A hallmark of the curriculum in the earliest days was study organized around major themes—trees, Shakespeare, Egypt and other subjects—that built over the school year into major class projects, performances, and all-school gatherings.
Many of these themes and events have grown into lasting school traditions, with which the school community has come to identify each group and certain times of year.
One the school's most cherished traditions, tapping maple trees to make syrup, began with the move to the new building in 1929.
The Spring Fair, in which groups one through five each prepare and perform their own dance, has been held annually since the 1930s—the Maypole dance by the fifth group dates back to the beginning of the Cottage School.

The annual third group overnight nature trip to Wisconsin, dates back to 1974, and the eighth group French immersion trip began in the 1970s with trips to Paris and since the mid-1990s to Quebec.
Other lower school traditions, such as the Native American Fair and class visit to the Coonley Estate, also have a long history at Avery Coonley.
Middle school traditions include the alternating annual Greek and Shakespeare Fests, the sixth group World's Fair, and a seventh group trip to Washington, DC.

In the annual Thanksgiving Program, the students, in identical brown capes, silently construct a large cornucopia of fruits and vegetables in a ceremony choreographed to music prepared by each class.
The food is later donated to the Salvation Army.
It is the most treasured of the school traditions, and has been performed every year, virtually unchanged, since 1929.
A hallmark of the curriculum in the earliest days was study organized around major themes—trees, Shakespeare, Egypt and other subjects—that built over the school year into major class projects, performances, and all-school gatherings. Many of these themes and events have grown into lasting school traditions, with which the school community has come to identify each group and certain times of year. One the school's most cherished traditions, tapping maple trees to make syrup, began with the move to the new building in 1929. The Spring Fair, in which groups one through five each prepare and perform their own dance, has been held annually since the 1930s—the Maypole dance by the fifth group dates back to the beginning of the Cottage School.
The annual third group overnight nature trip to Wisconsin, dates back to 1974, and the eighth group French immersion trip began in the 1970s with trips to Paris and since the mid-1990s to Quebec. Other lower school traditions, such as the Native American Fair and class visit to the Coonley Estate, also have a long history at Avery Coonley. Middle school traditions include the alternating annual Greek and Shakespeare Fests, the sixth group World's Fair, and a seventh group trip to Washington, DC.
In the annual Thanksgiving Program, the students, in identical brown capes, silently construct a large cornucopia of fruits and vegetables in a ceremony choreographed to music prepared by each class. The food is later donated to the Salvation Army. It is the most treasured of the school traditions, and has been performed every year, virtually unchanged, since 1929.
Avery Coonley School