The Lower School seeks families who desire a quality education, challenging curriculum and discovery-oriented environment for their children. The Admissions Committee evaluates each student's potential for academic and personal success within the framework of our student-focused curriculum. Applicants for Pre-kindergarten must be four years of age by October 1 of the enrolling year. Exceptions may be made, on an individual basis, for applicants whose birthdays fall between October 1 and October 15.

2009-2010 All School Curriculum Guide

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74 Quicks Mill Road, Verona, VA 24482

Curriculum

Goals and accountability

            The goal of the Pre-Kindergarten program is to promote student learning by arousing curiosity, nurturing growing imaginations, stimulating intellect, inspiring creative expression, and broadening social interaction and development.  A thematic curriculum will provide a framework to organize specific learning activities and integrate major curriculum components to ensure success at a foundational level in literacy skills, mathematics, sciences and social sciences. Acquiring these necessary skills at the Pre-Kindergarten level can have a profound impact on the future academic success and growth of a student's intellectual development.

            A partnering of parents and teacher is vital in the success of each individual child.  Open communication is strongly encouraged and will be facilitated by a daily notebook that will travel between home and school.  A comprehensive narrative detailing the child's achievements along with a personalized portfolio will be presented to the parents at the end of the school year.

Literacy Foundation Block

            Oral language experiences include communication activities that focus on speaking and listening.  Children will be immersed in an environment consisting of rich children's literature and varied, frequent opportunities to engage in expression of their own ideas and related experiences as they develop broadening vocabularies.  Children will acquire pre-reading and writing skills as they develop phonological awareness which involves the understanding of sounds and how they correlate to the letters in the alphabet. Through the exploration of early writing experiences children will develop knowledge of written language and how it provides a new avenue of communication.

Mathematics Foundation Block

            Mathematics learning builds on the natural characteristics of young children, and challenges them to explore ideas about patterns and relationships, order and predictability, and logic and meaning.  The exploration of these ideas will include the concepts of numbers, patterns, measurement, shapes, space, and classification.

Science Foundation Block

            Children's natural curiosity provides the basis and opportunity to introduce the science process skills. Children will actively participate in investigating, reasoning, and life processes.  Through phenomena including shadows, patterns of weather, and plant growth, students will be introduced to the concept of change.

Social Science Foundation Block

            The purpose of history and social science at this level is to enable children to understand and participate within their surroundings.  Foundational concepts and very basic understandings will be developed in history, geography, civics and economics.

 Pre-K Brochure