Lower School (K-6)
PCS has a joyful culture where love of learning is reflected in the staff and fueled by unique curriculum.
Our teachers are just as eager to learn and grow as our students, and we don’t save the best for last. Lower school is the perfect time to get the foundation right so PCS utilizes a thoughtful, rich curriculum. Teachers present this curriculum like a tapestry woven together in story, song, color, and numbers. We purposefully pour into our young students an unusually wide range of knowledge and soak them in sensory experiences which extend all the way out into the city during our monthly learning trips. Our students learn many wonderful facts through song, whether it be math facts, grammar rules, or even a rousing rendition of 6,000 years of history.
PCS integrates academic study and artistic development for every child.
We believe that all truth is unified bringing harmony to the soul whether it is found in “necessary subjects” like math or through “extra” artistic pursuits like the fine arts. The ability of each child to discern and then enjoy what is good is paramount. Therefore, the arts are not just dessert at the PCS table. They are a part of the main course. Students are given formal music instruction from the earliest years and a regular theater class. Likewise, every student is given the opportunity to learn the violin. Art meets twice a week and singing happens daily! The arts are integrated every day at PCS.
PCS knows how to play!
Students at PCS work hard, laboring carefully with pencil and paper, but we take our play seriously as well. Teachers weave learning games throughout the day and PCS offers two recesses for Primary students and one recess for our Grammar students. Recess is designed to build motor skills with activities like balance beam or scooters as well as organized games and sports. Likewise, these are not just times to decompress and socialize, but they also provide needed space for children to process what they have learned through play. You might find that one group has set up an embalming shop and students are lining up to get the pretend mummification treatment. Intentional play is an important part of the Lower School.
PCS approaches character formation and spiritual development as a necessary part of the education process.
The ancients understood that virtue and the shaping of the soul are integral parts of a true education. In the same way, PCS puts our energy, time, and resources into the formation of the whole student – mind, body, and soul. Dedicated teachers who love the children and know them deeply keep this purpose in the forefront of all their lessons. Our supportive faculty walks closely with parents to cultivate loving, peacemaking, respectful, diligent, and faithful students. Likewise, good character is rooted in imitation. We become like those we admire, behold, and imitate. Therefore, what or who we put at the center of our lives is important. At PCS, character development, as well as everything we do, is ultimately rooted in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Our Mission
PCS exists to provide a timeless academic experience rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the historic beliefs of the Church, centered in the classical tradition, fostering intellectual, moral, and spiritual virtues so that students are prepared to lead and serve in any vocation or calling.