Lower School at BIS‑NY – Private Elementary School in Manhattan

A Strong Start in the Lower School

Welcome to the Lower School, where young minds develop and grow, and are challenged and stimulated every day as they explore and discover more and more about the world around them.

As students progress, the dynamic delivery of the traditional disciplines taught through the I.B. Primary Years Programme’s framework continues to provide a portable, engaging and challenging learning environment that encourages students to build their knowledge and skills.

Teachers foster a collaborative atmosphere within the classroom that encourages pupils to be resourceful learners and independent thinkers with a keen sense of intellectual curiosity.

Foundations Through Play and Exploration

From the beginning of the journey in Nursery, through the Lower School, children are immersed in a variety of concrete, play-based learning experiences which provide the building blocks for skill development in the core areas of the curriculum.

In these early years, children’s personal, social and emotional development underpins all aspects of curriculum planning, and it is also when they begin to acquire early reading and writing skills and an understanding of key mathematical concepts through a mix of adult-directed and practical experiences.

Why Choose Our Lower School?

Stimulating, Supportive Learning

In the Lower School, children are challenged and inspired daily as they explore and make sense of the world around them. Our collaborative classrooms promote intellectual curiosity, independence, and a love of learning.

Play-Based Foundations with Academic Rigor

Core skills in literacy and numeracy are taught daily, supported by play-based and practical learning. Personal, social, and emotional development is woven into every lesson to ensure a strong, balanced educational foundation.

Meaningful Progression and Opportunities

As students advance through the Lower School, learning becomes more structured while maintaining space for discovery and creativity. Specialist-led subjects, school roles, and co-curricular activities offer new challenges and responsibilities.

Expanding Skills and Embracing Responsibility

The core subjects of literacy and numeracy are taught daily, in order to successfully embed and consolidate these key skills.

Art, Music, Physical Education and Languages are also taught by specialist teachers in the Lower School, who work alongside form teachers to incorporate cross-curricular themes into their own areas of study. This trans-disciplinary approach of the I.B. framework enables children to effectively make connections between subjects, skills and concepts to ensure breadth and depth of learning.

As children transition through the Lower School, although lessons become more adult-directed in their structure, there is still space for structured play, exploration and discovery in a supportive and engaging environment. With new areas of study come new opportunities for responsibility such as positions in our school council, roles in the school plays, as well as new team sports and after-school options.

Specialist subjects in the Lower School

Technology

In Lower School, students learn about the primary purpose of technology and explore ways in which technology can solve problems. Students are taught about traditional strands of technology such as programming and robotics and work on a range of practical projects that enable them to develop confidence and fundamental skills. Students also explore engineering and circuitry, demonstrating their knowledge in a series of practical projects from building boats, bridges, and creating their own electrical circuits.

Modern Languages

Foreign language acquisition begins early at BIS-NY, as our Nursery students (age 3) begin studying French and Spanish. They continue through the Lower School, building upon the foundations of daily, oral-based lessons that allow students the frequency of exposure to the language that age requires. In Reception (Pre-K), children will choose their preferred modern language to continue to study, either Spanish or French.

Music

Music in Lower School is designed with elements of the IB and British National Curriculum. Students progress through music theory study that focuses on rhythm, melody, harmony, and composition. Music is then connected to students’ Units of Inquiry, to highlight the connection between music, academic subjects, and daily life. Students engage in their learning through singing, playing instruments, and dancing. Highlights include units of folk dancing, creating protest music, and playing the Blues. Students choose to participate in either Strings or Woodwinds ensemble in Year 5, and continue learning their instrument in the ensemble setting in Year 6

Drama

In our Lower School, while Drama is a discrete lesson, it is integrated through the IB units of inquiry, giving students a kinesthetic and empathetic lens to enhance their understanding whilst providing a natural vehicle where they can develop confidence through expression and exploration.

Physical Health & Education

At The British International School of New York, our Physical and Health Education journey begins with students in the Early Years Program developing a mastery of fundamental movement skills. This step towards physical competency provides a solid platform to move confidently and with control through a range of physical activities for the years ahead.

This strong foundation evolves in the Lower School where students experience net games, striking and fielding games, as well as invasion games, including soccer, badminton, cricket, basketball and gymnastics. Wherever possible, PE lessons are linked to the unit of study in the classroom and the use of technology assists with creating an alternative perspective for our young athletes. In addition to the school facilities, we proudly enlist specialist facilities around us to enhance our PE and Games program including the nearby East River Park, Hunter College, Chelsea Piers and Basketball City.

For children in 2nd Grade (Year 3) and up, our primary partner is Asphalt Green which offers our students world class facilities, just a short school bus-ride away.

Swimming; a key sport and a life skill:

A significant feature of the Physical and Health Education Program is our proud commitment to offering age appropriate swimming instruction to all students in the school. Swimming starts out as a life skill which all should feel confident in, and progresses into a highly enjoyable personal and team activity.

Extracurricular Activities

Students at BIS-NY enjoy a wide range of extracurricular activities, including competitive sports, creative clubs, and after-school programs that support personal growth and teamwork.