Science

Challenging Students to Question, Explore, and Discover

The Lower School science program challenges students to explore the world by teaching methods of inquiry and by grounding ideas in fact. The curriculum in all grades balances a study of the physical, biological, and earth sciences. Each year, students build on earlier skills until they begin to see the interdependence of plants, animals (including humans), and environments within their world.

Our Lower School science classroom, the Turtle Ranch, and the woodlands, stream, gardens, and fields of our campus give students opportunities to observe a wide range of scientific principles, to discover patterns and cycles, to chart growth and change, and to determine cause and effect. Fourth graders use an end-of-the-year outdoor education trip to Hard Bargain Farm to solidify their understanding of both nature and human’s impact on the environment.

Science teachers guide students in the principles of the scientific method, explain the appropriate use of experimental techniques and science equipment, help students make reliable predictions, challenge them to consider alternate solutions, and teach them how to solve problems creatively and to present meaningful results. Throughout, teachers encourage creative problem solving, collaboration, and independent thinking. Writing is a key component of all planning, testing, and reflection.