University School Of The Lowcountry

Programs: Educational programs engaging students in grades 3 through 12 in a flexible combination of acceleration, enrichment, and the application of higher level thinking skills. High-achieving students need a specialized learning environment. High-achieving students (with their own distinct combination of curiosity, ability and work ethic) are eager to move quickly to advanced levels of understanding and to apply what they learn to real problems and situations. To be effective, educational programs should engage students in a flexible combination of acceleration, enrichment, and the application of higher level thinking skills. Intermediate school (grades 3-5) should tap a child's joy for learning. The intermediate school is is the entry point to the university school experience. Students learn their responsibilities and begin developing the roles that will serve them in both usl and the greater community. Personal accountability and working as a team are integral parts of our learning. Students in the intermediate school begin their day an all-school morning meeting, a leadership and life skills class, and pe. Throughout the day, our students have math, reading/writing, science, humanities, latin and greek roots, mandarin, and spanish. They also have a weekly art class and a field trip (lotc, or learning outside the classroom) on most wednesdays. They are mentored by the middle and upper school students, who also provide inspiring and varied role models for them. Our small class sizes and unique lotc opportunities encourage our intermediate school students to delve deeper into their own learning, explore new and intriguing topics, all while developing a greater sense of their place in our school family and the world around us. Middle school (grades 6-8) should be designed especially for young adolescents' needs. Programs and activities at the intermediate/middle school level must be active, interesting, and challenging in order to keep students engaged. Intermediate/middle school students need to be actively involved in their community and develop responsibility for their own education. Although adolescence can be a turbulent time of life, it should also be a time for exposure to many new pursuits, active learning, experimentation in a safe environment, and personal growth. Curiosity, reflection, inquiry, and problem solving are crucial to fostering interest in education at this time in a student's life when so many other things are happening physically, socially, and emotionally. Upper school (grades 9-12) should be a safe and challenging space that prepares students emotionally, socially, and academically for life in college and beyond. Keeping young adults constrained on a high school campus, even one with many electives and opportunities to explore their interests and keep them engaged, for 35+ hours a week does them a disservice. This is insufficient preparation for a self-directed and successful path through college and beyond. High school is not preparation for life, but it is life. University school upper school students aren't like your typical high school students. Academically, they are comparable to high-achieving students across america. What distinguishes them is their civility and direct experience with life beyond a school. In contrast to their peers at traditional high schools, usl seniors apply to colleges and universities having experienced 100+ field trips. They have talked to religious leaders at 15 or more houses of worship, met representatives of the 4 major political parties, traveled all over america, heard from a wide range of speakers of all ages and occupations, and had multiple job shadow experiences to learn more about potential career interests. They have visited 10+ college campuses across america and both sat in on classes and completed classes at a college with all of the different ages, regions, and viewpoints that one could expect. They have seen and experienced the world and all of its diversity and possibilities in a way that is not possible at a traditional high school. When half of south carolina students are losing their s. C. Lottery scholarships in their first year of college because of inadequate academic and/or social and emotional preparation, we have forged a better way. On tuesday, november 29, 2016, the post and courier shared senior anne adragna's thoughts about her university school experience ("proud student") in the letters to the editor. A small school and a personal setting work best. Small class sizes and personal attention are vital to learning. Students need guidance from adults who know them well, in an environment where they are recognized individually. This individual attention and sense of belonging is more feasible in a small school with a low student-teacher ratio. In this setting, faculty and mentors can realistically give our students guidance in the social, emotional, and intellectual aspects of their lives. Creating and maintaining a positive overarching culture is a cornerstone belief of usl. Students will see and regularly interact with people who believe in and exhibit the values and characteristics expected from each student. These individuals (high school students, college students, young adults, and adults) will serve as real-life models for usl students as they look to what the future can hold and what type of person they would like to be. In turn, our students serve as mentors for their younger classmates and for kindergarteners from hibben preschool. Collaboration among teachers, students, and parents is imperative. Parents who are aware of what their children are learning at school can model learning and reinforce these ideas at home. Close and continuous communication among home, school, and student is essential at university school curriculum humanities is an integrated history/language arts course. It focuses on skills: writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Students are asked to read for both enjoyment and content. Novels, short stories, plays, essays, poetry, and other primary sources are encountered regularly. A heavy emphasis is placed on improving writing, specifically drafting, rewriting, revising, editing, and polishing the final product. Our students are taught to write for a wide variety of purposes. Individual projects, classroom discussions, and oral presentations are common requirements. As students mature within the program, our expectations for in-depth thinking and high quality work increase. There is also a strong arts component, and this includes creating works that are found in the period of study. In the upper school, students explore world history, european history, and american history. Students also learn about civics and market and behavior concepts through ap us government and economics. In the middle school, historical topics are taught in a three-year-cycle (i. Pre-civil war u. S. History, ii. Post-civil war u. S. History, and iii. Modern european history, ancient greece & rome and civilizations of the mediterranean). Ms humanities includes the yearly study of a play by william shakespeare (cycle i - romeo and juliet, cycle ii - macbeth, cycle iii - julius caesar). In the intermediate school, topics are taught in a three-year cycle (our lowcountry, our world, and government and geography). All students study history, world geography and cultures, and contemporary world issues. Humanities classes are presented in an interactive environment with a special focus on debate, simulations, oral history, research, and projects. Mathematics includes the latest understanding of best practices as advanced by the national council of teachers of mathematics (nctm), and we follow the standards for grades 4-8. University school uses the singapore math program through grade 5, and it is lauded for its clarity and effectiveness. The program encourages our students to think mathematically and solve significant problems in addition to learning and practicing the basic processes of arithmetic. For grade 6 math and beyond, university school uses several approaches to help each student fulfill their potential. The math program is individualized for each student, allowing proficient students to thrive and advance and master material at an accelerated pace. Students have the opportunity to gain high school credit by taking algebra, geometry, and algebra ii. This means that intermediate school students (grades 3-5) can begin middle school work upon completing the grade 5 standards, and middle school students can advance through higher level courses. In the upper school, students learn through courses that best fit their needs, and there are many opportunities to advance, work on more than one discipline at the same time, etc. Courses range from algebra to ap calculus. On january 12, 2016, we won second place team at the south carolina independent school association high school math meet as our current highest grade was 11th in 2015-2016, this is an amazin