Lower School

Dr. Thu-Nga Morris

Assistant Head of School K-12 and Lower School Director

Dr. Morris has served in an array of leadership, teaching, and student life roles prior to joining Pingry as Lower School Director in 2020. With experience overseeing curriculum design, instruction, and strategic academic programming, she has also developed remote learning programs.

Her deep understanding of how best to guide young learners on their journey through the Lower School, and her energy and passion epitomize the philosophy of the Short Hills campus: inspiring in children a lifelong commitment to learning, self-discovery, and social responsibility, and nurturing their growth in all facets of school life.

Dr. Thu-Nga Morris leans against stone wall.

Important Information

Philosophy

We believe that the first years of a child’s life are critical in establishing a lifelong love of learning. We encourage a child’s innate curiosity about the world and desire to learn through exploration, play, and creation. We instill in our Lower School students a spirit of collaboration through dynamic experiences that are built on caring relationships between students and teachers. The result? A strong, balanced foundation in core academic skills and the possibility for limitless intellectual growth.

Curriculum

Lifelong curiosity is nurtured by making learning an exciting and engaging process. For our Lower School students, that’s precisely our goal.

We offer traditional coursework in language arts, mathematics, science, Spanish, and social studies, supplemented by activities—both inside and outside the classroom—that emphasize experiential learning. Every minute of the day is looked upon as an opportunity for new understanding and growth. Art, music, and drama classes provide outlets for student creativity and self-expression. Technology and library classes impart foundations in research and literary skills. And newly modernized STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) classrooms offer valuable opportunities for interdisciplinary study, furthering creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving among students.

Daily physical education classes and plenty of outdoor time on our recently redesigned playground give students the chance to play, interact, and learn valuable lessons in teamwork, sportsmanship, and leadership.

Year after year, our Lower School students experience a seamless transition to the Middle School on the Basking Ridge Campus. Why? Our fourth- and fifth-grade departmentalized curriculum meticulously readies students for the class schedules and intellectual and organizational challenges that await them in the Middle School. Additionally, two cornerstone courses, “Decisions" and "Study Skills," expose them to the problem-solving, note taking, and learning strategies they’ll need for Middle School level coursework. Filled with happy memories, our fifth-graders depart for the Middle School furnished with the building blocks they need to be successful in their new learning environment, in a nurturing community they know well.

Lower School Schedule

Enrichment and Before/Aftercare

We encourage a child’s innate curiosity about the world and desire to learn through exploration, play, and creation.

Curriculum Overview

Reading, Writing, and Language Arts

The goal of our balanced literacy program is to develop engaged, independent readers and writers who can acquire and evaluate information and express ideas with clarity and eloquence. The program emphasizes the relationship between reading and writing and the developmental nature of each. In the primary grades, students learn the connection between real experiences and the written form.