Fourth Grade at Seabury — Systems

Concept: Systems

Using the concept of “Systems” as a year long guide to their studies, students will explore civics, social services, the Puget Sound as an ecosystem and economic system, evolution, health, and infrastructure including transportation systems. Their time in the Bridges program will be full of dynamic learning, exploration, creation, and inquiry, helping students grow into self-sufficient learners, thinkers, and doers inside and outside of the classroom.

Prepared for Middle School, Empowered to Create Change

As upper elementary students prepare to bridge from elementary school to middle school, students need to become more independent, to manage their time and resources effectively, to problem solve in both academic and social situations, to collaborate, and to deeply explore the concepts they are studying.

Seabury’s fourth grade program, Systems, provides students with academic challenges personally designed to meet the needs of each and every learner while preparing students for middle school learning. With a focus on leadership development, students meet and interact with community leaders and grow their own skills through service projects and programs like running the student store.

Challenge and Preparation

Seabury's Systems program provides students with academic challenges that are individually designed to meet the needs of each learner, while preparing students for the new freedoms and responsibilities of middle school and beyond, using hands-on, real world experiences. With a focus on leadership development, students are able to learn from experts in their fields and gain understanding of what it means to be a leader through real, lived experiences, in and out of school. 

The Community is their Classroom

Systems uses the South Sound region and its many resources as a learning lab, where students experience first-hand how our community works and what effective leadership looks like. It puts students face-to-face with local leaders and experts, as well as scientists, artists and entrepreneurs. In typical years, the Systems students travel once a week to downtown Tacoma, which becomes a base for their field studies, and beyond, going on field studies all around the South Sound region! 

Leadership and Independence

As they learn from community leaders and experts, Systems students get opportunities throughout the school year to develop their leadership skills and grow their independence. They collaborate with each other to create, produce, direct, edit, and present the Seabury World News, a weekly news show watched by the entire school, including multiple news segments, general school updates, guest speakers, interviews, discussions, and more. Systems students also run the weekly school store, an enterprise that begins with making a business pitch to the "investors," Assistant Head of School, Dori Hale and Director of Finance, Katyna Thiel, and once approved, involves careful budgeting, ordering inventory, managing operations, supporting and assisting customers (especially our youngest students), running cash registers, and accounting for sales. They mentor younger students regularly throughout the year, helping with STEAM projects, reading together, playing games, and partnering during other classroom activities. On their field studies, they often eat lunch at the Farmer's Market or other restaurants, taking responsibility for their own nutrition choices and money management.

Ready to Make a Difference

Students who have completed the Systems program head to middle school well on their way to being great leaders, problem solvers, learners, and doers; empowered to make a difference in the world around them.