Lower School

High Touch, High Tech provides fun, interactive, hands-on science and nature experiences for students without having to leave their classrooms. Through a discovery style of learning, students are engaged in science content. All of the programs are a complement to the science curriculum in place.

The purpose of the Stand Up and Be Heard Program is to help students lose the fear of presenting in front of a group by equipping them with effective presentation skills. The program starts in First Grade with one filmed oral presentation and continues from Second through Eighth Grades with two filmed oral presentations a year.

Students learn about key areas of good presentation: stance, introduction, eye contact, voice, gestures and conclusion. The key component of the program is that students can watch their performance and receive feedback from a parent coach or the Communication Arts Director.

Students grow in confidence as they learn some key essential elements to oral presentations.

Book Club is a program developed and implemented by our Lower School Counselor. She selects a short literature book for each month related to a particular topic such as bullying or friendship. All students in grades first-fourth who choose to participate read the same book and meet during their lunch period one day during Book Club Week to discuss the book. The counselor enriches the discussion with games, snacks or crafts to make the experience enjoyable and memorable.

PCA is committed to teaching students about a healthy lifestyle. The FitnessGram is a series of physical activities done by students in a controlled setting in order to obtain a benchmark of their overall fitness level. The testing consists of several components such as a pacer test, push-ups, curl-ups, a trunk lift, and a BMI measurement that provide an indication of a student’s level of fitness. Results are sent home, along with a letter of explanation, after all test data is entered. This is repeated annually in order to track growth.

Reading Buddies is a Lower School program developed to promote the love of reading and mentoring. An older class is matched up with students in a younger class, and they meet monthly throughout the school year. The older students read aloud to the younger students providing a good role model as well as developing a lasting friendship. This becomes a valuable and enjoyable experience for all.

After the students study simple machines learning basic physics in science and "The Age of Inventions" in history, the two are combined with the challenge of the Invention Convention. Students are taught how to think like an inventor by first observing their world, identifying a problem and then brainstorming and experimenting to find a solution to that problem, culminating with the Invention Convention. Each student has an original invention or prototype. There is a display board to share the idea including the purpose, cost, the operation of the invention, a related Bible verse and pictures of the student creating the invention. It is always one of the students' favorite activities of Third Grade.

Third Grade offers a read-aloud program called Mystery Reader to promote the love of reading. Teachers invite parents, faculty and celebrities to read to the class. The reader sends the teacher five clues about themselves prior to their visit and the students try to guess who the Mystery Reader will be that week. The reader selects a favorite book to read aloud, and this becomes a very special time and memory for both the reader and the students.

The Texas Hall of Fame is an interactive day where students are part of living history! The classroom becomes a historical museum that houses famous Texans from the time period of the Alamo and Texas’ fight for independence. You also hear from many influential Texans that have made history in this great state. You might meet Sam Houston, Davy Crockett or even former President George W. Bush. Fourth grade students preface this day by completing a research paper, featuring their famous Texan’s life and accomplishments. Each classroom becomes a live wax museum and is filled with so much history!

The First Grade Ocean Project is a great example of curriculum integration. The First Grade students are assigned an ocean animal at the beginning of the thematic ocean unit. The students research their animal finding three descriptive facts and three fun facts. The students practice technology skills by creating a PowerPoint presentation using the facts researched. At the end of the unit, the students show their PowerPoint presentation to the class as well as a model they have made of their animal. Each presentation is videoed as part of The Stand Up and Be Heard Program. The students receive feedback related to their communication skills.

All of the Second Grade classes celebrate Native American Day as the second grade students rotate through centers in which they learn customs about different Native American groups of people. At each center, a second grade teacher discusses facts about a particular group regarding their culture and way of life. Then the students participate in making an item related to that Native American group such as a wampum or scrimshaw, and they play games that Native American children would have enjoyed. Finally, Native American artifacts such as baskets, woven rugs, pottery, jewelry, and arrow heads are displayed for everyone to see. Native American Day is a fun activity for our second graders and a great learning experience about other cultures.

The State Fair Stomp is a Physical Education Showcase that incorporates kinesthetic movement with music in a large group environment in order to promote physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. It involves various manipulatives that include the use of bandanas, parachutes, basketballs and noodles. The purpose of this event is to develop spatial awareness, movement skills, and cooperative learning by demonstrating a variety of activities that are taught in elementary PE classes.

Fourth Grade students are introduced to the fun world of robots and the basics of programming. They build their own robot from Legos and learn how to use the computer to manipulate the motors and gears. Students also learn basic programming vocabulary and how to apply it.