Finding Your Way, Guided by Curiosity
As your child enters 4th grade, they have begun to notice the larger world of happenings and possibilities that exists beyond their daily experience.
We recognize that this is a crucial time to foster that curiosity and yearning for specialized knowledge while laying the bricks of a foundational education. Woodward's Lower School teachers prioritize your student's spirit of inquiry while making sure they learn the critical skills that will serve them in the years ahead and explore the interests that truly bring them joy. We guide them through this period of exploration and change, imbuing them with respect for and curiosity about others' differences. And at Woodward this stage continues through 6th grade, affording students extra time to acquire the tools that will facilitate their physiological, emotional, and social transition to Middle School.
Respecting ourselves, each other, our school and our world is the Woodward Way.
Academics
Students in 4th-6th grade are still mastering some of the basics while also taking their first steps toward more complex ideas and interests that will become lifelong passions. Woodward’s Lower School rises to meet those dual needs by providing your student with a challenging but adaptable curriculum where they have the freedom to learn as much from mistakes as they do from successes.
Respecting Ourselves & Others
With a view of the wider world comes a greater capacity for empathy and for understanding of perspectives beyond our own. As part of one of the most diverse campus populations in metro Atlanta, your Lower School student will feel at home and supported while sharing experiences and building friendships with students from a range of racial, ethnic, religious, and geographic backgrounds.
Extracurriculars
Be it Animation Club, Handbells, or Yoga Club, Woodward’s widely varied extracurricular offerings ensure plenty of opportunities for your Lower School student to feel included and engaged. Your child will enjoy the opportunity to spend time with their classmates in after school activities, learning new things while having fun, while you benefit from the convenience and peace of mind of having school and activities in one place.
Arts
Regardless of their chosen form of expression, your Lower School student will have ample opportunity to develop their inner artist. Those who express themselves through music have access to orchestra, band, chorus, and dance ensembles, including more specialized groups like handbell choir and fiddle club. All Lower School students are exposed to the full range of visual arts. Your student will rotate through 12 weeks of 2D art (painting and drawing), 12 weeks of 3D art (ceramics, papier-mâché, etc.), and 12 weeks of digital art and photography. This provides your student ample opportunity to discern their affinity for the visual arts and, if so, their preferred medium.
P.E. & Athletics
Physical Education is an important part of our Lower School curriculum, and we offer a dance program as an option. Available intramural sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country/track, flag football, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling.
Transition Learning Support Program
Our strength is our diversity, and that includes differences in learning styles. The Transition Learning Support Program offers the same curriculum as grade-level peers, but with more specialized instruction in smaller classes, to bright, creative students with challenges in reading (dyslexia), written expression (dysgraphia), math (dyscalculia), language, areas of processing, executive function, or attention. Learners with a specific diagnosis from a private or school psychologist can join our Transition classrooms in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. Experienced, specialized teachers will give students the tools and strategies to convert different learning challenges into confidence, social and emotional stability, and academic success.
“I learn a lot more than I did at my old school. At my old school I didn’t always have the best experiences even though I had good friends. At Woodward they really show off what I have. They show off what everybody has. They don’t keep you in the dark. They have a lot of opportunities that some other schools don’t have. It opens up a lot of doors for kids who don’t get those doors sometimes.
And the lunch is really good!”Lower School Student
Fifth-grader Braylon B. and fourth-grader Camille B. and their All Star Basketball team recently won the state championship.
Sixth-grader Luke D. and his travel baseball team recently competed in the Training Legends tourney.
Sixth-grader Parker W. swam in the Age Group State Championship meet in Savannah, Georgia, last weekend.
FAQs
- My child has an IEP. Could I use this document to apply for the Transition Learning Support Program?
- What is SEE Learning?
- Are my children allowed to bring lunches from home at the Lower School?
- Why isn't 6th grade a part of the Middle School at Woodward?
- What grade do students at the Lower School start participating in sports?
My child has an IEP. Could I use this document to apply for the Transition Learning Support Program?
What is SEE Learning?
Are my children allowed to bring lunches from home at the Lower School?
Why isn't 6th grade a part of the Middle School at Woodward?
What grade do students at the Lower School start participating in sports?
Meet Our Team
Andy Phillips
Elaine Carroll
Carrie Lauchlan
Michael Lawrence
Explore Further
Your child’s education is a unique journey of growth, enlightenment, and exploration as they find their way into the world. At Woodward, we provide the compass for that journey.