Dear Lower School Families and Faculty,
This final week of school on campus is a time of celebration, recognition and gratitude. As I walked the Summit Trail this morning, I reflected on the growth and accomplishments of the students this year.
On a recent visit to the Preschool/Kindergarten class, I was charmed by the lovingly creative environment set by Hema and Isa. Projects of science, art, sewing and cooking abound with lessons that teach fine motor skills along with the basics of math, science, social studies and language arts. The students demonstrated that they had learned letters, sounds, numbers, adding, subtracting, shapes using concrete objects and rich literary songs and stories that build the foundation for first grade readiness. They are ready to move on and we hope many of you can join us on Friday, May 30 at 9:00 for the Moving On Ceremony.
The first grade has been quite the laboratory in the last few weeks of school. I watered their experiments on the windowsill today and saw many interesting signs, cups with solutions, worms in dirt vases and life size human body drawings. They are all reading, writing, measuring, recording and excited to show me their work whenever I enter the room. They have made incredible growth and are ready to move on.
First and second graders joined their 8th grade friends with a fabulous end- of- year outdoor ball wall mural project. Thanks to Sandy Shaw’s artistic vision and super human effort, the students created a true masterpiece that will mark their combined artistry for many years to come. Thank you for this great gift to our playground!
Second graders are monkeying around, literally, getting ready for the ‘Big Show’. Their academic progress is evident in their extended writings, problem solving packets and reports. Many are reading chapter books and they are always excited to show and tell about their creative projects.
Third graders are wrapping up their newspaper on the Sierra Outdoor School Field trip, sewing string art geometry patterns and are proud to have mastered the multiplication tables, writing whole stories and reports independently and reading novels. The 4th grade created board games to explain all they had learned to the 3rd graders, a creative and wonderful way to review the whole year’s curriculum and see how much the fourth graders had accomplished. They proudly shared their robot creations, hot glued from old electronics, that they disassembled with great zeal and curiosity. Both groups have come so far, mastering their subject areas while creating wonderful projects that demonstrate learning. They are ready to move on.
And finally, our fifth graders just returned from one week of backpacking in the Sierras. They jumped out of the vans Friday, excited, dirty and much taller in confidence. They have worked together in a cumulative project on sea turtles all year, won many awards for their meaningful work and made a difference in the lives of students in Indonesia, as well as our own community. Learning made REAL! Their skills of communication, reading, writing, mathematics are used in a context that has interest and validity for students. This is how we motivate and keep learning fresh and vibrant. Now they too are ready to move beyond the elementary classroom and join our middle school program, where new friendships, opportunities and more authentic learning awaits them.
We hope you are able to join us this week for one of several end-of-year celebrations:
Wednesday, May 28, 2:30 Lower School Talent Show in the Assembly Room
Thursday, May 29, 12:00 Love A Sea Turtle Foundation Presentation by a teen from North Carolina, Assembly Room
Friday, May 30 – 9:00 PreK Moving On Ceremony, Classroom
10:30 Elementary Awards and Fifth Grade Graduation, Assembly Room
1:30 11th/12th grade Values DC presentation, Assembly Room
Saturday, May 31, 11:30- Ramayana Full run rehearsal in the gym (by 3rd/4th grades)
Looking forward to seeing you at School or the theater. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to teach your children.
Much love,
Supriya
Mary Supriya McDonald
Head of Lower School
