Lower School Student Life

Outside the classroom, adventure awaits our Lower School students. Just as the curriculum takes our youngest Cougars on an amazing journey, so does campus life. Students in the Lower School enjoy field trips, plays, and projects that allow them to learn material by experiencing it firsthand. Students travel to enter ancient caves to see original cave drawings, become ambassadors of peace at the International Day of Peace celebration and take on dramatic roles in plays. These adventures grow along with the children’s minds and imaginations.

Campus life also provides Lower School students opportunities to interact with older Keith students. Lunches often overlap, Upper School students assist athletic coaches and Middle School students help organize after-school activities. In addition, Keith hosts a variety of all-campus special events such as the Halloween parade, the Race for Education, and Fine Arts Week to name a few.

Click on the links below for details.

  • After-School Cougar Quest Program

    Many parents need after-school care for their children. Our Cougar Quest program allows children to enrich learning until 5:30 p.m. Teachers are available to help with homework assignments or prepare after-school activities for students to explore new areas of interest, develop their talents and have fun with their friends. These activities change throughout the year and often are run by Middle and Upper school students or guest teachers. Recent activities have included chess and comic book clubs, dance or music lessons, art classes and soccer.

  • Rotating Schedule

    At Keith, we understand that curricular boundaries prevent and discourage our students’ hunger for learning. It is for that reason that many years ago, our school established a unique, rotating schedule to support new and existing programming and provide choices for coursework. With the six-day cycle, students are presented topics on rotating days and times and have the opportunity to explore more electives. The system has proven successful in helping students and faculty to be at their best while promoting time management skills.

  • Spanish

    In order to prepare children for lives of meaning and purpose in the 21st-century global economy every student participates in our Spanish curriculum starting in preschool.

    We design thematic units and lessons with fun and engaging games, activities, videos, songs, oral practice, and written assignments. We ensure a strong a foundation, sustained exposure and ongoing language development over the span of several years. Our Spanish lessons overlap with other curricular standards to challenge students and create relevant connections. For example, entire lessons in Spanish are devoted to learning math vocabulary and completing equations in the Spanish language.

  • Field Trips

    Educational travel is an important part of the Keith Lower School experience. Well-planned field trips afford an experiential learning opportunity that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. Field trips play an integral role in increasing student knowledge and understanding of a subject, adding a sense of realism to the topic of study and providing an opportunity to develop and enhance a student’s socialization and citizenship skills. Field trips change annually, and recent opportunities have included trips to the Discovery Center Children’s Museum, Nicholas Conservatory, Anderson Japanese Gardens, Milwaukee Zoo, Chicago Art Museum and Skyrise Senior Center.

  • Community Service

    Community service is an integral part of our educational program. By introducing students to the joy of service to others, the concepts of caring, helping, and sharing are extended beyond their classmates, families and friends. Our community service program helps students realize there are many people in their community and around the world, including other children, who need our help. From preschool to 4th grade, all Keith Lower School students participate in numerous community service projects throughout the year.

  • Student Council

    Student Council serves as a voice and a governance role model for all Lower School students. Our Student Council is an active and important element of the Lower School life. The council consists of two students per grade level and these positions rotate new students from each class two to three times a year. The council encourages character development, values, respect and an understanding of civic responsibility. Under faculty supervision, the council meets regularly to discuss the needs of the students, school, community and the global environment.

  • Character Education

    Throughout history, character education has been the shared responsibility of parents, teachers and members of the community. Character education teaches our students about people working and living together as families, friends, neighbors, communities and nations. Character education begins in preschool and continues through fourth grade. Our students become aware of the diverse needs of others and learn the importance of selfless service. Our goal is to provide our students and understanding of their roles and responsibilities to the wider community and expose them to people and situations outside their previous experiences.