Mayfield Junior School
of the Holy Child Jesus
A Joyful Learning Environment
In the Lower School, kindergarten through fourth grade, you will find a joyful, supportive environment where children love to learn and teachers love to teach.
The academic program of language arts, math, social studies, science and religion is enhanced with a robust enrichment program which includes Spanish, physical education, art, music, drama, and technology. Field trips, project based learning, learning centers and cooperative learning are incorporated throughout the curriculum.
Lower school teachers challenge and support every learner. Small class sizes allow teachers to differentiate the curriculum to maximize each child's potential. Teachers are committed to promoting 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication. Teachers communicate and meet regularly with parents, knowing the importance of a strong home-school partnership.
Students in lower school have many opportunities to perform each year, including a rotation of leading the school in morning prayers and announcements. These experiences help develop their self-confidence and public speaking skills. Guidance lessons, along with important lessons from religion classes and our Holy Child goals, help cultivate our students' social and emotional growth and create a safe and loving environment. Students also learn to value giving back to others from a young age, as service learning projects begin in kindergarten and continue throughout their Mayfield years.
The lower school develops confident, articulate and compassionate students who are well prepared for the challenges of middle school and beyond.
Lower School
Kindergarten
Kindergarten at Mayfield is a joyful experience filled with wonder, exploration, and discovery. With guidance each child is encouraged to think independently with empathy, process feelings and build self-confidence. Skills are developed with a positive mindset. Students mature and discover their voice and abilities in a safe environment and gain a strong foundation as they continue to move forward on their educational journey.The transformation from September to June each year is noticeably visible!
First Grade
First grade provides developmentally appropriate experiences with particular attention to process rather than product. The primary focus is to develop students' skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. First graders are active participants in hands-on activities, which foster creativity and excitement for learning. Teachers have high expectations for attainable goals and a focus on developing a strong growth mindset, setting up a solid foundation for the later school years. Cooperative learning activities help ensure that both social and academic growth are fostered concurrently.
Highlights include:
- Friendly Neighborhood Helpers Play
- Community outreach: Local Fire Station
Second Grade
In second grade, students are energetic and imaginative. They are becoming independent thinkers and confident problem solvers. The classroom environment and second grade activities provide the necessary tools to learn, grow, and work cooperatively with one another, as well as love, care, and respect themselves and others. Special to the second grade year is our sacramental program.
Highlights include:
- Sacramental Program: Agape, First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, Retreat.
- Service Learning: Seeds of Hope, Trash to Treasure recycling activity
- Performance: Halloween Variety Show
- Field Trips: The Farm at Pomona Fairplex
Third Grade
Third grade is a time of growth. Students are 'Brave explorers' who are beginning to be more aware of the environment around them and to understand the steps necessary to achieving their goals. The class participates in the life of school as presenters at the Christmas Prayer Service, leading Morning Prayer, and sharing their knowledge of Native peoples in their play, Thirteen Moons: A Native Storytelling Hour.
Highlights include:
- Native Storytelling Play
- Sacred Dancers
- Service Learning: Caring for God's Creation
Fourth Grade
Fourth graders begin working toward greater independence with regular homework and other responsibilities. By the end of this year, students are able to: multiply and divide larger numbers, use fractions and mixed numbers to problem solve, write in cursive, have an understanding of California history. Fourth graders host the Thanksgiving Prayer Service and as the oldest students in the Lower School division, they lead Mustang Meetings. The fourth grade year closes with a red carpet event to celebrate their big move to fifth grade and Middle School.
Highlights include:
- Three Little Pigs play (student written and performed)
- California Day
- Service: Eaton Canyon Collaborative
- Field Trips: California Missions, Aquarium of the Pacific