Lower School

Nurturing Confident Learners from the Start

Students begin their journey in the Lower School with the promise that they will be celebrated for who they are and who they wish to become each and every day.

In our Lower School, students are seen, known, understood, and challenged through joyful learning, strong relationships, and a curriculum that nurtures the whole child. Our academic program builds core skills while also engaging students in world languages, STEM, visual arts, music, social-emotional learning, and physical education. Moral and ethical grounding comes through our Episcopal identity and age-appropriate service learning, helping students develop both character and confidence.

While our current K–6 classrooms are structured as all-girls and all-boys environments, we are actively preparing for a fully co-educational model beginning in Fall 2026. Through this evolution, our commitment to personalized, student-centered learning remains unchanged.

By understanding and embracing the differences between boys and girls, we create the conditions for all students to learn and grow. Our students readily venture past societal expectations or stereotypes to reach their full promise.”

Head of School, Ruth R. Fletcher, Ph.D.

Social Emotional Learning

Grades K-3

Our faculty understand the enormous potential of these early years and continually build on each student’s curiosity to help their passions come alive.

Grades 4-6

While creating solid foundations through core studies, this is also a time for students to safely explore new horizons. Under the skilled guidance of our faculty and in collaboration with our Wellness Director, students develop the confidence to branch out socially and intellectually, manage an increasingly challenging curriculum, take healthy risks, and exercise empathy and respect for others. When social and emotional skills are strong, students are more inclined to cooperate and collaborate with each other, and more apt to become confident learners, creative thinkers, and compassionate leaders. Mindfulness, Girls Circle, Boy’s Council, and other research-based programs are incorporated into the curriculum to build out students’ social competencies for cooperation, collaboration, assertion, and kindness.

Hawaiian Culture

The Hawaiian heritage of founder, Queen Emma Kaleleonālani, is perpetuated through an integrated program of hula, mele, ʻōlelo Hawai'i, Hawaiian values, and cultural traditions throughout the school year. Our Hawaiian values remind our students of their responsibility or kūleana to grow with kindness and respect for others, to take care of our natural resources (mālama ʻāina), and strengthen their connection to this place and community of learners. Our annual May Day program is an inspiring culmination of our studentsʻ efforts and talents in hula and mele, which affirms our Hawaiian culture and honors our founder, Queen Emma.

Music

The music program incorporates elements of music theory, history, and choral singing. Each Lower School student takes general music to learn the building blocks essential to creating music, and also participates in their grade level choir. Class activities include singing, composition, playing instruments, and movement to give students a varied and active approach to learning music.

In Grade 4, students are introduced to a string instrument, wind instruments, mele (Hawaiian music), and choir. They can then choose their music class for Grades 5 and 6, e.g., violin, bass, drums, or choir. This progression is designed to help students make an informed choice about studying an instrument when they enter Middle School.

Performing for an audience is a vital part of an authentic learning experience in the arts. Lower School students enjoy a variety of opportunities to showcase their skills during musical assemblies and schoolwide performances.

Sustainabilty

Kindergarten through 6th grade is an especially important time for children to learn about environmental issues and develop good habits of stewardship. In the Lower School, we make an effort to pair sustainable actions with educational opportunities. Inquiry-based science projects provide hands-on learning about the environment. Our students are excited to put their learning into action through their work with our garden beds, worm bins, aquaponics, water catchment system, and chicken coop.

TRADITIONS

Nā Kūpuna Day

One of the happiest events that takes place at the Lower School is Nā Kūpuna Day or Grandparents Day in November. This event focuses on honoring our kūpuna and strengthening the bonds between generations. The Lower School students take this time to celebrate and thank the kūpuna in their lives who have helped to raise, care for, and love them.

Queen Emma's Birthday

Queen Emma's Birthday is an annual school-wide event paying tribute to our founder, Queen Emma Kaleleonālani. Students participate in a special chapel service and hoʻokupu ceremony where each grade follows traditional Hawaiian protocols while presenting their gift of lei.

CURRICULUM

The Lower School is committed to creating opportunities that help our children learn and grow in a nurturing, learner-centered community, while tapping into their strengths and interests to promote lifelong learning. Reading and literacy, mathematics, and science are integrated into developmentally appropriate learning experiences that are personalized through differentiated instruction. Opportunities to reflect on their performance and learning encourages our students to develop metacognition – the important skill of “thinking about thinking.”

When you walk into a Lower School classroom, children are discovering new concepts, collaborating, and problem-solving with hands-on activities. We emphasize the process and the content of learning, recognizing that the skills students build through their search for knowledge are as important as the knowledge attained.In 5th and 6th grades, learners develop an increased level of independence as they move from class to class. They learn important lessons about organization and time management. In the Lower Schools, we build foundations instilling the confidence, knowledge, and skills that will enable our students to pursue whatever paths interest them and grow into the person they aspire to be, while fulfilling the Aims of a St. Andrew's Education.

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