Lower School Overview
(First through Fifth Grade)

The Episcopal Day School strives to provide a motivating and nurturing environment where all children feel respected and honored. Teachers create an environment for productive learning. An emphasis on both mastering the basic skills and challenging students to use them in creative and far-reaching ways is integral to our program. Personal responsibility for learning is fostered through classrooms that are safe for students to explore, ask questions, and experiment with individual and collective ideas.

The school day begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. Before school care is available from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. After school care is available from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Curriculum

Language Arts
First and second grades study the Open Court Reading program. This series provides a combination of phonics instruction, reading comprehension instruction through authentic children’s literature, and writing practice through guided lessons on types of writing and using the writing process.

Third, fourth, and fifth grades study collections of award-winning literature that cover many genres and themes. Examples include: Sarah, Plain and Tall, My Father's Dragon and A Midsummer Night's Dream for Kids in third; Midnight Fox, Door in the Wall, Island of the Blue Dolphins and The War with Grandpa in fourth; Where the Red Fern Grows, Hoot, and The Cay in fifth. All students participate in the Accelerated Reader Program which is a computer-generated reading program for enrichment.

Writer's Workshop
In Writer's Workshop, students are taught the skills necessary for good writing. Students are given time on a daily basis to write and to learn how to revise, edit, and publish their work.

Mathematics
The University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, Everyday Mathematics, is the core of the Math program for grades 1 - 4. This program is a blend of exploration and discussion, individual and group work, and projects woven into a dynamic curriculum for students. Houghton Mifflin Mathematics, a systematic approach developing concepts and skills, is studied in the fifth grade.

Science
Discovery Works Science Program by Houghton Mifflin places emphasis on teaching critical thinking and scientific reasoning skills to help develop scientific literacy. Additionally, first and second graders participate in Science Enrichment.

Social Studies
The Harcourt Brace and Company Social Studies Program enables students to organize thinking and develop competencies needed as citizens in a diverse, changing, and interdependent world.

Spanish
Our Lower School Spanish program continues to build upon the basic vocabulary learned in the Preschool Spanish program. Lower School students study new vocabulary, greetings, songs, and Hispanic culture, and advance to reading, writing, and speaking complete sentences in Spanish.

Back to Top

 Student Handbook
 2008 Summer Program

AR Lists
 by title
 by author
 by level

 Director of Admissions:
  Karen B. Lilly
 706.733.1192
  klilly@edsaugusta.com

Cocurricular
Art, Computer, Music, Library, Religion, and Physical Education , Science Enrichment

All students participate in the Following the Good Shepherd program that is designed to help students learn to treat one another with compassion and care. Episcopal Day School students attend chapel once a week and serve as acolytes on a rotating schedule.

Special Events
First and second grade: Book Parade * Mystery Reader * Olympic Day * Full School Assemblies * Art Show * All School Outreach Projects * Accelerated Reader Participation Celebration * Augusta Symphony Discovery Concerts * Storyland Theatre * Classic Productions for Students *Kindergarten to First Grade Moving Up Party * Morris Museum of Art

Third through fifth grade: Book Parade * Olympic Day * Full School Assemblies * Art Show * All School Outreach Programs * Jump Rope for Heart sponsored by the American Heart Association * Accelerated Reader Participation Celebration * Writing Portfolio Celebration * Lower School Choir * Natural Resources Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education Program (NRSMEEP) at the Savannah River Site * Ecologist for a Day at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory administered by the University of Georgia * Storyland Theatre * Augusta Symphony Discovery Concerts * Classic Productions for Students

Additional Special Events
Third grade: Biography Book Talks * Shakespearean Tea

Fourth grade: States Fair * Phinizy Swamp Nature Park * Georgia 4-H Environmental Education Program at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia

Fifth grade: Fifth Grade Musical * Tour of Historic Augusta

Back to Top