A Message from Shelley Brown, Head of Early Childhood & Lower School

A Message from Shelley Brown, Head of Early Childhood & Lower School

Dear Parents & Caregivers, 

Children’s brains are rapidly developing during the years between birth and fourth grade, and they are beginning to think in complex ways about themselves, their environment, and how their actions affect those around them. Our experienced educators are skillful in the ways they facilitate the learning process. Teachers treat each moment throughout the school day as an opportunity for students to flex their creativity muscles, practice problem-solving skills, engage in meaningful dialogue while learning how to respectfully disagree and agree, and strengthen not only reading, writing, and mathematical skills but also strengthen oral language skills, large and fine motor skills, and healthy social-emotional learning.

Our educators work to create safe and welcoming learning environments for all Wellington students. Beginning the day with a morning meeting and ending the day with a closing circle helps build a trusting environment for students to learn that their classrooms are safe places to take risks in their learning and exploring. Our classroom communities expand to a divisional community as all of the early childhood classrooms come together once a week to sing songs, celebrate birthdays, and share new learning. First through fourth grade classrooms also join together once a week , and fourth grade students practice their leadership skills by taking ownership of these weekly town meetings as they create the agenda and emcee the time together. As we build connections in our classrooms and division, children feel known and valued for who they are as individuals and as learners. We know that learning in a diverse community encourages students to see the world through multiple perspectives and prepares our students to be confident and flexible global citizens.

Peeking into our classrooms provides a glimpse into our approach to learning, and it is not quiet! Students are actively engaged in their learning journey and their ideas are represented in their artistic expression in the art studio, their deep questioning in the science lab, and through project work in early childhood classrooms. Cheers may erupt after second grade students discover how to program robots to complete simple tasks or after first grade students create their own carnival games for the yearly first grade carnival fair. You might also peek into a classroom and not see any students! We deeply believe that if we can “do” our learning it helps connect new material to previous learning and solidifies the new knowledge. I believe our students from past years will agree that they learned about velocity and angles a lot faster while roller skating than with paper and pencil, that spending an afternoon in the metro park observing the connection between wildlife and the environment was a lot more meaningful than through a textbook, and that learning about addition was a lot more efficient in an actual grocery store than in the classroom. Our Wellington education is within the walls of 3650 Reed Road but it is also wherever we are in the central Ohio region!

Watching my own three boys skip into school, ready to start their learning with their friends each day, is one of the best ways for me to start my own day. I invite your child to skip through our door and join us on a learning journey that is engaging, diverse, creative, and fun!

Sincerely, 

 

Shelley Brown P '32 '33 '37

Head of Early Childhood & Lower School