Lower School

Girls in the Lower School learn with joy and enthusiasm every day!

Our program engages girls in the active exploration of the world around them. The curriculum is designed to reflect their interests and broaden their experiences. As they ask questions and seek answers, they are encouraged to see themselves as life-long learners.

The Lower School is often the first all-girls’ learning environment for our students. They quickly grasp how empowering it is to have access to all learning materials and experiences. In a dynamic and supportive environment, our girls learn to take risks and to challenge themselves.

The program offers many opportunities for students to develop their potential in a variety of areas. Girls acquire the building blocks of literacy through listening, speaking reading and writing. They develop an understanding of numerical patterns and relationships with hands-on experiences. They test scientific methods through experiments that put them in touch with the living and physical world. Our social studies program is a vehicle for the girls to gain insights into our local and global communities. Beginning in Kindergarten, girls are actively engaged in learning Spanish through direct instruction, games, activities, songs and movement. The girls’ vivid imaginations and creativity are nurtured in the art room and in drama and music classes. In physical education and dance classes, the girls develop their physical, cognitive and social competencies through movement exploration, skill development, individual and group work, and cooperative and competitive game play.

Each Lower School girl is a member of a small multi-age group with other students from all grades in the division. In that setting, girls participate in community service projects and collaborative activities that foster responsible and caring behavior. The relationships formed in the Lower School last throughout and beyond a girl's years at Chapin.