• Vowels

    Lower School students search for clues in the hallway during a project.

  • engineering

    Collegiate 3rd Graders collaborate on engineering projects.

  • Garden

    Adventurous student volunteers from all divisions celebrate Earth Week by tending to Collegiate’s gardens.

  • LS ART PROJECT

    Lower Schoolers admire an art installation they helped to create.
"When children experience a strong sense of social and emotional safety and belonging, they are better prepared to explore, grow, and learn. These Lower School years are a vital time to nurture curiosity, creativity, playfulness, and meaningful connections. When learning is joyful and engaging, students are more willing to take intellectual risks, embrace challenges, and develop a lifelong love of learning." 
Khristi Bates
Head of Lower School
khristi_bates@collegiate-va.org

Responsible Citizenship

STEAM

Wellness

As students enter our doors, we strive to know each child well and focus on helping them reach their potential. Whether in small groups throughout the day for reading and math instruction or working along side our engineering technology teachers in conjunction with classroom teachers, our children are provided innovative experiences as they explore and connect the disciplines. Opportunities for project-based learning are woven throughout our curriculum as we nurture and encourage them to think deeply. In developmentally appropriate ways we strive to provide academic challenge and establish a sense of community, friendship and trust while igniting their interest in the beauty and wonder of the world around them. Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese, taught by native speakers, provide a glimpse into these global cultures as well as a strong foundation for language learning. Experiences in music, art, and physical education support their well-being and growth. Additionally, our students have important opportunities to serve others while learning what it means to be a good citizen of the school community and beyond. Collegiate’s Values guide us and are incorporated every day as dedicated teachers seek to deepen their relationships with our children and families.

Curriculum

The Lower School experience is rich and reaches well beyond the classroom. A curriculum composed of traditional classroom study enhanced with small groups, project-based learning, exposure to languages, engineering, the arts, and physical education provides a diverse but solid foundation. A focused exposure to many disciplines of study is an exhilarating experience for a young child and a solid first step toward a lifelong journey of learning.
 

K

Our Kindergarten program stresses the development of the whole child, which includes social, emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual growth. We work to empower each child to become an independent thinker as well as an empathetic member of our school community and local community. Each classroom incorporates the Collegiate School values of honor, love of learning, excellence, respect and community into the daily routine.

  • Art

    Art introduces students to various art forms through exposure to works from many cultures, styles and artists. Kindergartners learn basic art concepts that they use as the framework for their visual appreciation and expression. Instruction in age-appropriate media and techniques provides the foundation for kindergartners to engage in a wide variety of art activities and express their individual creativity. Art appreciation and museum etiquette is highlighted in an annual field trip to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

  • Language Arts

    The kindergarten language arts program focuses on developing reading readiness skills, as well as introducing the students to formalized lessons in writing, speaking, and listening. The primary objective is to give each child a positive experience in an organized school environment.

  • Math

    Math activities in kindergarten are designed to develop an understanding of and insight into the patterns of mathematics through the use of hands-on materials. The activities are arranged to help young children see relationships and interconnections in mathematics and to enable them to deal flexibly with mathematical ideas and concepts.

  • Music

    Music allows students opportunities for numerous introductory experiences. Students sing, move, and play a variety of instruments as they are introduced to musical concepts. Listening skills are honed through guided activities that include a study of time periods, genres, composers and instrumentation. Kindergarten music enables the beginning learner to become familiar with concepts of the music curriculum, laying a foundation for future study and fostering a love and respect for this discipline.

  • Physical Education

    The main focus of PE is on exploration of movement as it relates to personal and general space. Locomotor and non-locomotor skills are taught in relationship to spatial awareness and in a variety of levels, speeds, and directions. The children have the opportunity to develop eye-hand coordination by using a variety of manipulatives. We teach elementary fitness concepts as well as exercises which are taught to begin to develop an appreciation for life-long fitness. Through each class the children begin to develop essential values that promote good character.

  • Science

    The primary goal of our science curriculum is to provide the kindergarten child with an introduction to science. Teachers begin with the child’s natural curiosity and sense of wonder and encourage this enthusiasm with the introduction of each new concept.

  • Social Studies

    The social studies curriculum begins the year with a focus on communities. Children are immersed in understanding their roles in the classroom community and the larger Collegiate community. During the second semester, our learning expands to our local community and our city, Richmond. This includes field trips around the city touching on urban, suburban and rural areas. Economics is intertwined into the curriculum as students play the role of producers and consumers, creating and selling local products at our culmination event, the RVA Marketplace.

  • Spanish

    The primary goal of the Spanish program for Kindergarten is to develop an awareness, interest and enthusiasm for the language, the people, and their culture. The program seeks to develop students' listening, and speaking skills. The language is taught primarily through visual aids, listening activities, and student participation. An effort is made to accommodate the needs of many learning styles.

  • Technology & Engineering

    All K-4 students participate in year-long technology and engineering classes that cover the areas of fundamental computer skills, coding, robotics and children’s engineering. This curriculum is closely tied to the math and science curriculum to give students a true STEAM experience. A glimpse into the curriculum shows Kindergarteners proudly standing in front of a fan to test their windproof hat designs and others creating digital paintings of the city’s night skyline.

Technology

Our tools are temporary, our teaching is timeless. We don’t know exactly what tomorrow’s tools will look like, but we know they will continually change and we have faith in our teachers that they will sift the wheat from the chaff, that they will be flexible yet discerning in their methods, and that they will always preserve the essential Collegiate teacher/student relationship. We use technology that provides the right tool at the right time, that is suited to individual student needs, and that encourages students to be both connected and present.

Tech Spotlight

Collegiate School | 103 N. Mooreland Road, Richmond, VA 23229 |  P. 804.740.7077 |  F. 804.741.9797 | webmaster@collegiate-va.org | Contact Us