Start of School: Lower School

A Message from Head of Lower School Amy Vorenberg

Dear Lower School Parents,

What an exciting summer of preparations we have had in the Lower School! We’ve been busy getting ready for September, looking forward to welcoming students and families to King. It has been great fun to spend time with Dr. Karen Eshoo and the entire administrative team, getting to know each other and sharing our high hopes for a wonderful academic year ahead. And while I will continue to enjoy the summer days, I am very eager to have children in the building and to begin a fantastic year of learning together.

There has been a great deal of activity in the Lower School building with the arrival of Dr. Eshoo and the transformation of her office, my move into the Lower School Head’s office, a reconfiguration of the Reception Area, and classroom moves. We have moved classrooms and some offices: Two classrooms for Grade 1 students are now located nearer to the two Grade 2 classrooms. A Grade 5 room has been moved, Marketing offices have relocated, and the Lower School Makerspace has been set up in a larger classroom, allowing for bigger and more complex construction projects. And, our hallways have been made ready for the work of each and every student as we look forward to building our King Lower School Student Gallery.

Teaching teams have spent time together, as well as meeting with me, to review curriculum plans for the year and to further develop new report formats. Our teaching teams include the following teachers:

PreKindergarten: Sandy Dauk
Kindergarten: Julia Rachinsky-Wood
PreK/Kindergarten Assistant Teacher: Cynthia McCullough
Grade 1: Sonia Benedetto and Emily Decker
Grade 2: Lori McNulty and Heather Wagner
Grade 3: Jenny Bruno and Rebecca Pambianchi
Grade 4: Ellen Eagleton and Helen Santoro
Grade 5: Lisa DeGirolami, Colleen Gover, Betsy Pacey

We are also delighted to welcome Joey Lener to the Science Department. Working in close collaboration with Shevon Morris, Joey will be teaching science to children in PreKindergarten to Grade 2. This will allow students more time to focus on science in the Lower School. To learn more about teachers new to King, please find more information on our website.

In an effort to enhance communication between parents and teachers, we are adding a conference at the start of the school year. The “Hopes and Dreams Conference” will be a time for all families to meet with teachers and share information about your child’s summer, your impressions of your child as they start the school year, and your hopes and dreams for their year ahead.

We will share more information about other communication systems and structures that we hope will provide both better information regarding student progress and insights into the King program. Our structures will include benchmark information to give parents a better sense of what developmental milestones are expected and how our program supports and stretches student learning. Please expect to be in partnership with teachers and other members of the Lower School administration, including Robin Ordan, Lower School Counselor, Chelsea Church, Director of Teaching and Learning, and me. We are eager to partner with you and we ask that you never worry alone; if you are worried about your child’s progress, we are here to help you understand more about their developmental growth and work in school. Likewise, if we are concerned about your student’s progress, we will share our concerns and build strategies for support together.

Please take the time to carefully review all of the links to materials on this webpage, and please be in touch if you have any questions. It is important to highlight that all required components in the Magnus Health System for your child must be 100% completed and approved in order to start school in September.

Soak up the sun and enjoy these final days of summer! We’ll be delighted to welcome you to King in a few, short weeks!

Warmly,

Amy Vorenberg
Head of Lower School