Lower School
Single Hero
Build your foundation
The lower school celebrates your child's unique gifts by immersing you in a safe, nurturing atmosphere that fosters your spiritual, intellectual and social growth.
BUILDING their future
In the lower school, your child will experience years of growth through academics, play and discovery — building confidence as active learners and caring members of the community. Your child will develop empathy, flexibility, compassion and independence while strengthening problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
DISTINCTIVE OPPORTUNITIES AND PROGRAMS that inspire them
Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten
Ninety percent of a child’s brain develops by age five, making TK and Kindergarten vital for building a strong foundation. Through play and discovery, students develop curiosity, independence and a love of learning. In our safe, nurturing classrooms rooted in Catholic values, children grow spiritually while building confidence, self-control and empathy. Our program supports early literacy and numeracy, language, motor skills and social-emotional development.
First Grade
Through traditional and project-based strategies, students receive individualized and small group instruction. The curricular goals are to build upon exposed skills and concepts from TK and Kindergarten with rigor and expected mastery in a learning environment that fosters and nurtures taking risks and rising to every challenge.
Second Grade
Students build a community where all individuals feel safe, valued and represented. Through dynamic activities, small learning groups and student-centered learning second graders identify as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientist, artists, musician, citizens and children of God.
Third Grade
In third grade students grow in independence and ownership, with a greater awareness of the separation between self and others, as well as the need for empathy and perspective-taking. The curriculum taps into their questions, their independence and their ability to think and write critically about not just what they are learning but how they are learning. Cognitive and meta-cognitive development combine to produce independent and engaged learners.
Fourth Grade
Students often work together in small groups, developing the ability to communicate ideas clearly and assertively, listen and learn from other perspectives, and collaborate effectively. Cross-curricular projects deepen understanding of fundamental concepts by actively applying them to various real-world situations. In Responsive Classroom practice, students collaborate to create their classroom agreements, engage in morning meetings, and use collaborative strategies to resolve conflicts.
Fifth Grade
Students develop their skills by focusing on thinking through concepts, problem solving, critical comparison and analysis. In preparing students for middle school, students practice habits of organization, self-control and responsibility with a deep regard for the rights of others.
Fostering Curiosity and Growth
Responsive Classroom Approach: Core Principles
The Responsive Classroom approach is a widely used, evidence-based teaching methodology focused on building a strong classroom community and enhancing both academic and social-emotional learning. It rests on a set of guiding principles that help create safe, engaging and inclusive learning environments.
Our classrooms are places where children feel welcome, curious and brave enough to take risks. We believe learning should be filled with discovery, encouragement and the joy of knowing you belong.
- Colleen Crowley, Director of Teaching, Learning and Student Support