the lovett school magazine for alumni, parents, and friends fall 2011

Lovett

The Lower School: Growing into the Intellectual Life

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The Lower School: Growing into the Intellectual Life

by mary baldwin Lower School Principal
Recently, I was showing friends how I could access my schedule and the schedules of my administrative team on my iPhone, my iPad, and my laptop. I shared that if any one of my colleagues added something to my calendar or theirs, I no longer had to wait to sync these changes at school. Rather, I could see them immediately, because my life is now stored in a cloud.

It was just 14 short years ago that I arrived on the scene at Lovett and was thrilled to have a snappy leatherbound Day Timer where I could add appointments, tasks, and notes. Fast forward two or three years and the Lovett administrative team had moved to Palm Pilots. We delighted in the fact that we had become adept at using a stylus and could hold up our Palms and sync them with a colleagues. We thought we were so cutting edge. As educators who are teaching children of the 21st century, we know that staying current is not enough, as todays current is tomorrows obsolete. Therefore, it is our obligation to provide a thinking curriculum for our students. Educators must build their practice on a sound body of knowledge and must stay abreast of the latest research. This is why more than 30 Lower School teachers requested funds to attend summer institutes this year. Their goal was to deepen their understandings, and to support each of their students in reaching new heights. This year was not an anomaly. Professional learning and collaboration happen every summer. And, since the Lower School faculty has this kind of growth mindset, we build our body of knowledge throughout the yearwhen consultants come to work with us and during teacher-led study groups, curriculum meetings, and professional book clubs. Our teaching is rooted in the workshop structure. We believe in the power of workshop teaching, because it moves children toward independence. We begin with the To, where the teacher demonstrates; move to the With, where students have guided practice; and conclude with the By, when students are able to condently and successfully work independently.

Last year, I had the good fortune to work with a small group of fth graders in their book club. The teacher and I realized that because of the engaging plots, students were reading these books too quickly and not thinking about the texts. It was time for the To part of workshop teaching. We wanted these students to ask the kinds of questions that would propel them towards being critical readers. How does setting play an important role in the story? How do secondary characters affect the main character? What symbolism is the author using? By modeling this kind of reading for these students and then guiding them (With) during their book club, in no time at all we could see the transformation students were making as readers. And, more importantly, they could see it for themselves. They were readingand writing and speaking about their readingwith purpose and vision (By). They saw rsthand how the work of each individual contributed to the group discussion and how their collective thinking deepened their understandings. As each school year begins, I walk hand in hand with three bright-eyed kindergarten acolytes through the Wallace Gym for our rst All-School Chapel. I am excited about the opportunities that await them. I am condent that when they leave Lovett they will be prepared not only to navigate the complexities of the 21st century, but also to make signicant contributions to our global society. We know that, as Lev Vgotsky writes, Children grow into the intellectual life around them. In the pages that follow, you will read more about what that intellectual life looks like inside the Lower School. You will also read about the importance we place on character development, because it anchors all that we do. While our documents and our calendars may move into the clouds, as educators in the 21st century our heads are not in the clouds. We are committed to, as our founder Eva Edwards Lovett once prescribed, providing a changing education for our changing world.
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Mathematics
introduction to the world of mathematics, and it is imperative that we give them a positive start. Through our ongoing study and discussions, we found that we must take it one step further by making the survival skills for the 21st century the heart of our mathematics instruction. We have found that the curriculum that does this best is Everyday Mathematics. A little background on Everyday Mathematics. It is the product of The University of Chicagos School Mathematics Project. The Project began in 1983 with a grant from the Amoco Foundation (now the BP Foundation) because Amoco felt there was a scarcity of American university graduates who were highly qualied, procient mathematicians and problem-solvers. Amocos grant allowed professors at the University of Chicago to develop an elementary and secondary curriculum that would produce just the type of procient mathematicians and problem-solvers for whom companies like Amoco were searching. Everyday Mathematics was their answer for elementary mathematics education. A ve-year longitudinal study of children in grades one through ve who used Everyday Mathematics showed that these students outperformed other students at all grade levels. After recognizing the value of what The Project was producing, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the National Science Foundation followed with additional grant money to continue the development of Everyday Mathematics (<http://ucsmp. uchicago.edu>).

by teddi longardt Grade 3 Lead Teacher

Two years ago, a group of Lovett

Lower School teachers and administrators read Tony Wagners book, The Global Achievement Gap, about the need of secondary schools to raise the bar in teaching what he calls survival skills. And so began an ongoing discussion around 21st century learning and its place in the Lower School, with Wagners work (see his website, <www.schoolchange.org>) serving as the basis for our discussions about the direction of our 6
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curriculum and instruction. Some may raise the question, Why are we teaching elementaryaged students these survival skills when the intent is for secondary students to learn these skills? The Lovett Lower School answers, Why not? In the crucial area of mathematics instruction, the Lower School has been charged with the task of inspiring our young students to love mathematics. After all, this is their

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Everyday Mathematics, for grades kindergarten through six, has many distinguishing features that set it apart from other curricula. Just a few of the features that align with Wagners survival skills include: Real-life problem solving. Numbers, skills, and concepts are not presented in isolation, but are linked to situations that are relevant to everyday lives. Collaboration in diverse groupings. Daily opportunities to work in large groups, small groups, partnerships, and individually. Activities balance teacher-directed instruction with open-ended, hands-on exploration and longterm projects and ongoing practice. Emphasis on communication. Students are encouraged to explain and discuss their mathematical thinking, in their own words. Students have math notebooks which hold their thinking and solution strategies, not just the solution. Emphasis on conceptual under standing, rather than sole factmastery. Of course, fact-mastery is important; however, it should not take the place of conceptual understanding. Through Everyday Mathematics, teachers make the shift from teaching students to memorize to teaching students to understand mathematical concepts. At Lovett, it is our belief that 21st century survival skills not only can be taught in the Lower School, but that they should be taught. Teachers

continually push themselves to use Everyday Mathematics to its fullest potential. We recognize the value it has in setting up our students for success in the Middle and Upper Schools and in educating our students for the real world. Walk the halls and visit any classroom in the Lower School and you will see students writing and talking about mathematics, applying mathematical knowledge to solve a real-life problem, playing a fact-practice game with a small group of students, or learning a new concept with their teacher. Most important, youll see tomorrows mathematicians, business leaders, scientists, and engineers building a foundation for a solid, lifelong journey with mathematics.

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Social Studies
by lainie powell Grade 5 Lead Teacher
Martin Luther King, Jr.s relentless

Lainie Powell, Grade 5 Lead Teacher

pursuit of equality left its mark on many facets of our society, and pushes us still today to demand fairness from others and ourselves. Dr. King knew the importance of teaching equality and said of schooling, The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. . . . Intelligence plus characterthat is the goal of true education. The Lovett faculty aims to teach students to think intensely and critically and to be fair-minded young ladies and gentlemen of character. We know that our task is heavier than simply instilling knowledge. Therefore, we strive to make The Lovett Lower School experience one that gives each student an understanding of humanitys differences and similarities. As we prepare our students for the world, we challenge ourselves to educate a childs heart and mind. There is no ner place to see this balance in action than in a Lower School social studies class. As progressive educators, we continually anticipate what tomorrow will ask of our children. Our global cultures and communities are becoming increasingly interdependent. Fast forwarding 50 years, we dont know exactly what facts children will need to know to be successful, nor which language will be most benecial; however, we do know theyll need to be analytical, exible, thoughtful, and tolerant to be effective global citizens. As children progress through the Lower School, our classrooms facilitate understandings of communitiesfrom those at Lovett to our

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state, our nation, and our world. Beginning in Kindergarten, children learn how to be contributing members of their classroom community. As they grow, they learn about their role in our larger democracy, studying the formation of our countrys government and the structures that guide our democracy. Moreover, children learn about key documents, historical gures, and wars that have inuenced our state and country. Recently, though, weve begun to articulate more ambitious goals for our social studies curriculum. In lieu of poring over a textbook full of facts about the Civil War, children read slave diaries alongside Lincolns letters. They examine photographs of the time period. These examples are part of a deliberate effort to provide opportunities for our youngest historians to actually study history, rather than memorize key facts and dates. Children are taught skills and strategies to see larger historical trends and make connections to todays world. The world of the 21st century requires collaboration, participation, and astute communication skills. Bestselling author and renowned New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman reminds us, . . . todays knowledge industries are all being built on social networks that enable open collaboration, both within companies and around the globe. The logic is that all of us are smarter than one of us. . . . Companies and countries that enable that will thrive more than those that dont. To this end, in all aspects of the Lower School curriculumincluding social studiesyoull see classes where students stand at the helm with their teachers, work in heterogeneous

groups, and write about and present their ndings. We create scenarios inside our classrooms where students reach common understandings and articulate those in a thoughtful, persuasive way. It is our goal at Lovett to instill in our youngest learners the tools necessary to maintain the guiding principles of our nations democracy. Not only will the citizens of tomorrow need to know about our nations history, but theyll also need to think and act as responsible citizens in an increasingly diverse landscape. We aim to develop individuals with intelligence plus character while shaping the leaders of tomorrow.

Kohler Jensen Sartain 02, Grade 5 Lead Teacher

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Writing
by laurie smilack Kindergarten Lead Teacher
Developing effective writing skills

is critical, for those who write effectively create for themselves greater opportunities for success. Accordingly, in the Lower School, writing is integrated throughout all areas of the curriculum. Students, alongside their teachers, study what professional writers do and then emulate this work within the classroom. As students move through the Lower School, they come to understand that authentic writing serves many purposes: to inform, instruct, persuade, question, create change, entertain, and reect. The Lower School writer takes initiative. She is motivated and resourceful. Lower School students become self-directed and independent as they learn to create and publish their own writing projects. As teachers, we take a supporting role, helping students with their toolbox of ideas. What do they do when they get stuck? How can they write for a specic audience? How can they engage their readers? Through group mini-lessons, teacher and peer conferences, and close study of real-world writing, our students become writers. The Lower School writer is innovative. He comes up with imaginative ideas and is continually thinking. In the Lower School, writing projects are fueled by creativity. In writers workshop, we allow for freedom of choice in both topic and genre. Students choose topics about which they are passionate and curious. Climb the Parker Staircase and walk into a fth grade classroom where you might nd a student crafting a 10
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social-action piece about inspired solutions for water conservation. Walk down the stairs into a fourth grade classroom and check out a personal essay where a 9-year-old is embarking on a journey in thought about why baseball has impacted his life so profoundly. Go down the hall and around the corner and you will see a rst grader writing a nonction expert piece on why crocodiles and alligators are similar and different. But such writing is not contained solely within the writing workshop block. In math, students use multiple strategies to solve problems and then write about their creative solutions, while in science, students craft lab reports, technical in form, but fueled by inventive thinking.

The Lower School writer thinks critically. She is reective. We teach our students to write with purpose and vision and to make intentional decisions as they record their thoughts on paper. As researchers, students learn to sift through a mountain of information, and then analyze and synthesize what they nd. Our student writers carefully read and study the kind of writing they want to write before they embark on a writing project. Third graders learn that the stories that grab and hold their attention are lled with voice, dialogue, small moments, and carefully crafted language, which brings strong characters and settings alive in the readers minds. We ask students to read through their writing

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portfolios and think about how they can grow as writers. As teachers, we help students see patterns and inconsistencies in their writing, and work to strengthen their craft. The Lower School writer is collaborative. Students learn to write for an audience with the purpose of communicating to others. Within writers workshop, students interact within a supportive community of writers who share their ideas, knowledge, questions, and passions with one another. They discover if their thoughts have come across to their readers, and they learn to take constructive advice as to how to improve their writing. There are also numerous opportunities across the curriculum for students to co-write. Step into a second grade classroom and you will nd a small group doing inquiry work into Georgias early history. They work together to create a project that will

effectively teach others about their ndings. Working together creates new knowledge and introduces a variety of perspectives. The Lower School writer is technologically adept. Digital literacy includes navigating technology, such as computers, internet, videos, and podcasts. Students must understand how to access information, as well as how to analyze it. Once students have synthesized the extraordinary amount of information, they need to present it in engaging ways. Our students learn to add multimedia, such as videos and images, to their writing. In the upper grades, this work happens on students individual laptops. They create slideshows, graphic novels, podcasts, blogs, videos, and voice threads. All of these media require an understanding of how to write effectively through each platform. In the Lower School, both classroom and

technology teachers work closely together to help students stay ahead of the curve when it comes to digital prociency. In partnership with parents, we provide students with experiences where they will be drawn to talk and to write. We believe it is important to write in front of our children, sharing our thinking and process with themand our revisions. This can be as simple as sharing our To Do list or keeping a journal during a trip. When we model a writerly life, our children see that writing helps bring clarity and signicance to our lives. We marvel at their words and nudge them to reect on their writing and to take it further. Most of all, we challenge our children to question the world around them, take risks, and try out their ideas in written form. Strong writers are by nature motivated, innovative, collaborative, analytical, and technologically adept. Providing our students with a superior education in writing prepares them to excel in this dynamic century.

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Reading
by diane macewen Grade 2 Lead Teacher
Teaching young students how to

read and how to read to learn has always been the traditional role for elementary school teachers. We at The Lovett School take this role very seriously. But we understand that in todays world we have to do moreit has to prepare children to be problem solvers and critical thinkers. About six years ago the Lower School faculty, under the leadership of then assistant principal Mary Baldwin, began to look at more meaningful ways to engage children in the reading process and to instill a lifelong love for reading. We knew discussions like ours were happening nationwide and we wanted to be a part of these conversations. Great work was coming out of the Teachers College at Columbia University. There, Dr. Lucy Calkins initiated a program called The Reading and Writing Project aimed at making the teaching of reading more student-centered. In Denver, Colo., the Public Education and Business Coalition worked with area teachers to consider and implement new ways to lift the level of reading; two instrumental leaders of the PEBC, Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmerman, co-authored a transformative book entitled Mosaic of Thought. Tim Rasinski of Kent State University put into practice his theory of how uency and reading comprehension go hand and hand. Through The Readers Theater program practiced at his summer reading camps, he witnessed student reading levels go up and up. At Lovett, we knew we were ready for a change, and we looked to these and others to help us 12
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on our journey. First, we began building classroom libraries lled with picture books, poetry books, engaging childrens literature, books in a series, and lots of nonction books for each grade level. We wanted to have books that children would choose to read. Next, we chose an assessment program to help us track the reading growth of each child. We also set up a schoolwide structure, based on the reading and writing workshop model developed by Lucy Calkins and her team at Teachers College. We created a scope and sequence of decoding and comprehension strategies that move appropriately from kindergarten through fth grade. In addition, we learned about conferring with individual students to address their specic skill needs and how to better facilitate small group learning. The outcome of this collaborative inquiry led us to new understandings. As teachers of reading we have developed core beliefs that we all share. We know that children need

strategies to read unknown words and comprehend text. We understand that these strategies are taught in an increasing hierarchy of difculty and that children practice these strategies in texts they choose themselves. Through our work in the reading workshop students learn to envision, make connections, predict, infer, determine importance, synthesize, and interpret. We believe that reading is social. Students communicate their thinking and understandings with other readers through conversations with a reading partner or through work with book clubs. Students record their thinking on sticky notes and in reading journals. They look for themes and evidence in their texts to support their thinking. They make plans for reading and hold each other accountable. They develop projects based on interests and nd others who share those interests to collaborate and develop exciting ways to present their ndings. Recent research shows that nonction reading needs to be at least

50 percent of our reading diet; so at Lovett weve made strides to intentionally teach nonction strategies and increase its visibility in our libraries. Students learn to use text features to guide them through a nonction text and identify the big ideas along with supporting details. They understand that nonction texts come in various forms, and that the comprehension skills they use for reading ction must transfer to nonction. Students learn as early as second grade to recognize an authors bias and perspective. Technology has a role in our reading lives, as well. In Laurie Smilacks rst grade class, students use iPads and iPods to listen to stories and to follow along with the text, while second and third graders are learning to use information from selected websites to help them write their own nonction pieces. Today, teachers at the Lower School strive to be leaders in reading education. Ongoing collaboration and study are key elements to our success. Every summer teachers attend reading institutes at Teachers College, Columbia University; Lakota Literacy View in Ohio; and Georgias own Dodge Learning Literacy Conference. During the year faculty participate in staff-initiated study groups and professional learning cycles to further enhance their understanding of instruction of reading. Outside experts are invited in to provide support for our work. At Lovett, we are committed to keep that love of reading growing.

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Science
relationships and develop lab methods. Students graduate to highertech elements, such as using their laptops to program robotic vehicles and to graph and manipulate images and maps of models created in the lab. The guiding principles of sustainability are woven throughout the science curriculum as we teach our students how to become educated stewards of the environment. In the Lower School, students see for themselves the connections within nature that make life both powerful and fragile. As the children prepare the earth for planting for the new season, practice organic gardening methods, and observe the wildlife that makes its home here on our campus, the students feel both connected and protective of nature. Extending this stewardship, students are taught in outdoor classrooms and are actively engaged in nature hikes and in environmental awareness activities around the campus. Lovett scientists are curious and thirsty for knowledge. Activities are provided that develop both independent thinking and collaborative skills. Students are encouraged to bring in materials from home and share current events related to science and new scientic discoveries. We are all excited when this sharing leads to teachable momentsproviding child-directed opportunities for extensions of our science curriculum.

by don rigler and sarah spiers Lower School Science Teachers

The science classrooms in the Lower School are exciting places for our young scientists. In our modern culture, where information and communication connect us globally, the Lovett School science program equips our students with the skills and mindset to embrace the demands of our world. Collaboration in teams and sharing information with others are skills that are consciously taught in each grade at developmentally appropriate levels. Small groups of rst graders experiment with light to discover refraction and reection. They draw their observations and then share their ndings verbally. As the students progress in age, they also

progress in the sophistication of their collaboration and communication. As an example, fth graders work in teams of four to test the electrical conductivity of liquids. After they record the results of multiple tests on varying solutions, the teams present their ndings in a multimedia format. The use of technology as a tool is a vital aspect of the Lovett science program. Lovett incorporates many forms of both low- and high-technology across grades and the curriculum. Low-tech components, such as microscopes, triple beam balances, and simple machines are an integral part of our hands-on-learning program. Using these tools, students experiment to see cause-and-effect

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Religion
by laura jernigan and martha osborne Lower School Religion Teachers
Throughout their Lower School experience, Lovett students have

Bible and Religion classes and attend Chapel regularly. So What is religion? is a question we hear often from all our students. As we prepare our children to live as citizens of the world, this may be one of the more important questions they could ask. Religious beliefs are central to human experience and are often the driving force of global interactions. Helping our students to develop respect for different approaches to God and faith is basic to our Bible and Religion curriculum. Along with Old and New Testament stories, we highlight many religious festivals and celebrations as they occur throughout the year. Often parents join us to share their own families religious traditions. In fth grade, classes study the three Abrahamic religions and have eld trips to a synagogue, cathedral, and mosque. Technology offers many opportunities for enriching our studies, such as doing web-based research. Since each of the worlds great religions has its own version of the Golden Rule, we often use this tenet as a platform for outreach projects related to our religious studies. The emphasis of these projects may be close to home, such as kindergarten students making snack bags for a downtown ministry that aids struggling families. Or the focus may be global, as rst graders participate in Heifer Internationals Read to Feed program and learn about ways that animals help people in developing countries overcome poverty.

In addition to classroom opportunities, Lower School Chapel services, which are rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, have intentional reference to current events and people around the world. Chapel messages, scripture readings, prayers, and special offerings are often related to world events such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan or tornadoes in the Southern states. What is religion? is a powerful question, and how we choose our response can be powerful, as well.

Martha Osborne, Religion Teacher

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Language
by mallorie fonseca and susie davis Lower School Language Teachers A man who knows two languages is worth two men. French proverb
Language learning has never been

more important. A language classroom should address global citizenship and use authentic scenarios to develop language prociency and cultural diversity. In the Lower School, the language teachers have been taking a closer look at exactly how we set students off on this lifelong linguistic pursuit. How do we start the development of global citizenship and pave the way for the learning that is to come? How do we begin to plant the seeds of student exchange and semesters abroad? And how can we measure student growth to enhance the learning itself? The Lower School language department has engaged in a great deal of targeted professional development. We learned that the language programs that are making the most progress nationwide are setting prociency benchmarks for their students, so we, in turn, are benchmarking against them. The good news is that in the Lower School we are on target pedagogically (the how of language teaching) and the content of our program, appropriate. So where we have chosen to focus our attention is on assessment. In order to set prociency benchmarks at each grade level we are spending more time with the idea of prociency itself, and in particular, the practice of Oral Prociency Interview. The OPI is a 16
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tool used to measure how well someone functions in a second language. Does this speaker string together complete sentences? Can this person ask questions, apologize, give a compliment, or get directions? Can he support opinion, handle a problem with a complication, or narrate in the past? Based on these kinds of functions, one can rate true prociency, and by rating prociency we learn more about how this language speaker might perform in a real-world scenario. This is important in todays world in which vocabulary lists and online translators abound. What matters is not necessarily whether or not one knows the material, but if one can use it meaningfully, spontaneously, and appropriately in an increasingly global community. This is why the Lower School has chosen to include more prociencybased assessments in our curriculum. For example, in third grade, students begin to put more focused attention on question asking. To begin this unit, students design party invitations outlining the Who, What, When, Where details of the party. After an exchange of invitations, the students are then asked to imagine that their invitation has been destroyed: Mom spilled coffee on it, or little brother colored all over it. Questions arise: How would you get the information you would need to get to this party? Could you send an email or leave a voicemail asking what you needed to know? Can you solve the problem? Provided with visual prompts and practice in the classroom, the students are then digitally recorded leaving a phone message for their friend,

seeking resolution. Not only are the children using their language skills, but also those of critical thinking and collaboration. This type of assessment is much different than a ll-in-the-blank conversation with pen and paper; this is language at work in real life. They are skills one must have to function in a variety of settings, with a diverse group of people, and even outside of ones home country. Certainly, the Lower School language program is the very beginning of our students language journey. However, our beginnings transcend words, map skills, and authentic text appreciation. In our language classes, we are planting the seeds of successful communicators, collaborators, and problem solvers. It is our belief that this well-rounded skill set, fostered by our commitment to language prociency, will prepare high-functioning citizens of a global community, capable of great things.

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Music
by carla quintero Lower School General Music Teacher, KGrade 1
The way students are taught to think, communicate, and create

with or without technologyis critically important for our students success. All areas of the arts naturally promote skills that cultivate curiosity, imagination, and creativity. Students involved in the arts learn to think critically, problem solve, communicate, collaborate, and even become innovatorswhich are work habits highly desired in todays world. At Lovett, children develop these skills by being actively involved in the music-making process. For example, music students compose and record sound pieces using classroom instruments. They experiment, listen, evaluate, and discuss ways they can improve their music piece. Using a simple computer program, students can try out changes in tempo, dynamic levels, and sound characteristics. They even gure out ways to write down their music by using graphic or traditional music notation. The process of recording and revision takes cooperation, compromise and imagination to come up with alternative ideas, all important skills. It has been said that music is a universal language. It gives cultural context, but is also a medium for expression and communication. Children have more opportunities today than ever to observe other cultures and seek out ways to connect with what is the sameand appreciate what is different. I observed a meaningful ah-ha! moment during a rst grade lesson on

Marianne Beverly, General Music Teacher, Grades 25

call and response. Children sang and danced to an African song, and then saw a video my son had taken in Cameroon six weeks earlier. We saw how the women and children in the village gathered to sing and dance using the same kind of call and response. Even though students observed and commented on how different the houses and clothes were, they connected with how joyful the music was. After seeing the video, we tried the dance again and my heart was touched to see how purposeful the children were in their attitude and movements the second time. Lovett provides a solid music foundation using a hands-on curriculum, one that is fun and full of laughter and discovery.

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Visual Art
by joy c. patty Lower School Art teacher, KGrade 2
In the Lower School visual art

instruction is centered on active learning, rather than prepackaged or teacher-made art, or simply art that lls free-time. At Lovett, students participate in hands-on art activities designed to engage them in close observation, to envision design solutions, to reect on their work, to express individual ideas, to persist in order to complete projects, to be exible enough to shift direction during the process, and to understand the art world. Technology is used as a tool to expand exposure to types of art and artists. In short, all we do in art prepares us for our lives outside the classroom.

Communication and Creativity

Drawing is perhaps one of a childs rst ways to make sense of their world. They learn to express their own stories, use their imagination, and develop details. As they move through the Lower School they learn how artists from the past and from around the world use elements and principles of design to communicateline, shape, color, texture, form, space, unity, balance, pattern, and variety. In art it is the invisible skill of creativityputting all the design elements together to form a cohesive wholethat inspires our teaching.

Flexibility and Problem-Solving

Flexibility and problem-solving are inherent in art activities. Students learn that making mistakes is part of the creative process. Sometimes starting all over is not an option. They 18
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are encouraged to try unfamiliar materials, to take risks, and to use their imagination to incorporate the dripped paint or unwanted splotch into their design. They learn to listen to instructions, but realize that problems often have more than one solution. They see that making art involves making good judgments; there are many right answers to the same problem. For instance, in a class of 20 students who are learning about Russian artist Marc Chagalls painting, I and the Village, there are many individual solutions to the lesson. While students start with the same basic compositional lines, they use different colors, shapes, and patterns to compete their work.

Students also learn to value their own, and others, work. Artwork from all classes is regularly displayed in the hallways, and students are encouraged to participate in art contests, such as those sponsored by the Atlanta Humane Society.

Learning about the World of Art

Lovett supports student participation in art projects outside the classroom. Students experience art in the broader community and learn that art and artists are valued. The Spring Arts Festival features a visiting artist who works directly with students, and visits to the High Museum of Art offer exposure to real works of art and learning in a unique environment. Young students see the power and variety of visual expressions from

modern architecture and furniture design, to folk art, photography, sculpture, and painting. When we hear a student on a museum tour condently offer personal observations about an artwork, we realize that through art we are fostering an eagerness to learn and curiosity about the world.

Collaboration and Technology

In visual art education students are motivated in a variety of ways: They experience a variety of media and methods for making art, they watch teacher-led media demonstrations, view art and exhibitions online, participate in class discussions about art, and take eld trips to local museums. They see that art does not happen in a vacuumartists respond to and are inspired by the world around them. They learn that art is made for useful purposes as well as personal expression. For instance, a fabric weaving activity that emphasizes pattern and use of ne motor skills also includes a look at weaving from several cultures. There is a discussion about how woven materials are used from clothing to rugs. The project also engages students in collaboration with classmatesworking in pairs and peer teaching, trading ideas about how to get started and how to correct mistakes.

Joy C. Patty, Art Teacher, KGrade 2

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Character
program is taught through daily and intentional guidance lessons focusing on proactive and relevant topics such as social skills, goal setting, decision making, and conict resolution. The fourth and fth grade Character Council comprises eight students who seek to lead the student body by modeling roles of leadership. These student leaders have worked on topics of friendship, sustainability, character development, and school responsibility. They serve as ambassadors of the Lower School during the admission season, school programs, and community awareness. In response to the idea of global education, the Lower School guidance program has built upon the tenets of the Milestones Project. This is a project that is designed to help all people understand the connection and commonalities of all human beings. As Dr. Noel J. Brown, president and CEO of the Friends of the United Nations writes, In a world awash with intolerance, ethno-linguistic rivalries, racism, fundamentalism and terrorism, the Milestones Projects call to live together with one another in peace as good neighbors could not be more timely. One by One remains the theme in the Lovett Lower School. Our children practice and are shown each day that each of us can make a difference, one by one. We are part of a world community and with our continued efforts on the development of character and solidarity, our children will grow into outstanding examples of a child of the 21st century: a child of character.

by gayle greenwood Director of Lower School Counseling

When one thinks of the needed

competencies for success, thoughts generally lean toward the skills and success of academic learning. While surely we need this rm foundation, I challenge people to understand the importance of developing young ladies and gentlemen of character. The Lovett Lower School strives each day to teach children what it means to live, in real life, the values shown in our Character Pledge (see page 2). Honesty, respect, responsibility, and compassion are values that form the underpinnings of a Lovett student. The character education 20
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