Grades Age 3- Grade 5

Lower School students have a boundless capacity to develop higher-level thinking and abstract reasoning, and our academic program supports this belief.

Lower School days are filled with books and stories, mathematical problem solving, and writing. Lively discussions encourage children to understand the relationships and connections between themselves and other students, as well as the community, society, and the planet. They learn to be careful observers and to explore the world around them. When beavers build a dam on campus, or the brook floods, when a frightened bird abandons its nest, Lower School students can usually be found using their observations as a springboard to scientific exploration.

Likewise, each grade fuses the study of art and music with specially themed, multidisciplinary units that encourage cross-pollination in the arts. When fourth graders study Greek culture, they write their own myths, create ceramic pitchers, and decorate them with classical Greek designs. They hold a festival serving Greek-inspired recipes and perform classical Greek music and a Greek tragedy in togas of their own design.

World language, specifically Spanish, is taught from Kindergarten up to fifth grade, when French is introduced. Physical education, computer technology, and library classes add breadth and depth to the core curriculum. Opportunities for community service abound. A positive social and civic climate fortifies and balances classroom learning. All teachers in the Lower School are trained elementary educators.