Skip To Main Content

Lower School

From our First Grade storytellers and Second Grade astronauts to our sorcerers, our Lower School engages both the imagination and creativity of every child. As a result of these and other learning opportunities, students experience significant growth academically, socially, and emotionally. Students are enriched by creative hands-on experiences and cross-curricular integration at our private elementary school. It is in this nurturing environment that children experience the safety, respect, and understanding that encourages them to become motivated and independent lifelong learners.

Math

Come one, come all! The Mizzentop Shop is open! Stop into the Second Grade classroom to buy your pencils, erasers, and other supplies while students count back the change of their “customers.” Perhaps you’re in the mood for a slice of homemade bread or fresh cookies, where students are learning about fractions, measurements, and algebraic equations through teamwork and random acts of kindness. The value of these concepts are instilled in each child as they make the connection between classroom learning and their own lived experience.

Social Studies

An undiscovered planet, an unknown land, the beginning of a new civilization; life without electricity or cars, no running water. Where first graders travel back in time to discover what it was like to live as an early settler, second graders learn about real-life communities by creating their very own on an (as of yet) undiscovered planet. Houses are erected and roads are built as snow runs down the mountains and into lakes, all created by the children. As students grow older, their knowledge and love for the world around them deepens as they visit the Oblong Friends Meeting House, march to John Kane’s former residence, and tag along to Trinity-Pawling for lessons in local culture.

Science

At Mizzentop, science is a partnership of learning and doing. Take a hike on the Appalachian Trail to create a debris hut worthy of a cold winter’s night or purify water as you identify the edible plants living around us. Fourth graders learn the scientific method in preparation for their first science fair as second graders travel back to the Mesozoic Era, each student becoming an expert on his or her very own dinosaur as they begin to write and present their first research paper.

Language Arts

The Second Grade classroom is filled with laughter, chatter, and curiosity as students share the excitement of a funny book or a new adventure with their teacher. Small class sizes allow our teachers to know each child as an individual, choosing books that speak to a variety of reading levels, personalities, and interests. In Fourth Grade, you’ll enter the world of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone with a House Cup competition inspired by the Living Values. Later, you can visit the Bronx Zoo to determine if a good zoo is truly a place where humans can make amends as literature meets science in The One and Only Ivan. At Mizzentop, audiobooks, dress-up, poetry readings, and schoolhouse rock bring each student’s imagination to life, making learning truly magical.