Early Childhood

Young children are strong, capable, and filled with wonder.

We believe a robust early childhood education sets the stage for a future filled with a love of learning. Rich experiences help our youngest children grow into joyful learners. Their innate curiosity drives understanding of the world and their place within it.

Environment

Summit's Eaglets, Junior Kindergarten (JrK) and Kindergarten (K) programs are unique. Our teachers are well trained and highly skilled. They show genuine care for every student and family. Each teacher brings vast knowledge of teaching and child development to the classroom in addition to a sense of humor and an attention to detail. Teachers see each student as an individual and adjust academic challenges to the needs of the child. Summit maintains high academic expectations for each student, but we recognize that primary age children are at various levels of emotional and cognitive growth. Our programs allow for the celebration of all talents and achievements along the developmental continuum.

Our classrooms are furnished with carefully chosen equipment and resources for teaching young children and we think they are the best kindergarten spaces anywhere. All classrooms have a second-level loft that serves as a playhouse, office, or anything the children can imagine together.

Culture

Portrait of a Teacher

The faculty of Summit School commit to these characteristics as defining features of our work in serving the needs of our students, their families, our colleagues and the school.

As an educator striving to develop the full potential of each child, I

Respect, affirm and protect the dignity and worth of all children
Understand the important stages in child/adolescent development
Observe children, giving particular attention to the unique qualities of each child and their life experiences, recognizing their backgrounds and identities
Facilitate and guide, fostering discovery, thinking, creativity and the construction of knowledge
Teach for deep understanding by designing diverse and culturally responsive curricula organized around meaningful problems, projects, and questions
Encourage students to form habits of mind as mathematician, scientist, historian, reader, writer, and artist
Cultivate Summit’s core competencies in all students
Gauge students’ understanding through multiple forms of progress-oriented and authentic assessment
Honor children as citizens, encouraging them to participate in a democratic society

As a lifelong learner committed to professional growth, I

Reflect on the art of teaching and study the science of learning, always seeking to apply what I learn
Engage in ongoing personal and professional growth, embracing its inherent change
Study the Progressive Education tradition and apply its evolving principles in my practice: both pedagogical & curricular
Strive for excellence in my planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities

As a fully engaged member of the Summit community, I

Embrace inclusivity, diversity and equity as essential facets of the Summit Community
Demonstrate an attitude of service and flexibility, and use strengths and talents in a variety of ways to benefit the entire school community
Actively engage parents in partnerships for the good of the child
Model and uphold Summit’s Code of Conduct
Participate positively and with joy in the community life of the school

Curriculum

Days spent in Early Childhood are full of deeply meaningful experiences and projects, age-appropriate lessons in all subjects, and guidance in developing friendships, responsibility and independence. Lessons are carefully planned to reinforce multiple subject areas. For instance, a science activity like gardening may also involve mathematics (seed counting, measurement, weighing, and graphing) and language arts (vocabulary, descriptive language, and making labels).

Students in the Early Childhood Program have a wide variety of learning opportunities including Spanish, physical education and music. Being part of a JrK-9 school offers opportunities to interact with older children and make use of facilities not always available at a preschool or elementary school, such as an athletic center, an arts and technology center, a first-class theatre, award-winning gardens, and a vibrant pond. And our Early Childhood playground, designed in part by Summit students, is beyond compare. To echo the words of our founder, Louise Futrell, Summit really is a dream school.

Mathematics

Our youngest students use a wide variety of materials to count, estimate, sort, classify, compare, graph, measure, weigh, and explore spatial relationships. Our children learn math vocabulary and become conversant in cardinal and ordinal numbers.

Through the use of the first level of our primary mathematics program, Everyday Mathematics, kindergarten children are taught mathematical skills that spiral throughout the year. Topics of study are introduced, practiced, reintroduced, practiced and integrated into other concepts. Strands include numeration, counting, measurement, time, geometry, functions, relations, attributes, patterns, money, graphing, operations, and problem solving. Children use rulers, tape measures, counting chips, money, pan balances, scales, thermometers, templates, calculators, pattern blocks, unifix cubes, geoboards, Cuisenaire rods, and other manipulatives.

Literacy

The Early Childhood program is a fertile environment for language: written, spoken, read and heard. Summit values the voice of each student. Young speakers are given an ear. Young writers are encouraged. Young readers are celebrated. And young listeners are captivated by a world of rich sounds, words and ideas.

Daily activities invite children to explore new concepts and to acquire new vocabulary. Children engage in sequential story-telling and poetic and dramatic expression. We emphasize pre-writing skills like sewing, cutting, folding, drawing, painting, and working with clay, all of which strengthen the muscles and coordination needed to write.

Repeated readings and sight word activities enhance our language arts curriculum.In our weekly trips to the library for story-time and checking out books, we develop the art of browsing through, selecting, and sharing books with friends and family.

Science

The Early Childhood science curriculum comes straight from the world around us. We are blessed with a fertile campus which provides many opportunities to explore nature. Specific topics include seasonal changes, gardening, the interdependence of living things, and the importance of good stewardship of our earth. Of particular interest is the study of the needs, behaviors, and life cycles of certain insects and mammals common to our area. Also included are activities that invite the child to investigate the properties of matter. Cooking "chemistry" is a favorite.

The Early Childhood curriculum develops skills in scientific questioning, making observations, sequencing, classifying, and predicting. Studies include weather, life cycles, animals (domestic and wild), plants, structures, simple tools, recycling, health, electricity, movement, rainforests, soil, oil, ice, and crystals. These studies are carefully integrated into other curriculum areas.

Social Studies

Students in Early Childhood are still in the process of discovering the group dynamics of a classroom. Eaglets start out by looking at "me and my family." We spend time at the beginning of the year learning what school is (and is not), and what is expected of students at Summit. Junior Kindergartners continue to learn about each other's families, celebrating similarities as well as differences. Additionally, we look at globes, maps, and pictures of other places, in an effort to orient ourselves to our world. We talk about things historical and political in ways appropriate to four and five-year-olds. Role-play and cooking enhance our understanding of the unfamiliar, as we look into other times, other places, other people, and other families.

Kindergarten students make connections between the family, the school, and the community. Democracy is defined as it applies to the classroom. Students become aware of geography through field trips and map study. The historical and social significance of certain holidays and national figures are introduced. Experiential learning opportunities include the Big Friend/Little Friend Program where children are paired with fifth graders, as well as cooking, gardening, field trips, and visits by community resource specialists.

World Languages

Physical Education

Early Childhood students meet regularly in one of the Summit gyms with a specialist who helps us to develop the skills we'll need for the competitive games children play later on and for pursuing a healthy and active lifestyle. Eaglets currently have PE once a week. JrK attends PE three times per week and K meets four times per week. Walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, throwing, catching, and climbing are explored in a grand variety of cheerful activities. Emphasis is on personal effort and improvement. Good sportsmanship is encouraged at all times. Daily recess on the playground provides many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors, make use of PE skills, and socialize with friends across classes.

Art and Design

Art and design are integral parts of our daily routine and finds their way into almost every lesson. We believe that art is one of the most important means of expression for a child, and we celebrate all efforts by displaying children's work. Most young children are interested in process, not product. They want to know how to use the materials we present. We introduce a wide variety of media, and include responsibility for equipment and cleanup in our lessons. Materials are on low shelves where they are available to the children throughout the morning.

Technology

Music

Many classes start the day with a song and teachers find ways to use music in almost every lesson. Early Childhood students are taught by a music teacher twice a week. They dance, play instruments, learn about pitch, rhythm, volume, and tone, discover the instruments of the orchestra, and (everyone's favorite) sing, sing, sing! We have an opportunity to perform for families and friends every year in the theatre at the Fall Sing.

Find out more about Curriculum

After School Options

Summit Afterschool strives to engage the whole child with a carefully designed schedule that gives students plenty of time to create, play, move and learn.

Experienced staff members supervise all programs and diligently oversee the safety and well being of each child.

Students have the chance to experience school with a little less structure and enjoy an extra dose of hands-on indoor/outdoor activities. There is a built-in study time for older students and opportunities for each child to explore and develop his or her own interests. Parents and students can choose from a variety of program options to create the ideal schedule.

Programs

Beforeschool, 7 to 8 am (Eaglets - 9th Grade)

This program is designed to give students a positive start to the school day. The instructor is sensitive to the individual needs of younger and older students as they make the morning transition from home to school. The program is a relaxing place to make new friends, catch up on homework and enjoy the quiet activities. Students are dismissed or escorted to their classrooms at 8 am. Students will be grouped according to grade for this program.

*Eaglets are students enrolled in our 3 year old program

Bathroom policy. All students enrolled in Afterschool must be potty trained. We request that children come to school in underwear – no diapers or pull-ups. If a child needs to be changed while at school, a parent or guardian may be asked to come to school to do so.

Eaglet's Bridge 12:30 to 1:30 pm (Eaglets)

This hour-long program is designed to bridge the 12:30 pm Eaglet dismissal until 1:30 pm. This allows Eaglets to be picked up with JrK and K siblings. It also connects Eaglets with the extended Afterschool day. Children are supervised by the same teacher each day.

Early Childhood Afternoon, 1:30-3 pm (Eaglets, JrK and K)

Eaglets, Junior Kindergarten, and Kindergarten students will stay with their grade-level peers during this 90 minute program. Children socialize and work together as they build, create, relax, and play. This early afternoon program ends with a play period on the front playground followed by dismissal at 3 pm. All Eaglets have a rest time on mats during the second half of this program.

To enroll in this program Eaglets should also register for Eaglet’s Bridge.

Early Childhood Full Day, 1:30 to 5:15 pm (Eaglets, JrK and K)

This option includes the features of our Early Childhood Afternoon program and continues until the end of the day. Eaglets, Junior Kindergarten, and Kindergarten students will remain in their grade-level groups. Children socialize and work together as they build, create, relax, and play. They also spend time enjoying the front playground including the music station and sand boxes. All Eaglets have a rest time. At 3 pm, these children enjoy a story time before splitting up into teacher-led activity groups including art, outdoor exploration and games. The program ends with more time on the playground or in the gym.

To enroll in this program Eaglets should also register for Eaglet’s Bridge.

Lower School Full Day, 3 to 5:15 pm (1st - 5th Grade)

At the 3pm dismissal, 1st-5th Graders stay with their grade-level groups for indoor/outdoor play and snack. Our 2nd-5th graders have a 30-minute study time before splitting up into activity groups led by Afterschool teachers focusing on tinkering, outdoor exploration, and games/sports. The program ends with more time on the playground or in the gym. At the end of the week, students enjoy Fun Friday with special events and no study time.

Three-Thirty Express, 3 to 3:30 pm (Eaglets - 5th Grade)

This program is designed to supervise Lower School students until the Upper School dismissal time. The Three-Thirty Express is a helpful service to parents who prefer one pick-up time for Lower and Upper School students. At 3 pm, children gather in a designated room to relax, socialize or work on homework. At 3:30 pm, our Three-Thirty Express teacher supervises their dismissal. Eaglets, JrK and K students are eligible for this program, but rather than moving them to the Three-Thirty Express room, they remain with their Afternoon group until the 3:30 dismissal.

Late Stay, 5:15-5:45 pm (Eaglets - 5th Grade)

Extended Day Program, 3:30 to 5:45 pm (6th - 9th Grade)

This is a supervised drop-in Afterschool program for Upper School students who are not involved in athletics or other school-sponsored activities. At dismissal time, students report to the Dining Hall for check-in and snack. Students have plenty of time to study, socialize and engage in outdoor activities under the supervision of the Afterschool Extended Day teacher. This is the perfect place for athletes on seasonal break or students waiting for a late ride home. Students can join this program throughout the afternoon as clubs and sports come to an end. Parents can sign-out students by calling the main Afterschool room.

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Our New Playground!

Learn about the construction and completion of our new playground including the student involvement in the design process and Summit’s history of unique play structures.