by our students, families, faculty, and staff.
- 1 FamilyUnited by a belief in courage, compassion and love of learning.
Before Care & After Care Programs
Our Before Care program is available from 8:00 – 8:30 a.m. for toddler students (ages 2-3) and from 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. for all other students. Our After Care program is available once school ends, from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. Students are supervised in small groups by classroom teachers, who create an independent and engaging classroom space for learning and play.
Enrichment Activities
Enrichment classes are available to students after school. Past offerings have included soccer, musical theater, cooking, creative dance, basketball, geography club, and individual piano lessons. Students who have signed up for these activities are kept in aftercare and walked to their enrichment class when it begins.
For more information on our school’s extended care options, please contact our admissions team at admissions@onenessfamily.org. Current families who would like to sign up for these options should contact our business manager at finance@onenessfamily.org.
Take The Next Step
If you’re interested in learning more, we can arrange for you to visit the school and take a tour
Book a TourEnrichment Activities
Landscape Painting with Acrylics
Grades 4-5 & 6-8
Brian, OFS Art Teacher, will delve into the complexity of landscape painting in a classroom setting, and learn how to control the “chaos” of painting from nature.
Students will learn essential skills such as how to break down a landscape image into its abstract form and how to apply color theory as they create their very own landscape paintings! Safe handling techniques, color mixing, and development of the 2-dimensional surface of the canvas will also be addressed.
Price: $250
Age Range: Academy / Ambassadors
Day & Time: Friday, 4:00-5:00 pm
Location: Art Room
Dates: 9/29, 10/6, 10/13, 10/27, 11/3, 11/10, 11/17, 12/1 (Makeup 12/5)Minimum 4 students, maximum 12 students
OFS Soccer with Enrique & Erik
Grades 1-3
Coaches Enrique and Erik will teach the Arbor class soccer in the fall! Soccer will be held at Norwood Park; in inclement weather, soccer will be moved indoors to the Parish Hall or postponed to a later date. All games and activities follow the Oneness-Family School vision focusing on the total person’s sportsmanship, team building, and personal growth.
Please ensure your child has athletic play shoes and a water bottle. Soccer cleats are optional, but shin guards are mandatory to participate.
Price: $225
Day & Time: Monday, 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm
Location: Norwood Park
Dates: 9/25, 10/2, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, (Makeup date 11/27)
Minimum 6 students, Maximum 14 students
Magic the Gathering with Guido
Grades 4-5 & 6-8
OFS Music Teacher Guido is creating the first Magic the Gathering Enrichment here at OFS!
Guido will lead educational sessions where he will teach the rules, game mechanics, and basic strategies. We encourage students to ask questions and share their insights while organizing some deck-building workshops. Students will be guided on balancing creatures, spells, and land cards. MTG is not just about competition; it’s also about making friends and having fun while promoting critical thinking and problem-solving.
Every student is welcome to participate, regardless of their skill level or background.
Price: $200Age Range: Academy / Ambassadors
Day & Time: Thursday, 4:00-5:00 pm
Location: World Language Room
Dates: 9/28, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 10/26, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16, (Makeup 11/30)
Quote: Jasmine Taylor
I think the biggest lesson I took from Oneness-Family School is the importance of remaining grounded.
I have countless memorable experiences from my time as a student at
Oneness and because of those experiences, so many valuable lessons I
still carry with me. I think among the biggest of those lessons is the
importance of remaining grounded. I remember learning this through lessons on meditation and during our “personal world” course in middle school.
I currently work at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art as the
Visitor Services Coordinator, managing volunteers, planning enrichment opportunities, and engaging with the public. I have a lot of variety during my workday; I often transition from interacting with visitors to performing minor troubleshooting on some of the technology in the gallery. I can confidently say that I can trace my preparedness in my current career back to my years at Oneness.
Jasmine Taylor, (’07)
Extended Care Staff
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Alex Fisher
Full-Time Substitute Teacher, Aftercare Teacher (Grades 1-3), Earth Keepers Counselor
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Biography
Alex Fisher is excited to return to Oneness full-time as a floating teacher, having previously served as an Earth Keepers counselor. He attended Oneness until third grade before pursuing a degree in Psychology at Oberlin College, where he graduated in 2024. Alex has gained valuable experience working with various childcare and educational organizations, including City Year DC, Hand-in-Hand Parenting, and Minds Matter.
His ultimate goal is to become a child psychologist, and he will also be collaborating with Estefani, Director of Student Affairs.
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Ahlam Kays
Aftercare Supervisor
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Biography
Born and raised in Lebanon, Ahlam graduated from the American University of Beirut with a BA in English Literature and a Teaching Diploma with a focus on elementary education. Ahlam started her career as an elementary school teacher at the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon, where the concept of an “Open, Child-Centered classroom” was just being implemented. The civil war (1975 to 1990) forced Ahlam to leave her beloved country and move to Washington DC, where she raised her four children and embarked on a career in education when her youngest daughter graduated from high school.
Before joining Oneness-Family School, Ahlam worked as a Project Coordinator for the Academy for Educational Development (Washington, DC) focused on improving girls’ education in several African countries, then joined FHI 360 (Family Health International) as a Project Director for a portfolio of corporate and private foundation-funded projects focused on improving adolescent girls and boys access, retention and completion of primary and secondary education in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Guinea, and Ethiopia. Ahlam’s expertise included the implementation of a holistic, multi-pronged approach that responds to the socio-economic, cultural, and educational barriers to education through social-behavioral change campaigns based on targeted dialogues that address gender norms and harmful cultural practices; teacher training; mentoring and building the communities’ capabilities to support their children’s education. Ahlam traveled extensively to each country office and worked closely with the local staff, visited project schools, and held meetings with teachers, mentors, parents, and community leaders, as inclusion of all stakeholders is critical to project success.
Ahlam played a supportive role in the design and implementation of a series of youth symposia on Gender, Youth, and Employability in the Mena region (Jordan, Qatar, Morocco), focusing on identifying challenges that hinder youth from gaining employment by bringing together stakeholders and partners from the public-private sectors, local NGOs and youth to propose solutions.
Ahlam also supported the FHI360 Gender Summit series that promoted gender equity, quality education, and social inclusion and addressed gender-based violence as well as enhancing adolescent girls’ and boys’ comprehensive education and transitioning to the workforce.
Ahlam’s hobbies include hiking, reading, watching documentaries, travel and cooking!
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Julissa Arevalo
Primary Programs Aftercare Teacher (Ages 2-3)
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Biography
Julissa Arevalo joins her sister, Marlyn, as the Little Stars aftercare program’s new assistant teacher. She has been surrounded by children her entire life, from spending time with her younger relatives to helping in family and community settings. She loves the joy, curiosity, and kindness that children bring to every interaction, and being around them inspires her to approach life with the same openness to explore and discover new things.
Julissa was drawn to Oneness-Family School after seeing the positive transformation in her sister’s life since joining the community, and she hopes this new role will spark similar personal growth for herself.
In her free time, she enjoys relaxing with her dog or spending time with friends.
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Michael Ihrie
P.E. Teacher, Aftercare Teacher (Grades 4-8)
