All Saints’ Episcopal Day School PROGRAM GUIDE LOWER SCHOOL
Welcome to Lower School at All Saints’!
All Saints’ Lower School is a vibrant, close-knit learning community centered on relationships. Through our emphasis on academic excellence, character cultivation, and community, All Saints’ empowers students to become thoughtful, confident leaders and lifelong learners.
Lower School students at All Saints’ develop foundational academic knowledge while also building a growth mindset, perseverance, and the skills necessary to think critically and problem-solve. The cultivation of academic, relationship, and process-oriented skills prepares our students to be successful throughout their time at All Saints’ and for years to come.
Our experienced Lower School faculty are masters of their craft who work daily to create an intimate and personal atmosphere for learning where each student is known. Teachers deliver both large and small group instruction informed by benchmark assessments and differentiated based upon individual student needs. Progress monitoring in both reading and math allows teachers to adjust their instruction accordingly. Technology is integrated across the curriculum to provide students with an individualized approach to their learning and independent practice activities that support their continued learning and growth.
A Lower School student’s school day is designed to provide a balance of uninterrupted blocks of time for academic instruction, as well as two recess periods, two to three specialist classes, and lunch. The schedule is designed to provide each class a dedicated time at the beginning and end of each day to create a sense of community and foster a sense of belonging for each child.
Dr. Emma Whitman Head of School
Mr. Evan Hammontree Head of Lower School
PROGRESSION Lower School
Pre-k and Kindergarten
COMMUNITY, CONNECTIONS, AND CONFIDENCE
Students in pre-k and kindergarten begin building skills to become lifelong learners in a supportive and nurturing atmosphere centered on relationships.
First and Second
Grade
ACADEMIC FOUNDATIONS
Comprehensive core academics are introduced in first and second grade, and students begin setting the stage to become more independent workers.
Third and Fourth
Grade
EXPLORE AND EXPAND
Specialist courses are incorporated more frequently in third and fourth grade. Content becomes more in-depth, with increasing group work and application.
LOWER SCHOOL FAST FACTS
The Lower School is made up of two pre-kindergarten classrooms and three classrooms at each grade level in kindergarten through fourth grade. These numbers only tell part of the story. No matter how you tally it, our focus is on educating children—mind, body, and soul.
16 1:1 9:1 10 400+
Average class size iPad Program K–8 grade Studentfaculty ratio Lower School specials Years of combined teaching experience
CLASSES Specialist
Faculty specialists work with classroom teachers to integrate their disciplines with other core academic subjects, enriching students’ learning experiences. Interdisciplinary units of study allow students to understand and make connections between content learned in multiple subjects. For example, students in second grade complete a project about one of the United States. After working with the librarian and classroom teacher to identify sources for research, they take notes and compose drafts and a final report. In technology, they create a tourism commercial using green screen media apps. They sing “Fifty Nifty United States” in music, create a clay sculpture of the state bird in art, and study the state’s climate and weather in science.
LOWER SCHOOL SPECIALS INCLUDE
IN THE CLASSROOM Technology
At All Saints’ technology is incorporated progressively throughout the lower school years with an applied purpose. We view technology as a tool in the learning environment to engage students, promote critical thinking and collaboration, and to dive deeper into the curriculum in ways that would not be possible otherwise. Not only does technology in the classroom give students individualized opportunities depending on their needs, but it helps them become exposed to and comfortable with a variety of materials and activities.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN Sample Schedule
L O W ER S CHOO L PRE-KINDERGARTEN
KINDERGARTEN Sample Schedule
L O W ER S CHOO L KIN DERGAR T E N
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