Fredericksburg Parent

www.FredericksburgParent.NET 21 Sponsored Material Join us for the live conversation on Do you have questions for Grymes Memorial School, or want a peek of the campus? Be sure to watch our Facebook Live interview this month! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for information and updates. Facebook: @fredericksburgparent • Twitter: @FredParent • Instagram: @fredparentmagazine a sk t h e e x p e rt Q: What are things found at Grymes Memorial School you can't get anywhere else? Our loving, happy community! Our wide-reaching and well-rounded curriculum that challenges, engages and excites students in so many avenues. Seventy years of traditions that bring our school family together, in meaningful ways. These are all very important pieces of the Grymes experience. Most important, our teachers are outstanding. They care wholeheartedly about their students and are so dedicated to each and every individual in their classroom. They are truly what makes this school what it is. Q: Is financial support an option? Absolutely! It's our goal to make a Grymes education affordable for as many fami- lies in the area as possible. Everyone is welcome to apply for our Tuition Assistance Program, which can discount tuition by up to half for eligible families. Over 50 per- cent of our families participate in the program, and we encourage everyone to apply! The application is completely confidential, and we do our best to make a Grymes education possible for as many families as we can. We work with you to design a payment plan—all interest-free! Our goal is to make tuition as manageable and stress-free as possible for our families. Q: Tell us about the admissions process. While we have a rolling admissions process and don't have specific deadlines for enrollment, we limit spaces in the classrooms—and they fill quickly! The process typically begins with a parent tour. This allows us to visit together and get to know each other. It's a fun opportunity to walk through the hallways and peek into at classrooms while students are working. I find it's helpful for parents to observe the "Grymes magic" in person. The tour is a great opportunity for them to get a real feel for the school community. After an application and transcript is submitted, we invite the child for one or two "shadow days" so they can meet their peers and we can get to know them. During the student visit day (or days), we do a few exercises to gauge readiness for the curriculum. It's done in a casual and friendly setting with our Academic Support Director so it doesn't feel like "testing" at all. Once we have a complete admissions file, the admissions committee reviews the file together and, if space is available and it's a good fit, they issue a "Welcome to the Family" invitation to enroll. It's an easy process that follows a few steps, but we try to make it as enjoy- able and worry-free as possible. Q: Talk about summer camp. How do we sign up? Registration is open to students ages 3 through rising fifth grade, and the schedule is flexible and accommodating for working parents in busy summer months. Visit our website at www.grymesschool.org/summer. Remember: You can wait list your child for next year, if we fill up! Q: How does Grymes Memorial School incorporate the arts and STEM? The arts are a big part of our world at Grymes and are tied into the class curricula. This includes visual arts, music and drama. Twice each week, students have art class in the Visual Arts Center through a mixed-media, hands-on program. Ms. Frantz coor- dinates with teachers to make curricular connec- tions wherever possible, particularly with history and science! For example, while the first graders are studying Ancient Egypt, they're creating their own Egyptian cartouches with papyrus they made in art. Every student also has music twice each week. The wonder- ful work our music teacher, Tracey Stakem, does with our students is demonstrated on stage with two outstanding annual all-school concerts. Learning to play an instrument is incredible brain training. The multitasking skills students learn in our Upper School Wind Ensemble is astounding. STEM is an ever-evolving focus for us. This year, we're homed in on engineering. We love the focus on problem-solving, col- laboration and innovation. Our Lower School science teacher, Julie Sherman, has transformed her science classroom into the "Rad Lab," and has filled it with all kinds of hands-on tools, materials and gadgets. Her design briefs have inspired our students to build and cre- ate. It's amazing to see how excited our students are about problem-solving! Engineering infuses our community with a wonderful, creative energy, and it's so thrilling to see how inspired our students have become! Grymes Memorial School is a family. YEAR FOUNDED NUMBER OF STUDENTS (age 3 to grade 8) AVERAGE CLASS SIZE STUDENTS PER TEACHER

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