Greenwich Country Day School - Spire Yearbook (Greenwich, CT)

Page 61 text:

Seated: Mrs. Thomas R. Tarrant, Mrs. Kenneth R. Cucuel, Mrs. Rudolph H. Deetjen, Jr. Standing: Mrs. Gerrit M. Keator, Mrs. H. Douglas Flowers, Mrs. Hugh Neale. r Lower Schoolers pause Lower School playground. before plummeting. 53

Page 60 text:

Mr. Walsh and his Ladies ROW 1: Mrs. William P. Hansen, Mrs. William H. Vinall, Miss Dorothea Thompson, Mrs. Richard Vezina, Miss Grace Molinari. ROW 2: Mrs. Robert W. Worley, Mrs. C. John L. Bates, Mrs. Raymond E. Halsey, Mrs. Harold W. Rudolph, Miss Lucy J. Grossman. ROW 3: William Walsh, Mrs. Kenneth Wood, Miss Peggy Linahan Miss Sally J. Assheton, Mrs. Otis W. Murphy 52

Page 62 text:

What was that crack? Rain or shine-food comes first! Lower School Tackles Three R's For the first time in the broad realm of their experience , the four-year-olds broke away from Mamas apron strings , and advanced into the strange world of pre-school. This first taste of school life at GCDS proves to be a year of strict discipline, of learning the perplexities of making friends, and of getting along with others. After loudly practicing the Christmas songs to be sung to the Upper School, it sure is tough to be extra quiet, let alone to sleep, during the 10:30 rest period. In art, the four-year-olds discover great fun in their new creative pastime. Here, boys and girls draw with crayons, produce masterpieces in clay, and indulge in the most popular of the arts: finger painting Q which is seldom performed entirely with the fingersj. Momentous changes have been put into effect for the five-year-olds. They are now participating in the Lower School's program of plays and as- semblies, heretofore considered beyond the abili- ties of the industrious 5's. In addition, they are given more reading and writing. The 5,s not only have to learn the alphabet, but to write their full names as well! As if this were not enough, they must also be able to recognize, count, and write all the numbers from l to 100. Even with a cur- riculum as difficult as this, the 5's find time to take their traditional field trip to the old Fire House, an adventure one seldom forgets. Their tight schedule also allows time for natural science walks, on which they gather flowers, turtles, snakes, poison ivy, wet feet, and other specimens for study in the classroom. The first and second graders have embarked upon a new program of gymnastics periods. Once a week they meet with Mr. French to improve their coordination and to become better prepared for later athletics. From a scholastic viewpoint, last yearis five-year-olds are in a different world. The privilege of having one's own desk comes only with the responsibility of keeping it perpetu- ally clean. ln addition to being the first year of the horrible rigors of homework, first grade is the year for the perplexing task of learning how to write in indecipherable script. The second graders broaden their thinking and discover new adventure in their social stud- ies course. Their study concerns people and places: the Pilgrims, foreign lands, and foreign customs, and history centered upon the American Indians. By this time second graders are required to write compositions, which spur the imagination and, hopefully, promote literary traits. The sec- ond graders are also confronted with more ad- vanced music and more creative art than ever before.