Our third annual Winter Term for Lower Schoolers at MICDS took place this week on Thursday and Friday, January 8 and 9, 2026. For it, Beasley students boldly embraced a special learning theme—Brave Enough to Begin: Imagine, Try, Create. Through engaging and thoughtful lessons, assemblies, activities, and more, students explored bravery together and had a great Winter Term experience.
Rather than being in their typical classes, which are sorted by grade level, Lower School students experience Winter Term with fellow classmates across grade levels. Each custom group is composed of a mix of students from Junior Kindergarten through fourth grade, so students get to know one another across grades. Each unique group is called a “family.” Although these families are created for students to learn with for Winter Term, they also gather outside of Winter Term to further strengthen their bonds with one another, deepening the MICDS Lower School community. The groups remain the same year to year, with new students added as the fourth graders move on to Middle School.
Check out the various activities and events that this year’s Lower School “families” enjoyed while embracing all sorts of opportunities to be brave!
Thursday’s Introductory Assembly
On Thursday morning, the full Lower School community met in the Beasley Studio for an assembly to kick off Winter Term together. Amy Scheer, Head of Lower School, welcomed students to assembly and introduced the Winter Term bravery theme. Then, Dr. Katy Nichols, Lower School Music Teacher, prompted the students to strike a brave pose, and immediately, students flexed their muscles to show outer bravery or strength. Dr. Nichols then led the students in singing Brave by Sara Bareilles.
Next, everyone listened to the book Marshmallow Can Do Hard Things by middle school author Drew Patchin. In a pre-recorded video, each of our third graders was shown reading a page of the book as the book’s pages were projected on the screen. In the book, a narwhal named Marshmallow is seen facing challenges (i.e. the first day of school, going to a doctor checkup, etc.) by making a plan, taking deep breaths, and celebrating successes. Then, students shared how they have been brave in their own lives—whether they’ve been brave on a roller-coaster, taken a hard test, or met a sports challenge.
After this, one student, Charlotte B. ’35, demonstrated bravery by beautifully singing Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys in front of the entire Lower School. After a couple more songs and a preview of the activities students would do as part of the Winter Term, the assembly wrapped up with the singing of “Belong Together” by Mark Ambor.
The Ripple Effect of Kindness and Indi Cars
On Thursday, teachers led discussions about how kindness works just like a ripple in a pond. After watching a video about passing kindness along, they got their hands busy exploring actual ripples in small water tubs. “It was a great visual for the kids to see how one small drop reaches all the way to the edge,” explains Laura Pupillo, Lower School Science Teacher. “In our group discussions, the students shared some really sweet stories about kind things that have happened to them and brainstormed ways they can ‘start a ripple’ of their own.”
In another part of the day, they talked about how trying to create something new can be frustrating. They read The Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires and talked about how it’s okay to slow down and breathe when things don’t go right. The kids put this into practice by building “magnificent courses” for their Indi Cars. The course-building started with small individual groups, but eventually they all came together to build one giant course full of obstacles and tunnels. “It was such a joy to watch—especially seeing our youngest students naturally step up as leaders to help the group succeed,” adds Pupillo.
Masks and Rube Goldberg Machines
After spending time talking about what it actually means to be brave, students made masks to help them “put on a brave face.” On the inside, students wrote secret words of encouragement to themselves, and on the outside, they decorated them to show their brave side.
“On Friday, we took everything we’ve learned about chain reactions and bravery and put it to the test with Rube Goldberg machines,” details Pupillo. These are those funky, complicated contraptions where one thing knocks over another to do a simple task. This is where the “Brave Enough to Begin” theme really comes into play. These machines almost never work on the first try! Students worked in small groups to design their own reactions, which required a lot of patience and bravery to keep trying when the dominoes didn’t fall quite right. Pupillo reflects, “We enjoyed seeing them embrace the messiness of the creative process and celebrate the ‘magnificent’ mistakes they made along the way.”
Closing Assembly and Guest Artist
At the final assembly, guest artist Gary Hirsch, based in Portland, Oregon, “visited” the Lower Schoolers via Zoom. The visit was facilitated by Lower School Art Teacher Sarah Garner. Hirsch is the creator of Botjoy, an art movement where people draw small robots on the back side of dominoes to gift to others. These domino robots are tokens of kindness that help spread joy, courage, and inspiration. According to the Botjoy website, “When you make someone a Bot, you give them a little emotional boost of joy, bravery, hope, etc. Whatever your intention, a Bot helps you express it. It is amazing how a small robot can help you feel more human.”
Third graders, who have worked with BotJoy in the past, first told Mr. Hirsch about what they’ve been doing with the BotJoy project. They talked about drawing a picture of a bot, printing it out as a sticker, and placing it on a domino. Then, the bots are given to others to give them a boost of bravery, joy, love, courage, etc. Heidi M. ’35 shared, “JoyBots help kindness spread throughout the world, and they help the world get more peace.”
Mr. Hirsch then shared a slideshow that showcased several big pieces of art that he has created around the world, from large paintings to murals. Then, he told the story of how BotJoy came about. At eight years old, Gary had a lot of scary dreams or nightmares. His dad had him draw the monsters on pieces of paper. He then told Gary, “If you make all these scary things, you can also make them go away.” Gary then erased the monsters. Through this exercise, he learned to use art to make him feel better.
As Gary went on, he grew as an artist and developed new techniques. Soon, he also wanted his audience to be part of his art. He would prompt viewers of his masterpieces to name his art. In assembly, he invited the students to title one of his art pieces.
Later, Gary came up with the idea of BotJoy. “Imagine that you go through your entire day joined by an invisible robot that protects you, encourages you, and gives you outrageous compliments. What would it say and how would it make you feel?” Students answered this idea—sharing a few ideas of what their bots would say to them: “Nice job cleaning your room,” “nice poem you wrote,” and “great job!” Then, Gary thought of making the robots visible and tangible by drawing them on dominoes.
Students shared about their bots and described them to Mr. Hirsch toward the end of his visit. Lastly, they asked a couple of questions. They asked if he practices drawing the bots on paper and asked how many he has created (which is an impressive 85,000!). Mr. Hirsch also got to meet Jim Lohr, Lower School PE Teacher, who he announced was the first person ever to suggest the bots be created as stickers.
Thank you so much for Zooming in with our students, Mr. Hirsch! What a fun, memorable way to spread bravery, kindness, joy, love, and more to others!
That’s a Wrap, Lower School Winter Term 2026!
What a bold and powerful experience it was for students in the 2026 Lower School Winter Term! “Across grade levels, students came together to learn, take risks, and support one another,” shares Scheer. “Our theme encouraged a growth mindset and reminded students to be brave, especially when beginning something that might feel daunting. Students were encouraged to take that first step, knowing they could try, revise, and learn along the way. By working collaboratively and celebrating one another’s efforts, these two meaningful days deepened relationships and strengthened our school community.”
Thank you to all of the teachers who creatively planned this year’s Lower School Winter Term experience and to all of our brave Beasley students who leaned into the unique lessons and theme. May each of our Lower Schoolers be braver as they try new things, grow, and develop resilience through whatever life throws at them!