Lower School (Grades K-4)

Time to Connect the Dots

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Teaching Across Disciplines Sharpens Critical Thinking Skills

In Lower school, girls learn to take intellectual risks, ask questions, and challenge themselves to come up with creative solutions to problems. Engaging academics build confidence and character, from kindergarten through fourth grade. After a lesson is presented to the class, small group instruction allows for individualized attention and enrichment according to each girl’s needs and interests.

Teachers work closely to make connections across the curriculum, weaving common themes through various disciplines so girls learn to appreciate issues from various vantage points. The study of butterfly migration in science leads to a study of Mexico, an excursion to the campus farm, related reading and writing exercises in language arts, and creative expression of butterflies in art and dance form.

Cultivating Resilient Learners

A supportive all-girl learning environment encourages girls to take risks without fear of failure. Working with partners or in groups, they have plenty of opportunity to evaluate what didn’t work and try again. By the time girls progress to middle school, they are confident in their abilities, understanding that perseverance helps them grow.

Como te va el experimento?

Oral proficiency is a priority in our award-winning lower school world languages program so our classroom focus is on oral communication. The vocabulary we teach in our Spanish and Chinese classes is based on concrete concepts taught in science. Research indicates this approach makes the new language more memorable and relevant for students. Our world language and science teachers regularly coordinate their lesson plans.

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Lower School

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Katharine Kent

Lower School Head

In the News

Goodbye, Butterflies: First Graders Culminate Life Cycle Study with Butterfly Release

Every year, each first grade class nurtures and observes butterflies as they learn about life cycles.
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Strengthening Skills Through Interactive Learning
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Katie Berretta Aims to Build Confidence in Her Girls

Meet Katie Berretta, one of Hutchison's third grade teachers. Mrs. Berretta enjoys taking on a challenge in the classroom and the freedom to follow her students' interests. She encourages her students to become lifelong learners.
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Hutchison Ballet Dancers Spread Holiday Cheer in “The Nutcracker” Performances

If you are planning to attend a production of "The Nutcracker" this holiday season, you might see a Hutchison girl in the performance!
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Renee Grinder: From Hutchison Parent to Kindergarten Teacher

Meet Renee Grinder, a beloved kindergarten teacher at Hutchison. Before she had her own classroom, she served as an assistant in pre-kindergarten for two years and a substitute teacher for two years. Her experiences as a parent inspired her to come back to the classroom at Hutchison.
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A Spirit of Service: Fourth Grader Leads Service Project for Lower School

With the leadership of Katherine Pace ‘30, lower school girls collected hundreds of gently used stuffed animals for children in need as part of the Fuzzy Friends project.
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When Learning Is As Sweet As Honey

Second graders buzzed with curiosity and excitement after harvesting honey from the Hutchison farm during their study of bees. They were mesmerized by the process, from scraping beeswax off the hive frames to bottling honey to take home.
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Computer Science Adventures in Lower School

As with many academic adventures at Hutchison, a weeklong lesson on computer science and coding transformed into an interdisciplinary exploration for our girls as teachers from various subjects incorporated coding activities into their day-to-day lessons.
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Discover

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Life at Hutchison

Learn more about the Hutchison experience and why a girl's school is your daughter's best opportunity to excel.

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Learning by Doing

Hands-on experiences improve reasoning and problem-solving skills. The farm, with a full-time horticulturist, is a student favorite. Girls collect honey from beehives and experiment with composting.

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Greet and Lead

If you visit a lower school class, you will promptly be greeted by a poised young lady who will introduce herself, make eye contact, shake your hand and proceed to explain the lesson of the day. Lower school provides many opportunities for girls to develop leadership skills.

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Awesome Authors

Class presentations begin in kindergarten when girls share the result of their research projects. At the first grade Awesome Authors Tea girls read to parents from their collection of stories. Performing for an audience is a valuable life skill that lower school girls practice through fourth grade.

Modern History

Everything is possible in the innovation lab – even sturdier lifeboats for the Titanic! After reading about the ill-fated ship, girls re-created life on the ship. The lab taps into a girl’s ability to solve problems creatively.
Modern History

Everything is possible in the innovation lab – even sturdier lifeboats for the Titanic! After reading about the ill-fated ship, girls re-created life on the ship. The lab taps into a girl’s ability to solve problems creatively.

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Create, Communicate, Collaborate

Technology extends and enhances the curriculum as girls use Google Chromebooks to create and edit videos, including third graders’ animated movies based on the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret.