Redwood Day is an independent, diverse K-8 school | 510.534.0800
Program
Lower School
Welcome To Lower School
In the Lower School, continuous learning is a part of our daily lives as students, teachers, leaders, and community. We believe it is important to be grounded in theory, research, and an understanding of effective classroom practice. Through best practices, modeling, and engagement, we strive to set the example of what continuous learning looks like both in and out of the classroom. We know that enthusiastically engaged students are the best learners. Our teachers strive every day to create a learning environment where children connect to the curriculum, to each other, to their lives, and to others worldwide through experiential and hands-on learning. Students learn to construct and validate meaning through purposeful reflection, investigation, and connected thought.
A strong supportive connection between teacher and student is necessary to facilitate individual growth in both the academic and social-emotional areas of development. We approach our craft with humility, charting a course for learning through differentiated instruction, carefully considering that each child’s journey will be different, personal, and inspirational. Our exceptional teachers, who have taken advantage of the most current professional development programs, know and inspire each child in a dynamic educational setting. The Lower School faculty collaborates with several specialists to plan and continuously update our rich, thoughtful, and academically rigorous program. In addition to a strong, skills-based curriculum, students engage in project-based learning that allows them to investigate topics at a level that challenges and taps their interests, learning styles, and natural intelligence.
In line with its commitment to service learning and multicultural education, the Lower School prepares its students to become responsible for themselves, their classmates, and the 21st-century world.
A strong supportive connection between teacher and student is necessary to facilitate individual growth in both the academic and social-emotional areas of development. We approach our craft with humility, charting a course for learning through differentiated instruction, carefully considering that each child’s journey will be different, personal, and inspirational. Our exceptional teachers, who have taken advantage of the most current professional development programs, know and inspire each child in a dynamic educational setting. The Lower School faculty collaborates with several specialists to plan and continuously update our rich, thoughtful, and academically rigorous program. In addition to a strong, skills-based curriculum, students engage in project-based learning that allows them to investigate topics at a level that challenges and taps their interests, learning styles, and natural intelligence.
In line with its commitment to service learning and multicultural education, the Lower School prepares its students to become responsible for themselves, their classmates, and the 21st-century world.
Every student starts the day in the Lower School with a morning meeting. We plan this social-emotionally focused time to review the daily schedule, make special announcements, and allow each student to share anything with their classroom community. On any given morning, our students may engage in problem-solving, conflict resolution, mindfulness, or deep discussion about current events. Our teachers strive to create a learning environment where children connect to the curriculum to each other, their communities, and others worldwide through experiential and hands-on learning. Strong, supportive connections between our teachers, students, and their families facilitate individual academic and social-emotional growth.
After the morning meeting, students have literacy lessons that build their reading and writing skills. Then, students correct last night's mathematics homework and a new math lesson from the Singapore Mathematics program. We hold recess three times a day so students may socialize with one another and play, which is critical for child development. Then, depending on where we are in our 8-day schedule, students may tinker in the Design, Innovate, Build Lab (DIBL), conduct hands-on experiments in the science lab, paint self-portraits with acrylics, play pickleball in physical education, make a lettuce and tomato salad in Garden-to-Table class, or practice writing Mandarin characters or conversing in Spanish. We believe it is important to be grounded in theory, research, and an understanding of effective classroom practice. Through best practices, modeling, and engagement, we strive to set the example of continuous learning in and out of the classroom.
The Lower School’s commitment to service learning and multicultural education also prepares our students to become responsible to themselves, their classmates, and their communities. At early ages, they begin to apply lessons learned in Equity and Inclusion groups to everyday life. Their understanding of key questions, like “Who am I?” “Who is in my family?” “What does my family celebrate?” “How do I identify?” grows every day. In addition, students learn to value multiple perspectives and to understand the value of learning history through first-person voices and experiences.
Our exceptional teachers, who have access to the most cutting-edge professional development, can inspire each child in the dynamic educational setting we curate. They are lifelong learners who use the Bay Area as their classroom. Fifth graders travel overnight to Colma; fourth graders spend two nights visiting elephant seals and studying tidepools in Pescadero. Throughout, students learn how to construct and validate meaning through purposeful reflection, investigation, and interdisciplinary learning, encouraging them to make meaningful connections across the curriculum and between their experiences and academic learning.
3245 Sheffield Ave
Oakland, CA 94602
510.534.0800
Oakland, CA 94602
510.534.0800
