Greenwich Academy Lower School Viewbook 2017

LS

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL 1

Ask Greenwich Academy Group IV girls what they want to be when they grow up, and they say:

“I want to teach students about other cultures and how to open their minds.”

“I want to be a kids’ doctor… and an Olympic swimmer.”

“I want to be an inspiration to other girls to not be afraid to try things.”

Girls are center stage at Greenwich Academy.

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

This is a powerful thing to witness.

When our students see other girls in leadership positions throughout our campus, they build a vision for themselves that is bold, joyful, and full of possibility.

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School Motto TOWARD THE BUILDING OF CHARACTER When your daughter joins our Lower School, she gets the benefit of hundreds of big sisters to look up to and aspire to be. GA girls are genuinely earnest and love to support each other. Inside and outside of the classroom, they recognize that exemplary character and the pursuit of excellence are intrinsically linked.

Our faculty nurture this environment with intentionality so that the “yes-I-can” attitude is present even in the youngest classrooms.

“As a leader in all-girls education, Greenwich Academy understands the importance of relationships in learning.

Strong connections with teachers inspire passion for content and the confidence to take on new challenges. GA girls are daily developing their sense of identity as those who will have the privilege and responsibility of being tomorrow’s leaders.” > MOLLY KING, HEAD OF SCHOOL 2

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

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Girls are INQUISITIVE

c Butteries and Buddies Students from the Upper School AP Environmental Science class recently helped PC and CC students create a monarch habitat. Middle School Latin classes created botanical signs for the garden in the Engineering and Design Lab. Together, girls explored the importance of pollinators, how organisms integrate into their habitat, and the rewards of teamwork.

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“Our philosophy is to build confident young women who feel proud of their accomplishments and are eager to go into the world and learn even more.” > HOLLY HILL, GROUP III TEACHER, ALUMNA ’01

c International Building Expo c Discovering Books Group I girls are divided into six small sections for responsive instruction to foster a love of reading and connecting through story. Reading groups combine decoding, spelling, reading aloud, and reading for meaning.

Group II girls investigate the architecture, significance, and origins of iconic world buildings such as Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and the Taj Mahal. They assemble their research, including video conferences with students in other counties, into brochures. They then present their discoveries—illustrated with drawings and three-dimensional models up to 6 feet tall— in a showcase of global thinking.

In science, Group IV girls use microscopes to examine unicellular protists; they then board a research vessel to investigate microscopic life in Long Island Sound.

They discuss germs with doctors from a local hospital’s infectious disease unit; they then grow everyday household bacteria—and use lots of antibacterial soap—in the classroom. Upper Schoolers come to hear the younger girls’ findings. Group IV girls then visit Upper School girls in their science lab.

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

c Micro-Studies

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Girls are CARING GA girls feel a profound connection to our school because relationships are at the core of the GA experience. Girls forge friendships within their grades, and between grades, that last a lifetime.

“Everyone here accepts you.

They see you and think, ‘There is a friend.’” > MAIRIN, GROUP IV

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Girls are A COMMUNITY GA was founded in 1827, and our girls cherish the connection to generations in the past and those still to come. Favorite traditions include the Maypole dance on Charter Day, the annual Thanksgiving celebration, and the Martin Luther King Jr. assembly. Lower School girls act as flower girls for seniors at graduation while Middle and Upper School students sing the “flower songs” that have been performed at graduation for generations. Even the uniforms—jumpers in Lower School and kilts with different color shirts in Middle and Upper School— are valued as symbols that reflect rites of passage and unify our community.

Our youngest students delight in interacting with older GA girls when they come to the main campus for lunch, specials, and assemblies. They also relish spending the rest of the day in a space that is just right for them. Our Ridgeview campus features four sunlit classrooms that are surrounded by a playground, garden, marsh, and forest, which includes a nature trail. The girls start each day with a joyful dash around the playground before settling in for play-based learning and structured activities that build the foundations of language, mathematical, and social skills.

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

c Integrating Pre-Connecting and Connecting Classes

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Girls are INNOVATIVE

c Youthful Engineers Group IV girls use our Engineering and Design Lab to create custom toys for their Group I little sisters. They generate sketches and prototypes, and get client feedback before creating a final product.

c Into the Wild c Exploring the World Group I girls spend months learning geography and studying different cultures of the world. Each girl researches and produces a travel brochure featuring highlights of a specific country. The capstone project for this unit is performing an original musical production inspired by fictional world traveler Flat Stanley.

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Rain or shine, every Friday in the spring, Group III spends the entire school day outdoors. Using a GA Innovation Grant, teachers developed a curriculum that focuses on creativity, resiliency, and connection through a combination of free play and structured activities in nature.

“From a young age, we want GA girls to understand that they can look at any question many different ways. We want them to feel comfortable testing their own ideas and hypotheses as a way of learning.”

> ABBY KATZ, SCIENCE TEACHER

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL 9

Girls are EXPRESSIVE

c Celebrating the Arts Lower School girls enjoy art, dance, and music regularly, with projects often closely knit for a cohesive experience. CC girls may study artist Joan Miró in art and then develop simple, lyrical movements inspired by his work in dance. Or Group III may create art with bark, flowers, and grass relating to a class exploration of nature.

Girls build confidence and share their artistic journeys through classroom shows, Lower School assemblies, and all-school events.

c ¿Cómo estás?

Lower School girls savor trying out new words and exploring new perspectives. From PC through Group IV, girls study Spanish, with an emphasis on active participation and cultural exploration. They particularly enjoy video conferencing with native speakers in other countries.

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“The arts engage many parts of the brain, developing our capacity to synthesize and create. Our students create independently, without questioning themselves.

That is beautiful to see.” > ZOE HEDSTROM, STUDIO ART TEACHER

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Girls are COURAGEOUS

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“I used to be shy, but at GA I found my voice.

Performing in front of the whole school, as I did in GA’s production of The Sound of Music, makes me feel proud.” > GIANNA, GROUP IV

c Lessons in Leadership

c Strong Public Speakers Even the youngest GA girls practice presenting to an audience with confidence, clarity, and pride. They share classroom projects, perform plays, and address large assemblies. This culminates with Group IV girls taking charge of emcee responsibilities at weekly assemblies before the Lower School community.

On Monday afternoons, Group IV girls welcome a series of outside speakers. They write and present short speeches during Head of School Molly King’s unit on public speaking. They talk about teamwork with Head of Lower School Jonathan Ross-Wiley. They also reflect on goals, learn basics of financial literacy, and explore other aspects of personal responsibility and leadership.

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

c Taking the Stage After studying the trials and triumphs of Lewis and Clark, Group III girls mount a full-scale musical production of this epic adventure. With annual performances dating back decades, this play is a treasured rite of passage for GA girls.

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Girls are DETERMINED “We understand how powerful female role models are for young girls. Through our speakers and throughout our curriculum, GA celebrates women who have worked hard and achieved success.” > STEPHANIE SEIDEL, GROUP IV TEACHER

“With everything that GA provides, I know that by the time I graduate, I will be ready for the world.

The teachers give you activities that unlock things in you that you didn’t know about.” > Lila, Group IV

c Famous Women’s Wax Museum Over the course of two months, Group IV girls research a famous American woman, with choices ranging from Olympian Gabby Douglas to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, from Civil War nurse Clara Barton to mathematician Katherine Johnson and journalist Katie Couric. After taking notes, making outlines, and writing essays, the girls dress up and stand frozen as “wax statues.” They then deliver informative monologues to museum visitors.

c Checkmate Our students regularly participate in local, regional, and national chess tournaments.

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c Testing Their Strength Lower School girls adore running, jumping, and working as a team to score an exciting goal. Girls build skills and have fun in physical education classes that expose them to a broad range of sports.

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

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Girls are WHATEVER THEY WANT TO BE

STRATEGIC STRONG

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“The discoveries girls make in Lower School last forever. In the classroom we inspire a love of learning and an appreciation for the interrelatedness of all disciplines.

GA girls also demonstrate confidence, take risks, laugh together, and know what it means to be a good friend.” > JONATHAN ROSS-WILEY, HEAD OF LOWER SCHOOL

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

EXUBERANT KIND FUNNY

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Looking to the FUTURE

Lower School concludes with a ceremony called “Farewell to Fours,” in which Group IV girls take the stage and each shares an important memory. When asked, “Are you ready to move up?” the girls shout with one jubilant voice, “Yes!”

“Every grade we go up, we learn something new about who we want to be.” > HANNAH, GROUP IV

“It’s good to try new things. In Middle School I’ve tried volleyball, basketball, improv, filmmaking, and digital design.

I like science because we do a lot of hands-on labs. And I like English because creative writing is one of the best ways to express yourself and connect with people. Sharing my writing at assemblies is freeing, and I feel proud for putting myself out there.” > MACKENZIE, GROUP VIII

“Every day, GA shows us that we can do anything we put our minds to. The younger students look up to us in the Middle School and we look up to the girls in the Upper School. It’s a long chain where we are all following the GA code to become our best selves and be role models for our younger students.” > ROMA, GROUP VII 18

“I look forward to Middle School because you get to pick some of your classes. I know the older girls there will welcome us.” > SARA, GROUP IV

GREENWICH ACADEMY > LOWER SCHOOL

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A Glimpse of UPPER SCHOOL “The best part of GA is that it’s so connected—it’s easy to see where you came from and where you are going. When I was in PC, I thought the older girls were very cool. Now I see the Lower School girls and think how lucky they are to still have so much ahead of them at GA.”

The Upper School has lots of opportunities to go deep into your interests. I wanted to study science in the real world, so as a freshman, I took the Honors Expedition Biology, which ended with a trip to the Peruvian Amazon to record its biodiversity. This year I’m taking chemistry and physics because I like science so much. I like putting ideas together and seeking solutions to puzzles.

We also have all kinds of clubs and I’ve tried a lot of different sports.

Squash season is my favorite time of year. Usually squash is an individual sport, but at GA it feels like a team sport because of how we train together, cheer for each other, and represent our school.” > KATHRYN, GROUP XI 20

Design > Good Design, LLC / Photography > Don Hamerman

Transportation

/ Copywriting > Cheryl Bardoe

GA is located in central Greenwich, approximately 25 miles from New York City and 47 miles from New Haven, CT. GA offers bus transportation for students who commute from the lower Darien and Stamford area or who use the Stamford and Greenwich train stations. In addition, the Town of Greenwich also provides bus service to all students who live in Greenwich, as do other towns from which our students travel. Our transportation coordinator is available to help families explore the options from their area.

Financial Aid

/ Printing > Allied Printing

GA is an inclusive community, dedicated to providing a wellfunded financial aid program.

Students receive support based on need as defined by a clearly articulated set of reporting requirements, subscribed to by all leading independent schools.

www.greenwichacademy.org

“The warmth of our Greenwich Academy community allows girls to explore their infinite capacity to question, discover, dream, create, and grow. Come see Greenwich Academy for yourself! The entire Admission team looks forward to getting to know you.” > NINA HANLON, DIRECTOR OF ENROLLMENT AND FINANCIAL AID

200 North Maple Avenue > Greenwich, CT 06830 > 203.625.8990