First Grade

Friendship, family and community are themes woven into the first grade year. Since our girls either come to first grade from our kindergarten or outside RPCS, it is essential to teach the skills for solving conflict, finding positive ways of communicating ideas, and building respect for everyone’s diverse interests in order to cultivate solid relationships to last for the years ahead. The girls build on the idea of knowing the RPCS community by exploring the community at large. Students are encouraged to look outside of their classroom and find ways to understand and impact the world. Exploring the neighborhood, or the Backwoods, and completing community service projects teaches responsibility outside of ourselves. This is the year that reading starts to come to life and with it the world opens up! Girls leave first grade with the communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills needed to succeed in second grade and beyond. 

Junior/Senior First Program

Roland Park Country School is delighted to offer a Junior/Senior First Grade program to provide greater flexibility and individualized growth for our girls over time. We recognize that not all girls develop skills at the same pace and learning can be as individual as the students themselves. Previously, a younger student was placed in Pre-First, proving limited options and flexibility for fluid grouping throughout the year and a move directly to second grade for those students who were academically, as well as socially and emotionally ready. For most girls, the first-grade year will prepare them for a more academically challenging second grade. For some of our girls, the need to spend more time building independence and honing social and emotional skills is critical. In order to provide an alternative path from our first grade to second grade, we have introduced this program to provide the gift of time to students who would benefit. Junior/Senior First allows a broader array of custom learnings solutions through a two-year rotating curriculum and offers a strategic advantage for our girls at this important developmental age. The decision of a move from Junior to Senior First, or from Junior First to second grade would be made in collaboration with families during the winter of the first grade year, considering the individualized development of each student.