Lower School at Wheeler
Learning—and learning how to learn—begins in our Lower School. With The Nest Preschool for 2.9 – 5-year-olds, Early Childhood Kindergarten, and an Elementary Education Division for Grades 1-5, Wheeler’s Lower School sparks the joy of learning. With our expert faculty, your child will build reading, math, language, and more skills in a safe, trusting, and fun campus environment. (Please note, Kindergarten applicants must be five (5) years old by August 31.)
Our Goal
Wheeler’s Lower School’s goal is to support your child in developing the academic skills, personal awareness, and emotional resilience necessary to be a successful learner and valued member of the community.
Our Program
Wheeler Lower School offers a creative, joyful learning experience built on an enriched daily program responsive to your child. Our signature Aerie Approach enables every student to discover, explore, and develop personal interests and academic passions that go beyond the curriculum. The experienced teachers in our Lower School are extraordinary, enthusiastic, creative, and deeply invested in your child’s success. As a community, students learn to adapt to and work with the full range of emotions, develop greater self-awareness, and, through reflection, discover and embrace their own evolving identities. Students also learn to cultivate healthy relationships through compassion, inclusion, and valuing multiple perspectives.
Our Community
A defining aspect of Wheeler’s Lower School is its strong sense of community. At weekly Community Meetings, grade levels may perform or exhibit their work as well as listen and learn from each other. In addition, Lower School has a buddy system between older and younger grades to build these community connections. Special events bring all students from Kindergarten-Grade 12 together. Two memorable bookend moments take place each year. At the Opening School Assembly, our Senior Class walks hand in hand with Early Childhood students to the seats of honor. These students create the backdrop while the Head of School presents a Welcome Back to School address. At Field Day each spring, the March of Purples and Golds leads off as Seniors again link hands with our youngest students to walk onto the field at the Wheeler Farm. Field Day is the oldest continuous Wheeler tradition, and our students love it.
Contact the Head of Lower School Kate Hewitt
Lower School Administration
See Our Stories
This June, Wheeler students traveled to Ecuador for a Global Experience packed with exploration, discovery, and unforgettable moments. 🌎 From snorkeling alongside sea lions to observing giant tortoises in their natural habitat, students experienced Ecuador as an outdoor classroom. Read the full story on our website to follow their journey from the cloud forests of Mindo to the Galápagos Islands — and be sure to scroll through the carousel to see some of the incredible wildlife students encountered, including sea lions, blue-footed boobies, giant tortoises, and more! 🌎🐢🦭🐧
Aug 13
As you may remember from a previous post, the 18 Wheelers a cappella group performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last spring, surrounded not only by world-renowned artwork, but also by Wheeler alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends.
Now, you can relive this memorable experience through the lens of our talented student filmmakers 📽️. This video features the performance and reflections from the 18 Wheelers and was produced by Communications and Performing Arts Teacher Jesse Yip ’08 and his Video Broadcasting II students Lizzie C. ’28, Adit M. ’28, and Taka U. ’28. It also marked Wheeler Broadcasting`s first field trip to film and document their classmates` experiences.
"It was a fantastic collaboration between the two classes!" says Director of Vocal Music Emily Serotta P’38, P’41. "The Met invited us back next year, and we can`t wait!"
We`re excited to build on collaborations like this and look forward to sharing more student-produced stories throughout the new school year. ✨
Aug 6
We are excited to share that composer Sara Barone ’13 has been nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on the television program, “The Beast in Me”!
“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized by our peers in the Television Academy,” Sara says of her nomination for Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special. “It’s especially meaningful to see ‘The Beast in Me’ recognized across so many different categories.”
When we last posted about Sara’s career, we highlighted her score for “Planet Earth III,” which scored Sara her first Emmy nod in 2024. While that was a documentary, “the emotional core of the process is often quite similar [when composing for a fictional series like ‘The Beast in Me.’],” Sara says. “With a fictional project, I’m usually thinking very closely about character psychology, subtext, and what the music can reveal that may not be expressed on screen.
“With a project like ‘Planet Earth III,’ the storytelling comes from real behavior and real environments, so the music has to remain sensitive to that authenticity. But on a show like ‘Planet Earth III,’ the sequences are incredibly cinematic and have their own dramatic arcs, so I still approached them as stories, with tension, wonder, intimacy, and emotional weight. In both cases, the goal is ultimately the same: to deepen the audience’s connection to the story being told.”
When it comes to her own story arc, Sara says, “My time at Wheeler played an important role in shaping me as a young musician and composer. From being introduced to musical traditions from around the world through the Music Department, to studying music theory and composition through Aerie, to performing with the 18 Wheelers, I could not have imagined a more enriching foundation.”
From that foundation at Wheeler to the Sept. 14 Emmy Awards ceremony, Sara adds that she’s looking forward “to celebrating with the team, seeing friends and colleagues, and enjoying the rare opportunity for composers to emerge from our studios and socialize in formalwear.”
Please join us in congratulating Sara on her Emmy nomination!
📷 credit: Anna Azarov
Aug 5
This summer, Gryer A. ’28, Angela D. ’28, Adit M. ’28, Sarae S. ’28, and Sienna T. ’27 stepped into a leadership experience focused on creating meaningful social change.
Offered through a partnership with Wheeler’s Student Support Program, Tufts University’s Leadership for Social Change (LSC) program empowers students to examine complex social issues, strengthen their leadership skills, collaborate with others, and explore how they can make a difference. Over two weeks, students participated in interactive lectures with Tufts faculty, connected with local leaders and community organizations, and explored strategies for advancing equity, inclusion, and civic engagement.
“One of the greatest joys of my work is watching students grow into confident, compassionate leaders,” shared Equity, Community, and Belonging Student Support Coordinator and College Counseling Liaison Rose Phildor P’28, P’35. “When young people are given the opportunity to learn, lead, and serve, they don’t just imagine change, they become it.”
Congratulations to Gryer, Angela, Adit, Sarae, and Sienna on completing the 2026 Tufts University Leadership for Social Change program! We’re excited to see how they continue to apply what they learned as leaders at Wheeler and beyond. 💫
Aug 4
