the power in
promise
Jackson T. Stephens Campus Episcopal Collegiate School 1701 Cantrell Road Little Rock Arkansas 72201 501.372.1194 www.episcopalcollegiate.org
Lower School Pre-kindergarten 3 – Grade 5
our promise We will know your child Promise is in the air at Episcopal Collegiate school. It fills our classrooms,
flows through our halls, and lives inside of everyone of our students.
We believe everyone holds promise—the promise to learn, to grow, to do great things. The promise to achieve, and even exceed, the highest expectations. We will help your child identify his or her promise, nurture it, and let it shine. You have our word.
We will know your child well and do whatever we can to help your child grow and succeed. Head of Lower School
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Episcopal Collegiate is developing thoughtful, inquisitive, accepting, spiritual leaders for the future—for the world. It’s an honor and privilege to be part of it. Founding Trustee
Our OurHistory History Episcopal Collegiate is different from other independent schools because it was brought to life by a group of parents and community leaders dedicated to exceptional education. We are known for outstanding academics, passionate teachers, and a strong Episcopal tradition, but there’s more to us than that—we promise.
2009 Lower School opens 74,000 square feet of space in the Lower School
1998 Middle School opens 2001 Upper School opens
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The most impressive part of this school is the passion of the teachers. I know they love my child. Kindergarten Parent
2 Science Labs in the Lower School, where experiments come to life!
Destination Imagination team competed on the state level
Full-time Reading Specialists and Math Specialists
13,000 books in the beautiful Braunfisch-Stella Boyle Smith Lower School Library
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Discover Your Child’s
Promise
There was no other choice for our family. It’s been a spectacular experience. Parent of 5th and 7th grader
Your child has promise But how do you bring it to light? First, you spark curiosity. Then you teach children to explore, inquire, reflect, and act for the greater good. Suddenly, promise is revealed. The Lower School is a happy place buzzing with activity. Our youngest students come every day eager to learn and tell stories, build castles, paint pictures, make friends, hug their favorite teacher, and have fun. Our older students come excited to tackle new subjects, take on projects with their classmates, and share how much they’ve learned. It’s an atmosphere filled with pride and promise.
Your child’s promise is unique and special, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted. We expect students to take an active part in their education and make the most of their time here at Episcopal Collegiate. When we work together, the possibilities are limitless! 6
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Lower School
Academics How We Teach
Citizens of the World
We teach differently at Episcopal Collegiate. It starts with hands-on activities that ignite excitement and curiosity. From counting coins to writing in journals to building electromagnets, learning here is always an active experience. We believe there is a better approach to teaching than focusing on worksheets, rote memorization, and standardized assessments. For children to truly learn, to process and internalize information, we must let them play, create, and learn from mistakes. Because of play-based learning, our students rush into the classroom ready to ask questions, seek answers, solve problems, make connections, and share with each other. In short, they learn to love learning. That’s the power of promise.
Can you imagine what the workplace will look like a decade from now? We’ve been thinking about it. We believe that future success will rely on a diversity of skills that go beyond traditional academic measures. This is why we’ve launched the Institute for Responsible Citizenship at Episcopal Collegiate—to make sure our students move beyond basic mastery of core subject matter to become self-directed, self-aware, global citizens. This school-wide program is piloting in the Upper School. Service, travel, and hands-on projects that reflect each student’s individual passion will be central to the program. As the Institute grows, Middle and Lower School students will also discover the promise of becoming a responsible citizen.
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How We Evaluate We value play and active learning, but this does not mean our academic program lacks structure and expectations. From day one, we introduce the critical concepts of how to study, manage time, and complete tasks. We expect a high level of effort and achievement from every student. We do not measure only with testing, grades, and scores. We also measure progress through assigning meaningful projects and tasks. Each grade level has specific learning expectations and works within themes—like gardens, recycling, inventiveness, or inequality. To demonstrate what they know, Lower School students conduct research, perform skits, write poems, draw maps, build models, make sculptures, create inventions, write reports, plant gardens, and deliver digital presentations. This is how real learning happens.
Faculty our Teachers Our teachers are highly credentialed and could teach anywhere. They’re here because we share the belief that students benefit from small classes and individual attention. In this setting, they get to know each child well—his or her gifts, challenges, and promise. Our teachers ask questions, spark dialogue, offer choices, and listen to ideas. In short, they ignite children’s natural intellectual curiosity and passion for learning. Our impressively low student-teacher ratio in Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten is unparalleled— a lead teacher and an associate teacher are present in every classroom. Our reading and math specialists partner with teachers in all grades to give individualized attention. We believe each student learns differently, at his or her own pace. We’ll help your child develop at the right pace, nurturing and challenging as we go. Our Academic Achievement Center and Math Lab are other resources for students as they push their boundaries and take on new material. 10
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Library & Technology
How We Think Technology and innovation are part of every day life in the Lower School. Each week students look forward to Maker Space time, a time for their imaginations to run free. They love collaborating to come up with ideas as they work with brain puzzles, build towers with popsicle sticks, make marble runs, and construct bridges with duct tape and cardboard. Creating solutions to problems, our students try and fail and try again, until they hit on that one strategy that works. Students of all ages have access to technology here. They use iPad apps to learn coding, Minecraft to design and build worlds, and Skype to learn about children from other schools. In our Design Lab, students can create and innovate by building, programming, and completing hands-on projects that give real-world meaning to what they’re learning in class. 12
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Early Childhood Pre-K and Kindergarten
Schedule Options
All students learn by asking questions, exploring the world, making choices, using new words, solving problems, and learning to share. In the lower grades, we start each day with a daily devotion. Students have fun while at the same time building strong character and building a moral sense.
PreK-3 and PreK-4 • 3 full days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) • 5 half days (Monday- Friday) • 5 full days (Monday-Friday)
Reading, writing, and math are the core of our day, but we also leave plenty of time for music, technology, art, science, Spanish, and physical education. Even our youngest students can count to ten in Spanish and do experiments in our science lab. Our students create projects based on their own ideas. What should we do and how should we do it? Using their hands and their minds, they employ all their senses as they discover the world around them. Our goal is to instill a lifetime love of learning.
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Curriculum Areas Global Awareness
Creativity
Our world is expanding and shrinking simultaneously. Our students consider the big picture when they study maps, cultures, geography, history, governments, and laws (our own and others), learning to see the connections that make up our world.
Music, art, and drama are wonderful outlets for improving reasoning and expressing feelings. Our students explore creativity through painting, drawing, fine art, architecture, spatial relations, creative expression, color, pattern, shapes, rhythm, singing, musical notation, performance, playing instruments, and much more.
Communication In a world where the ability to share ideas is crucial, communication is one of the most important fundamentals of our curriculum. Students master English Language Arts, including listening and speaking, researching and reporting, as well as reading and writing.
Science and Math Those who can think and reason with the tools of science and math will solve some of our world’s most pressing problems. Our students observe, explore, test, and analyze the physical and natural world, studying the human body, mathematics, and the environment.
Grades 1-5 respect, reverence, and responsibility Episcopal Collegiate School is a college preparatory program. We’ve developed a comprehensive curriculum that builds a solid foundation from Pre-K to Upper School. By the time students leave the Lower School, they are in command of the critical building blocks needed for lifelong academic success. They develop strengths in reading, writing, science, and math. They understand various cultures and languages, can express themselves, and have demonstrated their ability to solve problems and be creative. They have matured socially and emotionally, and developed a personal value system based on Reverence, Respect, and Responsibility. They have made important friends they will take with them as they grow. And most importantly, they have begun to grasp the power of their promise. 16
Fitness and Play There is a joyful spirit in movement. Whether it’s making up a new game with friends, running the mile for physical education class, or competing on a team, students gain coordination, muscle development, discipline, and healthy habits for a lifetime.
Spanish Students at all levels dive into the Spanish language and the cultures of Spanish speaking nations. Students incorporate Spanish into many assignments and projects across the curriculum, drawing pictures to show comprehension, singing and dancing, decorating masks, celebrating cultural holidays, making videos, and labeling objects.
As they grow, students build on everything they’ve learned in the lower grades. They become more self-aware and start to connect the dots. With newfound confidence, they’re ready to expand their abilities and cover more ground. And our teachers are ready with more challenging material. In 3rd, 4th and 5th grade, the topics might be a bit more complex, but students still use their hands and minds and curiosity to get to the heart of the subject matter. Just watch as their promise grows!
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promise in action
Lower School students are full of energy and play an important role in the life of the whole school. Once a week, we come together as a community, celebrating differences, sharing viewpoints, and finding common ground. Lower School students also volunteer for schoolwide community service, like the Pink Out for a Cure, the Little Rock Marathon, and the ArCANsas Food Drive. They play on athletic teams, cheer at pep rallies, and perform in our Christmas pageant. In clubs and activities, students make lasting friendships and show us their promise in action.
Clubs and Organizations Wildcat Chorale PSL Basketball PSL Football 5th Grade Cheerleading 5th Grade Golf Destination Imagination ChessCats LegoCats (robotics club) E-Crafters
Students love our Super Sessions (optional extracurricular classes), like Wee Little Arts, Kids Cook, Theater and Acting, Taekwondo, Tumbling, Yoga, and Contemporary Ballet. 18
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Arts Artistic Promise When students begin to discover their promise, they need creative ways to express it. Art, music, and drama are alive in the Lower School. You’ll hear students singing in our classrooms and see their art displayed in our corridors. Lower School students enjoy music and theatre classes twice a week. We use the Orff-Schulwerk and Kodaly methods. Everyone is up and moving with songs and instrumental music from many cultures. Our students also shine in Lower School choral concerts, drama productions, theatre games, and acting exercises. We’ll nurture your child’s artistic promise.
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Athletics Wildcat Pride Our students are active, fit, and ready to compete. In the Lower School, it’s all about the joy of movement, fitness, teamwork, and healthy competition. On our playgrounds, younger students love to run, jump, climb, and play games. Outdoor time is often the best time to bond with friends. We also have our own gymnasium, with a junior-size basketball court, and full-size volleyball court. Many older Lower School students join organized sports and look forward to playing on Middle and Upper School teams.
Basketball Grades 3-5 (boys and girls) 22
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Ready for the Future
Want to learn more?
We are a community, a family, a school—a launching pad for your child’s future. Every experience in the Lower School prepares students for the exciting challenges of the next level. Teachers get to know students and families well and pass each student’s learning profile on to the next grade. They work with Middle School teachers to make the transition to grade 6 seamless. Students know what to expect because older students are happy to help their younger “buddies” as they move up. And younger students are eager to follow in their footsteps—proud to carry on our school traditions. All of this preparation lays the groundwork for the challenges of the Upper School, college, and beyond. From day one, we’ll work to help your child live up to his or her promise.
We’d love to tell you more about Episcopal Collegiate, but the best way to get to know us is by visiting in person. Come to campus, meet our teachers, visit our classrooms, and stroll our beautiful green campus. Our facilities are great, but our amazing students will impress you the most!
Ready to apply? We can’t wait to hear from you. Apply early because space is limited. You’ll find the application and information on tuition and financial aid in the accompanying folder or online at www.episcopalcollegiate.org.
Have questions? We’re available to talk. Please feel free to join us anytime at an open house, a Wildcat football game, or an arts performance. Schedule a visit and tour by calling Lower School Admissions: 501-978-4404 or online at www.episcopalcollegiate.org. 24
Design photography: Peapod Design, New Canaan, CT; Copywriting: Tracey Palmer
the Promise of a Bright Tomorrow
Respect, Reverence, Responsibility our Mission An independent college preparatory school, grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12, rooted in the Episcopal tradition and affirming people of all faiths, Episcopal Collegiate School seeks superior academic achievement and strives to develop in its students respect for all persons, reverence of God, and a sense of moral responsibility. Episcopal Collegiate is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and joy in learning in a nurturing community that prepares our students to live principled and fulfilling lives of leadership and service to others.