Lower School (Grades 1-4)

Roycemore is dedicated to creating a safe, warm, nurturing environment where there is concern for personal as well as academic development. The Lower School strives to reflect the School's mission of Inspiring Excellence and Celebrating Individuality. As a college preparatory school, our main goal is to assure an excellent education for our students and to prepare them for a successful transition to the next level, Middle School. Differentiation of instruction assures that all students are challenged at their own levels of achievement. We are also concerned about the social development of each child. Character education is taught and emphasized throughout the school day.

The School Day
The school day runs from 8:25 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As a convenience to our families, the Extended Day Program is available before school, starting at 7:30 a.m., and after school ending at 6:00 p.m. The core curriculum is taught by the classroom teacher, but throughout the week, students meet with other "special" teachers who provide instruction in French, art, music, physical education, and library.

Reading and Writing
Reading is taught through a combination of phonetic instruction (decoding of words) and whole language which emphasizes comprehension and critical thinking skills. Students are introduced to word attack skills (phonics) beginning in Junior Kindergarten with direct instruction and reinforcement through second grade. Guided Reading is used to instruct and emphasize important reading strategies. Novel studies take place in third and fourth grades with an emphasis on the elements of literature and story structure. Individual silent reading for pleasure and reading in the content areas are also stressed.

Writing is an important part of the language arts program. Journal writing begins in Junior Kindergarten. Beginning in Kindergarten, students are taken through the writing process learn to brainstorm, compose, revise, edit, and ultimately write final drafts. In Grades 1-4, the students learn about and explore a variety of writing formats, including creative writing, narratives, expository writing, biographical sketches, book reports and poems.

Mathematics in Lower School
Mathematics is taught through hands-on activities using manipulatives, construction, games, and computers, with pencil and paper reinforcement to build basic mathematical concepts, problem solving, applications, and computation. Instruction occurs through whole class grouping, small-group, and on an individual basis. Through differentiation, students are challenged at their own levels of achievement.

Social Studies and Science
Laboratory science is taught through age appropriate and stimulating hands-on experiments where students develop an understanding of the scientific process of experimentation, exploration and problem solving. Writing is integrated as the students record the findings to their experiments.

All social studies and other science units are taught through integrated units where students apply language arts, mathematical skills, and art to their learning. Literature is used to enrich the units, and students are taught research skills and encouraged to apply this knowledge to expand what they have learned in class. While each grade level has their own specific units, teachers are also given latitude to develop units that follow student interest.

The Importance of Character Education
Character education is an integral part of the Lower School. The School utilizes the Hazelden No Bullying Program that is taught to each class to make students aware of the damaging effects of bullying behaviors, including teasing and exclusion from play. Through this program, children are taught that these are bullying behaviors, and they will not be tolerated. We also have a social skill of the month where we emphasize how we expect children to act. Every Monday, the whole Lower School meets together to instill a sense of community, to discuss our social skills, and to give out "Way to Go" certificates that celebrate and reward good behavioral choices. These may be given by a teacher or another student who witnesses children following the precepts of the School. Also, there are individual class meetings where students gain a sense of community, responsibility and caring for others.

Extracurricular Programs
The Lower School provides a variety of after-school clubs which offer the students enrichment and social opportunities. These are usually run by a combination of teachers and parents. The selection of clubs is determined by student interest and parent/teacher expertise. Clubs that have been offered in the past three years are Chess, Checkers and Other Strategy Games, Model Building, Drama Club, Science Club, Newspaper Club, and a community service club called Kids Who Care.

The students also have many performance opportunities. Lower School Chorus is offered as part of the music program. Therefore, the students perform in Grandparents' Day, Winter Program, and the Lower School Musical. They also participate in Palio, our annual physical education show.