Lower School

Inspiring a lifelong love of learning and giving.

Our Lower School is a place where the students learn from each other, from their environment,
and through educational experiences — it is a place where childhood dreams exist.

Focusing on child-centered curriculum that allows students to explore concepts from multiple perspectives through authentic inquiry, Stone Ridge’s Lower School (Pre-Kindergarten - Grades 4) guides students through the process of coming to know themselves, cultivating a joy for learning, making wise choices, and understanding their gifts and their responsibilities in our world as a child of the Sacred Heart.

Nurturing Our Community in the Sacred Heart Tradition

All of the students in the Lower School are guided in their development of a personal and active faith in God. As children of the Sacred Heart, our students learn to be alert to the needs of others and to understand deeply that genuine love always takes the form of service. Guided by a community that models respect, compassion, forgiveness and generosity, our students come to know God and to act for Him in justice and love. As a community of many faiths and cultural traditions, we celebrate together and we come to understand our place in a global world.

Joyful Growth for Academic Success

Young children live and learn in a social context, and academic success is predicated on social success. The social curriculum in the Lower School is an intentional, research-based program designed to support girls at every level. All Lower School faculty are trained facilitators of the Responsive Classroom approach and specific strategies, including Morning Meeting, logical consequences, academic choice, and interactive modeling are employed to support the social development of our children.

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Critical Thinking and Innovating through a Sacred Heart Global Mindset

The Stone Ridge Lower School is a place where children learn from each other, their environment, and their educational experiences. The Project Approach is a unique piece to the Lower School curriculum, complementing our other instructional methods. A project is an extended and in-depth investigation of a real-world topic. Children gain deep understanding and knowledge by seeking answers to questions with first-hand investigations. Projects are undertaken by the whole class, with children working in small groups as they become experts in different aspects of the topic of study. The Project Approach draws on children’s natural curiosity, thus making them critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators. The Lower School faculty works collaboratively in the project's design and implementation, creating a richer and more thoughtful experience for children.

Academic Program Overview

Pre-Kindergarten - Explore

Philosophy for Pre-Kindergarten

The Pre-Kindergarten program promotes exploration within both a structured and nurturing learning environment. Our child-centered program promotes and supports inquiry and exploration, and social-emotional development through The Creative Curriculum, and The Project Approach. Children are met where they are in their development, and they develop intellectual curiosity as they unfold their God-given gifts.

This year we’re using a math program called Bridges in Mathematics Pre-K. It will help your child get ready for kindergarten. Bridges also helps make math meaningful and fun for Pre-K students! This year, children will:

Count, compare, read, and write numbers to 10 (especially numbers from 1 to 6)
Solve simple story problems with counting, addition, and subtraction
Find, name, and describe shapes in the world
Put shapes together to make other shapes and complete puzzles
Sort objects by traits like color, shape, and size

Kindergarten - Joyful and industrious

Philosophy for Kindergarten

The Kindergarten program is a special place where children engage their hearts and minds in their learning every day. The program is designed to meet the developmental needs of children through purposeful play and inquiry-based exploration. The learning environment is arranged for children to make choices and to learn responsibility for maintaining the classroom as well as the materials. Responsive Classroom strategies for social-emotional learning are used to create and promote a cooperative community culture where children are involved in the creation of, and thus invested in, setting the rules and resolving disputes. The social curriculum is as important as the cognitive curriculum, and it is the relationship forged with the teacher and among the children that best fosters key pre-social skills. The children learn cognitive skills in a cooperative model using the workshop model.

Stone Ridge believes a strong reading foundation is essential to the success of a student in Lower School. Lower School teachers use diagnostic assessments to differentiate and meet each learner where they are. Our programs are designed and utilized to support whole-group, small-group and independent learning opportunities. Students engage in daily authentic reading experiences. These experiences are essential for providing opportunities to discover, discuss, and reflect on their reading, while simultaneously fostering a life-long love of reading.

Teachers in Kindergarten use Wilson Fundations, a systematic, multi-sensory phonics-based approach to reading. At this level, Fundations provides early learners with a structured literacy approach to develop sound and word-level skills so they progress into proficient readers and writers.

This year we are using Bridges in Mathematics, a K–5 math program that will help us meet the new standards and make math meaningful and exciting. In Kindergarten, students focus on whole numbers and shapes. Throughout the year they count and compare numbers to 100, with a special focus on numbers to 20, think about joining and separating situations as addition and subtraction, sort, compare, and draw shapes, and combine shapes to make other shapes and complete puzzles.

Grade 1 - Develop the uniqueness of each child

The learning environment is arranged for children to remain at the center of the room, with varied opportunities for grouping, collaboration, and independent work.

Teachers in Grade 1 use Wilson Fundations, a systematic, multi-sensory phonics-based approach to reading. Fundations instructs students in phonemic awareness and word study and contributes greatly to fluency, vocabulary development, and the applications of strategies for understanding text. Fundations sets the foundation for writing by directly teaching handwriting, the study of English orthography for spelling, and the basic skills for capitalization and punctuation.

This year we are using Bridges in Mathematics, a K–5 math program that will help us meet the new standards and make math meaningful and exciting. In first grade, students focus on addition and subtraction, place value, and shapes. Throughout the year they:

Add and subtract with numbers to 20, including with story problems
Become fluent with addition and subtraction facts to 10
Count to 120 and learn about place value (ones, tens, hundreds)
Identify, sort, and draw shapes
Fit shapes together to make other shapes, solve puzzles, and talk about fractions.

The social curriculum holds as much significance as the cognitive curriculum at Stone Ridge, and it is the relationship forged with the teacher and among the children that best fosters social skills. Teachers create and promote a collaborative classroom community culture where children are involved in the creation of, and thus invested in, setting the rules and resolving disputes. This practice is rooted in our use of Responsive Classroom strategies for social-emotional learning.

Grade 2 - A child-centered focus

In Grade 2, the curriculum continues in its child-centered focus, allowing children to explore concepts from multiple perspectives through authentic inquiry. We guide children to know themselves, enjoy learning, make wise choices, understand their gifts and their responsibility in our world as children of the Sacred Heart.

In Grade 2, teachers continue to use Wilson Fundations, a systematic, multi-sensory phonics-based approach to reading. Fundations instructs students in phonemic awareness and word study and contributes greatly to fluency, vocabulary development, and the applications of strategies for understanding text. Fundations sets the foundation for writing by directly teaching handwriting, the study of English orthography for spelling, and the basic skills for capitalization and punctuation. Learning to recognize high-frequency words by sight is critical to developing fluency in reading and writing. Children learn to communicate with clarity and passion in Grade 2. We utilize a systematic approach to writing, which includes: pre-writing, planning, conferencing, editing and revising.

This year we are using Bridges in Mathematics, a K–5 math program that will help us meet the new standards and make math meaningful and exciting. In second grade, students focus on addition and subtraction, place value, shapes, and length measurement. Throughout the year they:

Become fluent with addition and subtraction facts with numbers to 20
Add and subtract with numbers up to 1,000
Measure length and solve problems involving lengths
Identify, describe, compare, put together, and take apart shapes

The social curriculum holds as much significance as the cognitive curriculum at Stone Ridge, and it is the relationship forged with the teacher and among the children that best fosters key prosocial skills. Teachers create and promote a collaborative classroom community culture where children are involved in the creation of, and thus invested in, setting the rules and resolving disputes. This practice is rooted in our use of Responsive Classroom strategies for social-emotional learning.

Grade 3 - Grouping, collaboration, and independent work

Grade 3 utilizes a more precisely guided, direct instruction. Students begin to gain independence and authentic knowledge of their learning style. Grade 3 girls learn best through focused lessons of 25-45 minute intervals, and these lessons are structured with an introduction from the teacher and guided-independent work to follow. The learning environment is arranged for children to remain at the center of the room, with varied opportunities for grouping, collaboration, and independent work.

Reading is taught through continued leveled assignments from the teacher, in consultation with the Lower School Librarian and Learning Strategist. We use diagnostic assessments to differentiate and meet each learner where they are. Our programs are designed and utilized to support whole-group, small-group and independent learning opportunities. Students will engage at a range of reading levels, each in good company of her peers in small groups with appropriately challenging explorations to build skills in reading fluency and improved reading comprehension.

In Grade 3, teachers continue to use Wilson Fundations, a systematic, multi-sensory phonics-based approach to reading, building on the essential components of structured literacy. This level focuses on advanced spelling rules and morphology. Level 3 deepens students' knowledge of word structure.

Grade 3 students learn to write across multiple genres, including: creative narration of real or imagined experiences, informative/explanatory pieces to examine a topic and convey ideas with clarity, opinion/point of view pieces with supporting evidence, and a research-based project. With guidance and support from the teacher and Learning Strategist, girls produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. Girls develop and strengthen writing through the process of planning, revising, and editing.

This year we are using Bridges in Mathematics, a K–5 math program that will help us meet the new standards and make math meaningful and exciting. In third grade, students focus on multiplication, fractions, and area. Throughout the year they:

Multiply numbers from 0 to 10 with fluency
Multiply with numbers greater than 10
Add and subtract with numbers to 1,000
Work with unit fractions (fractions with a 1 in the numerator like 1/3 and 1/6) and add and subtract fractions
Explore division

The social curriculum continues with as much significance as the cognitive curriculum, and it is the relationship forged with the teacher and among the children that best fosters key prosocial skills. Teachers create and promote a cooperative classroom community culture where children are involved in the creation of, and thus invested in, setting the rules and resolving disputes. This practice is rooted in our use of Responsive Classroom strategies for social-emotional learning.

Grade 4 - Focused lessons with direct instruction and modeling

Grade 4 combines multiple pedagogical approaches to instruction, which includes focused lessons with direct instruction, modeling from the teacher, and an increased emphasis on cooperative group work. By Grade 4, girls have cultivated an increased sense of independence; at this age, girls are better able to self-advocate and identify how they learn best. The learning environment is arranged for children to remain at the center of the room, with designated meeting areas for morning meeting, closing circle, and mini-lessons.

Reading is taught through continued leveled assignments from the teacher, in consultation with the Lower School Librarian and Learning Strategist. Reading fluency and confidence are cultivated with appropriately challenging explorations to build skills in etymology, decoding, encoding, vocabulary acquisition, and reading comprehension. The skill of reading and decoding extends to an understanding of genre, historical period, and varying purpose.

Grade 4 students write across multiple genres, including: creative narration of real or imagined experiences, expository pieces to convey ideas with clarity, opinion/point of view pieces with supporting evidence, a literary analysis for theme, and research. With guidance and support from the teacher and Learning Strategist, girls produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. Girls develop and strengthen writing through the process of planning, revising, and editing. Regular conferring with classroom teachers allow for one-on-one feedback on voice, grammar, structure, transition, spelling, and purpose.

This year we are using Bridges in Mathematics, a K–5 math program that will help us meet the new standards and make math meaningful and exciting. In fourth grade, students focus on multiplication and division with multi-digit numbers, fractions, and geometry. Throughout the year they:

Find factors and multiples of different numbers
Compare fractions and break fractions into smaller parts
Compare decimal numbers and find decimal and fraction equivalents
Develop efficient strategies for multiplying and dividing multi-digit numbers
Calculate area and work with volume
Measure and draw angles using protractors

Once a cycle, Grade 4 girls participate in an integrated STEAM class (Science, Technology, Arts, and Mathematics combine). Grade 4 STEAM classes are grounded in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Grade 4 girls benefit from this purposeful emphasis on interdisciplinary work, supported by the Lower School Science Specialist, the Lower School Art Teacher, the resources from the Maker Space, and the Lower School Educational Technologist.

STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math

STEAM
Beginning in first grade, the “STEAM projects” allow for an in-depth scientific investigation of a real-world topic.

The topics

are engaging to the children
are close to their first hand experience
allow to meet the professional Science and Engineering standards (NGSS).

Art and design, the letter A in STEAM, is in the center of our projects: it is a powerful tool to enhance creativity and engagement.

Children research and take “sketch notes” about the topic, suggest explorations and experiments, develop and build 2D or 3D representations to solve real-life problems or enhance their understanding of a concept, hear presentations from guest experts or older students from Stone Ridge, and create artwork requiring or consolidating their newfound scientific knowledge and skills.

The students also go out into the field on field experiences to gather information and benefit from hands-on learning.

French - Our Sacred Heart roots

In the Lower School an exposure to the French language and culture begins with occasional class visits or a French unit within the Little Hearts Project Approach. This includes areas of music, stories, dance and art.

In Kindergarten through Grade 4, girls develop basic language skills and familiarity with the Francophone and Francophile world through use of the Qtalk© methodology. Students learn fundamental conversational phrases, vocabulary related to family, school and daily life, as well as songs and skits in the target language.

Students participate in authentic communicative and cultural experiences both inside and outside of the classroom in order to cultivate their sense of global citizenship.

Specials - Art, Library, Music, PE

Art

The Lower School art curriculum fosters curiosity about materials and process while providing a strong foundation in visual art. Students are encouraged to develop their own artistic voice using a variety of materials such as oil pastels, paint, clay, and fibers, providing a creative outlet that is both joyful and challenging. Many studio lessons share the art of cultures from around the world.

Library

The Lower School Library prioritizes the Sacred Heart Goals of inspiring intellectual curiosity, developing a global mindset, and instilling a life-long love of learning in Stone Ridge’s young readers. The curated collection of 6,000 books provides diverse and mind-enriching materials for pleasure reading and research needs. Students also have access to the 5,500 books in the Middle School Library. Library classes are held weekly, and students visit throughout the day to check out books and ask for reading suggestions. The library is a welcoming and collaborative space that celebrates books, ideas, and the joy of reading.

Music

Orff Schulwerk is at the core of our comprehensive general music program in the Lower School. Active listening, movement, singing and playing instruments are various ways students engage with music. Discovery, exploration and improvisation are at the heart of what we do, encouraging and guiding students to develop an appreciation for beauty, awareness of culture, and understanding of music as a vehicle for self-expression and an essential element of community. All students in Grades 3 and 4 are invited to participate in an after-school choir to strengthen ensemble skills, learn new repertoire, and develop strategies to support healthy vocal technique and music literacy. Students in Grades K-4 have several informal and formal performance opportunities throughout the school year.

PE

The Stone Ridge Lower School PE Program is designed to develop both small and large locomotor skills in the girls while instilling an appreciation of a variety of physical activities and games. Individual skills are taught and practiced in isolation, and then introduced within the context of an age appropriate game. The girls develop their own individual skills and also gain an appreciation for their role as a member of a team. Good sportsmanship is stressed in every area of concentration.

Student Support - Learning Specialist and Counselor

Student Support

Stone Ridge recognizes both the variety of learning styles and the presence of learning challenges among our students. Within the context of the school's mission to provide a college-preparatory academic program and to help all students realize their potential, we work to create an environment where children feel safe, appreciated, and understood. Supporting our students is a shared responsibility and includes their teachers, division head, counselor, and learning specialists.

Learning Specialist

Stone Ridge has one full-time Lower School Support Specialist who works with students, teachers, and parents to support an individual's academic and behavioral needs. Individual and small group interventions are available to Lower School students in work habits, reading, writing, math, and the executive functioning skills necessary for student success. For students with academic evaluations on file in the school, the student support specialist works with the teacher to design methods of learning that are most appropriate for each child as well as, helps to implement the recommended accommodations indicated by the test results..

Julie Ott
Learning Support Specialist (Preschool-Grade 4)

Marianela Morgan
Learning Support Specialist (Preschool-Grade 4)

Counselor

The Stone Ridge Lower School is dedicated to the growth and development of resilient, kind and connected young women. The Lower School has a licensed full-time School Counselor who provides social, emotional and developmental support through individual and small group counseling as well as through whole class lessons and grade-level and Lower School assemblies.

Our counselor is available to all students to help them adjust to the developmental, social and emotional changes they may experience during their time at school, In order to help students achieve success in school and help remove any stumbling blocks. Our counselor works in a collaborative approach to consult with teachers and parents to ensure the appropriate social and emotional skills are being addressed.

Chantell Prestcott-Hollander
Lower School Counselor (Preschool-Grade 4)