The Beasley Bunch Part 1: Meet Our Lower Schoolers

Meet Ronav B. ‘34

Ronav joined MICDS in Junior Kindergarten.

ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:

What is your favorite subject in school and why?
I really like math. How everything is set up, it’s just my favorite. I like challenging stuff. I also like science because it uses lots of experiments. 

What are you involved in outside of academics?
I’m in Math Team, and I play soccer for St. Louis Gallagher. 

What is your favorite time of day here?
I like the afternoon. I like the way it’s packed; it’s math, social studies, and then we come back to carpool. 

What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
Probably the [classroom] auction, we’re actually having it today. We bring in stuff, and with our Scholar Dollars, we can buy stuff. I’m bringing in a soccer ball to sell.

One more thing would be Genius Hour. If you have something you’ve been wanting to do for a really long time, you can finally do it, and you can just do it at school. You get one hour to do whatever you want, and I’m custom-making shoes. I made some for Ms. Jen Van Dyken, Fourth Grade Homeroom Teacher. I paint them.

STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE: 

What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It’s really fun. I really like this class because Ms. Van Dyken is a good teacher; she lets us do funny stuff, and we’re also learning really well.

Describe the MICDS community in three words.
Empathetic, responsible, and persistent.

If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
I would try to make friends with them first of all because I try to make friends with the new kids. Usually, I just talk to them about their school and how their school is, and I compare it to our school, and I tell them how it is different at our school.

How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
It was pretty easy because no one even knew each other. As the classes get bigger, you make new friends when new people join.

What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
I don’t even remember all of them. I like when we do stuff for the holidays like the Winter Program. I love decorating, and I like doing art projects for it.

Meet Lily N. ‘34

Lily joined MICDS in Senior Kindergarten.

ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:

What is your favorite subject in school and why?
I really like music, but I honestly think they’re all good. I like music because it’s fun to make music, and I always get to play these cool instruments. If it weren’t for music class, I would have never found out how much I love the recorder. I love the cello too. I just like playing music. It’s really fun for me. 

What are you involved in outside of academics?
Outside of academics, I did dance for a while. Once it gets warmer, I’m going to do some tennis outdoors, and I love golfing with my dad.

What is your favorite time of day here?
I like recess. It’s in the morning. I can get out early, and it feels good.

What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
I really think it’s fun doing my Genius Hour Project, which is making sweatshirts. I made one for my teacher, and I really liked it. It turned out well! We make these stickers, and then you iron them on the sweatshirt. You have to pick the colors and create the design. It’s a long process, but it’s a fun process.

STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE: 

What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It feels really cool. I like being here. I have loved this school ever since I joined. I have really good friends, and I don’t think I’d have the same friends if I didn’t go here.

Describe the MICDS community in three words.
Kind, exciting, and joyful!

If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
The most important thing I’d want them to know is that this is a very nice school, and it gets harder and harder, so the more friends you have, the easier it feels.

How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
When I first started, it was easy because when you’re little, you just go, “Hey, want to be friends?” And then you’re friends. I just made three new best friends this year. They are very nice kids, and I play with them all day. We waltz all the time at recess. We made this dance together, and we’re actually going to go practice it today.

What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
My favorite tradition is Grandparents Day or the Book Fair. I like Grandparents Day because I like my grandparents, and I’m very close to my grandparents. I really like the book fair because it’s fun to go!

Meet Fenix R. '35

Fenix joined MICDS in second grade.

ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:

What is your favorite subject in school and why?
I would say my favorite subject is music because I love all the fun activities we do during music, and I love all of the songs.

What are you involved in outside of academics?
They’re starting a third-grade soccer team, so I’m doing that, and sometimes I do boxing lessons.

What is your favorite time of day here?
Music because it’s just fun! If we color all the keys (there’s a paper piano, and we have to color all of the keys of the piano to get a free choice), we get to do a free choice day where she spins a wheel that picks somebody to choose something to do for music.

What’s a project you’re looking forward to this year?
We’re going to do a project with those flip posters for a state that we’ll research after we learn about Missouri in social studies.

STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE: 

What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It’s really good because everyone is always nice to one another. It makes you feel included, and it makes you feel like you belong there.

Describe the MICDS community in just a few words.
Kind, inclusive, and definitely intelligent.

If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
They’ll definitely make you feel like you belong here.

How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
When I first started, I was at the table with Logan, and we just became friends on the first day, so it was really easy.

What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
I would say the Homecoming Fun Run because it really encourages me to go far.

Meet Charlotte B. ‘35

Charlotte joined MICDS in Junior Kindergarten.

ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:

What is your favorite subject in school and why?
Probably music because I love singing, and also I really connect to it. I actually sang This Girl is on Fire in front of the whole assembly in the music room.

What are you involved in outside of academics?
I do a lot. I do ice hockey, tennis, swimming, and lacrosse. I do a singing class, an acting class, and a dancing class. Also, I play the guitar.

What is your favorite time of day here?
I love literacy because it’s where we get to learn all different things and different units, and it’s just really fun. And recess! I don’t even have to explain myself [for why I like recess].

What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
Probably our information books. We write these books about an expert topic. We don’t research them; we already know the information. There has to be three to six chapters in it. I’m writing my information book all about singing.

STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE: 

What’s it like to be a student in your class?
I think it’s great, honestly. I love my class, all my friends, and my teacher. I feel like without some of the people who go there, I’d feel much less confident or less the way I am. My class has really brought out the real me.

Describe the MICDS community in three words.
Community, humble, and kind. We get along really well.

If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
I’d like to introduce them to everybody.

How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
If I had to say in just a couple of words, I would say it’s pretty easy.

What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
The bonfire because that’s when I get to see all of my friends. And it’s just fun because there are food trucks, you get to see your friends, and you get to run around. You have the whole field!

Meet Dexter H. ‘34

Dexter joined MICDS in JK.

ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:

What is your favorite subject in school and why?
I think my favorite subject is art because I really enjoy sketching and coloring sometimes, and I feel like I enjoy the activities that we do there a lot.

What are you involved in outside of academics?
I do soccer practice twice a week, and I usually have one or two games. I do some after-school classes. I recently did hacking [as an after-school program]–you learn about cybersecurity and hacking, and you do a bunch of coding stuff.

What is your favorite time of day here?
Besides lunch and recess, it’s probably math or silent reading. In silent reading, we just get to read a book for 15-20 minutes. It’s really peaceful, it’s after lunch, and I usually get to relax. Also, I just really enjoy the stuff we do in math. I think Ms. Donna Waters, Fourth-Grade Homeroom Teacher, does a good job of making it easy for kids to understand.

What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
I really liked when we studied the three colony groups, and we made a poster about them and worked in a group. I really enjoyed that!

STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE: 

What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It’s very high energy. It’s filled with activities everyday to where you’re usually not bored unless you really don’t care for that activity.

Describe the MICDS community in three words.
Energetic, respectful, and nice.

If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
There’s aftercare after school, where you get to really play.

How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
It’s hard to remember, but I’m pretty sure I made friends pretty fast, so I think it was really easy.

What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
I really like the spirit weeks because you get to be wacky, and it’s optional too, which I also like. It’s just not an ordinary school week.

Meet Merit O. ‘34

Merit joined MICDS in second grade.

ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:

What is your favorite subject in school and why?
My favorite subject is PE because we get to do a lot of exercises, and the games are really fun, like hockey and the Olympics.

What are you involved in outside of academics?
A few weeks ago, I finished writing my first book. So if I’m not at school, I’m probably writing a book, making digital art, or reading. My book is fantasy fiction. It’s about this girl named Emily, and she gets accepted into this school that’s on another planet, so it’s very futuristic. 

What is your favorite time of day here?
I like the afternoon. That’s when we get to experience read-aloud, and it’s just very quiet.

What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
I would say novel study, but I’m going to say the Middle Ages. A few months ago, we did a project for the Middle Ages where we made castles and a Middle Ages village. I really liked the castle I made.

STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE: 

What’s it like to be a student in your class?
The energy in the room is kind of chill, so it’s not too loud and not too quiet. The students in my class are very fun. I’m at a table with some new people, and I’ve got to know them better since I’ve been sitting with them.

Describe the MICDS community in three words.
Very fun culture!

If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
I’m sure the teachers give them a little tour around, but I’d also like to give them a tour because when I was new in second grade, a girl gave me a tour and was like, “This is where we do this, and this is where we do that,” and I learned a lot I didn’t know before.

How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
Well, sometime later that first day, another girl and I became friends. It’s not that hard, but I would say you just have to be yourself.

What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
Definitely the bonfire! You get glowsticks, and you can play with your friends.

Meet Yassin E. ‘34

Yassin joined MICDS in fourth grade.

ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:

What is your favorite subject in school and why?
Definitely math because Ms. Jen Van Dyken, Fourth Grade Homeroom Teacher, is really good at teaching it, and it’s challenging but not too challenging.

What are you involved in outside of academics?
Outside of MICDS, I have lots of friends, I play soccer, and I play tennis.

What is your favorite time of day here?
Recess because it’s fun, you get to play with friends, and you get to have a break.

What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
The most exciting project we’ve worked on this year is Genius Hour. It’s basically time for something you’re interested in—you get to make it. Me and my friend made a stomp rocket. We were proud because it took us so long, and we faced challenges while building it, but by the end, we were able to do it.

STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE: 

What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It’s really nice. It’s not like the teacher chooses one person overall; each person gets an equal chance to show their abilities.

Describe the MICDS community in just a few words.
Friendly, nice, and easy-going

If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
The most important thing I feel is that you really have to push to be good. You really need to try your best.

How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
I would say it was pretty easy. My first time out in recess, everyone welcomed me. 

What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
I really enjoyed when we did the spring concert. It was fun, we got to sing, and it was really fun.

 

Each one of our Rams, with their unique personalities and interests, makes MICDS so special. Read more of our students’ stories in Part 2 of this Meet Our Lower Schoolers blog series. Go Rams!