Lower School Community Day offered a delightful opportunity for students in Junior Kindergarten through fourth grade to connect across grade levels, stepping outside their usual routines for a shared adventure of creativity and fun.
This year’s theme thoughtfully centered on the significance of the Ronald S. Beasley Lower School – its legacy for past students, its meaning for current ones, and what the future of Beasley will look and feel like as the Lower School prepares for a transformative construction project this summer. The initial and one of the most bittersweet steps in this project is the removal of the Beasley House, the former residence of Mary Institute’s Head, Ronald S. Beasley.
With this in mind, faculty and students began their day in mixed community groups, reflecting on cherished moments within the Beasley community this year. The central question guiding the day’s activities was: How can our school community remain strong and supportive in the face of change?
A read-aloud video of What If by Samantha Berger helped students enter the right mindset for the day. The main character discovers how to celebrate creativity and embrace imagination when familiar tools are absent. Following the reading, students considered questions, such as:
- How can we be creative at school while our building is under construction?
- If you were designing your dream classroom in the new building, what would you include to help you be creative?
- What are some creative ways to make our temporary spaces feel special, just like our permanent ones?
- The character believes that her voice and creativity can’t be taken away. What are the things about our school that will always stay the same, no matter what building we’re in?
It was a meaningful way to connect the book to the idea that we can creatively build community wherever we are and with whatever we have!
Next, students collaborated to create a digital time capsule, a snapshot of this pivotal moment, marking it in time. To provide context, they first journeyed to the MAC atrium to explore small models of their previous school buildings. This exercise aimed to illustrate how growth and change are sometimes necessary to accommodate a thriving student body.
Groups then ventured across the Lower School grounds, using their assigned iPads to photograph beloved campus spaces for inclusion in the digital time capsule. The playground, cafeteria, and Beasley garden emerged as top favorites.
A particularly meaningful project for the day was the creation of the Beasley House Community Mural. A large photograph of the Beasley House was overlaid with a grid of over 200 squares, one for each current student to decorate, collectively forming a unique reimagining of the Beasley House. Students infused their squares with their individual artistic styles. We can’t wait to see the final results of their collective artistry!
The morning concluded with students and faculty visiting the first-grade book swap. This initiative serves a threefold purpose: supporting the local community through book donations to schools and organizations in need, strengthening math skills by tracking daily donations, and enhancing reading skills by allowing each student to select a book to take home before the remaining donations are distributed. This year, the Lower School community surpassed its 1,000-book goal, collecting an impressive 1,460 books!
Head of Lower School Amy Scheer said, “This year’s Community Day centered around the theme of staying connected to our community, even as the spaces around us begin to change. It was a joyful opportunity to celebrate the memories we’ve made in our beloved Beasley House and to dream about the exciting new learning spaces that lie ahead.
“Most importantly, our students came away with a meaningful understanding that it’s the people in Beasley who help them feel safe, known, and part of something bigger. While we’ll certainly miss some of the familiar places, these changes are helping to build an even stronger Lower School community, and we’re ready to grow together.”
Kids Heart Challenge
The afternoon found students moving at the annual Kids Heart Challenge in the MAC, running, jumping, and navigating an obstacle course in support of the American Heart Association (AHA). Their energetic efforts culminated in a donation of $13,700 to the AHA. An interesting piece of history shared by Lower School PE Teacher Sue Orlando was photos from the very first Jump Rope for Heart event in 1989. Many of her pictures featured students who are now alumni, some of whom are now parents of current students!
A heartfelt thank you to all the Lower School faculty and staff for orchestrating such a fantastic, creative, and fun Community Day for our Ram family!