Academics

Lower School

Here, You Become Confident

Projects and presentations. Performances and explorations. In the MVS lower school, students are challenged to find their voices and share their knowledge.

Here, lower school students are encouraged to nurture their natural curiosity by asking meaningful questions and discovering answers. The lower school academic program is distinguished by several multidisciplinary learning opportunities, including the second grade Coral Reef Deep Dive, third grade Astronomy Overnight, and fifth grade Colonial America Experience. In addition to their core academic classes, students participate in co-curricular classes, including Visual Arts, Music & Performing Arts, Physical Education, and World Languages. MVS offers instruction in Mandarin and Spanish beginning in the early childhood school, with French added as an option in the middle and upper schools.

In addition to everyday immersive learning, the lower school academic calendar includes a two-week Immersion Term, during which students in grades 1-5 dive into topics of interest, studying in multi-age groups with dedicated teachers. Past lower school Immersions include “Dinosaurs and Fossils,” “What’s the Code?” and “Finding the Beat.”

Here, lower school students are encouraged to nurture their natural curiosity by asking meaningful questions and discovering answers.

Curriculum

List of 5 items.

First Grade Curriculum
In first grade, students build on the knowledge and skills they’ve acquired in kindergarten. Their learning deepens and becomes more applicable across all subject matters. Through concrete modeling and collaborative learning experiences, the basic foundation of reading, writing, and mathematics are integrated into daily life in first grade.

At MVS, we believe creating a safe and healthy environment allows students to fully engage, take risks and get the most out of their learning and relationships. For the first six weeks, students are re-acquainted with the responsive classroom model used in the early childhood school. Through this model, they build relationships, develop a caring classroom community, collectively set classroom expectations, and set the tone for a healthy social emotional learning environment.

On day one, our students are asked what they want to learn in first grade, because having ownership over their learning is crucial to academic investment. Literacy is expanded upon in first grade and much of what our teachers engage in with the students is making literacy connections: verbal, written, reading and problem solving. Deepening their literacy skill set is how our first graders become more in-depth thinkers and close readers, able to better articulate their thoughts and digest information.

First grade culminates in an individual authorship project, an experience that prepares them for the more refined and integrated learning projects that come in second grade.
Subjects Taught
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Performing Arts
- Physical Education
- Science
- Social Studies
- Visual Arts
- World Languages (Spanish & Mandarin)
- Environmental Sustainability
- Friends & Caring
Second Grade Curriculum
Students enter second grade with a solid academic foundation. They’ve been honing their skill set since early childhood and are ready to apply them in even more diverse ways. Second graders show more stamina for learning and begin to think even more critically about everything they do and learn.

The emphasis on building a strong community continues in second grade and is formed through morning meetings and social emotional learning. Students begin their day by connecting with their peers through morning greeting, short sharing activities and a morning message‚ all components of the responsive classroom approach they’ve experienced since early childhood school.

Second grade at MVS places an emphasis on geography and the study of countries and cultures from around the world. In keeping with this focus, the culminating project is the Heritage Day celebration. Students present their detailed country reports, perform multicultural songs, and share their heritage with parents and friends.

Subjects Taught
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Performing Arts
- Physical Education
- Science
- Social Studies
- Visual Arts
- World Languages (Spanish & Mandarin)
- Environmental Sustainability
- Friends & Caring
Third Grade Curriculum
In third grade, students dive deep into topics of interest with faculty guidance along the way. They have acquired a strong reading and writing foundation and are ready to take it to the next level! Third grade at MVS focuses on research projects with a culmination with an Independent Research Project (IRP) at the end of the year. During this process, their thinking deepens and their knowledge of subject matters widens. These research projects tie together the learning happening in the science classroom and the main classroom.

In conjunction with the research projects, third graders learn all about community: their Dayton community to biomes and then wild animal communities. They develop strong personal relationships with the community they live in and are exposed to different cultures, backgrounds, and mindsets.

By the time our students enter fourth grade, they have established a strong sense of what it means to be an independent learner and are ready to continue a rigorous academic program with increased ownership over their learning.

Subjects Taught
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Performing Arts
- Physical Education
- Science
- Social Studies
- Visual Arts
- World Languages (Spanish & Mandarin)
- Environmental Sustainability
- Friends & Caring
Fourth Grade Curriculum
When students get to fourth grade they are prepared for the relevant and rigorous curriculum that awaits their remaining lower school years. Gaining independence as a learner is an intentional focus of the fourth grade experience. Students use a planner, gain skills navigating MVS’ learning management system, and receive grades for the first time in their academic subjects.

In fourth grade, students participate in more independent work and directly apply all subject matter concepts on their own with faculty guidance. The heavily integrated curriculum gives students the opportunity to think deeper and wider, to problem solve, interpret, and understand concepts.

Through creative and research writing, students continue to develop the “reading to learn” concept. Students create a historical fiction story written as a diary of a pioneer child in Ohio. During the fourth grade study of U.S. geography, students research a national park of their choice and report about it. These two projects provide examples of the robust and immersive writing experiences that characterize learning in the fourth grade year.

Subjects Taught
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Performing Arts
- Physical Education
- Science
- Social Studies
- Visual Arts
- World Languages (Spanish & Mandarin)
- Environmental Sustainability
- Friends & Caring
- Human Growth & Development
Fifth Grade Curriculum
By fifth grade, MVS students are well on their way to becoming self-sustaining learners and are refining leadership qualities. Our fifth-grade students are given the opportunity to mentor kindergarteners through our fifth grade/kindergarten buddies program.

One of the four core values on MVS is kindness. As our MVS vision states, learning to practice kindness requires empathetic, compassionate engagement with others in our school, our community, and around the world. By forming healthy relationships with younger students, fifth graders can practice their kindness toward a younger group of MVS learners. They teach them, guide them, and celebrate with them regularly throughout the school year‚ all actions that reflect the strong lower school community we have.

By the time our students graduate from the lower school, they have a strong foundation upon which to build their sense of self and healthy approach to life, and they are prepared for the rigorous academic experiences that lie ahead in middle school.

Subjects Taught
- Language Arts
- Mathematics
- Performing Arts
- Physical Education
- Science
- Social Studies
- Visual Arts
- World Languages (Spanish & Mandarin)
- Environmental Sustainability
- Friends & Caring
- Human Growth & Development

Immersive Classroom Experiences

Hands-on learning well beyond Immersion Term

In the lower school, immersive learning isn’t confined to the two weeks of Immersion Term. At each grade level, students participate in a variety of hands-on experiences both at MVS and in the larger Dayton community. Highlights of these immersive lower school experiences include the second grade Coral Reef Deep Dive, a weeks-long study of the ocean which culminates in a massive hallway display and a trip to Newport Aquarium, third grade Astronomy Sleepover, which includes a campout and stargazing at school as well as trips to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery; fourth grade Glen Helen Overnight, an extended outdoor education experience in Yellow Springs, Ohio; and fifth grade trip to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, which serves as a capstone to their study of multiple perspectives in the American colonies. During the academic year, you’ll find MVS lower school students visiting local farms, gardens, restaurants, museums, parks, and historical sites, taking their learning outside of the traditional classroom and into the real world.

Extended Day

MVS offers Extended Day (also referred to as Kids Club), an after-school enrichment program. The program is intended to keep your child engaged and active after dismissal in a safe, supervised, and fun environment. Our program follows best practices for expanded school day learning. Children will engage in unstructured play, academic skill-building, organized recreational play, crafts, games and puzzles and homework help, if necessary. Extended Day intends to enrich lives and develop strong, positive character traits.

John Bommer, MVS Parent

I am “All-In” on The Miami Valley School and the value it brings to my daughter’s education, mental growth, and character building. The school has gained my trust that she has entered a family that cares about her, challenges her, and offers her endless opportunities.