Central
to our philosophy is the belief that students must take active responsibility
for their education - a goal we often refer to as "student ownership."
To this end, we are committed to addressing the multiple intelligences,
teaching essential skills, and to helping our students rediscover their
love of learning. We nurture our students' intrinsic self-motivation
and emphasize collaboration and cooperation. We stress the "Spirit
of the Classroom," which includes the students' respect for the
space, the other students, and the teacher. Each student is responsible
for doing his or her part to keep the classroom environment pleasant
and conducive to learning.
We are committed to multi-age and multi-grade groupings. Our experience
shows that being taught alongside older students pulls the younger students
along better and more quickly. Working with slightly younger students
reinforces the skills of the older students and contributes to their
sense of competence and maturity. Lower School students collaborate
with HS students too, on Wednesday afternoons during community time;
this is time set aside each week for school meetings, committee meetings,
service activities, special whole school events, and/or clubs.
Our school day runs from 9AM until 3:55, with early dismissal (2:30)
on Wednesday afternoons. Students generally arrive at school at 8:45
to unpack their bags, order lunch, visit with friends, and get settled
in their first period class.
We offer a before school homework club and a sports
& recreation club that meet from 7:30 to 8:30 daily. We also offer
an after-school homework group that students may join that meets from
4:00 to 5:30 daily (except Wednesday). These supervised programs require
pre-registration for a semester at a time, and are not drop-in services.
Click on the links below to view the schedules for the
elementary class (grades 4/5/6) and the junior high classes (grades
7 and 8).
At present, there are a very limited
number of spaces available for admission to the Lower School. Please
contact Alan Villarreal, Director of the Lower School, to discuss our
programs and arrange a visit. You may contact Alan by telephone (703-691-3040)
or by email (alan@newschoolva.com).
