Academics

Junior School

A Personalized Learning Experience

The commitments and values of St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School are expressed in our mission statement: “To engage each girl with a personalized, real-world learning experience within a nurturing community."

In the Junior School, our faculty work together to deliver rich and engaging programs that develop depth of understanding, encourage critical thinking, and allow for creative problem-solving. The end goal is that the girls are capable of, and committed to, making an impact in a very complex, challenging, and increasingly global world.

Our commitment to the girls’ social emotional development can be seen in the “Positive Community Oaths” which are collaboratively created in each grade. These oaths remind us that it is important to be respectful of each other, be helpful to each other, take care of each other, listen to each other, to make new friends, and to be global citizens who are aware of the world around them. Our various school themes (e.g., courage), guide our messages during chapel and assemblies. The school chaplain explores the theme’s meaning and what it looks like, during weekly chapels and assemblies with the girls.

Learn More About Our Program

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Mathematics

In the area of Mathematics, our teachers balance the direct teaching of fundamentals with opportunities for application. Students learn the basics, including their number facts, so that they can develop the skills and confidence to accommodate the greater demands of more complex math as they get older. This dynamic approach fosters both the theoretical understanding and practical proficiency of mathematics in a way that prepares students to confidently navigate mathematical challenges in a variety of contexts.
French

In our core French program, we continue to use the Accelerated Integrative Method (AIM) for students in JK through Grade 5. This is a conversational method of teaching French and is a stepping-stone to reading and writing in French.

If you wish to explore more about the AIM method, please click here.
Language Arts, Science, Social Studies

In the Junior School, teaching for deeper understanding allows us to design an integrated program around the "Big Ideas" that emerge from the grade level curriculum expectations in Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. This approach offers students more opportunities to explore powerful questions and lines of inquiry connected to their individual experiences and interests.
Experiential Learning

Our world-renowned Global Citizenship Signature Program provides our students with another way to to make meaning out of their school activities. This in turn urges the girls to contribute to things that they care about, to make purposeful choices, and to learn that every decision they make will have a consequence that matters.

Millies in Grades 3 through 5, as part of the Global Citizenship Program, take part in the “Millie 100”, where they are asked to challenge themselves and engage in their community. The Global Citizenship Department works closely with the faculty to provide real-world learning opportunities for the girls (i.e. Pioneer Day in Grade 3, Habitat Day in Grade 4, team building activities at Bronte in Grade 5 and the Grade 2 girls send their “Flat Millie” with the Senior School students on their global experience programs around the world.)
Co-Curricular Opportunities

SMLS’s Junior School students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of co-curricular activities, ranging from choirs (Primary and Junior Choirs), athletics (Cross Country, Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, Track and Field, Swim, Floor Hockey), after school clubs, and intramurals.

Did You Know?

Millies begin to learn French in JK.
Junior School students participate in Learn to Code sessions regularly throughout the school year.
Millies have the opportunity to take part in a variety of contests: math, writing, public speaking, spelling bees
Students in Grades 2-5 participate in Global Citizenship days.
All students in Grades 1-5 have time on the "bouldering wall" as part of their physical education program.
We have an outdoor classroom and outdoor garden as additional learning spaces.