Overview
The Lower School Difference
The Lower School is a very happy, safe and nurturing place for young children. Teachers and parents form a close partnership, working together to ensure that each child is successful. Our small classes, coupled with a dedicated faculty who truly enjoy working with children, allows us to give students a lot of individualized attention. We are sensitive to differences in students’ individual learning styles as we help each of them reach their potential. In the Lower School we celebrate with children as they stretch and grow and try new things. We celebrate their accomplishments and the effort they put into their work. We honor our friendships and the caring community to which we all belong.
The Lower School provides a strong foundation for Spartanburg Day School students. We provide the first building blocks as we encourage children to be actively involved in learning about themselves, about others, and about the world. Our aim is to develop our students into life-long learners who can go on to succeed in our Middle School and Upper School programs and beyond!
The Lower School is a place where children know the importance of respecting themselves, others, and their environment. Being a good “ Griffin” student is at the forefront of all we do. Students are encouraged to be good citizens of SDS, the community and the world.
Peggy Karpick, Head of Lower School
We are mindful of the fact that our children will be living in a global world, where they will need to have knowledge and an understanding of other countries, cultures and languages. We are preparing our students for the 21st century, by incorporating the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program (PYP) into our curriculum. IB is the most highly regarded program in the globe. Students learn all content through structured inquiry and study with a global perspective and we place a strong focus on math, science and technology to prepare them for the future.
Our curriculum is alive with excitement! We constantly challenge our students to discover, explore and research, using critical and creative thinking skills. Walk into a 4th grade classroom and you might see students writing their speeches for the Fourth Grade Public Speaking Event; a third grader might be giving a report on Japan for their Around the World Study; second graders might be in the Technology Lab writing a hard covered book on the IB Learner Profile, and first graders might be ready to go on a trolley ride around downtown Spartanburg, as they study and discover their community.
We have a strong reputation for teaching the basics and we live up to that reputation each and every day.
I always feel happy and safe at school.
Emma Gilmartin, class of 2018