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DEVELOPING CAPABLE, ETHICAL, ARTICULATE CITIZENS WAKEFIELD SCHOOL Lower School

Lower School Brochure

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Wakefield School's Lower School brochure. Key features include The Society of Sums, The Society of Twelves, Immigration Day, Simple Machine inventions, the Poetry Tea, our Character Counts program, technology, and co-curriculum courses.

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Page 1: Lower School Brochure

D eve lo p i n g capab le , eth i cal , art i c u late c it i z e n s

Wakefield School

lower School

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wakefield’s lower schoolwakefield’s lower school is designed to provide engaging, meaningful preparation both across the curriculum, and beyond itbut it does more than that. in addition to laying a solid foundation for Middle school and beyond, the lower school specifically focuses on awakening the curiosity, excitement, and confidence that fuel a love of learning.

even a partial list of the lower school’s treasured, signature milestones tells much of the story:

• TheSocietyof Sums in 1st grade, for mastery of math facts, as well as benchmarks for readingdevelopment

• 2nd graders’ reading of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, their first novel study, with its echoing of the wakefield courtesies

• TheSocietyof Twelves in 3rd grade, for mastery of multiplication tables, and the 3rd grade springmusical

• 4th grade history’s ImmigrationDay event, as well as the students’ first-ever researchpaper, for science class

• 5th graders’ inventionof originalmachines in the fall, and the PoetryTea and speechwriting in spring

in all grades, the CharacterCounts program systematically reinforces values education; a dedicated co-curricular schedule ensures that essential learning in areas such as music, art, and foreign language is never considered “extra”; and a school-wide emphasis on acivil,caringcommunity ensures it is all done with love.

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Pa r e n t of 2 n d a n d 5t h gr a de st u de n t s

“ our toP Priority was to find a school that shared our

goal of instilling a lifelong love of learning in our children. from our first day at

Wakefield school we knew We had made the r i g h t c h o i c e . our children love to read, love to ask questions,

and are curious about all aspects of the world around them.”

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“ When the boys completed their half-day visit

at Wakefield, they jumped in my car and said,

‘This is The school for us, MoM!’ They entered

in 1st and 3rd grades, and with the support of

The learning cenTer within Wakefield, they were able to

quickly Move up to the educational level of each class.”

pa r e n T of 2 n d a n d 4T h gr a de sT u de n T s

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“ What I love about teaching at Wakefield is

the environment of academIc excellence…It is fun to see

the IngenuIty of our younger students as they are

problem-solvIng – whether

it is a Junior Kindergartener building a trap to

catch a gingerbread man, or

a 5th grader building a simple machine.

WaKefIeld has created an

envIronment that InspIres a

love for learnIng.”

Wa K e f I e l d 1st gr a de t e ac h e r

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“ The teachers in the 4th and 5th grade rotation taught me to be creaTive, a good w r i T e r , a n d h a r d - w o r k i n g.”

“ Lower School has helped with the stuff we went over in past years...3rd grade MyThoLogy kind of got me an a+ in 6th grade cLaSSicS!”

“ reSponSibiLiTy has helped me, because in Lower School they enforced it and now e v e ry T h i n g i S M u c h e a S i e r .”

“ i think that Lower School taught us how to use r e a L Ly g o o d S T u dy S k i L L S . i learned that studying for tests doesn’t have to always be a hard, boring task and that it really helps you prepare for and do well on tests. TeacherS aLwayS gave uS TipS and that has really helped me over the years.”

When asked how Wakefield’s Lower School had prepared them well for Middle School, current 6th graders said...

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Technology & fifTh grade composiTion

By 5th grade, Wakefield students are fully immersed in the school’s emphasis on effective writing and communication across disciplines, and their efforts are enhanced dramatically by their use of technology in the classroom.

Taking full advantage of their classroom set of chromebooks, and combining them with schoolwide availability of the powerful document-sharing tool googledocs, 5th grade students collaborate efficiently with teachers and with peers on multiple drafts of every major paper they produce. Because all of their writing is stored in the cloud, students canand doset up online “meeting times” out of school for one-on-one conferencing and editing of drafts with both teachers and peers, in addition to dedicated writing time during the school day.

Beginning in fall with personal essays, moving on to poetry writing, completing a significant literature assignment, and rounding out december with a research project for math class on the stock market (which involves researching and choosing a stock in which to “invest,” tracking your investment for weeks, and compiling a report of its success or failure, complete with student-generated computer spreadsheets, graphs, and tables), 5th graders have pre-writtten, drafted, edited, and finalized more writing by winter break than most would consider necessary in an entire year. and they love it!

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“specials”: core foundational learning

at a time when budgeting constraints at many schools are pushing art, music, and even physical education further into the margins of what is considered essential to education, Wakefield’s mission and philosophy keep these and other so-called “extras” right where they belong.

Wakefield’s lower school co-curricular offerings are also known as “specials” in-housenot because they are peripheral, but because all teachers value their importance. While the week’s schedule cannot accommodate each co-curricular class on a daily basis, each area (art, foreign language, music, pe, and technology, as well as library time) has dedicated and inviolate teaching times each week, and, moreover, dedicated teachers who are experts in their areas and whose instruction to all lower school grades ensures continuity and depth in each discipline.

from french and spanish classes conducted entirely en français and en español to 2nd graders’ kiln-fired, hand-painted clay sculptures, from the fully-staged 3rd grade musical each spring to 4th and 5th graders’ first taste of team competition in low-key sports meets with other schools, the lower school co-curricular classes provide vital building of knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for some of the most essential areas of a classical education.

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“character counts” in lower school

wakefield’s Virtues Program, “character counts,” grew out of a desire to create an organic, systematized way to incorporate into everyday school life the character education central to wakefield’s mission.

throughout the year in the lower school, the four cardinal virtuesprudence, justice, temperance, and fortitudeare introduced, and week by week, characteristics of each virtue are discussed in detail in class, to help students see the practical ways in which individuals can “live” these large ideals.

character counts is overseen by wakefield’s lower school counselor, who visits each grade once a month to introduce that month’s new characteristic and to lay the groundwork for the classroom teachers’ ongoing reinforcement of that characteristic’s use by students. throughout the month, students are encouraged to consider the important role of that value in the living of a happy and useful life.

students are acknowledged in the community when they display these characteristics and virtues in their everyday behaviors and decision-making, and are helped to see how practicing the cardinal virtues leads to a civil, friendly, supportive, and enjoyable community.

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Wa k efield School

4439 old Tav er n roa d

P.o. Box 107

The Pl a inS, va 20198

(540)253-7600

W W W.Wa k efieldSchool .org

[email protected]

Please contact us for more information or to schedule a campus visit.