positively Pike

Lower & Middle SchoolsAndover, Massachusetts • pikeschool.org

Our promise:

We will surround your child with positive energy.It’s in the air. Along the hallways. Throughout every classroom. And on every child’s face.

Because of it, our students believe they can do anything.

Lower SchooL: Pre-K through Grade 2

Making learning the most natural thing in the world.That’s the power of the positive energy that flows through the Pike School. It originates, of course, with our teachers. They model the behaviors we want even our youngest students to know (communicating, problem-solving), while helping students understand they are active participants in the learning process: it’s not something that happens to them, it’s something they engage in with others.

In Lower School, every interaction contributes to creating a truly cooperative learning environment. The Open Circle curriculum provides a forum for addressing interpersonal issues and building positive relationships. And through the Buddies program, Lower School students are paired with eighth and ninth grade “buddies” who serve as mentors and friends, orienting the younger students in the Pike experience.

Be kind. Be safe. Try your hardest. Those are some of the tenets of the Lower School Community Rules, created by Pike students themselves. The idea is to help students identify their hopes and dreams and then pinpoint the behaviors that will best achieve them.

Positive energy in action. It starts with cultivating an intense excitement around learning. As one parent said recently, “Learning is fun for our kids. They come home talking about school. Their eyes light up!” The Lower School curriculum is rooted in activities that develop essential skills while fostering confidence and creativity, from puppets and puzzles in Pre-K language class to reenacting the Ellis Island experience in second grade social studies.

Art, music, library, and physical education classes greatly enrich the learning experience and build on core academic themes, providing a concrete – and hands-on – method of exploring the subject matter.

Connecting to other cultures. As part of the Japan unit, Pike first graders learn origami, create their own Haiku, and discover the fine art of the tea ceremony. They also visit the Japanese house at the Children’s Museum in Boston.

Lower SchooL

The joy of movement.Running, jumping, throwing, skipping, climbing! In Lower School, physical education is an exercise in exuberance, with an emphasis on collaborative play. And this joyful spirit extends to intellectual and social development as well: children use all their senses while outside and are naturally inclined to interact with others (through inventing games and characters and acting out scenarios).

Lower School students also have plenty of opportunities to experience the wider world, with excursions to Hammond Castle, the Peabody Museum, and the Phillips Academy Observatory. Lower School is about enjoying the journey – every experience is designed to instill genuine wonder. These are the years to learn to love learning!

Lower SchooL

Positively thrilling. Campus visitors are always a highlight for Lower School students. Musicians, artists, and animal experts are just some of the people who come to campus to inform and delight.

Nurturing passionate learners. Respect for the natural world is a running theme at Pike. A fifth grade science unit on vernal and tide pools investigates how ecosystems work and how human activity impacts those systems.

middLe SchooL:Grades 3–5

Positively empowering.In Middle School, we continue to build on everything that has been introduced in the lower grades – in profound and personal ways. Students begin to develop more self-awareness and to see the connectivity among all the things they’re studying. In third grade, that might mean combining math and science skills to identify and chart birds spotted on campus.

In fourth grade, students undertake a major research project on their favorite artist. They write letters and journal entries, developing their artists’ voices, then paint masterpieces and present to their classmates and parents – dressed to the hilt. And in fifth? Technology takes center stage. Pike fifth graders put on their engineering hats to design and build “taskbots” that are able to navigate an obstacle-filled landscape.

It’s okay to be invested. In fact, it’s a cornerstone of the Pike culture. A positively infectious enthusiasm for the topic at hand is something that students and faculty share. In Middle School, the curriculum adds complexity, without losing any of the engagement of applied learning from the lower grades. A unit on forensics demonstrates how scientists use observation to make inferences and create a narrative, with students conducting their own experiments and then writing a crime report.

In language arts, students work to refine their writing skills by honing in on the mechanics of voice, style, and organization. They also engage with increasingly more complex texts – in a wide variety of formats – and are introduced to keyboarding instruction to begin to develop word processing skills.

Positively well-read. In third grade, Pike students stage a Caldecott Mock Election, learning about the illustrator (and the award) and evaluating eligible texts with criteria similar to that used by the Caldecott committee.

middLe SchooL

Spreading positivity far and wide.As Middle School students become more and more attuned to their whole selves – as learners, artists, athletes, community members – they also broaden their understanding of the wider world. On campus, you’ll see them working in our organic garden as part of science class. Off campus, through the Middle School Service Club, they’re rolling up their sleeves to help local organizations such as the Methuen SPCA and Andover Conservation Committee.

Other clubs are “just” for fun – for exploring everything from cartooning to improv. No wonder Pike students are so excited to come to school. Every. Single. Day.

middLe SchooL

Into the woods. Each October, Pike fifth graders head to Camp Merrowvista in New Hampshire for three days of learning about leadership, the environment, and themselves.

“It’s not our small classes; it’s what happens in those small classes.”— John “Muddy” Waters, Head of School

At Pike School, we believe every child has unlimited potential.That’s why we provide unlimited possibilities – for thinking, creating, competing,and unleashing curiosity.

We surround every student with a web of positive energy – small classes, one-on-one attention, and, of course, fabulous teachers.

The kind who teach children the most important lesson of all: to believe in themselves.

History shows that our students do.

That’s the power of positive energy.

That’s Pike School.

Learn more.We’d love to hear from you. Call 978-475-1197 or visit pikeschool.org for information about the admission process, visiting campus, tuition and financial aid, or to apply online.

Pike at a glance

Pre-K

8:15 am-11:45 am Mon-Fri

Grades K-2

8:15 am-3:10 pm Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri

8:15 am-2:00 pm Wed

Grades 3-9

8:15 am-3:20 pm Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri

8:15 am-2:10 pm Wed

An after-school program is available until 6:00 pm. Early-morning drop-off is also available at 7:30 am

School hours:

Financial assistance is available at every grade level. Learn more and apply online at www.pikeschool.org/apply

> Founded in 1926, Pike is an independent, coeducational day school that’s home to 440 curious, confident kids in Pre-K through Grade 9.

> Pike students come from 42 communities in northeastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

> Our faculty is made up of 64 men and women, 78% of whom hold advanced degrees.

> Average class sizes range from 12 students (Lower School) to 16 (Upper School).

> 38% of Pike students identify as African-American, Asian American, Latino/Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or Multi-racial.

> Each year Pike admits 18-20 children per grade to Pre-K, Kindergarten, and sixth grade. We also accept applications at other grade levels.

> Pike’s more than 2,000 alumni go on to top secondary schools (and go on to find success in whatever path they choose).