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Lower School Online

Even if unable to attend classes on campus, it is essential that children build a strong foundation of basic skills, a deep sense of self and an ability to contribute to a group while capitalizing on their innate curiosity about the world around them. Students attending virtual classes will still encounter a challenging curriculum, where they'll be encouraged to take risks and make mistakes in a supportive environment under the care of committed teachers. Our ultimate goal is to instill and maintain a sense of wonder, and excitement for learning, in all of our children, so they leave the Lower School full of eager anticipation for what's to come.

Taking their typical on-campus experience online, students will continue to receive customized learning through daily one-on-one and small group time with their classroom teachers. Learning specialists will continue to work with students in grades SK-4 within the school day. 

SCHEDULE

Lower School closely mimics the on-campus experience, with students logging into their classroom at the beginning of each morning and co-curricular teachers joining them throughout the day. Their day will follow a schedule similar to the one below.

IN THIS SECTION

Sample PK/JK Schedule

  • 8 a.m.—Morning meeting - Students, with help from parents, log into their morning meeting. Typically, the classroom teacher will greet students and lead them through singing the good morning song to each other. The class reviews the calendar together and listens to the teacher read a story that pertains to the Unit of Inquiry the students are exploring. For example: if the students are learning about community helpers, the book may be about firefighters.
  • 8:30-8:45 a.m.— Spanish -The Spanish teacher enters the virtual meeting space, and teaches the class their lesson for the day. One of the favorite activities of the Early Childhood students during this class is dancing and singing along to a Spanish song. 
  • 8:45-10 a.m.—Instruction – Small groups of students are guided through different subject centers, each focused on areas to deepen their academic foundation. The teacher moves between groups to lead the students through literacy, math and social activities. While one student may be working on reading one-on-one with their teacher, another group could be working on their presentation on community helpers.
  • 10 - 10:30 a.m.—Morning recess - Students are encouraged to get outside and play! No need to log out of the meeting space: their instructor will keep the room open to make it easier to transition back to class. 
  • 10:30-10:50 a.m.—Mandarin - students would come back to their tablet as the Mandarin teacher joins their class. Tying into their Unit of Inquiry, she uses visual prompts to encourage students to share the mandarin words for community helpers.
  • 10:50-11:20 a.m.—Lunch - Eating lunch together is a fun time for students. They are encouraged to continue honing social skills as they enjoy lunch together in a virtual setting or take the option to have lunch offline with a parent or caregiver/siblings.
  • 11:20-12:05 p.m. – Movement Time - the classroom teacher shares a video about movement, and students follow along at home, moving to the fun song.
  • 12:05-12:35 p.m. – Co-curricular class (Art, Music, PE, Library) – Just like they would if they were on campus, each day one of our co-curricular instructors will join the class and lead the students through a subject-specific activity. For example: on P.E. day, students would see a virtual P.E. class on the screen led by their P.E. coaches. The following day, they would be joined by Ms. West for a Music class for a 30-minute music lesson, following along and interacting from home. 
  • 12:35-1:30 p.m. – free play/afternoon recess – Free play is still an essential part of student development, and this time will continue virtually. Following the example Unit of Inquiry on community helpers, students would be encouraged to use blocks or items around the home to create a fire station like the one they heard about in the book earlier in the day.  Teachers would also use this time to connect with students one-on-one/small groups by reinforcing academic skills from earlier in the day. To further apply both academic and social skills, teachers would connect with students by asking them to share the fire station they built and pointing out the shapes they used, or how the fire fighters would use the different parts of the fire station. Students can also use this time to play outside and stretch their legs.
  • 1:30 –2:40 p.m. – Story and rest time - Teacher brings students together virtually, and reads them a calming book to prepare for a rest in their homes.  
  • 2 – 3 p.m. – Daily Review – The teacher reconvenes class to recap the day, and the class says goodbye to her and each other.
  • 3 - 4 p.m. – Conferences - Teachers available for scheduled one-on-one student support as needed. Students and families can schedule times to work with teachers (classroom, co-curricular) to gain further help/clarification of assignments/ activities. 

Sample SK-4th Grade Schedule

  • 8 a.m. — Morning meeting - Students login to their classroom, where their teacher previews the day with them and students connect with each other. 
  • 8:10-8:40 a.m. — Spanish/Mandarin - Their foreign language teacher joins the class, and leads students through their language lesson.
  • 8:40-10:50 a.m. — Instruction 1 - The teacher instructs the class in mini-lessons focused on core subjects like Math, Reading, Writing and Grammar. Following each mini-lesson, students are then given an opportunity to practice and apply concepts just learned. Mirroring the classroom experience, this academic practice occurs in small groups or partner groups via virtual breakout rooms. As students practice, the teacher moves from group to group online to ensure each student's understanding. Finally, students all join back together as the teacher leads a recap of the assignment, cementing the new ability with each student. 
  • 10:50-11:20 a.m. – Students are encouraged to take a break during a period of self-directed recreation. They can turn their cameras and microphones off, or stay and chat with each other to catch up and build their social skills. 
  • 11:25-11:50 a.m. - Lunch – Eating lunch together is a fun time for students, and students are encouraged to continue honing social skills as they enjoy lunch together in a virtual setting. 
  • 11:55-2 p.m. – Instruction 2 - This time will be used for instruction/activities within the Units of Inquiry from the classroom teacher, further customizing instruction as directed by the students' needs. For example, if a 3rd-grade class is researching inventions that changed the world, group 1 of students would work together in a breakout group to brainstorm ideas for a PowerPoint presentation using the research they gathered from the previous day. Group 2 needs to use this time to gather more research, so they would divide up and collect information individually or with the help of a learning specialist in another break out room. Group 3 of that same class has a draft of their presentation ready to review, so the classroom teacher would meet with them to give feedback to the students. 
  • 2-2:50 p.m. - Co-Curricular class (Art, Music, PE, ANTS) – Like they would on campus, co-curricular teachers will conduct a lesson of their specialty area virtually to the class following their scheduled co-curricular rotation. For example, if a 2nd-grade class had P.E. scheduled that day, the students would be joined by the P.E. coaches who would lead them through a 50 minute P.E. class. The following day, the co-curricular is music, and Ms. West would join their virtual classroom and give them a music lesson. Susie would log into Music class where Ms. West would lead a 50-minute music lesson to just that class. 
  • 2:50-3 p.m. – Daily Review - The classroom teacher and students join back together in a closing meeting to recap the day and celebrate their accomplishments.
  • 3 - 4 p.m. – Conferences - Teachers available for scheduled one-on-one student support as needed. Students and families can schedule times to work with teachers (classroom, co-curricular, learning specialists) to gain further help/clarification of assignments/activities.

 

While we are prepared to move every class to distance learning, we will only do so if ordered to by governmental mandate. Knowing that a Lausanne education is best experienced through in-person relationships, we're preparing for all students to return to on-campus classes the week of August 17, 2020. Across divisions, safety measures are being developed that address the Covid-19 pandemic unless the campus is ordered closed by local, state or the federal government. 

QUESTIONS OR CONCERN?

As we move ahead with planning, we know you'll have questions about specific areas. If you have a concern, let us know by sharing it with us here. It will be shared with the task force, and we'll try to address it as soon as possible.