Sue Scarborough, Lower School Director

There is not a day that goes by on the Lower School Campus when I don’t learn something new or see something from a totally different perspective. The days of this year are no exception. Since I now spend part of the week in the Brick Building experiencing student life with the New Wing and Brick Building children and teachers, this view has given me a fresh perspective on the journey our students take as they move through each grade level cluster on our campus. Now that we are close to the end of the year, I would like to share some of my observations and experiences from the past nine months.

From my Morse Building office, I have always enjoyed seeing first hand how the B, K, and 1 teachers embrace the “sponge-like” qualities of four, five, and six year olds. At this age, teachers open children’s eyes to all the world tools at their fingertips, and let them explore their environment with them. Daily, I see children using blocks, art materials, playground equipment, and many manipulatives to solve the questions in their minds.

While being on the other side of our campus this year, I have marveled how the New Wing teachers guide students to understand which of those tools (from their Morse Building days) are valuable to them, and help them practice using those tools when learning academic subjects and building relationships with each other and the adults in their world.

Now that I have reacquainted myself with the fifth and sixth graders in the Brick Building, I see how the teachers there empower students to use these tools they have carried since Beginners to construct and build essays, community service projects, and math problems so that they become independent thinkers who begin to take responsibility for their own learning. The metamorphosis from Beginners to Sixth Grade is amazing!

It has been a wonderful gift for me to grow and expand my own toolbox this year by observing the innovative and challenging learning process for our Lower School Students. Isn’t it incredible how just changing your location for two days of the week can achieve that?! The journey I took this year has solidified for me what I have always known and now by “being there” have experienced—BB&N is a fabulous place for children of all ages to blossom and flourish.