Student Life

The Lower School Book Club is a weekly one-hour after-school activity offered to Lower School students in the third, fourth and fifth grades and facilitated by the Lower School librarian. Members read 10 books over the course of the fall semester in preparation for the Reading Bowl competition. In addition, readers have opportunities for discussion—and even travel—while nurturing the joys of reading individually and within a community.

The First Lego League (FLL) Challenge is a competitive STEM experience designed for students ages 9-16 and is available to Lower School students in fourth and fifth grades. Pace faculty members coach the teams. Each year, competitors work to build and code a LEGO SPIKE Prime robot to solve as many missions as possible in 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The missions change each year based on a theme and help team members learn coding, troubleshooting and problem-solving skills. Team members also work on an innovation project in which they solve a problem related to the theme, create a presentation, interview experts, and create a model or prototype. The team meets after school twice a week to help prepare for the competitions. Competitions (regional, super-regional, and state) take place on Saturdays throughout the year. The Lower School team has competed at the state level in four of the past five years. The Lower School robotics program also focuses on the Core Values of the First Lego League: discovery, innovation, impact, teamwork, inclusion and fun.

Fifth-grade students assist with carpool drop-off and pick-up duties every day, politely greeting families and assisting students as they arrive and depart school.

First- through fifth-grade Student Council members are elected by their peers at the beginning of each school year. As leaders of the student body, these students organize various service projects throughout the year and host a new student and faculty welcome party in the fall.