May 12
SCHOOL CLOSED for Kindergarten only
Kindergarten Parent /Teacher Conferences
Common Bonds
May 14
LS/MS Spring Concert
"Cultural Diversity Evening Book Series"
May 15
Lower School Grade Reps Meeting
5th Grade Mini-Day in Middle School
Parents' Association Officer & Grade Reps Training
Children come to school with a boundless curiosity. Park’s task is to engage them in experiences that will sustain their joy in learning. Skills of reading, writing, and mathematics form the core of the Lower School curriculum. To teach these primary skills, teachers draw upon broad expertise and extensive knowledge of children to meet the individual needs of each student.
From the youngest ages high-quality children’s literature is the primary reading material at Park. Through reading and being read to, children learn to respond to and comprehend the various elements of a story. They also become accustomed to the notion that language is used in many ways to convey information and to express ideas and feelings. Library programs extend children’s exposures to quality literature and encourage independent reading. In regularly scheduled periods for each class, the librarian reads aloud, conducts book talks, and helps children find books to read on their own. The Resident Author Program brings a noted author or illustrator to the school each year, giving students a chance to meet a working writer or artist face to face. These experiences help books come alive for students.
At Park, effective writing is emphasized throughout the curriculum. As they advance from fledgling efforts to fully polished pieces, children learn by using writing as a mode of communication and discovery in all subject areas. A distinguishing feature of writing at Park is the social context within which it occurs. Children more often than not collaborate and confer with others. There is a strong awareness of writing for an audience; constructive reactions from peers are seen as integral to the writing process.
In mathematics, from early exploration of the properties of numbers and shapes through complex problems of fractions and decimals, the aim is to build children’s mastery of basic computational skills and their conceptual understanding of mathematics. They measure, weigh, build, and work with a wide array of hands-on materials to explore numerical and spatial relationships. These concrete exposures are used to anchor abstract concepts, giving children many opportunities to experiment in solving open-ended problems and to apply mathematical skills to real purposes.
Students also apply mathematical principles to other disciplines. For instance, teachers extend the study of patterning to science, music, and art. Social studies and science provide numerous opportunities for integration of mathematical concepts. Fifth graders studying Gothic cathedrals naturally use their geometry, and fourth grade students building simple machines find they know a great deal about measurement and balance. When they create graphs and analyze statistics, do scale drawings, study topographical maps, and use math skills in cooking or measuring activities, children understand mathematics as a vital and useful part of their world.
For Park children science is a process, a way of questioning, a mode of thinking—not just information gathering. It is part of students’ everyday lives. A Lower School science resource teacher works with children and other teachers to develop the interest and capacity for future science learning. The classroom is extended by use of Park’s 100-acre campus as a “living laboratory”, where children collect and sort stream bed samples, observe the migration of butterflies and seasonal changes in plant life on nature trails, and collect plankton and water samples from the pond.
Science is directly integrated with other academic areas through thematic studies, design, and research projects. The fifth grade study of the Middle Ages is just one example. Children studying the Middle Ages observe the night skies as early astronomers did; apply principles of mathematics and physics in the construction of medieval structures from around the world; and plant, tend, and harvest a medieval herb garden.
Theme studies weave together aspects of history, social studies and geography, literature, science, math, and the arts. Through this interdisciplinary study children gain an authentic and multi-faceted understanding of the subject area. In kindergarten and first grades, six-to eight week theme studies are developmentally appropriate. Second graders explore the concept of community, moving form the local landscape of their classroom to the “adventure problem,” a world wide tour in which children “travel” through non-fiction literature and apply their math, writing, and conceptual skills. The yearlong study of culture very different from their own captures the imagination of third, fourth, and fifth grade students. Introducing children to other cultures gives them a tangible living sense of history. They integrate factual information, reading, and research with projects, which make knowledge concrete and immediate. Children “become” medieval craftsmen plying their wares at a medieval fair, Native Americans designing tools and shelters, actors in Greek dramas, or Egyptian artisans constructing an elaborate tomb.
Children have lots of opportunities to test their skills and to “perform”: in using science equipment to run an experiment or saw and hammer to build a structure; in class dramatizations of fairy tales or in a production of a class play for the entire Lower School. At Park, such activities are for everyone, not just a few, and they are a central component of daily classroom activity.
Music, art, dance, and drama are woven into the curriculum at all grade levels. While all Lower School students take music twice a week, about 100 students participate in the instrumental music program, taking lessons in a wide variety of instruments and playing in the string or band ensemble. Children’s art enlivens both classrooms and hallways; dancers and musicians perform at assemblies for classmates.
Teachers support Lower School students as they grow in independence and responsibility. Classrooms serve as model communities where issues are discussed, differences in perspectives are welcomed, and children work cooperatively, rather than competitively. Students learn first how to act effectively as members of the classroom community, with exposures extended as they proceed through Lower School to the broader school community and beyond.