The Foundation for a Meaningful Life
Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA
Academics

Primary School

Primary School: Kindergarten - Grade 2

The Primary School program at Fay, which serves children in Kindergarten through grade two, truly stands out among private elementary schools in Southborough and the Metro-West area.

In small classes and intimate homeroom settings, students build skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and social studies. Students also meet with specialists each week for classes in science, art, music, library, and physical education.

In Kindergarten, teachers use an inquiry-based approach that incorporates the design process: Find, Define, Ideate, Make, and Evaluate. Student learning in language arts and mathematics is structured around a topic of interest that the children wish to pursue in depth. Inquiries in past years have included woodworking, pets, and musical instruments. These themes provide a foundation for student research, exploration, and hands-on projects.
In first and second grade, the structured program helps students build and solidify foundational reading, writing, and math skills as they prepare for the transition to third grade and Lower School.
The Primary School science curriculum is inquiry-based and project-based. Its practices have been adopted from the National Research Council’s A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012). Students who demonstrate success in primary school science courses will be able to:
  • Ask questions that encourage further investigation
  • Record observations and ideas using pictures, numbers, and writing
  • Share observations and ideas with peers
  • Compare and sort objects according to similarities and differences
  • Follow oral instructions for explorations
  • Recognize that scientists work in groups
  • Use tools appropriately to observe, draw, and describe objects
A major focus of the Primary School program is building community. Students begin to learn about life at Fay, and they participate in traditions - such as our daily family-style lunches and weekly community meetings - that help them understand more about their roles as individuals, friends, and community members.

Curriculum Overviews

Meet Katie Knuppel, Head of the Primary School

B.A., Dartmouth College
M.A., Columbia University Teachers College
 
Katie joined Fay as Head of Primary School and Director of the Early Learning Center in 2018. She lives on the Fay campus with her husband and two children. Prior to Fay, Katie served as Assistant Director of Lower School and second grade homeroom teacher at The Buckley School in New York City. She previously taught Kindergarten and second grade at The Chapin School, also in New York. Katie graduated from Groton School and Dartmouth College, and she received a master's degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. 

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48 Main Street, Southborough, MA 01772
main number 508.485.0100 | admission 508.490.8201
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