Lower School
Welcome to the Lower school!
RPCS Lower School: Learning and Leading for a Lifetime
Welcome to the Lower School at Roland Park Country School! This joyful place is the ideal environment for young students to thrive as curious, creative and connected learners. Whether our girls are harvesting in our many gardens, dancing on the stage of the Sinex Theatre or carefully applying math theory to complex problems, they are building strong foundations of learning that will allow them to find success in Middle School, Upper School and beyond.
Our classrooms center around the curiosity and engagement of our Lower School girls. In a collaborative learning environment where the unique voices and perspectives of each girl matter, Lower School students gain the academic and social-emotional skills that result in confident learners who are prepared for the future. Our highly skilled faculty intentionally design curricular and programmatic experiences that are grounded in the science of teaching and learning. Our dynamic Lower School program balances tradition and innovation, and our girls are both supported and stretched in every phase of their journeys through the Lower School.
In our Lower School, we hold dear those core values that provide a foundation for us here at RPCS: Live Healthy and Be Well, Build Each Other Up, Seek and Embrace Diversity, Lead for the Greater Good, and Take Your Seat at the Table. These values shape our approach to learning and leadership in the Lower School. Through designated wellness classes and a signature gardening program unique to RPCS, students practice habits of mind and body that are life changing. Our students learn what it means to be ethical, inclusive citizens in a diverse world. The voices of our girls are centered in every classroom, and as a result, our students learn that they are central to the process of positively impacting their community and the larger world.
At the youngest ages, Lower School students find opportunities to collaborate together as changemakers for the world. They spearhead fundraisers, sponsor drives for special causes, and learn how to advocate for change with the power of words. Unique projects such as our 5th grade advocacy and legislative unit that involves direct student partnerships with our State Delegates at the Maryland State House launch our Lower School students confidently into the Middle School.
All of this happens in small classes, led by caring teachers who partner closely with our involved community of parents and family members. The joy and learning found every day in our classrooms can be further explored in the many descriptions, pictures and videos here on this website. There is nothing like a visit to campus, however, that can fully illustrate the joy of learning happening in our classrooms.
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Lower School Highlights
Farm to Table Gardening Program
Our Gardening Program combines science, math and STEAM with wellness in a way that is engaging, hands-on and delicious for our young learners! Click here to learn more!
1st Grade Poetry Festival
The First Grade Ornithology (Bird) Poetry Festival is the culmination of interdisciplinary projects throughout the second half of the school year that beautifully combines in-depth social studies lessons with science research, writing and public speaking.
Meeting with State Delegates in Annapolis
The fifth grade end of year field trip to Annapolis is a culmination of a year-long project of advocating for change and using their voice for the greater good. Our students meet with State Delegates and the Governor to lobby for change on a topics that is important to them.
Introduction to World Languages
Our students are introduced to world languages at the earliest level of learning. Starting in kindergarten, students learn French, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
STEAM Week
RPCS Lower School proudly produces an annual STEAM Week every spring that integrates themed STEAM projects into every classroom! The week includes guest speakers, a Family STEAM Night, experiments, field trips, outside adventures, and projects.
Second Grade Pop-Up Market Place
After weeks of learning about the principles of economics (including loans and business modeling) our second graders create their own business ventures! The students market, mass produce, and sell a product to the RPCS community during our annual marketplace!
Concerts & Performances
The Lower School winter and spring concerts are unmatched. You will not find another school that showcases the amazing talents of our students the way we do at RPCS. Every grade participates in two concerts each year performing in singing, dancing, or instrumental acts. Certain grades are also paired with one of our Upper School auditioned dance or singing ensembles and also perform at one of the Upper School concerts.
Values, Character Education, and Social Emotional Learning
At each grade level of the Lower School, girls’ social and emotional intelligence is intentionally developed. This attention to the whole child is woven into every activity, not just a once-a-week course. Through the use of Responsive Classroom and The Toolbox Project curriculum, girls in grades K-5 learn how to recognize the traits in themselves and others that lead to healthy relationships and a sense of personal well-being. Toolbox lessons are taught by the Lower School counselor to give the girls access to the twelve tools within themselves that build self-regulation skills. The Responsive Classroom approach fosters respect and empathy. In addition, daily Morning Meeting time is used to build an understanding of unique qualities of culture, race, and circumstance that enrich our community. Often these lessons are taught by students from our Middle and Upper School Divisions. This builds a feeling of being part of a larger entity and makes connections with our diverse student body that last throughout their years at RPCS.Our girls leave Lower School with a moral compass, prepared to see the good in others and appreciate the good within themselves.